Let the Memories Begin...

says the sign outside the Magic Kingdom, and I have to admit Disney's Memory-Making marketing plan is very clever. And very effective. I find myself thinking "Connor will only be seven once, and Laila will only be three once--we need to take them back while we can!"

These are a few of my favorite memories from our trip to Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. Connor was six and Laila was two:

*Watching Laila interact with the characters. This may have been her favorite thing--she wanted to meet them all (except, for some reason, the princesses). At first she was a little reluctant and insisted that I carry her. But after the fifth or sixth one, she was a little pro, and would insist on going alone. At the end of each day she would pull out her autograph book and say "Who did I meet?" I would have to flip through the pages and read each name to her.

Laila with her favorite character of all (we met her twice!).

She insisted on meeting the "Bunny Rabbit" even though she had no idea who he was!

*Mad Hatter's Tea Party: I had planned on skipping this, especially after hearing for years how sick it made my parents when they rode it with us! :) But we were waiting for Lee and Connor to finish riding the Tomorrowland Raceway, and Laila kept saying "I want to ride the Teacups without Connor!" So I gave in. When we got on she ran straight to a pink one. At first I held the wheel to prevent her from spinning it, but halfway through I relented. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time! Her little smile was so devious, but she was giggling and having a great time. We rode it again with Connor and Lee.

*Tom Sawyer's Island. With all the thrilling attractions at Disney World, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this slower-paced island. I had my doubts when we were riding the raft over--I found myself thinking "This is a waste of time." But it was exactly what we needed. Shaded. Quieter. A little less crowded. Lee and I sat at a picnic table and ate while the children played on an adjacent playground. Connor explored the mining cave three times. And while stalking a lizard on a path, Connor found a hidden paintbrush. (Disney hides 5-10 of these per day on the island.) His reward: 4 fastpasses to Big Thunder Mountain. I wish we had spent more time on the island--we only saw a small portion of it. I think it was one of the places Connor enjoyed most.

This is where he found the paintbrush while stalking a lizard.

And this is the paintbrush--good for 4 fastpasses to Big Thunder Mountain!

 *Big Thunder Mountain: Connor's first-ever roller-coaster. He got to ride twice--once with me and once with Lee. When we rode it, he was all smiles. He kept laughing and looking at me and saying "This is really fun, Mommy!" When he rode it with Lee, he was an experienced know-it-all--he kept telling Lee what to expect and when it would happen!

Waiting for Big Brother to ride the Roller Coaster!

 *It's a Small World: When we got toward the bottom Laila saw the boats and excitedly said "I want to ride in a boat, Mommy!" We were lucky enough to sit in the first row of our boat. When we turned the corner and entered the room with the singing dolls, Laila's mouth dropped open!

*Peter Pan's Big Adventure:  Our second ride at Magic Kingdom. Connor had his doubts, but when it was over he wanted to ride it again. (We did!)

*Dumbo: Our first ride at Magic Kingdom and Laila's absolute favorite. She loved all of the flying rides--Dumbo, the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, and Tricera Top Spin (Animal Kingdom). And I have to admit, of all the flying rides, I think Dumbo was probably my favorite too.

 *Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin: SO much fun--possibly my absolute favorite attraction.

*Mickey's Philarmagic Show: During the 3-D show, Connor kept reaching out and trying to touch the flying food. Laila kept dodging back and forth as if she thought it was going to hit her!

*Kilimajaro Safaris: We walked right on. Very impressive attraction! I wasn’t sure if Connor was having fun—he sat with his arms draped over the window sill, just looking, not really smiling or anything. But when it ended he said “I wish we could do that again.” So we did.

 *Rafiki’s Planet Watch. So much neat stuff there. Connor spent fifteen minutes petting a Texas Indigo Snake. He loved all the exhibits with all the bugs and frogs and little critters. We could have spent 2-3 hours there. 

 

 *At Animal Kingdom, we found a quiet table behind the Dawa Bar for lunch. Despite the crowds, there was virtually no one there. It was overlooking some water with lots of birds. There was an African beach below. Connor spent twenty minutes staring at it. We had a quiet picnic, which is what we needed.

*The Kid's Club Activities at Animal Kingdom: Connor loved this. I was amazed at how excited he was about it. There were six stations around the park; at each station the children learned something about nature, then got a stamp.  After lunch we ran around the park getting stamps. Once they got all six stamps they got a little activity book. And wow, that book was really handy for some of the lines!

*The tree of life was amazing. We spent a lot of time staring at it and playing “I spy.”

*Mickey's Jingle Jungle Parade: When it started Connor said “Oh man, not a parade!” (It’s really not his thing.) He then proceeded to tell me how he knew that the really tall people were really on stilts—“See their feet, mommy! They’re not feet.”  But despite his protests and moaning, when the Donald float came by, I noticed Connor was smiling and waving. And he was even excited to see Mickey.

 *Electric Parade at Magic Kingdom: Wow! Amazing. When Mickey came by Connor had a HUGE grin on his face and was waving madly at him. After meeting Mickey twice, I think he thought they were old friends!

 *Chester and Hester's Dino-rama: We spent our last hour at Animal Kingdom in this area. It was dark and the lights were on--a lot like a carnival or fair. It was also virtually deserted. We rode the Tricera Top Spin four or five times. There wasn’t a wait, and the attendants would often say “If you want to ride again, just stay on!” The kids also loved the Boneyard Play area nearby. It was deserted too.

 * The castle lighting: Laila and I were on our way to meet the princesses. We turned a corner and saw the castle lit up--not with Christmas lights but with regular lights. It was beautiful! I pulled out my camera to snap some pictures, and my camera froze! I couldn't get it to reset. They announced that Cinderella would be coming out to decorate the castle for Christmas, and since my camera wasn't working anyway, I decided to skip the princesses and stay for the lighting show. It was beautiful! My camera started working again shortly after the lighting show was over. (Was God telling me to slow down--to stop and enjoy what was around me rather than worrying about preserving the memories?) We made our way to the princesses and could have still met them, but Laila didn't want to.

Main Street and Cinderella's Castle with Christmas lights. Beautiful. And yes, crowded.

 *Our favorite thing of all—and I think I speak for everyone—was the Festival of the Lion King. Wow! Amazing!

*And our kids were absolutely AMAZING! I expected a lot of whining and complaining during the car ride. But they didn't! Connor would occasionally ask how much longer, and when we would respond, he would say "Wow! We've gone so far already!" And during the trip back, about half-way through, Connor said "This car ride isn't as much fun as going there." To which I responded "You thought the car ride was FUN?!"  And at the parks both kids were amazing as well. I wasn't sure what to expect--I knew they would be overstimulated, and we weren't sure if we'd need to leave for naps. But they handled it better than we did! Connor didn't complain about all the walking and Laila never became fussy or temperamental. She took an hour nap in her stroller at Magic Kingdom which seemed to completely revive her.

We had a GREAT trip. It was also so much more exhausting than I thought it would be--so much so that I was actually glad to return home.

We got home last night and plugged in the Christmas tree. We watched The Polar Express and ate Chinese food in the living room. Connor assembled his Dinosaur from Legoland. Laila played with her new Minnie Mouse. We read our Christmas devotion. We talked and laughed and continued making memories.

Because, as much fun as Disney World is, life is where real memories are made.

Connor with his Lego dinosaur.