Magic Kingdom, Day 1

We spent the next day in Magic Kindgom. 

Waiting on the dock for our boat to take us to Magic Kingdom. Benjamin taking in the ride there.

Mary Poppins was close to the entrance, so we stopped for Isabella to get her autograph. She was totally in character and so nice.

She also met Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Merida.

 Its a small world boat ride!

 Holding hands with Nana.

We did a fast pass for Enchanted Tales with Belle. It was really fun and all the children get to play a role in the story if they want to, totally recommend doing this! Isabella was chosen to be the beast. Benjamin had gone back for a nap, so he wasn't there.

 Roaring at Belle

 Dancing with Belle. So sweet, I cried. :) 

We tried the pineapple whip, which I loved. And the Lefou's brew and cinnamon rolls at Gaston's tavern. 

 The castle!!

 We caught some of the parade.                                      And rode the spinning tea cups. My childhood favorite!

 Benjamin's favorite of the day, riding the steam train around Magic Kingdom. 

Riding the boat back after a long day. Tired, but so happy! :)  Magic Kindgom was totally magical, as corny as it is to say. We had a blast!

Animal Kingdom

We got to Fort Wilderness on Saturday and the sun was shining which we were all so happy for after several days of rain and travel!

 The campgrounds were awesome with two pools, and playgrounds and lots of fun to be had. All of the Christmas decorations were still up and lots of people had their own Christmas decorations and blow up inflatable decorations.

 We got settled and took the kids swimming.

Our passes began the next day. Our first day was at animal kingdom. We took a bus to get there. Benjamin's reflection in the glass shows just the beginning of the Disney magic for the day. He was impressed just by the trucks and things he saw out the bus window on the way.
 

Our first fast pass was for the Kilimanjaro Safari. We saw so many animals out in their different habitats.

 After the safari we walked through the Pangani Forest Exploration.

Benjamin loved watching the meerkats. He stayed for a long time watching them go in and out of their burrows and running all around.

Gorilla!

We took the Wildlife express train where we got to see some of back scenes, including the vet clinic. There was also a petting zoo, and Isabella got to earn some more badges in her animal kingdom adventures book.

Benjamin was brave to pet this snake, and then he and Michael headed back for Benjamin to take a nap. 

We went on to find the tree of life and Isabella got her first Mickey ice cream sandwich.

Playing in the boneyard

Meeting Pocahontas!

We also had fast passes for the Lion King and Finding Nemo shows, which were both great!

And we rode the Safari a second time because there was no line and it was fun to see a few different animals that time.

Favorite ride of the day- The triceratops spin! We rode it a few times earlier in the day and then at night there were no lines and we rode it again and again!
We ate dinner and walked around some. I loved seeing the tree of life all lit up at night. We got rained on on and off that day, but still had a great day. We headed back to the RV just before the park was closing.

We changed in to warm pajamas and ended our great first day with S'mores!

Florida!

For Christmas Michael's parents gave us a trip to Disney World! After many months of anticipation it was finally time to go! We left on the night of the 28th, and crossed over in to Florida on the 30th.

Benjamin liked the big plane at the Florida rest stop.

Yay!!

 After a few days on the road and lots of rain, we were excited for a break in the rain that morning to play at the beach in Destin!!

Benjamin's strategy was one for me and one for the birds. :) 

We had lunch at Dewey Destins. My fav and best fried shrimp ever!

Hot tubbing in the rain on NYE.

We did an earlier countdown with the kids. (Who gave those kids noisemakers!?!) :) And put them to bed. Then the adults watched a movie and had our own countdown at midnight. Happy New Year!!

We had donuts from Destin's Donut Hole in the morning before pulling out of Destin and on the road toward Orlando. Disney World here we come!