Can I just say how excited I was for this week of magical bliss?? I cannot even put in to words how excited I was. Plus add the hormones of a 22 week pregnant mom and I was over the top emotional.
It was pure joy. It was magic. My heart was full. I literally was in my happy place. I had Adam all week. Lyla was beyond excited to be there.
We even got to experience this week with my parents and Adam's parents. It made it so special to have them share these memories with us. Everyone got along so well. It was so laid back and we enjoyed every moment.
We checked in to our condo Sunday night after leaving Jonathan and Kara's house. They live about 1.5 hours away from Disney. I would be there every weekend if we lived that close. Seriously. We decided to stay off property this trip to save a little bit of money. I wanted more space and a kitchen to have food that I could pack each day for us. I am not sure we will stay off property again. It was just too much driving back and forth. I will share more on my reasoning on that as I continue to write about our trip.
We got to the condo right before 10pm and I wanted to run to the grocery store that night so that we would have food for the next day. The Publix right by us closed at 10pm. I literally had 10 minutes to shop for the whole week. Ten minutes. Talk about stressful. But I did it. And shout out to Publix. I forgot one thing once I got to the check out. The lights were getting turned out. They had had last call. several times. So I ran to get my last item and when I came back, they had unloaded, bagged and reloaded my cart for me. I mean I am sure it was just because they were ready to close, but I like to think it was their great customer service.
We unloaded. Got stuff ready for our first day and headed to bed. We had not gotten very much sleep the night before and we were exhausted.
My parents decided to take the 'Mega Bus' down to Orlando. A new experience for them. Anyone done this before? It was super cheap and they rode all night. So they got to sleep the whole way down and woke up refreshed ready for a fun day at the park. We went a picked them up first thing at the bus stop and headed to Hollywood Studios.
I was SO excited. Did I say that already?! It was bubbling over and I was just in the BEST mood. I had butterflies in my stomach. Lyla could not wait! We listened to Disney music in the car to really pump ourselves up. Adam really appreciated that ;)
On the tram in the parking lot.
It had been a long time since I had been to Hollywood Studios. I think it used to be called MGM when I was growing up. But I still remember vividly several of the must do things there!
We got to the park, Donna and Steve would be meeting us later on, and headed to get some FastPasses loaded on to our tickets. Can I just say how DISAPPOINTED I was in the new system?? Last time we went, we were able to do close to everything because of the FastPass system. This time I felt like we were running all over the parks to use the FastPasses and did not get to do as much. I will say that it is a new system at Disney, so hopefully they will get everything worked out and it will be better the next time we visit. That is another reason I would like to stay on property next time. You can book your FastPasses in advance online and kind of have you day planned out, versus grabbing whatever passes are left once you get to the park and running from one end of the park to the other.
We started off seeing "The Voyage of the Little Mermaid" show. So fun and Lyla loved it! We went next door and saw the Disney Jr Live show next.
Waiting for the show to start!
My mom and me.
Lyla and Daddy being silly while waiting.
Lyla loved the Disney Jr show. It was all characters that she knew. It was quite interactive for the kids and they could get up and dance! They also had bubbles and gold deblumes fall from the ceiling which she thought was awesome!
They had Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse gang was throwing a surprise birthday party for Minnie ?? I think ?? and of course ran into some problems, so with the help of their other Disney Jr friends, they were able to learn valuable lessons to help them solve their problems and throw the birthday party.
Doc McStuffins.
Sophia the First.
In awe! They were all puppets except for the one main girl.
Jake and the Neverland Pirates.
She was glued!
Next up was the Great Movie Ride. I REMEMBER going on this ride as little girl, I mean talk about memories that I know Lyla will have forever! We had to wait in line awhile for this one. I think she liked it. I am not sure she really understood it because she had not seen any of the movies. She did like looking at Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and her red ruby slippers. We did have to cover her eyes as we went through the Alien part. I remember covering my eyes when I was younger on that part too.
Afterwards we were hungry. Donna and Steve had called and said they had made it to the park, so them and my parents went to grab some lunch and Lyla, Adam and I found a table and ate ours. Another good reason to be able to pack your own food. You don't have to wait in any lines to get food or find something you like to eat. It not only saves you time, but money as well. We knew that we would want to pack out lunches each day and eat breakfast at the condo (when we did not have a character breakfast). We packed a bunch of snacks and water as well to keep Lyla happy, but also loved getting treats at the parks too! You always need ice cream! The weather was perfect! It was cool in the morning and as we ate lunch really warmed up!
After lunch we headed to one of my favorites as a kid...Indiana Jones!! I LOVED this show. And I was actually surprised Lyla sat through it and seemed to enjoy it as well.
There is a lot of action and explosions, and she seemed to think that was cool!
We stopped and got a treat of Frozen Lemonades. I had learned last time that it was important to get Lyla her own treat as she is a snack hog! Haha!
We took our treats and got seats for the Beauty and the Beast show. I think this might have been Lyla's favorite for the day. She had brought her Belle doll with her to the park and sat in awe while we watched this one. She did not want it to end.
She loved seeing and pointing out all the characters.
She even sang along!
Gramps and Lyla.
After the show we headed out of the park. Next time I would like more time at this park. There were several things we did not get to do. I had planned that this would not be a full day at Hollywood Studios and I am not sure you really need a full day, but I would like more time next time. We missed out on Honey I Shrunk the Kids, The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow, Toy Story Midway Mania, Studio Backlot Tour, and now they have Frozen Sing-Along. I am not sure they had that when we were there, otherwise we would have hit that up for sure!! And then there were a couple of things she was not tall enough for yet, like the Rock'n'Roller Coaster, so hopefully next time she will be tall enough! The plan really was to go back later in the week, since we had gotten park hopper passes, but we ended up spending more time at Magic Kingdom!
The reason we did not spend a full day at Hollywood Studios is because we had early dinner reservations at The Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney. I have never been to Downtown Disney before this trip and I would actually like a little more time to walk around there next time as well.
We got there well before our reservation, so we walked around a bit. We met up with Adam's grandmother, Joan, who joined us for a few days as well!! It was so much fun having her! I am so glad she was able to drive up and spend the time with us. I know we will treasure those memories with her and Lyla loved having her there. It is so nice for Lyla to have two great-grandmothers who are still alive and very active in not only her life but our lives as well. We love them so much and are so glad we can include them in the things we do.
Getting prepared to meet the real princesses at Magic Kingdom tomorrow!!
Of course I did not get any pictures at dinner and wish I had. The Rainforest Cafe is a must do, at least one time you go to Disney. Every 15-20minutes, I think it is, the animals come alive and it is so fun for the kids to watch! The food was not bad either! We had gotten there early, they say to plan on giving yourself an hour when you make a reservation somewhere. We walked up to just let them know we were there and they seated us right away! I mean you cannot beat the service of Disney. After dinner we walked around a little bit more and hit up the candy store. I mean you have to when you are at Disney. Everyone picked out a treat and enjoyed them as we walked around a little more.
There is a Lilo and Stitch outside one of the stores that squirts water and as you can imagine, my child had the best time running around there. There was also some live music we listened to.
It was a great, relaxing way to end the evening on our first day. We headed back to the condo and hung out a little before heading to bed. I was excited to go to sleep because the next day was Magic Kingdom!! My favorite!
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