The land of the mouse

So maybe you heard...we visited the Land of the Mouse again.  I know, the kids expectations on Disney is high now.

 Meredith and Noah have both been three times and Margot just experienced it for the first time.  It's honestly not the kids, it's me.  I love it.  I'd rather go to Disney, then some exotic island.  I guess I'm weird.

 But I'm going to be honest now, the mouse land, it did me in.  I promise we are not going back until Margot is about 4.  Even with an extra set of hands, it was exhausting.  Had we not brought my mom, I might have booked us all plane rides home mid-week.

 Oh I kid, the kids loved it.  Margot was a definite trooper.  She was so very tired, but she hung like naps were a thing of the past.  Poor baby asked to go to bed at 5pm the day we got home.

 Meredith and Noah saw Disney again for the first time, Noah was a baby (22 months & 11 months) on his first two trips so this was essentially like he was going for the first time again.  He was amazed.

This year we did more stuff in Disney than we ever had before.  I guess it was their ages.  Well Josh and I  and the two bigs, Mimi and Margot joined us here and there, in between naps and rests stops for Margot.

 Margot was scared to death of all the characters, she would scream frantically and run into her daddy's arms everytime one approached us.  By the end of the week, she loved them and thought they all should greet her personally and give her a hug. Her favorite characters were Pooh Bear, she cut a very long line of people and walked right up to him to plant this smooch on his lips!  And she also loved Thumper.

We were actually waiting in line to see Minnie Mouse about 100 feet away and she saw Thumper across the way and demanded to go see her.  So we go out of  a very long line to meet Minnie to go and see her.  Her favorite rides were the carousel, Dumbo and it's a small world.  Oh and FYI, best place to see the characters in my opinion is Animal Kingdom, best setup to stand in lines and cutest shots!

Meredith decided she was over princesses.  Instead she was enthralled with the lion king.  With her envelope of money she brought home the entire set of lion kings stuffed animals.....exciting! (Can you hear my sarcasm, it's there....I loathe allergen collectors stuffed animals.)  Nevertheless we now own several stuffed animals shaped like lions.  It wasn't what I would have picked, but it wasn't my money.

 This year, the kids got money in and envelope from their Mimi and when it was gone, it was gone.  Meredith waited all trip to spend hers, hemming and hawing and thinking long and hard about what she wanted.  Her favorite shows were The Festival of the Lion King, Muppets, Mickey's Philharmonic Orchestra and Beauty and the Beast.  Her favorite rides were tea cups, Dumbo, Peter Pan and It's a Small World.  She also rode her first roller coaster...Splash Mountain...and while she was so very nervous, she loved it.  And she also rode her first thrill ride...Test Track...she also loved that!

Noah loved Disney World, but he really loved was the transportation to and from Disney....the boats, buses, and the MONORAIL!  I could have skipped purchasing this guy a ticket and just put him on the monorail in the morning with some chicken nuggets and a coke and picked him back up at the end of the day.  He knew all the different colors that rode on the various tracks and could not wait to get on them.  It only added to the excitement that we stayed at the Contemporary, where monorails passed through the actual hotel.  Yes, exciting stuff indeed! (no sarcasm...seriously...loved this hotel!)  The highlight of his week was taking a picture with an actual monorail driver.  After he was finished he looked at her and said "One day I'm going to be a monorail driver just like you!"  To him it was like meeting Cinderella.

And he also did meet Cinderella and that confirmed what I already knew...my boy is a flirt!

Noah's favorite rides were Small World, The Track, and Peter Pan.  He cried because he wasn't tall enough for Test Track...I mean crocodile tears.

The trip was great, the kids had a blast.  It was also right around Noah's 4th birthday so we scored a Birthday pin and every person who worked at Disney from characters to food service workers told Noah Happy Birthday.  He had no clue how they all knew it was his birthday!  Super cute!

Disney was awesome, but next time we go I think I will require everyone be able to wipe their own asses first and entertain themselves happily and quietly on the plane.