First Trip to Disney World

Before Christmas we went to visit GranGran and Papa and they treated the girls to their very first trip to Disney.  They enjoyed it every bit as much as you would expect a couple of princess-crazed girls to enjoy it.  The weather couldn't have been better and thanks to those nifty FastPasses (something they didn't have in 1999, which was the last time I visited!), we were actually able to enjoy the day without having to wait in line for hours and hours.

Shortly after we arrived, we happened upon the end of a performance that was taking place on the steps of the Castle.  I think there were 5 princesses in view, so the girls had their eyes LOCKED to the stage!

Playing outside the Winnie the Pooh ride:

Riding Dumbo:

Campbell wearing her 3D glasses at the Mickey's PhilharMagic show:

We all really enjoyed that show (reminded me of going to see Captain Eo back in the day!), but during one part of the show they spray a little bit of water onto the audience.  Campbell was not fan.  She got all huffy and said, "No wadah!!  Not nice!!"

A trip to Disney wouldn't be complete without a visit to Small World!

I had forgotten about the creepy little hot air balloon clowns!  What is with those!?

So retro Disney!

Riding the "Pooh" ride:

Is it just me, or is this ride the same one as "Mr. Toad's" only with a different set? (and no decent to the underworld!)

They saw the Toy Story characters in a parade as we walked by and then when we drove back to NC the following week, we stopped at a Red Box and rented the Toy Story 3, which they loved.

When the castle lit up for the night, Ellie was enthralled.  She kept wanting us to take her picture in front of it while she cycled through her many 'poses'.

Thanks Papa, for springing for dinner at a real restaurant so we could sit down and rest for a few minutes!  And, thanks to Sarah for all the great recommendations!!

The castle at night:

Is it always lit up with those zillions of tiny white lights?  Or is that just at Christmas time?  Either way, it was pretty cool and my girls were so jazzed about seeing it!

This would be one of the 'poses' I mentioned above:

One of the highlights (though they acted timid at the time, but have talked about it ever since!) was meeting Mickey and Minnie and touring their 'houses' in Toon Town (who knew Mickey lived like such a slob?!)

Campbell kissed Minnie on the nose as we were leaving.  It was pretty cute!

Waiting in line at Pirates of the Caribbean... I forgot how many macabre images there were in that ride!  During the first 15 seconds, I heard Ellie say, "What is that crazy thing?" (about a skeleton with a sword through it's rib-cage... yeah - Mother of the Year-- right over here!)

Thankfully, Campbell skipped the skeletons and wenches and took a little snooze on the dark ride!

The highlight of the evening was the Electric Light Parade (which I didn't even realize they still had, but as soon as the iconic music started playing, I felt like a 10 year old again!)

The girls had front-row seats courtesy of Daniel and Jonathan!

One of the first floats to go by had Alice (from Wonderland) on it and she looked right at Ellie and waved, thus creating a now 6-week-obsession with wanting to know more about Alice in Wonderland!

What a fun day!  Thanks Papa and GranGran!!!!