Vacation - Day One

Can you spot any early morning hair? I had the girls sleep in their clothes so that I could just pick them up at 6 am, put them in their car seats and speed away to the airport. It worked, but I didn't do their hair until we were past security at the airport. That meant a picture like this snuck through! (We did find time to stop for my coffee, however!)

After we fixed their hair, the girls spent the remainder of the time watching airplanes take off and land. As you can see, they were enthralled. Their first time flying was going to be exciting!

We got to board early since we had a small child! Woo hoo!!!

I think that's excitement on Ella's face! We were FINALLY heading to Disney World.

I think this crew was excited, too!

I know this little gal was getting anxious! There were many things to look forward to these last few months, and now she just wanted to be there! Gracie and Ella were excellent flyers. We had packed some activity books, snacks, and the Ipod and we landed before we got to do very much. Ella was fearful at take off and landing, but all I had to do was put my arm on her legs and she felt better.

Our first image of Mickey in the Orlando Airport.

After we ate a quick lunch and got settled at our hotel, we headed straight for The Magic Kingdom. It was definitely an impressive sight. Ella fell asleep on the bus that shuttled us, so she missed the initial excitement.

When we made our way through Main Street Disney and rounded the corner to Cinderella's Castle, we found this expression on Gracie's face. Her princess friends were on stage performing. You couldn't ask for a better welcome than that!

I took a better picture of the castle the next day, but this one shows the mobs of people. Oh, the crowds! Oh, the heat!

This was the show we got to see as we approached Cinderella's Castle.

Ella missed the whole thing.

Gracie missed nothing, however! She had a great view thanks to her daddy. I love this sequence of photos. They show exactly how excited Gracie was during the princess show that ended with fireworks above the castle.

Papa and Nana made this trip possible for us all. A big thanks to them!

Our first stop was Tomorrowland. Gracie rode quite a few rides, Ella continued her nap and we all tried to get used to the extreme heat. Air-conditioned shows were a big hit the first day!

Ella finally woke up just in time to meet...

Pluto!!! He put his arm around Ella and patted her back. She was a little shocked at first, but quickly got excited. At this point she didn't even realize we were at Disney World. She was asleep upon our arrival, so this was all a shock.

Ella wanted to ride something, so we crossed over into Fantasyland so that Ella could ride the Tea Cups. She thought it would be fun, but quickly changed her mind.

Once the cup started spinning, Ella was no longer a fan of the Tea Cup ride.

Do you know whose chair they are sitting in? The one and only Minnie Mouse. Toontown had a replica of Minnie Mouse's house. Very cute!

Another chair in Minnie's house! Too bad Minnie wasn't home today.

We stopped at a vendor's stand and bought Gracie some Minnie Mouse ears and Ella a Minnie Mouse hat. Gracie also needed an autograph book so that if we ran into any famous characters, they could sign her book.

We ate supper at Tony's which is supposed to be reminiscent of the restaurant in "Lady and the Tramp." I had the spaghetti which just happened to be the best spaghetti I have ever eaten! No wonder Lady and the Tramp enjoyed it so much.

A window by our table in the restaurant.

Gracie still has a very empty smile. Let's just say that corn-on-the-cob has been a little tricky for her this summer.

Our reservations were for 8:30 pm which was horribly late, but it was also perfect for watching the Electric Parade which went right by the restaurant. Gracie sat in the big windows and ate supper while watching the parade go by.

I'm only going to post one picture of the parade because they just don't do it justice. However, this will give you a feel for the parade. Many Disney characters were inside these floats. We saw Tinkerbell, Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, and Mickey and Minnie just to name a few.

We headed back to our hotel after watching the fireworks above the castle and riding Space Mountain. We were one tired group of travelers!