Last Day at Disney

We were so sad to wake up on our last day because we knew we were leaving..Hadley really wanted to go swimming so Jason took her down to swim while I got ready and packed us all up. We checked our bags at the resort and headed back to Magic Kingdom. Since we had 4 hours before the Disney Express took us to the airport we thought we would make the most of it!

At this point we also realized we hadn't even bought Hadley a shirt!! So when we got to Magic Kingdom Hadley and Jason watched the Dreams Show that is in front of Cinderella's Castle and I did some shopping..picked up a few things for Hadley!
We then headed to Fantasyland again and rode a few more rides..and missed seeing Jasmine again!!
Then it was back to have lunch at the resort before we left!! Although 5 days was a good amount of time we do wish we had stayed longer...and that in a nutshell has been our trip to Disney. Of course there are many many more stories and memories..but I think I have given everyone the big picture!!

Last Day Videos

This is part of the Dreams Show that is performed in front of the castle several times a day:

This is a quick review from Hadley at our last lunch at Disney World:

Disney Day Four

Our last full day at Disney..as mentioned Hadley had slept for about 11 hours, so we all woke up in great moods!!
We headed to Magic Kingdom with the plan to spend all day there. We went to the rides right away. We rode a ton; Snow White's Scary Adventure, Winnie the Pooh, and of course the Tea Cups again and many many more! We were surprised at how short the lines were..except for Dumbo. Which Hadley never wanted to ride.
Then it was time to get in line for Ariel..which is known to be one of the longest lines as there is only one spot to meet Ariel! It took about 30 minutes..Hadley played in the water area most of the time..the rest..she stood and waited!!


We then headed back into Mickey's Toon Town and went through Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse house. Hadley loved playing in Minnie's house, Mickey's was more of a look and see house, except the garage.


Hadley then went and played in a play area and on Donald's boat before wanting to ride the Goofy Rollar coaster again! After this ride we headed back to the front of Magic Kingdom on the train..a great way to get from the back of the park to the front!!
And then off to our resort for lunch at Whispering Canyon. This was my favorite meal the entire trip! It was highly recommended and I see why! It had a great atmosphere and even had a little game for kids in the middle of lunch! It was also nice to get back to the resort to get relaxed and out of the heat!

When we made our way back to Magic Kingdom it was time for the afternoon parade. Jason saved a spot while me and Hadley went and shopped! Hadley was so excited to see the parade..she HAD to wear her Cinderella outift so Cinderella could see her. As Cinderella went by Hadley said, "Mommy, she waved at me. She liked my glass slippers." It was amazing to watch Hadley watch the parade!



Then we headed straight to Tomorrowland. Hadley wanted to ride the Speedway Race Cars and at first I thought they had a height requirement of 52inches, then Jason saw it was a height requirement only if you want to ride by yourself..hence the video below of Hadley informing everyone she is 44inches!I rode with her and I gotta say, I am scared to see her drive! Thank god for the guided rode under the car...at one point she let go of the wheel to wave at the train and the other time to try and turn around and wave to Jason. Luckily I was controlling the gas pedal!!
We then headed to Monster's Laugh Floor and the Buzz Lightyear Ride. We all really liked the Monster's Laugh Floor. It is a comedy show that is very interactive with the audience, you even have a chance to get your jokes into the show! Hadley did inform me she liked to be funny at school..and yes my daughter does seem to be a class clown at school!! The Buzz Lightyear ride was good too..I had read ahead of time of some secret spots to get more points,and even though I shared those with Jason I have to say I was the only one able to hit them!! I think Hadley even got more points than Jason!!

We then headed over to Fantasy Land to hunt down Jasmine, Peter Pan, and a few rides. We missed Jasmine, she was leaving to do a show, and Peter Pan was also gone. but we rode the Aladin Magic Carpets, one of Hadley's favorites, and the Pirates of the Caribean Ride. Hadley was a little scared of this, she went through the ride saying, "Pirates be nice."



It was time now to get our spot for the night time parade and fireworks. We were lucky enough to get a front spot right in front of the castle. Hadley played the games they had going in the street while we waited. Then we had a great time watching the night parade!




We were also in the perfect spot for fireworks. Hadley loved seeing Tinkerbell fly out of the castle before the fireworks! As we headed out Hadley was so tired, she fell asleep in the stroller and slept until we made it to our room!! It was an absolute perfect day!

Day Four Videos

Hadley meeting Ariel:

Hadley so excited to ride the Speedway ride:

Hadley shows you can be a princess and a pirate

Hadley in line at the Winnie the Pooh Ride

Some of the afternoon parade

Hadley sleeping in her stroller after the fireworks

Disney World Day Three

We started our day with a very cranky little girl!! She complained the entire trip to the MGM Hollywood Studios. We were on our way to the Playhouse Disney Breakfast and she kept INSISTING she didn't want to meet JoJo and "my stomach says I'm not hungry!!". She complained until we got inside and she started eating..then the meal went great! She got to meet JoJo, Goliath, June and Leo. We almost missed June but Jason told them we needed to leave and they went and got June for Hadley to meet!!




Next we headed to the Toy Story Mania ride. It was a great ride..3D glasses and shooting arcade style as it spins you around..we all really enjoyed it. Another ride we were able to get right on since we were at the park so early!
After the ride Hadley still had some cranky energy to get out so we went and played at the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playlot..it helped her a lot!!It also gave me and Jason a chance to relax!



Jason wanted to ride the Backlot Tour so me and Hadley thought it would be okay..at first it was. The first part was a reenactment and it was great, the rest, riding in a tram listening to okay information. There was one other okay part thrown in the middle..I think I would skip it next time!
But one good thing, on the tram ride around we saw where to meet the characters from Monsters Inc! They didn't sign autographs, but Hadley loved seeing them!



We then got right in line to meet the Toy Story Characters, this was a bit of a wait. They did have lots to look at and play around while waiting in line...good opportunity for some pics!




And then one of the best shows we saw all week, The Voyage of the Little Mermaid! We had to wait a while to get in..but the show was great! It was Hadley's favorite! I would not mind the wait again!

After this Hadley was at her limit for the day..we headed to lunch at the 50's Prime Time. It was a neat atmosphere inside, okay food, and okay time.
On the way out of the resort we stayed to watch the Block Party Parade..it was great, lots of music, characters, and dancing! Hadley really enjoyed watching it. After that we were ready to head back to the resort.



We went swimming at the resort and checked out the beach, playground, and the arcade.We decided to put Hadley to bed early and just let her sleep until she woke up since she was so tired today. I turned off the light at 7:30pm and she was asleep by 7:35pm! She then ended up sleeping until 6:45am!! Yes, she slept 11 hours!!
While I stayed with Hadley, Jason headed out to see the fireworks at the resort next door. It had been a long day!!

Videos Day Three

Characters at the Playhouse Disney Breakfast:



Hadley dancing at Playhouse Disney Breakfast

Characters at MGM Hollywood Studios:


Hadley looking at the park map in line:

Disney Day Two

Our second day at Disney started with a Character Breakfast at Animal Kingdom: Donald Duck Breakfast at the Tusker House. We had a good buffet breakfast and got to meet Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Daisy Duck, and Goofy. Hadley was a little shy at first and didn't want to give Donald a hug or take a picture, but as soon as Mickey Mouse came by she was into the whole thing! She was very excited to meet Daisy and after Daisy left she said, "Mommy, she liked my shirt!" (Daisy was on her shirt) Then came time for Goofy..Hadley was fine seeing him across the room but as he got closer she got a little scared, he was very tall. So she got his autograph but insisted Mommy take the picture with her!


After all the characters made it around they played music and danced..Hadley didn't want to get involved so we headed out.
One amazing thing about these breakfasts is that you are at the parks before they open. Our goal for the morning was to get to the Kilimanjaro Safari before the line got too long. We were right at the entrance of the ride and had to wait until the park officially opened (about 5 minutes). As time got closer the guy told all of us to look behind us and a HUGE crowd of people were walking over the bridge! Since we were there waiting, once they took the rope down we were able to walk right onto the Safari ride..otherwise we would have had a long wait!
The Safari ride was great, the animals are free roaming so you got to see them up close..rhinos, hippos, lions, elephants. The only animal Hadley wanted to see that we didn't was the giraffe.

We also rode a few rides in Dinoland and saw the It's Tough to Be a Bug show..hint to parents with young kids..have them sit on your lap! the show has it feel like bugs are crawling on you and at one point a fake bee stinger comes out the back of the chair..even though we knew this it still made us jump. Hadley was too scared to keep the 3D glasses on. Me and Jason both liked the show!
As we made our way through Animal Kingdom we were able to meet Minnie Mouse since she wasn't at the breakfast and then we met Pooh, Eorye, Tigger and Piglet!




After Animal Kingdom we headed to get ready for the Alice in Wonderland Tea Party at the Grand Floridian. This was all Hadley could talk about for the longest time! She was all dressed up as Alice and danced and played with a little girl named Molly she met in the waiting area. We went in and they had this entire table set up for a tea party. We left her in there and headed to have our own lunch (very nice to have a mommy and daddy lunch alone!)We went to pick her up and she was talking like crazy about all they did and was very sweaty from all the activities!! It was definitely worth every penny!!


Next we were off to Epcot. We knew Hadley wouldn't have the greatest time there so we only planned a couple hours before our dinner. She liked the Nemo ride and the Turtle Talk with Crush. They had a great aquarium inside too.

Next we strolled through the France part of Epcot and headed to dinner at the Captain's Grille at the Yacht Club.

Day Two Videos

Here are a couple videos from Day Two at Disney World
Hadley's Alice in Wonderland Lunch:


The one thing Hadley enjoyed at Epcot (besides the Nemo ride)

This just shows Hadley didn't leave her attitude in Chicago (we are outside the Yacht Club before dinner)

Character Meetings

Here are some character meetings from Day Two:
Animal Kingdom breakfast:



Other Character Meetings at Animal Kingdom:

Princess Videos

Here are the princess meeting videos..shortened some!

Disney Day One

We got up very early our first day, at 4:00am!! We had a 7:30am flight! Hadley was up and ready to go (we all went to bed early the night before) We headed to the airport and after a short flight were in Florida! We took the Disney Magical Express to the resort which was nice as they got our bags so we didn't have to wait at baggage claim! And off we were to the Wilderness Lodge..I gotta say this place was great..and the best part was you took a boat over to Magic Kingdom in only 10 minutes!

We quickly dropped off our stuff and headed to Magic Kingdom as it was already 2:00pm and we knew we wouldn't be out late seeing as we got up so early. Hadley was delighted to see Cinderella's castle, as was Mommy!



As soon as we got into the park she had to get her Cinderella Dress on..which of course meant for the perfect picture opportunity in front of the castle..



The first thing Hadley wanted to do was ride the Tea Cup Ride..she loves Alice in Wonderland and all she has talked about it this ride and her upcoming lunch on day two!


Next we headed into Mickey's Toon Town Fair. This is where Mickey and Minnie's house are (we saw those on another day though) but the most important thing there is to do here is meet the Princesses in the Toon Town Hall of Fame!!


Hadley loves roller coasters so we first went on the Goofy Barn Stormer Ride..she kept talking like she was going to be scared but I think this had a lot to do with her also being a little tired from the already long day!Once we got on she LOVED it!!



Next came what every little girl waits for..meeting the Princesses!! We got in line, not too bad, only waited about 30 minutes..plus it was in the air conditioning..if I haven't mentioned it yet..it was about 95 degrees in the Florida sun..so I would have gladly waited an hour in air conditioning to see anything!!
As we walked into the room to meet the princesses it was very quiet and you saw Cinderella, Belle, and Aurora...Hadley's face went blank and she was in awe of them! She didn't say anything until she got up to them, and then she talked to them! I have to say the entire trip I was so impressed with how each character took the time with the kids..if the characters talked they spent time asking questions and talking with the kids and if they didn't talk they played around with them.
Here are the pics..







Seeing Hadley's face and watching her meet the princesses made the entire trip worth it..I was so happy to give this to her..and realized this trip was going to be so much more than I ever thought!

By this time we were all tired and ready for dinner so we decided to head back to the resort..and on our way out we met..Pluto!! There was also Chip and Dale but Hadley wasn't too intereasted in meeting them.


That night we did dinner by the pool,swam and then headed to bed so we could get up early for our character breakfast! Hadley loved to swim and every day asked to go swimming..and when I asked her one day what was her favorite thing that day she said.."swimming" and I just thought to myself this was one expensive way to take her swimming!!