Austen, Mama and Dada spent a week at Walt Disney world in Orlando, Florida and had a blast. Austen did amazingly well, loving all the activities and sights. The days were long and action-packed but also included a nap for everyone in the early afternoon.
For Mama and Dada it was wonderful to travel again. All their fears about the plane ride were in vain; even though this was Austen’s first flight, she did great (Mama also did much better). Austen sat on Dada’s lap during the relatively short flight and was happy to play with her toys, rocks, coins, animal figurines, books and watch some of her favorite videos on the iPod, while munching on some snacks and chocolate milk and looking out the window to see the clouds, rivers, trees and tiny houses and cars.
The hotel room was comfy and the sleeping situation (two double beds right next to each other) worked out fine.
Using our park hopper passes, we visited all the theme parks many times. Austen made sure to see almost everyone costumed animal in sight, giving each one hugs and posing for pictures; she’s so enamored with them that she forgets to smile!
Austen also went on many rides including some of Mama’s childhood favorites like Dumbo and It’s A Small World. She had a fondness for musicals like the Beauty and the Beast but was a bit fearful of the Disney villians and special effects like lasers and thunderous booms. Mama and Dada also got to go on some adult rides using the child-swap feature and fast-pass.
After going on the Peter Pan ride, we won three sets of fast-pass vouchers to be used at the Magic Kingdom theme park. It was kind of amusing to be able to circumvent the lengthy lines on the popular rides, almost instantly getting to go on them. We even heard many people asking the attendant’s why we were able to go on so quickly!
The buses and monorail were like theme park rides in themselves for Austen and she got very excited everytime we boarded. While waiting on the line for a bus to arrive, if the incoming bus went to another line (for another theme park), Austen was dissapointed and proclaimed, “I want the bus. Where’s Austen’s bus!?” We only went on the boat a few times and she liked it at first but later decided she disliked boat rides!
Just walking to and from the hotel room was a chance to skip and hop and sing. Dinners were always entertaining with all the kids and colorful decor. Austen talked non-stop of seeing more animals and getting to meet “Meemee Mouse.” Unlike a lot of the other kids at Disney, Austen preferred to walk independently, without her stroller: “I wanna walk!”
In between the rides, lines, eating at the various places, Mama and Dada stopped at the many themed play areas where Austen got to run around freely. She was hesitant at first as she explored the areas, which are very decorated and not just plain-jane slides and swings. Once she became familiar with the layout, she was off.
See some
short videos from our trip.
By day seven, everyone was getting a bit overwrought and tired, so we were ready to get back home to the kitties. What a fabulous time! ‘Can’t wait for the next vacation. See all the
trip pics.