More Than Just a Moment!

Sometimes the moments that matter most aren't part of a big moment, but they sure leave a lasting impression on our hearts!

The Wonderful World of Walt Disney

We arrived at the beautiful Wilderness Lodge at the one and only Walt Disney World on Christmas Day!!

We were a little tired from our travels, but we checked into our rooms and got ready to begin our Disney adventure!! In our rooms, we were greeted by none other than Mickey Mouse!!
Our first stop was Disney's Hollywood Studios! The big boys jumped right on the Star Wars Star Tours 3D ride experience, so Mommy and I did some exploring! While they were on the ride, we walked down "snowy" streets lined with millions of beautiful dancing Christmas lights, we passed a Miss Piggy fountain, and stopped to take a picture with Kermit the Frog (painted on a fence)!

We couldn't wait for everyone to experience the snow and see the glittering lights that flashed to the beat of Christmas favorites!

After enjoying the lights, we laughed with the Muppets at their 3D show and then headed over to the late night Disney dance party!! We boogied with Mickey Mouse, but we were a little too shy to dance with Minnie... we had a blast shaking it with Pluto, Jake the Neverland Pirate, our Little Einstein friends, and Handy Manny!
We were quite worn out after the dance party, so we headed back to the lodge for a little rest!



On Monday morning, we woke up ready to explore the amazing Animal Kingdom! Here I am with Dylan in the lobby before leaving for the day!
Our first stop was the famous Kilimanjaro Safari through the Harambe Wildlife Reserve! The sights were SPECTACULAR!!

After the safari in Africa, we hiked to DinoLand USA to ride a couple of the rides. On our way, we stopped to take a picture of Ryan and Wilson with the centerpiece of Animal Kingdom, The Tree of Life, in the background.

In DinoLand, we all jumped in a dinosaur for a flight on the TriceraTop Spin! It was my first ride and I really liked it!! While the big boys moved on to the super fun Primeval Whirl roller coaster, Wilson and I stopped to say hello to Goofy and Pluto!! I was too shy to get in a picture with those two crazy dogs, but here is Wilson with his buddies!

We then walked over to Asia to explore the Jungle Trek... there were tigers everywhere! If you look very closely, you will see a few familiar faces!!

After that adventure, we headed back to Africa to enjoy a yummy Safari lunch with Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Mickey at The Tusker House.

We finished up lunch just in time to catch the Jingle Jungle Parade along the streets of Animal Kingdom! Each of us found ourselves on the shoulders of an adult enjoying the sights and sounds of a Christmas Parade... Jungle Style!! After that, we went our separate ways once again. Mom and Dad went with the big boys to ride the tremendous Expedition Everest roller coaster train...

...while Nana and Granna walked us over to Camp Mickey for one more hug from Mickey before completing our adventures in "the wild"!


After a rest, we decided to make it a late night at Magic Kingdom! We rode so many fun rides... and I was big enough to ride EVERY ride that night!! Looking back, it was a good thing that we spent the night riding to our heart's content, because with each passing day, the crowds got larger and the lines grew longer!!
We started in Tomorrowland on the Speedway. Buckle up!! Wilson is in the driver's seat!

Here is a picture of Dylan taking Nana for a spin

We quickly headed to Fantasyland where we all had fun spinning our way around the Mad Tea Party in our Teacups! Ryan and I took Mommy and Daddy for a spin, and Dylan and Wilson were the spin masters for Nana and Granna!

We soared through the air on the Dumbo ride!

We floated around the world on the It's A Small World experience; drifted through the air on a sailing ship to Neverland with Peter Pan; we even braved the Haunted Mansion!!

It was getting very late, actually it was getting early... early TUESDAY morning, but we just couldn't leave without heading back to Tomorrowland for a ride on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.

One last stop before making our way to the Wilderness Lodge for a good night's rest... the beautiful, magical, amazing Disney Castle!!

We didn't get off to a running start on Tuesday morning, but we didn't sleep in too late before leaving the Wilderness Lodge to visit Magic Kingdom again... during the day this time! Here we are on our way out to the dock.

We jumped on the Walt Disney World Railroad to Frontierland! We took the ferry over to Tom Sawyer Island and did a little exploring. Here is his playhouse!

Ryan, Dylan, and Wilson loved the adventure rides in Frontierland! I would have loved them too, but I was not tall enough to ride them!! They really liked Splash Mountain and absolutely loved Big Thunder Mountain Railroad! If you look closely at this picture, you can see the boys plummeting down Splash Mountain (Daddy with Dylan, Mommy with Ryan, and Granna with Wilson)!!

A little rainy weather didn't dampen our spirits. After a little wait under cover, we walked to Adventureland to float with the Pirates of the Caribbean and then we took a tour of the Swiss Family Treehouse! On our way out of Adventureland, we came upon an afternoon street dance! After enjoying the parade of dancing characters, we headed toward the boat dock for a little rest before dinner!

We made it back to the lodge just in time to see the Fire Rock Geyser erupt!!

We rested up, cleaned up, and then we were off to the dock again! This time for a boat ride to Fort Wilderness for the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue dining experience. Good food, great entertainment, lots of laughs, and tons of fun!!

It wasn't hard to get up on Wednesday morning to go to breakfast at Chef Mickey's with the gang!


Mommy says these are her favorite Mickey faces EVER!
After breakfast, the big boys went with Daddy to ride a few rides at Epcot while Wilson and I went to Downtown Disney for a little shopping with Mommy, Granna, and Nana! Here we are... Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum!!

We found Buzz Lightyear in front of one of the shops!

We made it a late night at the Magic Kingdom Electrical Parade! On our way into the park, we ran into Pluto and Chip & Dale!


Here is our gang waiting for the parade...

...and we are still waiting...

...taking in the beautiful sights while waiting!!

Mickey and friends in lights... well worth the wait (if you ask me, that is. you may not get the same answer if you ask dad)!

After the parade we rode two of our favorite rides, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and The Tomorrowland Speedway!
After that, we tried out Stitch's Great Escape and we all wish we wouldn't have!! We are not a very picky crowd when it comes to rides and shows, but Peyton said it best, "That one was yuck and Stitch spit on me!" We ended the night on a silly note at the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor!


On Thursday, we started our day at Hollywood Studios

We had breakfast with a Jake the Neverland Pirate, Handy Manny, Special Agent Oso, and June of the Little Einsteins... such a fun way to start the day!!

After breakfast, we walked over to the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show!! The stunt drivers drove cars, motorcycles, and jet skis every way imaginable. There was even a big explosion at the end! It was pretty AWESOME! We then went over to the Disney Junior Live Stage to see a few of our television friends... We even saw the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Tootles!!

Here are our very own Buzz and Woody waiting for the Pixar Pals Parade! As the parade passed, we had a blast waving to some of our Disney favorites, dancing to the fun music, and taking pictures of the parade characters with our iTouches (we always ask Mom why she likes to take so many pictures, but taking pictures at the parade was so much fun)!

After the parade, we watched the Indiana Jones stunt show. WOW!! That was pretty cool! After that event, we ate dinner while waiting to watch the Fantasmic firework, water, and light show. We loved seeing Mickey's Magic!!

We saved a visit with our Toy Story pals and the Toy Story Mania ride for last!! On the way to see Woody and Buzz, we ran into a couple of Army men. SALUTE!

A little fun while waiting to see Woody and Buzz

Our best friend Woody, and favorite superhero Buzz Lightyear!

Watch out for the silly monkeys!! We love our silly monkey!!

We made late night visit to Epcot to ride Soarin'! It is hard to believe that at the end of such a long day, these boys still have the strength to hold the weight of Epcot in their hands!!



On Friday morning, we made one last visit to Magic Kingdom before it was time to go...
We enjoyed a nice lunch with Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet and Tigger... they are such a friendly bunch!!

We rode a few rides too! Of course we rode our favorites one last time, the Tomorrowland Speedway and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin! We also hopped on the Carousel of Progress and took a spin on the Astro Orbiter... both rides were a first time for all of us!! We loved every second of our visit, but we must say goodbye. Until next time, Disney World!