We decided to fly to Orlando - mostly because I couldn't handle the idea of 8+ hours in the car with Kate and Mason. And then the more I thought about taking a flight with them (alone on the way back).... I couldn't imagine that either. I have friends that fly alone with two children across the OCEAN. For Pete's sake! I can surely handle a 1.5 hour direct flight, right? In the end, 1.5 hours of travel time won out over 8 and we booked a flight on Southwest, or as I call it, the Wild Wild West. If you've never flown SW, it's first come, first serve on seats. Nothing is assigned, and for some reason the few flights I've taken with them, the passengers have been a bit rowdy. I know, that seems perfect with our two kiddos.
Waiting.... whose idea was this?
Mason does not like mass transit - or so we learned. He does like lollipops, so we reached a compromise. He was not a bit interested in looking out the window of the plane, and insisted that the shades be down at all times.
Kate pulled her own suitcase. It was great fun when it was novel. On the way back she was certain I was the evil Stepmother and she was Cinderella - "You make me do all the work!" I really hope that quote gave someone a good laugh.
Day one we had breakfast with the princesses.
Kate chose an Ariel outfit this year. Certainly not Don's or my pick. Why not a beautiful dress? We tried our hardest to sway her. No luck.
With Daddy.
Cinderella signing Kate's photo book. The photo books are a must-have for Disney visits.
Mason wasn't so crazy about the princesses. He was very shy. Here is his hiding under the table. At this point, anything to keep him happy through breakfast.
The red-heads. Notice the real Ariel isn't showing her belly....
After breakfast, we visited a shark in Epcot before heading over to the Magic Kingdom.
And then it was on to race cars!
And playing in lines.
It was kinda hot. Can you tell?
Especially Mason.
So we went back to the hotel for a nap and some time in the pool. Mason is fearless around water. Gotta watch that boy. I promptly bought him a life jacket when we got back to Greenville.
Then we headed back to Disney for the evening parade and fireworks show. At first we thought that might have been a crazy idea, but Mason loved the light parade. That alone was worth it.
He slept through the fireworks, but Kate enjoyed it.
On day 2, we went straight to the Magic Kingdom when the gates opened, so Kate could ride the Little Mermaid ride (wait the day before was 70 minutes!!)
I guess the magic of Disney rides has to occur in the dark, because they make every swinging ride dark! We had to drag her onto this one. She was crying when she heard the "ocean" noises in the line. We hopped right on, and most of it was ok. Looks like she won't be scarred for life.
Aftwerward, we had a photo op with Alice in Wonderland. Please, one day ask Don how he feels about grown adults waiting in picture lines that prevent children from getting their pictures taken with the Disney characters.
This is the new concept in waiting for rides. You get a pager, much like you would at Outback Steakhouse, and when it's your turn to ride, you get in line. In the mean time, they have a fun playground for the kiddos to enjoy. I dig it! Mason was a fan of the elephants.
There were more characters to visit:
Tinkerbell
Minnie Mouse
Mason couldn't handle the Minnie Mouse line, so we went out and bought him some glasses and played in the water.
We spotted Jesse in Tomorrowland.
And some aliens.
And last, but not least, the magic carpet ride.
And we were beat!
The next day, Don dropped us off at the airport. I was a little concerned by the dancing at the gate:
And this:
But then we took off, and moments later, there was this:
And Kate settled down and I read a magazine.
What a sweet trip!
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