Disney World!!!

Every year Paul's company, Philips Healthcare, has a big Mega Meeting in Orlando.  Some years his team goes and sometimes they don't.  We always thought it would be a good time to make a family trip out of it, but I wasn't sure I'd be up for the trip with a newborn.  After meeting Reid and seeing how easy going he is we decided we could make it work!  It also happened to coincide with our friends the Heinholds cruise.  They drove to Orlando went to Disney on Friday and then left for their cruise.  So we got to meet up with them at Disney of Friday February the 7th.  One big bummer was that we got a free hotel stay only because we had to go to a timeshare presentation.  We did not know the timeshare part until it was too late, so that ate up 3 1/2 hours of our morning!!!  I was beyond irritated about it!  Anyway, we met up with them and sadly it was a rainy cold day.  I don't think it got out of the 50s and the rain made it so cold.  But we didn't let that stop us from having a good time!

They must make a killing on the ponchos!

It's a small world, Reid slept through it this time, but the next time we rode it he was wide awake and loving it!

Hayden & Savannah on the tea cups, boy did that make me dizzy!

It was so cold we even caved and bought Hayden this Minnie Mouse sweatshirt.  Here is Michael pushing the girls around for us. 

The light parade, Hayden loved seeing all the Disney characters and floats

 It was so fun going with our friends and their extended families.  Paul and I were able to ride space mountain and thunder mountain together while they watched the kiddos, so that was fun!  Decide the weather, Reid did so well in the ergo carrier snuggled next to me all day.

The next morning we had to switch hotels because our 2 free nights were up (and it was kind of a yucky hotel anyway, even though Hayden described it as beautiful).  So we packed up all our stuff and drove over to the new hotel.  This one was much nicer and had a kitchen and couch area and a separate bedroom.  Hayden was in love with the last hotel, when she saw this one she couldn't even believe her eyes, as she said!

It was another cold rainy day so instead of wasting our 4 day hopper pass on a cold day we decided to go outlet shopping and kind of hang out at the hotel.  We also spoiled ourselves with BJ's pizza!  I haven't seen one of these chain restaurants since my California days and I was so excited to eat there.

Sunday we finally saw some sun so we decided to go to Sea World.  I had just seen the documentary Blackfish and was hesitant to go support them, but with Paul's reserve card we all got in free so we decided to go.

Hayden and Paul in front on a baby dolphin pool

The penguin exhibit was FREEZING!!!  They keep it at about 20-30 degrees, so we were ready to get out of there!

There is so much to do there, we went on rides, Hayden played in a play area and we saw 3 different shows.  We saw a dolphin show, an otter show, and one with cats, dogs, chickens, etc (who knew they'd have that at Sea World!)

Paul was originally suppose to start his conference on Monday but that all changed and Monday was a free day so we got to spend it together again.  But first we had to yes, pack up once again, and move hotels!  I would not do 3 different hotels again, it was kind of annoying.  But anyway, we checked into the Dolphin which is a Disney resort hotel and where Paul's conference was.  You can see the fish on top of it in this picture.  

Once we got all that done and took a wrong route of transportation, we finally ended up back at the Magic Kingdom around noon.  This day at Disney was much more about meeting all the princesses and going on some rides again from Friday.  We also got to stay and watch the fireworks which was amazing.  Reid was jerking his head back and forth trying to see it all, it was pretty funny!

Once we got all that done and took a wrong route of transportation, we finally ended up back at the Magic Kingdom around noon.  This day at Disney was much more about meeting all the princesses and going on some rides again from Friday.  We also got to stay and watch the fireworks which was amazing.  Reid was jerking his head back and forth trying to see it all, it was pretty funny!

Hayden and I did splurge and try one of these Micky bars, boy were they delicious!  

 Hayden did get a little nervous to meet the princesses at first.  She was in such awe of them, it was pretty cute.  And I had no idea they would engage in conversation like they were actually princesses, it was pretty funny to hear their conversations with Hayden.  

Hayden couldn't believe Cinderella's glass slipper was here

Like I said Tuesday Paul's conference started and I was on my own all day and night.  He usually got back around 10 pm.  The resort was a little different than a regular hotel, they had restaurants inside (which were pretty pricey) and we had to part quite a ways a way from the entrance of the hotel.  On Tuesday I had to do laundry, go grocery shopping, keep the kids alive and entertained!  It was a bit nerve wracking I'll be honest.  I have terrible directional skills so finding my way around a massive hotel to find washing machines, the swimming pools and my car scared me a lot!  But we got through the day and had a fun time swimming. Hayden is great at making friends wherever she goes.  I was worried she'd be lonely or bored swimming since I couldn't get in with her, but she found kids and invited them to play with her toys both Tuesday and Wednesday!  I met lots of nice couples that kept me company with good conversation as well!

Lunch by the pool.  I had to drag her out to come and eat!

Reid taking naps and hanging out

Wednesday I was going to go to one of the parks but it was a beautiful day and Thursday was suppose to be cold again.  So Thursday we bundled up and took a bus to the Animal Kingdom.  I had gotten mixed reviews about this place but we had a great time.  I knew the day was going to be great when the first animal we saw was ant eaters!!!  My favorite childhood animal :)  We then headed off to see the Nemo musical show and it was AMAZING!  We also did the Safari ride and got to see all kinds of animals, our favorites were the hippos and alligators.  We also went to the show "It's Tough To Be A Bug" which was a big mistake.  It was scary and Reid did NOT appreciate the special effects.  We also got to meet a few more characters here. 

I probably should have ended the day right here and just eaten an overpriced dinner at the hotel but we had had such a fun day that I decided we should take the bus to Downtown Disney and eat dinner there.  We managed, but the bus ride took FOREVER and the lines at the restaurants were way long.  Not easy to do on my own with 2 kids, but there were nice people everywhere I went to help me out.  

Friday morning we decided to go to Epcot for a few hours before heading home.  We had heard that Anna and Elsa were there and we knew Hayden would die if she actually got to meet them.  We also met a lot of other princesses and it was fun to look around at all the different countries.  

Waiting for the boat to take us to Epcot.  It was Valentine's Day so Hayden is in her festive heart pants!

This is how Reid took a lot of his naps while we were out and about!

Waiting for autographs 

Reid was being so cute I had to snap a couple of pictures

Here we are waiting to meet Jasmine, there are no pictures of Jasmine because Aladdin made a surprise appearance and Hayden flipped out...she is so afraid of men that it is getting embarrassing.  I try to tell her she doesn't need to be afraid of strangers when I am with her and tell her someone is safe, but she won't listen to me!

So the line to meet these two was over 4 1/2 hours long!!!  Needless to say we did not wait.  But we did go into the gift shop and see them through an open doorway.

We then hit the road and said goodbye to Orlando!  What an adventure, but so glad we were able to let Hayden have this fun trip.  With military discounts and free lodging and free gas (Paul's work paid for transportation) we were able to go for about $600!  Not too bad.  Can't wait for Reid to be older to do it again someday.