Disney World: The Magic Kingdom

Ahh!  We finally made it to the Magic Kingdom where all dreams come true!  We had SO much fun there!

 

Grandpa & Grandma were SO excited to be in Disney World with their adorable 12 grandchildren.  Now that 2 more babies have since joined the group we'll have to go back!  Jacob, at 9 years old, was the oldest kid there.  CRAZY!

Here's our family in front of Cinderella's castle ready to start a new day!

 

 Daddy, Nathan & Jonah on the carousel!

You can't always tell from the pictures but this was a hard trip for Jonah.  The minute we arrived at the airport he had a melt down.  He knew there would be a lot of new, unknown things on this trip and it was more than he could cope with.  While we had a great time, it took A LOT, and I mean A LOT, of energy focused on Jonah to keep him functioning.  It was pretty exhausting.  Luckily, Disney is wonderful and they gave us a disability pass.  We tried really hard not to abuse it.  If a line was 15 minutes or less we waited in line with everybody else.  Much longer than that the anticipation of a ride could kill it for Jonah.  We're talking about a kid who won't even go down the slide in his own backyard or sit to swing on swings.  My ultimate goal was to get him on Dumbo.  That was hard since his criteria for going on rides included NO flying, NO water, NO darkness, No scary things (Ursala in the Little Mermaid totally wigged him out), and NO fast anything.  Dumbo flies, so it was a tricky one.  But I showed him how to work the stick so he could keep his Dumbo low and that convinced him to give it a try.  I was amazed at all the new things he tried!  I'm so proud of him!  Even It's a Small World was hard because we were in boats.  He could barely relax and enjoy it because he was so focused on finding the way out during the entire ride.  It took 6 or 7 times on the carousel for Jonah to graduate from the stationary chariot to a horse that went up and down.  I didn't know if he'd go on ANY rides at all.  But he did!  Good job, Jonah!  Trying new things CAN be fun!

 

 Jonah's 2 favorites were the Race Car Speedway and the Toy Story ride where he got to shoot at Zurg.  We probably did abuse the disability pass on those 2 rides, but considering all the rides he didn't go on I'd say it was okay.  None of the workers ever said a word or gave us dirty looks no matter how many times we got back on the rides.

 

We also had a girls' lunch with the princesses.  To save a little money we had our own boutique instead of going to the one at Disney World.  Since Ashley has all girls anyway, we set up in her condo where the girls all had their hair (complete with glitter), make up and nails (thanks, Amy) done.  I love these opportunities to spend some girly time with Sarah.  She often feels overrun by the boys and these moments are her pay day!

 

 Mommy & Sarah at Cinderella's castle having lunch!

 

 Sarah and her girl cousins with Cinderella.

 

Grandma with all of her granddaughters!

 

Sarah, Jonah, Mommy & Nathan with Mickey Mouse

During our trip Nathan developed a fascination with Mickey!  It was so cute!  I have to say, at first he was a little scared of Mickey but Mickey was so sweet and cute with him that Nathan quickly warmed up.  Mickey shooed me away so we could get some cute shots!

 

 I wanted this picture by these totem poles because I remember as a girl my parents making me stand by these for a picture (where is that, Mom?) and being absolutely TERRIFIED of the sounds they made.  I was certain little savages were going to come out and get me.  I couldn't believe my parents would put me in such danger!  Luckily my kids didn't have the same fear I did!

 This was the highlight of Jonah's trip:  seeing Buzz Lightyear!  He could hardly wait.  I think we saw him multiple times.

 Sarah loves Rapunzel!

 

 The princesses only kiss the cutest of the boys!

 

For our last night my parents took us out to the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue!  It was a yummy family style dinner with an old time play.  It was really fun.  Jacob felt sick through all of dinner and then perked up once we got home, which was a bummer.  We really had a wonderful time together.  I don't get to see my sisters and their families very often so it felt SO good to be together!  Thanks, Mom and Dad, for a truly memorable and wonderful experience!