The Happiest Vacation on Earth

My sister Tara had a vision of the entire Christensen family spending a few days together this Spring and what better place to create memories, than The Happiest Place on Earth?! The day before we left, Belle emptied her piggy bank and we made a quick stop at the Disney Store where she cashed in her pennies for some Disney Bucks to spend in the park. She was thrilled to carry her own money in her purse and had no idea what she would very soon be experiencing.
Early Thursday morning Ben, Isabelle and I boarded our plane with the final destination being Orlando, FL. Our flights were quick and easy and Jelly even napped on the way so that she would be full of energy for her first of many late nights. Once in Florida, we grabbed a quick taxi and arrived at our resort just moments behind my parents and Tara who had driven up from Miami, FL. Belle was so excited to be on vacation and mostly to see her favorite people! We settled into our rooms while Chris, Colleen and Max arrived and we then headed to Downtown Disney to spend the evening. Belle and Max were beside themselves with joy and could not believe all of the fun stuff to do already. They were clueless about what was in store for them at Magic Kingdom in the morning. We ate dinner and rode our first carousel before Alee and Nick arrived and we retired to bed before our first big day at the park.

Friday we started our day early on the monorail traveling to Magic Kingdom. Once inside the gates, the magic began. Mickey, Minnie and the entire Disney crew were already singing and dancing with fireworks and confetti in front of the castle and it was barely 9:00am. We began our tour in Adventure Land with our first ride being Aladdin's Magic Carpets. From there we hit close to every ride throughout the day missing only Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain since Belle didn't quiet meet the height requirement. Some of Jelly's favorites were Dumbo, Buzz Lightyear, Goofy's Barnstormer and the Disney Speedway. Ben enjoyed Donald's PhilHarMagic and I especially loved Small World. We ate lunch at the Pinocchio House and watched the Dreams Come True Parade. We met Princesses in Fantasy Land and danced the Hokey Pokey in Frontier Land. It was in the mid 90's with lots of sun and humidity, so we all dripped with sweat all day and were relieved once the sun finally went down. Before we could leave the park for the day, Jelly found a Mickey & Minnie balloon and spent her first Disney Bucks of the trip! As soon as we were out of the gates, Belle was asleep in Ben's arms and it appears that her pants were exhausted too from a long day as they are all but off in the picture I snapped.

Saturday morning came early and Ben and I were grateful that we had put Belle's bed in Grammie and Grandpa's room. They kindly took Belle and Max down to the pool to eat breakfast while the rest of us slept a little bit longer. We then decided to put our swimsuits on and enjoyed a few hours in the water before making our way back to Magic Kingdom again. It was nice to relax at the resort pool and take our time after a busy day. Once inside the park again, we hit all of our favorite rides as well as took some time to see some of the shows we missed the first round. At lunchtime we dined with Winnie the Pooh and Friends in the Crystal Palace and Belle marched with them in a parade around the restaurant. Belle spent some time in the gift shop picking out the perfect souvenirs and came home with some Mickey ears and a stuffed Pluto which she paid for in full with her own money. We were especially excited for the Spectro Magic Parade that night and found the perfect viewing spot right in front of the castle. Belle was in awe of all of the lights and characters and fought to stay awake long enough to see Tinker Belle fly through the sky during the firework show as the park closed. This time, she was asleep in the stroller even before we escaped the front gates and never came to until the following morning. Another wonderfully busy and magical day at Disney World.

With all of the fun, we hardly noticed Grandpa mixing up all sorts of medicines and drugs throughout the day and trying to keep the side-effects of liver-disease in control. He was a great sport and felt really quite well on the vacation. I guess Mickey Mouse really can make all your dreams come true!

Sunday morning, Mothers Day, we ate brunch around the pool and swam for a few hours before packing our bags for home. Belle was so sad to leave all of the magic and especially sad to leave all of her extended family members. Thankfully, she was exhausted and slept right through the hour-plus of time we sat on the plane with a broken part before take-off and was pleasant as we ran through IAH to make our connection. We finally arrived home, without all of our luggage, late Sunday night tired and glad to get into our own beds. It was a vacation to remember and I think we all agree that Disney World truly is...The Happiest Place on Earth!