Disney

Peyton's first trip to Disney was a lot of fun! It had been about 15 years since Patrick and I had each last been to Disney World, and many things have changed. Neither of us had ever been to Animal Kingdom, and a lot has changed in Epcot and Hollywood Studios too. I wouldn't say much is different about The Magic Kingdom. The parks were a little more crowded than we anticipated they would be, but we eventually figured out how to get the most out of our experience. There is always something to do in Disney, so we tried to get as much out of our time there as possible, without compromising Peyton's nap and sleep schedule. I think we did pretty well overall, with a minimal amount of melt-downs on his part.

We left home on a Friday night after work and drove to Savannah, GA, which was about 6 hours. We had anticipated that Peyton would fall asleep in the car and it would give us a chance to do some decent driving in peace and quiet. However, Peyton had other ideas and stayed awake asking about Mickey Mouse until about 10:45pm. He finally fell asleep and we drove a little longer. Once we settled into the hotel, Patrick and I crashed. I think I had just started to fall asleep when I heard, "Mommy? I want to get back in the car and keep driving to Mickey's house." It was 1:30am. My memory is a little foggy but I think I ended up sleeping on the floor that night to try to get Peyton to settle down in his sleeping bag. He was up again at 6:30am, bright and early! We drove on the next day to Gainesville, FL to see our good friends the Boones and the Harris's. We had a great time grilling and hanging out, but our little one was of course anxious to get to Mickey's house. We promised him it would only be one more day.

We finally arrived at our hotel and got all checked in on Sunday, eager and bright eyed to start exploring Disney. We weren't going to go to the parks until the next day, so we decided to head over to Fort Wilderness, a Disney campground, to catch the Chip and Dale Sing Along and Campfire. We took a bus, a boat and another bus to get there (2 hours later). Good thing we left our hotel with plenty enough time to spare (so we thought!) We had a great time singing songs, dancing, and making smores, so it kind of made the trek there worth it. (Although next time I will just get in my car and drive to Ft. Wilderness 10 minutes away).

All Peyton could talk about on our loooooong drive down to Disney was when he was going to get to see Mickey Mouse, so the first thing we did in the Magic Kingdom on Monday was look for Mickey Mouse. We weren't sure exactly how he would react when the actual meeting time came, but Peyton walked right up to Mickey and Minnie and gave each of them a big hug. As the week progressed, he met Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Buzz Lightyear, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eyore, and Snow White. His favorite thing about visiting the Magic Kingdom? Riding the monorail. The rides, they were ok. But the monorail - that got him excited!

Epcot has an amazing show in the evening called Illuminations. Its a laser/fireworks show and Peyton loved it.




He also loved the Finding Nemo ride. Especially all of the aquariums that you can see after the ride. Maybe its time he gets an aquarium..... Anyway, we also took Peyton on the Fast Track and Soarin' rides in Epcot, both of which were rides that we weren't sure he would like. Fast Track is a test track simulation by GM, similar to the types of tests the cars they manufacture go through. It goes up to about 60 miles an hour towards the end. He wanted to go back on it after it was over. Soarin' was definitely my favorite ride. It simulates a ride in a hang glider over mountains, water, etc. You're actually looking into a 180 screen and feel like you're flying. Peyton thought it was pretty cool too, although he's not talking about it like he talks about the monorail.

We did a character breakfast one morning and Mickey came by our table to say hello. We also got to see Goofy and Donald. Minnie and Pluto were nearby as well.

The Safari ride in Animal Kingdom was definitely one of the highlights. We got to see giraffes, gorillas, and elephants. It was raining quite a bit that day, but we got our Disney ponchos for an absurd amount of money and kept on going! We actually went back a few days later to ride some of the other rides and see more of the animals. Peyton's favorite part about this park was the Dinosaur playground. Lots of slides, and a sandpit where he could dig for dinosaur bones!



Overall, we had a great trip. We learned a lot about how to do Disney and we'll do some things differently next time. But until then, I think all that Peyton will talk about and remember is the monorail.