Disney

We decided again this year that we just weren't quite ready to go back to doing our traditional Thanksgiving festivities... We'd been wanting to take Annabelle to Disney, so we decided to do that for Thanksgiving. My Dad is out of town again, so my Momma went with us. We were so glad she came, but not nearly as excited as Annabelle. The rest of our family are so understanding of what we need to/can do....and we missed being with all of them for sure!

We left early Thursday morning and arrived at our hotel mid-morning. We checked our bags and caught the tram to The Magic Kingdom.

Devin & Belle walking down Mainstreet USA


Was it ever packed! Holy cow, it was unreal the people that were there on Thanksgiving Day! Crazy...

Annabelle started the night before with cold symptoms, and she definitely wasn't feeling her happy, smiley self that day... but she still managed to have a good time.



When we got to the park, we got AB her "First Visit" button.

Then it was off to ride some rides and see some sights! We stopped by Cinderella's Castle to watch the Dreams show.

Next it was off to wait in line for a ride... There was at least an hour wait for EVERYTHING... an HOUR...with a (almost) one year old! Eeek... I don't remember having ever gone on the Peter Pan ride, so we got in line for that. It was dark and scary. I felt like a dog for wasting an hour waiting in line for it. I had so hoped to do something that Annabelle would just love... Peter Pan wasn't it! Ha....

We really wanted Belle to get to see Mickey & Minnie so we headed to ToonTown to catch them at the Judges Tent.... AB perked right up when she saw her mouse friends! It was the most she'd smiled all day! She loved it...

After that, we rode the Disney Railway around the park and she loved that, too.

We met a family on the train ride that were visiting from California. They couldn't believe we lived in Florida. I guess Floridians really are the minority, in our own state, at Disney...I'd even venture to say that Americans are the minority... there were so many foreign travelers.... I guess 'ole Mickey is globally popular.

After our train ride, we caught the tram back to our hotel and rested a little bit, got changed and went to have our Thanksgiving Dinner. I'll be honest, I don't really like Thanksgiving food. (GASP!) I know... I don't like much other than the turkey, the Sister Shubert yeast rolls, the mashed potatoes, the pickle tray (ha) & the pecan pie. Honestly, I'd rather have a steak over that any day, and it was my lucky day, because that's just what we had! We decided it was worth it to just eat at a restaurant in the hotel than trying to go somewhere else, so we ate at Shula's Steakhouse.

Yum!! That beat turkey handsdown! Ha...

this was in the lobby of our hotel...it was a massive tree made out of white poinsettias and had a toy train that went around it...

After dinner, we put on some warm clothes and changed Annabelle into her "cold-weather Disney outfit" that her Granny got her for the trip and headed back to catch the tram back to the park.

Grammy & Annabelle waiting on the tram

We picked up her Mickey Mouse ears, rode "It's a Small World"

The reason I look so "tickled" in this picture is because I'd asked the girl in front of us on the boat, if she'd take our picture. She was in the front row and we were behind her---she thought I meant would she take pictures of the ride... (since she was in the front seat)... it was so funny when she turned around with the camera and started taking pictures of the scenery... her sister, hit her and told her that we wanted her to take a picture of us! It was just funny because the look on her face when I asked her was hilarious...after hearing what she thought I wanted, I can see why....

(*You were right, Ava, Belle loved the ride)! After that, we watched the Spectromagic Light Parade & fireworks. In years passed, we have always watched the fireworks behind the castle and haven't ever seen Tinkerbelle fly out. This year we were right in front of the castle and got to see Tink!

The fireworks were much quieter on that side (which was a good thing, we were worried they would scare AB...we tried to leave before they started, but ended up getting stuck because of the crowd) She did great, though! My mom always says that it's worth the ticket price just to see the fireworks! I have to agree, they are awesome...just that whole little deal gets me every time... I can't see it and not cry... it's so sweet... Jimney Cricket talking about wishes and dreams and then they play that music ("Starlight, Starbright, First star I see tonight...") and bam!, I'm in tears... Love it...

That night, despite the fact that there were thousands of people there and you could hardly turn around without bumping into someone, we got to meet up with my cousin and his new wife who were on their honeymoon! It was great to get to see them---the whole day, everytime we spotted the Mickey Mouse ears with the bridal veil on, we'd look to see if it was them! (It wasn't and we had to plan our meeting, but we were sure glad we got to see them!)

Friday morning we got up and walked around and checked out the resort...

We stayed at the "Walt Disney World Dolphin"... and it was beautiful. The grounds were so nice and there was definitely lots to do! It would be a really fun resort in the summertime. It had a playground, a pond with paddle boats (shaped like swans), and a pool for everyone (adult, kids with fun slide and waterfall, and splash pool for toddlers)...

AB loved these ducks! She thought they were so funny. The ducks weren't the only ones in the pool either! Yall, there were kids swimming! I'm sure they were laughing at us in our warm clothes all bundled up, because 60 is COLD in Florida! Ha...

waiting on the car, so we could head home....

Although it wasn't a "traditional" turkey & dressing Thanksgiving, we spent the day with thankful hearts and it really did turn out good.

I can't wait to take Belle back to Disney! I just know every trip is going to be more fun... I just hope the lines die down a little before our next trip! Ha... (We were glad neither of our Dad's were with us to have to endure the crowd and lines...neither of Annabelle's grandfather's do well in those kinds of situations! Ha.... Last year my Dad & Mom took my brother, sister-in-law and their kids to Disney for Christmas and my Daddy said it was the last time he'd ever go! Ha.... I have a feeling, though, that one day he'll eat those words... all it would take is some certain little girl asking Pop to go with her, and he'd be packing his bag! Ha.... I'm pretty sure the same would be true for Annabelle's Pappy, too!)

~amw~