A Princess is born......

Like we mentioned in our previous entries the next trip was already being planned before we left Orlando for the first time. We knew there would be a new baby for that next trip and a young one at that. Our daughter Mia was born in November of 2008, yes a princess. It was decided that we would celebrate Peyton's birthday again and do another May trip. So trip #2 May 2009. This is that trip that started all of the Disney research that we still do this very day. Like Eric had mentioned, the Animal Kingdom Lodge was suggested to us and after looking into we were intrigued. An African Savannah with animals outside your resort window? I'm in! We stayed at the Jambo house and fell in love, absolutely a home away from home. The restaurant that is located in the Jambo house is called Boma and is an absolute favorite for us. They have a neat African inspired menu that we think is just great! The exotic look that this resort has is breathtaking. The staff is so nice, as we checked in a gentleman named Elmo from Swahili sat on the floor with our son and colored. The real surprise however was when we got to our room and I walked out onto the balcony and a giraffe was standing there feeding. Amazing! I found myself waking up early every morning just to run out and see the animals walking by for breakfast.

I will be perfectly honest, I thought taking a 6 month old to Disney World would be a lot harder than it was. The sights and sounds seemed to keep little Mia interested and when she got sleepy she would take a nice nap in her stroller. I think Disney makes this even easier with the Rider Swap program. For those unfamiliar with this, you get a swap ticket at the entrance of a ride that you cannot take a baby on. For instance,  I would get a swap ticket, my husband would take our son on Big Thunder Mountain, they would get off and I would then be put in the fast pass line with my son so that I could then ride with him also. Peyton of course loved this because he was able to ride with both parents and also experience the ride two times in a row, great idea!

I was surprised of all the rides we were all able to ride together, to name a few Dumbo, Pirates, Magic Carpets, Toy Story Mania, and many more. Mia loved her first visit as we could tell, she made sure she met her princesses and has been in awe of them since. Naturally I loved taking our daughter to see all the princesses and the "girl things".

This was the first year that we experienced the new Pixar Place that opened in Hollywood Studios the summer before, which we enjoyed. Buzz and Woody have a meet and great in Andy's room which is neat and the ride Toy Story Mania is a ton of fun. We are a family that loves the Pixar movies so the parade in this park is also a favorite because it has all of the Pixar characters in it. The Animation court yard became a favorite spot to meet characters.  Peyton loved seeing Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, Sorcerer Mickey, and the Incredibles. 

Peyton had another fantastic birthday dinner and cake at Chef Mickey's, (told you we started a tradition). We also got a cool photo pass shot that was a neat addition to his birthday invitations that year ;) 

This was by far the most rain I had ever seen, anywhere. There was 9 inches, yes I meant 9, inches of rain during this week. It was more than Orlando had seen in the month of May in twenty years. This of course made things a little more tricky.  We even had ponchos covering the stroller. We held little Mia in a carrier strapped to one of our chests for a good part of the days.  I highly recommend one of these if you are taking a tiny tot. 

Surprising as it may be even with all of the rain this trip brought we had a blast and made it through just fine. We saw Fantasmic! for the first time and WOW, love this show, (even in the rain). Some of the other new things that we found on this trip were the Disney Dining Plan, 'Ohana (oh how I love 'Ohana), T-Rex at Downtown Disney. 

We thought because we stayed longer this trip we would have "covered" everything, didn't happen, and still hasn't. There has been something new to see and do each and every time. 

Do As Dreamers Do~Kim