Disneyworld 2009 - Part 1

Mama said that since she has been so busy lately keeping up with the house stuff & trying to get our family well again, that I should write about our trip to Disneyworld. She has already put a few notes together, but I'll take care of the rest! I thought a good time to do that would be during her afternoon nap...so here goes...

Nolen Family Vacation to Disneyworld in Orlando, FL

October 15- October 25

Two large suitcases, two carry-on bags, one purse, one diaper bag, one stroller, one snack bag, and three very excited individuals were in the car and headed to the MSP airport on Thursday morning. Parker was sqealing & talking with anticipation & excitement the whole way into the airport; it made Clay & me smile because usually, his reaction is more of the "laid-back, take everything in contentedly" type reaction!

Day 1: Travel Day
"Why ride in my stroller when Daddy can roll me on his bags!"

"Ooh! Daddy, is this where the train picks us up?! I love getting to ride on the train!"


Our flight was leaving just after lunchtime, so we had packed homemade sandwiches in our snack bag to eat at the gate. It was the perfect solution...we didn't have to throw out any leftover food in our refridgerator & it saved us money!
Dressed & ready to fly
"After taking a short nap, mama got out my goodie bag! Inside, was my first coloring & sticker book with Mickey & all his friends, a few borrowed cars & trucks from friends, a new Sesame Street book about Grover & his farm animals, a cool new Munchkin Snack cup filled with one of my favorite snacks...Goldfish!...and a new toddler cup decorated with cars that has a fun straw! I had fun getting to color & play with mama & daddy. Daddy even let me play his airplane game on his iphone! After he saw how much fun I was having coloring, he wanted in on the fun too! I shared my crayons with him. I really enjoyed my ride to Florida on the airplane."
"Mama wanted me to be familiar with my Disney friends before we arrived at the parks, so she showed me all the characters in my new book. Nana & Poppie had sent me a few early Disney happies a couple of weeks prior to the trip including my Tigger backpack friend & a couple of Disneyworld movies to watch! Pick out Chip & Dale in a crowd? No problem! I've got these characters down!"
"Mama & Daddy let me peek out the window to see; I caught a glimpse of a pretty rainbow!"
"Mama & Daddy wanted me to sport my new "Daddy's Co-Pilot" shirt for the travel day...for some reason it always makes people smile at airports."

"When we arrived in Orlando, we got to ride the Disney's Magical Express bus to our resort at Saratoga Springs; it was a fun 40 minute drive! I wondered what had happened to all of our bags after we got on the bus; we didn't see them again until we got to our room later that night. It must have been magic! Aunt KK & Aunt Lacey picked us up as soon as we pulled into the Saratoga Springs parking lot; they were taking us to meet everyone at Downtown Disney for dinner. In only 2 hours from landing in Orlando, we were already at the Raglan Road Irish Pub & Grill ready for supper with everyone! The whole family was thrilled to see us & had just arrived a couple of hours before us: Nana, Poppie, Aunt Ashleigh, Aunt KK & Aunt Lacey. The pub had yummy food...mama said the beer cheese soup was delicious...and neat entertainment. Every few minutes an Irish dancer would come out & do a routine in the middle of the restaurant, & a band played for most of the evening. It was a lively, family atmosphere. Poppie & Aunt Ashleigh took me up right beside the stage so I could watch the band members up close & dance to the music! Mama had a good time telling everyone at supper how great the whole day had gone & how good I was! Daddy was ready for some good food & excited to chime into lengthy conversations with his sisters & parents."
"When we arrived in our suite after walking off the food a bit at Downtown Disney, Aunt Lacey pulled out her delicious homemade cookies for everyone! The fall leaves & pumpkins were a hit!

I really liked our rooms! There was an entryway, two large bedrooms with 2 bathrooms (one was a master bath with 3 separate rooms), a living room area & a kitchen....oh! and lots of closets which my mom & aunts seemed to like best."
"Aunt Ashleigh couldn't wait to play with me during my bath. Yup...my aunts love to spoil me. Who am I to argue?!"
"Nana had picked up these fun friends for me...they were special treats...only to be played with at the restaurants at lunch & dinnertime. They were my very favorite during the whole trip!!! I squealed each time mama took them out of her bag to let me play with them!

At this point it was off to bed for me for a good night's rest so I would be ready for my first full day at Disneyworld!"

Day 2: Animal Kingdom (a.m.) & Epcot (p.m.)
"Riding the bus to Animal Kingdom was an adventure!"

"Me & my Aunt KK waiting outside Animal Kingdom."
"By chance, we walked up to a perfect photo opportunity with my first Disney friend, Pluto!"
"There were lots of family 'pow-wows' at the parks; we had to get organized & start our plan of action at the beginning of each park!"
"One of my favorite things about Animal Kingdom was getting to watch the fish, ducks & swans play in the water."

" Walking through the Pangani Forest Expedition Trail with Aunt KK & the others. We discovered birds, fish, magnificent troops of gorillas, an underwater hippo viewing area & more!"

"...we even saw this really large & gross looking African Bullfrog...well, my mom & aunts thought it was gross looking!"

"Aunt Lacey enjoyed watching the fish in the tanks with me. I didn't want to leave this area until mama & daddy told me about the upcoming monkeys!"

"My Nana & Poppie!"

"Mama stopped a man walking by to snap our first group picture of the trip at Animal Kingdom. I was thirsty & decided not to smile for this one! You understand though!"

"While waiting on the 'Finding Nemo' musical to start, I got to hop around in everyone's laps & play! Such fun!"

"Mama & Daddy...I took this picture myself...good huh? Well, maybe I really didn't...but I was watching!"

"I loved to point things out to daddy as we passed by exhibits & fun things! If I wasn't running or riding in my stroller, daddy was letting me ride on his shoulders. There was a much better view from up there anyway!

Some of the other fun things we experienced at Animal Kingdom included a ride on the Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki's Planet Watch & then Nana watched me while the others took a wild ride on the Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain. Throughout the day we snacked on apple slices, trail food & grapes that Poppie had packed for us in our backpack!

....next stop...Epcot! Before our dinner reservations, we stopped for a memory in front of the big Epcot ball! Mama was excited because she said the weather was really cooperating for her pictures today!"

"We enjoyed a relaxing ride on Spaceship Earth; I got to ride with Poppie. He let me handle the screen...we listened to the narration in Chinese! Thanks Poppie! You're the best!"

"Before walking on towards Biergarten Restaurant, we played around Spaceship Earth. Daddy even let me help drive his car!!"

"We were lucky because it was just starting to rain as we approached the restaurant. Aunt KK & Aunt Lacey were the only ones with an umbrella up...of anyone at the park (besides Poppie who had one over the stroller)...but it made them happy because their hair didn't get sprinkled on!"

"My silly Daddy & my Aunt Ashleigh outside the restaurant! They were killing time! We had to wait a little bit before we got to go in & sit down. We were soooo ready to eat by the time they called our names!"

"Biergarten offered a buffet style choice of German food & a lively band that played a half an hour of traditional German music."

"After dinner, we stayed to watch the fireworks on the water show...I enjoyed watching them from Daddy's shoulders...then when I got tired my Aunt Ash held me! The perfect end to a perfect day!

...Check back soon for another update...mama is waking up from her nap now so I'd better go take care of her!"