Disney for a Day

We ended up biting the bullet and getting tickets to DisneyWorld since we were there anyways.  But we went on Saturday so that Taylor and his dad could both come along to help with the child supervision.  While the free tickets didn't work out, we did get a guide who could help us skip lines and get us into secret places.  First ride of the day:  Big Thunder Mountain

And for Isla (since she was too small for a lot of the roller coasters):  visiting the princesses and thankfully skipping the 2 1/2 hour line!!!  Isla was in awe.

And then a little unsure of who these giant people were.  They were so sweet and kept complimenting her sparkly shoes.

A little unsure of herself although Isla is standing beside me right now telling me that Elsa is her "flend".

And here's Rapunzel.

And we're a little more open to the idea of large scale princess people now.

Oh and here's the favorite- Cinderella.

And finally there's the smile we've been waiting to see with this little princess of ours.

Because of our quick line access, we decided to try and hit the highlights at all 4 parks.  I know- we were totally crazy.  The Little Mermaid ride.

While the boys road space mountain, Isla and I rode the test track and I can say now that I've never laughed harder in my life.  I let her drive cause why not and she kept turning the wheel all the way left and we'd crash into the center line and then all the way right and we'd crash again.  We spent the whole ride crashing back and forth and her literally flying across into me and then into the side of the car.  And what was more hilarious was her loud, uncontrolled laughter.  She thought it was the funniest thing and I thought she was.

Battling Zurg in Toy Story Mania was a highlight for the boys even if Taylor still beat them.

Then it was off through a secret back door to drive to the Animal Kingdom where because we were sitting on the front row, the kids got to go help represent our section in the Lion King show.

Ethan did a great Lion roar to demonstrate for our section.

And then while the boys went off to ride a scary dinosaur ride Isla and I rode the cuter, flying dinosaurs.

And she was in heaven being able to steer.

See?  Random secret doors.  Who knew there were exits behind them and not just offices or storage closets.  So sneaky and fun.

And then it was into the van (complete with the correct car seats) to zip to Hollywood Studios.

And walking in through the back of each park was amazing on many levels- seeing the buildings from new angles, not having to walk miles through the gift shops and main street just to get back to the rides.  Definitely cush.

Isla tuckered out while the brave ones in our group rode the Tower of Terror which was good because we still had 7 more hours of fun to pack in.

Taylor can't get enough of the Toy Story shooting games so we had to ride both of them- several times.

Right about her normal bedtime, Isla started melting down.  Who could blame her?  Up since 5:30am, 3 parks under her belt, more fun than anyone should have in a single day.  So what was grandpa's answer to this little sad face?  "Do you need a princess minnie hat?"  Why, yes she does.  And look at that smile.

And suddenly she had all the energy she needed to last the rest of the night.  Take off the hat?  NO WAY!

See I was there.

Entertaining ourselves waiting for the show.

Oh, and Isla also got brand new princess pants since I neglected to change her in the chaos of park hopping and didn't realize I forgot to pack a change of clothes.

It was a good family together day.

And she sure is our little princess.

Out another secret exit.  After 3 parks and over 14 hours, we were off to Epcot.  I won't lie.  We were all really dragging and questioning whether to bag the whole thing or not.  But we pressed on and found our second wind and boy was it worth it.

Epcot was empty and so much fun in the dark.  The boys rode every single ride while Isla and I explored Finding Nemo and the manatee in the aquarium.

And to end the day we stayed for the fireworks laser light show over the lake.  We were there 20 minutes early to get our good seats and what did the kids do to entertain themselves?  Well of course they couldn't sit down or they'd pass out.  They danced.  Jumped and danced and ran around until it started.  And then it was one ride back to our real ride home and everyone passed out.  Perfect day.