The Magic Kingdom...

...it really is Magic you know!

I've been to Disney World more times than I can count but the last time I went was 10 years ago. This is seriously one of my favorite places on Earth! Chris has never been to Disney World. He's actually never been further south than Jacksonville unless you count the few minutes we spent in Miami before boarding a cruise ship on our honeymoon.

I have long anticipated taking Ivy to Disney World. I think I probably started thinking about it before she was born. But after many discussions, Chris and I had decided that we would probably make the trip when she was 4 or 5. But my girl is obsessed with Tinkerbell and the Princesses and when a Disney movie starts she screams with delight when Cinderella's castle comes on the screen. So since we were in Orlando and at a hotel that is only 8 miles from Disney World we thought it would be silly not to take our girl to see the "Real" Cinderella castle. We started talking about it with her a couple of weeks before the trip and said "Ivy, you get to see Cinderella's castle in two weeks!" She would clap and talk about it and then instantly look at Chris and say "C'mon Daddy! Look at pictures!" and Chris would have to pull up the Disney website and go through all the pictures with her. She still says "I see Cinderella's castle in two weeks! OK!" And as much as we try to correct her on that she likes to say it and it's really cute. She was watching Peter Pan the other day and when the castle came up she said "Mommy-Daddy we go tomorrow!" Ahhh, I love that little girl! If we lived in Orlando I would take her every day!

The build up was great! When we pulled onto the road and we started seeing the big signs you drive under I started getting butterflies in my stomach. I couldn't believe we were actually there. Once we bought our tickets and walked in I was so overwhelmed with emotions that I wanted to cry. I couldn't believe that I had my little girl at Disney World! Disney World holds some of my favorite memories from my childhood and the fact that I got the chance to do with my daughter made me feel like the best Mom in the world.

Well when we actually made it inside the Magic Kingdom she was in awe! I almost think she was in shock at how big the castle is!

On the Ferry making our way to the Magic Kingdom.

Walking up to the castle.

And no, we weren't trying to do the same pose but I was trying to get her to look at the camera.

Our Family shot in front of the castle.

And this is officially my new favorite picture!

The first thing we did was take Ivy through the castle (after she just stood and stared at with her jaw dropped for a few minutes). She looked at all the pictures on the wall and we talked about the story of Cinderella some. Then we took her to ride Cinderella's Carousel, which she of course loved and I think she was still in shock, but she enjoyed it. On every single ride through out the day she had what seemed like a blank stare through the entire thing just trying to take it all in and then when it stopped we would ask "Ivy was that fun?" And she would only reply "Again."

Our second ride of the day was Dumbo the flying elephant. I showed her how to use the joy stick to move him up and down but she said "No Mommy! Up!" I guess this girl knows what she wants.

Right before take off.

View of Cinderella's Castle and Carousel from Dumbo.

The it was off to "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" She didn't say much on the ride but smiled a few times and when we got off the ride of course she said. "Again!" And she found plenty of things in the store that she liked, including and oversized Tigger and Eeyore.

Then we rode the tea cups! I was a little nervous about this and I don't know why. I don't remember ever riding the tea cups before. I had no doubt that Ivy would love it but I was still nervous. Of course she sat there with a blank stare until about half way through the ride...and then she let out this hysterically loud giggle! Daddy really knows how to spin that tea cup! We came back later in the day and rode them again because she loved it so much.

The it was off to Mickey's Toontown fair. There was lots of fun stuff to do there that was just Ivy's size. She got to visit Mickey and Minnie's house, Donald's boat, and Goofy's Barnstormer. The Barnstormer is a kiddie roller coaster, the height requirement is 35 inches. We thought for sure she was too short and we were about to walk away when the cast members said, just let her stand next to it and see...so we did and OH MY GOSH! My daughter is just barely 35 inches tall...Chris and I were in shock! Now Chris thought that the roller coaster would scare her...I said whatever she isn't scared of anything. So we put her on it and she loved it! I even got her to lift her arms up the 2nd time around because at the end of the first we got a very enthusiastic "AGAIN!"

So while we were at Mickey's Toontown we let Ivy go meet the princesses. We talked about it while we were waiting and she seemed excited that she was going to meet Cinderella, Belle, and Sleeping Beauty. When we walked in and Ivy could see them her eyes got really big. We were the last one in line from the group that they let in and Belle walked out of her little area and right up to us and started talking to Ivy. It was the funniest thing....Ivy's jaw dropped...she was star struck. I wish we had gotten a picture of that but oh well. She asked Ivy her name and she couldn't answer so I did for her and then Belle said "It's so nice to meet you Princess Ivy." I said "Ivy who is this talking to you?" and in the faintest little whisper she said "Belle." It was sooooo sweet!

Then it was off to see Mickey's and Minnie's house...

...then we rode the train all around the park to get a little rest...

...and then Ivy passed out. Bless her heart she was so tired.

After she woke up she was ready to get movin' again. So we headed off to meet Mickey and Minnie. Which she loved but played bashful and then we hopped back on the train and rode over to Main Street to hang out for a while. Ivy got to meet Tigger and Pooh and I was a little worried because she kept saying "No. Mommy. No." and I thought she was scared. But when we got up there it was like she was meeting two of her old buddies. She was giving them high fives and bumps!

Then we took the opportunity to take a few snapshots of Walt and Mickey and Cinderella's Castle. There was a show going on the Ivy got to sit on my shoulders to watch. It had Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy but she really loved it when Snow White and Cinderalla came out and then there was Captain Hook and Smee and I heard a little giggle when she saw Peter Pan and Wendy. There was a lot going on at once but she enjoyed it.

Then we went back to meet the Fairies...afterall Ivy did wear her Tinkerbell dress. We waited in in line FOREVER! At least it was cool in there. There were two little girls in front of us that Ivy had fun playing with. One would pretend that she fell down and Ivy would rush to help her up and then Ivy would fall and she would help Ivy up. It was entertaining for a while but then it got kind of annoying but it's better than whining and complaining. Now I assumed that with as long as we waited we would get to meet all five of the Fairies so I was a little disappointed when there was only three of them to meet...but Ivy only cared about one. She wanted to see Tinkerbell. She loves her some Tinkerbell! We got in there and when she saw her she got the biggest grin and her eyes were so wide and sparkling. The first Fairy she met was Fawna...she came and got Ivy and took her over to her little section but Tink didn't have anyone with her so she came and stood by us while Ivy got her picture taken with Fawna but as you can see she wasn't interested in Fawna....she was looking straight at Tinkerbell.

After her picture was taken with Fawna, Tinkerbell went up to Ivy and took her hand and said..."Hey Ivy, I like Ivy, you know why? Because it's green!" She said the funniest stuff and I would have to say she was the perfect Tinkerbell!

And then there was Terrance...he's the keeper of the pixie dust. Ivy wasn't very interested but she took a picture. He could have at least thrown some glitter on her.

While we were waiting in line for Tinkerbell a big storm came through and it poured rain. Everything got soaked so we couldn't use the stroller any more and thank goodness that Ivy decided not to wet her pull up because the extra ones got soaked. So there aren't too many pictures from the rest of the day because it kept raining off and on. We walked over to ride Peter Pan because that is my favorite ride ever at Disney World and Ivy has been watching the movie everyday! It's her new favorite! But the line said it was a sixty minute wait so we rode "It's a Small World" instead and when we got up to the boats the lady that was telling people where to go saw Ivy and fell in love with her. She started talking to Ivy an telling her how pretty she was. I thought we were gonna get lucky and get to be in the first row and the lady asked us "Have you guys ridden Peter Pan yet?" We said no because the line was too long. Then not only did we get to ride in the front row but she gave us all Fast Pass tickets for Peter Pan! I was so excited! What would we do without Ivy being so cute? She loved Peter Pan but I don't think she loved it as much as I did.

It kept raining off and on but we still made our way around the park. We walked over to Tommorrowland because a lot of it has covered rides but it was very wet. We did however bust the camera out in the rain when Ivy got to meet Buzz Lightyear. She thought he was super funny because he was dancing to the music and she thought it was even funnier when I started dancing with him.

Then as we were getting ready to leave the sun came out again and we decided that our girl couldn't come to Disney World and not eat a Mickey Mouse ice cream for Heaven's sake. And boy did she love that ice cream! The the exception of a bite for me and a bite for her Daddy she ate the entire thing...even licked the stick when she was done.

And then we posed with all the statues. Ivy loved them all and I had my favorites too!

I had to pose with Bur Rabbit because my Grandma would read me this story everyday when I was little.

Hmmmmm...

Lovin' on Minnie

Kissin' on Donald

Posin' with Pinocchio

Huggin' on Pluto

and lickin' on Dumbo (I'm not sure why she feels the need to lick everything)

Then after she got done trying to lick Dumbo we did a little shopping and then rode the monorail back to the front of the park to head to the car. She picked herself out a Mickey Mouse and a bracelet and then I let her pick out a coffee cup for each of her Grandparents and I must say she knows her grandparents well because I think she picked the perfect one for each of them! Overall it was such a great day and I wouldn't trade anything for it or change one thing about it...not even the rain! We had fun walking through puddles and believe me every puddle Ivy saw she stepped in. While I wish she could have gotten to meet Ariel and Woody and Jesse it was still perfect for her first visit. We'll go back soon...I don't think Chris believed me when I told him that as soon as you walk through the gates no matter how old you are you are instantly a kid again. Needless to say he's a fan now and already anxious about planning our next trip...which makes me very very happy!