We just returned from our holiday vacation at Walt Disney World. And at Disney, Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year.
From the tallest Christmas trees Little Man (or his mother, fror that matter) has even seen to gingerbread houses big enough for a person to walk in, Christmas Magic was around every corner of our vacation. We stayed in The Wilderness Lodge, which was the perfect setting for a holiday vacation. The outdoorsy, rustic feel of the Lodge lent itself beautifully to the decorations, and it was truly like living in a gingerbread cabin for a week.
We spoiled ourselves (and the kid) rotten. We ate at our favorite restaurant, Ohana (at The Polynesian Resort), every morning for breakfast. We stayed up well past our bedtimes each night we were there, wandering the parks under starry skies or watching the Electric Water Parade from the beach of The Wilderness Lodge. We explored all the nooks and crannies of the resort, from the lobby to the beach to the geyser that erupted each hour. Little Man and I visited the Kid's Activity Center every day and made a craft.
We had an unexpected delay on the monorail ("mawa rawl!") on our first day which left us at a standstill in front of the Magic Kingdom, in just the right place to see the castle and--every few minutes--the train as it chugged by. This was extremely thrilling to our Little Man. We rode the monorail circuit several times and looked at all the sights, including my favorite: the wedding pavilion, where our fairytale started seven years ago. Little Man even got a special "Monorail Captain" sticker, which he wore proudly all day and was then placed in his memory book.
We visited two parks, Epcot and The Magic Kingdom, and Little Man surprised us by requesting to meet his favorite characters.
Husband and I purchased an autograph book for him, thinking we would have the characters sign it during our character dining meals. We would add photos and it would be a nice book for Little Man to look at when we were back home.
While visiting the UK in Epcot, Little Man spotted Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. We stood in line to see them, and I was expecting the same reaction from him as when we visited in the fall.
But Little Man was better prepared this time: he gave Tigger a high five and patted Pooh's nose. He waved and smiled at them, and as we were leaving, Little Man looked wistfully over his shoulder and said, "Bye bye Pooh Ba."
Pooh Bear wasn't the only thing Little Man enjoyed at Epcot. We had a good time riding the "Finding Nemo" ride and watching the fish in the big aquarium. Little Man was content to sit and watch all the colors float by and point out the colors he knew.
He was a fan of the big fountain, and we watched it "dance" to music several times that day. We wandered the worlds, having a fantastic dinner in Japan and purchasing Little Man a (foam) sword in Germany.
At the Magic Kingdom, we watched Mickey and his pals arrive on the shiny red steam engine to open the park. Little Man looked like he might burst--Mickey and a choo choo! How overwhelming. We headed straight for what we knew would be Little Man's favorite rides--the carousel, the Winnie the Pooh ride, and the People Mover. It was on the People Mover that we spotted Stitch. Little Man had seen him a few times at breakfast and had warmed to him over the week, and was insistent that we find him once we got off the ride.
We found Experiment 626 causing trouble in Tomorrowland--he didn't have anyone to play with and was threatening to slide down a banister. Little Man was happy to oblige and we spent quite some time with Stitch, giving fist bumps and hugs.
After a spin around the whole kingdom on the train, we asked Little Man what we wanted to do.
"Mi Mi!" Little Man answered promptly.
"Mickey?" I asked him. I was answered with the grin he gives when he's relieved I understand him.
So we headed to Town Hall where Mickey hangs out during the day. And as we waited in line, I gave my usual refrain of, "It's almost our turn. Remember Mickey is big like Mom and Dada. Are you sure you want to see him?"
"Aye," he answered each time.
Soon it was our turn with the big cheese himself. After a moment of shyness, Little Man opened up to Mickey, giving him a kiss on the nose (cue me melting into a puddle), gave him high fives and had a HUGE smile on his face for our family photograph.
We hadn't been back outside for five minutes when Little Man piped up.
"Donda?" He asked.
"Donald?" Husband asked. There was that grin again.
We found Donald, Goofy, Minnie and Daisy in the new Fantasyland. By the time we reached Minnie, Little Man was confidently walking up to his friends, handing over his autograph book and saying, "Hi Minna! Sign!" He rattled off their names like a pro (we had never heard him call them by name before) and talked about them through the rest of our day at the Magic Kingdom. The memories of Little Man meeting the gang for the first time are priceless, as are the photos.
But the real magic of the vacation? The time we got to spent with each other. Without work, work e-mail, dishes, cooking or laundry. Husband and I got to enjoy each other and enjoy Little Man.
Of course, a little pixie dust doesn't hurt, either.
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