Disney World 2014

Like I've said a few times, our supernaturally planned trip to Disney World took place right between moving from Minneapolis to Seattle. This made it a unique trip in terms of the colossal changes that were ahead of us and the goodbyes that were behind us. But honestly, despite the bookends of chaos and change, we were all positively present and engaged for the duration of our magical vacation. That's what made it so special. Oh, and the people we were with, of course. And the excitement of everything Disney in one spot. Oh, and the memories created. And the rides. Oh, and the parades…

In other words: everything. Simply put, everything about this trip made it special. 

On the Magical Express and quite obviously stoked about it:

A high school friend of mine, Julie, is a Disney Travel Advisor and she helped us immensely - thanks, Jules! I was texting her throughout our trip with different questions about rides and restaurants. We were spoiled to have an expert at our fingertips! She helped us book our stay at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort and was a great resource for us "WDW newbies" in setting up our FastPasses, dining reservations, and more.

The first night in Orlando we had dinner reservations at Planet Hollywood in Downtown Disney. The excitement of being reunited with family and the anticipation of the days ahead were making us all a little, umm, shall we say…. wacky?!

Exhibit 1:

Uncle Ryan and Katelyn (cool specs!)

Again, the people - all the immediate Ridnour family members - made the trip. And THESE people made the trip possible for all of us.

On our first official park day, we were off to Magic Kingdom. We took the Disney bus from our resort to the park and it was slick. So nice to not have to worry about getting there and parking.

The walk down Main Street upon arrival was fun and took us up to the beautiful castle. The girls loved the castle, especially Kendall who pointed at it and said "there's the castle!" about 100 times :)

The whole Ridnour crew in front of the castle (and squinting right into the sun - ha!)

You might not see Papa in a lot of these pictures, because he was busy taking many of them, as you can see. Thanks Papa(razzi)!

Once inside the park, there was a lot to see and take in. Admittedly, it took some adjusting and patience to get used to the crowds and lines. Especially with kids anxious for rides and character experiences. Long lines and children are not a good combination, hello! This is where our FastPasses were awesome - bypass the main line for a shorter, quicker one - yes, please! We went on several rides in the morning. Dumbo the Flying Elephant was a hit for Kendall and Katelyn liked the Mad Tea Party (tea cups). 

On "It's a Small World" - our very first ride of the day!

Waiting in line for the tea cups.

Weeeee!! Getting dizzy on the tea cups!

The guys soaking in the Florida sunshine!

KJ/Gramma selfie on the Dumbo ride.

The highlight of the afternoon though was undoubtedly getting to meet Cinderella and Rapunzel. Katelyn had been talking about meeting Rapunzel for months prior to the trip, so she was thrilled (and also totally starstruck!) 

We had a FastPass to meet these princesses, so that was a huge plus. Kendall was especially taken by "Sayer-aya" as she says, and it was fun to see the magic in her eyes! The girls got their autographs and were able to visit with the princesses (although our girls were a little bashful :)

Katelyn also got to meet the Fairy Godmother. She was chatting with people right as we walked by, so she and Michael jumped in line. 

Kendall and Gramma at lunch - The Liberty Tavern restaurant

We went on a couple more rides that afternoon and also watched the Festival of Fantasy parade, which the kids absolutely loved. It featured favorites such as Elsa and Anna, Tinkerbell, Minnie and Mickey, Ariel, and Rapunzel.

We enjoyed a few more rides and then dinner. Here are a few pictures from the Under the Sea ride.

The girls got to enjoy nice views by riding on lots of shoulders :) Thanks, guys!

By the time sunset rolled around, we made our way back to the castle to watch a little skit with the Frozen characters. At the end of the skit Elsa "iced" the castle with tons of Christmas lights - it was really cool!

Katelyn went strong all day long, as you can see!

Kendall took a nap in the stroller at one point and woke up refreshed to take on the afternoon and evening's festivities.

The "icing on the cake castle" at the end of a great day!

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We all slept like babies that night and woke up excited for Day 2 at Epcot. It was another beautiful, sunny day.

First up was the Finding Nemo ride. 

Then we did an interactive show called "Turtle Talk with Crush" who is the surfer dude turtle from Finding Nemo. The crowd got to ask questions to Crush and he'd answer them on the spot from within the aquarium in front. The girls sat right up front and Katelyn actually got called on for a question, but when asked what it was she said, "nothing." Thanks to the little boy called on before her for that idea! Oh, Kate!

We did a few more things including Captain EO which involved these stylish 3-D glasses - Katelyn did not dig them at all when in the show. We discovered she wasn't a fan of the 3-D shows because they seemed too realistic. So she watched them all without glasses. Talk about feeling dizzy!

Mitch and Kate - 3D glasses are serious business, y'all.

The girls logged a lot of time in the stroller we rented from Orlando Stroller Rentals - worth every penny! Nap time for Kendall and a sucker for the patient passenger...

We went on the Mission: Space ride which was really cool, but the highlight for almost everyone was a ride called Soarin' which basically simulated a hang-glider ride over different parts of the world. Kendall was too little for many of the attractions at Epcot, so we took shifts keeping her company and going on rides.

Michael, Kate, Mitch, Ryan, and Papa on Soarin'

Meanwhile, the three of us took some selfies :)

We also waited outside of Mission: Space together. Kendall was surprisingly easy-going about not getting to go on rides, but it could have been the company she kept!

We had a Mexican lunch at La Cantina and this fella decided to join us...

The post-lunch sillies! (Kendall and Papa didn't get the silly memo :)

After lunch we took a little boat ride through Mexico and then got to meet some characters later in the afternoon.

Kendall was quite skeptical of Goofy and even Katelyn didn't want to stand right next to him. Too goofy, I guess - ha!

Minnie was definitely a hit with both kids. When she was signing their autograph books, the pen stopped working. Since the characters don't talk, Minnie stomped her feet and put her hand on her hip to let the other staff members know she needed help. It was cute :)

That evening we had dinner at a huge German buffet called Biergarten. They also had a dance floor with live music - peppy German tunes, of course. The girls had fun boogying between bites at dinner!

Doing the "chicken dance" - duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh...

A shot of our whole group at our dinner table. 

After dinner, we made our way back around the globe to different countries and bumped into an opportunity to meet Aurora (Sleeping Beauty). We waited briefly in line and then got to meet her. A nice surprise at the close of our day!

Closing time for some of us, I should say. Katelyn got the privilege of staying out late with Daddy and Uncle Mitch. When in Disney World, right?! She was having so much fun taking everything in and the boys were willing to have her along, so the trio checked out some pubs at Epcot. (Yes, pubs. Evidently, Kate played the part well, chatting, laughing, and dancing along the way. ;) Such fun memories for her!

And the day's culmination was the light show at Epcot. That's Katelyn's silhouette admiring the show. Mitch, Michael, and Kate all had a great time that night!

The rest of us sleepyheads went home to bed to rest up for another busy day ahead.

~~~

Our third day was spent at Disney's Animal Kingdom. This marked the final day for Ryan and Mitch as they were heading back to their respective cities that evening. We had breakfast at Rainforest Cafe and then we were off to the park.

Another picture of the whole crew...

One of the biggest surprises of the day took place right when we arrived. We made our way to a roller coaster called Expedition Everest. Katelyn met the height requirement and decided she was feeling brave enough to give it a go! She rode it with Michael while my dad and I rode together. Mitch was also aboard. Whew! It was crazy and left us all a little woozy, but Katelyn was a champ! She admitted afterwards that it was probably too scary for her to do again when she's just 4. But maybe she'll try again next time we visit :)

Next up was a dramatic change of pace at the dinosaur adventure area including this Kendall-friendly dino ride...

Gramma, Kendall, Mitch, and Kate

Then we watched the 3-D show called "It's Tough to Be a Bug." This one may in fact have been the least favorite thing we did the whole trip according to the girls. First of all, those glasses again. The ones Katelyn didn't like. Secondly, the show included some creepy special effects (like bees buzzing around our ears and fly swatter sounds with air puffs) that didn't go over too well with these chickadees! But hey, ya win some, ya lose some, right?!

Clearly, this was before the show, hence the silly smiles.

Safari time! We rode big, open buses to observe all kinds of animal wildlife within the park. 

Kendall slept the whole time (despite the bumpy ride), but the rest of us enjoyed the sights.

One of the final rides we did at Animal Kingdom was Kali River Rapids. And we went on shortly after it started raining - good timing actually since we were going to end up wet anyway! This ended up being a top, if not THE, favorite ride from Katelyn's perspective. She went on it twice. Ended up completely drenched. And laughed and squealed the whole entire time!

Hard to see, but this raft included Mitch, Papa, Ryan, Michael, and Katelyn.

After the soaking from the ride and the rain coming down, the girls had fun running through this water sprinkler and getting even more drenched. Ha!

We made our way back to the resort after that and tried to warm up! This is when the cold front moved in that stuck around for the duration of our trip. Aw, man! We also said goodbye to the uncles - we were sad to see them go. But at the same time so grateful they made it for a few days and also excited to experience a couple more magical days in Disney World!

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On the fourth day, God created Magic Kingdom. Sorry, not quite right. But on the fourth day we went back there. It was fun to go back again now that we had a little better understanding of the lay of the land!

Waiting at the bus stop at our resort - bundled up!

Brr! Isn't this Florida, the sunshine state?!

We went on several rides without lines and then decided to warm up in a big carnival-themed souvenir tent. A quick side note here: Each morning the girls got to open a small Disney-themed gift to get the excitement jump-started for the day, and let's face it, to curb spending on souvenirs at the parks. (Thanks for the great idea, Kristin J!) Throughout the week, they opened all kinds of goodies - some things were small and practical like Minnie and princess toothbrushes, while others were more fun like Disney t-shirts and Frozen-themed jewelry and books. In addition, they got to pick out one thing at a gift shop to bring home. They knew this going into the week and with all the temptations around every corner (literally), they didn't make any comments asking to buy a single thing (I'm not kidding - even I was surprised.) Being in the Big-Top Souvenir tent to warm up for 20 minutes proved to be the perfect time to make their official selection. After some back-and-forth, Katelyn decided on a Rapunzel doll and Kendall, in keeping with the princess theme, chose an Ariel doll. The girls just love these dolls - I think they find them extra special because they came from the motherland :) They also got generous gifts from their uncles and Gramma and Papa - treasured for more reasons than one and such sweet reminders of our time together.

Oh, these stocking caps? I know you want one (a one-size-fits-all, monochromatic number), but sorry, they were from the Disney souvenir tent. Ten bucks a pop. We didn't anticipate needing hats to keep warm and they certainly didn't end up in our Florida-bound suitcase!

After getting suitably warmed up in the tent, we rode the Winnie the Pooh ride and The Barnstormer roller coaster. We also tried to stay warm huddled in line together.

The teacups - Kate and I in one and Michael, Gramma, and Kendall next to us.

I have to say, it was sure fun to finally be reunited with Michael after a month apart (with a weekend visit in there). And at the most magical place on earth, no less!

We had a delicious Italian lunch at Tony's Town Square and then settled in to find a good spot for the Festival of Fantasy parade. It was chilly. But that didn't stop the excitement! The parade was such a hit with our kids - it was even more of a thrill than some of the rides.

You know we had to wave the new Rapunzel doll when Rapunzel herself came along in the parade!

After the parade, we made our way to Ariel's grotto to meet her in person and have the autograph books signed. Kendall brought her Ariel doll along, naturally. Ariel even said, "Is that a mermaid? (Kendall nodded) Oh, is that me?" (Kendall smiled sheepishly and nodded again). Kendall had been talking about meeting Ariel and Flounder (her fish friend) for many weeks and this was a highlight for her. Although Flounder wasn't as accessible - if at all - as we thought :)

We saw a beautiful sunset reflected on the West side of the castle as we were making our way to more rides. 

We finished the day with a ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - a roller coaster that Katelyn loved. 

Then Michael, being the fearless fella with Minnesota blood, jumped in "line" (um, no line whatsoever) for Splash Mountain - the log flume ride that threatens a soaking. Since the sun had already set, the temps were hovering in the upper 40's. Brrrrr!!! Katelyn and I watched as he rode solo in a big log boat. Such a kid at heart :) Meanwhile, my parents and Kendall enjoyed the sights up and down Main Street until we connected again before leaving for the resort. It was fun to be able to go on some bigger rides with Katelyn while knowing Kendall was having just as much fun with Gramma and Papa.

Whew! Another busy but fun-filled day under our belts. It was time to rest up for our final day in Disney World at Hollywood Studios. 

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Rise and shine! After breakfast, we boarded the bus and were on our way to Hollywood Studios! 

The girls on the bus - even the transportation was all a part of the magical Disney experience.

Hollywood Studios offers a nice blend of shows in addition to rides and experiences. It was a pleasant change of pace for us, especially at the end of our week. And it turned out that Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom were a tie in terms of favorites for the kids. They had a full plate of fun and an all-around great time at Hollywood Studios!

There was no line for the Star Wars ride when we first arrived, so Michael and I did that one. Then we went to a Muppets show and made our way to the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" playground.

Kendall went up and down the slides a bunch of times while Kate was busy climbing a huge net. After being carted around in the stroller so much, I think they loved the freedom of a playground!

Next, we went to the Frozen "snow-ground" which had scenes and backgrounds from Frozen in addition to real snow to play in. Clearly, these Minnesota girls did not exactly see the thrill in playing in snow, but I'm sure Floridians would!

Then we had an opportunity to meet Mike and Sully from Monsters, Inc. We thought this would be fine for the kids, but Kendall wanted nothing to do with Sully (understandably, the big blue guy towered above us all). Look at her face!

Once we situated her a little further away from Sully, she was in a better place. But there was no getting a smile out of her. Ha!

Next up was the Frozen Sing Along! We kept each other company as we waited in line and it went pretty quick.

The show was awesome! Considering we've been listening to the soundtrack from Frozen for the last ummm… 12 months (!), we know every word. And Katelyn definitely sang along!

The timing of the show was just about nap time for Kendall and she just couldn't stay awake for it. I know she would have loved it but sleep won out.

Then the girls got to each pick out something from Gramma and Papa at the Frozen store. Kate chose this Elsa tank top that has an attachable cape that trails in the back (you can see it hanging up on the fence). Kendall chose this Elsa/Anna doll - two in one! Flip Elsa upside down and there's Anna under her dress.

We saw several more shows that afternoon including Journey of the Little Mermaid and Disney Junior Live On Stage. We also had an early dinner at Hollywood and Vine restaurant.

Michael convinced me to go on Tower of Terror. I honestly knew nothing about this ride - I thought it was a haunted house. When we were about to board and Michael admitted to me that even he was nervous for it, I knew I was in trouble. Because not much scares him. You ride in an elevator and I have two words: free falls. Oye. We had fun and survived, but it got our hearts racing that's for sure!

Here's the rest of our party waiting for us outside the Tower of Terror. They didn't know what we were in for either!

There was live music played by a rock-inspired cover band called Mulch, Sweat, and Shears (they play the part of a lawn care company). We had a great time listening and dancing along to their music! The girls had a ball dancing and we got some great videos of it.

After that, we went to check out the beautiful Christmas lights on display - they lit up an entire block (and then some) at Hollywood Studios. So cool and very festive with the Christmas music going along with them.

And with that, we called it a wrap for the evening. What. An. Experience! The trip was incredible. We have so many wonderful memories from it and we look forward to going back sometime. It was magical to experience it all through our kids' eyes. And what a treat for our whole family to share in the experience together. A+ vacation for sure!

We slept hard that night, but had to wake up at 5:00 to get out the door and to the airport in time for our flight. And oh yeah, we were flying to our new city. Our new home. And from one of the farthest southeastern points in the United States to one of the farthest northwestern points. Our adventure continued. We had a layover in Dallas and arrived in Seattle that evening around 4:00. Exhausted. But filled to overflowing with gratitude, fun stories, and incredible memories. No better way to start our new life in the Pacific Northwest.