Disney 2009: Live from the Magic Kingdom

Of course we couldn’t skip a blog post, so here we are reporting live from Mickey’s house. I can’t promise this will be long, because honestly, we are all exhausted!

So far, Ben’s first trip to Disney has been a memorable one. We have fought through sickness, some rain, some crowds, and some chilly weather (today), but nothing has stopped Ben from having a great vacation. He has had a bit of a cold most of the week (although so have a lot of us, but more on that next week), but Ben is a trooper, and even when you aren’t feeling 100 percent, its easy to get around the parks in a stroller or being held in Mommy or Daddy’s arms.

Ben was a natural on his first plane ride, and didn’t seem impressed at all that we were actually looking down on clouds. I think he even got in a good nap on the way down. Once here, it didn’t take him long to start referring to our hotel as our ‘home’ and he soon got accustomed to taking the bus to go everywhere. He is even doing a great job of sleeping in the big boy bed with Mommy and Daddy (in fact he is snoring loudly next to me here now).

I’ll have a more in-depth report next week, but here is a quick run down of some of Ben’s favorites, so far. In Hollywood Studios earlier in the week, Ben was very excited to meet Donald Duck (he is one of his favorites). He quickly got the hang of having the characters sign his autograph book (or as Ben calls it, drawing on his pages). Earlier tonight, the little guy also got to say hello to Buzz Lightyear and Woody. There weren’t a ton of rides his size at this park, but Ben had a great time watching Mickey in the big Fantasmic show, and he even got pulled out to dance in the street during one of the parades (unfortunately we couldn’t get him to break out any of his signature dance moves for the crowd!)

In Animal Kingdom, Ben got up close and personal with all kinds of wild animals (some of them of the human variety…there can be rude people even at Disney!!). He enjoyed riding a flying dinosaur with Daddy and cousin Ryan, and he got to go on a safari to see some hippos, giraffes, elephants and rhinos. His favorite at this park had to be the live Nemo musical show. He seemed very excited at the end when Nemo’s dad found him, and even more excited the next day when Nana bought Ben his very own stuffed Nemo! He even got his very own stuffed Monkey from Gram. Should be fun packing all of these new buddies for the ride home..I’m sure there will be more!

So far in Epcot, Ben is fascinated by the big ball (although when we rode it he slept through the whole thing, so we may have to do it again). Once again Nemo was a big hit here, as they had ride where you could travel under the sea with him. Ben also seemed to have fun at the Turtle Talk with Crush show where he sat right up front with Mommy.

Of course, the best park for Ben has been the Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately, he was actually asleep the first time we walked through the gates onto Main Street. Since then, he has had a blast. He would tell you some of his highlights have been riding the tea cups (finally, he has been talking about them for so long!), Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, and Pirates of the Caribbean. We were actually afraid the Pirates ride might be too scary for him (and at first he said he wanted to get out of there!), but Ben was soon asking to go on again. He was even looking for pirates on other rides (we could not find any pirates on the haunted mansion ride, and that one did turn out to be too scary for Ben…”I want to get out of here!”)

Obviously, there are SO many other stories to tell, and memories to write about, but Daddy is tired and the park opens early tomorrow. One thing I have to share, though, is how funny Ben has been with the crowds of people…he doesn’t like them! When we are in line, he tells us “Mommy, I want these people to move”. When we are on the bus and more people are trying to squeeze on, he tells us “Daddy, I don’t want any more people to come on.” But, the funniest happened tonight when I had to take him into the mens room with me to change his diaper. We were off to ourselves in the corner by the changing table, but Ben insisted on yelling “Everyone out! No more people!” as loud as he could to everyone else in there! I couldn’t help but laugh. He seems to like crowds just as much as his Mommy and Daddy.

We are going to save the rest for next week. Ben has one more full day and night of vacation tomorrow, and then it is back to home (the one that isn’t a hotel) later Saturday. Many more stories and pictures next time! Until then, have a magical day!