The Davis Family: The Davis's Do Disney

Get ready for the longest blog post ever. Seriously, I have an obnoxious number of pictures. But that's because our trip to Disney World was absolutely wonderful! We had a blast starting with the minute we left our house, even with Drew asking "are we there yet?" before we hit the interstate and David saying "My go home now." Yep, we drove to Orlando and I would do it again tomorrow. Nine hours, including quick stops, was easy peasy thanks to some fresh Disney movies we borrowed from friends and also because we met my folks and Judy in South Carolina and did some seat swaps. We stayed right outside of Orlando the first night with plans to drive straight to Disney the next morning. CC, Day Day, Me-Ma and our fam had a fun night hanging out in the hotel. We packed a nice little happy hour of snacks and wine and hung out in the hotel room while the boys ran wild. They were so pumped about adjoining rooms and quickly created a little racetrack. George picked up take-out, everyone ate and then it was bedtime. The next morning, Day Day headed to the airport to pick up the Watson's while the Grandmas came with us to Hollywood Studios. We chose to start there because we heard you could manage that park in 3/4 of a day and we met the Watson's there in the late morning. I have to say, Cristie and I did a swell job of planning the trip. Hee hee. We researched what parks to go to on what days and what attractions to do first. It seemed to pay off because we rarely waited in line. The trip was much more relaxing and vacation-ish than we anticipated. We rented a house so we could all stay together and I think that played a big part in how much we enjoyed the trip. It was so nice to go back to the house and hang out together. We spent the evenings playing, swimming (mostly just the kids), and eating in. Another major plus for our trip was our adult to kid ratio :) We had 9 adults and only three kids, definitely the way to go! There was always an adult willing to do whatever the kids wanted to do. Drew had plenty of takers for the adventure rides while Whitley and David had an entourage for their character meetings. The kids were spoiled rotten but isn't that the point? Heck, we were all spoiled. We're already talking about our next trip! I'll let the many photos tell the tale of our trip...

Thanks to our wonderful family for such a memorable week!!!!

Our awesome crew!

First character we ran into. Hello Hollywood Studios!

Drew was part of the Jedi Training Academy at Hollywood Studios! Pure luck scored him a spot. We were told the sessions fill up as soon as the park opens. By the time we made it over to the Star Tours area it was 11:20. Mom encouraged me to check it out anyway and I felt soooo lucky when the lady ahead of me in line canceled her child's spot for the 11:45 show! It couldn't have worked out any better! At best, I was hoping for one of the night spots to still be open. Drew was very proud to be a part of it.

Drew gets some tips for defeating Darth Vader.

Go Drewby!

Most of our group stops for a quick pic.

The Toy Story ride was every bit as fun as we heard it was.

Whitley and David check out Lightning McQueen, the kids can't take their eyes of the hydraulic, music-playing cars.

Drew proudly poses in front of Tower of Tower! My brave boy! Still can't believe he rode that. Tom and George did say that he got a little confused right before the big drop and asked, "Where am I? Where's my Mom?" Course it was too late by then and he said afterward that he liked the ride. George got him a t-shirt :)

Star Tours or Toy Story? Can't recall. 3-D is popular at Disney World.

Getting ready to enter the Magic Kingdom, the start of Day 2.

So glad we were there for rope drop! The train comes in with all the characters on board. What a cheery prelude to a wonderful day.

Yep, let the memories begin!

Big smiles everywhere we went.

Cute couple on the tea cups.

David became an expert at meeting characters. Pen ready, autograph book in hand, hug, turn around, smile and wait for pic. He was precious.

Drew took a few pictures with characters but overall wasn't too interested. He was too busy being mega adventurous :)

Mom and son shot - love this picture.

Dick and Judy Watson, Tom's parents, are so sweet.

Ready for the Aladdin ride. You think David is excited?

There we are. David is next to me but can't be seen in this pic.

The guys on Splash Mountain. Day Day and Drew in the front, George in the middle, Tom and Dick scream in the back. Drew is definitely the calmest. Hee hee.

Jungle Cruisin'

David got a little show with Princess Ariel and Prince Eric.

Cristie and I wanted to get in to.

Tuckered out and waiting for the Dreams Come True Parade. Check out that kiss on David's cheek.

Pretty!

Handsome!

We enjoyed taking a break to wait for the parade.

A couple of characters stopped by to give our group a personal hello.

Favorite group photo. What a memorable day at Magic Kingdom!

Day 3 - Animal Kingdom.

David snuggles with Rafiki.

David heard a choo choo train and was bound and determined to find it and ride it. So we did!

So happy!

Safari time.

Sweet pea has his autograph book ready.

One of the best moments of the trip... Pluto was returning from a break and David was first in line (thanks to Judy who saved it for him while he rode Triceratop Spin). Pluto snuck up behind David and gently pushed him with his nose to lead him to the autograph spot. David was a tad confused and so adorable. The crowd ate it up. When David walked over to us after, he said "Pluto push me him nose. Everybody laughing." It was the story he told everyone that asked about his Disney trip. Pure preciousness!

Pluto teased Drew too by hiding the autograph book in Drew's coat hood.

Pluto has personality.

The Tree of Life

It was chilly that day but the cold didn't keep us from getting our daily Mickey ice cream.

The parents and kids went to Magic Kingdom later to see the night parade and fireworks. The grandparents stayed back, relaxed and called it a night early.

All three kiddos got a light up toy. David shows off his R2-D2.

The Watson's are bundled up. It was cold but we were dressed for it.

Pete's Dragon - one of our favorites!

Drew and Whitley were sound asleep on the way home but David was wide awake and being super silly.

We saw tons of characters the day we went to Epcot. Cristie had heard that's where they hide out and she was right.

It was a gorgeous day! We took some small breaks to enjoy the weather and just be together.

Forward or backwords, David wore his Toy Story glow in the dark hat all week!

Drew and I outside of the Finding Nemo ride.

Snack break!

On the move :)

Our fabulous family!!!

Judy stops for a pretty pic.

Getting ready to get our German beers!

Donald Duck - my personal favorite!

Mickey Mouse personalized Drew's page. It's a story! We got so lucky while walking through the countries - all of the main characters were on their way to a photo shoot and were nice enough to stop to meet some little fans during their trek. It was almost stressful because we had gotten used to waiting in line for a few minutes to meet a character which gives you time to get the camera, autograph book and kid ready. But this time the characters were all together and there weren't any lines so we just jumped around and met them all. Somehow, Drew missed Mickey and when he noticed that Mickey was leaving the area he burst into tears. I was a little shocked since until that point Drew didn't care too much about autographs. Well, Disney being Disney, an employee walked over to see what all the tears were about and when Drew explained that he missed getting Mickey's autograph, the man took Drew's book and ran after the Mouse. Course, us adults assumed that he just went around the corner and signed it himself but who cares! Drew was stoked and all was well again!