Since I had been planning this trip for over a year, when we reached 180
days out, I booked our character meals for each day we were in Orlando. I
plotted park days based on where we were eating so we could maximize our time
and not waste a park day if necessary.
With that being said, I also then plotted which days would be spent
doing which park. First stop, Magic Kingdom!
We headed out in our matching Mickey Mouse shirts
(compliments of Grandma) bright and early – well not so bright and not so
early. You see, over the course of the night, Jack got sick. Yes, I was in a
panic that the stomach bug had returned and feared that I would have to stay in
the room with him while the others went to the park and that broke my heart,
especially since he is the biggest Mickey fan of the bunch. My next fear was that the bug would return with a vengeance and we would all be sick at some point on the trip. Jason and I decided
to play it by ear (no Mickey pun intended!) and see how he did in the morning.
He ate some cereal – no milk- and drank some juice, ran around the room and
played so we decided to give it a whirl. We packed all our gear and headed out. Of
course, we couldn’t leave the property without first stopping to see and take
pictures with all the Cars’ characters.
 |
| In the room, ready to go! |
 |
| The boys with Mater - we stayed in Mater's Garage on the 4th floor |
 |
| Grandma and the boys with Guido and Luigi who hosted another building of rooms |
 |
| Taking a stroll through Radiator Springs to get some pictures taken |
 |
| Family photo outside another building of rooms in Radiator Springs |
 |
| J,C,A,G with McQueen |
We boarded the bus and off we went. We posed for pictures,
rode some rides – well only one before poor Jack got sick again – we blame the
bumpiness of Winnie the Pooh for it - but we managed to enjoy what we could. I
had originally planned on going back to our rooms for afternoon naps but all
the boys napped on rides or in strollers so we trudged along and pressed our
luck.
 |
| Main Street - Magic Kingdom |
 |
| Waiting to ride Winnie the Pooh |
 |
| Daddy and Chase riding Dumbo |
 |
| Entertainment during lunch |
 |
| Notice none of the triplets stopped checking out Woody |
 |
| Woody and Jessie |
 |
| Playtime for the triplets after pictures |
 |
| Playtime- |
We saw the afternoon parade and had a snack both of which
Graham missed. However, it was during this snack that one of the funniest
things of the trip happened. At the time it wasn’t so funny but looking back,
it was pretty crazy. You see, we stopped to enjoy some Popsicles to get some
fluids in everyone and take a break after watching the parade. Jack and Anthony
were sitting in their strollers which were latched together to make moving them
easier. While snacking, some birds were hovering around us and other people who
were eating. Someone tried to shoo them away and 2 birds collided and got
disoriented. They then flew into the strollers and tried to fit between the two
of them – which obviously didn’t work too well. Poor Jack took the brunt of it
with the wings and the feet and we were all startled by it but once everyone
was safe, it was pretty funny. All those around us agreed that no one knew what
to do first to try to help but that was the oddest thing they have seen at
Disney to date!
 |
| Here comes the band letting us know the parade is starting soon |
 |
| Waiting for the parade to start |
 |
| Sleepy Graham |
 |
| Snack time - watch out for the birds! |
The first Character buffet was dinner at the Crystal Palace
with Winnie, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger. You see, because the triplets weren’t
on the meal plan they had to eat off the plate of an adult. Chase could only
order off the kids’ menu which was fine but I wanted to make sure that there
was at least one meal per day where we all ate until we were stuffed which
meant buffet per day. The buffets’ at Disney are all Character meals so we used
that opportunity to celebrate the birthday of one boy per day. The first day
was to celebrate Chase turning 4 ½. The triplets were not too fond of the
characters, especially when they came close so we had some close calls that
first day with them!
 |
| Spying on Tigger through the window waiting for our turn |
 |
| Anthony can eat and keep his eye out at the same time |
 |
| Graham isn't sure what to make of this just yet |
 |
| Oh wait, Hi guys! |
 |
| Anthony being shy |
 |
| Anthony decided the best thing to do was to hide from the characters |
 |
| Chase and Pooh |
 |
| Jack is unaware that he has a new friend behind him |
 |
| Notice Jack's lean away from Eeyore without losing his grip on his cupcake |
 |
| Chase and Tigger |
 |
| Jack making sure Piglet didn't come any closer to him |
 |
| Chase marching in the Friendship Celebration parade at dinner |
Before we left for the night, we stopped to see Mickey Mouse
for some pictures. It turns out that wasn’t the best idea as Graham got
startled by Mickey when he turned and was smacked by his ear and started
screaming which made Jack scream and poor Mickey didn’t know which way to turn.
Again, funny to adults, not so much for the kids!
 |
| Chase with Mickey - the only one who would pose for a picture |
 |
| The castle at night |
In the end, we survived the first day
and headed back home for some more rest before heading out the next day to
Hollywood Studios.
