We made our annual trip to Disney World for Memorial Day weekend. Thursday night we dropped KK off with Jacob's parents for the weekend and then headed out the next day after lunch. Once again we stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort and our good friends The Pearsons came with us. Mady and Emily are best friends and get along so well. It also helps that the adults are good friends, too. We knew it was going to be an awesome trip when we checked in and realized that we had adjoining rooms on the first floor next to the pool. We couldn't ask for a better location! We chose this resort because they have a great kid pool with a pirate theme and awesome slides for the adults.
After checking in we quickly dropped our luggage off and headed to Hollywood Studios to see the Block Party Bash. It features characters from Toy Story, and since that is the latest obsession in our house, we were on a mission to find Jessie! The girls wore their Jessie shirts and we quickly arrived at Hollywood Studios. We found a place on the route and waited for the party to begin! The girls loved the party and Jessie was so excited to see the girls wearing her shirt!
Waiting patiently for the Block Party Bash to begin!
I see Jessie! She's getting closer!
Much better view on my daddy's shoulders!
Here she comes! I love Jessie!
After the Block Party we headed to the Animation Studio to see the new character from TS3, Lotsa-Huggin. This is a new pink bear that is featured in the movie. The girls were first in line and loved hugging the bear.
Striking a pose while waiting for Lotsa-Huggin!
Giving Lotsa-Huggin a big hug! I can't wait to see her in the new movie!
We were going to head to the Beauty and the Beast show, but since neither girl seemed too upset at missing it, we decided to head back to the resort and go to the pool. While the dads took the girls to the pool, we unpacked and met up with them. After hanging out at the pool we came back to the room to find a surprise from Tinkerbell! She brought the girls new Jessie pajamas, a princess nightgown with a magic wand and slippers, princess socks, princess hair ties, princess markers, princess stickers, a Mickey and Minnie coloring book, princess pens for autographs, and Belle lipstick. Tinkerbell even left pixie dust from the door to the chair where she left the surprises! The girls were more excited about the pixie dust (confetti) than the actual treasures.
All the treasures from Tink!
We were going to head to the ESPN bar at the Boardwalk that night, but since the weather was raining off and on and everyone was so exhausted, we decided to have dinner at the food court and watch the game in our rooms. We had a great time anyways and we were glad we didn't go to the Boardwalk since the game was a loss. The girls had a great time hanging in the hotel room, running from room to room, playing with their new treasures.
The next morning we got up early and headed to Magic Kingdom. It was crowded, but it didn't stop us from seeing and riding on everything we wanted to do. Since this weekend was all about seeing the characters from TS3, we made sure we were first in line to see Woody and Jessie in Frontierland. They got lots of time with them since they were first in line and Mady loved getting their autographs.
Finally, the moment I've been waiting for! A hug for Woody and Jessie!
At 11:00 there was a Move it, Shake it, Celebrate it! Parade/party that we wanted to to see. This parade featured Chip and Dale, Mickey and Minnie, and Woody and Jessie. We made sure when the parade stopped to get Mady and Emily over to Jessie so they could dance with her. They had a great time and got up close to Jessie!
Mickey leads the parade!
Woody and Jessie again!
Dancing in the street with Jessie!
After the parade we rode on It's a Small World, Aladdin's Carpets, Haunted Mansion, and the Carousel. We were worn out and ready to head to the pool since we were coming back to the MK later that night.
We spent a few hours at the pool enjoying the sun. The girls had a blast playing at the pirate pool and going down the slides. It started to get cloudy so we headed back to the room and everyone took naps.
Hanging in the room watching TS2 and eating snacks!
Later that night we headed to the MK to see the SpectroMagic parade. First we had to ride on Peter Pan's Flight since it's one of our favorite rides. We were smart and got fast passes for it when we were at MK earlier in the day. Considering the wait was 80 minutes, it was a smart idea! After we rode Peter Pan we headed over and got our spot for the SpectroMagic Parade. We saw this parade back in January and it's cool to see a parade at night with all the characters lit up.
Waiting for the SpectorMagic parade with our cool Buzz Lightyear light-ups!
Here's Minnie all lit-up!
After the parade we headed over to the Judge's Tent in Toon Town and met the princesses. We had a 5 minute wait and it was perfect. Mady got to meet Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Belle. Everytime she sees them it's like the first time all over again! She gets so excited.
Meeting Sleeping Beauty again!
No trip is complete without seeing Cinderella!
We then went to see the fairies. This was a good idea since the fireworks were booming outside and both girls are terrified of fireworks. Here we met Iridessa, Tinkerbell, and Terrence. Mady and Emily thanked Tinkerbell for leaving them treasures in their room and Tinkerbell was so nice and played along with the girls!
Thanking Tink for all the treasures she left in the room!
Soon it was 11 pm and time to head back to the room. We were all exhausted from a long day at the parks and pool.
Exhausted, but happy group!
The next morning, Sunday, we slept in and headed to the Swan for breakfast with Chip, Dale, Goofy and Pluto. We always go to this character breakfast because you don't have to have reservations and can usually walk right in with minimal wait. The girls had a great time and we got some wonderful pictures of the families with the characters.
Waiting patiently at the Swan for breakfast!
Chip acting silly!
Since the weather was so nice we decided to head back to the resort and spend the day at the pool. The girls had a great time and discovered the slide at the big pool. Once they figured out how to go down the slide and swim to us at the bottom, they did it nonstop. We had a great time at the pool with wonderful weather, but we wanted to catch the parade at Animal Kingdom so we packed up and headed back to the room to get ready.
Of course, as soon as we got on the bus to AK it started pouring! We had our ponchos and umbrellas, but we really didn't need them. It was a quick rain and then the sky opened up and it was beautiful out. It wasn't even humid and muggy! The girls loved the parade and saw all their favorite characters dressed in their jungle gear.
Another parade? Yep, it's the Jammin Jungle Parade at Animal Kingdom!
We always see the Festival of the Lion King Show, so after the parade we headed to the show. Afterwards there were lots of characters out and we met Donald and Minnie.
After the parade we rode the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch and met Pocahontas and Rafiki. We then headed back to the safari and walked right on. At first we weren't sure we were going to see any animals since it was getting late, but we did manage to see most of them, including a yellow-billed duck!
We then headed to Dino Land so the girls could ride the dinosaur ride. On our way we stopped and saw Pooh, Eeyore, and Tigger. This was the first time Mady's seen these characters and the wait was only 5 minutes!
The park closed at 8, so we headed back to the resort to take the girls night swimming. They had been begging all weekend to go night swimming, so tonight was the night! They had a blast and we all came back to the hotel exhausted.
The next morning it was time to check-out! The weekend flew by and we were all sad to leave the happiest place on Earth. We decided to spend a few hours at the pool and then headed home around 2. It was one of the best trips we've had and we were so glad it didn't rain as much as it did last Memorial Day Weekend.
This is the life! Too bad we have to go back to reality today!
Here are the characters we met/got autographs from: Woody, Jessie, Lotsa-Huggin, Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Cinderella, Iridessa, Tinkerbell, Terrence, Rafiki, Pocahontas, Dale, Goofy, Pluto, Donald, and Minnie! Whew!
P.S. Happy 5 Year Anniversary Pearsons! Thanks for letting us celebrate it with you! I know there's no other place you'd rather celebrate than at the Happiest Place on Earth!
After meeting Buzz Lightyear we met up with our friends, The Maddox Family, and rode some rides in Fantasyland. We were able to ride the tea cups, the carousel, and It's A Small World. We had dinner and then it was time to stake out our spot for the parade. Since it was Wednesday there was only one Main Street Electrical Parade, so we knew we were going to have to set-up early. We managed to find a good spot on Main Street and set out our blanket and let the girls play with their light-up toys while we waited for the parade to begin!
Around 4 o'clock we packed up and headed home. The girls thought we were headed home, but we were actually going to the Magic Kingdom at Disney for a special early viewing of the Main Street Electrical Parade. The parade wasn't until 9 and we arrived a little after six. We decided to hit some rides and rode the carousel, It's A Small World, Aladdin's Carpets, Haunted Mansion, and Peter Pan. After dinner it was time to see the parade. We didn't realize how popular this parade was and we ended up being far-back from the sides. Jacob had to hold the girls the entire time so they could see, which was very tiring and hot! Nonetheless, the girls had a good view and stayed awake for the whole parade.
After the parade we couldn't resist going to see the princesses. I don't think KK's ever seen them and I really wanted her to see them since she's starting to get in to them thanks to Mady. We met Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Belle. KK went right up to Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, but just waved "bye" to Belle and started crying when we tried to get her to take a picture. So, no picture of Belle. 
After the princesses, we had to wait a while and let the fireworks finish. Mady is not a fan and they are very loud. I was smart and packed the girls' pajamas so we changed them and walked around the gift shop. After they ended Mady decided she wanted to ride the Barnstormer rollercoaster. I was so excited that my little dare devil wanted to do it that I took her on it. Plus, there was no wait and Jacob took KK into Minnie's house while we rode. After the ride we headed out of Magic Kingdom. I guess everyone had the same idea because it took us an hour to reach our car and then almost another hour to drive home and get unpacked. Both girls slept the entire way home and we slipped them into bed just after midnight. 
Whew! It was an exhausting day, but we had so much fun. I'm especially glad that we were able to bring KK with us and let her meet the princesses. This Wednesday I am taking Mady back to the MK one more time to see the parade with her friends Emily and Meghan before the summer crowds begin! I think we will definitely be Disneyed out by then!
