Disney World holds a very special place in my heart. I grew up visiting WDW just about every year or two as a family, and now that my kids are in the early years of "wonder", it is so much fun to bring them. The last time we visited, I was pregnant with Emma, Jude was almost 4 and Knox was almost 2. It is remarkable how much they have grown (and how much our family has grown) since we last visited the mouse. Day 1 of our mini vacation we spent at the Magic Kingdom. Astonishingly enough we spent 13 hours at the park and were able to ride 14+ rides and see 3 parades! Nate and I agree that it was the most we have even been able to do at a day with Disney even in spite of having 4 little ones with us and having to rider swap a few times.
Right as we were ending the day at the park and the fireworks began we started to feel some pretty large raindrops. Emma and Knox were in the stroller, Millie was asleep in the carrier, and Jude was walking alongside us. We decided to go ahead and walk backwards through Main Street as we snuck out of the park (still enjoying a little bit of the firework show) before the rain really started pouring. Lo and behold. As soon as we hit the park entrance the bottom let out and we started sprinting for the Ferry boat. We were able to get onboard relatively spared, but we saw tons and tons of people flooding (no pun intended) out of the park and they were DRENCHED! Luckily by the time we crossed over to the ticket and transportation center to get into our cars the rain had let up to a light drizzle and we were able to get to the car and get everyone loaded up without too much rain. The boys thought it was the funniest thing and it sure was a memorable way to end our day.
Highlights from the day I never want to forget:
-Jude (6) and Knox (4) rode Splash mountain with me. They were so brave!
-Emma and Millie loved the Enchanted Tiki Room and were fascinated by the birds
-Millie loved the bouncing at the end of Dumbo and it brought the biggest smile to her face
-All of the kids waving at the characters during the parades (despite not being able to hug any characters due to CVD we were still able to see them).
-Knox's poor reaction to the Barnstormer (check out the video below to see what I mean)
-Emma loving Small World and Little Mermaid
-So many giggles
-The boys holding hands and hugging in lines
-Millie napping whenever and wherever she pleased
-Their excitement when they were able to choose a toy from the gift shop with their own gift card!
Day two was spent at Sea World. If I'm being honest I don't love the park (I would much rather do another day at Disney) BUT my sweet sister was able to get us into the park so it was a fun little treat. We had a great day (a little bit of rain in the middle) but over all the kids had a blast.
Things I want to remember from our day
-Emma's reaction to the Sea Lions (my favorite memory from the whole trip probably)
-The boys feeding the sharks
-Millie bouncing and dancing along to the music from the Orca show
-Jude going on two big rides (and Knox sadly being an inch too short and being pulled off the ride :(
A little recap video from our trip.