Disney Countdown - 1 MORE DAY!

Originally Posted 11/17/08

A couple of weeks ago, Max asked me, out of the blue, if Mickey Mouse would remember him when we go back to Walt Disney World for Easter. He seemed very concerned about this, but once I assured him that Mickey remembered all little boys and girls, he quickly returned to what he was doing.

However, it made me want to go back and reminisce over our trip pictures from that very trip. We took Max for his first Disney vacation and left new little sister, Cate, with the grandparents. When Cate was born, we promised him a trip to WDW to get some one on one time with us for being such a great big brother and NEWLY potty trained! For those of you who haven't heard about our trip back in September 2007, here is a little recap!

Max was a little cautious of Mickey and the rest of the characters our first day in the parks, which prompted Matt and I to question our decision to bring him when he was only three and a half years old. However, after a few hours in the park, and a good nap the first day, it went uphill in the fun department!

We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Here is a picture of the giraffes munching just beyond our balcony! We watched them one evening for at least an hour and Max was mesmerized! He also loved his 1st bunk bed experience here. This hotel was phenominal. Our favorite is still Wilderness Lodge, but we did love the Animal Kingdom Lodge with the exception of its distance to everything but the Animal Kingdom. However, we would recommend it to anyone!

This is when the true excitement and joy came out of Max. He had been a little hesitant at some of the rides. He seemed to enjoy them, but after each one, we would ask him if he wanted to go again, he would simply say, "No!" But, when he saw Goofy's Barnstormer, he wanted to ride it immediately. We were a little cautious walking up, hoping he would be tall enough and not too scared of the speed of the ride. As you can see...pure joy and magic oozed out of him as he squealed with the delight. Before we even had a chance to ask if he wanted to go again, he exclaimed, "I want to ride it again!"

Fortunately, we happened upon this ride during the afternoon parade and there was no line, so we rode it over, and over, and over again! My heart and love for Disney grew about 100 times more while watching him. I will NEVER forget his squeals, laughter, and the look on his face for the rest of my life. I have a lot of favorite childhood Disney memories, but this ranks right at the top!

Max beamed with pride in his new "Captain Max" hat and was able to become his favorite character, Captain Hook!

After several days of shying away from the characters and waving from a distance, we had reservations for a character breakfast with the Playhouse Disney gang. We weren't sure how that would go, but as you can see, he FINALLY warmed up to the characters and had a great time at the meal.

Our final meal of our vacation was at Coral Reef Restaurant in Epcot. It is one of our favorite spots. We got a table right next to the tank and Max was in awe of the sea life. It was the perfect ending to a memorable vacation. I will never forget the memories we shared with him and look forward to making some new memories with both kids this Easter when we go with both sets of grandparents, an aunt, uncle and cousin and some wonderful friends. It will be hard to top this trip, but the MAGIC of Disney never disappoints!