Our Fall Trip to Disney World

Quinn got an awesome birthday present this year...Disney World! This is NOT the type of present she should always expect, it just happened to fall around her birthday. We decided we wanted Q to have the Disney experience by herself before another sibling came along. Plus, she is at the perfect age and if you know her, she is OBSESSED with Disney princess stuff. I'm not sure if I created this monster or if it just happened naturally, but if I never read another princess story again, I'll be okay. :)

I should preface this post by saying I will NEVER go to Disney World in the first trimester of pregnancy again. I was about eight weeks pregnant and not feeling great. I was so nauseated and incredibly tired. All the smells in the park made me want to hurl and walking around/standing around in lines made me want to lie down in front of Cinderella's castle and take a nap all day. BUT, I made the most of it and tried to be a good sport. It made everything better to see Q's sweet face when she got to see all the magic of Disney.

We decided to be crazy and leave on the earliest flight out on the day after Q's birthday party. We were all pretty tired (I was super preggo tired) but we got to Florida and hit the ground running all day.

I think Q's favorite thing from the first day was the parade. We happened to be walking out of a restaurant right before it started, so we sat down and waited for the big show. We had great seats and Q was completely mesmerized by the floats and characters.

After the parade, we made our way through the park meeting characters and doing some of the smaller rides. Apparently, a big thing for kids is to meet characters and get their autograph. Since Q has two perfectionist parents, we sort of made it a point to try to get lots of autographs and corresponding photos. We even got a little photo/autograph book and Q still loves to look at it and tell stories about meeting all the Disney friends.

Our one big splurge for the trip was dinner with the princesses at the castle. We knew Q was at the perfect age for this and it gave her a chance to meet all the princesses in one sitting. She wore her Belle dress and fit right in! The food wasn't stellar (let's be honest, I could hardly eat anything at the time without feeling sick), but it was a fun night and Q even got a birthday cupcake.

Day two was more of a lot of the same stuff. We saw some fun shows (Q's favorite was at the castle), met some great characters and rode some of the timeless Disneyworld rides. Some of the characters got Q a little freaked out but for the most part she loved them. She wasn't her normal chatty self, but she at least took photos with them. She still looks at her autograph/photo book and tells the "story of Disneyworld". Gaston was my favorite character. He played up the role of male chauvinist really well, and even wanted to make sure I got a pic with him to hang above our mantle as the new family photo.

Another favorite character was the Fairy Godmother. She was so sweet and patient and spent some time getting to know each child. She found out it was Q's bday weekend and she gave us the inside scoop on where to get "fairy dusted" and get a special button. Q was so proud of her glittery hair! 

We ended our day meeting Tiana and Naveen (and Q was not impressed) and then finally, MICKEY MOUSE! Not gonna lie, he was a little creepy. His mouth moved when he talked and I couldn't figure out how he did that. Q was a little scared but she did okay all taking a pic together.

Day three was full of fun at Animal Kingdom. It was nice being there because I think we were all so tired and it was a little more laid back (for Q's age). When she's older, I think she'll love all the rides, but this time was about seeing animals and meeting a couple of characters. We got to meet Pocahontas and go on a safari. One of our favorite things there was the Finding Nemo musical...it was really good for a theme park musical. Q was NOT a fan of the Bug's Life show which included some 4D stuff like smells and the feeling that little bugs were crawling under your seat. It wasn't my favorite, but it was cute. 

Notice every day ends with a pic of Q sleeping...I'd say that's a successful trip! Although I will NEVER go again in the first trimester of pregnancy, I can't wait to go back! Q talks about it all the time and I know she'll love it even more when she's older...with a little sister in tow.