We had a blast on our vacation.  Some of your favorite attractions and highlights included:

The Kilimanjaro Safari ride – it was the first thing we did on our first full day.  You sat in the back row of the safari truck with Ben, Emma and me. It was a rainy day (the only one we had), but that made the colors pop (the greens got greener) and all the animals were close by as we drove along the bumpy road. You saw mother elephants and their calves, tigers, lions, zebras, cheetahs and more, oh my!

Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean – we went on these rides back-to-back and you loved them both.  Haunted Mansion has always been my favorite… that dining room scene where we look down and view the ghosts eating, dancing and dueling is still the coolest thing ever.  Still holds up!

One of the funniest things you said on vacation was when you told me, repeatedly, in slightly different ways:

I’m 48-inches now, so I can see everything.  So I’m 48 inches and that means I can go on every ride.  Because I’m 48 inches I can ride all the rides.

 

 

Liberty Tavern – after the Haunted Mansion, we went to eat at the Liberty Tavern…we went upstairs and had our own private area (it was night time and a rainy night, so we got lucky).  You sat with Ben and were absolutely starving… you devoured clam chowder, chicken fingers, fries and yogurt. When finished, you said said:

I want to come here tomorrow night!

 

Star Tours– although you went to Disney with your family last year, the Star Wars ride was shut down.  You had visited the gift shop and walked under the giant At-At’s, but that was all. This time, you, Ben, Emma, Dad, Uncle Josh and me waited in line, walked by R2D2 and C3P0 up the inside ramp and eventually made our way to the ride which was very cool.  When it was over you said:

Is that it?  It’s so short!

Legoland – on our second full day we traveled south for an hour to Legoland.  None of us had ever been there.  The most amazing part was the giant display of various cities, all made out of legos, from San Francisco and Las Vegas to New York City and Washington D.C.  You also enjoyed seeing the car made out of legos and driving your own car at the Test Track ride.

Harry Potter  – on Day 5 we journeyed to Universal Studios to see the new Hogwarts-Harry Potter land which opened just last Fall.  It was incredibly packed with people… elbow-to-elbow crowds.. You, Emma, Ben, Grammy, Uncle Tim and Auntie Nicole waited over two hours to get inside, but it was so awesome to see…inside the paintings moved and spoke just like in the books and it was amazingly life-like.  The ride was a fast moving, topsy turvy affair with cool special effects that included flying on our broomsticks and through giant spider cowwebs.  Poor  Emma… after waiting so long, she wasn’t let on the ride because she was short by an inch!

Dinner at the castle – Emma and Ben didn’t have their autograph books as princess after princess made their way to our table.  You felt bad and tore out pages from your own autograph book so they could get autographs.  I was so proud of you… how thoughtful is that?

Favorite restaurants –  besides the Liberty Tavern and Polynesian breakfast (both covered in this post), your favorite dining experiences also included the T.Rex restaurant (storms & scary dinosaurs! ) and Sci-Fi Theatre where you watched famous black and white “B” monster movies while drinking a chocolate shake with an ice cube that lit up!

Tom Sawyer’s island – this was easily one of your top two favorites from the week. You didn’t go there last year… so it was a new experience.  You had fun roaming around (running actually), walking through dimly lit caves, exploring a fort, shooting guns at imaginary targets on the river, walking across a rickety floating tire bridge; finding the secret tunnel; hearing the creaky water wheel in the windmill.  The log raft ride over to the island and back was also a cool way to get there.

Tower of Terror – I was so impressed with how you handled this ride… it’s pretty darn scary for a little kid, but you sat next to your mom and never made a peep. She said you were nervous, but I wouldn’t have known! I would never have had the courage to do that at your age.

Splash Mountain – this was the last ride we did- you and Ben sat in the front seat of our log flume boat…. Emma sat with her Dad and I had the middle row.  It’s a great drop at the end and we all got wet, especially you!  Check out the photo of you and Ben going down the waterfall – you guys might have been a little nervous!

Movies at night – the night before we left, we watched a Winnie the Pooh movie under the stars at the Wilderness Lodge beach.  You re-arranged the beach chairs so you, Ben, Emma, Ainsley and Molly could sit together… then you spent most of the time burying yourself  in the sand with Emma and Molly.

The Polynesian breakfast – this was by far the best morning meal we had all week (except maybe for the countless powdered mini donuts). Lilo & Stitch came around, as did the star of the show Micky Mouse. You & Emma went to the front of the conga line with marrakas and marched around the restaurant with others behind you – you were both laughing!

The swimming pool –  nothing feels better than a dip in a pool after a long, hot day. The pool at our hotel was a real nice one.  We did a lot of “fake fighting” having been inspired by the Indiana Jones show. You and Ben piled onto me and soaked me with endless splashes.

On our last day you said:

I want to stay here… I don’t mean on vacation… I mean live here.  You can go to the  parks and the weather is always nice.”

It was an unforgettable vacation… Grammy and I are so proud we were able to take you and everyone else there…  spend time together and create great memories.

On Saturday March 10, the 13 of us began our Disney vacation adventure together.

You were very excited as you meet up with your cousins at the Manchester Airport.   Here’s a photo of the Three Musketeers & Moose before we left:

You sat with Ben on the way down, ate snacks, looked out the window once in awhile and played video games:

Some of the funny things you said:

(As we were getting closer to Orlando on the airplane):

  “We’re gonna turn and then we’re going to go down.”

(a few minutes later…):

“I’ve spotted Disney World… oh… it’s a bridge.”

 

After we landed we eventually made our way to our hotel, the Wilderness Lodge.

Then after checking in, we went on a boat to the Magic Kingdom:

Before we got into Tony’s italian restaurant on Main Street USA, I noticed a sign for autographs with princesses, so we checked it out and you got autographs with pretty girls!

Everybody was too tired to do anything after dinner at Disney World that night – except for you and Ainsley… so your Dad and I and the two of you went on the Carousel and saw Cinderella’s castle all lit up… you were intrepid troopers!

It’s amazing how much progress you made playing hockey in a few months. 

While you were always able to stand up and move along in the early days, you obviously didn’t have much control.

When we saw you play your last game on March 3, Grammy and I marveled at your progress. You skated with precision, able to turn on a dime and control the puck.

Tonight your team had a big treat: you skated on the big time ice of UNH’s Whittemore Center.  Then you and your teammates received awards.

You had a blast, skating the full length of the ice, shooting goals and checking your friend into the boards. Wild E Cat was there too.

You’re not afraid! You’re going to be a great athlete!