*****SPOILER ALERT: MANY CUTE PICTURES!*****
We talked for over a year and we planned for several months and carefully made reservations. We read and studied and knew just what we wanted to do…or so we thought! We waited until we thought Levi was old enough to really enjoy it…we got that part right! We filled our gas tanks and headed south...DISNEY, HERE WE COME! Early on the morning of Nov.9, 2016 we began our trip. A couple of stops along the way…and we were there….in the land of the mouse!
Quickly we checked into our room around lunch time…we had passes for the first ride at 1:45! And we made it! Oh! it felt good to walk those streets of the Magic Kingdom again! All the happy people, the music, the quaint buildings and more smiles than you could count! Two more passes during the afternoon and then we made our way to dinner!
Pirate beds in our rooms…
New ‘BB8’ pajamas…
The next morning we slept a little longer cause the big Mickey’s Christmas Party was tonight! We had a nice breakfast and then hit the Magic Kingdom again!
Levi found these funky glasses at breakfast…
Many were the times his feet didn’t touch the ground…
The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast…then headed to the Magic Kingdom!. Tonight is Mickey’s Christmas Party, so we want to pace ourselves through the day! HA! Pace ourselves? With a 5 year old? Didn’t happen!
All decorated for Christmas…
Even Levi…
At the Christmas parade was where I saw our Levi the most animated. With snow falling overhead and a cool chill in the air, it was perfect weather for a parade. Once it began, it was a continual feast of lights and sounds and singing and lovable characters. One after the other they came! Levi would push his little body outside the edge of the crowd to keep us informed. “Y’all its Goofy and Pluto! Y’all it’s dancing girls! Look it’s tin soldiers marching! Hey! It’s Mickey and Minnie” First he climbed up Don’s shoulders, then a while in my lap (the wheelchair raised me up) then on Adam’s shoulders, to finally collapse in Suzanne’s lap when they were all gone! What a glorious parade! What Christmas joy it brought to those watching! Delightful!
“It is God who has given us these times of joy!” Psalm 81:4
Day 3 was our big day at Hollywood Studios. Levi was looking most forward to this! He is a big StarWars fan (along with his daddy and uncles) and he wanted to do the Jedi training! They had to be in line at 8:00 to try and get a spot. But Don and I didn’t. We rested a while, then ate breakfast and joined them at the park about 11. Levi was able to meet several of the characters and see so much of the Star Wars paraphernalia they used in the movies. He was beside himself with excitement!
Levi with Chewbacca…
And a Jawa…
Then the time came for the show and he was picked to participate! What fun! He was a ‘young padawan’…boys who will eventually learn to be a Jedi Knight. He got to fight Darth Vader with his lightsaber!
Oh, what a special treat! Afterwards he went to the store and got his own costume and made his own lightsaber! It seems young padawans are exhausted after a fierce battle with the Dark Side!
Day 4 was Epcot Day. This was not as much fun to any of us because there was a food and wine festival going on and the crowd was shoulder to shoulder…literally. We couldn’t stop to see anything much in the countries area…we just got swept along with the crowds.
A highlight here was our dinner where the characters come by and speak to all the children. This made Levi even more excited~
And, we came to Day 5, our last day…back at Magic Kingdom. We rode lots of rides today. I had promised Levi that he and I would do “It’s a Small World and “Dumbo” together and we did! Sweet memories of riding these same rides with my boys 28 years ago on their first Disney trip…and a couple of other times since then. He rode a few others as well. One of his favorite seemed to be riding on my electric scooter, though!
Little boys and their little toys…tiny droids he made…
On the monorail…
With Mama and Daddy…
With Lulu and Pa…
We also rode over to see the cars from the movie “CARS” and “CARS2”. He loved being able to see these in person…we have about 100 of the small ones in the Studio and at his house…
Good ole Mater…Lightning McQueen…..and Fillmore…
And the end came on Day 6, as we packed up the cars and headed back north to Dothan. It was a trip full of good times…one Levi and his parents will long remember…as will Don and I. We talked of the sweetness of having a grandchild as kind and loving as Levi. He was a trooper…never whined…never complained…even took it with a smile if we could not ride something. However, he did not like one of the little roller coasters even though his parents were with him. Don’t blame him a bit!
As I observed the crowds of folks around me at any given time…I noticed how lovely it really was. Not just the surroundings, which were exquisite. But, families spending times together…each making sure the others were happy. Little ones having their parents full attention. And parents doting on their kids…each thinking their child is the cutest in the park. Grandparents tagging along or sitting out while the kids all rode….but remembering when these parents were the little ones and they were the parents. It was only a few years ago. Why, we were all together in this same place…doing the same thing…riding the same rides…and eating mouse shaped ice cream. Falling into bed exhausted in the evening and bright eyed and bushy tailed by morning…ready to go again! This time our pace is slower…and some resort to wheelchair and electric scooter. We try to placate our big children when they get weary and cross with the little ones. Cause we finally learned the secret. That a child can’t help but be a child. God built into them a sense of excitement and wonder and joy. Add that natural exuberance to a place created for just such things…and you have “The Happiest Place on Earth!” There is so much to see and so much to do (and eat and buy)…that it can be overwhelming! But such a glorious overwhelm! Don’t you wonder what is running through their little minds when they finally lay their heads down on their pillows? What will they remember about such a time when they return to their homes? (For myself and Levi…I will document our trip with this blog post, and a scrapbook for him to look at and remember) Its been said that ‘we don’t remember days…we remember moments.’ And I, for sure, saw many moments well worth tucking away and pulling out again and again! “Thank you, God, for blessing us with this trip! We acknowledge that “every good and perfect gift comes from you.” James 1:17
Hello, my name is Everly. I am a blogger living in New York. This is my blog, where I post about interior design and decoration. Never miss out on new stuff.
Tonja, this is a great post to your blog. Felt as though I had been to Disney with your family. We, as a family living in Orlando 14 years, loved Disney. What wonderful memories this post brought to mind; the time we took Richard's Mom and Dad and they enjoyed it as much as us. The years Allison worked at Disney and that wonderful training of the Disney Way to do business which still serves her so well today. "precious memories, how they linger". Thanks my friend.
But such a glorious overwhelm!
I'm going to put that in my journal, as one of the most evocative lines by a Grandparent I've ever seen.
We've never been, but all the GRANDS have, with their parents, from time to time.
One of the sweetest pictures we have of Sweetpea is of her and handsome Prince Charming, linked in a dance, and looking adoringly at each other as if the magic will go on forever..
And may it be so.
Happy Thankfuls to you and all yours this wonderful season!
rachel