After months and months of planning and anticipation, we finally had our trip to Florida where we celebrated Kaelia's birthday in Florida (and Disney World) with our good friends from high school, Adam and Michelle, and their two beautiful little girls. It was a wonderful trip. We started off by having a very small, low-key birthday party at Adam and Michelle's house followed by a trip to the beach. Then we headed over to Orlando for Universal Studios and the Magic Kingdom.
Our first day in Orlando was spent at Universal Studios, and we had an amazing time. We went straight to Harry Potter World to avoid long lines; it was definitely worth it. We never waited for more than 10 minutes for any ride, and we took advantage of the Kid Swap room where Justin and I could take turns riding the rides while the girls sat in a little room and watched Harry Potter movies. The rides were awesome, and the girls were even allowed to go on one of them. It was the Hippogriff ride, and it was pretty intense for a 3 and 4 year-old. The girls thought is was awesome, though. Taelyn rode with Justin and screamed the entire team with pure joy while Kaelia rode with me and just giggled throughout the entire ride. This was actually Kaelia first roller coaster ever, and it was quite a big one for her first experience. Afterwards, we enjoyed some delicious Butter Beer and Pumpkin Juice and then headed over the Jurassic Park. The rides were not quite as intense as Harry Potter World, but the theme was great, and the kids loved the hands-on dinosaur center. We then ended the day in Dr. Seuss Land for the girls to play.
That night, we checked in to our Disney resort and went down to the pools to swim. Unfortunately, the pools quickly closed due to thunder and lightning and we had to call it a night.
The next day, we went to the Magic Kingdom which was just as big and magical as we had dreamed. The girls were certainly dressed the part; Taelyn came as Princess Aurora, and Kaelia was Cinderella - both absolutely beautiful. We decided to head to the back to the park to see Ariel first, so we walked through Cinderella's castle to get there. Kaelia immediately fell in to character and talked about how we were going to her castle. Then when we were inside, she showed me all of the paintings on the wall and said, "Look at my pictures. I did them all by myself!" It was adorable. When we got to Ariel's grotto, we rode her ride and then got in line to meet the princess herself. Taelyn was completely enamored because Ariel is her favorite princess. Next, we rode a few rides including Dumbo and the teacups and then caught a dancing and singing show back at Cinderella's castle. Here, the girls saw Aurora, Cinderella, and Snow White dancing with their princes. This was actually the only time we saw these princesses because we turned down waiting in line for an hour later on to see them in person. Instead, we saw a line to meet Merida from Brave, and it didn't look too long. Little did we know, that this line continued on for a while once we got inside the gate, so we actually waited for 45 minutes. Fortunately, there were tasks to keep the kids entertained: archery practice and Merida coloring pages. The girls were great at archery and both hit the target. Finally, when it was our turn to see Merida, the girls were quiet and cranky, and when we left, Kaelia was really mad and said, "Mom, that wasn't Merida. That wasn't her face!"
To end our time at the Magic Kingdom, we went to a Pooh bear character breakfast where the girls got to hang out with Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore while they had their lunch. They really like this experience - especially bouncing with Tigger. Kaelia was so tired, though, that she ended up laying down on her chair and tried to get some rest. We took that as our cue to head back to the resort. Once we got there, though, the girls were wide awake again and went straight to the pools. This time rain did not get in our way, and we spent four hours swimming and sliding down water slides. Both girls worked their way up the bigger slides in the park, and eventually Taelyn even went down without arm floaties. They were so happy and fun to swim with!
Our trip to Florida was everything we had hoped it would be and the perfect way to celebrate Kaelia's birthday and spent time together as a family. Here are some highlights of the trip.
Our first day in Orlando was spent at Universal Studios, and we had an amazing time. We went straight to Harry Potter World to avoid long lines; it was definitely worth it. We never waited for more than 10 minutes for any ride, and we took advantage of the Kid Swap room where Justin and I could take turns riding the rides while the girls sat in a little room and watched Harry Potter movies. The rides were awesome, and the girls were even allowed to go on one of them. It was the Hippogriff ride, and it was pretty intense for a 3 and 4 year-old. The girls thought is was awesome, though. Taelyn rode with Justin and screamed the entire team with pure joy while Kaelia rode with me and just giggled throughout the entire ride. This was actually Kaelia first roller coaster ever, and it was quite a big one for her first experience. Afterwards, we enjoyed some delicious Butter Beer and Pumpkin Juice and then headed over the Jurassic Park. The rides were not quite as intense as Harry Potter World, but the theme was great, and the kids loved the hands-on dinosaur center. We then ended the day in Dr. Seuss Land for the girls to play.
That night, we checked in to our Disney resort and went down to the pools to swim. Unfortunately, the pools quickly closed due to thunder and lightning and we had to call it a night.
The next day, we went to the Magic Kingdom which was just as big and magical as we had dreamed. The girls were certainly dressed the part; Taelyn came as Princess Aurora, and Kaelia was Cinderella - both absolutely beautiful. We decided to head to the back to the park to see Ariel first, so we walked through Cinderella's castle to get there. Kaelia immediately fell in to character and talked about how we were going to her castle. Then when we were inside, she showed me all of the paintings on the wall and said, "Look at my pictures. I did them all by myself!" It was adorable. When we got to Ariel's grotto, we rode her ride and then got in line to meet the princess herself. Taelyn was completely enamored because Ariel is her favorite princess. Next, we rode a few rides including Dumbo and the teacups and then caught a dancing and singing show back at Cinderella's castle. Here, the girls saw Aurora, Cinderella, and Snow White dancing with their princes. This was actually the only time we saw these princesses because we turned down waiting in line for an hour later on to see them in person. Instead, we saw a line to meet Merida from Brave, and it didn't look too long. Little did we know, that this line continued on for a while once we got inside the gate, so we actually waited for 45 minutes. Fortunately, there were tasks to keep the kids entertained: archery practice and Merida coloring pages. The girls were great at archery and both hit the target. Finally, when it was our turn to see Merida, the girls were quiet and cranky, and when we left, Kaelia was really mad and said, "Mom, that wasn't Merida. That wasn't her face!"
To end our time at the Magic Kingdom, we went to a Pooh bear character breakfast where the girls got to hang out with Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore while they had their lunch. They really like this experience - especially bouncing with Tigger. Kaelia was so tired, though, that she ended up laying down on her chair and tried to get some rest. We took that as our cue to head back to the resort. Once we got there, though, the girls were wide awake again and went straight to the pools. This time rain did not get in our way, and we spent four hours swimming and sliding down water slides. Both girls worked their way up the bigger slides in the park, and eventually Taelyn even went down without arm floaties. They were so happy and fun to swim with!
Our trip to Florida was everything we had hoped it would be and the perfect way to celebrate Kaelia's birthday and spent time together as a family. Here are some highlights of the trip.
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