Here Zoey is at the airport...for those that don't know, this was Zoey's first time in an airplane and I was a bit nervous to find out what kind of flyer she was going to be. At the airport she was an absolute pro...you couldn't tell she had never flown before.
Here is grandma and grandpa (my mom and step-dad) on the plane sitting ahead of us.
We had two flights to catch before getting to the Orlando Airport and the weather wasn't the greatest when we took off. We were the first flight to take off that day to Detroit due to weather (our flight had been delayed 2 hours and later we found out that we were the first flight out that day to Detroit due to the weather...some people had been waiting at the airport since 8am that morning to catch the plane that we ended flying out on at 4pm). There was a bit of turbulence on the flight...Zoey was not impressed! Can you tell?
It was all worth it though in the end...with all the delays that we had we didn't end up getting to Orlando and settled in to our hotel until 2am! We stayed at a hotel close to the airport that night and then got up early to catch a taxi back to the airport so we could catch Disney's Magical Express to our Disney hotel the Arts and Animation Resort Little Nemo Family Suite which is where we stayed while at Disney.
The Disney Magical Express was a form of transportation that Zoey enjoyed much more than flying in an airplane!
Here are mom and Ross ahead of us...we're almost there and we can't wait to start our vacation!!!
First we check our bags at the hotel and are delighted to discover that our room is ready early so we can forgo checking in our bags at the desk and just go ahead and get settled in our room right away. On our way to our room we check out the pool that's in front of our building. Zoey approves!
We also have a playground in front of our building...
After admiring the pool we went ahead into our suite to check things out. It was amazing! I didn't get any photos of it but you can check it out here and click on the Finding Nemo Family Suite photo gallery.
We got little Micky shampoos and soaps every morning.
And they shaped our towels in different Disney characters every morning...
After dropping off our things and getting ourselves settled into our family suite at the Arts and Animation Resort we headed off on the shuttle bus to Magic Kingdom.
We were so excited to get our day started!! It was surreal at certain moments. Everything was just as I thought it would be or even better...more magical. Magical is truly the word that I would use!
Here was our first view of the castle.
Here is Zoey and the castle...she was in awe!
And my mom and step-dad...
We saw Pluto right away in the town square so we were sure to get his autograph.
Then we went into the Town Square Theater and met Mickey Mouse. Zoey's favorite character that she met...she was very bashful with Mickey. Mickey hugged and kissed her a lot so her bashfulness could have something to do with that. :)
Next it was off to meet some of Zoey's favorite princesses starting with Rapunzel. Rapunzel is Zoey's favorite princess so it was neat that she was the first one that came out to get Zoey and bring her in to meet the princesses. Each princess had a little conversation with Zoey and then signed her autograph book and then posed for pictures and gave hugs. It was pretty sweet to watch and afterwards when we asked Zoey what they talked about with her she couldn't remember anything!! All she could recall was that Sleeping Beauty (Aurora) commented about the cheese in Wisconsin!
Here is Sleeping Beauty also known as Princess Aurora and Zoey...
And of course Zoey was thrilled to meet Cinderella...her dress was beautiful according to Zoey and I would have to agree with her. It was so fun seeing all the princesses dressed up so fancy and to see how they signed their names. Zoey said that Cinderella was very kind. :)
You can tell that Zoey was smitten with Cinderella...she was so smiley and happy!!
Here is another shot of the castle as we walked closer into Magic Kingdom.
You are going to be seeing lots of pictures of the castle I'm afraid...I just wanted to make sure that I got a good one once I was home!
It was a hot first day and we had been walking quite a bit already so Zoey took a break and cooled off at the Casey Jr. Splash 'N' Soak Station.
Here is Rapunzel's tower...
Zoey getting a Mickey Mouse ice cream bar...
Here Zoey is riding the Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover which she loved.
Another shot of the castle from a different vantage point within the kingdom.
While we were there Disney World was having a special Spring Gardening celebration so we got to see several fancy floral displays throughout Disney World. Here is Mickey and Minnie.
We caught this little guy hanging out with Mickey!
Here we are right at the castle...this is my mom and Ross again.
After a full day of exploring at Magic Kingdom it was time to head on over the The Grand Floridian for dinner with Cinderella and her step-sisters. We took this boat over to the Grand Floridian.
After sitting at our table who should appear but Prince Charming himself! Zoey was so cute talking with him!
Then next Lady Tremaine stopped by the table and was very snooty indeed! Zoey wasn't quite sure how to take her. :)
Then it was one of the step-sisters who stopped by, I think this one was Drizella...
Finally, Cinderella!!!
She was just beautiful and Zoey was bashful once again!
Then it was Anastasia...she came over to the table and pulled Zoey's hair!
While signing Zoey's book she said, "Soooooooo....what do you like about ME?" Zoey giggled pretty much the entire time while Anastasia was around.
Upon leaving our table she said, "Nice to meet me!!"
Here are some shots of the inside lobby of the Grand Floridian. It was a beautiful building and the photos don't do it justice, my lighting was poor and I just wasn't happy with my photos but I wanted to share anyways.
There was a live orchestra playing old show tunes from one of the balconies above. It was so fun!
Grandpa Ross and Zoey dancing...
Here we are coming off the boat from the Grand Floridian and back to Magic Kingdom.
We found a spot to sit to watch the Disney Main Street Electrical Parade which I am pretty sure was my favorite part of our Disney adventure. Wow, it totally blew me away! They projected things onto the castle somehow...and it was just amazing! The photos do nothing for what it was in real life...it truly blew me away.
Here is a video I found of the Celebrate the Magic projection show on the castle, it was amazing!!!
At one point I just stopped taking pictures because I wanted to watch and enjoy and because I may or may not have been crying. :)
It was truly amazing! I hope you can get an idea of what it entailed by my photos...I know they aren't the best due to lighting and the movement of the parade but I tried! Here is a video of what we saw:
This completes my photos from day one of Magic Kingdom...we went there again on Day Two because there was just so much to do and see there so I will share those photos next in a different post.
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