Disney World

First night in Magic Kingdom

At Christmas, we were given the gift of a trip to Disney World.  I had never been, Jeff had been to Epcot once and we had sort of decided it wasn't something we were going to to prioritize for our family, due to the cost.  But it seemed silly to turn down such a generous gift.  So we got started planning our trip to Disney.
A trip to Disney is similar to child birth in that everyone you talk to has their theory on the best way to do it and horror stories about people who did it different than they are suggesting.  I went back and forth between feeling like it was a gift: we do what we can, anything we do is more than we would have done on our own, and totally stressing out: we are going to do this once ever so it must be perfect. I did create a general itinerary, listing the things we thought the boys would really like and how to make sure those happened, and made some dinner reservations.  Going to Disney in the "off season", meaning not winter or spring break, is nice - it felt plenty crowded to me but we were told over and over that this was a "low crowd" time.  I can't imagine what its like when it's at capacity.
Overall, it was fabulous -the boys were into the magic.  Sam overcame his fear of mascots after 2 character photo opps.   Turns out Casey loves roller coasters!  Our hotel was beautiful, the weather was warm but great, and everything just worked out really well.  If you are going to Disney, I would be happy to share more about what we did and saw, but here I will just share some pictures and stories.

Meeting the mouse

When we met Mickey Mouse, we were in Animal Kingdom on our first full day. Sam had just decided he would be willing to be up close and personal with the characters.  We waited in line for a little bit.  The boys got Mickey's autograph and a few pictures and we were heading out to let the next family have their turn.  But Casey turned back, and we heard him say to Mickey "I just wanted to say thank you, we are having a a lot of fun in your place."

Phineas and Ferb!

One of my favorite stops was Phineas and Ferb, who we all love.  They hang out in Hollywood Studios, which was definitely a favorite spot for all of us.  The boys got really into getting autographs, which makes for a nice keepsake.

Another highlight in Hollywood Studios was Jedi Trainning, where the boys got to learn some light saber skills and then battle Darth Vader - here are some pics from that -

Our dinner in Hollywood Studios was in a cool diner and we sat next to two women and their teenaged daughters.  The tables were a little close and we are a little loud and outgoing, so we chatted a bit.  They thought the boys were cute.  But when we were getting ready to leave, Sam asked them if they wanted to hear a joke.... oh boy.  Within a few minutes, he had them crying from laughing.  Not because his jokes are so great but because he would tell them a joke and then explain why it was funny, with huge hand motions.  It was so funny!  We finally got him to move on, and when I thanked them for being so gracious, they assured me that they were not just being nice, "that kid is hilarious!"

Some other favorite shots:

Mom and Dad had one date night while we were there which was great!

Casey denies being afraid but I think his face gives him away

Hollywood Studios

Epcot on our last day

Everyone slept really well :)

It's really quite a place - the hospitality and guest service is incredible and we were impressed with all the staff we interacted with.  We are so grateful to have had the chance to get the boys there!

We have about 300 pictures from our trip, and I don't know yet what we will do with them.  I am so grateful to have them though to help these boys remember this magical time!