Disney World, Day 1

We had an absolute AMAZING time at Disney World this year.  It truly is the most magical place on earth.

And I can't wait to go back!

*As I did with our trip to San Francisco, I'll break apart our visit in four posts.  One for each day.  Because there was so much we jammed-packed into those four short days.*

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Upon entering the park, you're of course greeted with the most wonderful sight: Main Street, U.S.A.  Drew especially loved the train station, while I favored the grandiose Christmas Tree that was so beautifully decorated.





 Our plan of attack was to visit Fantasyland first.  Our friends had told us that this part of the park gets crazy-busy in the afternoon, so we wanted to try to steer clear of it as much as possible in the latter part of the day.

Well, that was our plan. 

But we just happened to go during the most busiest time of the year so in all honestly, it really didn't matter.  Besides the early morning hours, it was crowded the entire day and night.  So we just decided to stay in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland on the first day, then Liberty Square, Frontierland, and Adventureland the second day.

First up, the classic Tea Cups!

Then it was "It's A Small World," another classic.  It was exactly how I remembered it, 20+ years ago.

We saw a couple of amazing 3D shows, our first being Mickey's PhilharMagic.  It is UNBELIEVABLE, the types of shows and movies they put on.  Not only are you seeing it live, on a huge screen, but it's amazing how life-like they make it.  They pipe in smells at the all the appropriate times, like the smell of sweets when showing a candy store.  They even blast you with a subtle mist of water during any water scene.  Truly amazing.

After lunch, it was time to take it easy, with a ride on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover.

Then we took a quick spin around the race track at Tomorrowland's Speedway.

Around mid-afternoon, it decided to suddenly downpour on us.....so we all got completely drenched.  This was actually a blessing in disguise, because it allowed us to go back to our hotel to catch a quick nap, before heading out again for the night.

My sweet, sleeping men.

After our little siesta, we were in full-force roller coaster/action-ride mode.  We took an intergalactic, interactive adventure on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, went to Stitch's Great Escape, and hit Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor.  While waiting in line for some of those, Andy took the kid's on Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress.  He said it was exactly the same as he remembered it back in the 80's.  Not sure the kid's fully enjoyed it, but it kept them entertained while I waited in line.

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin

Since we didn't hit all the attractions in Fantasyland that morning, we headed back over there, by finishing all the fun rides like Peter Pan's Flight, Snow White's Scary Adventures, and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

Oh, but wait! 

How could I forget all the princesses and characters we met?!?!  We got Emma an autograph/photo book, so she can remember all the fun characters she met on this trip.  Can you guess her favorite?

We ended our first night with a lightTAStic display of fireworks and the Main Street Electrical Parade. 

Ahhh.....the parades.  They, too, are amazing. 

No photo does this justice.
It was simply stunning, all the thousands and thousands of lights that covered the castle.

And here are some videos I took of the show they put on, ON the castle.  Again, no photo or video can do this justice.  It is mind-blowing how and what they do.  The castle must be wrapped in some sort of LED film, where they project images up on it.  It was stunning.