Disney! Day 1

 

We just got back from a fantastic trip to Disney World!!! We were planning on taking Hud to Disneyland this fall, but after much discussion we decided to do Disney World instead.  Hud is so into Mickey Mouse, Toy Story, Cars, etc. that we knew he would absolutely love it there.  Then there was the massive debate on whether or not to take Harper.  After many discussions, many tears from me, asking advice from others (thank you so much Shannon!!!) we decided to leave her with my parents.  Ultimately, it came down to the fact that Harper is a fabulous sleeper and I just could not rock that boat. The compromise was that we would go back in a couple of years when she is into princesses and all of that fun stuff. (Harper, when you read this many, many years from now – mommy loves you very much and I promise this will be made up to you. :))

So, we woke Hudson up very early (5:45) to head to the airport.  He was very distraught that Harper wasn’t with us, but as predicted once we got there he was fine. (We left Harper at my parent’s the night before and Hud was VERY upset to leave her which had me worried).

Hudson did great on the flight – despite his early wake up.  Once we landed, thanks to the Magical Express, we were able to skip baggage claim and go straight to the “school bus”.  It was a little nerve wracking for me to have Hud on a vehicle without a car seat, but of course it was fine.

Once we arrived to our resort (Port Orleans French Quarter), we immediately scoped out the room.  Hudson has stayed in hotel rooms before, but not since he was very young…too young to remember. He was quite intrigued:

Then it was time to wait for the next “school bus” (all buses were school buses and all trains were dinosaur trains this week):

The first of MANY shoulder rides:

Our first stop was Animal Kingdom!  Perfect for our animal loving boy:

Some of us were starving so we stopped to eat lunch first…some of us were not starving (and really didn’t eat all week for that matter!!):

We were headed to ride some rides, when Hud detoured to meet his first characters! Winnie the Pooh and the gang. He was SO excited. What cracked me up was he would start hopping up and down whenever he would meet a new one with his hands clasped. Every single character imitated him doing it. It was hilarious.

Winnie:

Eyeore was next:

Then Tigger:

After that it was time for Hud’s first ride EVER!

He LOVED it!!!

Posing at the base of the dinosaur:

Taking a picture break:

 

We were headed to the safari, when a parade broke out:

 

Hudson was enthralled by the safari ride:

Walking through the fog by the gorilla sanctuary:

Water break:

When Animal Kingdom closed, we headed to dinner at Ohana!  Disney has this incredible deal during certain parts of the year – FREE DINING!  Everyone in your party gets one quick service meal, one character meal and one snack PER DAY!  We were able to eat some fantastic dinners thanks to this wonderful deal!

Ohana is at the (gorgeous) Polynesian resort.  It is a Hawaiian themed dinner served family style(or in our case Trent/Meggan style. Hud got peanut butter):

 

The have fun games and activities for the kids too:

We have fantastic video of Hud dancing – I just have to figure out how to upload it! 

We were back to our hotel by 8, ready to get some good sleep in preparation for the Magic Kingdom!