Walt Disney World – May 14 to May 21, 2008
Benjamin’s First trip to Disney World!

Wednesday — 11am flight. Character dinner at Chef Mickey with Mickey and the Gang.
Ben was very good on the airplane. He wanted to sit between Mommy and Papa. He ate his animal crackers and drank his milk during take off and landing so that his ears didn’t hurt from the pressure. He didn’t sleep on the plane so he was exhausted when we arrived. He slept in the car on the way to the hotel. He slept in the car all through check-in and kept sleeping while we went to buy groceries. He woke up as we were getting ready to leave the store. As we drove to our hotel, we told him to look for Mickey Ears on the street signs. He loved it. The whole rest of the trip, on every car ride he’d proclaim “I looking Mickey Ears!” He would point them out whenever he saw them. We got back to the hotel and he loved the Mickey Ears on the banisters. He explored the room and found lots of great hiding spots for himself and his toys — his favorites were the big closet in Mommy and Daddy’s room and the big cabinet in the kitchen. We went to dinner at Chef Mickey in the Contemporary. He loved seeing the characters. He was a little afraid when they came close to him but he loved seeing them from far away. He was the most afraid of Goofy and the least afraid of Minnie. After dinner, we took the monorail to Magic Kingdom to pick up our tickets. He loved seeing the big Mickey and Minnie topiaries. He went to bed without an argument… he must have been so exhausted!

Thursday — Daytime in Magic Kingdom. Character dinner at Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom with Pooh and the gang.
Ben was a little confused today… he wasn’t quite sure if this was supposed to be fun or not. He didn’t understand what a “ride” was all about. We went to the Pooh ride first. He liked it, but didn’t ask to go on it again. Then we went on Dumbo. The line was not too long (maybe 25 minutes). He liked that. We tried to go on Jungle Cruise but it was closed for renovation. We went on Pirates of the Caribbean next and he was terrified… mostly because it was very dark. He kept saying “Home!” and “All Done!”. We didn’t do any other rides that we thought could be scary all week. We went on “It’s A Small World” for the first of 7 times this week. We told him he’d see “dolls” and he loved it! After lunch, we headed back to the room. We tried to put him down in the crib for a nap but he screamed and screamed. We eventually took him for a walk and he went right to sleep. The rest of the week, we didn’t even bother with the bed at naptime… we just put him in the stroller and he slept much more happily. We went back to the Magic Kingdom at night for dinner with Pooh. That was his favorite dinner all week! He loved seeing the characters. When Pooh came up to him, he gave him the biggest hug! He buried himself in Pooh and hugged with all his might. It brought tears to our eyes! He hugged Piglet too but he was a little more hesitant with Tigger and Eeyore. Before dinner, we went on Daddy’s favorite ride. Ben liked it too. After dinner, we went on Buzz Lightyear and killed the aliens. He definitely thought that was fun! We rode on the Grand Prix raceway. Ben said “I drive!” He sat on Mommy’s lap the first time and helped me drive. He kept turning the wheel and we kept crashing. Then he sat between Mommy and Daddy while Daddy drove. Next, we went to Toontown to see Mickey and Minnie’s houses. He liked exploring them. He was exhausted by the end of our first full day!

Friday — Pool day. Dinner at Germany in Epcot.
We had been running around too much so we decided to spend some time and slow down. We played at the pool most of the day and then went to Epcot in the evening. Ben loved the kiddie pool. He’d still a yellow pool noodle from the big pool and bring it into the kiddie pool. (Yellow is his favorite color.) He went in the big pool with his life vest on. He didn’t like it as much because it was much cooler. (The kiddie pool was like bath water.) To get him used to it, we’d have him march along the steps and go one step lower each time. We’d sing the marching song “March and march and march, and march and march and march, and march and march and march and march and march and march and stop!” (to the tune of farmer in the dell). He learned to kick his legs in the pool. He’d put the pool noodle under him and we pretended that the noodle was Mr Ray from Finding Nemo and Ben was Nemo swimming on top of Mr Ray. He also liked watching Mommy or Daddy come out of the big water slide. He thought that was hilarious! In the evening, we went to Epcot. Ben LOVED the Nemo ride. Fortunately, there weren’t long lines. We went on over and over. It was so sweet. We had dinner at Germany in Epcot. Ben liked watching the show and he liked waving his napkin over his head. He learned to yell “Ticky Tocky Ticky Tocky! Hoy Hoy Hoy!” (He did the Hoy part).

Saturday — Animal Kingdom. Dinner at Cape May Café in Beach Club.
We went to Animal Kingdom today. Ben loved the safari. He especially liked the giraffes and hippos. He’ll tell you that the lions were sleeping. And he’ll tell you that it was bouncy. We played in the dinosaur playground too. He loved that. He was so impressed by seeing all the animals in real life. It was so great to see. Ben was a little terror at dinner at Cape May Café in the Beach Club. He didn’t want to sit still. After dinner, we went outside and played on the beach. He loved running on the sand and climbing on the lounge chairs. He stood on the chairs and did his “Da Da” dance. He put his hands up in the air and danced around singing “Da Da Da”. He was in rare form! He had a blast! He liked sitting on the big swings with mommy and daddy and he loved pushing us on the swings. He definitely had a great time!

Sunday — Character dinner at 1900 Park Fare in Grand Floridian.
We had a busy day at the Magic Kingdom. He was wiped out by dinner time. He fell asleep in the stroller at the hotel. We moved him to the car seat and he kept sleeping. We moved him to mommy’s arms and he stayed asleep. We moved him back to the stroller in the restaurant and he stayed asleep! He finally woke up at the end of dinner. He ate some broccoli and chicken and we brought some with us. We went over to Magic Kingdom to watch the parade. He was probably the first kid in history to stand in line waiting for the parade and chomp on some broccoli. So funny! He liked the parade a lot. We couldn’t believe he stayed up late enough to see it! Good thing he took such a long nap.

Monday — Dinner at Whispering Canyon at Wilderness Lodge.
We went back to Animal Kingdom today and rode the safari again. Mommy and Daddy and Grandma rode Expedition Everest while Ben stayed with Papa. We saw the Nemo show too. Ben loved it at first, but he fell asleep in the middle. At dinner, Ben liked playing with the Lincoln Logs at the restaurant.

Tuesday — Character dinner at Liberty Tavern in Magic Kingdom with Minnie and the Gang.
Today, we went back to Epcot in the morning. All we did was ride the Nemo ride over and over and over. He absolutely loved it! We had dinner with the characters again. He finally warmed up to them. He especially liked Minnie. He was hesitant of Chip and Dale because he’s not familiar with them. We got to see the parade again and we even got to see the water parade.

Wednesday — flight home.
It was a great trip!