Here's the beginning of the next generation of Disney kids. I'm a disney kid and come from a disney family. We are incredibly fortunate that our Aunt Sarah, my father's only sister, works for Disney. And growing up she would save her guest passes and use them when family came to town to take us to the park. Growing up I must have been to the park at least 10 times, but I think this time may have been my favorite. It was completely different going to the park with our child. We didn't run wildly from ride to ride and hop from park to park. Instead we became quite familiar with all the stroller parking areas of the park and spent our time riding those rides that we haven't been on since we were kids and actually waiting in line to meet characters. Funny thing, I asked my mom "did you enjoy spending the day with your first granddaughter in the park" to which she replied "not really". And she pointed out that having a baby at Disney is a lot of work and the right age is about 5 or 6 for a trip. I agree and we probably won't return until then. But for now, let's enjoy the memories of this trip.


After that we rode on Aladdin's magic carpet ride. It's the same premise as Dumbo. Sarah loved it! She kept reaching forward to push the button to control the tilt of the carpet.

We of course hit Pirates of the Caribbean next telling as many bad pirate jokes as possible. (I think it was only about a 5 or 10 minute wait for that so not bad!) And then ran over to the Haunted Mansion to pick up our ghostly hitch hiker. Sarah was fine on both of those rides which surprised me because I was worried about how dark they were. She's such a trooper. After that we went to ride Big Thunder Mountain and did the parent ride share. So while mom, dad, and Aunt Sarah waited and rode the roller coaster Chris and I walked around and Sarah took a nap in her stroller which is when we realized that a napping baby at the park sounds like a great idea but it actually stops us from getting to ride the rides. There were quite a few rides with under a 5 minute wait, including It's a Small World, but we didn't want to park the stroller and risk waking Sarah up as we took her out of it to ride anything. So we shopped for a bit before swapping out with the parents for our turn on Big Thunder Mountain. Then we rode Peter Pan's Flight and saw Gena Davis, from A League of Their Own while we waited. But after that was the highlight of the day for me. We bit the bullet and waited in the 40 minute line to meet the Princesses.



I was just really, really impressed with how sweet and wonderful all the characters were with Sarah. I can only imagine how much she'll really love it when she's old enough to remember it!
Oh, they even invited Aunt Sarah and I to join them in some of the pictures.
So we walked around Toon Town for a while and visited Minnie's house and then Mickey's house before we waited in line the meet the Mouse.
(In front of Minnie Mouse's house with Natalie, Chris, and Aunt Sarah.)
Mickey and Minnie were the last characters we were willing to stand in line to meet especially because I think my dad was going to hurt someone if we wasted any more time on this endeavor. What can I say, he's a roller coaster guy so we hit up the Barnstormer after that. Sarah was, as expected, terrified of them. You can see it was all hands on deck to keep her in place to snap a quick shot. But I rescued her after this and held her as we took the other pictures. She even lovingly held her Minnie doll in some of them. And by the end she was willing to give both of them a kiss on the nose before parting. What can I say, she'll like them more when she's 5.
Am I crazy for taking a 1 year old to Disney? Probably. But the opportunity was there and I wouldn't turn it down. Will I plan to do that for any other kids, no. But once again, it's all about the opportunities and seeing how I LOVE disney, I'll never turn down an chance to be in the happiest place on earth, especially now that I have children to share it with. Thanks Aunt Sarah for taking us, and mom and dad for helping make the day memorable.
Glad you had fun! Happy Birthday, Sarah!!! Just reading your post made me tired.
ReplyDeleteI actually teared up watching this! Not sure why, probably because I love Disney and think it's awesome that you took your 1st child to Disney! It was a special moment for me and looks like it was for you as well! And I don't think your crazy taking a 1 year old to Disney! I think it is fun at every age! You experience new things everytime and at every age! So glad y'all had fun!
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