Disney Fun

This is slide show #1 of many so hang in there! Mickey and friends, Princess Mary Austin meets the princesses, Mary Austin and Mulan and Fairygodmother in Training posts will all follow.

We had so much fun that I cannot even begin to describe it!

We arrived in Orlando just after 9am on Wednesday morning and were met by Robert from Happy Limousine in baggage. (Side note: we did not use the magic express provided by Disney because we had heard that your luggage sometimes arrived much later than you and that the bus would not leave the airport until it was at least half full. Since this was January we did not want to risk sitting on a bus with Mary Austin asking "how much longer" every 5 seconds.

We left our luggage with the bellmen in the Contemporary and set off! We decided to stay at the Contemporary based on a couple of reasons:

1. All the rooms were completely renovated last year. And they are gorgeous! I admit I did not take any pictures but they were very nice - sleek and modern with a huge bathroom.

2. Proximity to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. We knew that we would spend most of our time here with one trip to the Animal Kingdom. We did not go to Disney Hollywood studios (formerly MGM) since there did not look to be enough for Mary Austin. We could either take the monorail or walk to the MK from the Contemporary.

3. When leaving the MK the Contemporary is your FIRST stop! So you only have about a 3 minute ride with your very tired and whiny child. This was NICE to say the least. You also had the ability to return to the hotel for a nap and break time without any hassle.

Everyone at Disney was exceptionally nice. They all called Mary Austin "princess" and she totally grooved on that! "Good morning Princess". "Welcome Princess", "How are you today Princess" and on and on and on......

Mary Austin loved most of the rides that we went on with the exception of Pirates of the Caribbean and Test Track. She LOVED Peter Pan's Flight, Its a Small World, Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo, the Teacups, Soarin (my favorite - Epcot). Monsters Inc Laugh Factory, Buzz Lightyear, Festival of the Lion King (show at Animal Kingdom) and Finding Nemo the musical (also at AK). We did not ride any roller coasters with her - she would not have gone and she was too short! She just barely made the 40" cut for Soarin and Test Track and yes they check and they are pretty strict. She got checked several times prior to Test Track. We thought she would like Test Track because she loved Soarin. Hmmmm...that was a mistake. She like it until it seemed that you were going to crash through a couple of doors and then she did not like it at all!

January was the best time to go. The weather was very nice - not hot at all and it only rained Saturday night after we were in for the evening. The only difference will be that next time we will go from Sunday to Friday. The crowds picked up Friday and Saturday.

Going back?? You bet! We hope to return in 2 years - January 2010 - with Jane, my sister's family and grandparents! We definitely will stay at the Contemporary again and use Happy Limousine!

Stay tuned for more Disney!!