The Bucklers: DISNEY WORLD ~ Every Princess's Dream Come True!

The girls, all loaded up in the stroller for a day at The Magic Kingdom....

Brad and I have been wanting to take Alli Lane to Disney World for her 5th birthday for a long time, and thank you, Dede, for making that come true! We went to Disney in early March to celebrate AL's fifth (!!!) birthday ~ and we all had an absolute BLAST!

We stayed at Bay Lake Towers, at the Contemporary. It was very nice ~ we had a condo with plenty of room, easy access to the Monorail, and just a short walk to the front gates. We were there for 3 nights; we decided that for this first trip with the girls, we would just do the Magic Kingdom, and not try to do all the other stuff. It was the perfect decision for us. We spent the first day doing the park, and the second day, we had AL's special birthday lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table, where we met all of the princesses.

Disney does it right. AL had a button to wear that let everyone know it was her birthday, and everyone from characters in the parade, to street cleaners, to other workers and other guests stopped to tell her happy birthday. Boots had a button, too, that let everyone know it was her first visit, so people were welcoming her to Disney at every turn.

Both of the girls' heads were literally spinning from one sight to the next, unable to take all the magic and wonderful-ness in at once! Who could blame them?! Disney truly makes everyone believe in magic!

Beware ~ this is a seriously long post. I took just under 800 pictures in the short time we were there :) so it is hard to narrow them down. I did, though, and hope you enjoy! (I apologize for some that are turned sideways ~ I havent been able to rotate them yet, for some reason.)

First stop ~ saying hello to Mickey and Walt Disney, himself.

It's A Small World

The girls loved the teacups at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party and riding high in the sky on Dumbo!

Pooh's Playground ~ the girls, being grumpy, just like Eeyore

We really did it all ~ from Dumbo, to Minnie's house, to Tom Sawyer's Island, to a few roller coasters. We had fun on it all ~ but AL especially loved the fast, roller coaster-like rides!

Dede and Alli Lane riding Peter Pan

One of the many parades ~ hi Mickey and Minnie!

CELEBRATE TODAY!!

That night, we ate at The Grand Floridian. It was wonderful and had beautiful views of the park. We saw the sunset over the water with the park in the background. Little Boots was beyond exhausted and slept through supper.

Alli Lane was tired ~ but not too tired for dessert! Dede had declared that if it is your birthday, you can eat dessert at every meal! So, she did just that! This was a special Nemo dessert ~ complete with candle, of course.

By the way, you know your child has sufficiently celebrated (and eaten enough birthday desserts) when at the end of Day 2, she is begging not to have to "blow out another candle!")

We rode the monorail back to our condo, and we got back in time to go out on the observatory deck and see the fireworks! They were awesome, beautiful!

They were, of course, playing music, as well. Alli took that opportunity to dance.... Because, sometimes, you just have to dance!

We had a slow morning the next morning. Afterall, the girls had to have plenty of time to attend to their beauty regimin. If you are going to dress up like a princess for the day, you must do it right ~ and very princess-ly.

We began with bath time.

Boots was very interested in watching AL get her fingernails painted and insisted on having hers painted, as well. For once, she sat very still while Dede did her nails.

The girls lounged on the sofa while their fingernails dried.

Very princess-like, of course.

Once she was dressed and ready, AL ~ ah-hem, I mean, Princess Belle ~ was more than happy to pose for a few pictures.

Boots, on the other hand, was a very pouty little Princess Cinderella.

She refused to pose.

Dede and two smiling pricesses!

Me, with my BABY GIRL!

When I asked her how it was possible for her to be FIVE years old, she said, "Well, Mom, that's just the way life is."

Princess Belle with her Mommy and her Daddy

(A bit put-out with me at one point after Disney, AL told me that she wished she were a real princess because real princesses don't have mommies. I told her that of course they do ~ their mommies are called "The Queen!") :)

It was a gorgeous day ~ for being a princess and for doing Disney! :) As we entered the park, there was a parade, with lots of characters and lots of music...

...and again, Alli just couldn't help herself ~ she just had to dance!

(It was hysterical, precious ~ people were literally stopping to watch her dance in the middle of the street!)

Celebrating at Cinderella's Royal Table!

We met Cinderella...

and Snow White...

and Ariel...

(Alli Lane took a moment to ask Ariel, "Do you know that I watch you on TV at my house?" Ariel said that yes, she did know. AL went on to tell her that she likes to sing like Ariel. Not skipping a beat, Ariel promised to let Sebastian know, so that next time they are looking for someone new to sing in their choir, they will consider Alli.) :)

and Aurora...

and Belle.

After a wonderful meal, we all got dessert!

Actually, this time, AL got two desserts!

Her special birthday dessert was Cinderella's Slipper ~ a milk chocolate slipper on a bed of white chocolate, filled with chocolate mousse and sprinkled with berries.YUMMY!

Alli decided this was prime time to teach Boots how to do a proper curtsy.

Princess Belle and her Dede!

Boots had curtsying down to a fine art!

Boots-style, of course.

After lunch, we headed back out into the park.

Gotta love Pirates of the Caribbean!

I hate that this one is turned! AL is riding Aladdin ~ and she was sitting up and squeeling. I love her hair here, how well her curls show, and her little tiara was beautiful!