Disney

Taking Sarah to Disney World for her first time was truly magical. We left right after school on a Thursday and drove to Beaufort, SC. Friday we had lunch at our favorite sushi place that we drive halfway across the country for! Then we spent the day Saturday in Charleston and got to see Adrienne (who is at College of Charleston) while we were there. Sunday we left for Disney. The girls started looking for Mickey Mouse signs, and as we got closer they were not disappointed! We had a late dinner at Shades of Green – just in time to watch the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, our table was just about the only table in the restaurant that did not have a view of the huge screen tv.

Monday was our first big day at Disney. The girls got decked out in their princess attire, and we were on our way to breakfast with the princesses in the Norway part of Epcot. Even though it started raining on us while we waited outside for our table, the breakfast was a huge hit. Right when we walked in the door the girls got to take a picture with Belle. Then we sat down at our table and ordered drinks. The poor Norwegian waitress looked baffled when we ordered mimosas. Oh well! Breakfast was surprisingly good – eggs, bacon, hash brown casserole, and lots of fruit and pastries. While we were eating the princesses came around to take pictures and sign autographs. We saw Sleeping Beauty (Sarah’s favorite), Snow White, Mulan, and Jasmine. After breakfast we strolled around Epcot for a few hours, sampling some global beverages along the way. When it started raining pretty hard Kenneth and I decided to take Sarah back to the hotel. She was exhausted and fell asleep on the bus and slept for a good couple of hours.

Tuesday was probably the biggest day for Sarah – Magic Kingdom. Our first stop was to get Sarah a new princess outfit – she picked Belle. We also got her some Minnie ears with her name embroidered on it. We wandered around the park stopping to ride Dumbo (Sarah’s favorite ride) and the Magic Carpet ride. Kenneth and I took Kaitlyn and Lauren on Splash Mountain then Jannette and I took them on Thunder Mountain. Lauren rode Pirates of the Caribbean several times. Then Kenneth and I took Sarah and Kaitlyn over to meet Minnie and Mickey. We walked through Mickey and Minnie’s houses, which was pretty cute. Sarah was in awe over meeting Minnie, and we got a really cute photo of them hugging. After meeting Minnie we went to watch the show at Cinderella’s castle, which was actually pretty cute – about how dreams come true.

Wednesday was really really cold, so what did we decide to do? We went to Animal Kingdom – just about the coldest of all the parks! We went to the petting zoo and on a safari – which Sarah loved! We went to Rainforest Cafe for lunch but Sarah did not like the “thunderstorms” that popped up every few minutes. Kenneth and I rode Expedition Everest which was really fun! Kaitlyn decided she wanted to ride it so Uncle Ken took her next. Then I decided Jannette needed to ride so we rode after Kenneth and Kaitlyn. We got two great photos out of those rides! Jannette, Kenneth, and I got to go to Downtown Disney for a grownup dinner at an Italian restaurant.

Thursday Jannette and I took Sarah and Lauren to Magic Kingdom again while Kenneth and Kaitlyn went to Hollywood Studios. Lauren got to participate in Captain Jack’s pirate show which was pretty funny. After Kenneth and Kaitlyn joined us at Magic Kingdom we had a funnel cake snack and then watched a parade with all the princesses and Disney characters. Sarah watched from Daddy’s shoulders and loved it! We went to Ohana for the dinner show. The girls got to do some hula dancing and coconut races while we grownups got to relax! The food was really great and we had a great time. We got a peek at the fireworks show while riding the monorail back to the hotel.

Friday morning we arrived at the monorail station but the lines were so long that we decided we were Disneyed out. So we drove around a little while and had lunch at Olive Garden then spent the afternoon hanging out at the hotel.

Saturday we drove back to Beaufort and stayed for the weekend. John got the jumpy jump out for the girls and we all enjoyed a beautiful sunset. We drove home Monday and Sarah was back at school on Tuesday! It was an amazing experience and Sarah can’t wait to go back!!