A Day In The Life Of...: It's a World of Laughter, a World of Cheer

We just completed the most magical vacation on earth as a family to Disney World. There were many smiles, sounds of laughter, some screams and the occasional breakdowns both by parents and children, but all of it made the experience that more memorable.

We started our dark and early morning Monday, September 2, 2013. We woke the kids up around 4am, dressed them in their special Disney themed shirts and headed to the airport. The kids were so excited to ride on an airplane for the first time.

A little over 2 hours of flying time, 10 minutes of fussing until Bennett fell asleep, snacks and color books later, we had arrived. We hopped on our Magical Disney Express and headed to the resort.

We stayed on Disney property at the Polynesian Resort. The view from our room was unbelievable (We could see the top of the castle).

We were so close to the Magic Kingdom that we were able to see their fireworks show from the comfort of our room every night (some of those nights even allowed Mom and Dad the ability to relax with a cocktail while the kids slept soundly).

As soon as Nan & Papa Hutch arrived, we boarded our boat and headed off to make memories.

Magic Kingdom

As soon as we approached the castle on Day 1, fireworks went off and the show began. The kids were mesmerized. How lucky to see all the characters including favorites such as Peter Pan, the Princesses, Goofy, and of course Mickey Mouse right off the bat.

After the show concluded and we all had sweated profusely through our clothing, we headed out for our first ride, Pirates of the Caribbean. This ride was special for 3 reasons: 1.This was always one of my favorite rides growing up, 2. This was our kids first ride experience at Disney, and 3. This ride is an underground boat ride in extremely cool air:) Needless to say, the September weather was pretty stifling.

We proceeded to make our way around all the lands in the Magic Kingdom over the next 4 days. In Tomorrowland, we shot Zurg and all the alien monsters in the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin;

In Fantasyland, we rode in a clam shell through Ariel's ride;

sailed through Peter's Pan's Neverland Adventure;

raced through Goofy's Barnstormer roller coaster (This was the first roller coaster both of the big kids ever rode. Me and Connor started up the track first. He was gripping the lap bar when I turned to him and let him know it was OK if he screamed. As soon as we started down the hill, he did, but loved every minute of it. When it was over he made sure to let us know we needed to ride it again. Corynn and Dad were next up. As they were climbing the hill Connor yelled at the top of lungs to her, " Corynny, it's OK if you scream." She smiled the whole ride down.); floated through a Small World (this ride is a staple of the Magic Kingdom, but the continuous song can lead some to lose their minds) and countless other rides.

Connor's favorite ride at this park was Buzz and Corynn's was a toss up between Ariel and Pirates (a girl after my own heart).

Bennett loved going through all the rides, but I think his favorite part was the food. As we took a short break one night and waited for our fast pass ride time to arrive, we partook in a tasty snack. Connor's Mickey ice cream was by far his favorite.

We had a character breakfast on our last day in the Magic Kingdom. All the kids thought it was cool to meet the characters. Connor and Corynn got their autograph books signed and danced with Tigger, while Bennett ate the entire breakfast buffet while oohing and aahing at Winnie the Pooh.

After our bellies were full, we tried to see every last spec of this magical park as it was our last day in it. We got to see the colorful Main Street dance party and say goodbye to the characters.