Meeting the Disney Characters

Disney is truly a magical place. They take all the cartoon characters that you enjoy watching at home and bring them to life unlike any place else in the world. After we went last year and the kids had such a great time meeting all of them, we decided that we would go back again this year. However, when researching prices I discovered that season passes weren't insanely expensive like I would have imagined. I talked Jennifer into getting them and next we just had to decide when we wanted to make the 1st trip down to see Mickey's house, as Landon calls it. We went to all the parks and enjoyed meeting a lot of the characters as well as riding almost all of the rides. The highlight of the trip was seeing the kid's eyes light up when they saw all of the characters. Sometimes they were a little shy at first, but they quickly warmed up to everyone. It is amazing to me how the characters can have so much personality without ever speaking a word.

Landon getting a big hug from Minnie Mouse.

The kids with their favorite Mickey and Minnie.

The Heflin's with Mickey and Minnie.

Landon getting a big hug from his buddy Baloo.

Baloo and King Louie.

The kids with Baymax.

Getting hugs from one of our favorites - Buzz Lightyear!

Brinley likes the real people better than Landon does, which doesn't really make much sense to me.

The kids with Queen Elsa.

Meeting Princess Anna.

The kdis with Cinderella. Landon wouldn't get close to Cinderella because he didn't want to step on her dress. Such a gentleman.

I can't tell if Brinley is scared or excited in this picture.

Landon finally getting to hug one of his favorite ladies, Cinderella.

The kids love Rapunzel! She asked Brinley if her little brother stinks and Brinley said that he did. Rapunzel said the next time he stinks then Brinley should put flowers in his hair.

Woody and Jessie are some other of our favorite characters. 

Last year we weren't able to get by to see Tiana and Prince Naveen. They were both really nice and I told her that I would love to have some of her beignets. She said that Prince Naveen ate all of them before they came over to the garden.

The kids and Tinkerbell.

The kids meeting talking Mickey Mouse. This is the only dressed up character that actually talks to you. Last year when we met him nobody could remember what he actually talked to the kids about. I filmed it this year so we wouldn't forget the kids conversation with him. Mickey told them that he rode a train this morning and asked if the kids wanted to pretend to be a train. Mickey walked around the room and acted like a train while the kids just stood there.

We went back to see him again on our last day at the parks. This time he talked about his friend Tigger and asked the kids to bounce like Tigger. They looked at Mickey like he was crazy and then Brinley did a few jumps. Landon didn't jump at all.

Meeting Kylo Ren from the most recent Star Wars movie. The kids had no idea who it was, but enjoyed meeting him.

Landon meeting Chewbacca. The size differential is crazy.

All the Heflin's with Chewbacca.

Our absolute favorite characters are the monsters. Here are the kids getting hugs from Sully.

Mike Wazowski giving the kids a big hug.

Everyone giving their best roar.

The kids with Buzz and Woody.

Landon meeting Sophia the First.

Brinley was having a little meltdown and wouldn't get in a picture with Sophia without Jennifer.

The kids with Jake.

Meeting Doc McStuffins. Doc told Brinley that she really liked her pigtails - at least that is what I interpreted because Doc didn't say a word.

The kids had such a good time during our week exploring the Disney parks.We have already started planning our next trip back. I can't believe how much fun the kids had as well as Jennifer and myself. I think the season passes were a great choice and I can't wait to see what else we are able to do on our future trips to the happiest place on Earth. Thanks for reading and God bless!

Disney Season Pass - Trip 1

I worked Sunday day shift at the hospital and then went home to pack up the final stuff for the trip. Then we hopped into the car and headed out for Disney. Just around 12 hours later we had made it just as the sun was rising. Pretty awesome way to wake up for the kids. They fell asleep in Kentucky and woke up in Florida at the happiest place on the Earth. 

Our first ride of the week was Dumbo the Flying Elephant. After we got off Brinley told us that it was really scary because it went so high. This didn't give me very much hope for the week because Brinley was now tall enough to ride more roller coasters and she was scared of Dumbo.

Brinley was tall enough (40 in) to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I was way more excited than she was. I actually think she was terrified a little bit.

When we visited Mike Wazowski's Laugh Factory Brinley was picked out of the audience to be the character Boo! She didn't have to do anything but smile every time they put her picture up on the screen. Jennifer was able to snap a picture of her up on the big screen.

Our friend Tinkerbell came to see us and even landed in our hands.

Both kids really loved the Tomorrowland Speedway. There is no height requirement for driving so the kids both got to drive me around the track.

Every time the car hit the bumper track the car would bounce back the opposite way. I asked Brinley why she was having trouble driving and she said the wheel was going crazy! Too funny. These kids say some pretty funny stuff sometimes.

 We lasted almost the entire day at the Magic Kingdom, but around 8 pm we were all about ready for bed. We skipped out on the fireworks and just decided to leave and head back to the hotel. This was hard for me because I have always been the guy that stays from opening until close in order to get the most bang for my buck. However, sleep proved to be higher on the priority list.

The next morning we were one of the first people in the park at Animal Kingdom. We rushed to the back of the park in order to get on the safari ride. The animals were pretty active on our adventure. Here mommy and Landon are with a tower of giraffes.

Brinley and I with an African elephant.

We got a pretty big surprise when we got off the Safari ride. Our stroller had been stolen. It seemed to be a little mix up because there was an exact model stroller in the same area. The only way that we knew that it had happened is that Landon's sippy cup had been placed on the ground where the stroller had been. Also the stroller that they left for us had a baggage tag from Delta on it and there was a goofy hat attached to it. I talked with the staff members and they apologized for the inconvenience, but we told them that we would just take the stroller that was left.

I just love magic shots. I ask all the photographers if they can do it. The kids always love what ends up in the picture. Here we were surprised to see Pascal from the movie Tangled, aka Rapunzel.

The Heflin's with the Tree of Life. We enjoyed a few shows at the Animal Kingdom - The Lion King and Finding Nemo. 

We also enjoyed a quick Florida rain for about 30 minutes. Thankfully it passed and we could get on with our day. Here Landon wasn't in a mood for a picture because he wanted more pez in his kermit the frog dispenser.

 After another trip on the safari we decided to pack up and head over to Epcot for the evening. The kids fell asleep almost the minute we put them in their car seats. So Jennifer and I stopped by my favorite pizza place, Giordano's and got a pizza to eat before heading into the park.

We headed over to the Finding Nemo ride and Turtle Talk with Crush. Afterwards the kids decided to get a picture inside of Bruce the shark.

One of my favorite rides at Epcot is Living with the Land. You get to see how they have done research to better grow crops without destroying the land. The kids just enjoy the boat ride, but I was actually seeing if there was anything I can do with my own garden.

The Heflin's with the big golf ball as Brinley calls it. We stayed the night and even watched the spectacular fireworks and light show. A brilliant addition to our night was to bring our own glow sticks from home. That way the kids wouldn't be begging for the light up toys that they try to sell every night before the fireworks.

 Our next day started at Hollywood Studios where we were again some of the first people in the door. It was a mad dash back to the Toy Story Mania ride where you get to play arcade type games on a 3-D shooting ride.

After the Toy Story ride we stood in line to meet Buzz and Woody. I thought this picture would only be appropriate because every time Landon poops we call him Stinky Pete!

A second round on the Toy Story Mania with my little girl.

Brinley asked me for a Mickey Ice Cream on multiple occasions, but it tended to be closer to night time and I couldn't find a vendor. Before the show Beauty and the Beast I ran out and got one for each of the kids. Brinley was so excited!

Landon liked his too! Except that he didn't want any of the chocolate coating so Jennifer got to share with him.

Sometimes the easiest way to pack these two around was to just put them up on our shoulders. I think the kids liked it because they were able to see much more from up there than they normally see while on the ground.

Some of the rides the kids weren't tall enough for, but Jennifer and I both wanted to experience them. I rode the Rock N Roller coaster 3 times and Jennifer decided to try it out too. I love to do something a little goofy when I figure out where all the cameras are in the ride. The center photo is the two of us playing our air guitars.

I also had to ride the Tower of Terror by myself because Brinley was just a little too short to ride. Jennifer is terrified of this ride and didn't want to ride it. Maybe next time we go Brinley will be tall enough.

On Thursday we decided to make another trip to the Magic Kingdom since it is the park that has the most things for the kids to do. We got there a little before the park was supposed to open and they let us right in. It was magic hours - so the park should have only been open for guests that had stayed on property. Not sure why they let us in but we took advantage of it. We rode 4 rides before the park technically opened up to the general public.

We finally got to ride one of our favorites - Buzz Lightyear! It is a shooting game and the kids enjoy all of the scenery while Jennifer and I compete against each other to see who can get the highest score.

My shooting buddy and I. He held the gun the entire time, but never once pushed the button to shoot.

The Heflin's riding the carousel.

Brinley was too short to ride Splash Mountain. It wouldn't be a trip to Disney without riding it, so I rode it by myself. In fact Brinley was just a few steps from actually getting on the ride. They were telling her which seat to get into when they decided to do a second check on her height and they said that she was just a little too short. I was a little upset by this because just 3 days ago she was tall enough to ride a different ride that had the same height requirement of 40 in. Maybe next time.

Brinley with a magic shot with her buddy Olaf.

A picture with the only thrill ride that we can all ride as a family - The Barnstormer. Landon really enjoyed it!

We enjoyed the electrical parade with a few treats. Landon had cotton candy and Brinley enjoyed some popcorn.

What a great way to end a night. Watching fireworks over top of Cinderella's Castle.

Since I had to be back to work on Saturday we knew that Friday would be our day to travel back home. However, we thought that we couldn't pass on another visit to the Magic Kingdom. We got to the park before it opened and rushed to the park. We immediately stopped in to see talking Mickey one last time and then picked out the kids "ears". After the ears were personalized with their names we headed out to get a few pictures and ride a few more rides.

The kids with their Mickey and Minnie ears. I love that they are holding hands and we didn't even ask them to do it.

The kids enjoying our last ride this vacation. They love seeing the animals on the Jungle Cruise.

I started celebrating my birthday a few days early with a Dole Whip Float. It was my first time trying one and it definitely it won't be my last.

Family picture before leaving for home.

Landon with one last picture with his friend Tinkerbell.

Until next time!

We can't wait to go back and enjoy more fun. Our next scheduled trip is going to be at the beginning of May for Brinley's 4th birthday. Thanks for reading and God bless!