Disney World

Our trip to Disney World...what an awesome vacation!  After so much planning and preparation, I can't believe it has come and gone....thank goodness for the hundreds of pictures we have to remember all the great memories. As with any fun vacation, the time flies and before you know it, your last day has arrived and you are trying to fit in all those last minute things you wanted to do. Unfortunately the Doehne Vacation Curse followed us to Florida and Abi, Josh and Ferryboat Grandma all came down with colds and in the case of Josh & Abi, the flu, as well. Despite the sickness, everyone powered through and we had a great time.  A HUGE thank you to Ferryboat Grandma and Great Grandpa for making this vacation possible for us!!!

On our first day we headed to Magic Kingdom...

Our first stop of the day was the train for a ride around the park. 

We quickly recognized the importance of keeping the 2 year old happy - if for nothing else, our sanity and those around us! :)

Then it was off to see Mickey, Minnie and the Princesses...

Brady was all smiles until it was our turn, then he started to cry and say "Too big, too big!"

  The smiles returned though when it was time to meet Cinderella, Belle and Sleeping Beauty.

Abi's Favorite

                                           Brady had a special connection with Cinderella

Then we hit a few rides - the kid's favorite was Aladdin's Flying Carpet Ride.

One wiped out boy!

Day 2 - Back at the Magic Kingdom

We started our day out at the racetrack - a definite highlight for B!

Then we spent some time visiting Chip & Dale and some more princesses...

Brady called Prince Eric "Princess Eric" and he was B's favorite :)

The kids loved to point out these birds which were all over the parks.

After the sun went down, we stayed for the Electric Parade and fireworks show.

Before the fireworks show, we watched a light show which was projected onto Cinderella's castle.  The quality of the video is not great but it gives you an idea. It was a pretty neat show!

On day 3 we headed to the Animal Kingdom

Being that it was Christmas time, there were huge decorated Christmas trees at every park.  So fun for someone that loves Christmas!

Tree of Life
A 14-story, 50-foot wide tree with a trunk full of sculpted animals.

The animals and landscape were beautiful!

As the kids were waiting in line to meet Flik (from Bugs Life), he had to take a "potty break". Since we were next in line to meet him, the kids got to walk him to the "bathroom" across the park and then back to his photo area.  A very fun experience for the kids who felt a bit like paparazzi with both Dad and the Disney photographer snapping pictures as they walked! :)

Day 4 was spent at Epcot.  Unfortunately everyone started feeling sick this day so we were not able to spend as much time as we would have liked but we still got to experience a couple of rides, meet a few characters and try out the food at several countries.

Posing in Germany

The Poinsettia Tree in the United States

The Whole Gang

Murray Family, Ferryboat Grandma and Us

Day 5 - Hollywood Studios
This was a big day for B who loved meeting the characters from two of his favorite things - Woody & Buzz from Toy Story and Mater and Lightning McQueen from Cars!

Day 6

The flu bug finally took down our poor little trooper and she spent most of the day on the couch.

...but nothing could damper B's spirit!

Josh was feeling better so he and I spent a kid-free day (thanks to Ferryboat Grandma!) exploring the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. 

Hogsmeade

Enjoying a Butter Beer together - 

the perfect end to a great vacation!