It's a jungle out there!

I had such low expectations of visiting The Animal Kingdom. I remember asking my friend Sheryl if I should skip it and she said "no just try it out". So we did. And I enjoyed it! Ella did as well so that made us very happy. We are Tampa folks and we have Busch Gardens (which is better in my opinion) but I would never tell anyone to miss Animal Kingdom. It was definitely neat. Ella LOVED the Nemo show and Dinosaur land and just looking at all of the animals. She fell asleep on the Safari ride so that was our clue to head back to G-Ma Don Don's house and call this Disney vacation a SUCCESS:) I am so happy we had the opportunity to get away for a few days and to spoil Ella with tons of fun. It's the end of June now and everyday she wakes up and asks to go back to Disney World. I know her memories of this trip will fade, but for now it makes me smile to know she had such a wonderful time.

At the Nemo show
I love her

On some Dumbo knock-off dinosaur ride flying high in the air as Ella says!

Chinese food for lunch...and it was actually good.
Heading to the Petting Zoo

Happy as can be to see and touch the animals

Taking charge and brushing those dirty goats

And then off to wash her hands...

So she can enjoy the famous Mickey ice cream!

Awake one minute on the safari ride...

Sound asleep the next!

More Disney!

I promise only 2 more posts of our Disney related adventure and I am done. Our internet has been spotty for a few weeks so that's why I have lacked blogging. Turns out the dog next door chewed through our wires so they have since been replaced and we have working computers again!
I can't believe I am blogging about our trip from April. I am so far behind. Anyway, day three of Disney was spent at Hollywood Studios...or as I like to still refer to it: MGM. Ella was exhausted there and even though we managed to do just about everything for her age, I still say it was her least favorite. It's a lot of shows and sitting! She was out like a light by noon and we went back to the hotel for a much needed nap. Once up from that she was a whole new kid and we went to the awesome pool at our hotel, enjoyed some fun in the water and virgin pina coladas. :) Later that night, we took Ella back to the Magic Kingdom and had an absolute blast! Disney at night is the best time to explore that place. I loved it (and you'll never hear me say that!).

Disney's Playhouse LIVE!

Waiting in line for Toy Story

She kept the glasses on for all of 3 seconds!

Taking a break
If this isn't a tired toddler...
At the pool! We had a blast at our hotel. Loved everything about it.
Modeling her swimsuit

Fun with Daddy (I can't get enough of watching them interact. I could take a million pictures of it!)

Magic Kingdom at night!

My FAVORITE photo of my two loves.

Happy because Daddy took her on Dumbo

Happy as can be on the Merry Go Round (food on her face and all!)

Happiest Place on Earth

Really? I don't think I would categorize this place as such, but Ella liked it. If we were to do this all over again, we would definitely take advantage of the hotel room and put Ella down for a midday nap. We spent ALL day at the Magic Kingdom with Auntie Monica and soon to be Uncle James and while Ella had a lot of fun, she was definitely overtired. But what's a trip to Disney without a two year old having a few meltdowns? She hasn't stopped singing "It's a Small World" and the pirates "yo ho ho a pirate's life for me" since we got home. She amazes me with how easily she memorizes songs. (but let's be serious...they pretty much drill those two songs into your head during the rides, right?) One negative thing about the Magic Kingdom...no alcohol? Poor Tom. Even a cold beer sounded good to me! If you would like to view more photos click here.

My favorite photo from the day

Her first glance at inside the Magic Kingdom

Walking through Minnie's house in Toon Town with Auntie Monica

Can you spot Ella and Tom?

She LOVED the roller coaster. I think they rode this thing 10x

Front row! No fear whatsoever.

Love this photo

Watching the race cars while the rest went on Space Mountain

Sweet:)

This bridge was pretty tricky to cross. I definitely almost fell over.

So cute running after daddy but making sure mama wasn't far behind;)

Taking a break out of the sun

Learning to shoot a gun

Passed out!

On the way to meet the Princesses

She hated every moment of it.

Loved racing the cars with Daddy though!

With her new ears on!

On Dumbo...Ella apparently wants me to pay attention to the controls!

Way overdue post..Epcot

When we were home in FL we took Ella to Disney World. She absolutely loved every park and every ride. I think we picked the perfect week to go too because the weather was gorgeous and there weren't lines for any rides (minus Dumbo, but when is that ride NOT busy??) Here are a few pictures from our first day (half day really) that we spent at Epcot. Personally, I think Tom had the most fun as he was able to drink around the world. At one point he had more beers than hands so the pregnant chick (me) had to carry a beer. All in all a nice way to start out our Disney vacation...if you can ever call visiting Disney a vacation.

After the Nemo ride checking out the fish tanks

Daddy enjoys a beer while...

Ella enjoys a gigantic pretzel. Can you guess what country we were in?

This is the typical pose Ella gave when wanting to see a character. She loved them from afar, but hated them upclose. She does however enjoy looking back at the photos. So do we...laughing;)

To view more Epcot Photos, click here.