1 very special 5 year old and 2 year old got to spend their birthday's in Disney World this year! We had such a magical time in the most magical place on earth!! I absolutely LOVE Disney world and their is nothing better than seeing it through your children's eyes. Beckett was still a little young to really appreciate the magic, but Jackson was the perfect age! It was also the perfect time of year. The weather was beautiful, it was decorated beautifully for the Christmas, and we never waited more than 20 minutes for anything! This is a really long post, but I had to get Disney in 1 post to get ready for all the Christmas posts! Here we go! We flew in on a Monday and headed straight to the Magic Kingdom. It is such a short flight and the kids did great! They watched Despicable Me 2 the entire time without a peep! As soon as we entered the Magic Kingdom, Jackson grabbed a map and directed us where to go. First ride on the list....the magic carpets of Aladdin!
This year Jackson was tall enough to ride all the roller coasters and he did it with no fear! This is him right before his first roller coaster, the Goofy Barnstormer. He held his hands up in the air like a roller coaster pro!
Jackson was really into getting all of the character's autographs in his autograph book. Beckett also loved seeing the characters.
Dumbo! Beckett loved all the rides! He had no fear when it came to the rides, but he hated any loud noises. We took him to some of the stunt shows, and he was so scared, it was like he was trying to crawl inside of me!
This is Jackson right before we went on Splash Mountain. He really wanted to go on it, despite the fact that it was very warm that night, so mommy sucked it up and went on it with him.
Daddy had gone on it first with them and they sat in the back. They left the ride as dry as they went on it. When mommy and Jackson went on it, we were sat in the front row.....soaked!
This year we stayed at the Grand Floridian and it was amazing! It is on the monorail, which we love the convenience of. We also did the concierge service again this year, so we were able to eat our breakfast at our resort. They had these cute little tables and chairs for the kids. They would sit there and eat their breakfast while watching Mickey Mouse :)
We were lucky enough to be one of the guests chosen to test out the Disney Magic Band. This is genius! It is a wristband that you wear and downloaded on it is your hotel key, dinner reservations, meal plan, fast passes, tickets..etc. You don't need to bring anything! Because I was able to choose all our fast passes before we arrived and there was an app I could use on my phone to change them if needed. Since the lines were not long at all, I ended up changing one of the fast passes to see Mickey Mouse. We have never seen him at the Magic Kingdom because the line is typically really long. I can now see why. He is the only character that actually talks....and it is Mickey's voice!! It was so cute!!
The weather was so nice that we were actually able to swim! The resort had an awesome water slide and splash park. The boys swam for 3 1/2 hours!
Our next park was Hollywood Studios, and our main agenda was to get Jackson to be able to do the Jedi training. It typically sells out, so we got to the park as soon as it opened and ran to get him a spot. He was in the second show. He watched part of the first show and as we were walking to get him ready he said, "Mommy, was that the real Darth Vader?". I explained to him that it was a daddy dressed up as Vader. He then said, "Mommy, do we have to use real light sabers?" Again, I explained they were fake. At that moment, I thought he might be a little young for this....
The first part of the show was the Jedi Master teaching them how to fight with their light sabers. Jackson did great.
Then, the music changes and out comes Darth Vader with 2 Storm Troopers. Immediately, one little girl starts screaming and they take her off stage. Jackson is clearly the youngest kid out there so he was last to fight Vader. Each child had the opportunity to fight Vader with their Jedi Master's instruction. Once it got closer to Jackson's turn, I could see his face change and he started wiping his eyes. They brought him up to Vader and his lips start quivering. Everyone in the audience said "Awwwww" Then, his Jedi Master said" Right shoulder!"and Jackson fought him like a true Padawan.
This is how we strolled around in the afternoons. Jackson on top eating a snack and Beckett snoozing below. Love the phil and ted!!
We were lucky enough to get to spend some time with they Ryan and McDonald family! It was great to have some girls to push us to do things we probably wouldn't have done without them, like waiting in line to see Ariel.
We also wouldn't have done story time with Belle, which was really cute. Jackson played the part of Philipe, the horse and had to neigh in front of everyone. He was so brave!
Since it was Christmas time, we bought tickets to go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. The event didn't start until 7 pm, which would have been a little too late for Beckett. Luckily, Noni and Grandaddy came to celebrate with the boys, so they stayed back with Beckett. It was so cute! Santa was there, they had a great parade, they served cookies and hot chocolate, it snowed on Main Street, and they had amazing fireworks! All Jackson wanted to do was see the fireworks. They didn't start until 9:30 and poor Jackson fell asleep about 5 minutes after they started :)
Nemo ride with the grandparents. I don't think Beckett ever left his granddaddy's side! He sure does love him!!
There was a street performer in Italy who handed Jackson a ball to shoot at a hoop another child was holding. Several adults tried and missed and Jackson made it on his first shot!
That night we headed to Downtown Disney to eat at the T-rex restaurant and go to Lego Land. Jackson could not wait to go to Legoland because he was able to pick out whatever he wanted for his birthday present. He took a while to decided but eventually was able to choose. This is Jackson coloring it the T-rex restaurant.
Silly Beckett. T-rex is a restaurant filled with motorized dinosaurs and every 15 minutes or so, the lights will change and it sounds like it is raining. Beckett hated it!!!! He would not leave my side :(
Finally, the birthday boy's day had arrived. We started it off at chef Mickey's for a character breakfast. First thing they did was bring him a chocolate cupcake!
Happy 5th Birthday to my sweet, smart, kind, funny Jackson. You bring more joy to our lives than you will ever know. You are such a great big brother and make us so proud every day to be your parents. We love you so much Mr Jigs!!!
After breakfast, we headed to Animal Kingdom. First stop, safari ride! Beckett absolutely loved seeing the animals!!
Jackson was somehow able to convince us that the Kali River Rapids ride would be a great way to finish our day at the park. The ride clearly states " You will get wet. Probably soaked" Luckily, a kind passenger gave Jackson his poncho so he stayed dry. I can't say the same thing about the rest of us. Granddaddy was soaked!
After Animal Kingdom, we headed back to the resort to open birthday presents. Jackson got a bow and arrow and arrow and couldn't wait to test it out when we got home!
After a little rest, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom to ride 1 last ride. Jackson chose Buzz Lightyear :)