Disney Holiday Magic

We surprised the kids with a pre Thanksgiving getaway to Disney World.  I could not wait to let them in on mine and Tyler's big secret.  The kids have talked about their last trip to Disney World everyday for the past two years so we had to take them back.  And I couldn't resist taking them during the most magical time of the year!  Disney World is in full Christmas mood starting on November 1st!

 

Peace out Oklahoma and the cold weather!  The Millers were SO excited to be Orlando bound!

 Obligatory Orlando airport picture . . .

 We changed it up this visit and stayed at the Grand Floridian.  I have always wanted to stay at this hotel since I was a kid and it didn't disappoint.  So beautiful and convenient for all the Disney fun.  They had a life size gingerbread house in the lobby and you could buy a roof shingle as a snack!

 Day 1, we hit up our favorite rides at Epcot in the morning!

Soarin was our first choice!  Mason was too little our last trip to do a lot of the rides, BUT not this year! 

 About to take off!

 Next up Test Track . . . each of the kids designed their own fast and furious race car!

After a full morning at Epcot we headed to Magic Kingdom!

 

 

 First stop, ice cream and cotton candy which was our daily afternoon snack!

 J was so excited to be tall enough to ride Space Mountain!  He is our thrill seeker!

 

 And all the kids of course loved the classic teacups!

 

 Jackson's all time favorite ride our first Disney trip was Splash Mountain!  He talks about his love for this ride on a daily basis.  For two years we have been trying to convince Harper to ride Splash Mountain and this time around she gave it a try.  From the looks of this picture I'm not sure she will be riding again!  Harper did earn herself a pair of Minnie ears for the effort :)  Mason also gave it a try.  He loved it because he stayed dry hiding under Nana's white poncho!

 Night time at Disney is amazing and so beautiful!  Fireworks every evening is this mama's dream!

 We finished Day 1 with a late night swim! What a day!  It was late but these kids kept on smiling!

 Day 2 we went back to Magic Kingdom.  We opened the park at 9:00 am and left at midnight after wrapping up Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party!  Party day called for festive matching shirts!

 Loved wearing matching Minnie Christmas ears with my baby girl!

 

 This smile was worth every penny we spent to get J back to Disney to ride his favorite ride!

 

 Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party kicked off with Elsa lighting the castle.  Absolutely beautiful at night!

 

 followed by the best Christmas fireworks!

 Picture PERFECT

 

Followed by the Christmas parade with SNOW!  This Christmas party filled our souls with so much holiday spirit and happiness!  Truly the most magical evening to kickoff the holidays! 

 The evening ended with a visit from Santa!

 The kids were such troopers.  They made it 15 hours at Magic Kingdom and never slowed down!

 Until the ride back to the hotel we had one down :)

 Day 3 we headed to Animal Kingdom!

 Jackson's new favorite ride is Everest!  And I would have to agree it is one of the best roller coasters!  He got the front row on his first ride.

From the looks of this picture we both had fun!

Somehow we missed seeing Its Tough to be a Bug two years ago!  I wasn't going to let that happen again.  One of my favorite Disney shows and such a classic.

Day 4 we took on Hollywood Studios representing our Sooners!  It was game day so we wanted everyone to know we were Sooner fans!  Crimson and Cream looks good in Florida!

 

 We ALL love Toy Story.  Such a fun ride, and competitive ride, for the whole family!

We had to test out the new Slinky Dog Dash roller coaster!  Mason's first roller coaster was a good one!

Proud roller coaster rider!

 

 

 You can't go to Disney without visiting Mickey and Minnie!  We didn't do much character meeting this trip since we did it all last time, but M insisted we see Mickey!  And I'm so glad we did!

 Mason bought this Mickey balloon on the first day of our trip at Magic Kingdom.  He bought it with the specific reason of wanting to release it in the air to our sweet Bailey girl.  He even decorated it throughout the week with pictures, hearts and his name.  Bailey passed away two weeks before Mason was born, but Mason talks about her daily and has the deepest love for her.   Such a sweet and teary eyed moment!  Bailey will never be forgotten.

 

 Such a fun week filled with so many great memories!  Love vacations with this family of mine!  Definitely our happy place!