We Went to Disney World!

Excited about her "First Visit" button.

We're back! We did it! We conquered the Happiest Place on Earth! (And secretly we can't wait to go back!) Are you ready for the pictures and highlights? Here we go!

We made it!

The drive down was perfect. I cut out a little early from work and we hit the road. Violet slept, woke up in time for dinner, watched a movie and slept again, bringing us all the way to our hotel in peace and calm. Bright and early we headed out again, intent on making it in the park as the doors opened.

Hello Cinderella! (Notice the crane? They were removing Christmas lights.)

In Belle's cottage, waiting for storytime with Belle.

Once inside, we headed straight for the New Fantasyland. This place is awesome. And our first stop was Belle's storytime. We were escorted into an intimate little room with a small group of maybe 30 or so. Different kids were picked to play different characters from Beauty and the Beast. And then Belle herself came in. (For those of you who don't know, she is my favorite Disney princess. And she has brown hair like me!) Lumiere came to life on the mantel and narrated a story, which Belle and the children acted out. It was amazing.

Pretty much my dream job.

It was still so early that the crowds were sparse. We jumped into as many attractions as we could, from the new Little Mermaid ride to the old-school It's a Small World.

We came all the way to Disney so Violet could fall in love with the carousel.

I can fly!

There is a whole new circus area in Fantasyland now, with tents and fresh popcorn and of course, Dumbo. We introduced Violet to the movie right before our trip and she was thrilled to go on the ride - so much so Matt took her twice!

After a long, full day we headed back to the hotel for a nap. Violet was asleep before we even made it out of the parking lot. We headed back in the evening intending to stay for the parade, but it was cold and the crowds were getting intense. And Violet developed this tricky little habit of trying to run off. Who knew we had a runner? But we wisely decided we better get ourselves home and gear up for day two. So we bid goodnight to the castle, already looking forward to our next adventure.

Magical kingdom.