The Characters

It wouldn't be Disney if we didn't do the pictures with characters.  When we planned the Magic Kingdom, we made it very clear to Emily we wouldn't use the Fast Passes to meet the characters, and we definitely wouldn't stand in any line in the heat to get a picture either.  We planned the character breakfasts to satisfy her, but when you can meet them all on the ship, in the air conditioning, and all under 15 minutes it doesn't get any better than that!

with Brooke, whose family sat at our
dinner tables with us

Disney Fantasy

This cruise sailed out of Port Canaveral, so we took an hour long bus ride from the lodge at the Animal Kingdom to the port.  Disney owns 4 cruise ships, with this one we can now say we sailed on all of them.  The Fantasy is one of the two larger ones.

And since it was a bigger ship, it means it has the Aquaduck!  When we were on the Dream in 2013, Emily was so disappointed that she was too short to go, so she was very ready this time!  Both Aaron and I took turns taking her on it, even at night.

But her favorite ship activity this round was the yellow water slide.  Each sea day she logged 2-3 hours on it straight... literally... only stopping for snack and water breaks.  With three days at sea this time, there was a lot more time spent in the water because it was HOT sailing the Caribbean.  

When Emily wasn't in the water, she was choosing to go into the kids' clubs (this was a first, in the past we would drop her off in tears.  This time she was reading the daily Navigator telling of the activities and picking what she wanted to go see).   Aaron and I actually had time to sit, relax, or read in the Cove which is for adults only.  

And getting braids comes from experience!  With all the time in the sand, sea, and wind we were going to be spending in the upcoming week, the first thing we did Sunday morning was to get her hair braided.  It makes everything so much easier!

6

5 was an amazing year.  She mastered kindergarten with ease, and learned important life skills like snapping and cartwheels.  In every way, she is no longer a little girl.

Emily is standing tall at 48 inches and weighs just under 50 pounds.  Games, puzzles, and projects are still her preferred activities and she really doesn't want anything to do with toys.  She'll sit down and read books and does a lot of pretend teaching during her day, sometimes school, other times it's a swim, horseback, or tennis lesson.  But what she likes most is to get out of the house to do things - she loves the parks, and bike rides, and outings.  First thing she wants to know in the mornings is what she's going to be able to do that day.

Sleep is not her priority, and she's always up early with the sun... but she still loves a long afternoon nap when given the chance.  We're still working on controlling emotions when she gets overtired because those are the rough moments!

She's still my shy girl and never likes to be alone for long.  She is fascinated by magic and jokes lately, and was really happy to get a magic kit for her birthday (and an underwater camera for those upcoming days on the sea and sand).

Emily was really excited to get to go on such a big trip for her birthday.  She wore her Happy Birthday button proudly around both days at Disney World and collected more from the cruise line.

I hope you had a great birthday, my princess on Earth.  As always, missing our angel in heaven.

wait staff serenading her aboard the Fantasy

The Magic Kingdom

The 18th and 19th were spent at the Magic Kingdom.  First thing on the agenda was a character breakfast at the Grand Floridian with Alice in Wonderland, Mad Hatter, Mary Poppins, Winnie the Pooh, and Tigger.

Then it was time to journey into the park itself.  Both days were hot, and we figured out some great tricks to keep cool.  Waiting in line for the Dumbo ride there is an air conditioned play area with seating!  We spent a lot of time going in and out of there to get breaks from the sun and heat.

We were able to ride all the rides we wanted to at least a couple times, and the Fast Pass system worked like magic along with a handy app that gives you accurate wait times for when you didn't have a pass.  We didn't spend a lot of time waiting in line which helped keep everyone happy despite the tiredness and extreme heat.  

In the end, Emily's favorite ride was Splash Mountain and the only ride she opted not to try was Space Mountain.  She loved putting her hands up on the roller coasters and she collected a lot of flattened pennies for her collection.  The last event at the park was watching the Electrical Parade go down Main Street. 

Shortly after the parade, Emily was asleep and missed the fireworks.  But it was a fabulous two days at the park!

The Adventure Begins

On the 17th, we flew to Orlando, excited for a couple days at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and our 7 day Caribbean cruise.

We arrived close to midnight, so we didn't know how great our room was at the Animal Kingdom Lodge until the next morning when we realized this was our view from the balcony window.  

 In typical Disney fashion, the inside of the lodge was well done.

Thursday and Friday were long days spent at Disney World, so we didn't spend a lot of time at our Animal Kingdom residence until Saturday morning as we waited for our transportation to the port.  There was a great pool with a waterslide, a small playground, and lots of animals to observe.  We left wishing we had spent more time here enjoying all the amenities!