First Family Trip to Disney!

Before Thanksgiving we took a few days off and celebrated my parents 40th wedding anniversary with them in Disney World!  It was our first family trip there, and Hannah and Leah's first time on an airplane (Joseph had flown several times as a baby/toddler but this would be the first experience he could remember).  We had to get up before 5am to head to the airport and would you believe that all three kids woke up and got out of bed before we even entered their rooms? (that rarely happens even at 7am)  They were excited, and so were Jay and I!  Our first stop was our Treetop Villa at Saratoga Springs which was quite impressive (and as it turns out we could have brought fishing poles and caught a few bass right outside our room, but who has time for that at Disney!)  Magic Kingdom was our next stop and it really is magical, from the Castle to the characters to Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and It's a Small World and everything in between.  The girls also loved the Dumbo and Little Mermaid rides, and while Joseph was more into repeat rides on Thunder Mountain.  Hannah and Leah were made into princesses at the Bippity Boppity Boutique, with Hannah picking Aurora's costume (Sleeping Beauty)  and Leah as Tiana (Princess and the Frog).  That was a pretty amazing experience, and also very cool was Joseph being trained as a Jedi at Hollywood Studios.  Though his favorites were the roller coasters, top two being Everest at Animal Kingdom and the Rockin Rollercoaster at Hollywood Studios.  And we all really enjoyed Flying Nemo the Musical at Animal Kingdom (Go with the flo-o-o-o-o-o-ohhhhhhhh).  I was actually more impressed by Animal Kingdom than I thought I'd be, the kids all went on rides, Everest ended up being one of our favorites, and that is where we met the elusive Minnie and Mickey!  Jay and I also enjoyed a night out at Epcot and toured around the world.  Magic Kingdom was still the most magical of them all, and we loved the nonstop fun and madness.  The double stroller, bag of snacks, and fastpass made things easier....and it's not the complaining, waiting for food, Joseph getting sick or hitting his tooth on a post at downtown Disney (seriously, why are those things so tall?), our clothes arriving a day late or me banging my head on the bus as we were frantically trying to catch our ride to the airport that makes the headlines for our trip.  It was the look on the kids faces when they saw the castle and paused in awe, Hannah dancing in the street and jumping up and down in one of the parades, Leah having the time of her life at breakfast with the princesses and her bippity boppity makeover, Joseph's smile and sheer excitement after each roller coaster and all the other magical moments that made the trip so memorable.