When we decided to move back to Florida, we were excited because we would be able to be closer to family--but a little bit sad to be condemned to 80-degree Christmases again. (Condemned? Okay, I know that plenty of people come here just for that reason, but I like at least having the hope of snow.) Of course, seeing family during Christmas beats snow any day of the week, but to make things even better, I decided (yes, me--John isn't too picky about this) that going to Disney each December to see the decorations could be our new Christmas tradition. We've kept it going every year so far!
So we headed to Orlando the first weekend of this December. Our first stop was the Grand Floridian to see the Gingerbread House (and grab some lunch). I tried my hardest to get a good picture of both kids in front of it:
This is the first year that both kids could stand up in front of it. As proof, here's our photo from last year:
Our family:
After lunch, we headed to the Magic Kingdom--along with every other family on earth. Maybe that is a small exaggeration, but the crowds were insane so we only went to a few rides.
We passed Splash Mountain and Will said, "I want to ride that!!!" John and I weren't sure he was ready, but he met the height requirement and it had only a 5 minute wait time (probably because no one wanted to risk getting wet in the cold weather!). Will loooooved it! Later that day, Will and I rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. He had a tight grip on the bar and, on the first sharp dip, said, "Mommy, I don't know if this is a good idea." But by the time we finished, he was so excited and begged, "Ride it again! Ride it again!" So I think we can safely say he's a fan of rollercoasters.
We spent the night at the Swan and Dolphin, where we got to see Santa all decked out in a Hawaiian shirt and flip flops and sampled chestnuts roasted on an open fire. (Not that delicious, to be honest.)
We had good intentions to return to Hollywood Studios to see the Christmas lights, but it was cold, Anna fell asleep in the stroller, and Mama was sleepy--so back to the room we went.
These are some pictures of Will in front of the chocolate Santa in the lobby of the Swan. Can you see why it is so difficult to get a simple smiley photo of him these days? He's such a ham for the camera.
On Sunday, we went to the Gaylord Palms to see Ice! and Snow! We did this 2 years ago with Will. It is (expensive) fun and he loves it.
At the bottom of the ice slide:
This year, they added a room filled with blown snow. Really, they could have called that feature Ice! as well because that's all it was. But for poor Floridians who don't get to play in real snow, the icy slush is worth the price of admission. Will had a blast trying to make snow balls:
Anna wasn't sure what the cold stuff was:
And she really didn't like having it land in her hair:
Will and Daddy attempted a snow man:
So that concludes year 3 of our annual Central Florida Christmas Extravaganza. Next up: Will's Christmas program!
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