Wednesday, November 30, 2011

florida vacation: cinderella's royal table

We decided to splurge and take Halle to dinner with some of the princesses. The great part about Disneyworld is that they actually have a princess restaurant inside the castle called Cinderella's royal table. We dressed Halle up in her princess dress and crown and entered the castle. She loved that we went inside the castle that was even had Cinderella's little mice friends hiding in the corners.
We met Cinderella and headed upstairs to our royal feast.
They gave Halle a wand and a wishing star and Wes got the royal invitation and the outrageous bill.
Chicken nuggets and cupcakes for the little one of course.
At this point we had been in the park from the time it opened until 7 when our reservation for dinner was. Halle was completely exhausted and was actually falling asleep at the table. We were worried she was going to miss the princess presentation. Luckily, before she completely dozed off some royal horns started blowing to announce each princess and she perked right up.
She was so excited as the announced each princess and loved having them come around to our table.
It was by far one of my favorite memories to watch her little dreams come true.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

florida vacation: day six-magic kingdom finale

Our last day in Florida was spent revisiting Magic Kingdom and finishing up the last few little things we wanted to see and ride before heading home.
We had to visit the princesses very first thing. My goodness, Halle was in love with these princesses and wanted to meet them again and again. It never ceases to amaze me how shy she gets around them.
She wanted to meet every character so a lot of our day was spent meeting them and also going on her favorite rides a few more times.
Meeting Woody and Jesse.
Meeting Vidia and Tinkerbell.
They actually had the kids walk through an arch of lights that they said was pixie dust to make you small enough to meet the fairies. Halle thought it was for real.
Meeting Buzz.
The girls with their grandparents who we are so grateful to for taking us on this wonderful vacation.
We really love this park and the magical feeling there.
Halle says goodbye to her little sissy as we head off to her special dinner with the princesses.
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Nimer for spoiling us!
Up next is Halle's dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table, the last of the Florida vacation posts, which means I can start catching up on the Bell family happenings from the last few months.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

florida vacation: day five-animal kingdom

This trip was our first time exploring animal kingdom.
We actually really loved it although half a day there was all we needed.
Halle got to meet Flik.
She went through a "Bug's Life" phase for a while so that was a nice change from the usual characters we meet in the other Disney parks.
At this point in our vacation Halle had an autograph book and loved getting the characters to sign their names.
The dinosaur ride was a little intense.
She was shaking and I was holding her the whole time.
The neatest part of the park was the animal safari ride.
And of course my camera died right as the safari began. I had never seen live hippos or a lion with a big mane before. The animals they have gathered are really amazing and the ride was so much more fun then just going to a zoo. They have landscaped the safari to look just like Africa and the animals were really amazing.
The big animal tree is also a really neat sight to see.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

florida vacation: day four-universal studios

This was our first time going to universal studios in florida, but we were really just there to see the magical world of Harry Potter!
There was the cutest little Seuss land for the little kids.
Halle loved seeing the Cat in the Hat book come to life in a ride. I think they should do that with more children's books.
The main attraction was Harry Potter. I could not believe how magical and realistic they made it look. I treasure those wonderful books and was thrilled to see this little world come alive.
Hogwarts Express.
Down Diagon Alley
Mom and the girls in front of Hogwarts
They had the most amazing simulation ride inside the castle and the castle itself was fantastic to look at as well. Wes and I wanted to spend more time inside just looking around. We had to try butter beer and the frozen version hit the spot on that hot day. We still dream about that drink.
Halle picked out her very own wand and ran around yelling curses.
There was a little roller coaster there that she went on about ten times.
The other parts of the park were great as well.
Again, Halle was tall enough to ride on the Jurassic Park ride, but probably wasn't emotionally ready for that one. She thought the T-Rex at the end was going to eat her.
And as always, Lily was there hanging out
We absolutely loved this park and all the fun rides for big and little kids.