Magic Kingdom

Saturday, November 22

I was most excited about our day at the Magic Kingdom. There is just so much to do! We were with David, Nikki, Dalton and Emory for a good portion of the day which made it extra fun. Todd and the boys rode lots of rides and I ventured off with Collins and Holden to find characters and some smaller rides that they would enjoy. Thus, most of my pictures are of Collins and Holden. One of my favorite attractions was Mickey's PhilharMagic. It did rain/ drizzle most of the day, but that never stopped the fun!

Collins had a special Minnie Mouse shirt to wear this day. This picture was taken at our hotel.

Here is the whole gang + Dalton just before we walked in.

Dalton is as tall as I am!

Kids out in front of the Walt Disney statue.

Right as we entered the park we saw Pluto so we stopped to get his autograph.

Oh I loved how she held on to his ear for the picture. Adorable!

We met Goofy.

And Donald.

Daisy Duck.

We rode It's a Small World.

It was so fun to meet the Disney Princesses! We waited in line to see Elsa...

and Anna...

and Rapunzel...

and Cinderella.

We met Tinkerbell.

Minnie was one of Collins's favorites that day.

It was a great day and we were thankful that we shared it with famiy!

Bronwyn, Collins, Emory and Nikki.

Hollywood Studios

Monday, November 21: Hollywood Studios

We were up bright and early to head to the parks. We even had to wait in line for the gates to open.

Collins was a big sleepy this morning, but she perked up right away when we saw Disney characters. To say that I was delighted is an understatement! I was cautiously optimistic about her reaction to the characters, but she loved meeting them and getting their autographs. We met Daisy and Donald first. This is one of the only pictures that includes Holden. He just wasn't so sure that he liked these giant characters.

I love Collins's pose in this picture.

When it was time to meet Pluto all of the Rapps jumped in! The boys had just returned from riding Toy Story Mania.

Sofia the First! Though we don't have the Disney Channel at home, Collins has seen enough of Sofia to really love her.

Connor and mom selfie!

Next we found Mickey. Connor only wanted to get autographs from the five classic characters - Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto - so he joined us to wait in line to meet Mickey Mouse.

We rode Toy Story Mania one more time! This is such a fun ride.

As we made our way to lunch, we found this toy soldier from Toy Story and requested a picture.

Aaahh! A Coke! I had to take a picture with my favorite beverage.

The coolest characters in the Tri-State area - Phineas and Ferb.

This was a fun moment when Todd took the boys to ride a roller coaster and I took the little ones to Disney Jr. Live on Stage. Collins loved the music and the show.

Star Wars Star Tours. This ride had been at the top of the boys' list for weeks! They couldn't wait to experience it. Outside the ride, they could hop on a speeder for pictures.

Waiting in line.

Almost ready to head inside for Star Tours.

Of course almost every ride empties into a gift shop so we had lots of time to check out souvenirs.

This souvenir was just too good to pass up for Connor so he made his first purchase at Disney. Look closely...those faces belong to Connor and Hunter Rapp. 

Collins had been waiting all day to get her Magic Band and she finally received it when David, Nikki, Dalton and Emory met us at Hollywood Studios. It was pink - her favorite color!

We watched the Extreme Stunt Show and everyone liked it...except Holden. The noise was a bit too much for this little guy.

Emory and Collins Rapp waiting for the boys to get off of Star Tours - after they rode it for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th time. 

We wrapped up our day at Hollywood Studios with a walk through the lights...

a quick visit with Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater and then a show at Muppet Vision 3-D. What a fun first day at Disney.

Our Disney Trip

Our family just returned home from Disney World. What a trip! We conquered the parks and then jumped on board the Disney Dream for a four night cruise to the Bahamas. It was packed with fun and lots of memories. We all had such a great time. I am going to try to write about out vacation one day at a time and in order.

Thursday, November 20: Rapps depart Houston and head for Florida! Collins was so excited about the trip, the airplane, the Mickey Mouse boat and especially about her new pink suitcase. She told the porter at least four times that the pink suitcase as hers. She pulled it all by herself as we walked through the terminal.

Both Collins and Holden did great on the flight to Orlando. Taking off his shoes kept Holden entertained for at least ten minutes.

We arrived in Orlando and boarded the Disney Magical Express for the ride to the airport. We stayed at the Art of Animation resort; specifically in the Cars section. It was so fun to see all the Cars characters around the resort grounds.

Once we were checked in, we headed to Downtown Disney for some dinner and exploring. This was our first picture with Mickey and Minnie. Collins did not want to be photographed at this particular time.

Of course we stopped at the Lego Store and Colton used some of his spending money to purchase a new Lego set. This giant Hulk statue made from Legos was pretty impressive.

Back at the resort, we had visitors. Taylor and Lauryn Allen came to see us since they live in Orlando. It was fun to catch up and the kids ran around in the hotel lobby while we talked. Here Holden was taking a break with Colton.

Collins was full of energy and she ran and ran in her new Disney Princess nightgown.

Then it was time for bed so that we would be ready to go the next morning!