A Disney princess in training...

If we thought Di enjoyed her first trip to Disney at 10 months old, we were even more excited by how much our little girl reacted to her 2nd official trip to see Minnie and Mickey! This was just a quick overnight trip due to our busy schedules but we definitely packed in the fun!

Alex shows Di the monkeys

Uncle Robbie ready to catch

                        We arrived Friday around lunchtime and met our Orlando family - Uncle Rob, Aunt Caryn and cousin Alex - at the Animal Kingdom. We had a great time seeing the Festival of the Lion King show and then headed over to the Dinoland section. Diana, Danny, Alex and I went on a mini roller coaster type of ride where you sit in a dinosaur and go around and around and up and down. Needless to say, our little daredevil loved it. After some running around at the big dinosaur-themed playground, we saw Di's favorite animal - MONKEYS!- and then headed to the hotel to freshen up before an early dinner at Sweet Tomatoes. We all slept well that night!

Di in full princess mode

Smiling for Daddy on the merry-go-round

The next day we headed over to Downtown Disney which is kind of like a theme park in itself! They were having a sidewalk chalk art festival and also had tons of life size Legos on display (everything from dogs to dinosaurs to trains) outside the Legoland store. We then headed into the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique where little girls can get princess makeovers complete with hair and makeup! Di is a bit too young to have her makeup done (maybe next trip!) but walked right over to the dozens of princess outfits and picked out a beautiful yellow tutu and some bracelets to match! She insisted on wearing the tutu throughout the entire day - we definitely have a mini princess in training on our hands! Downtown Disney also had a carousel and a little train for toddlers and Di had such a blast. She kept kissing her horse on the merry-go-round!

In front of the Epcot ball

Di gets a lift from her Daddy

                            From there, we went to Epcot to enjoy the rest of our day. Diana could have seriously watched the monorail speed by the entrance all afternoon but we finally pulled her away to meet the characters. We really underestimated how excited she would be to meet Mickey and Minnie. She almost jumped out of my arms to kiss each character and I could tell when we met Minnie that she was just in awe of her and her beautiful polka dot dress. I remember feeling the same way meeting Minnie as a kid and to watch my own daughter make the same memories is pretty amazing. After the characters we headed for the rides including The Living Seas with Nemo, The Land, and Journey Into Imagination. I also went to see Captain EO - I couldn't believe they brought back the Michael Jackson film from the 80s - very cool!

Minnie Mouse!

We headed home around dinnertime and although we could have spent another few days at the parks, it was really nice to wake up Sunday morning in our own bed and have the day to regroup and unpack.  You really don't realize how tiring a Disney vacation with a toddler is until you get home!

So excited to meet Mickey!

Our Disney trip was yet another wonderful memory and we can't wait to get back again!
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