Disney World: "Where Dreams Come True" ;-)

By Avery Merrill

We arrived in Orlando on Friday, June 10th.  As we ran to the hotel, we got a bit damp (whether from the light rain that was falling or from the humid air itself it wasn't certain) and were all glad for a reasonably dry space to live.

I say "reasonably dry" because (a it was still quite humid inside, and (b the resort had evidently undergone intensive cleaning previous to our arrival, and a few wet spots still remained on the carpet (we only had one major slip).

The next day, we were up bright and early.  That day, we were going to Disney World: "Where Dreams Come True," as proclaimed on the sign above the entrance.  Disney World was actually more like a small country, where there were states (Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom (which we went to)) and counties (the subdivisions of the two Kingdoms, each with a different theme) and cities (the rides and other attractions).

We arrived in time to use our first FastPass for the Haunted Mansion ride.  After that, we wandered all over the Magic Kingdom, riding on rides of all thrill levels and speeds.

Camera roll!

The sign above the entrance (the LCO is part of WELCOME) 

Courtney was super excited to see Rapunzel, and so we went and took her to the Fairy Princess Hall to meet her and Cinderella.

In this picture, Courtney knows that the picture is being taken.  However, I think that Trey figured it out in the last picture.

"Meeting" Cinderella.  This time, the camera avoided Trey's watch.

Posed with Cinderella.

Hugs for Cinderella!  Courtney seems kind of hesitant about this arrangement.

And Trey, the Master of Hugs, is showing her how it's done!

The Rapunzel tower.  The tower is actually quite close, but its size creates an optical illusion.

Another view of the tower.

Part of Rapunzelburg (I actually have no idea what this place is called).

Coco and Trey in Rapunzelburg.

Coco and Chase taking a rest break in Rapunzelburg.

Us by the tower.

Trey in Rapunzelburg.

Coco in Rapunzelburg.

The line to see Woody and Jessy.  We didn't actually "meet" these two, but it did get Trey quite excited.

Me and Chase ready to roll on the Thunder Mountain Railway.

Mom and Dad (plus half of Trey's head) on the Thunder Mountain Railway.

Mom, Dad, Trey, and Coco (who is terrified of roller coasters) on the Thunder Mountain Railway.

We may have been able to fit on one teacup, but us boys wanted to go as fast as we could for the whole ride and didn't want the littles and Mom to get sick with us.

Coco on the teacups.

On a raft, ready to ride through "It's a Small World."

Me and Chase on the "Tomorrowland Speedway."  Having never watched the movie, we mostly visited this ride for the chance to drive.  It wasn't much of a racetrack, however; the cars were on set guide rails and you couldn't switch rails.

Trey driving a race car (Dad controlled the gas pedal).

A video of Trey driving a car.

Selfie in front of the Magic Castle.

This was a really fun experience!  We all got hot, sweaty, and tired.  There were plenty of rides, good food, and lots of things to do!

We closed out the day with a bang!  We used our last FastPass to get to Splash Mountain at 8:30, ran over to watch the electric parade, watched some of the fireworks, took the ferry across the lake, and conked at our home base.  The next day was the Sabbath- a day of rest.