D!SNEY Birthday Vacation!

For Rocco, Matteo and Giuliana’s birthday this year, we decided to go to what is widely known as the happiest place on Earth. Surely, this would help brighten and provide many fun distractions on what has become a truly difficult and bittersweet day since Matteo died two and a half years ago.

D.isney proved to be just what we needed… it was great. The kids loved it! They had so much fun and were literally on cloud 9 the entire time we were there! So happy, no fighting… seriously, just one bubble of constant happiness and cooperation! And, the bonus for us was that the lines were short or non-existent!! I can imagine there being plenty of opportunity for meltdowns on a day with long lines. So, we were very lucky!

Rides and characters are what made D.isney a memorable experience for this family! We of course spent all of our time trying rides and re-riding favorites. We spent very little time resting, eating and sleeping! The kids (including Dan), seriously had such a fantastic time trying out all the rides. And, we did indulge in one breakfast with Goofy. And, I choose the word “indulge” not because the food was out of this world… but because of the price you pay to eat average food and be tempted by a buffet of yummy, bad for you food, all while being constantly visited by D.isney characters.

Dan said it best: “Disney is like a kid’s Vegas… you drop a hundy at every table!” And well… don’t be fooled, that’s pretty much the truth!

Gabby and Rocco became roller coaster enthusiasts and spent the majority of their time riding and re-riding coasters. Their two favorite rides? S.pace Mountain and Goofy’s Sky School Coaster! They would have been perfectly fine just riding those two rides, constantly for two days straight. Other favorite rides included Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Gadgets Go Coaster, Astro Orbitor, Alice in Wonderland, TeaCups, Jumpin’ Jellyfish, Buzz Lightyear, Little Mermaid, and Its a Small World.

Giuliana also LOVED D.isney! Her favorite rides were the TeaCups, the Carousel, It’s a Small World, Alice in Wonderland, Buzz Lightyear (believe it or not – she loved shooting the targets!), Flying Dumbo, Ladybugs, any train or boat ride, and any ride where she sat on an animal of some sort. I literally would have to peel her off the carousel each time promising we could come back and do it again.

We were able to meet and see LOTS of Disney characters, including Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Rapunzel, Flynn Ryder, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother, Snow White, Woody and Jessie from Toy Story. Oh and some big bear (pictured here w/Dan & kids). There are probably more that I am forgetting to mention. But, it didn’t seem difficult to “happen upon” characters in the park, which was nice.

Breakfast at Goofy’s Kitchen was great and indulgent. And, I choose the word “indulgent” not because the food was out of this world… but because of the price you pay to eat average food and be tempted by a buffet of yummy, bad for you food, all while being constantly visited by D.isney characters. The kids LOVED this. So, while it was expensive… seeing their faces light up every time a new character came by the table was totally worth it for us.

Then, to top off our D.isney experience… we also decided to indulge in the “Birthday Party with Mickey and Minnie”. Again, same rationale as above for choosing the word “indulge”. The party was actually better and more entertaining than I had anticipated. The party was not exclusive to our family. Rather, it’s a party hosted @ 3pm daily by D.isney for anyone who wants to do a little something extra special for a birthday. Mickey & Minnie attend the party, they dance and sing and take photos with you. And, everyone gets a personal cake to decorate with frosting and sprinkles. The party host is Pat-E-Cake and he does a great job moderating, keeping both the kids and adults entertained. And, Gabby really loved the magic that Pat-E-Cake did. She could not stop laughing and was in total awe of his magic tricks. I think she also liked the special attention! J Giuliana’s favorite part of the party was eating all of her frosting that she was supposed to decorate her cake with, and dancing with Mickey & Minnie during the birthday song. Rocco’s favorite part was the cake decorating, watching the magic Pat-E-Cake did with Gabby, and dancing/singing the birthday song with Mickey & Minnie.

Each of the kids got to choose one souvenir to bring home. Gabby chose a Rapunzel doll. Rocco chose a car that he had to build (sort of like B.uild-A-Bear) at a store in the Disney Downtown area. And, Giuilana chose a white tiger stuffed animal from R.ainforest Café. Go figure… silly girl!

I didn’t bother bringing my good camera… just the point & shoot. So, while the picture quality isn’t fabulous… I was able to take a lot of photos and capture some good memories for all of us.

If I could thank Walt, personally, for providing many fun distractions during birthday week…I would. D.isney proved to be just what this family needed over what is typically a very difficult time.