A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you’re fast asleep. These words open a classic Disney song from Cinderella and are the perfect opening for a story about Siena’s first trip to Walt Disney World in Florida. I can only imagine what she was dreaming each night. This week we spent a few days in the Orlando area on the back end of an industry event I attended. It offered us a few great days to relax and to visit some of the Disney parks.
The trip opened with some relaxing time for the girls while daddy worked. They had some time to enjoy the facilities at the hotel and Siena loved the pool and lazy river. For Siena it was her first really big pool experience. She adapted quickly to the pool and seemed to have very little fear around the water. In her baby floaty she was learning to paddle and kick her feet as she floated down the lazy river. Our friends Mike and Tarry Majewski were with us and Siena bonded with them instantly. We enjoyed a few very nice dinners together and I think we would all highly recommend one restaurant in particular, Primo. This restaurant is located in the JW Marriott resort, but it is not hotel food. Amazing fresh food and flavors worth driving to if you are ever in the Orlando area.
In dreams you lose your heartaches. Whatever you wish for, you keep. Following the trade show we began the vacation we were wishing for at the house of the mouse. Being Disneylanders, we were quickly reminded of how quaint our California parks are. Disney World is another animal all together. Big, spread out, far more commercial and in a place where the heat comes with humidity. Without a doubt, it is more interesting to navigate with a little one along for the ride. Lisa and I have enjoyed the parks before with just the two of us, but now that we are three it takes a little more planning.
We started out our visit at the Magic Kingdom. We took the ferry across to the park and right from the start you could tell it was going to be a special time. The first thing Siena saw was, of course, Cinderella’s Castle. And what did she do, she pointed and yelled castle. She has become very aware of her surroundings and she is talking so much more now. Little sentences, short phrases and everything now seems to have a meaning. As we were about to learn on our visit, she knows quite a bit and she was ready to show off her knowledge.
Once we entered the park, we headed right to see Mickey and Minnie. We waited for a few minutes and then we met the mice. Siena was so excited. She went straight over to Minnie and gave her a hug. It was then that it became pretty clear who her favorite character was going to be. Siena smiled and posed and played with Mickey and Minnie. She enchanted the character’s assistant with her playfulness and the photographer loved her. This was a scene that would play out over and over again for the next few days. Siena was never rushed away from any character and she always over-stayed the usual meet and greet welcome. But she was an angel every time.
It was clear to me right away that this was going to be a special trip for Lisa and me because we were simply going to watch Siena smile and see her eyes light up and we were going to see Disney in a way we never had before. Siena is a quick study. She picked up very quickly on what she was supposed to do when meeting characters. She would go up and say hi and play, but then she would always turn around and pose for a picture. Then she would go back to playing with them. Most importantly she waved bye-bye to every character, gave them hugs and blew them kisses. She made sure they all felt loved too.
Day one at the Magic Kingdom was very hot and heat wore us all out pretty quickly. But we had fun and discovered something else about our sweetie; she was a little bit afraid of the dark. The Country Bear Jamboree was somewhat unnerving for her. But, she still loves a good boat ride and provided us with some adorable moments and pictures as we sailed around the park. The Pooh ride remains one of her favorites and we also spent a minute taking a picture with the Tikis. This is special to me, because some of my pictures from my first visit to Disney World are with the Tikis too. So daddy and Siena have pictures with the Tikis from her first visit now also. Maybe one day she will have that same memory with her children.
Day two we headed to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Renamed since our last visit, but with the same feel as it had before. Here we had a chance to learn about something else Siena was going to love. “A rade, a rade”! For those who don’t have a little one, that is a parade. Siena loves a good parade. They have the Pixar parade in this park and the Toys Story cast made her day. She also had a chance to meet with some of her Disney Junior TV show characters. The Disney Junior stage show (with puppets and unusually hard to see from sitting on the floor) was a hit. But in the dark once again, the Little Mermaid show was cut short. Siena knows how to say “go out” and she uses it when that’s what she needs to do. To wrap up our day we headed to Artists Point for dinner, a really nice restaurant at the Wilderness Lodge. A great meal for Lisa and me; while Siena played and had fun at the table.
In dreams you will lose your heartaches, whatever you wish for you keep. Day three was a quiet day leading up to a big night. We had tickets for Cirque Du Soliel’s La Nouba show. If you have never been to a Cirque show they are usually very loud, fast moving and in the dark for a lot of the show. If you have read this far into this posting you know what we expected would happen, “go out”. We were wishing for a better result this night. Sure enough “go out” is where it started, but then something really neat happened, we stayed in. Lisa held Siena throughout the show, reassuring her every step of the way things were okay. Siena started watching the colorful fast moving performance and started clapping for the acts she liked. While there was an occasional “go out”, Siena made it through the entire show. Since they run back to back shows, this one runs without and intermission and that was perfect. We never had to “go out”, we were able to stay in. Pizza and wine back at the room to give our very tired little bear a break was the right way to set the stage for the next day.
Our next journey brought us to the Animal Kingdom. We last visited this park when it was new and still building out. Back then Everest roller coaster ride was just an idea and a metal framework. The ride now towers over the park and is a great addition. We began our day with a visit with two of Siena’s favorite characters, Winnie “A” Pooh and “Tigga”. In Siena’s room is a small musical figurine that plays the Winnie the Pooh song. We have been playing it for Siena and she loves to sing Winnie A Pooh, Winnie A Pooh over and over again. She now can name almost all the characters from the story and once she gets just a little older, I am looking forward to reading the story to her bit by bit each night before bedtime. I have been looking forward to this for some time now and I think we are getting closer.
After our character visit, we headed off for a train ride to the back of the park where they have their conservation exhibit. Siena wowed us with her ability to name so many of the animals she saw. She had no fear of petting a live snake (something we will need to teach her is not a good idea) and she enjoyed a visit with Rafiki and Pocahontas. As we got on the train to head back to the park, Disney had a hiccup. The train ahead of us died on the tracks. Interestingly, this is a part of the park with no other way to get to or from it other than the train. Not even a walking path. So we (and a lot of other people) were trapped for over an hour while the Disney management team struggled to find a few of those buses (the ones you see constantly while you are on the property) to bus people back into the park. To reward our patience we got a free bottle of water and fast pass for any ride. Not exactly Disney’s finest moment and a reminder that reality exists in Fantasyland.
We turned the fast passes into a fun Safari ride later in the day and all the animals seemed to be moving around on display. Siena was quick to point out the “raffes”, alligators, “elphants”, ducks, lions and other animals. She must have been studying in her trips to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal parks. We finished our day at this park with a visit to some of Siena’s favorite characters, Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goof(y). She loved them all, but Minnie was a clear favorite once again.
Since our day was going great we decided to head back to the Magic Kingdom and see Mommy’s favorite parade, the Electrical Parade. We got there and some nice folks let Siena sit in the front row on the curb with their 6 year old daughters. As she always does, Siena quickly stuck up a friendship and played until the “rade” started. For the “rade” she sat on our laps and she clapped, pointed to the characters and told us who they were and simply had a great time. Siena truly loves a parade. Her eyes were wide open and she smiled and clapped along. Mommy was smiling as big a smile as she watched one of her favorite Disney events. After the parade we watched some of the fireworks show and did some shopping. It was now 11:00 pm and just as we were heading out of the park the second running of the Electrical Parade started. Despite being tired two seconds earlier, Siena popped up and ran for the curb and sat down. She wanted to see it again, and so we did. Then as we walked out of the park she went to sleep on mommies shoulder and started dreaming about her day.
Our last half day we headed to Downtown Disney for some quick pictures and a little shopping. At the airport Siena got her second pair of Crocs and this time with her favorite Mickey Mouse Club House friends in the shoes. (Siena picked up her first pair of Crocs in the Denver airport store on the way to Orlando, but there she chose Dora the Explorer characters for her shoes.) She really seems to like her Crocs. Then back home we headed. This was Siena’s first trip in First Class. She seems to like the extra room, but has had trouble handling mommy’s wine glass.
Have faith in your dreams and someday. Your rainbow will come smiling thru. This was Siena’s first trip to Disney World and a wonderful week of vacation for our family. Watching the world in Siena’s eyes has been truly amazing. She smiles all the time, but she was exceptionally smiley this trip. Her eyes became full of light when she saw things she liked and like little round saucers when she saw things that were new and exciting. She clung on to mommy and daddy when she wanted comfort. She held our hands and walked everywhere. Her transition from our baby to our little girl seems to be moving more quickly than ever. She was simply fun to watch.
No matter how your heart is grieving. If you keep on believing. The dream that you wish will come true. I know what dream I am wishing for, many more years of loving my girls and watching Siena grow into a beautiful young woman like her mom. I can’t wait for my dream to come true.
