A Little Disney Magic

My mom, Konnor, and I had a very pleasant surprise several weeks ago. We used to be annual passholders to Disney World. What with expenses from the adoption, trip to China, and Regan's hospitilization there have not been any added splurges. I got a letter from The Mouse a couple of weeks ago with the usual savings, please renew you pass, save 35$ if you do it by your anniversary date of May 20th. What! I backtracked and reread the anniversary date because I think it means my pass is still good until the 20th of May. I called Disney and sure enough! My mom, Konnor, and I had all bought passes on the same day and they were still valid. Yeah!!! Mickey Mouse here we come! With everything that has gone on, we figured our passes were expired and never thought another thing about it!

We headed to DW on April 18th. I thought my little adventurer would love Disney World. She did not. One of my favorite characters is Jiminy Cricket. This started when Konnor was little and he loved Jiminy Crickwit. We were walking around Tomorrowland when a Disney person stopped us to tell us Jiminy was down in a gazebo and only comes out a couple of times a year. I have never seen Jiminy (probably becomes he only comes out twice a year!) . We got to wait in a very short line (I don't do character lines unless is is a true favorite, they are all so long) under a gazebo with a fan blowing on us. Not too shabby. Jiminy was there in honor of Earth Day and was teaching everyone how to save the earth. The kids also got to release lady bugs because they are natural pesticides. Because ladybugs are considered lucky in China, I thought this was fitting. Regan had the same reaction to Jiminy as she did to the Easter Bunny only not as loud because the giant green cricket didn't try to hold her.

Unfortunately, Allison did not get to ride any rides or see Jiminy because she made the mistake of being dishonest during several incidences in the two week prior to our leaving. She also called her daddy a liar when she was caught being dishonest and so she did not have such a magical day. That is why she is not any very may pictures.

Anyway, we rode all the rides and it was a beautiful day. Regan did not smile much throughout the day. She was sober for much of it and I think it all worried her. She did not even like the carousel ride. I couldn't believe it! She is such a daredevil, I thought she would love every minute.

The Magical Part:

Regan took her first steps!! We were hanging out in a restaurant eating dinner and Regan was sitting at a seperate table with my brother, his girlfriend and my mom. Regan wanted more of my chicken fingers. My brother stood her on the floor and she walked three steps toward me before hitting the floor. So exciting! She also learned to clap and she did so appropriately during the Monsters, Inc show. She also learned to point (we've been working on this forever!) and she finally pointed on the It's a Small World Ride. I was pointing out all the things to her and telling her to "look". She pointed up in the air and copied me saying "ook". She hasn't quite mastered where to point and will often just point up in the air and throw her head back to look up. She does do a cute new dance though with her "pointers" out - kind of like a John Travolta disco dance move with pointers up in the air!!!

Pictures:

1. The group with the best dressed giant cricket in Florida.

2. How to do Disney cheap: Bring in all your own drinks, uncrustable sandwiches, goldfish and cheese and only eat snacks at the park.

3. The kids posing (well, two kids posing, the little one trying to pick Konnor's nose)

4. My brother and I have pictures when we were younger on these things, the tradition has been passed down

5. Regan's new trick: refusing to look at cameras. About two minutes later she was looking for me though. As soon as the teacup really started spinning she was looking for her mommy!