The Wonderful World of Disney

My Favorite Mouseketeer

Two weeks ago, my family and I made a trip down to Orlando to take Ava Laurence on her first trip to Disney World. Vicki, Billy, and Ava Laurence went down on Tuesday, and Mama, Lashley, and I joined them on Friday.

I had to work Thursday night, so as soon as I reported off on my babies, I headed home, jumped in the shower, packed my bags, and we were off. Lashley was kind enough to do the majority of the driving, and surprisingly, I was able to catch a little nap in the backseat. We stopped and had lunch somewhere around Deland, and I took over the driving as I was feeling a bit sick at that point.

We arrived at our hotel, Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort, checked in and immediately changed for dinner. We all hopped on the bus to Downtown Disney, where we poked around in a couple of shops before going to see Cirque du Soleil "La Nouba". It was amazing. I was so impressed with how intimate the theater was - the stage was RIGHT THERE! And of course the acrobatics and music were phenomenal. The stars of the show? The absolutely adorable little Asian girls, of course. Ava Laurence had to tell us everything we were going to see (people swinging and jumping). She was transfixed through the entire show, rarely taking her eyes off the stage. Afterward, she kept asking if it was her turn to go jump and swing. Too cute!!

After Cirque du Soleil, we had dinner at Bongo's Cuban Cafe. Many moons ago, Maggie and I went to Bongo's, but were unable to go in for whatever reason. But I bought a t-shirt and said I would be back, and I finally made it. The restaurant is beautiful, and the food was delicious, although at that point I had been awake about 30 hours and was so tired I literally wanted to cry (but didn't). After dinner, we took a cab back to the hotel and turned in. I think I passed out.

Mosaic tile wall in Bongo's

Saturday morning, we got up and had breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast we headed to the Magic Kingdom. I think Lashley and I were more excited than anybody. I love the Magic Kingdom, and it was even prettier than usual because it was decorated for fall. We rode several rides with Ava Laurence, saw Mickey's Philharmagic (quite awesome), and had lunch. That's when poor Ava Laurence's little world just fell apart. She never quite got it all together after that point, so she, Vicki, Mama, and Billy headed back to the hotel in hopes that Ava Laurence would rest (which, of course, she didn't). Lashley and I stayed behind. We went to Tom Sawyer's island, rode Pirates of the Caribbean, and took not one, but two, magic carpet rides! We had so much fun! We were just like two little kids. We finally hopped on the bus and went back over to Downtown Disney where we met up with the rest of the family and had dinner at Rainforest Cafe. Vicki, Mama, and I stayed to do a little shopping while Billy and Lashley took Ava Laurence back to the hotel to get ready for bed. We finally made it back to the hotel where we crashed out (after a nice, hot shower).

Lashley and me on the carousel

Sunday morning, we got up, had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel again, and headed back home. It was such a fun weekend. I loved seeing Ava Laurence have so much fun at the parks. Lashley and I had a blast together. I can't wait to do it again!

You bet, Mickey!