Briggs' ability to handle days on end full of theme park fun without a nap exceeded my expectations. I expected some fall-out (and was mentally prepared for that) but all things considered, we had very little drama. On our last trip, Briggs was scared of many things (rides, characters, shows, fireworks) and we had lots of tears as we tried to figure out what he would and would not like. Still my sensitive child, we still had a number of things Briggs either refused to do or we had to abandon, but we were better prepared for the things he would and would not like. And although we had to reassure him often, Briggs' mantras of "They are just people in costumes" and "It's just a statue with a motor inside" and "The boat won't sink because the water is too shallow" and "There are no bad guys in this one" helped him better handle all the potential scary aspects of Disney World.
Briggs did not want to ride the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, but was happy to pose with the pirate ship and eat ice cream with me while we waited for everyone else to be done.
Briggs tried a number of new rides and shows this time that he wouldn't do last time. His new favorite ride was Toy Story Mania, which he did 3 times, including waiting in line for 60 minutes like a champ because he REALLY wanted to do it again. His other favorite was probably It's a Small World, which we did no less than 5 times. The little model trains in Germany at Epcot were still a highlight. Other rides that he really enjoyed this time included Buzz Lightyear's Ranger Spin, Astro Orbiter, Jungle Cruise, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Dumbo, Triceratops Spin, Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land (except the storm part), Journey into Imagination, Turtle Talk with Crush, Alien Swirling Saucers, People Mover, tea cups, carousel, and Grand Fiesta Tour. He cried about doing Winnie the Pooh because he remembered it had a storm. After crying about it the first time, he then asked to do it again wearing his ear protectors and really enjoyed it. He refused to do the Little Mermaid ride (because Ursala was too scary), Nemo ride (because the sharks are too scary), Frozen ride (because Marshmallow the snow monster was too scary), and had no interest in any of the little roller coasters that he was tall enough for. Regardless, the list of rides and shows that Briggs did (and enjoyed) this time far surpassed his list from our last trip. Progress!!
Although scary last time, this time Briggs loved the spinning tea cups and wanted to help make them spin faster and faster like his sisters.
Briggs loved meeting all the different characters. Woody and Jessie might have been his very favorite, although he is also quick to let everyone know that Tiana is his favorite princess. He sometimes wanted to be held, but for the most part really enjoyed talking to, hugging, and meeting all the different princesses and characters. He even made a few pictures to give to some of the characters we met.
Getting some love from Tiana...
and Jessie.
Most of Briggs' pictures of the princesses and characters looked very similar to this one. Adelie was kind enough to help Briggs write the character names. Phonetically, of course. :)
The various Disney shows remained an issue for Briggs. We left It's Tough to Be a Bug and Disney Jr. Dance Party within in the first 5 minutes, he cried through Mickey's PhilharMagic and Muppet Vision 3D, and he refused to go into the Frozen show, Little Mermaid show, and Monster's Inc Laugh Floor. He did enjoy the Finding Nemo musical stage show (except the part with the sharks) and parts of the Lion King stage show (although was scared by the fire eater and never fully recovered.) Nighttime shows remained an issue as well. We brought ear protectors, which helped, but he still did not want to watch any of the nighttime shows, generally being held and only occasionally sneaking peaks at the fireworks or projections. We didn't even try to take him to the Fantasmic nighttime show, which I am glad about as he would have surely hated it. And although he did like the Festival of Fantasy parade, he again was scared of the dragon.
This is how Briggs chose to "watch" the dragon part of the parade.
Ear protection made loud or "scary" parts of rides, shows, parades, and nighttime entertainment more palatable.
Although there were things that Briggs did not want to do and did not enjoy, his list of enjoyable Disney moments far surpassed his list of "No thanks!" activities. He has new rides on his list to talk about, new characters that he has met, and many new Disney favorites.
My Disney boy!
Just relaxing on Tinkerbell's tree
Although Adelie still loved the Little Mermaid ride (and we did it multiple times), she now says her favorite ride is the Seven Dwarves Mine Train. This was the only roller coaster she wanted to do, but she did it twice. She did Soarin' twice and loved it as well. She also really enjoyed Mission Space, Alien Swirling Saucers, and spinning really fast in the tea cups. However, she chose not to do the Dinosaur ride or Splash Mountain, didn't want to do Frozen a second time, and cried during It's Tough to Be a Bug. She also insisted on ear protection during the nighttime shows, although loved watching them once it wasn't so loud.
You can never go wrong with a carousel ride.
Adelie's favorite activity might have been Enchanted Tales with Belle. We did this twice and Adelie was chosen to be the Beast both times. She was thrilled!
She got to roar at Belle...
and then dance with her.
Adelie loved meeting all the characters with Ariel being her favorite (of course.) She made over 20 cards for the various characters and princesses, and had a card for just about everyone we met. She handed out all but 2 of her cards, although she did give her cards for Anastasia and Drizella to Cinderella to pass along since we didn't meet the stepsisters this trip. I loved Adelie's portraits of the characters and her phonetic spelling of their names.
Ariel reading her card.
Ariel's card
Mulan's card
Elana's card
Rapunzel's card
Adelie had so much Disney fun. She loved the characters. She loved the rides. She loved her old favorites and embraced her new favorites. She loved meeting friends on the bus, giving cards to characters, watching the nighttime shows, and fitting in one last ride every single day. She loved it all!!
My Disney girl!
Staley, my determined child, had decided that Rock 'n' Roller Coaster was going to be her favorite ride at Disney before she ever even went on it. Her goal for this Disney trip was to ride all the roller coasters. Based on her previous roller coaster experiences from the smaller coasters, I wasn't sure how this was going to go, but when Staley sets her mind to something, she doesn't back down. Although she skipped out on Expedition Everest and chose not to do Space Mountain, Staley rode all the other Disney coasters. She LOVED the smaller coasters with big smiles and hands in the air. She did Rock 'n' Roller Coaster twice and claimed that it was indeed her favorite. She also liked Soarin', Dinosaur, Mission Space, Star Tours, and Splash Mountain. New rides still made her nervous and she always wanted to hold my hand, but she persevered and enjoyed them all. She did cry her way through Tower of Terror, but insisted she liked it as well.
Hands in the air like you just don't care.
Love her joyous face!!
Staley will be the first to tell you that she really isn't into princesses and characters any more, but she was also my most excited child every time we met a character or princess. She'd spend the whole time jumping up and down with a big smile while interacting with the characters. She also made cards to give to some of the characters. She worked hard on her cards, and they turned out really cute.
So excited to be meeting Pluto. She just couldn't stand still.
Staley's card for Rapunzel
Staley's card for Anna
Staley's card for Elsa
Staley was still pleased to be Maurice...
and Philippe.
Conquering hero of Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Staley loved her Disney experience. She enjoyed all the family rides and shows and characters, but seemed most pleased about conquering some of the big kid rides and roller coasters...although my favorite was still her childish enthusiasm when meeting all the characters.
My Disney girl!
All 3 of my kids each enjoyed Disney in their own way. They each had their own favorite rides and characters. They each had things they didn't want to do and things they did. They each tried different new things while still enjoying their familiar favorites. They each will tell you different stories and highlights from our trip. But the one thing that was exactly the same for all 3 of them was that they all LOVE Disney.
My Disney kids!
