Mason's First Trip to Disney World

 Day 1: Getting Mason out of bed and ready was the easiest it has ever been today. We told him he was going to Disney World today and he jumped right out of bed and asked to put his clothes on! He did a great job traveling. We got to our gate very early only to find out that our flight had been delayed so the poor kid had to sit at the gate for over three hours before we even boarded the plane. We feared the worst for the flight since he'd already been sitting so long, but he did an awesome job and only fell asleep as we were landing. He even got a compliment from the lady sitting behind him, who was also traveling with children.

Passing the time by watching planes

 On the plane

 On the Magical Express bus

 Once we got to the hotel, Mason was so excited to see pictures of familiar characters. The lobby is decorated with sketches of many of them and he demanded photos with them while Daddy checked in!

Some of his favorite Cars characters

We were expecting him to be amazed when he saw our room, but he was mostly excited that there were two phones in the room! As he looked around, though, he began to love all the cool stuff in our "Nemo room." We quickly boarded another "Mickey bus" and headed to Downtown Disney to look around and grab a bite to eat. We ate at Daddy's favorite, Earl of Sandwich, which I think Mason enjoyed just as much as Daddy! It was then time to head back to our room, unpack, and prepare for our big day tomorrow!

Day 2: Today was Mason's first day at a park, the Magic Kingdom. We went into the day with no expectations so that we wouldn't be disappointed if he got exhausted halfway through. The park had morning extra magic hours so we were there bright and early!

Waiting for the park to open

 Showing his first visit button

 The Magic Kingdom

 Watching the opening show

Inside the park

Once the park opened, we headed straight for the new Fantasyland. It was here that we discovered what would become Mason's favorite ride (and dance) for this trip, the Little Mermaid. We made our way around the park from there until it was time for our lunch reservation.

Riding Dumbo (one of Mommy's favorites)

 On the Barnstormer

 Riding the Carousel

Riding the Tomorrowland Speedway (he needs to work on his driving skills)

For lunch we went to the Crystal Palace to dine with Pooh and friends. Mason had an awesome time waiting for his turn with each character.

 After lunch we had time for a few more rides before he finally gave in to a nap while riding the Haunted Mansion. 

On Aladdin's Carpets

On Buzz Lightyear

Once Mason woke up we had dinner at the Plaza and made our way through Tomorrowland. It was here that he stumbled upon a dance party! He made his rounds dancing with all the characters here!

                                          

We literally had to carry him away from the dance party when it was time for the Electrical Parade and Wishes. He seemed amazed by both and ended up spending almost 15 hours at the park. Not bad for a rookie!!

The parade

 Some firework photos

Day 3: One year for Mother's Day, Devin bought me a family photo package at Disney. Today was the day that I finally got to cash that in! We started our day at the Polynesian to have our photos taken. Mason was kinda crabby so I was nervous, but he perked up quickly and became the ham that he usually is! I was very happy with how they turned out. We ended up with over 80 photos!!

A few of my favorites

 This was supposed to be a photo of Devin & I, but our little buddy decided to sneak in and take his own photos!

After photos, we went to Disney's Hollywood Studios to spend the rest of the day. We had reservations for lunch at Hollywood 'n Vine for the Disney Junior Play 'n Dine. This was another opportunity for Mason to eat with some of his favorite characters, as well as dance too!                                Outside the park entrance (they made us do the scary face)

Inside the park

Lunch time

                  

 We had the chance to go meet Phineas and Ferb before Mason fell asleep waiting for the Great Movie Ride.

After napping, it was time to attend the "Scare Supply" concert at Monsters University before heading to dinner at the Sci-Fi Dine In.

 We got a surprise visit by a Green Army Man on our way to ride Toy Story Mania. Mason was thrilled!!

Day 4: We took a break from Disney today and went to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. This was a first time visit for me too! 

As soon as the park opened, Devin headed straight for Harry Potter so Mason and I went to explore Seuss Landing. I'm not sure who loved it more, him or me?!? We rode the One Fish, Two Fish ride first, but he then found the Cat in the Hat ride. We rode that over and over and over again. He rode it so many times that the workers knew his name, he gave a thumbs up to the ride operator for us to go, and we got permission to use the parent swap entrance for the rest of the day so we didn't have to wait in line. They even gave him a stuffed Horton!!

One Fish, Two Fish

 Posing with Horton

After riding on the carousel with Daddy we noticed a bunch of characters stop by. Mason wasted no time getting photos with all of them!

 He had to take advantage of one more photo-op in Seuss Landing before we left to go see Spiderman.

          

Mason took a break to cool off while I finished up some shopping.

 We couldn't leave the park unless we played some carnival games!

 Once we returned to the hotel, we surprised Mason by having Grandma and Erica stop by to go to dinner with us. He didn't know that they had arrived yet so he was really glad to see them! We all went to Downtown Disney and had dinner at T-Rex. After dinner, he took some time to dig for bones!

Day 5: By now we were all starting to get exhausted, so we decided to have a waterpark day.   Mason, Grandma, Erica, and I went to Typhoon Lagoon while Daddy went to Epcot. We had such a great time! We even had a chance to stop by the Teen Beach Movie Beach Party!

 Waiting to enter the park

 Waiting for the water balloon toss with Auntie Erica

 Burying Erica's feet in the sand

Erica & I even rode a few things

                                                                      Meeting Lilo

Mason especially loved the area for kids here. They even had a tube slide for kids his size, which he rode multiple times!

We had dinner reservations at Epcot so we met up with Devin there at the Garden Grill. This was another place where Mason got to dine with the characters so he had a blast!

Waiting for the bus with Auntie Erica

Dinner at the Garden Grill

After dinner we had time to ride a few things and meet more characters before Illuminations began. Mason discovered the Nemo ride, as well as all the attractions at the end of it.

Checking out the aquarium with Daddy

 Hidden Mickey

 Mason in Bruce's mouth

Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto

 He wanted another picture with the tractors back at the hotel

Day 6: Today we went to the Animal Kingdom. We thought this would be a half day excursion, but Mason had so much fun here that we ended up not even having enough time to go back to the hotel and change before our dinner reservation. We started out the day on safari. We actually got to see a lot of animals!

Riding with Daddy

                       

Hippos

 Elephant

 Lion

 An ostrich and her eggs

Giraffe

                  

 Zebra

 After the safari, Mason insisted on going on the walking tour to see more animals.

 Gorillas

 Showing Grandma

                    

We got a chance to meet some characters before eating lunch and riding a few rides. We even saw the Nemo show which was awesome!

Mickey & Minnie

 Pluto & Goofy

Russell & Dug

On the water ride

 Showing us how wet he got

 Riding dinosaurs in the rain with Mommy

We had to hurry and get to the Polynesian for dinner at Ohana. At this meal we welcomed Auntie Randa to the vacation!!

 The waitresses best attempt at a group shot

Day 7: Today is the first day that the whole family went to a park. Grandma Connie and Papa Randy even came too! We went to Epcot for extra magic hours and then in the afternoon went to the Magic Kingdom where some of us had dinner reservations. We spent most of the morning at Epcot on rides and then went to the World Showcase around lunch time.

Inside the park

Outside Finding Nemo

Enjoying her Mickey bar

Test Track

Meeting Donald in Mexico

Around World Showcase

 On a fire truck

                      

The whole group at the Magic Kingdom

 He asked to take a picture here

Our dinner was at the new Be Our Guest restaurant that we were lucky enough to get a reservation at. It turned out to be an awesome place with really good food!!

"The Rose"

                  

The slashed picture

Try the "Grey Stuff..."

"it's delicious."

Meeting the beast

 Mason made sure to get his arcade time in after dinner.

Showing us where our room was

 Day 8: This was another R & R day. Mason went with Grandma Monica, Mommy, and his two aunts to Blizzard Beach water park. Daddy and Papa Randy went golfing. Everyone had a good time and enjoyed a less hectic schedule than the park days.

Daddy & Papa Randy

 Mason at Blizzard Beach

 He insisted on posing with all of them!

Some of us met up for the Spirit of Aloha dinner show at the Polynesian later that evening. It was a blast. The food was great as was the entertainment. Mason was dancing like crazy.

Mason on stage

 The fire dancer

After the luau Mason made Erica and I take off our shoes for some beach time. He had a blast bossing us around and posing for photos.

Showing off his Little Mermaid dance

 Just relaxing

 Looking for cloud shapes

 Swinging

Day 9: Today the whole group went to the Magic Kingdom for the day. Mason got a chance to ride some of the rides there with people other than Mommy & Daddy. He had a really great time calling all the shots!

 Watching the show with Daddy

Posing with Goofy (his idea)

 Riding the Orbiter with Mommy

 He finally wanted to get ears!! (I think I was most excited)

Tinkerbell popped in

 
With Zurg

Getting scared by Daddy

 Sharing Dole Whip with Auntie Erica

After the snack break Mason stayed with Grandma Connie while everybody else rode Splash Mountain. Then it was time to meet Jessie and Woody!

Splash Mountain

Making a friend in line

Meeting Chip and Dale

Riding Buzz Lightyear with Grandma Connie & Papa Randy

We had lunch and headed to ride the Haunted Mansion. Mason had fun checking out all the exhibits along the line.

He fell asleep during the ride, yet again.

Once his nap was over, it was time to take a boat to the Fort Wilderness Campground for Mickey's Backyard BBQ. This was great! The food was delicious and many characters stopped by to join in the dancing!

Day 10: Today we went to Hollywood Studios with Grandma, Erica, and Randa. Mason sure did make the rounds meeting characters today and finally got a chance to see the Disney Junior show.

Outside the park

Meeting Donald & Daisy before we even entered the park

We rode Toy Story Mania and then had some fun in line to meet Buzz & Woody.

                  

                  

Showing Buzz his Buzz shoes

Finally meeting them

Next up in the character rounds were Lightning McQueen & Mater

 Then another visit with Phineas and Ferb (this time with Auntie Randa)

Next up was Mike & Sulley

As we exited the Disney Junior show Mason met Sofia the First and Jake

 We had lunch at the Sci-Fi again and then it was time to meet more characters.

Meeting Stitch

The Aunties were into Wreck it Ralph

And lastly, Mr. Incredible & FroZone

We went back to the hotel for a break before Fantasmic. This gave Mason a chance to pose with all the Cars characters there.

Day 11: This was our last day and we were all trying to finish up things we wanted to do. I spent the morning with Mason at the Magic Kingdom riding the train and meeting a few more characters. We met up with Erica in the afternoon for some pool time before the whole gang headed to Downtown Disney for shopping and dinner at Paradiso 37.

Mommy/Mason castle shot

Meeting Ariel

Fairy photos

On the train

 Having fun at the new Fantasyland splash area

 Sipping on his "brew" at Gaston's

Some of the pools we explored

 Our end of vacation drinks at dinner

Day 12: Welcome Home! This was one of those vacations where you come home feeling anything but rested! We had an amazing time filled with lots of memories! We're so glad that everyone was able to join us and share in Mason's first trip! He's still talking about it and asking to go back!