Insta-Month April

Like with my Insta-Month August of last year, I’m going to simply focus on the one thing that took up most of the month, our trip to Florida, I apologise if you’re sick of it, but I’m totally not. Instead of my usual who, where, what, why type round up, instead I’m going to share 9 of my favourite moments from our trip and although I could pick the 10 times LM went to meet Peter Pan because every time was perfect, I promise I’ve picked out some other ones too. They’re in no particular order because every moment was magical.

Meeting Peter Pan for the First Time.
It was actually me who really wanted to go see Peter Pan. In my 3 trips to WDW and 2 trips to DLP I had never met him and he’s one of my favourite Disney characters.. however as soon as LM saw him in Dream Along with Mickey she was obsessed. By the time she met him and hugged him, it was love. We were last in the queue to that set and LM basically spent 5 minutes hugging him and whispering to him. I think everyone we were with had tears in their eyes because it was so special. I also forced him into a hug because I’m a mean pushy girl, he doesn’t like hugging “grown ups” but I’m the original Wendy so it happened and he secretly liked it I’m sure.

Dancing with Cinderella in 1900 Park Fare
I booked a character meal in 1900 Park Fare which actually ended up being my favourite character meal. It was with Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine, Drizella and Anastasia. Although I’m sure LM will say the highlight for her was meeting Prince Charming (one of her back up boyfriends) and possibly consuming way too many gummy bears as dessert, for me it was LM getting chosen to dance with Cinderella in front of everyone. It was the first time we experienced a “magic moment” and mummy took hardly any photos because she was so taken aback and ended up crying. Cinderella had came to our table about 10 minutes early and as she was leaving she said to LM “in a bit I have to go dance with Prince Charming, but once I’m finished I’ll come for you and we can dance too” or something along those lines. I didn’t think anything of it, I wasn’t sure if she said it to all the kids. But sure enough it was announced that Cinderella and Prince Charming would be dancing. So we watched and applauded, then Cinderella came to our table and took LM to dance. Just magic.

Seeing Fantasmic
Some people love Illuminations, some people love Wishes, but for me the best night time entertainment has to be Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios and I’m so happy to report it was the same as it was twelve years ago! As soon as the music started I was in floods of tears and although people had warned me LM would be terrified, she really wasn’t. I had really wanted to see it a second time but due to the rain driving us to Magic Kingdom I didn’t. But once was enough to remind me why it’ll always be my favourite.

Walking out with Mulan at China in Epcot
Being friends with people who visit Disney World a lot is sometimes a huge bonus like when we visited Epcot and knew which door Mulan would be coming out so LM and her friend D could get some sneaky hugs in before she arrived at her photo spot. Not only that, but they got to walk out with her and look for koi. I walked behind them and it was so wonderful seeing LM getting to interact with Mulan and how wonderful she was with two incredibly excitable toddlers. I can honestly never thank everyone enough for all the magic they made for us while we were over. This is an experience I would never have known about and LM would never have got to experience it. Mulan was wonderful even when the two of them we climbing all over her.

LM Playing the Master at Enchanted Tales with Belle
Even though I had a toddler, playing in the parks at night was both our favourite time. Me because it was cooler and LM because she basically got to run around and charm everyone. Oh and walk onto all the rides. One night, at like 11pm we did Enchanted Tales with Belle and LM was chosen to be the Master. Although the Master (or the Beast as he’s better known as, however no one calls him that at the show) is obviously supposed to be a big scary guy, however it’s the most coveted role due the fact you get to dance with Belle. So when LM got the role she was so super excited and Belle was just wonderful with her. The look of awe on her face was just perfect and she did so well, again mummy cried (always the mark of a special moment in case you hadn’t noticed!)

Taking Over Fairytale Hall with Lane
LM made a lot of friends while out there her own age (although she refers to all my friends as hers too) one was of course Lane. Her lovely parents brought her in for an evening so the girls could play and they were instantly friends. They had a good time running around at the Rapunzel charging station with some other kids, we watched Main Street Electric Parade with them and Lane’s dad took them both on the carousel. But by far the most fun they had was in Fairytale Hall. Without realising it LM was dressed as Rapunzel and Lane as Cinderella so before even reaching the princesses the two had decided they would have one each, way too funny! But once in they just completely took over. It was adorable and magical. All the twirling, playing hide & seek, feeling Rapunzel’s hair.. it was so much fun. LM still talks about how Lane tried to lift up Rapunzel’s skirt (to look at her shoes, but she was a little bit vigorous) and from then on LM always wanted to hide in the curtains in Fairytale Hall.

Tigger & Pooh Having a Fight Over LM and Pooh Being So Done
One night at Epcot LM was in such a bad mood that some random guy told me Pooh & Tigger had no queue in the UK Pavilion and maybe that would cheer her up. And it did (for a short time anyway) because Pooh & Tigger had a full domestic over her! We were kind of used to it happening as Minnie & Mickey and Goofy & Donald had done the same but it was way more extreme with Tigger and Pooh. LM went to Tigger first for a hug and he would not let go of her, Pooh kept hold out his arms but Tigger was keeping LM. In the end Pooh walked over to Christopher Robin’s bed and flopped down on it in a huff. It was so funny and Pooh did get a hug in the end!

Aaron, Lindsay and LM Replacing Minnie & her Poodles
Occasionally the characters in pavilions (the ones that are there from open to close) need to step out for a moment. This happened one time when we were going to see Minnie and Aaron & Lindsay thought it would be hilarious to pose as Minnie’s show poodles. If that wasn’t funny enough, LM ran into the middle and posed like Minnie! Hands down this was the funniest moment of my whole trip because of course Minnie came out and cracked up on seeing them. Then she danced with LM. Character interaction at it’s best.

The Time LM Gave Peter a Thimble
On our last day we visited Peter Pan three times. Each time it got better and better. The second time we visited, Peter had LM give him a thimble (or if you’re unfamiliar with the whole Peter Pan universe, a kiss). The photos are beyond awesome from it. The best part is I missed it when taking a photo so I made her do it again, and on the second time she practically threw herself at him and it ended up making the most perfect photo because it was so Peter Pan and Wendy. On our last meeting Peter returned LM’s “thimble” and Mellie caught it on video. Talk about magical meetings!

There were so many other favourite moments, some I caught on camera, some I didn’t but these are the ones I’m taking from Instagram. LM was lucky enough to get double hugs from Cinderella & Rapunzel and Goofy and Donald. Walkin around The Crystal Palace with Tigger. Playing hide & seek with Peter. So many magical times that I have no idea how we’re going to top it come September!

As some of you may know, I now have two instagram accounts, my original one @teacupcocktails and now one that follows LM’s adventures both here and in Disney World, mainly because I took so many photos that i’d spend the next 10 years sharing them. My new one is @livvybirdadventures, feel free to follow it especially if you like photos and videos of cute kids. All the above photos are a mixture of the two accounts however as of next month I will be going back to simply doing insta-month from my main account.