Happy Birthday to Me!

Since we were in Florida for my birthday and you can go to Disney for free on your day, we decided to give it a try. Honestly we debated bringing Grace because of her fear of characters but after she met Cinderella at a birthday party, we knew we had to take her.

As soon as we got to the Magic Kingdom, Grace started to cry about seeing Mickey Mouse. She and her Nana worked out a plan that when Nana saw him, she would beep her horn on her scooter so Grace could hide.

We decided to go straight to the fairies and princesses. Grace was so patient waiting in line- 15 minutes for the Princesses but over an hour for the Fairies! She never complained, she was so excited! She met Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty first.

Then we went to Pixie Hollow. All Grace could talk about was inviting Tinkerbell to her birthday party. Of course when we got to her, Grace was so nervous she didn't really say much. She was just so excited. It was sad when we left because she realized she didn't ask her but then said she would just mail her an invitation and she will come...

By 1pm we had met 2 princesses, 3 fairies, seen a few more princesses in the parade and eaten lunch. (and strategically avoided Mickey Mouse) That's it. Our visits sure have changed...

We picked up the pace in the afternoon a little- we listened to story time with Belle but then finally went on some rides. Grace's favorite was It's a Small World. But a close second was the car she and Jack drove. She insisted on doing all the steering so it was a very wild ride.

At one point, Grace stopped dead in her tracks and asked me to pick her up. I could tell she was scared but couldn't figure out why. I asked her and she said she did not like "those squirrels." I looked at the overhead trees but didn't see any squirrels. Then I saw Chip and Dale... ;o) We need to review our Disney characters next time we go. It did re-enforce our commitment to avoiding Mickey Mouse.

We had a great day. I had to wear a little button that said "Happy Birthday Michelle" so everyone we saw wished me a happy birthday- it was crazy. It was also fascinating how many people I share a birthday with (since we all had buttons). I like to think of it as only my special day ;o)

The only problem we had all day was Grace's fear of the automatic flush in the restroom. It was miserable for all of us until we worked out a system of my mom straddling the toilet to block the flush and not being allowed to move until Grace left. I really regret not taking a picture of my mom...the things you do for your grandchildren ;o)

Thanks to Jack, Grace and my mom for spending the day with me! And a special thanks to Sarah for watching Kate while we went.

We wore Grace out... Oh- by the way...as we were leaving, Grace said "We not see Mickey Mouse?! Where was he? He on a trip?".....