Caitlin's Journal...

A Magical Spring Break…

    The morning after the Alexandria parade, I boarded a 6:40 AM flight from Washington Dulles to sunny Orlando, Florida. There, I met two of my girlfriends who had arrived on Saturday for our spring break trip to Disney World!! Disney has always been a favorite vacation spot for my family and me, ever since I was very little. On my first visit I was four, and too shy to visit with most of the characters (except the Princesses). I’ve gotten a little braver since then, but still find myself enchanted by the magic of it all. On this trip, my friends and I visited Magic Kingdom, as well as MGM, and really had a blast. This was my first trip to Disney that I was daring enough to ride the infamous Tower of Terror at MGM (newly renamed Disney’s Hollywood Studio), and I must admit I felt pretty good about myself coming off of it (even if half of my fellow riders were under the age of 10 :op). Some highlights of my trip were:

Ghirardelli’s Chocolate Factory in Downtown Disney

The chocolate chip cookie dough sundae is my favorite! Yumm!


Meeting my favorite Disney character: Pooh Bear!

I’ll admit, I was a little star struck meeting one of the biggest idols of the first five years of my life. Fun fact: My first word was actually “Pooh” referring to Pooh Bear. Sorry Mom and Dad :op


The beautiful weather

It averaged about 80 degrees while we were there, and the only time it rained was while we were in the drive-in movie café for dinner. How perfect!


Downtown Disney

What a fun and beautiful area right on the water to shop, eat, and enjoy a Ghirardelli’s ice cream sundae (can you tell I love ice cream??). Downtown Disney also had a delicious sandwich shop, and a fun water feature that children were always playing in. What fun to watch!


Character Breakfast

One morning our hotel offered a delicious buffet for breakfast with two special guests in attendance: Goofy and Pluto!


People Watching

I love people and am always a big people watcher, but Disney was especially fun because of all the children! Seeing their sheer excitement definitely made the magic come alive for me even more. The longest line we waited in while there was to meet Pooh Bear and Tigger, but it was also the most fun line because we got to watch all the children in front of us meet and greet them. It was so sweet how they interacted with the characters. In the parks, there were even special stroller parking lots. Who knows, maybe they will include valet stroller parking in the future? They also have a new feature in magic kingdom I thought was so cute called the “Bippity Boppity Boutique” where little girls can get Princess makeovers from ferry godmothers with magic wands. I would have gone absolutely mad over that if it had been there when I was younger, and clearly I had plenty of company judging by all the little girls around the park with the telltale “ferry dust” in their hair. Most of the patrons were getting a little cranky around dinner time, and were very tired by the end of their excitement-filled days. I’m sure they slept soundly that night :o)


Beauty and the Beast

This was always my favorite show growing up, and it was just as beautiful this time as it was every time before, especially the music. “Tale as old as Time” is definitely one of my all time favorite Disney songs; it just tugs at my heart every time I hear it.

At dinner with my friends Pam and Alyssa. This diner was drive-in movie style, with the tables shaped as cars, and complete with a giant movie screen on the wall.

Love Always,

Caitlin