Two wishes granted

One thing my mom wanted to do for the kids when they were down in Orlando is get Ian into the Jedi Training Academy at Hollywood Studios and for Sam to be able to meet the princesses at Magic Kingdom. 

Both events didn't take place until the last 2 days of their trip.  With my stepfather working for Disney, the biggest benefit we take advantage of is free entry into all the Disney parks.  However, this does not allow any other shortcuts to take place and we stand in line or wait to get picked for something like every other Joe Shmoe at the park.

MEETING THE PRINCESSES!

Over the years, we have yet to spend the money on a character breakfast, lunch or dinner for either of the kids.  While this surprises some of my friends, I believe it is a very expensive activity and one that neither of the kids would fully appreciate unless it was a character they were really into.   Sam loves all things princesses and next year when she has turned 4, we will indulge in her getting the Bippity Boppity treatment and do a princess breakfast.  This Summer, my mom thought it would be very cool for Sam to get to see some of the princesses without going to all of the expense.  So we decided on a Tuesday, after dinner and hopefully with the hottest part of the day winding down, we'd go to the Magic Kingdom and find the princesses that you can stand in line to meet.

As we left the restaurant where we had dinner, the sky was full of rain clouds and an ominous shade of gray and black.  It was going to rain and it was going to rain hard!  In the 20 minute car ride to the theme park, the sky lit up over and over again giving us a crazy lightning display.  As Florida is known for its lightning, you can imagine it was pretty spectacular.  The rain started and became blinding rain in a flash.  Did this stop my mom and stepfather from their plans of taking us to Disney?  Noooooooooooooo!  They were fearless and knew all too well, that the rain would stop as quick as it began and the skies would be clear in no time. 

The lighting and rain was the best thing that could've happened.  Tourists everywhere left the park and the temperature outside was now a good 10 degrees cooler.  We got a rockstar parking spot, entered the park and within 15 magically short minutes, Sam was standing in front of 3 of her favorite princesses; Belle, Cinderella, and Aurora. 

As we were walking in, there was a pretty sweet rainbow in the sky greeting us.  Unfortunately this picture doesn't do it justice.

Totally star-struck

It was really neat to see Sam look at the princesses for the first time.  She was in awe and couldn't take her eyes off of them.



For some reason, Sam needed to show Aurora her foot.




Sam is not entirely certain of Cinderella's intentions.



Belle is Sam's all-time favorite and the only
princess she would leave my side for.

And, because anything goes when you are hanging with the grandparents and on vacation, we took advantage of the near-empty park and literally walked-on a few rides after we were done with the princesses.  It wasn't until 10:00pm, that Ian looked at me and said, "are we going to still get ice cream before we leave here?"  "Yes, sure Ian", I answered.  Because what kind of mother would I be to say no to the kids getting ice cream at 10:30pm, a good 3 hours past their bedtime and still a good 30 minutes from actually being in bed?

Stay tuned for how Ian got into the Jedi Training Academy!