Did you know that the water in Florida has a very distinct smell? I turn on the tap and immediately I know I am in Florida. It actually reminds me of riding on Splash Mountain, and in case you are wondering, it tastes terrible. Must be all the alligators.
So for months I planned to go to DC around spring break, but unfortunately the flights just ended up not looking good for that trip. So when mom suggested we head to their newly furnished condo in Florida during that same time, I was so on that. My parents bought this condo a few years ago and we actually went to see it the last time we were there and it was just concrete floors and sheetrock walls. My dad spent a few weeks down there finishing it up so now it is an adorable little home. Stella gave great tours:
We were really lazy the whole time, but we did swim and rest and eat (y'know, lazy stuff). The pool was lovely and huge. Lots of old retired people so Stella really spiced up the joint with her pink floaty and little legs. At one point she wouldn't let this old grandma pass by the stairs because that was where Ariel was. At least the lady had a good attitude about the young whippersnapper taking over her pool. What did I do at the pool? Well, read my Kindle of course.
The condo is a good hour and a half away from Orlando and Stella really wanted to visit Mickey, while I really wanted to visit Kate Spade. So we left our little home and spent a few nights in Orlando. We went shopping and then the next day we kicked it at the Magic Kingdom.
It had been my mom's birthday the day before so I got her a birthday button and then Stella and I had celebrating buttons. Everywhere we went people told my mom "happy birthday." Stella asked how everyone knew it was her birthday and mom and I both said: "magic."
They are about halfway done with the newly expanded Fantasyland. So now it has a Little Mermaid ride and then Belle's village and the Beast's castle. So since Belle is my favorite we had to take a picture at the fountain where we pretended to read like Belle and then take a picture of the castle. Also spotted along the way was Rapunzel's tower.
We went to see Tink and then waited in line a long time to see Jasmine and Aladdin. We had never met Jasmine before so it was worth it. Stella was kind of nervous to meet Aladdin because she had never met a prince before. I could tell she was bashful and it was too cute.
It was pretty busy there, but not too bad. It was HOT. I've never been to Disney World this close to summer. It sucked all my energy out, but Stella was going strong. She loved visiting all her favorite rides like Peter Pan, Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Buzz Lightyear while enjoying all the magic.
Of course, we also had to get my favorite Mickey ice cream sandwich. (One day I'll make a collage of the pics of Stella and me eating them.) By that time, Stella could barely keep her eyes open, but she was certain that she wanted to stay and see the electrical parade. She loved it. She was exhausted but was able to tell us her wish: "I wish Cinderella and the Prince stay together forever." I bet she gets her wish.
I didn't buy Stella any toys or presents at Disney World, and just to let you know what a sweet daughter I have (and why I end up spoiling her all the time) let me tell you what she took happily for her souvenir: the free brochures and maps for Disney World. She put them all up in her cute Mickey brochure holder and lovingly packed them up for home. Lucky for her when we were at the outlet mall before our flight, I bought her a Minnie doll that was way clearanced down, so she was able to take Minnie home on the flight after all. Like Stella, Minnie is scared of the up and down on the plane so they held each other's hands at take off and we all made it home to a very happy Daddy.
