The Magic Kingdom really is "magical." As I look back on these photos from our Disney vacation, I'm still floored by its beauty and all that the parks there in Orlando have to offer. If you look closely at this shot above, you can see that zip line I mentioned in my earlier post below which stems from that tip top tower point all the way over and across the park. I'm still amazed at the girl they lit up in lights and sent zip lining over the top of us during the fireworks show on that thing. Very cool stuff!
The sky was extra perfect on this day. The clouds made for some added texture in each of the images. Love me some bright white clouds on a blue sky day. Everyone knows that I love color and I look for it in everything that life holds. Being at Disney was no different. There was color EVERYWHERE and I absolutely loved it. The bouquets of balloons being sold around the park made my heart happy up against that brilliant blue sky...
I did forget to post this night image of the castle yesterday when I posted the other night photos. Therefore, here is a peek at it for you:
Enchanting, isn't it?
One day we headed over to "Downtown Disney" and hit all the shops and restaurants. Downtown Disney was a really cool place and was right up my alley. These are some shots I captured when we first got there...
Can you tell how much Brennen hated me at this moment in the shot above? He dispises having his photo taken(especially in 98 degree heat). By this point, he was over my camera and I. He couldn't have even faked a smile here if I had paid him. He was beyond frustrated and I can't say that I blame him. And yes, this is Kenidi's special needs stroller. Many of you emailed me about it after my last post. It attracts quite the attention. I have yet to figure out why but it does. I'm unsure if they look at it and feel "sorry" for Kenidi or if more people look at it and wonder what in the world type stroller it is. We've gotten both sets/types of questions about it and we got stopped numerous times during this trip regarding it. This purple-licious stroller has been a life saver for us. A huge thanks to blog friend, Eloise, for turning me onto this type of stroller for Kenidi. She has a daughter, beautiful Vivian, who has the same condition Kenidi does. Eloise directed me to go thru our local hospital in Indiana (Thank you Riley) and through our Insurance company to get one of these strollers for Kenidi. It took almost 6 months to get it once she was fitted for it and it was ordered but it has been well worth the wait. It also took lots of prayers regarding whether insurance would pay for it or not as well. Can you believe the medical supply places charge $3000 for strollers like this one? Without our insurance, we would have never been able to afford this on our own. It breaks my heart that there are so many families out there like us who need this type equipment but might not have the insurance option to pay for it. I find it appalling actually. In the end, we were thanking the good Lord above for pulling this one thru for us on our insurance because it has been such a HUGE help for our family and mainly for Kenidi. Although big and bulky and sooooo not convenient, it works and works well. She loves it and so do we.
While at downtown Disney, I found tons of things to take photos of. They had an area that made my heart swoon when I first laid eyes on it. I grabbed my camera and went to town. If there is one thing I miss about living in Florida instead of Indiana, it is old beat up buildings. Old urban settings. I like rough, ragged, and distressed. In Naples, everything is just so clean, well manicured, pristine, and new. I'd kill for some beat up old downtown buildings with graffiti down the sides of them here in Naples. Therefore, when I saw that Downtown Disney had some old areas - totally built new and meant to look distressed and not truly old - I still had a hay day behind the lens...
I loved the doors with the crosses on this building above. Radness at its finest! The colors, the crosses, the doors themselves, loved it all!!!
Then I stumbled across the house of blues area. Oh yummy!
This area screamed "URBAN DECOR" and it had my name written all over it. We went into the House of blues gift shop and it totally ROCKED! They had the neatest stuff in there. Totally awesome and eclectic.
For now, I am getting ready to hit the town tonight with my handsome young stud of a son as we head to the theater for the 12:01am premiere of the movie "Eclipse." I've been waiting for months to see this film and have heard that it really is the best one yet. Brennen has watched the other two films previous to this one with me so it has become a ritual for us to do the "Twilight thing" together now. He and Brent fought over who was going to go to the midnight showing with me tonight but Brennen won that one. I assured Brent that I'd have no problem whatsoever going back to see the film a 2nd time with him. LOL! I hope to take my camera and get some pictures of all the other crazy Mamas in line such as myself - just dying to see "Edward" on the big screen again. I won't mention how much I love that Burger King is doing a special right now to do with Eclipse merchandise when you buy from them. Brennen keeps teasing me that I need to buy Kenidi another kids meal so that I can get her "Edward" toys out of it. My son knows me all too well. My husband brought me home an extra big box of "Edward" sweet tarts the other day too. Needless to say, the box is proudly displayed on my kitchen counter right now. Uh huh...Robert Pattinson is da' bomb!
We spent the day at Magic Kingdom yesterday. It was the first time I'd been back there since I was about 10 years old. Fast forward 25 years and there I stood in front of Mickey's castle with my own two children. Amazing. Where did the years go?
The heat eventually kicked our butts and won. We literally crawled our way back to the monorail around 4pm and proceeded to stick to the seats as we sat there with sweat dripping off every inch of our bodies. It was the grossest moment of my life as I envisioned whose sweat I was sitting in when following whomever sat there before us. YUCK! We did manage to purchase water bottles that had fans and misters attached to them. At $17 a piece there on the Disney grounds, I almost choked up a lung as I paid for them. However, with me being pregnant and Kenidi's seizures acting up due to the heat, I didn't hesitate. We had to have them. Those little suckers literally saved our lives yesterday. :)
After reaching the car and feeling like an idiot for ever attempting Disney in the heat of June/Summer, we made it back to the hotel looking like something the cat had drug in. Kenidi crashed on the bed and took a long nap while we vegged out and recovered from the sweat pit state we were in. As 8pm approached, we cleaned back up and headed back to the Magic Kingdom for the Electric Parade and the nightly fireworks show which always begins at 10pm. The image shown above was taken during the Electric Parade. I got out my tripod, slowed my shutter speed way down, and captured some really cool light shots of the event. When I wasn't slowing down the shutter speed, the normal floats looked something like this:
When the parade starts, they shut the entire park down -meaning all of the lights within the park so that it is pitch black. Brennen taped most of the parade on his phone and we've watched it over and over again. Kenidi was mesmerized by it all. And Brennen, well he loved it as well. And the fireworks show...well it just ROCKED!!!
Unfortunately, I didn't get my tripod back out to take photos with Big Papa during the firework show. However, I did manage to get the shot above with my cell phone. They had a girl all lit up in lights zip line from the tip top point of that castle all the way over the top of us in the crowd and across the park. It was the raddest thing ever. She was so high up and just went zipping over the top of us right along side of all those fireworks in the sky. I can only imagine what it looks like at her view. Amazing stuff!
I learned several things during our experience at Magic Kingdom. One was, we were STUPID with a capital "S" for going there during the day in the middle of summer. Next time we go, it will be in the fall months here in Florida. Secondly, Magic Kingdom is way cooler at night than it is during the day. I'd much rather skip the daytime hours and just visit at night. Then, I learned that Disney really caters to the disabled and they really have it down pat - and do it well. Kenidi received many options that most people didn't due to her disability. We were able to enjoy the park and its festivities much more thanks to Disney and how they have everything set up for the handicapped. Kenidi would have never lasted like she did or been able to enjoy it as much as she did without those extra touches for children and adults like her. And lastly, I learned that I'd fight any crowd at 11:30pm at night in any Disney gift shop for a bag of pink cotton candy. I must confess that I might have taken out a few peoples heels on the back of their feet with Kenidi's special needs stroller in the process but hey...I got my cotton candy and that was my goal. Mission accomplished. LOL!
I'll blog with more photos of our experience at Disney as the week progresses. In the meantime, thanks to all of you who emailed, facebooked, texted, called, sent me cards/gifts etc. for my 35th birthday yesterday. You will never know just how special you made my day thanks to all of your kindness, love, and support. Your birthday wishes made my already magical day at magic kingdom that much more awesome. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
PS...To the "anonymous" commenter who left the comment on my blog the other night...Yes, I will pray for you about the issues/struggles you mentioned and then some. I'm so very sorry to read that you are facing such trials and tests of faith. On the other hand, you might try to refrain from being judgmental or hateful toward others who aren't struggling in your same shoes. You just never really know what shoes they "are" walking/struggling in. No one leads a perfect life. No one. Ever! In the end, even when the negative gets the best of you, you should stop and ask yourself "What is my gift or gifts in today?" "What gifts has God blessed me with amongst all of the pain and heartache?" I personally found myself having to ask the same questions last week when my plans weren't going as I had hoped. The gifts are always there - sometimes it is just harder to see them during specific moments of trial and tribulation. Sometimes we have to improvise and make our own "gifts." Either way, find them. Find those gifts! Know them, love them, and thank God for each and every one of them because there are many if we are just willing to open our eyes and embrace them. Again though, definitely sending up those prayers. Good luck to you and your faithful husband.
Sometimes life really SUCKS! Just keepin' it real. I know you guys yearn for realness on here so I'm giving it to ya today. Front and center. And many times, life is full of dissapointments and complete let downs. The key to those moments is how we choose to deal with them.
In a nut shell, the bad news is...our Turks and Caicos flight/trip had to be canceled & postponed at the very last minute yesterday. The good news is...Brennen's ear infection is getting better as the antibiotic seems to be helping now. Therefore we decided on a whim yesterday to hop in the car and drove North 2.5 hours for this destination pictured below instead.
(Photo taken with Brennen's new iphone4 camera)
It's definitely no Caribbean island like Turks but it sure is fun and I NEVER EVER thought I'd say that out loud about Disney. I was never a disney lover - ever. The kids are having a ball and so am I. It's definitely hotter than blazes but the hotel pool and the park books (Blizzard Beach and Typhoon lagoon as well as the Aquatica at Sea World fix all that hotness real quick.
We are hoping to reschedule our Turks trip within the next few months but for now I'm off to enjoy what could have been a really sucky birthday weekend had I let the whole ordeal steal my joy. Thank goodness for the perks of living in Naples and only being 2 hours away from the most magic place on earth. Until we return...
