Let the Memories Begin...

I treasure memories and firmly believe they are an essential part of our happiness. Memories of “good ole times” help us cope when life is not at its best track or when we are old. For this reason, I try hard so that Bianca has a  lot of good memories of her childhood as time flies by.

It was for this reason that I delayed our trip to Disney World, for which she had asked last year. At the time, most of her classmates had already gone. However, I did not want to make her first time to Disney World a normal weekend trip thing as if a trip to Disney had the same of value of going to Chuck ‘n ‘Cheese. I want it to make an unforgettable and memorable experience. A rite of passage to her 5 years of existence!

 Wish #1 was granted on her birthday when we sang happy birthday in the morning of February 17 with a pink cupcake with white frosting for breakfast (Red velvet with white “vanilla” chocolate, as she would say).

 Wish#2 was granted going to a “pizza parlor”. So we all went to Red Elephant so that she could have her fave Pepperoni Pizza.

Happy at the Red Elephant

Wish #3 was a given: a birthday party at school:

Bianca, Olivia, Avery, JD, Lainey and Fischer

On Saturday, we had a Mickey Mouse themed birthday party with her friends from school, soccer and church at a gymnastics place. They had a blast with so much space to run, jump and hang upside down. Wish#4 was now crossed off her list. Little did she know that Mickey Mouse was going to be part of a much bigger plan!

From top to bottom, left to right: David, JD,Matthew S., Lainey,  Bianca,  Lucas, Madison, Fischer, Cooper, Hannah,  Emily, Anna, Lauren, Matthew K., Kensley.

Blowing the candles of her Mickey Mouse Cake!

Wish#5 here we go!!!!! We woke up on Monday as if she was going to school. The only change was that she was not wearing uniforms. She asked me intrigued and I gave very little explanation. She also noticed I was taking her to school! She usually says “Bye, bye escolinha!” as we go by her school but that day  she was obsessed with her nails and did not even notice. When we were almost in Orlando she told me: : “Mommy, it’s taking a long time to get to school today!”. So I decided to break the news! I told her we were not going to school today, we were going to somewhere special. As we were very close and we started to see the Mickey Mouse signs everywhere, I blindfolded her.

She had no clue where we were. She thought it was taking a long time to get to her school. Hahaha!

She agreed to be blindfolded!

When we arrived at the parking lot, I told her she could now look around for clues, just like  in the Blue’s Clues cartoon. She quickly spotted the parking sign with a picture of Captain Hook. When I asked her if she knew where she was. She said with a puzzled look in her face: “We are at Pirate Island?”.  I told her that we were not at the “Pirate Island” just as we were boarding the train to get to the Admissions gate. As we were riding the train, she finally started to see the flags, the castle and “signs all over the place” and I asked her again: “So where are we?” She says: “I don’t know yet, but maybe we are at somewhere special.. Maybe we are… at Disney World! WE ARE AT DISNEY WORLD!” She screamed so excited! I had tears in my eyes at that point… Silly Mommy...

As we got in, reality hit that there were a lot of people and a lot of lines to get through so we picked the classics and the stuff she liked: the Mickey Mouse  PhillarMagic 3-D Movie, The Mad Teat Party and It’s a Small World and obviously, the parade!

On our way to Fantasyland!

She was thrilled to see all of her favorite characters in the3D movie and only after the first ride on the Mickey’s 3D I too was a kid again!

She was in awe with It’s a Small World. She said she had never seen anything so beautiful in her life. As were parading through the countries.

The last ride we went was the Mad Tea Party. She said that that was the ride she had liked the most. We spin around with our hands up and had the time of our lives!

However, none of the rides compared to what we were about to experience during the Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade.

We were lucky to sit in a place right at the front with only two people behind us. With few people, a lot of the characters came around to shake hands: Woody and Jessie from Toy Story, Abu the monkey from Aladdin, Cinderella’s Step Mother and others.

Woody and Jessie

Abu

Cinderella's Stepmom

From the floats up above the Beast bowed to the Birthday girl.

The Cinderella’s Prince Charming even said Happy Birthday!!!!!

But nothing really compared to hearing a Happy Birthday from your favorite Disney Princess: the mermaid Ariel,  as she waved to the Birthday Girl. For us as parents it was as if time had stopped and it was only Ariel and our little Princess.

I broke down in tears and so did Papaya. It was a magical! Like little kids say Disney World is!  Of course we were in MAGIC Kingdom, where dreams do come true!

I had been to Disney World 2 times before and more recently to Busch Gardens with Miss B and Universal Studios when she was not even born. I remember being very impatient at Universal Studios with the 15 minute-line and we even had a Fast Past! However, going to Magic Kingdom this time was very different. I could easily endure the minimum 25 minute-lines just to see the big smile and excitement on Miss B’s face. It was as if I too was 5 again and was getting to see the Magic Kingdom for the first time.

We left around 6.00 pm having only been to 3 rides, 1 parade and 1 show and we also bought special things for her. Bianca was tired and seemed content to go home since she had no idea that much much more was out there. It was sure for us a day to remember! I hope she also will always remember her Big 5 Bash celebrations and her first time at Disney with a smile on her face. If she does our mission was accomplished. And these memories at Magic Kingdom have just began, I’m ready for more and there is no denying she too is ready.

The three of us on the train heading back to the parking lot.

Let the memories begin and shall they last a lifetime…