Disney Staycation

I love throwing the big birthday party each year.  Whitney's pink 1st birthday, then a Minnie Mouse party for her 2nd, and a Snow White bash for her third (and Grady's big debut!)  And last year's Seuss shebang was a LOT of fun to put together, and even more fun enjoying with family and friends.  I think we still have a Jessie and Woody/Toy Story party in our future, but this year we opted for a family staycation at Bonnet Creek Resort, on Disney grounds!

Best. Decision. Ever! We rented a cabana each day and it worked out GREAT! A TV, privacy, a mini-fridge for our own drinks and snacks, a fan and electricity to charge phones and ipads...it doesnt get much better! 

Eric, the kids, and I headed to the resort early on Saturday morning.  We got settled into our cabana and had the pool almost entirely to ourselves for a while! 

It was a great family atmosphere with the walk-in pool that both kids loved! Grady had just started MB12 injections two days before, and he was on a bunch of new meds, so we werent sure how he would behave, but he jumped right in, made friends with some twins who shared their toys, and was so awesome the whole time! 

My parents met us poolside later in the day and we all enjoyed the resort so much, we were already discussing booking another trip! 

We had a Disney resort booked and were happy to be staying on Disney grounds, but then a friend told us about booking through Ebay, and we couldnt believe the discounts! We got a very nicely appointed "Presidential Suite" with three bedrooms for less than half the price of the Disney resort! 

And really, before my parents got there, the kids and Eric were playing in the pool, the sun was gorgeous, and I had a moment to sit outside the cabana and enjoy our plan of attack...and this was in the sky:

Yep.  A God thing.  Totally. 

We all rested up while we waited for my brother's flight to arrive from Boston! 

Uncle Jay wasnt in the door five minutes before Grady was in his lap with books! 

We were all SO excited to have Uncle Jay here!!

The next morning was Whitney's BIG day! She is the funnest age! We booked Bibbity Bobbity Boutique followed by dinner with the princesses inside the castle at Magic Kingdom! Im not sure who was most excited!?

We did a few rides before it was time for Whitney's BBB appointment!

Dumbo!

It was such a fun experience! She really wanted her hair "like Anna's", but the BBB Fairy Godmothers are bound by the four or five hairstyles they are allowed to do.  So I re-braided "Anna's" hair myself :) 

She got to pick out a crown AND we got her a headband to match her dress :) 

So. Much. FUN!

This little girl has her Gramps wrapped around her pinky finger :) 

Our princess got her nails painted....

....and real makeup applied! 

And, of course, what visit to the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique is complete without some Fairy Dust!?

My mom, dad, brother, and I were true paparazzi :) 

And the Anna dress my mom found online was the envy of all the princesses!

Does it get better!?

It was 1000 degrees, but she insisted on wearing the full dress and cape!

Gramps is a great sport :) Light-up goblets? Ariel ears? Princess Elsa doll? Sold! 

Totally Daddy's girl.....totally Gramps' girl!

After a family ride on the carousel, we headed into dinner with the Princesses! 

Grady holding "Lella's" hand :) 

We were really impressed with the food choices at Cinderella's Royal Table, and it was a huge perk that the princesses each visited our table to say hello to "Anna" :) 

Grady gobbled up about five gluten-free rolls :) The server brought us more to bring home! 

Star Struck :) 

blowing kisses to princesses.  Such a stud :)

Such a great day for our sweet girl!

After dinner, Eric and Uncle Jay and Whitney stayed in Magic Kingdom to ride the rides while Grady, my parents, and I headed back to the hotel.  But we all stopped to see Buzz first :) 

Whitney finally ditched the ball gown and opted for her tiara and the Anna/5 shirt I made her :) 

The next day, we were going to head to Hollywood Studios, but decided to stay at the resort and enjoy the pool some more before heading to dinner at California Grill that evening.  

We thought we would take advantage of being so close to the parks, but we couldnt pass up this pool and the beautiful (HOTTT) weather!

I love matchy-matchy :) 

Uncle Jay had his work cut out for him...no relaxing on this vacay, Jay!

Whitney is a great age to get involved in the (cheesy) fun pool games coordinated by the pool staff.  Relay races and gathering ducks and hula hoop contests.  She loved it! (And learned a brief lesson in the cruel world when other kids cheat). 

We walked over to the lazy river!

And relaxed some more :) 

And dinner was delish :) 

The next day, we hit the pool again before heading to Epcot for some Around the World fun! 

Grady checked out the pirate ship pool...

and the kids had the pool to themselves! 

Uncle cuddles are the best!

I was left alone at the pool (awesome!) while everyone else went to explore the grounds some more.  The found a splash pad and a playground!

And then we showered up and headed to Epcot! 

More matchy-matchy!

We got a great table in the UK and then made our way around the world :) 

And of course we had to visit Nemo and Bruce!

Grady wasnt so sure about Bruce...

But warmed up to the giant shark once he realized Whitney and Uncle Jay were okay :) 

Uncle Jay bought the kids presents along the way :) 

And this sweet Tiger had the wiggliest tooth in the parks, and sure enough..........

....as we were leaving and walking underneath the big Epcot ball, her first tooth came out!!!!

She was SO excited!!!!!!

The next morning, we checked out of paradise the resort and headed home.  I was just excited about heading home with clean laundry ;)

But the fun wasnt over! That night, my parents treated us all to ANOTHER delicious meal at our favorite restaurant, The Capital Grill.  

Pre-dinner selfies :) 

Whitney is a professional birthday celebrator.  She dragged her birthday celebrations out for weeks :) This was her last official birthday dessert celebration :) 

And what visit with Uncle Jay would be complete without the traditional whipped cream face!?

Her laugh is the BEST.

So the Birthday Staycation came to a close and we all agreed it was better than a party.  I might still have one party left in me, but I have to agree that we made a TON of memories and three generations enjoyed a great location, awesome weather, and a LOT of fun! 

We may not have had a "birthday party park" party, but we had to get our annual "party park" picture :) 

It's tradition!