Alden woke up pretty sick on the 8th day of our vacation. Samantha & Clair were also developing coughs. We decided to "sleep in" and take it easy in the morning. We didn't even get to Downtown Disney (shopping complex on Disney property) until almost 11am!! I got most of my Christmas shopping done for the kids and the kids also got to use their gift cards on some toys!
Alden got out of the stroller long enough to pose with a Buzz
Lightyear statue.
This is a HUGE toy store at Downtown Disney! The kids had so much fun in here!
After lunch we drove around for awhile the the kids all took naps in the van. Alden had a horrible attitude and he spent most of the afternoon crying (probably because he didn't feel good at all). We went back to Westgate and grabbed a few things for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party that we had tickets too that evening. Alden woke up feeling better from his nap. We ate supper in the parking lot at the Magic Kingdom (so that we didn't have to pay for an expensive supper) and then we all changed into our Christmas attire. :) We all had some kind of Christmas shirt to put on and we had santa hats with Mickey ears on them.
We took a few family pictures as we entered the park.
We went straight to Cinderella's Golden Carousel and I rode it with Samantha & Alden.
We walked to
Toontown & we walked through Minnie's house.
Doug liked this because Minnie even had a Dental appointment reminder on her message board!
Lounging on Minnie's back porch.
Alden, Clair & I walked around Donald's boat and played on the playground while Doug & Samantha went on
Goofy's Barnstormer. They are tearing down Donald's boat and this playground in February when they start the
Fantasyland Expansion project! :(
Clair loved this little playground! She could get out of the stroller and safely run around and stretch her legs here! We are sad to see it go!
After
Toontown, I took Samantha & Alden on the Teacups.
Then we went to
Adventureland and rode the Magic Carpets of Aladdin.
Then it was time for FREE treats! You can get cookies & hot cocoa all night long with your Christmas Party ticket. The kids loved the cookies! I loved the hot cocoa!
After we finished our cookies, we walked to Woody's Holiday Hoedown and the kids danced with Jessie, Woody, & Bullseye.
Samantha had so much fun dancing with Jessie and these other girls! We stayed here for about an hour because it was warm inside the the kids were having so much fun!
Samantha even got her own private dance with Jessie! I think this is where Samantha discovered Disney's magic!!
The DJ played lots of different music and this was a line dance that they all did together! It was so fun to watch all the kids and the characters!
Bullseye was
hilarious!!
Yes, this is Alden in Bullseye's arms!!
It took Alden a little while to warm up to the characters, but once he did he was so funny! He started break dancing and running around the room. His facial expressions were priceless!
Doug left the dance party early got us a spot on the parade route for the Mickey's Once Upon A Christmastime parade. We got to our spot right about the time the parade started and the kids loved watching all the characters and floats in it.
Dancing Gingerbread Men & Women!
This is as close as we got to meeting Clarabelle Cow! We had hoped to meet here because we call Clair "Clairabell" sometimes!
These marching toy soliders are actually playing the trumpet!! There is a space cut out of their costume to play! Amazing!!
After the parade, we walked toward the castle to get a good spot for fireworks!
Doug & Clair kept our spot for the fireworks and Alden, Samantha and I ran over to see Aladdin & Jasmine. They were a lot of fun to meet! They asked where the kids were from and Samantha replied "Plattsmouth" and then Aladdin joked about where Plattsmouth could be. After I told them it was in Nebraska, they joked around about cows and steaks. They told Samantha & Alden that their pet tiger - Rajah - loves steak!
We walked back to meet Doug and waited for the fireworks! Clair fell asleep waiting and never saw any of the fireworks.
Alden was cold so he wrapped up in our blanket and sat on the ground!
He asked for my hot cocoa (it was VERY cold by now) and he chugged it! At this point I thought it was cute!
We watched the fireworks over Cinderella's Castle and then our plan was to wait until most of the crowds left and then head to Fantasyland again. As people started heading for the gate, we stayed put and just around the time it got so crowded around us that we couldn't move at all...Alden threw up all over himself and the stroller and everywhere! He was so sick and I think the hot cocoa made his stomach hurt. All we could do was wait because no one in the crowd seemed to care that he was sick. We waited and waited and then finally walked to the Baby Care Center and asked if we could clean him up in there. We didn't have extra clothes for him that night, and the awesome cast member that was helping me, asked if she could send some new clothes up for him from one of the stores. I told her absolutely and while I cleaned Alden off, another cast member brought me clothes to choose from in his size. I took a shirt and some sweatpants and she told me not to worry about paying, that the clothes were "on them"! I was so grateful because it was so cold outside and Alden was just miserable. I changed him and then we walked back to the van and went back to the resort, cutting our night a little shorter than planned. Alden seemed to really perk up after he got sick, so we were glad about that.
Samantha & Alden tested out their new goggles that daddy got them.
Jayger went down the big slide!
Grant followed Jayger...but Samantha wanted no part of it! 
Clair loves to float on her back! 
Mikena & Alden monkeying around. 
Crazy eyes!
Clair is still working on that sharing thing...
Samantha & Megan had fun at supper!
Jayger, Mikena, Samantha & Alden watched from above as the adults finished eating. 
Jayger & Alden chased each other with water balloons!
Jayger's dad, Mike, was in charge of filling all the water balloons up!
He was a popular man! 
Jayger, Mikena, Christie, & Mike stayed late and watched fireworks around the lake with us! Check out their patriotic outfits! Lots of red, white, & blue! :)
