Christmas at Disney

SO this weekend we decided to make our annual pilgrimage to see the Disney Christmas magic. I don't care what anyone says, they have to have the most beautiful display for the holidays. Thanks to a friend of Sandy's, we were able to get in free :-) We enjoyed the morning at Disney MGM. Ryan was in a great mood. Not to say that he is crabby all the time but you will understand as I move through our day. We watched the Voyage of the Little Mermaid. We figured that since Ryan is liking the movie (which will be replaced shortly by something more manly I am sure) we would try that. It has been awhile since he has been on it. The dark theater proved to be a challange. And luckily, my head did not pop off from the death grip Ryan had around my neck. He enjoyed parts of it. Maybe even sang a little. Then, we hoofed (sp?) it over to the Stunt Show. We figured loud noise, check. Cars, check. Action, check. Perfect scenario for Ryan. He did really well sitting on the bleachers and watching. It was a first time seeing it for all of us, so that was fun. It kept him pretty mesmerized, so Mommy and Daddy were happy. We stopped to see a few friends on the way to lunch. On to lunch...perfect. Usually we have Ryan strapped in to something. The last time we tried eating at a table without a highchair or our booster was on the cruise. And crawling under tables to get him was not fun for anyone involved. It may have been humorous to the other parents but not to us. So this was a big step. Ryan sat there and ate his whole meal without any problems. Maybe his preschool is helping his table manners. I sure hope so because it was nice to be relaxed while eating. We decided to head over to the magic kingdom and see the castle lit up with the new white lights. This proved to be a possible fatal error on our part. Ryan screamed pretty much the whole bus ride to the monorails. And then proceeded to scream the whole monorail ride. Yes, I know the monorail ride isn't that long. But do to all the "traffic" we were stopped numerous times. So it felt like an eternity! And I am sure the others in the same car as us were trying to figure out if the windows opened so they could shove our little family out. We let Ryan run and play after determining that he wasn't going to nap as we had hoped. We ate a little dinner. Watched the castle lights come on. Ryan screamed through this whole process. I snapped pictures while Allen gained many more grey hairs. We left the Magic Kingdom. Tried the ferry this time. Better option. The bus ride again was bad but more enjoyable thanks to the wonderful people helping us with him. Then we headed back into MGM for the Osborne Lights. Beautiful yet terrifying. Ryan was without his stroller which meant I was chasing him through huge amounts of people. I was a rude person, pushing my way through, yet apologizing at my every shove. Chasing a 2 year old proved to be quite the workout. Add the eye candy of Christmas lights and snow, and my very active little boy moved at warp speed. Leaving me trailing behind him and Allen completely in our dust. Thank God he found us a couple of times. Anyway, it was beautiful. I look forward to seeing it at a slower pace next year (insert laughter from parents who know better). We drove home. Ryan fell asleep in the car. I am sure he was dreaming of snowflakes and Buzz Lightyear. Meanwhile, Allen and I were popping Motrins and wishing for younger bodies.