Day 2 - February 22: We left "home" around 9:30am and headed to Animal Kingdom. We rode, what Ellie called, the "choo choo" (aka parking lot transporter) to the park entrance and started our Disney adventure. Our first stop was the "Tree of Life" for a family picture
We then headed to the "Kilimanjaro Safaris" and took a safari through the African Savannah. Ellie loved seeing all the animals. We even had to stop for a giraffe to walk in front of our vehicle.
King Louie was hanging around outside the ride so we decided to have the kids experience their first character stop. They both weren't quite sure of the whole thing, but we were at least able to get a few pictures. 
"Maharajah Jungle Trek" was the next stop to see tigers, giant fruit bats, and other animals. After that Ellie and Carson fell asleep so Carl, Chad, and Rachel rode "Expedition Everest" while I waited (the joys of being pregnant at Disney World). They all agreed it was a great roller coaster. Carl and Chad used the "switch pass" to ride it a second time.
We then headed to "DinoLand U.S.A." where both kids had their first ride experience on the "TriceraTop Spin".
They both loved it. When Ellie got off she kept saying "WOW...more wows". Pluto was at DinoLand so we decided to get in line and wait to see him. 
Ellie was a little nervous at first but did warm up to him. 
The guys went and rode the "Dinosaur" ride while Rachel, the kids and I hung out in the gift shop. We then headed to more character greeting. After a slow greeting to Pooh every character for the rest of the trip was greeted with a gigantic hug, a kiss on the nose, and mom or dad telling her it was time to go and she needed to let go of them.
We stopped for an ice cream break then got in line for the "Festival of the Lion King".
It was such a fun show and the kids LOVED it. It was one of my favorite things from the whole week. It was a fun day. Both the kids did great. Day 3 - February 23: Magic Kingdom here we come. Ellie was all decked out in her pink Mickey Mouse polo shirt that said "Ellie" on it and her squeaky shoes...she just loves those things!!! I was looking forward to this day more than any other. The first time my little girl would see Cinderella's Castle (which she re-named "Mic Mouse House") and give Mickey Mouse a hug. We arrived to Main Street just as one of the "Dream Along with Mickey" fireworks shows was ending.
We headed straight for the Castle to get some pictures and begin our adventure. 
Next stop "Fantasyland". We stopped to ride "Cinderella's Golden Carrousel" first (I still haven't figured out why Disney uses the French spelling of carousel...doubling up the "r").
We then joined the multitudes of families in line for "Dumbo the Flying Elephant"
It was well worth the wait as both kids thought it was a lot of fun. After getting off the ride Ellie was almost in tears when she said "bye bye wows bye bye".
We thought it was time to give the kids a break from lines and strollers so we headed over to "Pooh's Playful Spot" where the crawled, climbed, went down the slide, and had a great time.
While the kids were playing I went and got Ellie a pair of Mickey Ears with her name on the back...she loved them and wore them the rest of the day. It was now time for our ride through "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh". When we got off this ride Ellie kept saying "mow peas" (Ellie talk for "more please"). When I finally told her no, we had to let other kids have a turn she looked at me and say "aww, man"...it was too cute! Carl, Ellie and I headed to Mickey's Toontown Fair, while Carson was napping in his stroller, to get in line for Ellie's first Mickey Mouse encounter. The wait wasn't too bad...about 30 minutes...and worth EVERY SECOND! They took us back in groups of about 10 and as soon as she saw him she was yelling "Mic Mouse" and doing her best to pull away from us. We actually were lucky enough to see Mickey and Minnie while just waiting in the line at the "Judges Tent" outside "Mickey's Country Home". As soon as it was our turn, we let go of her hand and she ran FULL FORCE to him. 
I don't even think she realized Minnie was there until we directed her back to give Minnie a hug.
Then she turned right around grabbed both of their hands and said "cheese".
As we were walking her away she kept saying "bye bye Mic...bye bye Mic" over and over until we were out of the room and out of the building. I think if she would have really thought about it she would have been in tears, but she was so excited she just didn't know what emotions to release. It was one of the coolest moments we've ever experienced with her and a true highlight of the week. Next stop was "Tomorrowland" where we met up with Chad, Rachel, and Carson. The guys went to ride "Space Mountain" and we had a Minnie strawberry juice bar and a popcorn snack. We decided that was enough excitement for the day and started to head back to Main Street to head home. Just as we got there the "Celebrate a Dream Come True" parade started. Ellie was instantly enthralled with the whole thing and started dancing and clapping. Carl put her up on his shoulders so she could see the characters better.
Just then Winnie the Pooh's float appeared and she yelled "hi, Pooh" and started waving.
She eventually got tired of standing and dancing and sat down on the ground and started bobbing her head back and and forth and doing her best to dance from a sitting position.
Chad, Rachel, and Carson progressed toward the park entrance while we waited out the parade and took some more pictures.
We finally made our way down Main Street and waited outside a gift shop listening to the Main Street Band, while they were inside getting Carson his ears.
Ellie's squeaky shoes made it through the park with great success. She loved them and we could never be lost...just listen for the squeak. We then headed home, tired but full of excitement from such a fun day. The rest of the park would have to wait for another day.
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