Raleigh Family Lifestyle Photographer – Disney 2015

I finally had time to sit down and go through our Disney photos. (We went in early January) I will be honest – I really did not take many photos this trip. Our last trip – which you can see here, I took a million…like really should have put the camera down more. This time I took a lot more cell phone photos, carried my camera with the lightest, smallest lens and only carried my camera (no other bags) Another thing that we have found that makes our trips easier is using the city mini stroller instead of an umbrella stroller. We used an umbrella stroller the first time we went to Disney and discovered that it just wasn’t for us. It was so wonderful to use the City Mini the last two times, especially this time having a baby. We could unstrap the basket underneath and put the diaper bag completely under the basket and the bottles didn’t spill. (We waited until after Disney to go from bottles to sippy cups/milk) We also didn’t leave anything in the diaper bag that we cared if it was stolen. (I didn’t think we had to worry about this but just so we didn’t worry, etc.) I just carried my tiny camera bag (just holds the camera) with an extra flash card. Any baby items/snacks went under the stroller.And Michael didn’t have to carry anything, which was awesome, because one of us had to hold Harrison or make sure Owen wasn’t going too far. Like Nemo, we all had an “Exit buddy.”

Owen got his first hair cut around 11 months at Disney. Harrison has a lot more hair than Owen had so he was long overdue by the time of our trip right after he turned one. He was surprisingly happy during his haircut and only got upset at the very end, but thankfully the Dapper Dans provided some music since it started raining outside. Owen also got a hair cut while we were there since they had a spot for him. (We had made a reservation for Harrison) We drove to Jacksonville and spent the night and then drove up just in time for Harrison’s hair cut. Then we checked into our hotel and went shopping at Target to have enough snacks, breakfast food, water, etc for the week. Images like the one of them in the Target cart are just my favorite – everyday life. My Mama, brother and fam arrived that afternoon, too, and we all headed back to the Magic Kingdom. The Christmas decorations were still out and Christmas music was still playing. (It was the last day) and we also got to see the Frozen show and the castle turn to ice. They had a crane out the rest of our trip taking down the Christmas decor.

We did go to the Disney Starbucks at Magic Kingdom and Epcot this time. (Be prepared to wait!) A few new places we tried this time – the Whispering Canyon Cafe. was just so super cute. We did get into this place last minute but I would recommend making dinner reservations six months out for any places you really want to eat while at Disney.(see our faves here) At Whispering Canyon, you have to ask for ketchup while you are there, and then the kids ride stick horses around the restaurant. (Adorable. Owen lovvvved it) At Epcot, we also tried the Les Halles Bakery in France, and it was delicious! We also ran into friends at Epcot, which was super fun – you never know who you’ll see at Disney!

Owen loves his Duffy bear, and reallly wanted to get one for Harrison. He also picked out a Jake costume for him – so super cute. Oh, and this was our first trip since the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train opened, and wow, it is my favorite Disney ride for sure. We just happened to ride it at night during the fireworks. (And if you are going to attempt to take a baby into the park anywhere around fireworks time, parking the stroller and babywearing makes this soooooo much easier) We hopped off the monorail at Magic Kingdom after eating at Ohana (our favorite place to eat at Disney – YUM!) and headed to the Mine Train. It just happened to be at fireworks time, we barely waited for the ride (usually during the day it was around 60-90 min) and were able to ride during the fireworks. AMAZING! I highly recommend riding this at night, and if you can, plan to go during fireworks. (Have I said ride this ride at night during the fireworks enough??!?)

Probably one’s favorite part of Disney this trip was Ride Switch (you can read more about this here) Owen got to ride all of the roller coasters twice, and he just loved it! It made a trip with a baby a lot easier, too.

So if you look at the previous trip, there is a spot where Owen’s looking at all the fish. We’ve been here twice and never knew that you could sometimes see a hippo here – just the coolest thing ever. One of the highlights of our trip.

We like to end our trip with the breakfast at the Contemporary resort – The Wave buffet. (love the Mickey waffles) but I also recommend Chef Mickeys for breakfast (or dinner) We ate at Chef Mickey’s for dinner this trip, and there was some yummy food on the menu. We also tried the Ghiradelli shop at Downtown Disney while we were visiting the Lego Store and oh my, I so wish we had one of these – I would totally be in trouble. The chocolate milkshakes were incredible! Of course, we always get Dole Whip in the Magic Kingdom (we may have gotten it twice..the first time didn’t go so well and we dropped some. Oops!)

The new fastpass system didn’t work that great for us so if you are planning a trip, as far in advance that you can get fast passes, I’d definitely pick the ones that have the longest lines. (Mine train, Toy Story Mania, Meeting the Princesses, etc) The photos at night in front of the castle were like a five second thing on our way to the mine train..I’m so glad we stopped and my brother also snapped a photo of us. It was a super fun trip, Owen said his favorite rides were the Mine Train and the monorail, looking forward to another trip in a few years!

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Rebecca Keller is a Raleigh Family Lifestyle Photographer in Raleigh, N.C. Contact Rebecca Keller Photography for more information about Family Portraits and Newborn Photography in Raleigh, Cary, Apex, and Wake Forest, N.C.