At this point, the plan was to head straight to Dumbo. No pictures, no breakfast, no detours we were on a mission to get there before the line got long. My plan lasted all of five seconds. Tessa spotted Daisy and we HAD to stop and see her. Tessa was so cute, I couldn't say no. Dumbo could wait.
Might as well stop for pictures now. Oh darn, twist my arm! We took a whole family shot in front of the castle. An unadvertised tip is that professional Disney photographers will take pictures with your camera too, all you have to do is ask. 
My princess could not wait to get to the castle. Another moment that made this Momma's heart want to burst with happiness.
Tessa could have spent all morning in the breezeway of the castle, it was that exciting to her. The mosaics tell the story of Cinderella and Tessa is pointing to the glass slipper.
Just on the other side of the castle we found the Fairy Godmother. She and Tessa discussed all the different princesses pictured on the front of our autograph book. 
And then we made it to Dumbo where there was a 45 minute wait. This is the advantage of traveling with four adults and one kid. We parked Ryan in line (lucky him) and wandered around while he waited. Pinocchio was greeting kids next door but as we got closer Tessa wanted nothing to do with the puppet boy. In fact, all week Pinocchio was the only character who scared her. When Ryan finally made it to the front of the line, Tessa and I joined him. Funniest line of the whole vacation - we were sitting on Dumbo looking back at the line of tired, hot parents and their squirmy, whiny kids. Ryan pointed to the line and said "Happiest place on Earth, just look." Every time we saw a long line we laughed about his joke.
Tessa loved the flying Dumbo ride. As soon as it stopped she was asking to go again. Hmm, now the line was longer than ever. Gampa stepped up to the plate this time and held a place in line so our princess could ride again.
Then we headed to the tea cups. Tessa is a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland and she did a happy little dance when she saw this ride. We rode with my parents and we had our little cup spinning super fast. Good thing no one had eaten breakfast. 
Yep, you guessed it. Tessa wanted to go again. Luckily, the tea cup line moves pretty quick. Ryan is saying "whoa!" as we spin round and round. 
Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder were just around the corner from the tea cups. So we put on our Rapunzel dress and headed over to see the long-haired princess. 
Rapunzel is very popular. Instead of a normal meet and greet situation, she and Flynn Ryder have a special activity time. A few times a day the pair dance and play with visitors and only then will they sign autographs. We opted to just watch them dance rather than stand in line for over two hours to get autographs.
Then we visited Cinderella's wishing well/photo op. Tessa and I could just stare at the beautiful castle all day long. 
Daddy helped Tessa throw a coin and make a wish. Notice we have changed into our Cinderella costume:-) 
Ahhh, Cinderella's Carousel was up next. My baby does love her carousels. Who can resist a royal pony pracing around in front of the castle? In Fantasyland we also rode Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan. They are both sweet and fun rides, perfect for a three year old. Tessa fell asleep while we were in line for Small World and she missed the whole thing. Don't worry, we rode it again another day. 
After lunch we were supposed to head back to the hotel to rest while my parents shopped. That plan went out the window when I saw Snow White on Main Street. Yes, I was the mom toting her kid and shamelessly chasing Snow White. But it was a bonus princess sighting and she was so worth it. Snow White is very pretty up close and everything about her was just perfect - hair, costume, even her voice. She really looked and sounded like Snow White. Tessa was charmed and so was I. She even gave Tessa a kiss on the cheek, precious! 
We did finally have a short nap before our dinner at the Contemporary Hotel. It was fun to see the Contemporary again because that is where both Ryan and I stayed when we were growing up. Back in the old days they didn't have this cool character meal though. 
Another intense and exciting meal, this time with Mickey and his friends. Fur Faces, as these characters are called, don't actually talk. But they are so entertaining you almost don't notice. Donald camped out at our table and played with Tessa. She showed him her new doll. It looks like a normal Ariel doll, but then you flip her skirt and she turns into Aurora. Tessa was tickled that Donald knew the trick and they had so much fun together. We laughed and laughed - maybe that was the margaritas. It was a great dinner. 
I had pre-ordered a special birthday cake for Ryan. After all, what is more special than having Mickey Mouse deliver your birthday cake? I would say Ryan thoroughly enjoyed his big day. Happy Birthday Honey! 
And as a special treat, my parents took Tessa back to the hotel and we had a free night in the park. I felt like a kid again running around with my best friend after dark. We rode all the rides Tessa wasn't old enough to ride. Thanks to a weird fluke earlier in the day we had bonus fast passes. Disney customer service is absolutely incredible! The best part was we didn't wait in line for anything. We walked on to Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Buzz Lightyear and more! 
Time to say night-night to Cinderella's Castle. Tomorrow we head to Hollywood Studios. 
Speaking of the monorail, we hopped on for a ride. This was my first Disney Momma moment, one that brought tears to my eyes and made me so unbelievably happy. Tessa spotted the castle and shouted "There it is! CINDERELLA'S CASTLE!!!" To see my baby so excited made my whole trip. 
After a roundtrip ride we left the boys to finish checking in. The girls continued on to the Magic Kingdom entrance and then, for fun, took the ferry boat back to the hotel. 
Our room was ready and our bags (all three luggage carts of them) were being delivered. And this was our view! A corner room with direct view of Cinderella's Castle, it was even better than I had hoped. 
While we were unpacking, the birthday boy had a special delivery - a solid chocolate Mickey Mouse with cookies. Pretty great way to start the birthday week. 
This was our first character dining experience and WOW! Almost as soon as you sit down characters migrate to your table. We whipped out cameras and started shooting, food could wait. For months Tessa has been toting around a photo book of Disney characters and she brought it to dinner that night. The pictures are a combination from my childhood, my mom's childhood and friends who have recently visited. The characters were hilarious flipping through the book looking for pictures of themselves. Prince Charming sat right down with us to get a better look and I thought he might hang out at our table all night. 
Everybody is totally in character and it's fun to talk to them. The more you know about each story the more interesting the conversation. When we asked Anastasia about the baker that she had fallen in love with she begged us not to mention him in front of her mother. Druzilla clued us in that the mother didn't think the baker was good enough for her daughter since he didn't have a castle. Ryan gets a huge kick out of the stepsisters, they are really funny. Cinderella and Tessa had a serious conversation about being home before midnight then they did a little bibbidy bobbidy boo together. Tessa was in awe of the characters and maybe a teensy bit overwhelmed, I was too! 
Then it was time for Prince Charming to waltz with Cinderella and everyone was invited to join the dancing. 
On the big first day, Tessa marched right into the gymnasium with her new teacher without so much as a glance back at Momma. The preschool area has mini rings, a balance beam and floor mats. The girls made several circuits here before moving into the big gym.
I'm pretty sure Tessa's favorite part was the huge trampoline. She hopped the length of it several times. But the "pit" was also super fun. From the parent viewing area I couldn't see the big foam blocks in front of where Tessa was jumping. I just saw her bounce and then dissapear down a hole. I laughed when she popped back up out of the "pit."
I dug out the ski clothes and we bundled up to go outside. Because I am still in denial that it can get so cold in the South, Tessa has no snow clothes. Here she is sporting a beautiful ensemble consisting of old ski socks worn as leggings, rain boots, Daddy's hat and my ski coat. Lovely, I know. Can you believe how deep the snow is?!?! 
My mom has been coming to this hotel for her entire life, first with her grandparents, then her children (can you see me?), and now with her grandbaby. Look at how nothing changes but the cars.
The hotel is beautifully decorated for the holidays. We wandered around looking at all the Christmas trees before relaxing with a drink from the bar.
At Christmastime they host a gingerbread decorating contest. Some of these were done by kids! My personal favorite is the Faberge egg, but Santa at the spa with tiny cucumbers on his eyes was a close second. Who thinks of these things?
The Blue Ridge Mountains are breathtaking from the back porch. Ryan, Mr. Never Stand Still, actually requested that we just sit and enjoy the view.
One of the fireplaces was set up as a photo-op spot. Music to my ears. Everyone hopped in the sleigh for pictures. My favorite is Tessa riding the reindeer. 
While we had planned to shop in Asheville, there was so much to do here that we never even left the resort. Happy New Years! 
