A Very Florida Birthday

Beloved had the day off from work and MiniMe had the day off from school on Monday. And what a coincidence, it was my birthday! So I got to pick how we spent the day (pampering mom would be priority number one).

My day started with breakfast in bed. Dunkin' Donuts and coffee. A real treat (and definitely not on my diet).

Then we headed off to Disney World. Gotta take advantage of the fact that we live an hour away and have annual passes. Beloved had never been to the Magic Kingdom, despite living in Florida for much of his adult life. So Magic Kingdom was our first stop. It was packed! But we had a great time anyway. Of all the things in the park to be excited about, my history loving husband just had to get a photo of us with the replica of the Liberty Bell in Frontierland. I have to say that visiting the park with Beloved as a first-timer was a unique experience. I enjoyed parts of the park I've never really paid attention to before (like that Liberty Bell). We rode the steam engine around the park, which was my first time riding the iron horse. Tip from me to you, it's a quick and stress free way to get from one side of the Magic Kingdom to the other, especially on days like Monday when the park was packed.

Another tip from me to you. Plan on hunkering down for a bite to eat during the afternoon parade. We got stuck in the "parade traffic" which means we got stuck in a crowd and trapped without a way to get to where we wanted to go. So unless you plan to watch the parade, it's a great time to visit a park restaurant. Everyone else (and I do mean everyone) will be watching the parade.

I wore one of those "Happy Birthday" buttons on Monday. Genius on Disney's part to give away these buttons for park visitors to wear that celebrate anniversaries, birthdays and first-time visits. Wearing one of these buttons gets you lots of special attention, greetings and well wishes from park employees and visitors alike.