A Magical Week of New Pleasures for June Disney Trip!

June is actually a really fun month to be home, living in Michigan. The weather is nice, school is out, and it is great time for me to enjoy the summer with my kids. Having said that, Disney World was able to lure me in for the summer, to join them in the big "Happiest Celebration on Earth".

With a title like that, how could I skip it? And we didn´t- and although I hear we missed a week of nice Michigan weather (or, perhaps my husband was only saying that because he was stuck at home!) my kids and I had a magical week at the World!

We stayed at the Port Orleans Resort Riverside-my first time at this resort, and we loved it! But other than the food court and the bus stop and our nightly dips in the pool, we didn´t spend my time there-I mean, there is a great party going on in the parks!!!

You know a lot of what is there, so here´s an overview of what we loved-The castle is more beautiful than ever. Photos don´t do justice to the gold detail, the images, and the glittering magic of it all!

And the new attractions-we missed seeing Lucky at the AK that day (maybe he was under the weather!) but we fell in love with Cinderellabration (my little 5 year old princess loved the show) my son thought the new Motor Stunt show was the "coolest thing ever!" to quote him, and we all have a new favorite in Soarin!

I did not expect to love that attraction that much, and I really did not expect my kids to enjoy it as much as I did, but they did! We rode it 3 times one morning! (In between, we had lunch at the newly reopened Garden Grille-which we loved, and had lots of great character interaction with Mickey and the gang!)

Back at the Magic Kingdom, we liked to see the rides in good shape, and it´s a small world refurbished so nicely. We also tried a new experience there, eating at WDW's new character luncheon at Cinderella's Royal Table.

It was a special treat for my little 5 year old princess. And as it turned out on the day of our lunch, the chance to dine indoors in air conditioning was just another treat to beat the mid-day heat!

The menu was different, and they had some of the typical kid fare (chicken strips or pretzel dog or pasta in this case) but also some different things as well, that I found interesting. Kids could order a kid-sized version on the Major Domo, the popular beef, veggie, mashed potato pot pie dish, called the "Minor" Domo.

I ordered the Major Domo, my daughter had the pasta and my son, the chicken strips. Our friendly server then bought us appetizers, which are included with the new menu-for kids, it was cheese cubes and strips and veggies, and for me, the entree included an appetizer tray with brushetta, crab cakes, and salmon. It was all great, and with a week of counter service Disney food, I was happy to see my kids enjoying some fruit and dairy products, which we did!

The timing was great with the characters-Belle, Cinderella (of course!) Mary Poppins (in full character, telling my kids to get on their feet "spit-spot"

for a photo!) and Sleeping Beauty were all there, and were delightful!

We had a great time at this new lunch, which I recommend as a great break in the middle of the day for any special princess, prince, or Queen and King to enjoy!

This vacation was different. First, it was mommy alone with her two older kids, while dad had to stay home and work. (Baby stayed behind too, which I can assure you, was tougher on me than on her!) Also, it was different for us to visit in the summertime. It was crowded, it was sticky, and lines were longer than usual.

But I´ll tell you something-it was a magical, wonderful trip that none of us will ever forget. It´s a celebration of all great things Disney-and I wouldn´t have missed a moment of it!

How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these ~ George Washington Carver

- Nicole Hamner (mother, wife, writer, editor, andHamner Family Disney Vacation Planner)