For our final day at Disney World this past August, we spent a half day at EPCOT. Luckily, we were able to book our fast passes back to back, which enabled us to go from ride to ride without any difficulty.
We woke up bright and early and had a breakfast of leftover pastries in our room!
It was all delicious, even on day 2!
After breakfast, we dropped our luggage off at baggage claim, then hopped a bus to Epcot. Magical Express was set to pick us up around 1:30 p.m., so we had plans to stay at Epcot until around noon.
We visited the Spaceship Earth first, followed by The Seas with Nemo and Friends. After a little Journey Into Imagination with Figment, we decided to visit the DVC lounge at the top of the Imagination Pavilion. We still had a good 45 minutes before it was time for our next fast pass (at Frozen), so we decided this was the best way to pass a little time!
It was definitely a nice way to recharge our devices and get out of the summer Florida heat, too!
While there, a cast member came around with a cart to deliver snacks. This has been hit or miss for us in the past, but it was nice to have this time around!
After cooling off for a bit, we stopped for a quick potty break where Brayden had his first "wall" photo taken! I definitely giggled at this a bit!
Frozen had been down, but it was reopening just as we walked up! Another bonus: this meant zero line for us!!
Brayden loved this ride, too because he loves Olaf!
Before leaving the park, we decided to stop for a snack of a cronut!
These are currently available at the Electric Umbrella but I'm not sure
for how long!
Also for anyone who's curious, this was our first Disney trip to travel with our Summer Infant 3Dlite + stroller and we LOVED it! It's basically a heavy duty umbrella stroller with all the perks. I seriously recommend this one!
Although we were sad to say goodbye, it was time to leave Epcot and make our way back to Old Key West for Magical Express! We did have a small bit of a wait for our resort bus which left us wishing we had taken a Lyft, but we made it without any problem.
Thankfully, we had about a 10 minute wait for Magical Express which gave us just enough time to snag our luggage! While Jason was off doing that, Brayden and I did a little exploring, where we discovered a color table! Fun times!
...and with that, our magical, quick, extended weekend trip had come to a close! We loved being able to visit and spend time with just our little family. It was such a special time for all three of us!
Oh yes, and last quick note - these are delicious...and by delicious, I mean freaking good! Needless to say, the bag didn't last long at my house!
Thanks so much for following along! Our next magical adventure will be just ahead! We are visiting Walt Disney World for the Wine & Dine Half Marathon, boarding the Disney Dream for a 4 night cruise, then returning to Walt Disney World for the very first Christmas party of 2019! As an added bonus, we get to do all of that with our friends! I'm SO excited and cannot wait!
Continuing with our recent August trip recap, we visited the Magic Kingdom on Sunday followed by Epcot for a half day on Monday.
Before heading to the Magic Kingdom though, we made a stop by Port Orleans French Quarter for the Beignet Dash!
If you missed that recap, head over to the link above to check it out. This was a really fun race on a non-runDisney race weekend and I really enjoyed my run around Port Orleans French Quarter and Riverside!
After our breakfast of beignet's at the French Quarter quick service location, we hopped on a bus to the Magic Kingdom.
Our first stop there was Starbucks, of course!
We were also pleasantly surprised to find the parks were relatively low crowds for a summer Monday!
As we passed the purple wall, I realized I'd never taken a picture there and definitely needed to remedy that!
Our first ride stop for the morning was the Tomorrowland Speedway. I realized Brayden had never "driven" one of these cars and I loved these as a kid! So, off we went! The wait was seriously only like 15 minutes! Bonus!
Jason also admitted he'd never driven one of these cars, either! Whomp whomp!
After the Speedway, we decided to make our way to the Teacups. This is a ride I'd never ridden due to dizzy issues, but Jason promised to be nice, so I agreed to go on them.
Brayden LOVES to spin and he was in heaven on this ride!
After the teacups, we headed over to Brayden's next favorite ride, the Carousel! In combination, all three rides took very little time as the wait was super short! We were loving it!
For lunch, we had Pecos Bill and I split an order of the tacos with Brayden. These are so good and definitely my favorite item on their menu!
Mid day, we decided to go back to our resort for a long nap. Brayden
was in desperate need of a good nap and we had friends to visit with!
After a nap and a quick dinner with our friends, we returned to the Magic Kingdom for fireworks and post-fireworks fun!
The fireworks were spectacular as always and after they were over, we realized we had about 45 minutes of additional Magic Kingdom time!
We headed over to Dumbo first and with literally zero line, we rode Dumbo three times in a row!
After our Dumbo adventures, we literally had 10 minutes before park closing, so we jumped in line for the Tea Cups again (yes, I rode it again)!
These post-fireworks memories are seriously some of Brayden's favorite from our last trip. He still talks about riding Dumbo three times and the teacups two times!
Before heading out of the Magic Kingdom, we stopped for ice cream and a few pictures.
Being in the Magic Kingdom after the crowds had died down was seriously magical. We literally had the best night ever!
On Saturday, we hosted Brayden's 2nd Birthday party, themed after the Disney Junior show, Puppy Dog Pals.
Puppy Dog Pals is a relatively new show that revolves around Bingo and Rolly, two pug brothers that "Go On A Mission" in every episode - their missions involve exciting places all over the world and it's just a cute little show. Brayden fell in love with it last fall and I knew that it would have to be his birthday paw-ty theme for his second birthday!
In my search for ideas for Puppy Dog Pals themed parties, I discovered a consistent standard - hardly anything exists when it comes to ideas and items for these parties. Every idea I came across was homemade or something that could be purchased off of etsy.
Y'all know me - I love a good challenge! Mission: Accepted!
At the entry way, we had side walk chalk paw prints leading to the front door. I'm not an artist, so I used a paw cutout as a stencil for these paw prints. It worked perfectly! His party day was also very rainy and wet, otherwise I would have also added the paw prints on the walkway leading up to our front door.
On the front door, the signs read "Welcome to Brayden's Paw-ty" and "We're Going On A Mission"! (This is a common phrase used throughout the show.)
Just inside the front door was the entry-way table which contained "TWO" letters, a digital picture frame of his studio portraits from birth to now, a couple of centerpieces, and a "growth track" file I purchased from Etsy.
Beneath the table was a basket of the kids goodie bags.
Each goodie bag contained several items - a set of five stickers, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and a Puppy Dog Pals Grab & Go pack!
Our living room and kitchen were the main "party spaces" I had to fill. A couple of banners were made using my Silhouette Cameo and decorations were hung in the windows. We also purchased balloons from Party City. The bug balloons you see on the ground were purchased on Amazon and filled with helium at our local Party City.
One of my favorite banners is the one you see hanging across our entertainment center. I attempted to utilize symbols from the show in the banner, so you'll notice a lightning bolt like the one on Bingo's collar as well as a yellow dog bone like the one on Rolly's collar.
The paw print banner at the fireplace was made with ideas from Pinterest and the cardstock was purchased at Hobby Lobby. On the Mantle you'll notice photos that were printed from his 2nd birthday session.
For this party, I also searched in my "party bin" to find decoration that matched this party color scheme. I found most of the items that you see hanging in the windows as well as a few extras here and there already on hand. Score!
Water bottle labels were made in photo shop and printed on card stock. If you're looking for a super easy way to make these, I just use packing tape on top of the cardstock to affix them to the water bottle.
It's super easy and adds a fun little touch to the party!
At the cake table, we had a patch of turf I found on amazon, desserts, a couple of centerpieces, and the giant "2"/two letters.
These centerpieces were scattered throughout the house - the fire hydrant being my favorite! I found this idea on pinterest and it was SUPER easy! We made four total and used toddler formula cans, empty toilet paper rolls, red bowls from Walmart, a ribbon holder, and a water bottle top.
Other centerpieces included a flower pot that was spray painted red (re-purposed from last year's Mickey Mouse party). Inside was a piece of green felt to symbolize grass, a doghouse cut out from the silhouette cameo, and a couple of Puppy Dog Pals figurines.
One of my favorite touches to this party was the sugar cookies! A lady in the next town over made these for the party and oh my goodness they were precious and added the perfect touch!
Brayden's cake also came from a local lady who makes cakes out of her home. I sent her a picture and she re-created his cake almost perfectly! The "Happy Birthday Brayden" piece was cut out from the silhouette cameo and the figurines on the cake were purchased from the Disney Store. I found the "2" candle at a local craft store.
For food, we served "Arf's Famous Pulled Pork" and "Hissy's Hot Dogs".
I also found the paw print napkins at Party City and mixed them in with plain blue napkins I already had on hand at home.
These dog bowls were my FAVORITE find! I came across the exact same bowls on Amazon but also found them at the Dollar Tree (you know, where everything is a dollar) for WAY cheaper! Score!
Themeing the food was so much fun! We had "Fetch Sticks" (pretzel sticks), "Pawtato Chips" (potato chips), "Paw-Berries" (strawberries), "Chew Toys" (Twizzlers), "Pup Corn" (Pop Corn), and "Ruffage" (Veggies)!
Brayden's outfit for the party was a two-parter...a friend made his shirt and I found the shoes at JC Penney in the little Disney Store! So cute!
There's the birthday boy! He was SO EXCITED to see everyone at his house! He would walk around the living room with a huge grin and would stomp his little feet out of excitement. It was adorable!
He also discovered that he could reach the "Pawtato Chips" and it was his birthday party, so you know...whatever goes!
Brayden did way better than I thought he would with opening presents. You never know what you're going to get with a 2 year old but I couldn't have asked for better!
Of course my dad purchased him a wiffle ball and bat!
Although I tried and tried to teach him how to blow, he didn't have it down by his party...next year though, it's on!
Brayden LOVES the Happy Birthday song! He went through a very short time last fall where he wasn't a fan, but he's so much better now! Thinking back, I'm pretty sure it scared him one time at a restaurant and that's what he associated the happy birthday song with. Once I realized he was scared of it, we started listening to the happy birthday song on pandora and he fell in love. He even asks for "more" "please" after it's over! So cute!
We sat our two toddlers on the couch for a picture and everyone was trying to make them smile. Did we get a smile? Nope. But we sure were funny in the process!
Now it's time to PLAY!
...and that's all, folks! Mission Accomplished!
I posted all of this in hopes that it might help someone else who is looking to throw their own Puppy Dog Pals party but has no idea where to start!
Brayden's second birthday party by far outlived any expectation I set. Actually, I didn't set any expectations because my dad warned me not to from horror stories he'd heard from other people. So yes, to say that Brayden's party was exactly what I hoped and prayed it would be is spot on! It truly was a great day and we had so much fun celebrating our precious blessing! We just love him so much and I'm already looking forward to party #3! Stay tuned for a full 2 year Brayden update coming in a few weeks! :)
For a video recap of the party, check out this YouTube link below:
