We have been talking to the kids about plans for our summer family vacation since March or April. Kylie has been very excited for Storyland and has loved looking at the Storyland website to get the lay of the land. She has especially been looking forward to meeting Cinderella and riding the Flying Fish. When we first starting talking about our trip, Kylie wasn't tall enough to ride some of the rides (including the Flying Fish) which require that children be a minimum 36". She fully understood that she needed to grow "big and tall" before vacation- and she did! She just barely meets the 36" requirement- so look out Storyland- Here we come!
Monday, July 14:The kids were great on the car ride up and spent most of the 3 hours either coloring or napping. We met Mimi & Papa at the North Conway Grand Hotel on Monday afternoon and headed straight for the pool. The hotel has a fabulous outdoor pool as well as a really fun kiddie splash pool that the kids just LOVED!
Tuesday, July 15 & Wednesday, July 16:JP and Ernie managed to escape the hotel Tuesday morning after breakfast to go golfing. Mom and I took the kids down to the outlet shops to play on the playground and do some shopping.
After lunch we met back up with Ernie and JP and headed to Storyland!
I first went to Storyland when I was around 3 or 4 with my Grandma & Grandma Wallstrom, my dad, my Aunt & Steve. I have pictures of myself as a little girl with this clown so it was really fun to get some pictures of the kids with him as well, 30years later. I guess you can never be too young to be nostalgic!
The next stop was Cinderella's castle because Kylie just couldn't wait any longer to meet her favorite princess. Once she saw the castle, she took off running up the hill and raced right in the front door of the castle. She took one look at Cinderella and raced right back out...... She was suddenly just too overwhelmed by it all and I had to go fetch her and carry her back in. Perhaps she was also a little confused (as Mimi and I were) because Cinderella had dark brown hair and looked more like Snow White than Cinderella. Go figure! Honestly, I don't think they were at all bothered by it. THe kids all had a chance to sit on the King's throne and have their pictures taken with Cinderella. So sweet!
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After a Pumpkin Coach ride back down the driveway, we headed to the carousel for some horse riding. Ethan, Kaitlyn and Kylie all enjoyed that. We also saw Little Red Riding Hood's Granny's house, Little Miss Muffett's tuffet and spider, and took a swan boat ride. After a bit more wandering around and some snow cones and cotton candy, we headed back to the hotel for the night to rest up.
Wednesday, July 16:Day 2 of Storyland was just as fun as the first but much easier. We decided to push the kids around in carriages instead of having them walk everyone so we managed to move around faster and stay together better.
The days highlights included:
The
Teacups- Fun for all.
The
Carousel-
Visting the
Three Bears Cottage- fortunately there were no arguments about who was going to sit and sleep where. They just grabbed the first available chair or bed :)
The
Rollercoaster- Ethan loved it, the girls did not....
The
Bamboo Chutes (a flume ride)- the pictures and video say it all.
The
Train Ride- a bit long
The
Lazy River Raft Ride- refreshing! Kaitlyn stayed behind with Mimi and Papa after the traumatic experience of the roller coaster and flume she no longer trusted the rides and needed a break.
The
Splash Playground- a big hit
The
Pirate Ship- Ethan surprisingly refused to get on but had fun on land firing water cannons at us as we sailed by....
The
Flying Fish- only Kylie and Mommy dared this one. I wasn't a big fan but Kylie was fearless and really liked it and that made it worth it!
The
Twirling Turtles- Kylie, Mommy & Ethan dared this one. It was a bit too much for the kids who exited saying "I don't like the Turtles" but I loved it.
The
Antique Cars- the last ride of the day- enjoyed by everyone....
And lastly,
Our Family Portrait-
All in all- Storyland was a big hit even if some of the rides were a bit much for the kids to handle. Definitely worthwhile! The kids love nursery rhymes so it was so neat for them to see them all come to life!
Thursday, July 17:A relaxing ride on the Conway Scenic Railroad
Friday, July 18:The kids said farewell to all the animals at the hotel and we headed home.
Who knew that a vacation could be so exhausting!
