Orlando wedding, engagement, family photographer | Root Photography Blog

The many adventures of a cute husband and wife photography team!

Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge : The Roots take on Batuu!

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When our friends Tim and John let us be their guests for the cast preview of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, we couldn’t have been more excited!!!

Nate and I went back and forth on whether to hire a sitter or bring Ollie, but ultimately, I wanted photos of him teeny tiny in front of the Millennium Falcon, and I knew it’d be worth the hassle knowing with the impending crowds, it could be months before we come back for a visit!

And honestly? Totally worth it!! Look at this photo!!! Buuuut… This wasn’t on our first visit to Batuu…

… THIS was. lol! Long story short, our first visit to the new land was in a hot, torrential downpour. Ollie was either screaming for Uncle Timmy to hold him, touch him, pay attention to nothing but him, or racing around with a full size umbrella knocking into guests, but looking like a tiny droid roaming the land!

I ended up bringing Ollie home after just an hour or so- He was so inconsolable and just not himself, so I left Nate in the land to ride Smuggler’s Run and take some photos!

I. Mean. <3

When I called my friend Veronica and told her what a bust our first visit was, she insisted we have a take two the following week and go with her family on *their* cast preview day. Lucky for us, it was sunny! And Ollie was happy! And all was right with the world! I love this photo of him checking out all the details. :)

Allllll week he became obsessed with all things Chewie. Wanting to watch montage videos of him, playing in our den, pointing at the carpet, and loudly demanding, “CHEWIE COME PLAY RIGHT HERE. COME PLAY WITH OLLIE.” We got him all pumped to MEET Chewie and it’s all he talked about that morning. So while we waited for our boarding group to go back to Galaxy’s Edge, we waited 35 looooong minutes with a two year old. Totally pumped to meet his new bestie. Could. Not. Wait.

And then… <3 Turns out he’s a liiiiittle bigger in person than someone was prepared for!!

LOOK. AT. THIS. STUD. MUFFIN. He’s not one for souvenirs, but it was love at first sight with Storm Trooper and they’ve been pretty inseparable since!

The planet Batuu is known for their three suns, and while we only saw the one on our visit, the other two were DEFINITELY felt!

The Roots Take on the Disney Dream May 2019

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Sometimes we go years without a Disney Cruise wedding but this year we got lucky- TWO cruise weddings within 4 months!

In May, Ollie was at the peak of his Peter Pan obsession, but we definitely boarded with a lost boy and left with a PIRATE! He’s truly obsessed with all things Hook, Smee, and pirate related- This is him looking hard for pirate ships (or “potty chips” in Ollie-ese) on pirate night in a little outfit I snagged on Amazon!

He. Does. This. Every. Where.

One of my favorite memories of our trip was just snuggling in bed and watching Peter Pan every night before bed. <3

Ollie’s definitely been fur character phobic for the past year, so I was SHOCKED when he buddied right up to Pluto!! They dug for shells together and everything. Ollie’s definitely a dog person, so I think we need more visits with this pup asap!

Goofy, on the other hand… COMPLETELY different story!! Oliver nervously walked up to him, Goofy took that as a sign to grab his hand an walk him away from me…

… BIG mistake. HUGE. lol :)

Just the most picture perfect, gorgeous weather, empty beach for Ollie’s first blissful visit to Castaway Cay!!

Juuuust kidding. 100º and PACKED! :)

We were secretly happy he takes after us- Not a beach kid (for now!)

This was his face the rest of our time on Castaway!

Not the best photo of myself, but maybe the most “Mom” photo I’ve taken yet. This was the moment Ollie became obsessed with the alarm buttons on elevators!!! He’s so sneaky and will hit them every. damn. time. if we’re not paying close attention!!

He loves finding Nemo!!

You might remember his first reaction to the splash pad 4 months before– TOTALLY different game on this visit! But as of this summer, he hates them again! Oh, toddlers. ;)

I couldn’t believe our luck- A friend of mine from high school was on the same cruise with her gorgeous kiddos!! We made them take some family photos on Deck 4!! :)

And her husband Chad took one of my favorite photos of us ever! :)

Look. At. Our. Pirate!!!

Vacation Ollie really is the best Ollie. <3

You also may remember from our last cruise that Ollie thinks every photo of Walt is Nate. This stuck, thank goodness!! :)

Disney Cruise Line, we love you!!! And Ace and Michael, thank you for bringing us aboard!!! <3

THE ROOTS TAKE ON THE DISNEY DREAM!!

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You may have seen a few of my favorite photos in this post when we shared our Toddler’s Guide to the Disney Cruise Line!

If you liked that post, you should keep reading, because this one has moooore photos! And if you didn’t like it there might be something wrong with you. Because LOOK AT THIS TINY PIRATE!

We got to go on our first family cruise when Nate and I photographed Katrina and Josh’s wedding! 

While we photographed the wedding, Ollie was moving in to their Small World Nursery and he did. not. want. to. leave!!! But first things first- Boarding the ship!

Anyone who’s done a Disney Cruise knows how they greet you on the ship and this was my first time pushing a stroller through the clapping and waving Mickey hands and it made me so emotional! But imagine our surprise when we had a team of the happiest friends skipping and running towards us to greet us- The Switzerfilm team was also on board to shoot the wedding and heard our names being announced and it was the most fun start to the trip!

Ollie saw Joe’s captain hat and immediately requested to wear it. Oliver can be a tough toddler to befriend, but share a hat and bam! Best friends!

This poor kid finally gets a grasp on what a boat is and then he’s introduced to cruise ships! He boarded knowing what a boat was and left thinking every building was a boat, lol!

Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaavorite. Also only as a photo memory because in person I was terrified every time he’d touch the railing that it would break and he would fall in because I’m THAT mom.

I cannot. <3

A highlight of the trip was picking Ollie up from the Small World daycare on pirate night and bringing home a reeeeeal baby pirate!!!!

THOSE. CURLS. MY. HEART. <3

My whole entire heart in one photo! Look at how cute my people are!!

“He’ll LOVE the splash pad,” they said.

HATED. IT.

The one part that he liked until he slipped on a wet tile and cried for the next 30 minutes. :/

MORNING OLLIE IS THE BEST OLLIE.

Just kidding! FIST BUMPING OLLIE IS THE BEST OLLIE!

Something tells me he’s not gonna like these guys any more on the next cruise, but at least I’ll be putting him in a cute matching outfit to cuten up those tears! ;)

If you read the Toddler Guide, you know he constantly thought this photo was Nate!!!!

Look at that blue water!!! This is what I try to focus on when I’m fighting my panic about my PRIDE AND JOY LEANING UP ON GLASS SO HIGH UP OMGOMGOMG.

Every Ollie is the best Ollie. <3

Our feelings about the cruise being over! This one was so different than relaxing cruises past- But so, so, so much fuller. Let’s see how the next one goes now that he’s learned to say “No.” <3