Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Day 8

We started our last day where we began:  Animal Kingdom.  We had breakfast reservations at Tusker House.  It was very good!  Because we were already in the park, we were able to be on the very first Safari of the day.  If you can ever do it, I HIGHLY recommend it.  (But, just don't look back.  The mob of people coming at you from Rope Drop is quite scary!)   We had been on the safari a couple of times, but this time was AMAZING.  The animals were very active!










We grabbed fast passes to ride again and walked the Pangani Trail while waiting.  The animals along the trail were very active as well.  It was really neat.  When we were done, it was time for the safari, and the animals were still relatively active, but not like the first time.

At Camp Minnie Mickey we saw Meeko and Donald before we headed to Epcot for a picture with Duffy. We went back to the resort for lunch and then spent the afternoon at the pool and arcade.  After dinner, the babysitter came.  We used Kids Nite Out and we were very happy.  We will absolutely be using them again!

Hubby and I headed for an 'anniversary' trip to Epcot. Our plan was to drink our way around the World.  We started with beer and a boat ride in Mexico, beer and some treats in Germany, Grand Marnier slush in France, beer in England, watched illuminations near Canada then headed back around to France for a grey goose slush. Then, we headed back to the hotel and sat by the pool for a few minutes.

And so ended a magical vacation full of wonderful memories, special experiences and tons of Pixie Dust.  We will certainly be headed back to the World very soon for some more Magic and Memories.

Day 7

We started the morning with breakfast at Crystal Palace with Pooh and Friends in the Magic Kingdom.




We then went to see Tinkerbell and Terrance was there too.



While we were waiting, Mini Me crossed the magical blue line, and the CM made her walk the plank.  It was awesome!



Took sweet pea on the Magic Carpets and she loved it. Then the girls wanted to do Small World.

I convinced Mini Me to try Buzz but she hated it.  So, we went on the People Mover and the kids saw the Buzz Meeting & Greet, so we headed for that. We went back to Town Square to see the princesses and found Daisy along the way.  Sweet Pea loved her shoes.  We did a little shopping and took the railroad again.  While we were on the train, we saw the meeting spot for Woody and Jessie so we headed there for a picture.  We finally go Sweet Pea the balloon she had been asking for and Goofy sang Mini Me Happy Birthday on the phone at the package pick up location.  As we left Magic Kingdom, we stopped to say goodbye to the Castle and Hubby surprised me with a watch he had secretly bought for me.

Day 6

I was up early as usual--how can I sleep?!?!  I'm at Disney!!!

But, the girls needed their rest so I went to do laundry and grab some coffee.  It was great watching the resort "wake up".  Our room was in the perfect location--steps from Classic Hall. Amazing.

We headed to Hollywood Studios in the morning. We saw Mater and McQueen and Phineus and Ferb.  I was able to grab fast passes for Toy Story Mania. Woo hoo!



After the Great Movie Ride we saw Handy Manny.  We got to be First Family at the Disney Junior show.  Despite Mini Me claiming she wouldn't like the show, I've never seen a smile so big.  :-)  We saw Jake and then I took Mini Me on Toy Story Mania.  We loved it.  She also grabbed a pic with the green army men.

Went back to hotel for a swim and dinner.  It was still early so we took a ride on the monorail to see the 'Big Ball'.

Day 5

It was Valentine's Day, so we headed to Epcot.

Sweet Pea was very impressed with the 'big ball'.  We rode Spaceship Earth and the Nemo ride.  The girls loved all the tanks.

We had late breakfast reservations with the princesses at Akershaus.  It was a very nice breakfast and we saw all the princesses again.

(Funny side note:  At some point before breakfast, a seagull pooped on Mini Me's back.  We didn't notice it until we were headed in to breakfast.  So, we just had her put her jacket back on and decided we would get her a new shirt after breakfast.)

After breakfast, we started walking around World Showcase to find her a new shirt.  But, we happened to get to China just minutes before Mulan was going to arrive, so we just got in line...completely forgetting about Mini Me's shirt.  It was sunny and warm, so Mini Me took off her jacket--and met Mulan with bird poop on her.  LOL  Whoops.   In any case, Mulan was extremely nice and took so much time with the girls. We immediately went to get a new shirt for Mini Me and then got in line for Aladdin and Jasmine.  They were also very nice and took a lot of time to discuss all of Mini Me's pins with her.  They also took a pic with Sweet Pea, who was asleep in the stroller.




Hubby and I went to Disney on our honeymoon in February 2006.  At that time, Epcot was selling "Leave a Legacy" tiles and we purchased one.  So, on our way out of the park, we stopped to find our legacy tile. We found it and as it turns out Friday night-when we will be coming back to Epcot without kids for a date night- will be exactly 6 years to the day that we had that picture taken. How awesome is that?!?



We headed back to the hotel and went swimming. The girls had a lot of fun. We ate at the food court then headed back to Magic Kingdom for some more fun and fireworks. We saw Pluto, Mickey, Minnie, Tiana and Prince Naveen before finding a spot for the fireworks. The Magic, Memories and You show was very cool and of course the fireworks were amazing.  We had a great spot and Tinkerbell flew right over us!




Then the mass exodus began and we started walking along until we found and empty part if sidewalk that we ducked onto to wait out the crowd. When it died down, we continued on and made our way to the bus stop where there was huge crowd. We finally got on a bus and there were no seats left. Hubby had the stroller and I was carrying Sweet Pea and holding until Mini Me. Thankfully, some young gentleman who did not speak English gave up his seat, so I could sit with the kids on my lap.

The kids were asleep within minutes of getting back to our room.  We made some last minute dining changes and went to bed.  It was another wonderfully exhausting day.

Day 4

We got up early because we had 8:10 breakfast reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table at the Magic Kingdom.

Mini Me really was treated like a princess.  When we arrived, the girls had their picture take with Cinderella.  Then we were taken up to our table which was decorated with confetti and a balloon.  Shortly after breakfast was served, Mini Me was presented with a tiara on a little pillow.  The princesses made their way to our table, and each wished Mini Me a 'Happy Birthday'.  Towards the end, Mini Me was presented with every girls dream:  her very own pink glass slipper!


From our table, we also had a wonderful view of the Fantasy Land Expansion!  Here is Belle's castle as it looked on 2/13/12.



When we were finished with breakfast, we headed straight for Rapunzel.  We were the first in line and had a wonderful time.  Yay!


We decided to hit fantasy land first.  I took Sweet Pea on Pooh and she loved it.  This was a big turning point for her because last summer, she HATED rides.  I was overjoyed!  We did the carousel and both girls loved it.


We went on Small World, and it was immediately the girls' favorite...much to the dismay of hubby.

Sweet pea fell asleep and we had to wake her for her appointment at the Harmony Barber Shop.  If you know Sweet Pea, you know better than to wake her up.  It's just not pretty....at all.  She screamed and threw things the entire time.  She didn't care that her hair was being cut, but was SUPER angry about being woken up to do it.

Sweet Pea's 1st Haircut

We went and got fast passes for the Jungle Cruise and had an ice pop.  Things were better after that.  The girls love driving the boats while waiting for the ride.  I was also finally able to try a Dole Whip that I had be hearing so much about...and with good reason.  YUMMY!

We finished the day with a ride on the railroad before heading back to the resort.  It was a magical day and the Magic Kingdom.

Day 3

We added the extra night to our trip so that we could hit Dinoland USA at Animal Kingdom first thing since Mini Me was obsessed with dinosaurs for 2 months. So, we were there shortly after rope drop and headed to The Dino area. Mini me decided she hated it! She wouldn't go on Triceratops Spin but I decided to ride Dinosaur since we were there and there was no line.

It was ok, but broke down in the middle. I would probably ride it again, but wasn't all that impressed.

We decided to check out the rest of the park and just outside of Dinoland was a character spot. We were able to meet Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger with no line. The girls loved it.



We went to the Safari and only had to wait a minute or two. The girls liked it so we grabbed a FastPass to ride again.

It was chilly that first day, so we went to see 'Its Tough to be a Bug'. The kids were not fans. But, we got to sit in the heat, so it wasn't so bad.

We had lunch at FlameTree BBQ and did the Safari again.

Sweet Pea fell asleep on my lap while we were on the safari.  So, we took the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch and they let us board with Sweet Pea asleep in the stroller. We walked the trail in Asia, and then went to the Boneyard to play. Then we headed to Camp Minnie Mickey and met Goofy, Minnie and Mickey.

Minnie Me fell asleep on the way to the car. It was a great first day at the parks and Mini Me got lots of birthday wishes from the Cast Members.

Went to park fare for dinner and got tons of birthday wishes from characters. They brought place mats for both girls, and we had ordered a castle cake for mini me. Then they brought us an additional cupcake to bring back to the room as a surprise.




When we got back to the room, towel animals were waiting and a signed picture of mickey wishing happy birthday was delivered.
The view from our room


It was a wonderful Disney Day.