Disney Days Six, Seven & Eight

I know it has been a few days since I posted an update, but we are on vacation and I have been busy.  I decided to cram the last three days of fun into one blog post.  So here you go!

 

Wednesday was day six of our adventure and we started the day off by driving the the Orlando International Airport to pick up my mom.  After her arrival, we took the girls to the Florida Mall so they could use the Build-a-Bear gift certificates they received for Christmas.  The ironic thing was that neither of them built a bear.  Isabelle built a rabbit and Anna built a cat.  Never the less, here they are with their new pets!

After we finished at the Florida Mall, we went to a place call Sweet Tomatoes for lunch.  Sweet Tomatoes is a salad buffet with lots of salads to choose from.  Before you get excited and think that I have changed my eating habits, rest assured that I ate from the baked potato bar.  From Sweet Tomatoes, we drove to the Magic Kingdom to spend the rest of the day.  While at the Magic Kingdom, Anna made her first trip on Space Mountain.  We also took Luke on one of his favorite rides, the carousel..   

 

The main reason for our time in the Magic Kingdom was to watch the premier of the new The Magic, The Memories, and You show.  This show uses 16 projectors to display images on Cinderella Castle.  It was a really neat show and a great prelude to Wishes. 

The next day, our 7th day at Disney World, we met up with Mike and his family and spent the day at Animal Kingdom and then made our way over to EPCOT.  While in the Animal Kingdom, Luke had to chance to meet Terk, from Disney’s Tarzan.  He was not real sure about the experience. 

While at EPCOT we stopped to take a group picture at the special meet and greet for Disney Visa card holders.  We were the last family for the day and were able to spend more time with the characters. 

Today we began our day by packing our bags to transition from our timeshare to Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort.  We will only be here one night, but we wanted to add a day to our trip since we had family that would be here.  Once checked into the resort, we boarded our Disney bus and met Mike and his family at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. 

Matthew, Mike’s son, really wanted to ride the Tower of Terror but did not have anyone to ride it with since his parents refused.  We met at the tower and both Isabelle and Jessica decided to join Kate, Anna, Matthew and me on the ride.  I was proud of Isabelle for trying the ride, but I don’t think we will ever get her or Jessica on the ride ever again.  Isabelle was in tears when exiting the ride.  She vowed to never ride the ride again.  The funny thing was that once she calmed down, later in the day she wanted to ride it again.  We did not let her though.

Also while at the Hollywood Studios, I took the opportunity to take the kids picture by the this tree.  I have a picture of the kids by this tree from every trip we have been on since 2006.

About 3:00 p.m. the rain started coming down and we put on our ponchos and took the boat to EPCOT.  The boat ride from the Studios to EPCOT is relaxing and about 25 minutes long.  It was just long enough for the rain to pass.

 

The girls have been begging us to do once of the Kim Possible adventures so as soon as we arrived at EPCOT, we checked in at the kiosk and headed to Norway.  The girls had fun when they weren’t arguing over who got to hold the phone. 

We made it back to the resort around 7:30 p.m. and have tried to get in bed early.  We will head to the Magic Kingdom in the morning and leave for home around lunch time.  Please pray we will have a safe journey home!

Disney Day Five (January 2011)

We began the day at the Magic Kingdom to say goodbye to Kate’s family.  Today was their last day in Orlando and we wanted to see them before they headed home.  While doing some last minute souvenir shopping on Main Street, Mr. Frank found the chief of Main Street’s Volunteer Fire Department and stopped for a photo.  I don’t think that ax would make through the baggage check at the entrance of the park.  


After Kate’s family left for home, Anna and Isabelle wanted to ride Goofy’s Barnstormer.  We made our way over to Toon Town and used the Baby Swap option to take turns riding.  As you can see, Anna is the dare devil of the family.  Isabelle is much more tame, but she did tell Kate that she will hold her hands up next time if someone holds on to her.


This is Luke’s third trip to Disney World and yet today was his first time on It’s A Small World.  During his first trip he was only 2 months old and we never got around to riding the ride.  His second trip last September, the ride was closed for refurbishment.  So Kate was really excited to see his reaction to the ride since it is one of her favorites.  I think he liked it.  He kept pointing at everything.  Here are a few photos.

Since we have already spent a couple days at the Magic Kingdom, we decided to make our way over to EPCOT.  On way out of the Magic Kingdom, the girls wanted to pose with the statue of Minnie and Roy  Disney. 

In EPCOT, we headed over to the Seas with Nemo and Friends and took our traditional picture with Bruce the shark.  For some reason, people refused to get out of the way for our photo.  After waiting for our turn to get the picture, I had to politely ask four people to move so I could get the picture.  Even though they moved, they did not get their children out of the way, so here is our three kids, and a couple of extras.  It’s not like it was crowded, they just wouldn’t get out of the way.     
As Disney Visa cardholders, we are allowed a special meet and greet at EPCOT that comes with a free 8x10 photo.  This was Luke’s chance to get close to Mickey and Pluto.  All he could do was point at them.  He was pretty excited.  



Tomorrow we will pick up my mom from the airport and she will join us the remainder of the trip.  My brother Mike and his family will also be driving in tonight. 


On a side note, after reviewing my post.  I realized I have made several spelling and grammar errors.  I am typing these post late at night and I am not proof reading them.  Please forgive me for the errors.  I will try to fix them when we get home. 

Disney Day Four (January 2011)

Yesterday we headed to the Magic Kingdom to get the kids haircuts.  We made many attempts to get haircut appointments and were finally successful.  Since this was going to be Luke’s first haircut, we wanted it to be at the Magic Kingdom.  They give out a special pair of Mickey Ears and a certificate when you get your first hair cut at Disney.  Luke was very good!  While he did move around a little, the barber was great and great him preoccupied with Mickey Stickers.  (I can’t imagine how many stickers they use in a day!)  Luke’s haircut was nothing major, a few snips off the top and the sides.  The biggest difference was in the back.  As the barber stated, “His Pensacola mullet has now been removed!”  Here are a few pictures during his haircut and the ears he received. 

The girls just got regular haircuts.  The beauticians did add “Pixie Dust” in their hair.  They both loved the experience! 

 

The crowds over the holiday weekend has been ridiculous.  Well that all changed today because of the storms that came through.  It was raining very heavy, but it did not deter us!  We went from ride to ride without waiting in line.  After a few hours, the girls complained that their feet were cold so we decided to head back to the resort for lunch.   

Since Isabelle is missing a few days of school this week.  We brought along her homework.  Paw Paw had the chance to work with Isabelle on her math.  It was an enlightening experience for both of them.

After the rain went through, we headed of to EPCOT.  We had to chance to meet a few characters while we were their.  There were still no lines due to the rain earlier in the day.  These two jumped at the chance to meet Marie. 

We also had the chance to meet the newest addition to the character lineup.  Duffy the Disney Bear is now at EPCOT.  Minnie gave Duffy to Mickey and together, Mickey and Duffy traveled the world.  He is a really overseas, but I not sure he will catch on in the USA. 

After dinner at Teppan Edo, we watched Illuminations and headed home.  As you can see.  Luke was tired from the long day. I think the sleeping baby is where the real Disney Magic is!

Disney Day Three (January 2011)

We spent today at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  The crowds are still heavy due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday.  Despite the heavy crowds we still manage to see and ride many of our favorite attractions.  We started the morning with a mad dash to Toy Story Midway Mania to get FastPasses.  We picked up the FastPass at 9:25 am and could not use it to ride the ride until 5:00 pm.  Here are a few highlights from the day!

 

No trip to Hollywood Studios would be complete without our traditional family picture with the Incredibles.  As you can see from the photo, I failed at my attempt to get my incredible family to pose.  

 

While meeting the characters, the girls wanted to meet Lotso again.  Luke was asleep for this picture so it ended up being just Isabelle and Anna with Lotso.

 

During one of Kate’s trips into the shops around Hollywood Blvd., she found a fireman Mickey statue and a Policeman Mickey Statue.  She had to get them for her dad and uncle.  Here they are posing with their new gifts.  

 

One of the main reasons for going to Hollywood Studios today was the premier of their new Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun parade.  The parade was fun and energetic, but is so short.  Here is the beginning banner of the parade. 

 

Anna wanted to ride The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror again.  We manage to get a FastPass so we bypassed the 80 minute standby line and jumped right on the ride.  

 

Luke had his chance to meet Buzz and Woody.  He is really enjoys his Toy Story toys so he was excited to meet them.  He even gave them both “five” and blew the kisses when he left.

 

Both Uncle Charlie and Sarah could bypass the opportunity to “sing in the rain.”  Although the rain button was not working.  Maybe Disney thought it was too cold for the rain. 

 

We had a great day!  While we didn’t get to do everything we would have liked, we are hoping to return later in the week when the crowds are lighter.  We have haircuts scheduled for the kids tomorrow at the Magic Kingdom.  This will be Luke’s first haircut.  Storms are in the forecast so maybe that will help keep the crowds away.  We also have dinner reservations at Teppan Edo (the Japanese hibachi restaurant at EPCOT).   

Disney Day Two (January 2011)

This morning we met Pawpaw, Uncle Charlie, Uncle Joshua, Aunt Sarah, and Cousin Connor at the Magic Kingdom for some fun.  First thing we did was ride Dumbo because for some reason it always has a long wait. I ended up riding with Uncle Charlie and somehow we actually fit!

After the ride, the kids posed for a photo in the Dumbo cart.

After Dumbo and Peter Pan met Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. I think they are trying out their new interactive character meet and greets that they have planned for the Fantasyland expansion because instead of just herding us all through to pose for a photo and get an autograph, the kids were able to color a photo of Rapunzel and then, Rapunzel and Flynn Rider came out and danced with the kids while the parents waited in line to hold their place. It was fun.

The cast members also played little games with the kids once they moved to the line with their parents. Here are the girls posing with Pascal.

Another highlight of our day was that Anna got to drive the Jungle Cruise boat. After she was done, the skipper presented her with an honorary license to drive any boat in the Magic Kingdom.

 

This was our Skipper. She was the best one we have had in probably four years. I am not a fan of the Jungle Cruise unless we have a really good skipper. And this lady is one of them.

 

The only bad thing about the day was the crowds. With it being a holiday weekend the crowds were horrible. This was probably the most crowded I’ve ever seen the Magic Kingdom since we don’t go during the summertime.

Even though it was crowded, we had a great day!