Magic Kingdom

Even though we had another late night at Epcot, we still managed to get to the Magic Kingdom before opening. I know the kids were excited they were just too tired to show it :) As the race began we headed straight for Dumbo dragging the kids behind us and reminding them of how much fun this is. There was already a line at Dumbo but we didn't have to wait too long. I stood in line with Blake and Allie while Justin went to get fastpasses for Peter Pan. I didn't realize that we had to ride with them until we got to the front and Blake wasn't tall enough to ride with Allie. Nothing like starting your day on a ride that goes round and round in circles. We headed over to Peter Pan which became Allie's favorite ride. We also rode the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Mad Tea Party, Snow White's Scary Adventure, Peter Pan again, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad all before lunch. After lunch at the Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Cafe we ran into the Jantzes and checked to see how their girls were feeling (caught the flu on the way to Disney World). We also rode It's a Small World, watched Mickey's Philharmagic, listened to Storytime with Belle, shopped in the stores then headed to watch the parade. It was hot and we were beginning to fade so we decided to head back to the hotel even though we had dinner reservations at the Crystal Palace at 6:15 pm. I forgot my camera when we came back so I have no pictures of Winnie the Pooh, Eeorye, Tigger, or Piglet (Allie's new favorite character). Justin took some with his phone so maybe I can figure out how to post those. The castle looked pretty cool with the lights changing as it got darker. We did some more shopping before we got the news that Grammie had arrived at the hotel so we headed back to meet up with her. We definitely rode the most rides on this day (so far)!

none other than Dumbo

dumbo was our first ride in the magic kingdom

winnie the pooh and it's a small world

Allie did not like the small world ride but it was ac and a smooth boat ride. that makes it one of my favorites!

ready to ride winnie the pooh

alice and white rabbit

we didn't realize that blake and allie had to have an adult ride with them on the tea cups. as soon as the worker told us that i quickly ran away. i'm sure justin had a great time!

belle's storytime: blake was picked to play gaston! not a role that he was happy to play though. poor allie would have given anything to be a part of belle's story.

the kids got a kick out of this back at the hotel room

Epcot

Even though we had a late night we still got up early the next day to head to Epcot. 13 hours at Hollywood Studios was more than I wanted so we decided first thing that we would break the day up by coming back to the hotel instead of staying all day to watch Illuminations. I had a better idea of how things worked and was ready to tackle the touring plan. On the bus we studied the map and went over the plans. First we headed to Soarin' and since there was no wait Allie, Blake and Justin hopped right on (I don't do heights although they got me on it before the week was over). As soon as we got off we raced over to Test Track, rode, then headed back to Soarin' with fastpasses. The Seas with Nemo and Friends was a cute ride but some kids ran up and got on the clamshell next to Blake and Allie so all 4 of us had to squeeze into one! Blake was picked to talk to Crush (the turtle) and mentioned that his aunt brought him so then I had to talk to Crush. It was a cute show but I could have gone without talking to a turtle! Today's lunch was at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Norway. This was a character meal that included the princesses. Allie's eyes began to light up as soon as we stepped inside and saw some of the princesses. Our first princess was Belle. Allie acted a little nervous but totally excited as she had her picture taken with her. The food was great I thought but Allie's eyes were on who was coming next. She had her picture taken with each one and they signed her book. I think she giggled through the whole meal. We ran into Donald in Mexico and then Blake and Allie played in the fountain because it was really hot. We had a chat with Rafiki before going into one of the stores. Allie picked out piglet and Blake wanted Stitch. We drank some coke and watched the Circle of Life before heading back. As we were heading back to the hotel the kids decided they would rest for a little before going swimming. We were surprised by the order but thought it sounded good. Well, they didn't last long and were probably out for about 2 hours. We headed back to Epcot to eat at Sunshine Season's Food Fair before picking our spot for Illuminations. Another late night but this was probably my favorite day. Epcot was not crowded at all!!!! We could move around very easily and there were no lines for anything! It was just a relaxing fun day!

standing outside the window where we ate

belle

sleeping beauty

snow white

ariel

cinderella

i love allie's face looking at the desserts

cooling off in the fountain

rafiki was playing with blake's hat

Hollywood Studios

We jumped out of bed the first morning and quickly ate breakfast. We loaded onto a full bus and headed to Hollywood Studios by 8:30 a.m. We arrived before the park opened and Justin and I quickly reviewed the map so we could plan our strategy. We were headed along with the masses to Toy Story Mania first. When the rope dropped, the race was on. We put Allie and Blake in their strollers beforehand so that we could manuever our way there faster. Of course, it was all the way over on the other side of the park. Toy Story Mania was a great ride and probably one of my favorites. We were back that way later that day and the wait time for the ride was 75 minutes! Glad we rode it first. After that ride we headed to Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Great show! Playhouse Disney and Star Tours rounded out the morning since we had lunch reservations at 11:30 at Hollywood and Vine. This was our first experience with character meals. They had June and Leo from Little Einstiens and JoJo and Goliath. Allie really hasn't ever watched any of these shows but to see the colorful characters live was exciting for her and Blake. They also stopped and danced ever so often so they jumped on that chance. After lunch we headed back to Star Tours (not on my plan but both kids wouldn't here of anything else). After Star Tours we went to watch the Muppet 3D show and then we got in line to see Buzz and Woody. The line was really long and they didn't want to miss the parade so we got out of line to get some ice cream and reserve a spot for the parade. It was REALLY hot and crowded this day so we didn't watch the whole parade. We cooled off in one of the stores before heading to watch Beauty and the Beast. Next we headed to the Indiana Jones stunt show. I could have done without that and I like Indiana Jones movies. Blake's favorite place to eat was Toy Story Pizza Planet. We liked it too. There were other rides that we wanted to do but this was our first day and we were just getting the feel for how to do this. Plus this was the day before Labor Day and it was the most crowded of all the days. After dinner, we headed over to watch Fantasmic. That was a good show but we ended up being at that park for 13 hours straight. We were all ready to get out of there. It was our first park and it was crowded so we feel we didn't get as much done there as we did at the other parks. We would have liked to gone back during the week when it wasn't as crowded but time didn't permit. Maybe next time.

Allie on Toy Story Mania

Hollywood and Vine

Mickey ice cream for the parade

picture moments

Block Party Bash (parade)

Beauty and the Beast