Today we finally went to Magic Kingdom! We had an 8:40am reservation for Bibbibi Bobbidi Boutique. We checked in and were taken straight back. Corey planned to have some fun with Noah while we were getting "made-over." I warned him about Dumbo (a huge request of Noah) and that he should make that his goal, but well, they decided to go wait for Tomorrowland to open and do Buzz Lightyear.
The Bibbibi Bobbidi Boutique was SO magical! Katie LOVED every second of it. We brought our own dress and were taken right to a dressing room and given a brochure with "princess katie" on the front to look at the hairstyle choices. After we were dressed we were escorted to our "fairy godmother in training" and Katie had a seat. They started by letting her pick out her makeup and nail polish choices. Then she picked out which crown she wanted to go with her princess bun (she chose the fairy tale princess do which is a bun with a crown in front). They put her hair up using lots of glue and hair bands, sprinkled her with pixie dust with their magic wand while she make a wish, then put on her crown and BBB sash. Another fairy godmother came around and did makeup and nails while the other was working on her hair. They made conversation with her and it was really sweet. They had a photopass photographer in their the entire time rotating between girls. When it was all done they spun her around in the chair for a reveal and got pictures of her reaction. I was highly impressed with the entire experience. They are very particular, making sure the hair do is "centered" and "even" and just perfect. They are very sweet and tender with the girls. They put the combs they used (we forgot ours) and the rest of the makeup palette they didn't use and two nailpolishes in a bag with some Belle stickers (that was her dress choice) for us to take home. Then they said we could go down to the Exposition Hall and have a photo session done and those photos would be put on our photopass! I didn't know they did that, I thought that just came with the top package. This was $59.53 total. Totally and completely worth it! Getting dressed up and getting hair/makeup/nails done IN CINDERELLA'S CASTLE AT DISNEY WORLD!? MOST DEFINITELY WORTH IT!
We left the castle and right around the corner was the fair godmother herself!!!!! We got in a short line and had photos.
Then down mainstreet.Katie got lots of attention from everyone and she just loved it! I talked to Corey on the phone who said they had ridden Buzz three times in a row and if they had more time they were headed to fantasyland to ride Dumbo.
When we got to Exposition Hall we saw Mary Poppins in front. We got in line, but then saw Snow White! We missed seeing Snow White last time, so we switched lines. Wonderful meeting her but we had a stinky photopass photographer who only took two "posed" shots and people kept stepping in front while my mom was trying to take photos! boo!
Next to the photo session. There was just one person in there so when they were done we were next. She really took her time getting lots of good shots..a great photographer. You will see some of those shots when I get the photopass photos on here, still waiting on the CD in the mail.
Katie wanted to meet the princesses now in her dress so we went to the princess tent while Noah and Corey and grandpa did some more stuff now my mind fails me since I didn't get this done on the day it all happened! ha.
The wait for the princesses was 15 minutes. The wait for Fairies was 75 minutes! ACK! It was only 10:20am!!!!! We saw Belle, Aurora, and Cinderella! They made a big deal out of her being dressed up. The photopass people got some really nice shots of Cinderella and Katie doing a "curtsy" together. She ate it up!
Met back up with Corey and the rest who had not seen Katie yet. (they had ridden peter pan and waited 30 minutes for Dumbo...ha.) Noah was very taken with her and wanted to hold her hand! So cute!
We headed out and had to take a restroom break which is a 20 minute ordeal with 2 kids and one in a Belle gown. :)
We rode the teacups. I don't remember having done this before. We avoided it last year....and it did make me quite dizzy. Corey was kind of annoyed because I wouldn't let him "really spin" the cup around too much! Alice was right outside the teacups and we met her and got photos. Katie asked her favorite kind of tea (English breakfast) and Alice asked her what her favorite was (mandarin orange).
Everyone was hungry by now so we went to eat while Mama and Daddy got sandwiches from locker. We ate at Cosmic Ray's...I had the half rotisserie chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans (really good!!!!) and kids had kid meals, Corey had burger and fries. We then met up with Mama and Daddy in front of the castle for the show. Katie loved it, Noah wanted to know when we could leave! We got to see the princesses WITH their princes in the show, never seen them before!
Walked around to Fantasyland and did Snow White, Philharmagic, and Peter Pan. Philharmagic is still one of my favorite things here! We then made our way around through to do Pirates twice in a row, watched the pirate tutorial (with Capt Jack Sparrow) and met Peter Pan and Captain Hook! We then went to get an Ice Cream (I had pineapple vanilla swirl-yum!)
Next, Aladdin's magic carpets, twice with restroom break in between. Then to tomorrow land to use fastpasses for buzz and do Monster's Inc. The Monster's Inc. Laugh floor is a similar concept as the Turtle Talk...interactive with the audience...animated characters in a comedy show. So good! Then we did the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (ride around the Tomorrowland area and through some of the rides) and over to Storytime with Belle. Kids are hungry and tired and it is time to go for today. We will hit up the parades and fireworks on Friday! We left around 5:30pm....stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way back to the rental. Katie got lots of attention there too in her princess-wear. Fun, but tiring day!
Whew!
Carrie in GA
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Day 5: Hollywood Studios
SO...it is day 5 since we left on our trip and we still haven't been to Magic Kingdom! ACK! We are following the suggested plans though, and this plan seemed to work best with our "overall itinerary" as our Tour Guide Mike planning website would say...so we finally get there tomorrow with an early morning appt. at the "boutique" for princess daughter!
Today we kind of took our time getting out the door again. We headed to Hollywood Studios and arrived around 9:40 or so. Corey went straight for fastpasses for Toy Story, which were already at 1:30pm return time. It was almost time for the first Beauty and the Beast show of the day so we went there. KATIE LOVED IT!!!! After that we tried to get to the next Indiana Jones show but it was standing room only....45 minutes with two kids? I think not. We went to wait for the next Jedi Training Academy instead. Mama, Daddy, Corey, and Katie went on Star Tours while we waited.
The crowd got big right before the Jedi show and I had talked to Noah about if he wanted to be picked and he seemed excited but apprehensive. When they came out to choose he stood up straight and tall and raised both hands straight in the air AND HE GOT PICKED! We were SO EXCITED! He looked a little "frozen" up there at first, but when it came his turn to fight Darth Vader he was just really into it and loved it! The premise is that they are going to be trained to be Jedis but then Darth Vader comes out and says that to complete their training they must fight him. I am SO happy they had a photopass photographer there to get photos of the entire thing and I am SO happy we already pre-ordered our CD!
After that we went to the next Indiana Jones show, which was long, good, but the kids got bored at the slapstick in between stuff. Next up, Star Tours for the immediate four while Mama and Daddy retrieved our lunches from the lockers. We ate around the lake and then secured a spot on the steps of the new American Idol thing for the parade. We waited almost an hour and I was not really impressed with the Block party bash. It was ENTIRELY TOO LOUD for kids. I really don't know why they make things like that SO loud. Katie and Noah sat with their fingers in their ears the entire time and we happened to be sitting in a part where just random dancers were, not really many characters, just Sully every once in a while. I was really disappointed that we spent two hours on that whole thing when we could have been using our Toy Story passes.
After the parade we went to use our Toy Story passes. It was SO FUN! I was kind of sad that we weren't waiting in the line actually, it was SO cool! It is set up to look like Andy's room from the Toy Story movies, so there are giant crayons, toys, game boards and pieces. Really cool line! The kids loved this of course. On the ride you are sitting with one other person and you have this "pop gun" type thing in front of you. You are twirled and spun around to different giant 3D screens where there are carnival type games on the screen. You use your pop gun to shoot, ring toss, throw pies, shoot arrows, just about anything at different themed games. There are different themed games for the different characters. It is really fun and it keeps score for you and gives you a "prize" at the end on your screen on the car. It is really well done, the controls work well, and it is just plain fun!
At this point it was about 4:30, so we opted to go ahead and leave for today and swim for a few minutes before dinner at the townhouse and bed. We have a very early morning for our princess at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. A lot of our day was taken with the shows we did today, but we can hit everything else on our other day here.
Today we kind of took our time getting out the door again. We headed to Hollywood Studios and arrived around 9:40 or so. Corey went straight for fastpasses for Toy Story, which were already at 1:30pm return time. It was almost time for the first Beauty and the Beast show of the day so we went there. KATIE LOVED IT!!!! After that we tried to get to the next Indiana Jones show but it was standing room only....45 minutes with two kids? I think not. We went to wait for the next Jedi Training Academy instead. Mama, Daddy, Corey, and Katie went on Star Tours while we waited.
The crowd got big right before the Jedi show and I had talked to Noah about if he wanted to be picked and he seemed excited but apprehensive. When they came out to choose he stood up straight and tall and raised both hands straight in the air AND HE GOT PICKED! We were SO EXCITED! He looked a little "frozen" up there at first, but when it came his turn to fight Darth Vader he was just really into it and loved it! The premise is that they are going to be trained to be Jedis but then Darth Vader comes out and says that to complete their training they must fight him. I am SO happy they had a photopass photographer there to get photos of the entire thing and I am SO happy we already pre-ordered our CD!
After that we went to the next Indiana Jones show, which was long, good, but the kids got bored at the slapstick in between stuff. Next up, Star Tours for the immediate four while Mama and Daddy retrieved our lunches from the lockers. We ate around the lake and then secured a spot on the steps of the new American Idol thing for the parade. We waited almost an hour and I was not really impressed with the Block party bash. It was ENTIRELY TOO LOUD for kids. I really don't know why they make things like that SO loud. Katie and Noah sat with their fingers in their ears the entire time and we happened to be sitting in a part where just random dancers were, not really many characters, just Sully every once in a while. I was really disappointed that we spent two hours on that whole thing when we could have been using our Toy Story passes.
After the parade we went to use our Toy Story passes. It was SO FUN! I was kind of sad that we weren't waiting in the line actually, it was SO cool! It is set up to look like Andy's room from the Toy Story movies, so there are giant crayons, toys, game boards and pieces. Really cool line! The kids loved this of course. On the ride you are sitting with one other person and you have this "pop gun" type thing in front of you. You are twirled and spun around to different giant 3D screens where there are carnival type games on the screen. You use your pop gun to shoot, ring toss, throw pies, shoot arrows, just about anything at different themed games. There are different themed games for the different characters. It is really fun and it keeps score for you and gives you a "prize" at the end on your screen on the car. It is really well done, the controls work well, and it is just plain fun!
At this point it was about 4:30, so we opted to go ahead and leave for today and swim for a few minutes before dinner at the townhouse and bed. We have a very early morning for our princess at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. A lot of our day was taken with the shows we did today, but we can hit everything else on our other day here.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Day 4: Epcot
Today started at 9:30...Epcot. We had a first row parking spot even though we arrive around 9:45 or so....we sent Corey straight for fast passes for Soarin while I bought a passport for the kids to stamp and we then headed over to the line. There was a 30 minute wait for Soarin so we got in line (while we were in line they announced that the wait at the end had increased to 50 min, we were about halfway through the line at that point.) Anyway...Katie loved it (6) and our son did NOT like it at all (age 4). We requested a seat that would be on the very bottom of the rows when they lift into the air, so I think that made it a little better, but he just didn't like the sensation of "flying" I guess. He didn't cry or totally hate it but when we got off he said he did NOT want to do it again.
After Soarin' we did Living with the Land, which is a boat ride through the Epcot greenhouses...actually kind of neat.... then it was time for Soarin' fastpasses. Mama, Daddy, Corey, and Katie did it again while Noah and I went to do the Circle of Life movie to kill time). It was "okay." Basically an Earth Day movie. :) After that we went to Nemo and Turtle Talk with Crush.
We had never seen Turtle Talk with Crush...it was SO cute!!!! Just adorable! The kids loved it! Turtle Talk with Crush is a really cool show that has an animated sea turtle on a real aquarium window and he interacts live with the kids and their questions. I am assuming that a person is watching via a camera or something, but it is really good the way it all works, and funny! The Nemo ride had a 10 min wait, you ride in a clam shell through scenes looking for Nemo. Cute.
We then sat in the shade and had a snack while contemplating what to do next. It was almost time for the Disney Visa character greet, so we walked around Innovations for a while and then waited in line for that. There is a special line for a character greeing for Disney Visa cardholders. They wouldn't tell us who was back there in case it "changed" but we went ahead and waited about 15 minutes for it.
We were SO SURPRISED to see that it was MICKEY AND MINNIE AND GOOFY for the character greet! WOO HOO!!! JACKPOT! Photos with the whole gang and lots of fun! While we waited for our photos to be ready we did Spaceship Earth (no wait). I had not done this since I was little and Corey never had. It was neat but I got kind of nervous on the backwards descent down. It is inside the "big ball."
After that it was time to go view our photos from the greet to pick out one for free. We picked out a VERY cute photo of the kids and the gang for our freebie then went to Guest Relations to see what we could find for late lunch reservations. YES the rest of my family decided TODAY that it would be good to sit down and have a nice meal....yeah, I could have planned that MONTHS ago people! ha ha! We decided on Rose and Crown which had a 4:40 opening.
While we waited on that we went to use fast passes for Test Track we had picked up earlier. I chickened out and the rest went on. I waited at the exit to see a very teary eyed little girl get off the ride, but a VERY excited 4 year old boy running out saying "LETS DO IT AGAIN NOW!" Who knew? He disliked Soarin and she disliked Test Track. I guess she likes heights and he likes speed! So, we grab fastpasses for that again to do later.
We head to The Rose and Crown for our reservation and get seated immediately in an empty dining room. I have never eaten here before. Mama and Daddy each get fish n chips. Corey and I share the sausage and cheese platter and Steak and Fish plate. Kids get shepherd's pie and mac n cheese. DELICIOUS FOOD!!! AWESOME! We also got the apple crumble and sticky toffee pudding for dessert. Bill was $130 with tip. *ouch* for a group that has sandwich fixings at the townhouse and had intended to do lunch at "home" everyday! ha ha! This was way worth it though! So good! Oh...Katie loved the "hat lady" on the way to the bathroom! She sang "feed the birds" while we were in there and dd sang along and danced. We also saw the Brittish Invasion band in UK. It is a "Beatles" imitation group, but Corey was quick to point out a discrepancy: Paul was a lefty. They were pretty entertaining.
We then start making our way around to the countries and getting the passport stamped. The kids enjoyed this. Each country has a kidcot station where they can get their passports stamped and something written in their passports in the language of the country. They can also make a mask and add things to it in each country.
We took some photos around the lagoon but not many of them turned out well.
It started getting dark and cool. We wanted to get back to do our rides again before we leave so we stopped around Germany and skip the rest of the Kidstops. We did stop in Mexico though and do it there and ride the Fiesta tour. It is a slow boat ride with Donald Duck and the Three Cabelleros. KIDS LOVED IT! ( I really like this one too for some reason...love Mexico)
We then head out to do Soarin' and Test Track once more....me and dd doing Soarin together with the fastpasses from earlier that son and I didn't use and the rest to do Test Track. We met up afterwards and left just as the fireworks start going off.
Oh I forgot to say that while we were in England at the Kidcot stop we saw Tigger, Pooh, and Eeyore. It was GREAT! Tigger and Noah had a jumping contest that was just adorable! NO line for them!
I would say the crowds seemed very light today. Masses of people in certain areas, but at the end of the night when we went (8:30) there was a 30 min wait for Soarin. The fastpasses were still being given out into the late afternoon.
GREAT but LONG day. Beautiful weather!
Tomorrow AM: Hollywood Studios.
Exhausted and Ready for bed...
After Soarin' we did Living with the Land, which is a boat ride through the Epcot greenhouses...actually kind of neat.... then it was time for Soarin' fastpasses. Mama, Daddy, Corey, and Katie did it again while Noah and I went to do the Circle of Life movie to kill time). It was "okay." Basically an Earth Day movie. :) After that we went to Nemo and Turtle Talk with Crush.
We had never seen Turtle Talk with Crush...it was SO cute!!!! Just adorable! The kids loved it! Turtle Talk with Crush is a really cool show that has an animated sea turtle on a real aquarium window and he interacts live with the kids and their questions. I am assuming that a person is watching via a camera or something, but it is really good the way it all works, and funny! The Nemo ride had a 10 min wait, you ride in a clam shell through scenes looking for Nemo. Cute.
We then sat in the shade and had a snack while contemplating what to do next. It was almost time for the Disney Visa character greet, so we walked around Innovations for a while and then waited in line for that. There is a special line for a character greeing for Disney Visa cardholders. They wouldn't tell us who was back there in case it "changed" but we went ahead and waited about 15 minutes for it.
We were SO SURPRISED to see that it was MICKEY AND MINNIE AND GOOFY for the character greet! WOO HOO!!! JACKPOT! Photos with the whole gang and lots of fun! While we waited for our photos to be ready we did Spaceship Earth (no wait). I had not done this since I was little and Corey never had. It was neat but I got kind of nervous on the backwards descent down. It is inside the "big ball."
After that it was time to go view our photos from the greet to pick out one for free. We picked out a VERY cute photo of the kids and the gang for our freebie then went to Guest Relations to see what we could find for late lunch reservations. YES the rest of my family decided TODAY that it would be good to sit down and have a nice meal....yeah, I could have planned that MONTHS ago people! ha ha! We decided on Rose and Crown which had a 4:40 opening.
While we waited on that we went to use fast passes for Test Track we had picked up earlier. I chickened out and the rest went on. I waited at the exit to see a very teary eyed little girl get off the ride, but a VERY excited 4 year old boy running out saying "LETS DO IT AGAIN NOW!" Who knew? He disliked Soarin and she disliked Test Track. I guess she likes heights and he likes speed! So, we grab fastpasses for that again to do later.
We head to The Rose and Crown for our reservation and get seated immediately in an empty dining room. I have never eaten here before. Mama and Daddy each get fish n chips. Corey and I share the sausage and cheese platter and Steak and Fish plate. Kids get shepherd's pie and mac n cheese. DELICIOUS FOOD!!! AWESOME! We also got the apple crumble and sticky toffee pudding for dessert. Bill was $130 with tip. *ouch* for a group that has sandwich fixings at the townhouse and had intended to do lunch at "home" everyday! ha ha! This was way worth it though! So good! Oh...Katie loved the "hat lady" on the way to the bathroom! She sang "feed the birds" while we were in there and dd sang along and danced. We also saw the Brittish Invasion band in UK. It is a "Beatles" imitation group, but Corey was quick to point out a discrepancy: Paul was a lefty. They were pretty entertaining.
We then start making our way around to the countries and getting the passport stamped. The kids enjoyed this. Each country has a kidcot station where they can get their passports stamped and something written in their passports in the language of the country. They can also make a mask and add things to it in each country.
We took some photos around the lagoon but not many of them turned out well.
It started getting dark and cool. We wanted to get back to do our rides again before we leave so we stopped around Germany and skip the rest of the Kidstops. We did stop in Mexico though and do it there and ride the Fiesta tour. It is a slow boat ride with Donald Duck and the Three Cabelleros. KIDS LOVED IT! ( I really like this one too for some reason...love Mexico)
We then head out to do Soarin' and Test Track once more....me and dd doing Soarin together with the fastpasses from earlier that son and I didn't use and the rest to do Test Track. We met up afterwards and left just as the fireworks start going off.
Oh I forgot to say that while we were in England at the Kidcot stop we saw Tigger, Pooh, and Eeyore. It was GREAT! Tigger and Noah had a jumping contest that was just adorable! NO line for them!
I would say the crowds seemed very light today. Masses of people in certain areas, but at the end of the night when we went (8:30) there was a 30 min wait for Soarin. The fastpasses were still being given out into the late afternoon.
GREAT but LONG day. Beautiful weather!
Tomorrow AM: Hollywood Studios.
Exhausted and Ready for bed...
Day 3: Animal Kingdom
We got up bright and early to be at Animal Kingdom in time for our Tusker House character breakfast. We actually arrived TOO early and had to pull back out and wait in line at the parking booths. So, we sat, for about 20 minutes....la de da...got some good photos though! ha ha.
When we went in we headed straight back to the restaurant because the rest of the park wasn't open yet. Our reservation was for 8:30am.
Immediately after we were seated, Donald Duck came in! We were all wearing our matching Donald and Daisy Duck shirts. They were very cute and I was happy that my dad and Corey went along with it just for today! Donald and Daisy really liked them too!
We got some autographs and photos, and then Corey and Daddy went to make a plate at the HUGE buffet! While they were gone, Mickey came in as well! The characters were all coming through while we were trying to get our food, which was a little hectic. I just waited until they were all through and we had pictures before I made a plate. It was really fun getting to see them all at our table.
My parents were wearing birthday buttons (since it was recently both of their birthdays, you don't have to be there "on the day" to celebrate) and they each got a birthday card signed by all the characters at the breakfast and a cupcake! So cool!
The food at the restaurant was WONDERFUL! I kind of wish our reservation had been later in the morning so it could double as lunch! They had every single thing you could imagine for breakfast....including some exotic things....all kinds of breads, bagels with many different toppings, egg casseroles and quiches, ham, bacon, mickey mouse waffles, fruits, pastries....grits, biscuits, gravy, pancakes....the list could go on and on!
After breakfast we headed straight out for the safari. We picked up fastpasses then joined the regular line. The safari was AMAZING! We got to see so many African animals up close. I could have reached out and petted the giraffe!
The kids got tired really early on bc we were up so early but we didn't really have time to go back for a rest. We saw Pocohontas on the way to the Lion King and there was no one else around and this was HIGH on Katie's priority list so we were so thrilled to get to see her right away!
The Lion King was a great show...the kids loved it!!!! The park seemed VERY crowded to me. Although none of the waits were that bad it just seemed like there were masses of people heading everywhere. I have heard that this one seems more crowded because the walkways are much smaller. The park is beautifully done though, it seems like you are really walking around in the wild...tons of trees and foliage. Birds just walk around you everywhere too.
After that we did the train ride up to Planet Watch. Got pics with Jiminy Cricket and Rafiki. they have an animal treatment facility here that has scheduled procedures everyday. We missed seeing anything that day, but there had been some kind of exam that morning on an animal..I have heard of poeple seeing surgeries on gorillas and such.
Did the petting zoo, saw a bird show. The kids loved that. Then back down to repeat the Safari with the fastpasses we picked up earlier in the morning. This time the tourguide wasn't nearly was animated...I think that highly affects your safari experience. Less animals, but some different ones.
We then headed over to do some another animal trail..the one with the gorillas...that was neat.
It was then time to see Nemo. We headed on over and got in line right as it started going in. We got in and well.....we thought Nemo was okay. The kids absolutely LOVED it, but the adults in the party were pretty bored after the initial novelty of what they were doing wore off. Corey and I decided we wished we had gone over to do Dinosaur while the my parents saw this with the kids, ha.
Then we went to Dinoland. We are all really wearing thin by this point in the day. The kids wanted to play a water shooting carnival game, but we went on to eat since we still wanted to do Dinosaur and Bug's Life. We ate at Restarauntasaurus. Burgers and fries...typical stuff...good toppings bar.
Over to Dinosaur 20 min standby....kids had to use RR, so I sent Mama and Daddy and Corey on ride to check it out for me (I am a scaredy cat) and I took them to RR. When I came out I saw that Corey was standing outside...he wanted to wait on me to ride...he is sweet. He took kids over to play the money waster game while I called Disney dining one more time to try for Fantasmic package. No luck. Parents got off, kids got back and by that time they had shut down the ride so we couldn't do it ! ARGH! Corey should have ridden it the first time around :)
Then over to Tough to Be a Bug. Again, I knew this would be to scary for kids, so I went the three of them in while we got popcorn and watched animals around the big tree. After they finished Corey confirmed, yeah, too scary for kids, so we decided to head "home." Got back to townhouse, got showers and baths, had bedtime snacks and TOO BED!!!! We are totally wiped out after this first early full day. We plan on sleeping in tomorrow and heading over to Epcot whenever. ha ha. I think I will call about a Fantasmic package before we head out for sure...tonight is one of the two nights it is showing this week.
We enjoyed Animal Kingdom on our first visit. We didn't really do any of the rides except the Safari, but since we spent a lot of time at our breakfast we didn't have tons of time to spend there anyway. Seeing the two shows took a while also. We did everything we really wanted to anyway. It was a good place to start the week...a short day and a great breakfast!
When we went in we headed straight back to the restaurant because the rest of the park wasn't open yet. Our reservation was for 8:30am.
Immediately after we were seated, Donald Duck came in! We were all wearing our matching Donald and Daisy Duck shirts. They were very cute and I was happy that my dad and Corey went along with it just for today! Donald and Daisy really liked them too!
We got some autographs and photos, and then Corey and Daddy went to make a plate at the HUGE buffet! While they were gone, Mickey came in as well! The characters were all coming through while we were trying to get our food, which was a little hectic. I just waited until they were all through and we had pictures before I made a plate. It was really fun getting to see them all at our table.
My parents were wearing birthday buttons (since it was recently both of their birthdays, you don't have to be there "on the day" to celebrate) and they each got a birthday card signed by all the characters at the breakfast and a cupcake! So cool!
The food at the restaurant was WONDERFUL! I kind of wish our reservation had been later in the morning so it could double as lunch! They had every single thing you could imagine for breakfast....including some exotic things....all kinds of breads, bagels with many different toppings, egg casseroles and quiches, ham, bacon, mickey mouse waffles, fruits, pastries....grits, biscuits, gravy, pancakes....the list could go on and on!
After breakfast we headed straight out for the safari. We picked up fastpasses then joined the regular line. The safari was AMAZING! We got to see so many African animals up close. I could have reached out and petted the giraffe!
The kids got tired really early on bc we were up so early but we didn't really have time to go back for a rest. We saw Pocohontas on the way to the Lion King and there was no one else around and this was HIGH on Katie's priority list so we were so thrilled to get to see her right away!
The Lion King was a great show...the kids loved it!!!! The park seemed VERY crowded to me. Although none of the waits were that bad it just seemed like there were masses of people heading everywhere. I have heard that this one seems more crowded because the walkways are much smaller. The park is beautifully done though, it seems like you are really walking around in the wild...tons of trees and foliage. Birds just walk around you everywhere too.
After that we did the train ride up to Planet Watch. Got pics with Jiminy Cricket and Rafiki. they have an animal treatment facility here that has scheduled procedures everyday. We missed seeing anything that day, but there had been some kind of exam that morning on an animal..I have heard of poeple seeing surgeries on gorillas and such.
Did the petting zoo, saw a bird show. The kids loved that. Then back down to repeat the Safari with the fastpasses we picked up earlier in the morning. This time the tourguide wasn't nearly was animated...I think that highly affects your safari experience. Less animals, but some different ones.
We then headed over to do some another animal trail..the one with the gorillas...that was neat.
It was then time to see Nemo. We headed on over and got in line right as it started going in. We got in and well.....we thought Nemo was okay. The kids absolutely LOVED it, but the adults in the party were pretty bored after the initial novelty of what they were doing wore off. Corey and I decided we wished we had gone over to do Dinosaur while the my parents saw this with the kids, ha.
Then we went to Dinoland. We are all really wearing thin by this point in the day. The kids wanted to play a water shooting carnival game, but we went on to eat since we still wanted to do Dinosaur and Bug's Life. We ate at Restarauntasaurus. Burgers and fries...typical stuff...good toppings bar.
Over to Dinosaur 20 min standby....kids had to use RR, so I sent Mama and Daddy and Corey on ride to check it out for me (I am a scaredy cat) and I took them to RR. When I came out I saw that Corey was standing outside...he wanted to wait on me to ride...he is sweet. He took kids over to play the money waster game while I called Disney dining one more time to try for Fantasmic package. No luck. Parents got off, kids got back and by that time they had shut down the ride so we couldn't do it ! ARGH! Corey should have ridden it the first time around :)
Then over to Tough to Be a Bug. Again, I knew this would be to scary for kids, so I went the three of them in while we got popcorn and watched animals around the big tree. After they finished Corey confirmed, yeah, too scary for kids, so we decided to head "home." Got back to townhouse, got showers and baths, had bedtime snacks and TOO BED!!!! We are totally wiped out after this first early full day. We plan on sleeping in tomorrow and heading over to Epcot whenever. ha ha. I think I will call about a Fantasmic package before we head out for sure...tonight is one of the two nights it is showing this week.
We enjoyed Animal Kingdom on our first visit. We didn't really do any of the rides except the Safari, but since we spent a lot of time at our breakfast we didn't have tons of time to spend there anyway. Seeing the two shows took a while also. We did everything we really wanted to anyway. It was a good place to start the week...a short day and a great breakfast!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Our First and Second Days...
The first day we drove to Valdosta to visit with our best friends all around....well, except Katie, but hers is coming soon I know! :)
We had such a great time! Bethany and I worked on finishing up her delicious made from scratch carrot cake (SO GOOD!) and then we played a game of Quelf. Quelf is always fun! The kids watched a movie, played, wrestled...Katie checked out the book selections...it was just a really fun night!
We headed back to the hotel around 10pm and my parents got there about an hour later. After a pretty good night's sleep we had a great breakfast at the hotel and headed out for the last 3 1/2 hour drive to the Disney area. I was also able to get our breakfast reservations for the Tusker House character breakfast changed from Thursday to Sunday, which I had been trying to do all week! I was so happy! I really wanted to start out with that since we could see all the "main" characters and see Animal Kingdom first, since none of us had ever been there.
We went straight to Downtown Disney because it was too early to check in. We had lunch at Earl of Sandwich. The Downtown Disney area was PACKED! I hadn't thought about it being a Saturday and all the locals PLUS the vacationers would be there! We got our Disney Visa rewards card, picked up a few souvenirs and got out of there! It was time to check in, so we went on over to unload and unpack. The townhouse was so nice again...very clean...cute kids room, except the "wall mural" was really like a thin plastic wall covering...kind of odd and hard to explain, but it could be torn (and was in one spot). That was the only down to our expectations. Anyway, the kids wanted to swim right away, so Corey and Katie and Noah got on in the pool. It was very nice and warm because we had paid for pool heat, but that would prove to be a bad choice later in the week!
Corey and I went out for a quick grocery stop and that was the end of our first and second nights on the road!
Tomorrow: Day 3: Animal Kingdom!!!!
We had such a great time! Bethany and I worked on finishing up her delicious made from scratch carrot cake (SO GOOD!) and then we played a game of Quelf. Quelf is always fun! The kids watched a movie, played, wrestled...Katie checked out the book selections...it was just a really fun night!
We headed back to the hotel around 10pm and my parents got there about an hour later. After a pretty good night's sleep we had a great breakfast at the hotel and headed out for the last 3 1/2 hour drive to the Disney area. I was also able to get our breakfast reservations for the Tusker House character breakfast changed from Thursday to Sunday, which I had been trying to do all week! I was so happy! I really wanted to start out with that since we could see all the "main" characters and see Animal Kingdom first, since none of us had ever been there.
We went straight to Downtown Disney because it was too early to check in. We had lunch at Earl of Sandwich. The Downtown Disney area was PACKED! I hadn't thought about it being a Saturday and all the locals PLUS the vacationers would be there! We got our Disney Visa rewards card, picked up a few souvenirs and got out of there! It was time to check in, so we went on over to unload and unpack. The townhouse was so nice again...very clean...cute kids room, except the "wall mural" was really like a thin plastic wall covering...kind of odd and hard to explain, but it could be torn (and was in one spot). That was the only down to our expectations. Anyway, the kids wanted to swim right away, so Corey and Katie and Noah got on in the pool. It was very nice and warm because we had paid for pool heat, but that would prove to be a bad choice later in the week!
Corey and I went out for a quick grocery stop and that was the end of our first and second nights on the road!
Tomorrow: Day 3: Animal Kingdom!!!!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
And the winner is.....
JILL, from Adairsville, Georgia!
Jill guessed January 16th. The actual date I started packing was January 17th, while Corey was in California at his trade show. Yes, it was early...but I was cleaning out my closet and rather then put things back in that I knew I would take, I just put them in the suitcase instead!
I don't actually know Jill, which is pretty exciting! It means I have made a new blogger friend. Congrats Jill...I will be leaving a comment on your blog as to how to contact me for claiming your prize! And just what is that amazing prize? I know everyone is on the edge of their seat to find out.....drumroll please...........................................
Jill...you have won an "authentic" and "original" Disneyland/Walt Disney World Princess Gel Pen Set. This prize was custom selected just for you by your contest host, me! Featuring Cinderella, Jasmine, Aurora, Belle, Snow White, and Ariel, these pens will be the perfect inspiration for jotting notes, writing your very own dreams in a journal, or for sharing with a friend. They could even spice up your daily routine of making a grocery list or taking a message for someone. I hope you will enjoy using these princess pens and they are yours for being the winner of my very first ever blog giveaway! Congratulations Jill, and thank you for playing!
Thanks to everyone who made a guess! It was so much fun and I know I will do more giveaways in the future, it really compels people to comment, which I love!Be sure to check back next week for an exciting day by day report of our 2nd Disney vacation! You will love it!
We have a Winner!!!
Someone guessed correctly within one day and the winner will be revealed late tonight, so tune in after your Valentine's festivities to find out who won and what their *amazing* prize will be!
We are about to head out on our drive home, so we will see you later! I have been posting our daily updates on my regular blog, but this site will soon have a VERY detailed report with tons of photos!!!
See you soon!
We are about to head out on our drive home, so we will see you later! I have been posting our daily updates on my regular blog, but this site will soon have a VERY detailed report with tons of photos!!!
See you soon!
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