March 31 - Epcot

Epcot: the most beautiful Disney park with the fewest rides for little kids. We didn't plan on going there but they had one thing no other park offered: the Frozen princesses meet and greet. The park opened at 9am and we power walked to the Norway pavilion right away. The wait to see the princesses was already FOUR hours long. There was no discussion-we weren't waiting in line that long. I found a random teenager dressed up like Anna (one of the princesses) and had her take a picture with Julia. Julia's response was "She is not the real Anna!" It was overcast and there was a chance of rain so we thought that maybe if it rained, the line would shrink down. We decided to check back later. Next up, we went on Maelstorm, a boat ride through Norway. Luke was scared and Julia thought it was fun, meanwhile JD and I were happy there was no wait (in fact, there was almost no wait for any of the rides at Epcot except for Soaring which we didn't go on this because Luke is too small). We also went on 'Journey Into Imagination With Figment' a ride focused on well, using your imagination. After the ride there was an area for the kids to play, kind of like a mini children's museum. The kids had a blast. 

We took a boat ride across the lake a few times (who doesn't love a boat ride?) and then had lunch at a German biergarten. Shockingly, Luke ate a TON. I've never seen him eat so much. It was incredible. He especially loved the potato/leek soup. Julia, on the other hand, would only eat rolls and strawberries. There was a live band playing folk music and the kids loved it. Luke was dancing in his chair while Julia actually danced on stage with a little boy. It was beyond cute! 

After lunch, we headed back to the Norway pavilion to check the Frozen line-still a four hour wait. Julia gave JD her most pathetic, sad face and....it worked. JD decided to wait in line while I took the kids on rides. We went on Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth (we went on this 3x), The Seas with Nemo and Friends (went on this 3x as well, there was a fun play area after this as well as giant fish tanks the kids loved) and we found a cool Mater play area. Julia also did a Phineas and Ferb adventure which she loved. They have a few kiosks in the park where kids can get an old flip phone. She picked Norway to do her adventure in and then she was designated 'Agent J' and on assignment. She had several missions around Norway that took just under an hour (making smoke come out of a chimney, posters shifting for secret messages, stones changing colors, even a secret drop box for the phone). 

After the rides and playing, we joined JD in line for the last 45min or so. The dad in front of JD had been waiting in line with his 10mon old son, while his wife and 2 year old went back to their hotel for a 2.5h nap (JD said the baby was very good). There was a group of moms behind JD (their husbands were off doing rides with their kids) who were drinking, singing Frozen songs and trying to facebook friend people in line. While I would have thought this was hilarious, JD was a tad annoyed with them. Finally, Julia and Luke got to meet Elsa and Anna. They were thrilled!

Goalie!

Biergarten 

Beautiful Girl

Kids

cool train display (Andrew would have loved this)

Phineas and Ferb

Julia and 'fake' Anna

Tinkerbell Butterfly Garden

A burst of rain = ponchos

She is next in line! Autograph book is ready. 

Anna and Elsa!

Next post-Tampa!

March 27 - Hollywood Studios

Our third morning at Disney, we took the boat to the Contemporary (modern hotel nearby) and had breakfast at Chef Mickey's. They had a delicious breakfast buffet (bacon, eggs, ham, pancakes, waffles in the shape of Mickey, fruit, muffins, overall fab) that everyone enjoyed and the kids were thrilled to meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto. It was one of my favorite things from the entire trip and I highly recommend it. 

After stuffing ourselves at breakfast, the kids and I headed to Hollywood Studios for our first ever visit. JD headed to central lost and found to search for his missing phone and we made plans to meet up later. Our first stop at HS was a 3D Muppet show. The kids aren't familiar with the Muppets and the show looked like it hadn't been updated since 1985, but Julia LOVED it. After leaving the show, we happened to see the kids favorite characters, Phineas & Ferb (they are obsessed with the show) doing a character meet and greet. We immediately got in the short line and amazingly, I got a text from JD. Someone had turned in his phone and he was on his way! He met us just in time to get a family picture. 

After a delicious lunch at a 50's diner (one of the best pot roasts I've ever eaten), the kids got to meet more of their favorite characters, included Jake and Sopha. We watched a fun Disney Junior show (Luke especially loved it), a Little Mermaid show and went on a super fun Toy Story ride. Julia and I watched a cool stunt show with Harrison Ford's stunt double and the kids had a blast playing in the Honey I Shrunk The Kids play area. Another fabulous day at Disney!!

Lake view from dock

Hotel view from boat

Little Diva

Breakfast friends! (Luke is winking in Minnie photo)

Julia and Daddy

They were snuggling together the whole bus ride to HS, adorable!

Mini Harrison Ford

Sophia

Phineas and Ferb

Honey I Shrunk the Kids

Vampires!

Next post: Epcot!

March 24 - Animal Kingdom

After our amazing day at Magic Kingdom, it was time to switch gears from princesses to animals. We took the bus from our hotel to Animal Kingdom (very easy, quick ride with only about 10 other people on the bus) and the first thing the kids did was...you guessed it, face painting! They have amazing artists at AK and they both looked great. After investigating the African market there and listening to some African music and watching dancers, we went on the Kilimanjaro Safari. If you go to AK and can only do one thing, this is it. It is awesome. You take an open air jeep type vehicle through their animal preserve and see lions, elephants, alligators, giraffes and several other animals. After finishing that, we took the Wildlife Express Train (Luke was just excited to ride a train) to Rafiki's Planet Watch. Rafiki's Planet Watch is a cool area where the kids met the character Rafiki (from Lion King), got to hold an alligator, see animal vets and there is a large petting zoo.

We took the Wildlife Express Train back to the main park and next up was....Expedition Everest! Everest is the big roller coaster at AK. I wasn't sure if Julia would want to go on it after Space Mountain, but after watching it a few times, she said "I want to try it. And I want Mommy to go with me." This was very exciting because she usually wants JD to go with her. Also, I want to note that her least favorite thing about Space Mountain was that it was in the dark. I assured her Everest wasn't because what I could see of it, was outside. So, we get on the roller coaster and imagine our surprise when a good portion of the coaster was in the dark...going backwards. After we got off Julia said her hands were sore from holding the bar so tight. She said it was really scary and she "do not want to do this one again." 

After that thrill ride, we made our way to The Boneyard, a huge play area with huge slides and a digging area where kids can search for bones. The kids could literally spend all day in here, they love it. After playing a (long) while, Julia and JD went on Dinosaur (mini roller coaster with giant robotic dinosaurs) while Luke and I went on TriceraTop Spin a few times. 

We headed back to the hotel (once again, almost empty bus) and had dinner at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. If you have kids, you should check this place out. They had all the guests doing the hokey pokey at one point and they had the little kids ride hobby horses around the restaurant. They also have a funny thing regarding ketchup. None of the tables have ketchup. When the first table requests some, the wait staff brings out about 30 bottles. The next table that wants some shouts "We want ketchup!" and the table that has it brings all the bottles over. This keeps going until the ketchup is distributed. If you are introverted like JD...this was a bit over the top.

But Julia and I (as well as every kid in the place) LOVED it! They also have bottomless drinks and milkshakes. Once you finish your first regular size glass, they bring out a huge, gallon size mason jar filled with your beverage of choice and a crazy straw. It was really fun!

After our eating adventure, the kids went swimming with JD, we roasted marshmallows over the fire and then the kids played on the beach. After heading back to the room and getting ready for bed we realized...JD lost his phone at AK. I called the front desk and they confirmed 1 phone had been returned to lost and found at AK and one of us would have to go to the central lost and found the following morning to see if it was his phone. Check in Wednesday for my next post (Hollywood Studios) to see what happened. Happy Monday everyone!

Cutest Cheeta ever

Slightly blurry shot, Julia learning about gators

Hobby Horse ride

Pool time

Mmm...marshmallows

Another fab day at Disney

March 19 - Magic Kingdom

Last Sunday we went to Magic Kingdom. After a quick breakfast in our room (instant oatmeal, granola bars and juice boxes), we took the boat from our hotel right to MK (about a 12min ride). The kids (especially Luke) loved the boat ride. If you are planning a trip to Disney, keep this in mind: there are barely any lines before lunch time, so if you get there early, you can ride whatever you want for the most part. Schedule your fast passes (you are allowed 3 per day) in the afternoon because the afternoons are usually busier. Fast Passes are really easy to setup online or on your phone. We say a lot of people waiting in huge lines to get them up at kiosks....not sure why they didn't do it in advance. Anyway...We arrived around 9:30am and went on several rides including Dumbo (twice), Barnstormer (Luke's first roller coaster which he deemed 'very scary' and 'I don't want to do it again'), meet and greet with Ariel, Enchanted Tales with Belle (this was one of my favorite things), Mickey Philharmagic, It's a Small World and Haunted Mansion (Haunted Mansion was Julia's favorite ride at MK). After all that excitement, we went to Cinderella's Castle for lunch and to meet the princesses.

It goes without saying that Julia LOVED meeting them! After lunch, we watched the parade and hit up several more rides: The Little Mermaid, Space Mountain (Julia rode her very first real roller coaster, which she said was scary), car racing ride (Luke steered and he told me he was a race car driver), Monsters (comedy show, pretty funny) and Buzz Lightyear. It was a great day! Most of these picture are of Julia because Luke didn't want to get photos with the princesses.

Meet and Greet with Ariel (the characters all sign books for the kids)

Rapunzel's Tower

Luke...heaven forbid his feet touch the ground. This child likes to be held,  carried or pushed everywhere

While JD and Julia were in the Haunted Mansion...Luke found a broom and decided to help sweep

Belle's Enchanted Tale - this is an interactive play where kids participate (beast, Gaston, singing utensils) and adults (JD was one of suit of arms). It was great! 

 

Julia and the Princesses at Lunch

Giant wet globe the kids played with

Roasting marshmallows, the perfect way to end a fabulous day!

Next post: Animal Kingdom