One Last Disney Thing

If all the other posts weren't enough for you, I have one last Disney thing. Here is video from our trip. It's especially cute about halfway through where Piper and Fletch interview us.

Disney Trip Report: Day 6 and 7

Thursday: This was our last day at the parks. We thought the kids would sleep in because they were up so late the night before, but nope, everyone was up and rarin’ to go by 6:15am. We headed back to Magic Kingdom, where we stood in the hottest, sweatiest line ever to meet Ariel. Apparently they didn’t turn the air conditioning on right away, so it was just awful. But, the kids were excited to meet her, and it was worth the wait. We then just walked around and did all the final things we wanted to see and do: ride Dumbo (loved the play area for kids to wait in), Barnstormer and the train, meet Goofy and Donald one more time, try a Dole Whip (good but not sure it lived up to the hype), eat at Casey’s Corner (yum!), shop, etc. 

 

We were going to try to stay the entire day, but we knew it was time to go when the kids were acting up so much and so extremely tired that at one point, Piper, Fletch, Deke, and I were all crying in the middle of Magic Kingdom. We decided our time in the parks was over and to end on a high note. We went back to the hotel and swam in the pool, to give the kids some downtime. We even skipped our reservation at 1900 Park Fare to meet Cinderella because we knew we were done. Plus, Fletch had told me earlier in the week that he didn’t want to see any of Cinderella’s stepsisters, so I was a little concerned he’d react badly at the dinner.

Friday: We just got up early and took the Magical Express to the airport. We got home around 3pm.

Overall, looking back, we had a wonderful time. In was, however, a ton of work, with three little kids. In the heat of the moment, I was vowing that we’d never travel with the kids again (especially on the flight home when JetBlue split up our family and we couldn’t find anyone to switch seats with us). However, by the time we got home and after I started looking at all the smiles in the pictures, it made me want to go immediately back. I’ve decided it was a bit like a marathon: during it, you’re working so hard and wondering if it’s worth it…the minute it’s over, you can’t wait to do it again. Thankfully, we’ve vowed to go back in a few years when Deacon is older, so we’ll get to experience the magic another time.

Disney Trip Report: Day 5

Wednesday: We got up early to be at rope drop at Magic Kingdom. I loved the little show they put on to start the day. And then, as soon as the park opened, Eric, me, and ten thousand other people all ran to get in line to meet Anna and Elsa. It felt like running in a race because people were passing each other, yelling, etc. It was crazy. I got to Princess Fairytale Hall, and then saw Eric. We jumped in line, and only had about a 5 minute wait. Anna and Elsa were together in the same room, but you get to meet them separately, and they spent a good amount of time with each child. I was very impressed. Piper was in heaven. Fletch got all giggly and goofy when he met Anna. It was a magical experience for all of us.

After that, we rode the carousel, It’s a Small World, the Jungle Cruise and Peter Pan’s Flight, and met Chip and Dale and Tinkerbell. 

We had lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern. This was probably our worst meal. The food was just mediocre, and they kept us waiting for about 25 minutes past our reservation. We actually had gotten there about 20 minutes early, so it was a long wait. After lunch, the kids were exhausted and just acting up so much because they were overstimulated, overtired, and overwhelmed. We ended up going back to the hotel early with the hopes that the kids would all nap when we got there. Of course, that didn’t happen, so we just did quiet time with lots of TV. 

Around 5:30pm, we went back to Magic Kingdom, and it was relatively empty, so we got to go on a few rides (Buzz Lightyear—so much fun) and just walk around without a million other people. We also went to the Incredibles Dance Party, which was a lot of fun. It gave the kids some time to just run free, dance, and not be told they had stand in line, watch out for anyone, ride in a stroller, etc. They needed that to burn off some energy.

 

 After the dance party, we had dinner at Cosmic Rays (decent, not great but the music entertained the kids), and then we watched the Main Street Electrical Parade and then the fireworks, which were all awesome. 

It was such a fun night and the kids did great staying up so late. Getting out of the fireworks was a chaotic with such a huge mass of people all funneling to the exit, but we got home in about 20 minutes since MK is such a short walk to Bay Lake Tower. By that point, it was nearly 10pm, and we all just collapsed into bed.

Disney Trip Report: Day 4

Tuesday: Everyone woke up early, so we went to Epcot for early hours, getting there around 8:30am on the monorail. 

We did a couple of rides, including the Nemo ride and Turtle Talk with Crush. I highly recommend Crush. It was really cool. Fletch was just in heaven. And, because we were there so early, we were able to walk right into those rides, and not even wait for our FastPasses later in the day. In the same building as the Nemo ride, they also have a pretty cool aquarium, which I didn’t know about/remember from my previous visits. We could have spent a lot of time there because it had the same fish as most large aquariums but at a more manageable size. The only downside was that strollers aren't allowed so after a while, Deacon started to get fussy from being carried around, and we had to leave.

After that, we crossed over to the World Showcase in Epcot and went to lunch in "Italy" at Via Napoli, which had some of the best pizzas/food we've ever eaten. So good. And, the kids were well behaved, which was amazing. During lunch, it poured rain, but by the time we got out, it stopped and was sunny out. Deke and Fletch fell asleep in the strollers, so we did a round of visits with characters/princesses with Piper. She got to meet Jasmine (Fletch was actually still awake for this), Sleeping Beauty, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and Alice in Wonderland. She was just in love with the whole thing. 

Fletch woke up while we were in line for Alice, and did his usual freaking out/crying when he wakes up still tired, and cried for 20 minutes. Then Deke started up too. We got them quiet and then went back to explore more of Epcot, when it started to pour. We did the two Innoventions buildings, tasted all the Coca Cola products, and just wandered around in the rain. The kids didn't mind getting soaked. I had ponchos in my bag but we didn't bother with them.

 

We left the park at 5pm, so we stayed the whole day. On the monorail on the way home, there wasn't room for all of us in the same train car, so Eric went in a different one. Of course, he got off at the wrong stop and had to walk back to our hotel from Magic Kingdom. I made it back to the hotel with the kids, and we ordered takeout food, and Eric met up with us. We got back to the room around 6pm, did baths, the kids ate dinner, and put everyone to bed. A long, but awesome day.

Disney Trip Report: Day 3

Monday: We got up early and did a character breakfast at Tusker House at Animal Kingdom with Mickey, Donald, Minnie, Goofy, and Daisy. The kids loved it, and the food was really good. 

Deke decided to have a blowout at the exact moment we boarded the bus, so we christened the bus with a diaper change.

We then did the safari ride (very cool), saw the Lion King show (awesome), and just walked around the park. Fletch loved the Lion King show, shouting at the end, “THANK YOU, SIMBA.” You can walk up to the “characters” (animatronics) after the show and somehow they are able to sort of interact with you, and Fletch was so excited when Simba waved to him.

After that, we just walked around. It was SO, SO, SO hot and crowded. Just wall-to-wall people. We left there around 2pm and went back to the hotel for lunch. After lunch, we put on bathing suits to go swimming, but it started to thunder. Instead, we hung out in the hotel's playroom with crafts, arcade games, etc. until the pool re-opened. We had a great time in the pool because it was relatively empty since not many people knew it reopened. P&F went down the HUGE, 20-foot water slide by themselves. I couldn't believe it. After swimming, we got take-out from Contempo Café at the hotel and then the kids went to sleep fairly easily.