Disney World, Part VII

We went back to Magic Kingdom for a half-day, to hit a few things we'd missed the first full day, and also re-do a couple really fun ones. We had 1 Extra Magic Hour in the morning, but the only things open that early hour was Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. So we did a little shopping, and then headed over to Tomorrowland so Jock could go on Space Mountain with Kaylen.

I took Elijah and Josephine to Stitch's Great Escape while we waited. (Don't do it - it's horrible. My shoulders were sore for a while after because of the things that come down to hold you in - which really didn't even have any purpose since it's not even really a ride, you don't move at all, just watch Stitch moving around - are supposed to stop when the sense your shoulders - yah right - when they bang on them! Also, it was dark and loud and scary. I wouldn't have been too upset as Josephine was scared of several rides we went on (at least the first time), but Elijah was scared too.)

Then we all did Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin for a second time, before heading to Frontierland for two last rides. As we walked past the front of Cinderella's castle, we caught the end of the Dream Along with Mickey show, with several characters and princesses. Josephine was so excited to not only see the castle again, but the princesses along with it. :)

After riding Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain Railroad, it was about time to go. We caught the monorail back to the hotel for lunch and naps.









Then we headed over to Downtown Disney, where we shopped at Goofy's Candy Co., World of Disney, and the LEGO Immagination Center, before meeting Jock's uncle for dinner at Rainforest Cafe.




The kids really enjoyed Rainforest Cafe.







Josephine was a little scared at first by the thunder and the gorillas we were seated right next to, but she got used to it, and we all had a great dinner. :)

Disney World, Part VI

We spent Wednesday at Hollywood Studios. We were getting pretty worn down from the past few days' activities and from being up late at Epcot on Tuesday, but they didn't open until 9:00, so we made it just shortly after opening.




We'd been given a tip to go straight to the Toy Story ride, as the lines are long, and we may not be able to get Fast Passes. When we got there, the line was already at about 40 minutes, and the Fast Pass return times were for 2:30 pm. So we decided to get in line. We waited about an hour, but had fun waiting in line, looking at all the giant games/toys in the room. You've gotta love the Tinker Toys box bigger than you, the Shutes and Ladders and Scrabble games on the ceiling, the Barrel of Monkeys hanging all over, and the Mr. Potato Head entertaining you while you wait in line. And don't forget the 3D glasses!

When we came out of Toy Story, there was an Army Man out on the street, so we had to get a picture with him.

We went on the Star Wars ride next. We'd been told that it's randomized so there'll be a different story line every time. There was a fairly short line, so we went twice, but it was mostly the same every time - just a different character narrating, and a different person on the ride that was featured - Kaylen was the suspected spy the first time we rode!


We grabbed 3 Fast Passes for Tower of Terror, and 2 for Rockin' Roller Coaster. But, the Tower of Terror line was very short, so they just went immediately instead. Daddy, Elijah & Kaylen went, and apparently, Kaylen was really scared, but Elijah wasn't because he wasn't listening to the story line. Josephine and I didn't even try. We had a snack while we waited.

Then Kaylen and I used our Rockin' Roller Coaster fast passes - the timing worked out perfectly. It was a fun ride. Kaylen was excited, but then when we were about to get on, she almost chickened out. I told her we weren't backing out after waiting our turn, so we went, and she loved it. Jock, Elijah & Josephine got ice cream while they waited for us, and we joined them when we got back.

When we were hot and tired of walking, we headed back to the stunt show. They showed us the tricks and then described/showed in slow motion how they did them. The guy on fire has several layers: fire retardent, coolant, fire retardent, then a gel that would keep the flames going on him - then there were people placed with fire extinguishers to put it out after a certain number of seconds. Then they showed what the tricks actually look like when they put the clips from different camera angles together in a movie. It was pretty neat, and I was glad that they incorporated a little bit of Cars with Lightening McQueen and Tow Mater.

When we came out of the stunt show, we were bummed because we wanted to go see some characters and get some photos. But none of them were available at 2:30. So we looked for the Narnia ride/exhibit, but it wasn't there. Apparently they were either renovating it or making room for something else, even though it was still on our maps. :(

Then we realized the reason that everything was closed - all the characters were getting in position for the Parade! So we stopped to watch the Muppets 3D show first - we had just enough time. It was a cute show.







When we came out of the Muppets, we found a spot to watch the parade, and really enjoyed seeing lots of characters from some of our favorite Disney movies, and dancing to the parade music.
























After the parade, we headed over to the Animation Studio, where we saw a brief presentation about how it all started, then got a few photos with characters who had returned from the parade. We got a good photo with the Incredibles, but the kids were tired and grumpy, so we skipped Pooh and got a horrible photo with Mickey.

We then went to have a drawing lesson, which was fun. Here are the results, attempting to draw Rapunzel from Tangled. Elijah didn't participate, but the rest of us tried. Can you guess whose is whose? You might be surprised! (Clockwise from upper left: Kaylen, Jock, Josephine, Lisa.)


We didn't take a break and do naps in the middle of the day, so we were exhausted by about 5:00! We also planned to return to Hollywood Studios for a partial day on Friday, so we headed back to our hotel early evening for a normal bedtime.

Disney World, Part V

Well-rested and ready-to-go again, we headed to Epcot Tuesday morning. Actually there were Extra Magic Hours that morning, so we got to go in early! The monorail to Epcot was down for some reason that morning, but we still made it shortly after Extra Magic Hours started. We spent most of the morning doing rides, shows, and activities at the "Future Worlds" part at the front of the park, including:
* Spaceship Earth
* Mission Space
* Test Track
* Soarin
* Journey Into Imagination With Figment
* Innoventions East & West (including creating video games featuring the kids that were emailed to us)
* Living with the Land (boat ride through greenhouses where they grow some of the food served at Disney)
* The Seas with Nemo & Friends










Kaylen tried the Kim Possible Adventure, which was fun, but very time-consuming. We had lunch reservations in the park at 1:20, so we just did one part of it, and when she got her phone, we asked that her first assignment be near our reservation location. We returned it after lunch, because we knew we wouldn't have time to complete any more assignments. While we waited for our lunch reservation, we also rode Maelstrom Viking boat ride, and Daddy and Elijah had fun in the Norway gift shop.



Our lunch reservation was at the Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, where we met Belle before we were seated.







Then we dined while Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, and Aurora walked around to greet each table. The princesses also periodically do a grand parade march around the restaurant, and they invite the kids to follow them, which the girls excitedly did. Elijah was more interested in eating his lunch. The princess lunch was excellent. The appetizer was a buffet but could have been a lunch all on its own. Then we had a choice of entree, after which they brought us three different traditional Norwegian desserts.

With full bellies, we headed back to our hotel room for naps. After naps and returning to Epcot on the monorail which was back up and running. We walked around the World Showcase part of the park for a couple hours.



The kids weren't entirely impressed with the World Showcase, but Kaylen liked the Japan pavilion. We paid for her to be able to pick an oyster from a tank. The oysters each have cultured pearls in them, so she learned a little bit about how they are grown. I then helped her pick out a charm to set the pearl in, and a chain. She loves the necklace, and is taking good care of it.

Josephine enjoyed dancing to a rock band we stopped to listen to at the England area. Elijah just sat and watched/listened - I think he was worn out, despite the nap. Kaylen thought it was funny that some of the songs they played/sang were popular when Daddy and I were in college. :)

We finished (quickly) visiting each country's area just in time to find a good spot for the IllumiNations fireworks show. I snagged us some crepes with ice cream to enjoy during the show, just as the crepe stand was closing.