WDW: September 28, 2012

We were out the door after a good, smooth morning (great nights of sleep will start you out right!), and were at the Studios gate at 7:50 for Extra Magic Hours. After the traditional sugar-loaded breakfast (Butterfinger Cupcake) and the now-traditional run-in with obnoxious CMs regarding character meet and greets, we just headed over to Star Tours 2.0 so I could finally ride!  Zach and the kids saw Muppetvision while I was at Star Tours and everyone loved both.

 

Next we said hello to Lightning McQueen and Mater and Jake, followed by the Disney Junior Live show.

 

Afterward, we said hello to Sorcerer Mickey and went to the Animation Academy. Oh, how I miss when this gem was hidden! The girls wanted to come, too, so they did - for the first time of many. It would become one of their favorite attractions, as predicted, but not as I had predicted. If you recall, an animator takes you step by step and teaches you how to draw your favorite characters. I assumed theirs might be 4-year-old versions, but that they would enjoy following along. Instead, they wanted to draw Mickey - and so they did, while the rest of us drew Dale. Only, Hartley (especially) got very distracted by the instructions from what she was doing and drew a sort of Mickey-Dale hybrid...

But they had fun. :)

We met back up with Zach and Ryder, who had just woken up from a nap, and headed for Toy Story Mania. Unfortunately, only Hartley and Daddy got to ride because Emmersyn was in timeout, but we all survived. Barely ;) Lunch was the girls' choice (not a lot we love at the Studios), so we went right around the corner to Pizza Planet.

After leaving the studios and running to the hotel to grab a few things, we were on to our next stop - Animal Kingdom! Our first "must do" (which we must do every trip) was the Festival of the Lion King. The girls have always been engrossed in this show - and who isn't?! - but they get more and more interested in it each time. When they grow up, Hartley wants to live her mama's dream and be "the girl bird"... and Emmersyn wants to be the first girl Tumble Monkey! :)

We went to our parade spot next (yes, we have a spot for each and every parade), but discovered some changes and had a bit of a rough go. First it poured, again (and despite a 0% chance of rain forecasted), as was becoming the norm for this trip. Also, the parade went a totally different route unexpectedly, so we had to wait nearly an hour longer than we planned. I swear, I had better get back to actually planning if we aren't going to go as frequently. Sheesh!

 

After the parade eventually went by, the girls only intermittently paying attention because we were all soaked to the bone, we went to Pangani Forest trail to hide under some tree cover. Of course, the animals were also avoiding the rain, so that was pretty lame. I remember hiding a few more places during the worst of the downpour, but it hardly mattered - we were soaking wet, and still had dinner reservations to make.

Overall, despite our physical discomfort, dinner was great. Tusker House is always a favorite, and they even let us take the stroller in so Ryder (who wasn't yet sitting well) wouldn't have to be held while we were trying to manage everyone at a buffet.

 

Our walk out of the park was serene again, as I always try to book that particular reservation for the end of the day so we are walking out of the park well after closing. Back at the hotel relatively early, we dried out a bit, the girls got to color and play, and it was eventually time for bed.

Goodnight!

Next: September 29, 2012

 

WDW: September 27, 2012

On our first full day, we were up at 6 (why not?). We were moving a bit slow to start, so we knew we weren't going to make morning Extra Magic Hours at the Magic Kingdom. Our plan changed a bit, but anymore our "plan" is very loose (ie, approximately what time we'll get to a particular park) - so things weren't all bad. I did get to see an adorable older cast member catching worms on leaves to clear them off the path at the OKW Hospitality House. Adorable, charming, and oh so very Disney. The sunrise backdrop didn't hurt the scene.

We arrived at the park with two beautiful princesses and the sweetest baby boy just before 8. We knew we had all but missed any benefit from the early hours, so we decided we would just head to Merida's meet and greet since the line would get long *very* quickly - if it wasn't already.

 

Somehow, and this will not sound miraculous if you aren't familiar with the Brave/Tangled meet and greet that is a snafu 100% of the time, we were first in line! We still had to wait 25 minutes for her arrival time, but - true to form - that would be the shortest possible wait time for that line the rest of the trip. And holy cow, was it hot! Since we were the first ones in, we didn't get to do the "play" part of the "Play & Greet", but you'll never hear us complaining about missing that gimmick!  Ryder was tired anyway, so it worked out perfectly. We said hello to the beautiful Merida (where Hartley was ridiculously shy), then headed back to the stroller to get Ryder settled in for a morning nap.

 

 

While he slept, the girls rode Goofy's Barnstormer for the first time! I had to ride "with them", but they sat in a car by themselves - and loved it more than words can say. We'd ride it repeatedly throughout the trip, and they can't wait to get back for it... but for this particular morning, we headed next to the Carousel, showed Ryder "it's a small world" for the first time (of many) and then stopped at Peco's Bills to get some lunch.

 

 

Once we had eaten, it was time for our Big Thunder Mountain Railroad fastpasses. I waited so nervously as Zach took the girls on. I had heard numerous horror stories about kids who are just barely tall enough for a ride getting past the first "gatekeeper" only to be turned away at the very end of the line just before boarding... but eventually I saw them whip around the corner on the runaway train! They loved it, and wanted to ride again. Utilizing rider swap, I got to walk right on with them, and wow - I can't believe they loved it. I had forgotten what a jump it was from anything else they had done. It is a legitimate, fast, fun, roller coaster. I'm still kind of in shock! :) Next we waited for Aurora back up at the Town Square Courtyard, then decided we simply had to go back to the hotel to cool off, regardless of what that would mean for naps/rest.

 

After about an hour and a half in the air conditioning coloring, reapplying sunscreen and changing into less sweaty clothes, we headed to Epcot. Our first stop was Club Cool for some Little Girl Pop (still my favorite accomplishment to date ;)) and two of the most ridiculously large homemade ice cream sandwiches I've ever seen. We definitely should have only ordered one, and still might not have been able to finish it!

 

Our first ride there was the Seas with Nemo & Friends.  Ryder was enthralled with most of it, but a little bothered by the EAC. We saw Turtle Talk, played on the playground, watched the dolphins and checked out the tanks for a little while after, until it was time to head to World Showcase for dinner - and a visit with Duffy!

 

 

Marrakesh was delicious, though not as wildly so as I had remembered and subsequently built up. We got out in plenty of time to ride the monorail to the Magic Kingdom for the Main Street Electrical Parade as we had really hoped (our only chance to see it this trip) - but instead were caught in a monsoon! We hid tucked away in an alcove in Morocco for a while, and made a run for it when the rain let up some. Apparently we didn't need to hurry though, since the monorail was delayed over an hour (for reasons still unknown). Instead of making it to the MK we rode the monorail loop just for fun, then headed back to the hotel to call it a day.

Since we had missed the MSEP - and sorely miss Spectromagic even more - we watched it in our room, instead. It was definitely a compromise, but an okay way to end the night!

 

 

Next: September 28, 2012

 

 

 

 

 

WDW: September 26, 2012

For the first time, I actually slept until my alarm went off on the day of a Disney trip! In fact, I turned it off instead of hitting snooze, fell back to sleep, and overslept almost 15 minutes! Strange.

There was no traffic though, of course, at 4am, so we got to the Columbus airport at about 5:40am despite a closed exit ramp and unexpected detour. I had never been so thankful for skycap and curbside check in, since we now travel with 2 suitcases, carryons, 3 carseats, a stroller + baby, and two preschoolers. Thank goodness we pack light!

 

The kids and I went potty and started on breakfast while Zach parked, and we were through security and at the gate at just the perfect time to settle in and get ready for our flight without having to wait too long to board. We were all seated together at the front of the plane, and Ryder was asleep within 5 minutes of takeoff. Could this "baby's first trip" really be the polar opposite of the girls' first, in which everyone just cried the whole time (as I remember it)? ;)

 

We landed at MCO, where everything was as smooth as always. We got a minivan from Enterprise (yep - we are still firmly, and forevermore an SUV family. Minivans suck, no matter how many weeks we have access to one, and how many kids we have) and were on our way to our favorite place in no time at all!

Somehow, despite arriving well before lunch (even earlier than our preferred flight gets us there), our room was ready - and included each and every one of our location requests. What in the world was happening?! Literally dozens of trips, and we have never had a room ready with a morning checkin or gotten all of our requests. The girls enjoyed balloon swords and oodles of stickers, and Zach and I enjoyed finding out that the 2012 dining plan (perhaps just for DVC members?) now included a refillable mug for each person in the family. Instead of sharing one that perpetually smelled like coffee, all four of us got our own drinks. The girls and I were all thrilled! Old Key West, as we knew, is still relatively old and dingy. Relatively, that is, to the other DVC properties to which we are accustomed. It's still a perfectly nice hotel, and it's still in Disney World. All was ok in our little world.

The girls "helped" me unpack a bit, Ryder was in the best mood. Apparently he knew he was at the Happiest Place on Earth. He got a phone call from Goofy welcoming him for his First Trip (which his big sisters might have appreciated a bit more than he did), and the girls each got new Duffy bears. We had time before dinner so I got to unpack and get us relatively settled in, and the girls explored the resort some with Zach and then they even took a little nap!

Hartley woke up on the wrong side of the bed (an understatement), so Emmersyn and I headed to the Magic Kingdom without the rest. I was a bit upset, but as long as we were altogether when Ryder had his big "firsts", it was going to be alright.

The two of us got a picture or two, took in our beloved Main Street USA, rode the train to check out the new Storybook Circus area of Fantasyland, and rode the teacups and the TTA.

 

Eventually, when Hartley was calm, she, Ryder and Zach met us at the park. We got to say a quick hello to Mickey, Minnie and the princesses before dinner, which was fun.  Ryder was quite cute with them.... when he noticed them. :)

 

It was time to take the monorail to the Contemporary for our traditional dinner at Chef Mickey's. The kids were well-behaved during dinner, which was yummy as always. Aside from a minor panic-worthy moment when I thought the parmesan mashed potatoes had disappeared from the buffet, it was exactly as it always was, with great food, mediocre character interaction, and wonderful first-day memories.

 

 

Our dinner reservation was pretty late, so by the time we got back to the hotel it was already 9pm. We saw the Duffy bedtime story and everyone was asleep in a matter of minutes. Best travel day yet!

 

Next: September 27, 2012

Disney Family Day 4.4 - Phineas and Ferb

The last DFD we did before our most recent trip was a fun one, and a bit newer territory than the classic movies, or even the parks. As a family, we were turned on a while ago to Phineas and Ferb, and it's growing on the girls pretty rapidly, too. If you know the premise of the show, you know we could have done a thousand other fun things, but here's what our day looked like:

Perry cupcakes -

 

 

Mad Scientist Ice Cream Lab -

 

 

Pin the Tail on Agent P -

 

 

 

 

 

P&F Activity Sheets -

 

"Where's Perry?" -

 

 

... And hey, Carson was there, too. ;)

 

 

 

 



 

 





The DFD that will never be (4.3)

Oh, Robin Hood, what gives?

Seriously, for two or three rounds of Disney Family Days now, it's been on the schedule. I have nothing against the movie, but something always came up pushing it farther and farther forward on the calendar until it was too late.

This time, I was determined it was going to happen. I also read back through the old parties with the girls, and was determined to put more into this one as I had in the past. For the first time in quite a while, I did just that. There was the usual dinner and a movie, plus bow and arrow cookies --

homemade Maid Marian wreathes --

and plans for an archery contest, after working out the best configuration of a coat hanger bow :)

And then the girls were, well, their current usual selves. Threat after threat did nothing, the afternoon was horrendous, and the party was canceled.

I assure you, for whatever reason, this is one that's never gonna happen. :)