Day 7 - Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios

By Thursday, we had been to all the parks at least once.  We decided to head back to Magic Kingdom since there were some more rides that we didn't get a chance to go on.

We all went on the Pirates of the Carribean ride. Malachi was a little scared during certain parts.  The ride is mostly in the dark. Of course they added a few different scenes (that went along with the movies) since the last time I was there fifteen years ago. 

Leonard's parents offered to watch the kids for the afternoon, so Leonard and I went to Hollywood Studios to meet up with Zach and his wife Tracy.

Leonard and I then went on some of the rides at Hollywood Studios that the kids couldn't go on.  Later in the afternoon, we headed back to Magic Kingdom and were able to go on some of the coasters there.  Leonard's parents then brought the kids back to the park for some more rides.

The kids absolutely loved the Tomorrowland Peoplemover.  We went on it twice because Malachi requested it.  It was actually more interesting then we thought it would be because it went through a few of the rides (Buzz Lightyear and Space Mountain).

Another ride we went on twice was the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin.  This ride is like a game and the object is to shoot space aliens.

We ended the evening with fireworks at Cinderella's castle.

Day 6 - Animal Kingdom

On Wed, Dec. 7th, we spent the day at Animal Kingdom.  Animal Kingdom is the newest of all the Disney World parks. 

In some ways I feel that it is like a big zoo.  There are lots of animal exhibits to see.  Definitely not as many rides, especially not for the younger kids.  Most of the animal exhibits in this park close at dusk and the park in general closes earlier than most of the other parks. 

One of the first things we did was walk on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail.  Along this trail, there were different animal exhibits that you could stop at.  Throughout the trail, there were buildings that housed additional animals.  All of the animals along this trail were originally found in Africa. 

When we came to this bridge, I thought I was in heaven!

FISHIES (Koi and African Ciclids to be exact)!!  Hundreds of them!!

And past the bridge was a building.  Guess what was in the building?!?!? 

Huge tanks full of more fish!!!  Awesome!!  I could have spent a long time in these two areas but no one else wanted to stay as long as I did.  :-(



Mercats

The second thing that we did was go on the Kilimanjaro Safari.  It was 30 minutes long but the kids really liked it. 

Waiting for the Safari

There were three shows that we went to at Animal Kingdom.  The first was The Festival of the Lion King.  This show was about 25 minutes long.  I personally didn't think it was that great but many other people really liked it.  The kids got bored about half way through. 

The show many consisted of acrobatic acts and songs from the Lion King.

The second show that we went to was Finding Nemo - The musical.  I thought it was pretty good.  It was about 30 minutes long.  Malachi fell asleep 20 minutes in but Alyssa paid attention the entire time. 

The third show was It's Tough to be a Bug.  It featured the characters from Bug's Life and was in 4-D.  It was a little too scary for Malachi. 

We only went on one ride and that was at Dinoland U.S.A.  It was the Triceratop Spin and was very similar to Dumbo except with Triceratops.

Day 5 of our trip - Magic Kingdom!!!! part 2

Besides the parades and the characters, there are many different rides at Magic Kingdom.

The first ride the kids went on was the Mad Tea Party.  I was not a huge fan of this ride so my husband and his father went on it with the kids.  They actually went on this ride twice in a row because they enjoyed it so much!

 
Another ride that my kids loved was The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.  This ride was about 7 or 8 minutes long.  It took you though different scenes in the Pooh story books. 

The Dumbo ride was also a favorite.

Other rides my kids enjoyed but we didn't get pictures of were
-Prince Charming Carrousel
-Peter Pan's Flight
-Snow White's Scary Adventure (a little scary for Malachi but wasn't too bad)

Magic Kingdom also has a 3-D show called Mickey's PhilharMagic.  It's really neat and from the outside, doesn't look like much but the kids really liked the show.  It was about 10-15 minutes.

Malachi in the 3-D glasses

Sometime in 2012, Disney is going to be opening a new addition to Fantasy Land.  This new addition will include Belle's Castle. 

Sneak Peek of Belle's Castle

Day 5 of our trip - Magic Kingdom!!! Part 1

Cinderella's castle

On Tuesday, we went to the Magic Kingdom.  This was the park that the kids were looking forward to the most. 

The first thing we did was wait in line to see some princesses.  The kids got to meet Princess Aurora again and Belle from Beauty and the Beast.  I actually think Malachi enjoyed the princesses just as much as Alyssa did.  They thought he was cute and called him a prince.

Belle is my favorite!

There are also parades down main street and a show at the castle.  I highly suggest the show at the castle, especially for young children.  I didn't take any pictures but it was really good and it's only about 20 minutes long.  I did get pictures of the two different parades.  If you can only make it to one of the parades, I suggest the later parade.  It is a little longer but you see tons of Disney characters and this may be the only time you might see some of them. 

Parade #1 - earlier in the day

Parade #2 - 3 o'clock

Part of day 4 - Epcot!!

After naps and dinner at the condo on Monday (Dec. 5th), we headed to Epcot for the evening.  Epcot, in general, is very educational and many of the rides are for older children.  Even so, there were a few rides/shows that my kids really liked. 

The first was the Nemo and Friends Ride.  This ride is only about 5 minutes long and we went on it twice (during two different evenings).  There was absolutely no wait both times that we rode.  During the ride, you sit in a giant clam and travel around "the sea" with Nemo and his friends.  There are songs and dialog throughout.  Someone (not me!) posted a video of the ride on youtube so you can check out more about the ride. 

Meme, Alyssa and Malachi outside the ride

In the same building is an amazing aquarium (which we visited on a different night) and a show called "Turtle Talk with Crush".  Crush is the sea turtle in "Finding Nemo".  Originally, I thought this show was going to be pretty lame but it actually wasn't too bad.  It lasted about 15 minutes and during the show, Crush is on the screen, which looks like the sea, and the audience is interacting with him.  The kids could ask him questions and he responded.  Disney also tried to make it somewhat educational so you may learn a thing or two if you go to this show. 

There were a few more rides suited for young children but they closed early. 

Another awesome thing at Epcot is the character spot.  This is where my children got to meet Micky, Pluto, Minnie, Donald and Goofy, all in one place.

Meeting Hotdog aka Micky Mouse



Alyssa was done at this point

In Epcot, you can visit 11 different "countries".  All of them have shops and restaurants with items and food from that country.  The workers that work within the "country" are originally from that country so that it feels pretty authentic.  I would have loved to spend more time in this area of the park but there is not much for young children.  The main reason that we actually went to this area of the park is because you can find some of the Disney princesses.  Alyssa loves Princess Aurora from "Sleeping Beauty" and she was going to be in France.  She was so excited to finally meet her!  She even let Aurora give her a kiss!

Alyssa and her kiss from Princess Aurora!

We also went to see Snow White in Germany but she was leaving when we got there.  If you want to see a character in the parks, make sure that you do it at the time they are scheduled to be there.  You can get a schedule at the front of the parks with the maps.  The princesses (and other characters) only stick around for about a half hour.  Some other princesses that we didn't see but might be found at Epcot are Belle (France) and Jasmine (Morocco).  Mulan can be found in China.

Epcot also had many different fountains throughout the park.  Malachi loved this!

Papa and Malachi