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

Vacation Days 1- part of day 4

Whew!!  We just got back from our long vacation!  It was a great vacation but it's good to be home.  For the next few days, I will be posting an overview of what we did.  I may combine some days in a few posts because a few of them were spent mostly driving.  Just a warning though, all these posts will include lots of pictures. 

On Thursday, Dec. 1st, at around 6 pm, we hit the road.  Our first leg of the trip was approx. 12 hours and was to visit our friends Heather and Erik in Alabama. The plan was to drive completely through the night since this leg of the trip was so long.  We were able to drive most of the night except for an hour and a half to take a quick snooze.  Unfortunately, the kids did not sleep most of the time like planned.  They really only got a few hours of sleep which made them super crabby.  Once in Alabama, we spent days 1-2 of our trip basically resting and catching up with Heather, Erik and their son Braden, 1.


Braden, 1 year old

   Day 3 of our trip was spent driving from Alabama to Orlando, FL. 

Day 4 was spent at Hollywood Studios and Epcot.  We spent the morning and part of the afternoon at Hollywood Studios, then took the kids back to the condo for a nap.  We had dinner in the condo then were at Epcot from 6 pm until it closed. 



  We met lots of characters during our time at Hollywood Studios.


Kids with Goofy and Pluto

 

meeting Chip and Dale




Donald and Daisy

 

Stitch




Towmater and Lighting McQueen



Hollywood Studios is known for their shows.  They had two outstanding shows that my kids just loved.  The first one that we went to was Voyage of the Little Mermaid.  The show is about 20 minutes long and basically highlights the most popular scenes from the Disney movie, The Little Mermaid.  Not only is there action on the stage, but a little bit of water sprayed at us in certain parts and they had a cool effect from above that makes you feel like you are under the sea!  Malachi was a little scared during the "battle" scene between Ursula and Erik.  It gets kind of loud during this scene and water is lightly spraying and dripping all over.  Alyssa loved the show so much that she wanted to see it again. 



Ariel singing "Part of your World"



Ursula singing "Poor Unfortunate Souls"



 The second show we went to was Beauty and the Beast.  This show was about 30 minutes.  Even though it was a bit long, the kids were very good and sat and watched the entire time. This show also highlighted the most popular scenes from the movie and was pretty much a musical. 

One of the other things that my kids really enjoyed at Hollywood Studios was the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" playground.  Alyssa kept asking to come back to the play area almost every day we were at Disney.  



Blades of Grass



Giant Cheerio



Oh, How Pinteresting!!!! Disney Edition

I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted!  It was crazy busy around my house last week and this week we are at......DISNEY WORLD!!!  My kids love it and are having a blast!  The weather is absolutely beautiful!  The only problem is that the kids are a little crabby since we are totally off their schedule.  I am taking lots of pictures and will hopefully post very soon after our trip.  We don't come home until next Wed. so it might be awhile.  Also, since we are down here and the weather is so nice, it doesn't feel like Christmas is right around the corner!  I am going to be super busy making last minute gifts when we get back.

Merry Christmas from Disney World

Beautiful view of Cinderella's Castle

If you write to Cinderella, she will send you a autographed photo!

The girl at Disney Bound does an awesome job
of putting together outfits that represent different
Disney characters

Cool stained glass Disney characters