We were still dragging and didn't exactly make it to The Animal Kingdom in time for the extra Magic Hour at 8am, but, we did hit the park in time for our Fast Pass for the Dinosaur ride. Olivia rode it, poor thing was terrified though and after we got off she again announced she didn't want to do it again, haha. We stopped for a ride on TriceraTop Spin to ease Olivia's fears, she really enjoyed that one.
We stopped for a snack on our way to the It's Tough to be a Bug show. Dave and I shared some barbecued beef and cheddar cheese grits and the kids shared a Mickey Mouse pretzel and cheese, both of which were really good!
The lighting in the waiting area made for trippy photos which we thought were kind of fun, hahaha! Last time, Owen was terrified of this show and made it through about the first thirty seconds before he started screaming his head off and I had to rush him out of there. We kind of coached Liv through the fact that there would be water sprayed on her and different things poking and running past her. She was still pretty frightened, but, stuck it out. It definitely wasn't her favorite.
We checked out some animals on our way to the Kilimanjaro Safari Ride.
Then it was back to the hotel for a dip in the pool (and laundry for me)! By that point, it was so late, there was no point in taking a nap and we were hopeful that without a nap we might get on a better schedule.
Afterwards we had lunch at Sweet Tomatoes which we always love, but, don't remember it being so expensive and we did some shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joes. At that point, we all hit a wall and headed home to call it an early night! Of course, by the time we got to sleep, it was usually midnight...that was early for us! Haha!
We were too tired to try and wake-up in time for our first Fast-Pass at Hollywood Studios and Dave's friend Jackie wanted us to meet her at Epcot. So, we drug ourselves out of bed just for Toy Story Midway Mania, Owens favorite ride last time. Our plan was to hit that ride and then head over to Epcot. Unfortunately, we got there just in time for the ride to break-down!!! The good news is that they trade out your fast-pass in that case for a "universal" one that works on any ride in that particular park that you want at any time you want that day. So, we walked over and hit the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, another first time for all of us. It was great, not sure why we've never done that one before!! The bad news is we were never able to get back on the ride. The wait time was over an hour both additional trips we made to Hollywood Studios.
Then it was off to Epcot. Doesn't Liv crack you up, she looked like a little old lady sitting across from us on the bus...she's so independent!! She also refused to wear shorts which kind of cracked me up.
It really cracked me up that Liv was so bundled up. It wasn't exactly hot, but, we were all comfortable in shorts and a tank top today for sure. She so had to be dying!
We did eventually get her into shorts, so, I took a quick picture to commemorate it! Hahaha! After that, she didn't wear pants again while we were there. Of course, each day was hotter than the one before, so, that kind of fixed the issue!
At Epcot Jacquie told us her girls' favorite ride was the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros (and Donald Duck of course!), so, we did that first and then had an amazing lunch at La Cantina de San Angel, also in Mexico. Owen and I both had the Empanadas con Queso (Fried flour tortillas filled with cheese and served with Mexican slaw.) Dave had nachos that were loaded high and especially good and Olivia had the very festive chicken tenders, haha. Jacquie's girls were both pretty sleepy when we met up with them the night before, so, there wasn't much interaction. But, this morning, Liv and Anika (almost 3) really hit it off. They really would have liked to just play than ride any of the rides or walk around the park. They also realized right off that they both had Little Mermaid shirts on, totally unplanned!
Then we were off to hit the Seas with Nemo and Friends before Jacquie and her family had to head home. We jumped on the hotel bus ourselves and headed back to the hotel for a much needed nap.
We had a surprise for Owen scheduled that night! We had to head over to the Contemporary Hotel for the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Cruise. It was a lot of fun and we got to meet Captain Hook, Smee, and Peter Pan. Definitely glad we did it!!
When you first check in, you are given a handkerchief that you are supposed to wear so that they can clearly tell that you belong on the cruise. It was kind of cute, I read somewhere that these are such a collector's item, you can actually sell them on eBay for more than the cruise purchase price.
In typical Disney fashion, they think of everything. So, while you wait for everyone to arrive, they have pictures and crayons out to keep the littlest ones busy. Afterwards, you go into a conference room where Smee and Captain Hook are waiting to take pictures with you. In the meantime, there are snacks of all kinds, cotton candy, ice cream including Mickey Mouse ice cream sandwiches and chocolate dipped ice cream bars, drinks, and of course, chocolate doubloons (totally didn't know it was spelled that way)!!
So, after everyone is all sugared up, it's off to the boats...you are on one of two boats, either Captain Hook's or Smee's. But, neither character actually joins you, they just wave goodbye from the dock. Instead, you are appointed a new captain, Patch or his twin brother Patch who made appearances earlier in the night. On the way out to the appointed spot on the water, Patch leads up sing-alongs and works the crowd with jokes.
He also goes through and asks where each family is from. We were by far the farthest from home and one of only a few families not from Texas... He also asks some Disney trivia and hands out prizes to the kids that answer correctly. With a little help from his dad, Owen got the name of the parrot in Aladdin...Iago and was rewarded with a sword and eye patch. Those that didn't answer any questions still got a prize as they exited the boat, a hook which Liv couldn't have been happier about!
The fireworks were great and it was a good view as well as being a unique one. But, unfortunately, we were stuck on the wrong side of the boat, so, we had heads in our way. It would have been nice if they'd at least turned the boat half-way through to give both sides a good view. We also didn't get to see the water electrical parade that apparently is often a part of the tour if the timing is right. I'd definitely ask more questions in the future if we were to choose to do this again!!
After departing the boat, you get to meet Peter Pan!! I was excited about this trip mostly because these three characters are not typically available in the parks. So, it was definitely an added bonus to get to meet them. Olivia was so funny about Hook and Smee though. She told us they were naughty and didn't want to meet them initially, hahaha. She has a point!
Our hotel room is in the "Martinique" portion of the complex. This place is HUGE! We are the third bus stop of 7!!! The buildings are all only 2 stories tall and each island is a differnent color and has its own pool, laundry facility, and picnic area. It's really a beautiful complex.
We landed in Orlando just before 6am (2am AK time) and grabbed our rental car. With our road trip plans, we opted for a mini van for the first time. I don't know why we haven't done that before!! The van is really nice and comes complete with leather seats, a DVD player, and captain chairs for the kids. Not to mention the ample cargo space!! I'm not saying I'd ever buy one...buuuuut, I definitely never thought I'd be so happy to drive one either!! Word to the wise, we later found out that if you add your milage number, Alamo for sure and I'm assuming others do it too, tack on a random fee of $10 to your rental agreement without giving you any idea. Nice huh!
We headed directly to Cracker Barrel for breakfast, yum!! Then we were off to check-in and see if we could get into our room at Disney's Caribbean Beach. Unfortunately, the hotel could not get us in right away, but, promised to text when the room was ready. Another learning experience here that we learned after the fact...if you ask to be a priority and say that you are going to hang out on the property until the room is ready, they will give you one of the first available rooms. However if you do that, the room most likely won't meet any of your preferences like top floor or corner room...that kind of thing. We also learned that although they tell you check-in is at 3pm, that doesn't mean your room will be ready at that time. In fact, the hotel's policy, at least the Disney World hotels, is that your room will be available no later than 5pm. Kind of frustrating to learn after you've been awake for over 32 hours...
The check-in was fun though. They gave Liv two buttons, one button said it was her birthday (I didn't say anything about that, they must have taken it from the birthdate I noted on our account at some point), and the other button said it was her first visit. They also gave her and I super cute glittery wands and the boys got swords. So, after such a warm greeting, we were off to a good start. We all changed into shorts in the parking lot and caught the first bus to the Magic Kingdom!! It was in the mid-60s by then and a little bit windy. We took sweatshirts, but, were still a little on the chilly side until later in the day.
We were all dragging, but, with the new fast-pass system, we had 3 rides on the agenda. First stop, Thunder Mountain. Olivia's head barely grazed the measuring stick allowing her on all the good rides, phew!!! Thank goodness she gets to wear shoes...I'm guessing her height chart in her room is about a 1/2" lower than it should be or at least, Disney takes shoes into account when they build the height sticks. She got on the ride with no objection, but, announced that she didn't want to ride that one again as we exited, haha! We didn't understand at that point that we got the ride pictures, nor did we understand that you had to use the fancy new Magic Band to claim your picture as you depart the ride. So, we missed out on the picture with all of us on the train.
But, Dave and Owen hit Splash Mountain next and somehow accidentally secured their picture. We gave both kids a Disney gift card on a lanyard and told them it was their money to spend on special treats and souvenirs, but, when it was gone, it was gone. Owen blew through his right off, but, we didn't end up letting Liv have the final say on hers. Right off the bat, while we waited for her dad and brother, Liv found a $10 lollipop she wanted. It was super cute, but, not $10 worth!! I talked her into the $6 bundle of smaller lollipops that I knew would last longer. She was happy with that thankfully!
Then we were all off to the newest ride, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. It was VERY similar to Thunder Mountain, so, we decided not to push the issue with Liv. Instead, Dave went with Owen and Liv and I opted for Prince Charming's Regal Carousel instead. Actually, this was probably the first time that the kid's age difference really was a factor. Liv tries to keep up with Owen in every way until we rarely remember how little she really still is. It also had a big effect on pictures. Liv and I spent a lot of time alone and a lot of time waiting on the boys...so, I'm sure there's a skewed number of pictures of our little trouble maker!
The new ride is incredible, and in addition to somehow linking the pictures to your Memory Maker account without having to claim it, they even put together a video of your ride each time!!! How cute is this!
Everywhere we went today, all the "cast members" told Liv "Happy Birthday Princess". She's super confused at this point but totally eating it up!
We visited Tom Sawyers Island for the first time for all of us, it was really cute! We also sat through the Caousel of Progress (by accident...SO boring!!) and road the People Mover before heading over for our final fast pass, Buzz Light Year's Space Ranger Spin. Always a favorite!
At that point, we were all on our last leg. We headed for the hotel bus with plans to grab the van and go off-park for lunch. But, we didn't have it in us and ate at the hotel instead. Over $60 for a less than stellar lunch!! At this point, it was 3:45 and we'd NEVER received a text that our room was done!!! So, Dave called the front desk to get our room number. The kids and I got settled in the room and went down for a nap. But, Daves high school friend Jackie drove two hours down to see him, so, he headed back to the main building to visit with her before he too got some sleep.
We woke-up and were off again! We made a run to Target for snacks and hit Steak 'n Shake for dinner, SO GOOD! We dumped everything off and caught the bus back to Magic Kingdom to meet up with Jackie and her family. We got to ride Under the Sea-Little Mermaid Voyage and Its a Small World. Jackie had stopped for a snack and texted that she had amazing seats for this crazy new light show on Cinderellas Castle. They use lights to totally transform the castle into all the other Disney castles. It was crazy cool. I didn't get any pictures unfortunately and we never made it back to watch it a second time unfortunately.
That was enough for one day let me tell you!! So, we went back to the hotel for some well earned sleep!!
I didn't pay that close to the weather each day, but, weather underground.com maintains the actual highs/lows, so, thought I'd add that to the end of each post too.
O.k., I should preface the next series of posts by saying I attempted to do the same as I did on our last vacation and document daily all the things we did. Unfortunately, there is a whole lot LESS down time on a Disney vacation than a Hawaii trip let me tell you!!! Fortunately, Dave does an awesome job keeping a log of everything we do. So, although he doesn't go into excessive detail like I do, he lists all the important stuff out and that allows me to fill-in the gaps in my memory!
We got the Disney Memory Maker option again this time and I am so glad, I can't wait to share all of the photos with you. Last trip, the Memory Maker only gave you the pictures from the photographers posted around the parks, but, now they include those crazy fun snapshots of you screaming on the rides. You know, those pictures they take of you just when you go over those hills and see your life flash before your eyes...haha, who can live without those! ;O) So, here goes...
Today we FINALLY got to tell the kids we were heading to Disney! We pulled Owen out of school mid-morning and had a whole scenario planned. I made the sign below, Dave taped it to the luggage in the closet, and I told the kids that I saw a mouse in the closet and to come look. Unfortunately, Owen didn't read the sign and I had to explain it anyway...time well spent!! ;O)
The trip itself started off SO wrong. We hadn't had snow in over a month but, about the time I went to pick Owen up from school, a blizzard moved in. There was a 15-car pile up near Boniface that shut down the Glenn Highway which forced all of us to take Muldoon. I just recently started receiving texts from the Anchorage Police Department and the DOT, so, we had a heads-up over most people apparently. Most continued on when we exited and we heard later that even Muldoon had become a parking lot. On our alternative route, we still saw an 8-car pile-up blocking the on ramp from Tudor onto New Seward and a 3-car accident headed the opposite direction on Minnesota. Thankfully, we made it to the airport just a little behind schedule. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to stop and buy sandwiches for dinner like we'd planned.
I hate to fly, I'm sick for days prior just at the thought of having to get on a plane, and I end up making it really miserable for everyone because I'm such a mess. This time, we got to the ticket counter and I couldn't find my wallet with my ID. I decided I left it in the truck and ran all the way back to the airport garage to find it. I looked everywhere but found nothing. I got to thinking and decided that I must have inadvertently packed it when I stuck the last minute stuff in the luggage. So, I ran all the way back to the ticket counter only to find out Dave had checked both suitcases already. I yelled that I'd packed my license, so, the poor counter girl took out running after the luggage. Thats when I found it in my carry on. What a mess! I was so embarrassed and felt so bad that I'd made such a scene. At that point, Dave headed out to take his truck to the office where he'd park and then get a ride back to the airport. The kids and I headed to security. We got almost to the front of the line when I realized we'd left Liv's backpack at the ticket counter. I told the kids to haul out and I took off running trying to duck under the ropes. In the process, I nearly pulled them all down because they caught on Liv's backpack still strapped on my back!!!! Oh my gosh!! It wasn't until I went to set everything down with the kids while they waited for me to sprint across the airport yet again that I realized the bag was on my back the whole time. Let me tell you, it is EXHAUSTING to be such a spaz!! Hahaha!
After the chaos subsided, we did make it safely to the plane without any additional incidents. The girl at the ticket counter must have taken pity on the kids for having such a mess for a mother and gave them these cute luggage stickers. Man, these two were so over the moon excited.
The flight to Seattle was pretty bumpy and both the take-off and the landing were rough. But, the best part of the flight was that Owen and I were super congested and I was worried we were coming down with the cold Liv had the week before. In addition, Dave seemed had what appeared to be random bug bites on his neck by the time we arrived in Seattle. As we were getting up to exit the plane, a woman in the row behind the kids and I commented to the one next to her that she didn't even know she had a cat he was so quiet...WHAT?!!??! The damn cat was under our seats the entire flight. No wonder we were all such a freaking mess. I was SO mad!!! I have always wondered why they allow animals on the flight and don't say anything to the other passengers considering all the allergy issues in the world. But, to not say anything to the people SITTING on top of the animal!! That seems ludicrous to me. Had I known, we could have all taken some Benadryl that I carry with me on planes for just this kind of situation. Unbelievable. Owen really struggled on the landing with his ears, partly because the cabin pressure was so bad, but, I'm sure due in most part to all the sinus drainage caused by the cat.
On top of that, the flight left Anchorage 10 minutes and arrived almost 40 minutes late into Seattle, leaving no time to buy dinner. Plus, they made us stand in line for paper tickets at the gate, so, we had to take the time to deal with that before boarding as well. I couldn't figure out why that was necessary but, later learned that the connecting flight we were supposed to take had been abruptly cancelled just a day or two prior to our departure. That's part of the reason our layover was so short, I always schedule some extra down time between connections to avoid this kind of incident, especially from Anchorage to Seattle...that flight is always super early because of tail winds or super late because of headwinds. I don't know why that is, I haven't experienced such huge travel time swings on any other flight.
I thought I heard the cat woman say she was traveling on to Orlando as well, but, she either wasn't on our next flight or sat far enough away that we didn't have any continuing issues. However, the flight to Orlando was even bumpier than the last and it was considered a "late" flight with only snack-packs no real food available for purchase. We were STARVING!!! I'd brought quite a few snacks, but, nothing with any staying power. So, between the hunger, being wound up about the trip, and the starvation, none of us could fall asleep. It was a LOOONG flight/night!!! Although, these pictures tell a different story, haha. The kids did finally fall asleep for a very short time right before we landed. Olivia woke up a million times though freaking out that she wanted to stretch out and she'd kick anything that was in her way...you know like Owen on one side and me on the other. She also was yelling that the seat belt was hurting her belly...not possible since I had it so loose around her, she could have crawled out of it. I think she was really still asleep, but, she was just a psycho!!
I have my Fitbit with me and have always wondered how much walking you do in the parks...now I will know! So, I'm going to post our steps for each day just to see.
