Disneyworld Day 5: Epcot

Our last day at Disneyworld brought us to Epcot. We had only briefly visited Epcot earlier in the week, so we were looking forward to seeing some new stuff. We got there really early and Lisa and I headed immediately over to Test Track for some adult ride time. There was no line, but since we had the kids we had to take turns riding single. Pretty fun ride, and we were glad to have gotten to try it. Ellie didn’t like the noise though, so we went to get some breakfast while Lisa rode. Coincidentally, right next to the restaurant was Soarin, and Lisa and I got Fast Passes to ride that later on.
Eventually we met up with Colin and the grandparents and headed over to the Seas featuring Nemo.

I think this picture was actually taken later in the day, but it fits in with the Nemo theme. Ellie actually wore her bathing suit, as you will see shortly, and had lots of fun getting wet.
After our ride on Soarin, which actually had a somewhat long wait even with a FastPass, we headed over to Les Chefs de France for lunch. Lisa snitched on me to the waiter, who was actually nice and didn’t speak rapid-fire French that I couldn’t understand. I think he was secretly pleased when I ordered the escargots though.
After lunch, we took in some of the sights of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. They had some interesting topiaries, and some activities for the kids as well. Ellie made a clothespin caterpillar, and they also had a ladybug release.

The ladybugs were in a box where they had been sleeping until we let them out to crawl on my hands. Ellie liked looking, but not feeling them.

Told you she wore her bathing suit. She also didn’t want to change afterward, in case you couldn’t tell.

They also had a cool little railroad, complete with a village and teeny tiny little crops. That killed a good 30-45 minutes for the kids.

Ellie wasn’t too interested in meeting this guy, she hasn’t seen the Lion King yet. But then we told her he was a meerkat, and she went nuts. She likes watching the occasional episode of Meerkat Manor and has been known to take in a YouTube meerkat video or two.

Quite possibly the best topiary ever.

As it turns out, Epcot has a lot of nice slow boat ride-type rides that the kids enjoyed. There was one we took in “Mexico” featuring Donald Duck as one of the Three Caballeros. There’s Living with the Land, with the look at the Disney experimental greenhouses. And Ellie’s favorite was Journey Into Imagination With Figment. She loved that little dragon guy.

We finally got the cousins to sit for a decent picture together. Unfortunately, the older kids didn’t quite support Evan as well as we had hoped.

We stopped off at a fun playground on the way over to our last dinner. Evan did his best Spiderman impression. Not bad for 5 months old.
Our dinner was a buffet-style gathering with a whole lot of other people. Most were there for family reunions or special occasions. The cool part was that we got to hang and dance with Minnie and Goofy, and we got front row seats to the fireworks show afterward.

I guess we should have warned Minnie that Evan puts everything in his mouth. Luckily her nose was not a choking hazard.

I left the table for a minute to go get some more food, and left Ellie and Lisa dancing around with Goofy and Minnie. By the time I got back to the table, Goofy had grabbed Ellie and was leading her along in a Conga line! Luckily I was quick with the camera. It was one of the few times that she wasn’t shy around the characters.

A fine memento of our last night at Disneyworld. We can’t wait to do it again!

Disneyworld Day 4: Animal Kingdom

Day 4 and we’re finally getting organized and coordinated with everyone. Virtually everyone arrived at the park around the same time, and we were able to head back to the safari ride and get our Fastpasses quickly.

Ellie and Colin’s favorite mode of transportation.
Ellie really loves going to the zoo, so we figured she would enjoy this park, and we were not mistaken. Even though we adults thought that it was kind of hokey that the safari was a ride, complete with a poacher storyline and all, Ellie loved the bouncy jeep and seeing all the animals.

Reminds me of Evan at the pool.

The giraffe crossed the road right in front of our jeep!

The storyline was that we were trying to save the baby elephant from the poachers. It may come as a shock to you, but we successfully completed our “mission!”

After the safari, we headed over to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, the educational portion of the park. The kids got to pet goats and see a bunch of characters and participate in an educational sing-along with “Guitar Dan.”

Rafiki, Pocahontas and Jiminy Cricket. Not too sure how Jiminy fits in with the nature theme though.

Petting goats. Ellie preferred to brush their hair, like she does at home with Max.
Back at the main part of the park, we set out to DinoLand USA. The kids enjoyed the dinosaur-themed playground, and also liked some of the rides. I managed to sneak away to ride a couple of rides. The Primeval Whirl got stuck while I was riding it and sucked, but Expedition Everest was probably the best of the few adult rides I had the chance to ride. Colin had fun digging in the Boneyard, while Ellie enjoyed the Triceratops Spin.

No children were harmed in taking this photo.

Our last order of the day was to catch “Finding Nemo – The Musical.” Finding Nemo is one of the few Disney movies that Ellie has seen and really knows, so we figured she would enjoy the show. She did, for the five minutes of it she was awake for. She fell asleep shortly after the lights went down, and missed all the fun. The show wasn’t quite on par with the Lion King musical that Lisa and I saw on stage a few years back, but it was still pretty cool.
The Animal Kingdom park closes earlier than the other ones, so that the animals can get their rest. That was fine with us, because after four days on the go, we were ready for some rest too!

Disneyworld Day 4: Animal Kingdom

Day 4 and we’re finally getting organized and coordinated with everyone. Virtually everyone arrived at the park around the same time, and we were able to head back to the safari ride and get our Fastpasses quickly.

Ellie and Colin’s favorite mode of transportation.
Ellie really loves going to the zoo, so we figured she would enjoy this park, and we were not mistaken. Even though we adults thought that it was kind of hokey that the safari was a ride, complete with a poacher storyline and all, Ellie loved the bouncy jeep and seeing all the animals.

Reminds me of Evan at the pool.

The giraffe crossed the road right in front of our jeep!

The storyline was that we were trying to save the baby elephant from the poachers. It may come as a shock to you, but we successfully completed our “mission!”

After the safari, we headed over to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, the educational portion of the park. The kids got to pet goats and see a bunch of characters and participate in an educational sing-along with “Guitar Dan.”

Rafiki, Pocahontas and Jiminy Cricket. Not too sure how Jiminy fits in with the nature theme though.

Petting goats. Ellie preferred to brush their hair, like she does at home with Max.
Back at the main part of the park, we set out to DinoLand USA. The kids enjoyed the dinosaur-themed playground, and also liked some of the rides. I managed to sneak away to ride a couple of rides. The Primeval Whirl got stuck while I was riding it and sucked, but Expedition Everest was probably the best of the few adult rides I had the chance to ride. Colin had fun digging in the Boneyard, while Ellie enjoyed the Triceratops Spin.

No children were harmed in taking this photo.

Our last order of the day was to catch “Finding Nemo – The Musical.” Finding Nemo is one of the few Disney movies that Ellie has seen and really knows, so we figured she would enjoy the show. She did, for the five minutes of it she was awake for. She fell asleep shortly after the lights went down, and missed all the fun. The show wasn’t quite on par with the Lion King musical that Lisa and I saw on stage a few years back, but it was still pretty cool.
The Animal Kingdom park closes earlier than the other ones, so that the animals can get their rest. That was fine with us, because after four days on the go, we were ready for some rest too!

Disneyworld Day 3: Calm and Characters

After the excitement of meeting Cinderella on Day 2, Day 3 was a much more laid back kind of day. We arrived at the park early again, with our only plans lunch at the Plaza restaurant at 11:30. We lucked out and got in line to see Ariel right after it opened up, and hardly had to wait.

Ellie rode the Peter Pan ride for about the umpteenth time, and we went on the teacups, but she didn’t want to spin (thank goodness for small favors!). We saw the Country Bear Jamboree and did a few other things before hearing from Lisa’s parents and agreeing to meet at the Jungle Cruise. We lucked out again though, and saw Peter Pan and Wendy along the way.

Evan meets Peter Pan, and promptly decides to barf. Seriously, he spit up right after this picture. Peter was a good sport though, and still allowed Evan to sit on his lap for a picture.

We arrived at the Jungle Cruise to learn that the in-laws had already gotten in line, contrary to instructions. They thought the line was moving pretty fast, but it wasn’t, and we ended up being a little late for lunch. After lunch, we took the chance to take a few last pictures in front of Cinderella’s castle.

Colin with his mouse ears.

Evan with his.
After almost three days at the Magic Kingdom, we had our fill, and headed back to the hotel to relax for a little while. Lisa and I had our dinner reservations later that night, so her parents were going to watch the kids at our place. That meant plenty of time for fun at the pool.

Plenty of sunscreen allowed pictures like this to be taken pain-free.

Look at that chubby belly! Isn’t he the cutest?

OK, I take it back, sleeping babies are the cutest. It’s very tiring being a baby at Disneyworld.

DIsneyworld Day 2: Cinderella’s Castle

Our second full day at Disneyworld was bound to be an exciting one. After all, we had lunch plans with Cinderella!
We arrived at the park early to beat some of the crowds to the rides. First though, I discovered the barber shop hidden off to the left side of the main entrance to the park on Main Street.

The tradition there is that first haircuts get a sprinkling of confetti and colored hair spray, but they gave the confetti to Ellie and we skipped the hairspray. It was actually a really good haircut, which I desperately needed after the first two days being so windy.

Ellie really liked the Peter Pan ride most of all. We went on that at least 4 times. I’m not sure if it was because she had just seen the movie, or because it was a nice slow, not scary ride, but so it was. Since we were there early, there also wasn’t much of a line to see the popular characters like Winnie the Pooh and Tigger.

Finally, it was off to lunch with Cinderella and the Princesses. Ellie was really excited to meet Cinderella, she almost forgot what to do.

She also had lots of fun identifying the other Princesses and seeing them as they stopped by our table.

Belle from Beauty and The Beast.

Snow White. She looked probably the least like her namesake out of all the Princesses.

Evan got in on the act too. Unsurprisingly, he was a big fan of the Fairy Godmother. She liked him too.

Princess Aurora, aka Sleeping Beauty.

Thrilling, as you can see. We took a break shortly after lunch and went back to the hotel for a much-needed rest. This seems like a good time to show the hotel.

Nice and quaint.
Then it was back to the Magic Kingdom to check out the nighttime sights (good thing we took a nap!).

Cinderella’s castle at night.

The Spectromagic parade. Those Kiss wannabes really freaked me out.

Cinderella was a busy lady today.

Minnie closed out the parade, and our long day.

DIsneyworld Day 2: Cinderella’s Castle

Our second full day at Disneyworld was bound to be an exciting one. After all, we had lunch plans with Cinderella!
We arrived at the park early to beat some of the crowds to the rides. First though, I discovered the barber shop hidden off to the left side of the main entrance to the park on Main Street.

The tradition there is that first haircuts get a sprinkling of confetti and colored hair spray, but they gave the confetti to Ellie and we skipped the hairspray. It was actually a really good haircut, which I desperately needed after the first two days being so windy.

Ellie really liked the Peter Pan ride most of all. We went on that at least 4 times. I’m not sure if it was because she had just seen the movie, or because it was a nice slow, not scary ride, but so it was. Since we were there early, there also wasn’t much of a line to see the popular characters like Winnie the Pooh and Tigger.

Finally, it was off to lunch with Cinderella and the Princesses. Ellie was really excited to meet Cinderella, she almost forgot what to do.

She also had lots of fun identifying the other Princesses and seeing them as they stopped by our table.

Belle from Beauty and The Beast.

Snow White. She looked probably the least like her namesake out of all the Princesses.

Evan got in on the act too. Unsurprisingly, he was a big fan of the Fairy Godmother. She liked him too.

Princess Aurora, aka Sleeping Beauty.

Thrilling, as you can see. We took a break shortly after lunch and went back to the hotel for a much-needed rest. This seems like a good time to show the hotel.

Nice and quaint.
Then it was back to the Magic Kingdom to check out the nighttime sights (good thing we took a nap!).

Cinderella’s castle at night.

The Spectromagic parade. Those Kiss wannabes really freaked me out.

Cinderella was a busy lady today.

Minnie closed out the parade, and our long day.

DIsneyworld Day 2: Cinderella’s Castle

Our second full day at Disneyworld was bound to be an exciting one. After all, we had lunch plans with Cinderella!
We arrived at the park early to beat some of the crowds to the rides. First though, I discovered the barber shop hidden off to the left side of the main entrance to the park on Main Street.

The tradition there is that first haircuts get a sprinkling of confetti and colored hair spray, but they gave the confetti to Ellie and we skipped the hairspray. It was actually a really good haircut, which I desperately needed after the first two days being so windy.

Ellie really liked the Peter Pan ride most of all. We went on that at least 4 times. I’m not sure if it was because she had just seen the movie, or because it was a nice slow, not scary ride, but so it was. Since we were there early, there also wasn’t much of a line to see the popular characters like Winnie the Pooh and Tigger.

Finally, it was off to lunch with Cinderella and the Princesses. Ellie was really excited to meet Cinderella, she almost forgot what to do.

She also had lots of fun identifying the other Princesses and seeing them as they stopped by our table.

Belle from Beauty and The Beast.

Snow White. She looked probably the least like her namesake out of all the Princesses.

Evan got in on the act too. Unsurprisingly, he was a big fan of the Fairy Godmother. She liked him too.

Princess Aurora, aka Sleeping Beauty.

Thrilling, as you can see. We took a break shortly after lunch and went back to the hotel for a much-needed rest. This seems like a good time to show the hotel.

Nice and quaint.
Then it was back to the Magic Kingdom to check out the nighttime sights (good thing we took a nap!).

Cinderella’s castle at night.

The Spectromagic parade. Those Kiss wannabes really freaked me out.

Cinderella was a busy lady today.

Minnie closed out the parade, and our long day.

DIsneyworld Day 2: Cinderella’s Castle

Our second full day at Disneyworld was bound to be an exciting one. After all, we had lunch plans with Cinderella!
We arrived at the park early to beat some of the crowds to the rides. First though, I discovered the barber shop hidden off to the left side of the main entrance to the park on Main Street.

The tradition there is that first haircuts get a sprinkling of confetti and colored hair spray, but they gave the confetti to Ellie and we skipped the hairspray. It was actually a really good haircut, which I desperately needed after the first two days being so windy.

Ellie really liked the Peter Pan ride most of all. We went on that at least 4 times. I’m not sure if it was because she had just seen the movie, or because it was a nice slow, not scary ride, but so it was. Since we were there early, there also wasn’t much of a line to see the popular characters like Winnie the Pooh and Tigger.

Finally, it was off to lunch with Cinderella and the Princesses. Ellie was really excited to meet Cinderella, she almost forgot what to do.

She also had lots of fun identifying the other Princesses and seeing them as they stopped by our table.

Belle from Beauty and The Beast.

Snow White. She looked probably the least like her namesake out of all the Princesses.

Evan got in on the act too. Unsurprisingly, he was a big fan of the Fairy Godmother. She liked him too.

Princess Aurora, aka Sleeping Beauty.

Thrilling, as you can see. We took a break shortly after lunch and went back to the hotel for a much-needed rest. This seems like a good time to show the hotel.

Nice and quaint.
Then it was back to the Magic Kingdom to check out the nighttime sights (good thing we took a nap!).

Cinderella’s castle at night.

The Spectromagic parade. Those Kiss wannabes really freaked me out.

Cinderella was a busy lady today.

Minnie closed out the parade, and our long day.

DIsneyworld Day 2: Cinderella’s Castle

Our second full day at Disneyworld was bound to be an exciting one. After all, we had lunch plans with Cinderella!
We arrived at the park early to beat some of the crowds to the rides. First though, I discovered the barber shop hidden off to the left side of the main entrance to the park on Main Street.

The tradition there is that first haircuts get a sprinkling of confetti and colored hair spray, but they gave the confetti to Ellie and we skipped the hairspray. It was actually a really good haircut, which I desperately needed after the first two days being so windy.

Ellie really liked the Peter Pan ride most of all. We went on that at least 4 times. I’m not sure if it was because she had just seen the movie, or because it was a nice slow, not scary ride, but so it was. Since we were there early, there also wasn’t much of a line to see the popular characters like Winnie the Pooh and Tigger.

Finally, it was off to lunch with Cinderella and the Princesses. Ellie was really excited to meet Cinderella, she almost forgot what to do.

She also had lots of fun identifying the other Princesses and seeing them as they stopped by our table.

Belle from Beauty and The Beast.

Snow White. She looked probably the least like her namesake out of all the Princesses.

Evan got in on the act too. Unsurprisingly, he was a big fan of the Fairy Godmother. She liked him too.

Princess Aurora, aka Sleeping Beauty.

Thrilling, as you can see. We took a break shortly after lunch and went back to the hotel for a much-needed rest. This seems like a good time to show the hotel.

Nice and quaint.
Then it was back to the Magic Kingdom to check out the nighttime sights (good thing we took a nap!).

Cinderella’s castle at night.

The Spectromagic parade. Those Kiss wannabes really freaked me out.

Cinderella was a busy lady today.

Minnie closed out the parade, and our long day.

DIsneyworld Day 2: Cinderella’s Castle

Our second full day at Disneyworld was bound to be an exciting one. After all, we had lunch plans with Cinderella!
We arrived at the park early to beat some of the crowds to the rides. First though, I discovered the barber shop hidden off to the left side of the main entrance to the park on Main Street.

The tradition there is that first haircuts get a sprinkling of confetti and colored hair spray, but they gave the confetti to Ellie and we skipped the hairspray. It was actually a really good haircut, which I desperately needed after the first two days being so windy.

Ellie really liked the Peter Pan ride most of all. We went on that at least 4 times. I’m not sure if it was because she had just seen the movie, or because it was a nice slow, not scary ride, but so it was. Since we were there early, there also wasn’t much of a line to see the popular characters like Winnie the Pooh and Tigger.

Finally, it was off to lunch with Cinderella and the Princesses. Ellie was really excited to meet Cinderella, she almost forgot what to do.

She also had lots of fun identifying the other Princesses and seeing them as they stopped by our table.

Belle from Beauty and The Beast.

Snow White. She looked probably the least like her namesake out of all the Princesses.

Evan got in on the act too. Unsurprisingly, he was a big fan of the Fairy Godmother. She liked him too.

Princess Aurora, aka Sleeping Beauty.

Thrilling, as you can see. We took a break shortly after lunch and went back to the hotel for a much-needed rest. This seems like a good time to show the hotel.

Nice and quaint.
Then it was back to the Magic Kingdom to check out the nighttime sights (good thing we took a nap!).

Cinderella’s castle at night.

The Spectromagic parade. Those Kiss wannabes really freaked me out.

Cinderella was a busy lady today.

Minnie closed out the parade, and our long day.