Day 3 at Disney World

Our day started at Epcot where we had several Fast Passes early in the morning.  We ate breakfast in our room with food I shipped to the resort earlier that week and ordered fresh fruits from Garden Grocer!  It was perfect to grab and go instead of waking up early and going to a restaurant and spending 30-45 minutes eating!  

We rode Soarin, which the boys LOVED- it might have been their favorite for the day!!  Brooklyn was too short, so Brooks and I took turns riding with the boys.  After Soarin we rode the Nemo ride and checked out all the Nemo exhibits and the kids were hooked!  We saw a show with Crush, the turtle from Finding Nemo and the kids were very entertained.  It really was cute and perfect for their age.  We didn't go through the aquarium since we felt like if you've seen one aquarium, you've seen them all so we headed to our lunch reservation in the World Showcase area of Norway! 

Back in February, I decided we weren't going to spend our dining credits on Cinderella's Table and instead opted for a different restaurant that promises you 1 princess but you could have up to 5 princesses at your meal... AND WE DID!!!  It was great.  We ate at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall and were NOT disappointed!  As soon as we arrived, we were greeted by Belle from Beauty and the Beast!  The kids were in awe of her dress and Miles was surprisingly excited and interested to say hello to her!  Brooklyn showed her how to twirl and Gavin asked where the Beast was.

We were brought to our table, ordered our food, and then began the continuous introduction to the various princesses who greeted the kids at our table.  Brooklyn kept staring away from our table always looking to see who was coming and the boys went back and forth between being excited and interested to wanting to know what we were doing next.  Brooklyn greeted each princess with the SWEETEST hugs and loved on them and they each did a great job interacting with her.  It really was special moments for Brooklyn.  Gavin talked to each one of them, asking who they were and what castle was theirs.  Miles liked some and others he didn't care about.  The food was delicious, very different, but we enjoy different culture foods!  Honest to goodness was not disappointed one bit in feeling like we missed out on Cinderella's Castle by doing Akershus.  The princesses were a big deal and they even had a little parade for the kids to walk around the entire restaurant waving!

 

Ariel with legs!

After lunch we did some shopping where the boys got knight swords and Brooklyn picked out a Frozen Princess jeweled mug and then we rode a few more rides.  Our day at Epcot ended so we decided to go back to the resort for naps and to rest because we were gonna stay up late to watch Wishes, the firework show at Magic Kingdom that night!

After a much needed rest for all 5 of us, we were ready to tackle another area of Magic Kingdom and do some exploring that afternoon/evening.  We did a little shopping in a few stores and ate dinner in Liberty Square and then headed to Adventureland.  We saw a bird show, watched camels, rode Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride, which might have been their favorite!  At this point, it was almost time for the evening parade so we headed back towards the castle area and could not find a spot to sit and wait for the parade... I mean the place was PACKED and we just didn't get their in time.  We knew we wanted to watch the fireworks so we decided to take advantage of half the people at Magic Kingdom who were sitting and waiting for the parade and fireworks and we went and rode rides.  We learned that once you use your 3 fast passes for the day you can go to an on site kiosk and get a new one.  So, we did just that!  We'd get a Fast Pass to a ride, go ride it, walk off the ride, go back to the kiosk, pick another ride that was nearby, go ride that ride, walk off the ride, etc, etc. It was awesome!!  We rode like 4 rides in a matter of 35 minutes before we decided to find a place for the firework show.  Even though it's not popular thing to do, we stood on the backside of Cinderella's castle for the firework show and still got a great show. The fireworks literally went over us and surrounded us.  The kids hung out in the stroller and just ooooohhhed and aaahhhhed!  It was perfect!  We knew later in the week we would see the show from the front side of the castle and still get that experience!

After the firework show the Magic Kingdom was open until 1am so we took advantage of the Magic Hours and rode some more rides!  Yes we were crazy to do that, but it was so much fun.  We got a fastpass for Thunder Mountain Railroad and let the boys ride it!  OMG... so awesome!  Gavin was ecstatic and said it was his favorite ride.  Miles didn't like that he rode it at night and couldn't see what was around.  He opted not to ride it the 2nd time, but Gavin, he wanted to be in the very front row!

We had SOOOO much fun at Magic Kingdom and even though we stayed out late and had a long day it was a blast and truly, truly a "magical" night.  

Epcot Night 1

From the time we left our resort Sunday afternoon until we made it to Epcot the rain STOPPED!! Hallelujiah!  When the kids saw the giant "golf ball" they were so excited and couldn't wait to get to it!  So, after taking a family picture, we went straight to the ride inside the Epcot ball!  The kids were mesmerized with the idea of the ride and that's all it took. They were hooked and wanted to find all the other rides.  

 

 

We started walking around and literally ran into Snow White, she was our first character, one that the kids really didn't know, but it was a great person to be a starter character.  You'll notice Miles was hanging out by the wall and not too interested in meeting her.  Brooklyn, was a little skeptic and did her little arms crossed, guarded body thing, but eventually she was willing to touch her and talk to her. Miles on the other hand needed some encouragement.  

They couldn't figure out what their books were for until Snow White started signing it and then they couldn't wait to find other characters to sign!  Brooklyn got a kiss from Snow White when we said goodbye!

 

After a few more rides and sight seeing- we went to eat.  Dinner that night was a character meal at a place called Garden Grill.  Supposedly, some of the food that is served there Disney grows below the restaurant.  We went on a little ride about it and saw some of the food growing, too.  The restaurant spins a full circle in one hour so the kids thought that was really neat!  Pluto, Chip and Dale, and Farmer Mickey were the characters that evening that came to our table and the kids HAD.A.BLAST playing with them, seeing all the gestures, and getting their books signed!  Our dinner was family style, home grown style foods, and it was DELICIOUS!

*I gotta say this about our meals all week-- because the kids have allergies, we put it in our dining plan reservations what they were allergic to and at every meal the chef came out and told us what foods were safe for our kids or provided us with allergy free menus.  It was WONDERFUL and took so much pressure off of us in the food department!   It was also a pain at buffet restaurants because we felt like we had the ability to determine by looking at the food whether it was safe or not for them, but once you notify Disney of an allergy they take it serious and you HAVE to wait for a chef!  No matter what!  

The characters do soooo good with the kids to entertain them and such.  It was great!  Miles definitely warmed up to the characters and didn't act like he didn't want them around.  Now, Gavin, there was something that happened when he saw Farmer Mickey and walked straight up to him and embraced him.  No words, just a hug.  Brooks and I just sat there in shock.  Like, it just meant something to him and it was neat to watch!

 

Our first night at Disney was great and we saw the kids excitement building and their questions about what was coming next were adding up and they couldn't wait to find out what was next!