Thursday, January 31, 2013
Relaxing at Home
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
WDW: Day Seven
Ah, our last day at Disney World. Finley did not want to leave. For the final day of our trip, Finley chose to go to Epcot so we could ride Test Track again. We checked out of the hotel and checked our bags on to Houston, then it was a monorail ride to Epcot to start our day at park open. Finley and Clifton met Daisy while I grabbed fastpasses for Test Track. We were able to ride it three times that morning, with Clifton riding the Sum of All Thrills in between. Sadly, it had gotten crazy over at Soarin', so the fastpass times were for after we were leaving for the day. We headed over to Italy for lunch at Via Napoli. Miss F had pizza while Clifton and I had pasta. I tried her pizza and it was fantastic, my pasta was good, but her pizza was amazing. Then we rode the Maelstrom again a couple of times. Finley loves to ask to ride in the front row. She met Donald and we rode the boat in Mexico. We did Journey to Imagination again (I think I still have the song in my head!) and went over to ride Nemo. Finley wanted to see Turtle Talk with Crush again, mainly because she wanted to ask him a question, "Are sharks mean?" I think being selected at the Monsters Inc show made her very confident. She didn't get called on, but she had fun nonetheless. We finished the day with an ice cream cone covered in Mickey sprinkles. It was an amazing trip and Finley had so much fun.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
WDW: Day Six
We had another early start this morning. Hollywood Studios opened at 8 am for Extra Magic Hours, so we wanted to be there at rope drop to get fast passes for Toy Story Midway Mania and to get Finley signed up to be in the Jedi Training Academy show. Clifton went with Finley to sign up and I went to Toy Story Mania to get fastpasses. After I got them, Clifton texted me to say they were having technical difficulties and to meet them over there. They told everyone in line that they would start signing kids up at 8:30 am. Clifton and Finley went to ride Star Tours while I held the place in line. Turns out, Star Tours was having issues as well. They finally just walked off without riding it in order to get back to the sign up spot in time, they just made it! Finley was set for the 11 am show.
The night before we had dinne at The Plaza Restaurant. A sweet family at the table next to us gave us their ANYTIME use Toy Story Mania passes they had gotten when the ride broke down on them, they were leaving and wouldn't be able to use them. That meant we got to ride it twice. I say it is good karma for all the fast passes I handed out in Disneyland when we couldn't use them. Clifton got the top score for the hour on our first ride!
Finley met Chip and Dale, then we headed to ride Star Tours a couple of times. Before we knew it, it was time to check in for the show. Finley got together with all her castmates and they marched over to the stage. She was the second youngest kid in the show and she did amazingly well. She did have some trouble activating her light saber, but other than that, she was just perfect. She got to battle Darth Vader and became a Jedi! We have the whole thing on video, I will post it later. It is such a cute show.
Then it was time for lunch at 50s Prime Time Cafe. Finley and our waitress got along famously. She got her to eat all her peas and carrots. Finley was giggling the entire time! She was rewarded with a chocolate milkshake. Yum! We rode Star Tours again and Finley selected a Pluto R2D2 toy from the gift shop for doing so well in the show. It was time for a nap since we were at the bus stop at 7:10 am.
Finley and I changed into our swimsuits and swam for a bit. There is a big volcano slide in the pool, which looked really neat. I had Finley convinced to go on it when a kid started struggling at the base of the slide. He was under for quite awhile and the lifeguard had to jump in the pool to rescue him. It was quite scary. And it meant no slide for Finley, which I totally understood.
After a three hour nap, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom. We watched Philharmagic waiting for our fast passes for Crooked Choo Choo. We rode Pirates and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad three times, then we headed over to Tomorrowland. Finley wanted to watch the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor show again, so we headed in just as it was starting. The show is so cute and changes everytime. This time, Mike's nephew interviewed Finley. He asked her name and told her she had four ears. Then he told her a joke about a pirate. All the while, she was on the big screen. She did great! She wasn't scared at all. She was laughing so loud during the entire show, I think she had half the audience laughing with her. Her reward was riding the People Mover with arms up the whole ride. We rode Buzz Lightyear one last time and boarding the monorail home. Finley didn't want to leave, but it was past 10 pm and time for bed.
The night before we had dinne at The Plaza Restaurant. A sweet family at the table next to us gave us their ANYTIME use Toy Story Mania passes they had gotten when the ride broke down on them, they were leaving and wouldn't be able to use them. That meant we got to ride it twice. I say it is good karma for all the fast passes I handed out in Disneyland when we couldn't use them. Clifton got the top score for the hour on our first ride!
Finley met Chip and Dale, then we headed to ride Star Tours a couple of times. Before we knew it, it was time to check in for the show. Finley got together with all her castmates and they marched over to the stage. She was the second youngest kid in the show and she did amazingly well. She did have some trouble activating her light saber, but other than that, she was just perfect. She got to battle Darth Vader and became a Jedi! We have the whole thing on video, I will post it later. It is such a cute show.
Then it was time for lunch at 50s Prime Time Cafe. Finley and our waitress got along famously. She got her to eat all her peas and carrots. Finley was giggling the entire time! She was rewarded with a chocolate milkshake. Yum! We rode Star Tours again and Finley selected a Pluto R2D2 toy from the gift shop for doing so well in the show. It was time for a nap since we were at the bus stop at 7:10 am.
Finley and I changed into our swimsuits and swam for a bit. There is a big volcano slide in the pool, which looked really neat. I had Finley convinced to go on it when a kid started struggling at the base of the slide. He was under for quite awhile and the lifeguard had to jump in the pool to rescue him. It was quite scary. And it meant no slide for Finley, which I totally understood.
After a three hour nap, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom. We watched Philharmagic waiting for our fast passes for Crooked Choo Choo. We rode Pirates and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad three times, then we headed over to Tomorrowland. Finley wanted to watch the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor show again, so we headed in just as it was starting. The show is so cute and changes everytime. This time, Mike's nephew interviewed Finley. He asked her name and told her she had four ears. Then he told her a joke about a pirate. All the while, she was on the big screen. She did great! She wasn't scared at all. She was laughing so loud during the entire show, I think she had half the audience laughing with her. Her reward was riding the People Mover with arms up the whole ride. We rode Buzz Lightyear one last time and boarding the monorail home. Finley didn't want to leave, but it was past 10 pm and time for bed.
Monday, January 28, 2013
WDW: Day Five
Today we slept in a little because Animal Kingdom didn't open until 9 am. Clifton went to the front desk before we left to talk to the manager about the craziness going on around our room. A bunch of guys had been partying until 4 am the two previous nights and we had had enough. We would have to move rooms in the afternoon, but what a room we were moved into. A two bedroom suite with an amazing view of the castle! Too bad Finley was already asleep when we wheeled her home at 9 pm, she could have seen the Electric Water Pageant from our room.
The bus is not a fun way to travel in Disney, but we made do. We got to Animal Kingdom a bit after rope drop and first rode Dinosaur and Triceratops Spin (twice!) We met Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger, Finley was disappointed there was no Piglet, but apparently he only resides in the Crystal Palace. Good thing we had breakfast there. I rode Everest by myself and met up with Clifton and Finley in Asia. We saw the tigers and birds there, then walked over to Africa to see the hippos and gorillas. Finley really enjoyed being in charge of the map and pushing the stroller. We grabbed a quick lunch, then it was time for the Kilamanjaro Safari. This ride has changed since we last took it, there is no longer a chase or any story, just a plain old safari. Finley chose to meet Mickey before the Festival of the Lion King. Finley was falling asleep during the show, so we headed back to change rooms and get her a nap.
We returned to the Magic Kingdom to ride the Magic Carpets, Pirates (twice) and try to ride Big Thunder Mountain, but it was closed. We grabbed dinner in which Finley had to be forced to eat half a cheeseburger in order to get ice cream. She was "so full" but yet she managed to devour the ice cream with no issues. We watched the Castle show and rode Pooh twice before calling it a night. Finley was fast asleep before we even got on the monorail.
The bus is not a fun way to travel in Disney, but we made do. We got to Animal Kingdom a bit after rope drop and first rode Dinosaur and Triceratops Spin (twice!) We met Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger, Finley was disappointed there was no Piglet, but apparently he only resides in the Crystal Palace. Good thing we had breakfast there. I rode Everest by myself and met up with Clifton and Finley in Asia. We saw the tigers and birds there, then walked over to Africa to see the hippos and gorillas. Finley really enjoyed being in charge of the map and pushing the stroller. We grabbed a quick lunch, then it was time for the Kilamanjaro Safari. This ride has changed since we last took it, there is no longer a chase or any story, just a plain old safari. Finley chose to meet Mickey before the Festival of the Lion King. Finley was falling asleep during the show, so we headed back to change rooms and get her a nap.
We returned to the Magic Kingdom to ride the Magic Carpets, Pirates (twice) and try to ride Big Thunder Mountain, but it was closed. We grabbed dinner in which Finley had to be forced to eat half a cheeseburger in order to get ice cream. She was "so full" but yet she managed to devour the ice cream with no issues. We watched the Castle show and rode Pooh twice before calling it a night. Finley was fast asleep before we even got on the monorail.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
WDW: Day Four
We woke up bright and early for 8 am extra magic hours at the Magic Kingdom. I know Finley wanted to see Enchanted Tales with Belle and this was the only way to make it happen without waiting hours. We made it in time to the gate for the opening ceremonies. We got sidetracked by Professor Von Drake and Scrooge McDuck. Disney has long lost characters out this week for Limited Time Magic, which is really cool. The lines for Robin Hood and the Three Little Pigs were crazy, so we moved along to Belle.
We got back there and the wait was 15 minutes, it took about 20 minutes to get to the cottage, but once we were there, time didn't matter. There were so many things to play with and Finley had so much fun. It almost made up for the lack of Minnie and Mickey's houses. Almost. We then got to the room with the wardrobe and a cast member started giving parts to the kids and a few adults. Finley was given the role of Mrs. Potts, as it turns out, Mrs Potts was the only girl part that got to "perform" on stage. The rest of the characters just marched around, which Finley got to do as Mrs Potts. I think her princess dress stood out! Finley did great pouring tea and re-enacting the story with Belle.
We then headed over to Goofy's Barnstormer. We rode it 4 times without having to get off the ride, it was very quiet in the circus. Finley was disappointed that the Dumbo play area was closed, but was happy to learn that you could walk right on to Dumbo. Then it was on to the teacups. We rode it once and noticed Alice and the White Rabbit out. The line was long, but Finley was good about waiting. When we got to the front, the cast member told us the White Rabbit had to take a break, so we wouldn't be meeting him. When it was Finley's turn to meet Alice, I noticed she was taking an exceptionally long time with her. Way longer than any character I have ever seen. Turns out, she was stalling to wait for the White Rabbit's return. It was so nice of her. Alice and the White Rabbit were so silly while Finley was trying to pose with them. It was adorable. Of course we had to ride the teacups again.
Then it was over to Small World (Finley has perfected "Front row, please!") After Small World, we went over to ride Ariel with our fast passes. Then we we were back up to Fantasyland to see Philharmagic and ride Small World again. Then it was over to Frontierland to watch the Country Bears with a return trip to Fantasyland to ride Peter Pan and the carousel. We had promised Finley Piglet this trip and she was itching to get him. Winnie the Pooh was closed, but thankfully the gift shop was open. We got a little Piglet to match little Tigger.
We headed out of the park to see if there were any more rare characters out. There weren't, but there was a street party going on, so Finley got to see a ton of characters. The princess meet and greet had a 45 minute wait, so we skipped it. Mickey only had a 10 minute wait, so we met him instead. Then it was back on the monorail to the Polynesian for the first nap of the trip.
After nap, we headed to Epcot. Finley met Goofy while I fast passed Test Track. We all rode Spaceship Earth and played in Innoventions. We did the circle tour of World Showcase with stops in France for a snack and Germany to see the trains. We also rode the Maelstrom in Norway. We went back over to ride Test Track and play some more in Innoventions. After Test Track, we went to Mexico to ride the boat ride and have dinner inside the temple. Finley ate a huge meal, almost as much as Clifton. We rode Test Track with another set of fast passes. Finley has the biggest grin on this ride and loves to scream. She always says how fun it is to go fast. We picked a great spot to watch Illuminations and then headed back to the hotel after the show. Animal Kingdom tomorrow!
We got back there and the wait was 15 minutes, it took about 20 minutes to get to the cottage, but once we were there, time didn't matter. There were so many things to play with and Finley had so much fun. It almost made up for the lack of Minnie and Mickey's houses. Almost. We then got to the room with the wardrobe and a cast member started giving parts to the kids and a few adults. Finley was given the role of Mrs. Potts, as it turns out, Mrs Potts was the only girl part that got to "perform" on stage. The rest of the characters just marched around, which Finley got to do as Mrs Potts. I think her princess dress stood out! Finley did great pouring tea and re-enacting the story with Belle.
We then headed over to Goofy's Barnstormer. We rode it 4 times without having to get off the ride, it was very quiet in the circus. Finley was disappointed that the Dumbo play area was closed, but was happy to learn that you could walk right on to Dumbo. Then it was on to the teacups. We rode it once and noticed Alice and the White Rabbit out. The line was long, but Finley was good about waiting. When we got to the front, the cast member told us the White Rabbit had to take a break, so we wouldn't be meeting him. When it was Finley's turn to meet Alice, I noticed she was taking an exceptionally long time with her. Way longer than any character I have ever seen. Turns out, she was stalling to wait for the White Rabbit's return. It was so nice of her. Alice and the White Rabbit were so silly while Finley was trying to pose with them. It was adorable. Of course we had to ride the teacups again.
Then it was over to Small World (Finley has perfected "Front row, please!") After Small World, we went over to ride Ariel with our fast passes. Then we we were back up to Fantasyland to see Philharmagic and ride Small World again. Then it was over to Frontierland to watch the Country Bears with a return trip to Fantasyland to ride Peter Pan and the carousel. We had promised Finley Piglet this trip and she was itching to get him. Winnie the Pooh was closed, but thankfully the gift shop was open. We got a little Piglet to match little Tigger.
We headed out of the park to see if there were any more rare characters out. There weren't, but there was a street party going on, so Finley got to see a ton of characters. The princess meet and greet had a 45 minute wait, so we skipped it. Mickey only had a 10 minute wait, so we met him instead. Then it was back on the monorail to the Polynesian for the first nap of the trip.
After nap, we headed to Epcot. Finley met Goofy while I fast passed Test Track. We all rode Spaceship Earth and played in Innoventions. We did the circle tour of World Showcase with stops in France for a snack and Germany to see the trains. We also rode the Maelstrom in Norway. We went back over to ride Test Track and play some more in Innoventions. After Test Track, we went to Mexico to ride the boat ride and have dinner inside the temple. Finley ate a huge meal, almost as much as Clifton. We rode Test Track with another set of fast passes. Finley has the biggest grin on this ride and loves to scream. She always says how fun it is to go fast. We picked a great spot to watch Illuminations and then headed back to the hotel after the show. Animal Kingdom tomorrow!
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