WDW: Day Two

We woke up bright and early to take the first monorail of the day over to Epcot. There was only one other family on the entire train, which was really cool. We arrived at Epcot and got in line for the extra magic hours. We headed straight to the new Test Track. We rode it and then rode it again with a fast pass. Finley's annual pass had gotten stuck in the machine, so it didn't read the card, so we couldn't get a fast pass with her pass. The cast member gave us a fast pass and told us to visit guest relations to get her card checked in. We did that in between our first ride and the fast pass ride, but guest relations couldn't activate our passport. So we just dropped it and hoped the Soarin' castmember would be as nice and just give us an extra fast pass (he was!) Test Track is MUCH better in the regular line. You get to custom design your car, which was really neat. In the fast pass line you just pick a car from a group of choices, which isn't nearly as exciting. Finley loved Test Track! After that, we headed over to meet Mickey, Pluto and Minnie. Minnie was so happy that Finley had Figaro with her. Then it was off to fast pass Soarin' (noon return...they love Soarin' here) and ride Journey to the Imagination and Nemo. The boat ride in the Land had a 25 minute wait, I always remember just walking on it, so we skipped it for today. After lunch at the Land, our fast passes were ready and we lucked out being pulled from line because they needed a party of three. We then made the walk over to Hollywood Studios. Per my poor navigation, it took a little longer than expected. We got a fast pass for Finley and Clifton's favorite, Star Tours, and watched the Indiana Jones Stunt Show while we were waiting. Finley was so excited because we got the snow scene in Star Tours. We got front row seats for the Pixar Pals parade and Finley got to give George a high five! She was thrilled. We rode Star Tours again and then watched the Muppets 3D show. Finley wanted to ride something, so we rode the Great Movie Ride. She liked it so much that we rode it twice. Then we had dinner at Pizza Planet and watched Fantasmic. Finley was really good all day long, so she got to select a toy or treat before we went home. She chose a Mickey dressed as a sorcerer from Fantasmic, the perfect souvenir!

WDW: Day One

We all woke up bright and early to catch a flight to Orlando. Finley had all her Disney friends packed and ready to go, but Donald was chosen as the character to accompany her for the day. Our flight got in a touch early and we were on our way to Walt Disney World. The room at the Polynesian (notice Finley's pink lei!) was ready early and they happily switched us to a room with a view of the monorail. I am guessing they don't get a lot of requests for that. It was getting well past lunch and we were a hungry group, so we set off for the Magic Kingdom for the afternoon. We couldn't start the trip with lunch, so Finley chose to ride Grandad's favorite: The People Mover. The crowds were a bit heavy, even the People Mover had a bit of a line. We grabbed a quick lunch, saw the parade with perfect timing. The parade is the same parade as the one that was being performed Finley's first visit back in 2010. We arrived just as the parade was starting and Finley was speechless. It holds a special place in my heart because it is her first Disney experience. We then rode the teacups (they were supposed to be closed, luckily for us the website was wrong!) and Buzz Lightyear (I won!) After Buzz, we saw Monsters Inc Laugh Floor and we headed over to ride Winnie the Pooh. In Disneyland you can walk right on, but WDW is a totally different story. We had Fastpasses, so we didn't wait too long, but we certainly couldn't stay in the honey pot for 5 rides in a row like you can in Disneyland. We had lucked out with a bonus Dumbo Fastpass, so we checked out the new Storybook Circus. It looks very much like Toon Town Fair, just no Minnie or Mickey houses. There are now double Dumbos, so we got to ride on the Fastpass one. There is a really neat play area in the regular line, so we will check that out before we go. After Dumbo, we got to meet all the characters in Pete's Silly Slideshow. Sadly, there was no Pete, but Finley had fun with Donald, Daisy, Minnie and Goofy. We rode the Barnstormer, which was Finley's favorite ride of the day. Then it was time for another spin on the teacups and a ride on the People Mover to kill some time before the Main Street Electrical Parade. After the parade, we headed back to our hotel for some dinner and a lot of sleep. Epcot comes early tomorrow!

Playing Star Wars

Happy Birthday Joe

Joe's 5th birthday party was so much fun!  There were all of Finley's favorites, hot dogs, chili, cake and ice cream.  The coolest part was that the ice cream arrived in a truck.  It was so cool!  Finley chose a fudge bar and Joe served all the kids their ice cream treats.

Happy Birthday Sydney

Little Sydney turned two and celebrated with a Princess party at her house. Finley was none too pleased with having to dress up as a princess. There were so many fun costumes for all the kids to wear. Finley had an absolute blast playing with all the toys in Riley and Sydney's playroom. And there was pizza AND cake, so she was totally thrilled.

Happy Birthday Wyatt

In December, we went over to Pump It Up to bounce and celebrate Wyatt's 4th birthday.  Finley has been playing with Wyatt in playgroup since she was a wee one.  The party was in the afternoon and there were amazing robot cupcakes for all the kids.  Finley was mystified as to why there was no pizza at 3 in the afternoon.  I think her body has been trained to think that Pump It Up = pizza.

Family Pictures

After not taking any family pictures last year, I was determined to have them taken this year.  Clifton was equally determined to not have them taken.  When one of my former sorority sisters moved two doors down from my parents, it was a sign.  So she dragged a sofa out onto the golf course in their neighborhood and family pictures were done in less than 15 minutes.  Thanks to the amazing Kasey of Monkey Tree Photography for the gorgeous photographs.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Xmas Eve!

Finley and I have been wrapping presents, baking cookies and having an all around wonderful X-mas Eve. We also trekked over to Dunkin Donuts to select tomorrow's breakfast. I was really strong in not letting Finley have a donut...I wasn't able to talk Clifton out of it though. I hope you and your family have as lovely as time as we have had today. We are prepaing to go out for our annual Chinese food dinner, afterwards we will sprinkle some reindeer food and put out cookies and milk for Santa. I hope he is brings you all your desire, as well as Finley's socks and Memory game.

Disneyland Day Five

Finley's Christmas Program

Finley did an amazing job as a snowflake ballerina in her school's Christmas play. Here are the videos of the show. Pictures to come!

Peter Pan

Finley has been to two musicals, Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. She enjoyed both very much, but I think Peter Pan last night is her new favorite. Finley loved the crocodile the best and giggled when Peter Pan flew over the audience. The show was very kid friendly, so if you have time to check it out while it is still here in Houston, I would highly recommend it. Clifton has a nasty cough, so Grammy filled in for him, which of course made Finley happy. Finley took her Peter Pan - Captain Hook doll from Aunt Joan to the show.

Disneyland Day Four

Today was a big and fun day for Finley! When we arrived, Alice, the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts were all out, but Finley wanted to head to Small World after a quick Astro Orbiter ride. We got to the park right after opening and got to meet four princesses on our way to Small World (after riding Alice twice) only to find out it was closed. So we boarded the train for New Orleans Square to ride Pooh and the Haunted Mansion. I love the Nightmare Before Christmas theme, it is going to be hard to go back to the original, especially the music. After a ride on Pirates, it was on to the Jingle Jangle Jamboree to meet Woody, Jessie and Minnie. Finley also played some reindeer games with some really sweet cast members. It was then back over to Small World after riding Pinnochio and Snow White. Finley did not like the holiday Small World, she especially missed the song. We then headed to Toon Town to visit Donald's boat, Goofy's house and to ride Gadget Go Coaster and Toon Town Spin. Goofy's House is Finley's happy place! Finley was sad that we still hadn't found Donald or Daisy, just lots of Goofy and Pluto. We rode the teacups then grabbed some lunch and then watched the holiday parade. Finley finally saw Donald and Daisy, but she still wants to meet them. We went back to Jingle Jangle Jamboree hoping to find Daisy or Donald, but there was no such luck. We did some crafts and Finley played more reindeer games. The cutest part was when Minnie came over to Finley and played the wreath toss with her. Minnie had a huge line of kids waiting to see her, so it was incredibly special that she took the time to visit with Finley unprompted. Finley rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad for the first and only time this trip, which shocked us since we rode it a dozen times last time. We rode the Haunted Mansion again, then headed over to meet Pooh, Rabbit and Tigger. Finley hopped up to Tigger, which was adorable. The park had gotten crazy busy, so we headed back to Tomorrowland to ride Autopia, Space Mountain and Star Tours, we also walked through Innoventions quickly. We also took a monorail circle tour, which Finley loved. By that time we had been at the park all day with no nap and Finley crashed. She slept all the way home and went to bed with no dinner, she was pooped! Tomorrow it is back to California Adventure and then home. Finley has already started saying she doesn't want to leave.