Disney Day 5!

If you want to ride Toy Story Mania in a timely manner, you know you have to make rope drop at Hollywood Studios.  We didn't quite make it, but it was still respectable wait of 25 minutes.  Which is great, as you can see by lunch the wait time was 85 minutes and as much as like Buzz, Woody and the Gang, I don't like them enough for that wait. 

Later in the day it was 85 minutes...

The line has a great theme.  Everything is HUGE! You are now toy size and are experiencing everything from a toys level.  Fun huh.  Oh and there is a giant talking Mr. Potato Head. 

Mr. Potato Head masquerading as the Evil Dr. Pork Chop

From there we made our way to enjoy a few street performers and wait for our 11am lunch scheduled for Sci Fi Dine In Theater.  We enjoyed it a lot.

Inside at the Sci Fi Dine In Theater

Upon entering the Park!

I was not at my best so we headed back to our hotel and found the quickest route to Target for a few much needed supplies.  Meds in hand a nap was in order.  After that we made our way back to the Magic Kingdom and decided we needed to see the head Mouse.  A short wait later, Ali and I gave Mickey and Minnie lots of hugs.

The MICE!!!!

On to Tomorrowland, Space Mountain was pretty much walk on with only a 10 minute wait and we got a fast pass for it before we entered the line.  Once around the Mountain in the dark, we made our way to the People Mover.  The best view of all of Tomorrowland.  Quick ride on Stitch's Great Escape and it was time to ride Space Mountain again.  But first we grabbed a fast pass for Buzz LightYear.  Again around the mountain in the dark, which we absolutely love.  I wanted to get another fast pass for Space Mountain but the family declined saying 2 times in a row was enough for anyone.  Not time for Buzz yet, we joined Walt on the Carousel of Progress.  Yes, we are that family who sings along.  "It is a great big beautiful tomorrow shining at the end of every day!"  Still with a little time to kill, we find ourselves waiting for to be entertained on the Laugh Floor by none other than Mike Wazoski himself.  Laughing like loons we made our way to Buzz Light Space Ranger Spin and walked right on.  It's always a competition between us and somehow I always win.  Boo... this time Kevin won, but like I said I was not feeling well!  :)
By now the parade is in full force and we made our way into FantasyLand.  We were lucky enough to walk on Peter Pan (unheard of), Snow Whites Scary Adventures, Winnie the Pooh, It's a Small World and The Mad Tea Party!  Crazy right!

On the tea cups! 

On a whole even though I was not feeling my best we really enjoyed our day!  We were a little sad though we knew it was the last day for Uncle Travis, Aunt Cassi and Eli.  We know they had a good time and we enjoyed sharing our time at Disney with them. 

Next up more Hollywood Studios!

More... Disney Fun

Animal Kingdom holds much allure for this Royal family.  We also think it gets a bad rep.  To us it is more than a half day park or just a zoo.  We enjoy it immensely.  Entering it, we had one goal: Expedition Everest.  Now, for those of you unaware The Diva agreed to ride Expedition Everest and Tower or Terror.  Such a huge accomplishment for a fraidy cat like her!  Walking up we pleased to see it had a 20 minute wait.  Not having rode it previously, we were all interested to see the theming of the wait line.  It did not disappoint and neither did the ride.  It is such a great coaster!  Check it out here to see what you are missing.

The Royal Family at the Animal Kingdom!

From there we made our way to the Tree of Life and took in the 4D show: It’s Tough To Be Bug. Another show Ali has a bit of an issue with.  She says Hopper (the giant Grasshopper) is VERY Scary!  Now is he, I don’t really think so, but I am not 10 years old anymore either.   Asking Ali what she wanted to do next she of course says, Dinosaur!  Checking the Undercover Tourist iPhone app we see that it has only a 10 minute wait.  Lucky for us, that is basically the walk in and the pre-show.  I have to say, Dinosaur will never be in my top ten.  I don’t dislike it and I ride it every time because the Diva loves it but if I never rode it again, that would be okay too.  It’s just really bumpy and bouncy and I always feel like I am going to be jarred right out the jeep.

All of us!

Cheesin for the camera with her bug eyes.

Notice it says ALI...

Pretty much our experience at Animal Kingdom for those hours, with the temperature cooling off and knowing we wanted to spend the evening in Magic Kingdom we made our way to the bus stop and off we went to enjoy Magic Kingdom for the night.  Did we do anything new while we were there, NO.  But we enjoyed every moment we could. 

Notice the turkey leg on her shirt.
Thanks Uncle Travis & Aunt Cassi.

By day four we are now in a grove and funny enough we are Animal Kingdom bound as a group.  We make our way into the park and start our trek to the back of the park.  Africa is our destination and the safari ride is what we plan to enjoy.  Now, for everyone in the know, it’s common knowledge that The Safari Ride is always better in the morning.  However, that means the line tends to be long.  We did not let that deter us.  Ali and Eli played while and talked while the adults laughed at the kids and talked and just generally made the best of a 35 minute wait.  The animals were out playing and it was a great ride to see them.  Ali and Eli enjoyed themselves immensely. 

The Whole Motley Crew!

Remember we are great lovers of the choo-choo on this trip and no Animal Kingdom day would be complete without a choo-choo ride to Conservation Station.  Ali loves everything about Conservation Station.  She thinks those people are the most amazing people and have the best jobs.  Not only do they get to work at Disney every day, they also get to make a difference in the lives of animals.  Yes, I have a budding animal conservationist on my hands.  We spent quite a bit of time there and she enjoyed it all.  On our way out we made our way through the petting zoo.  Why petting a sheep is so great I am not sure, but she says they feel “really cool.”

Petting Zoo

Up next on our list is a stop at Flights of Wonder.  We do enjoy the bird show and if you have not had an opportunity to watch it, you should make time if you can. Beyond that each family went our own way to have a little family alone time and we made our way thru the Asian trek with a couple of the stops for pictures along the way. Like I said we love to see the Animals.

Animal Kingdom love!

The evening we make our way to Epcot after a quick change of clothes.  If you notice I am not one to be hot or cold.  I would rather take a few minutes to change my clothes than be uncomfortable.  We let Ali lead the way and ended up playing in the various countries in the World Showcase.  Ali wanted ice cream and well Kevin I decided grey goose slushes were a great idea for dinner.

Viva la France!

Ali and I were also able to meet Duffy Bear. Duffy Bear is one of Ali's favorites.  She was very excited to meet him and have her picture made with him.  I snuck in there as well.

Duffy the Disney Bear!

We also were able to find a sweet Baby Duffy Bear for Ali's baby cousin Campbell.  

Ali and Campbell's Baby Duffy

Last thing I made asked my family to do was have a picture on the bridge with the Eiffel Tower in the background.  I love that picture.  They tolerate it.

Epcot LOVE

Well that is all for now.  On deck is Hollywood Studios... Tower of Terror, Muppet Vision and Star Tours in 3D!

xoxoxo

Ohana means FAMILY

Going into day 3, this Royal family knew what we should expect.  We decided to chance it and take WDW transportation for our early morning reservation at the Polynesian Resort at Ohana.  Fortunately not only was it not a problem, we were early and they seated us early.  The food was fabulous.

Mickey waffles YUM

Mickey waffles, eggs, bacon and potatoes, not a thing wrong with that meal.  Eli especially enjoyed the eggs.  Next up were Lilo and Stitch.  Now they are the Diva's favorite.

Lilo and Stitch and Ali

Eli was not to certain about Stitch.  He kept watching him like it was a possibility Stitch would take his eggs.

Don't touch me!

After seeing those two, the big cheese himself paid us a visit.  This is our 3rd day at Disney and except for a small glimpse in a parade this is the first time we have made contact with Mickey Mouse.  I am not certain who was more excited me or Ali and Eli.  To be truthful it may have been me.

The Diva & The Mouse!

Once we were all finished with breakfast it was time for more Epcot.  Are you seeing a pattern here?  My family loves Epcot.

The 6 of us!  

We journeyed back in time on the Spaceship Earth, rode a clam shell under the sea while we looked for Nemo and found our Imagination with Figment.  We also took the time to look at everything.  That is one of our favorite things to do is just LOOK and take in all the scenery.  It's more than just going form one ride to another for us.  We like the all the details that Disney works so hard to have in all the right places.  That is one of the biggest overlooked attraction at Disney.  The hidden details that lots of people take for granted.  Realizing it was getting late and Mr. Eli needed a nap and we had a special lady to meet for a snack, we split up again.  

Now it's time for a cousin meet!  One of my dearest friends, her daughter just happened to be in the Land of the Mouse for the very first time while we were there.  She came by way of New York City, which the Diva happens to think is the coolest place on earth and is dying to go there.  We hightailed it to All Star Movies to meet Cousin J for a snack.  We originally planned lunch but we were all still to full from breakfast.  

A snack of a rice crispy treat for me, chocolate ice cream for Ali and Cousin J had some fries, oh! and we can't forget Kevin, Coors Light for him.  We decided it was a refreshing snack for all involved.  For the record Ali said more than once she wished Auntie Di was there as well!  But we did talk to her on the phone.  

Ali and Cousin J

Cousin J, Ali & Me

Ali loves that Cousin J is short.  

Much fun was had by all and Ali said it was one of the highlights of her trip getting to see Cousin J!

Next stop Animal Kingdom!  XOXOXO