Disney Part V: Our Last Day {or the magic must eventually come to an end}

Cousins being silly on the bus...

On our last full day at Disney, we spent the morning at Animal Kingdom. I was at first worried it would be a lot like Hollywood Studios in that there wouldn't be much for the little ones to do. I was kinda right, and the entire morning ended up being saved by the Finding Nemo show {see, it was a lot like Hollywood Studios}. This show was awesome and I am so sad that flash photography wasn't allowed. The girls might have liked this as much as the Beauty and the Beast Show.

As soon as were were through the gates, we saw Goofy. Wait a minute...who's that going in for the hug first?

 After our photo op with Goofy, we headed straight for the safari. I won't bore you with pictures of all the animals, but the girls loved the ride!

 Later, we rode the Triceratops Spin...

 And Anna Claire goofed off with Goofy and Pluto...

Of course, Mallory had already seen Goofy that morning and had met both Goofy and Pluto earlier in the week, so she did not feel the need to wait in line to have her picture taken with them again.

That afternoon we headed back for one final time to Magic Kingdom to ride some of our favorites one last time.

Since we had our big sit~down meal at the Yak and Yeti {yum!} at Animal Kingdom, we grabbed a prime parade~viewing spot on Main Street and ate corn dogs, hot dogs, and fries while waiting for the parade to begin.

 Trying for a family photo...

 I don't know what we're looking at, but the girls are in awe!

 And the next minute they were hiding their faces from Captain Hook!

 The next morning it was time to head home...

Making a wish in the fountain of the hotel lobby...hopefully they wished we'd be back soon!

 Our final attempt at a family photo...

Just how exhausted do Walter and I look?!

We had an great time, though, and cannot wait to go back!

Disney Part IV {or we're finally getting the hang of this}

Our third full day in Disney World might have been the best. I think the girls had finally adjusted to being off~schedule a bit and were able to just go with the flow. We spent both the first and second half of the day at Magic Kingdom. I forget if I've already mentioned it or not, but we headed back to the hotel every afternoon after lunch for naps ~ a must for us!

After finally giving up on the girls ever riding Peter Pan, we settled on the the tea cups, instead.

 Afterwards, the girls had Mickey Mouse ice cream...so messy, but so good!

 And we finally convinced them to ride the Winnie the Pooh ride ~ a small victory!

We just happened to run into Pinocchio after lunch...Mallory was not impressed. She never cried at the sight of a character, just refused to make eye contact.

 Taking a bus ride back to the hotel for naps...

That evening, we headed back to Fantasyland for dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table. On the way, we finally found the rose garden where Rapunzel and Flynn hang out, but the line was long and we could not be late for our reservation. I took a quick pic for the girls from a distance.

Do you think the girls were a little excited to have dinner with four princesses? Before making our way up the winding staircase to the dining room, the girls got to meet Cinderella and have their picture taken with her. Prints of these pictures were part of the deal, so I'll have to scan those in later. As for the other princesses {my own two included}, I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Cinderella's Royal Table was first class...delicious food, amazing location {I mean, we ate inside Cinderella's castle}, and unprecedented face~time with the princesses. Worth every penny!

Afterwards we rode a few more rides {Dumbo, the carousel, It's a Small World ~ you know, our good ol' standbys}. On the way out the park, as people were starting to line the streets for the Electrical Parade, we literally ran into my parents coming in from Epcot. We stopped right on the edge of the sidewalk in front of the train station to catch up with them. Not planning to watch the parade until our last night, but realizing we were standing in a prime location, we plopped right down on the sidewalk and claimed our spot for the parade. It doesn't get any better than that!

The girls waiting patiently for the parade to begin...

They were completely fascinated by the parade, and I have to say after all these years and as many times as I've seen the Electrical Parade, it just does not get any better than seeing it with your children for the first time...and I don't mind at all that I'm still humming that music in my head.

Best. Day. Ever.

Disney Part III: Hollywood Studios {or the almost wasted morning}

Hollywood Studios had Extra Magic hours Wednesday, so we were there early which, other than allowing us to get Fast Passes for Toy Story Mania, really wasn't necessary as there wasn't much else for the girls to do at 8AM. So, we let them run around on the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground, which was pretty cool, and it was huge. They loved it!

Just before our Fast Passes became valid, we noticed the line to meet Buzz and Woody was beginning to form. What luck! We ended up not too far back in line...but still had to wait forever for the doors to open and the line to start moving. Anna Claire and Mallory got a little silly in the stroller while we waited...

Another attempt at a family photo. The lady handling the line took the camera from Walter so he could get in the shot. I think I am telling the photo pass photographer and the lady with our camera to just take the picture because there was no way Mallory was going to look at the camera! Another example of her shyness around the characters...it came and went with no predictability.

After riding Toy Story Mania {really just OK in my book...the girls could have cared less}, we tried to get the girls to see The Little Mermaid show, but they said they were too afraid of Ursula {!!!}, so we tried to catch Disney Junior - Live on Stage but they closed the doors just before we got there ~ like I saw the lady close the door as I was running towards her. That ended up being a blessing in disguise {more on that later}.

Instead, Anna Claire and I hopped in line to meet Annie and Leo {notice: no Mallory}.

With time to kill, we decided to head on up near the front of the park for the Beauty and the Beast show which was our top priority. {ALL Mallory wanted was to see Belle, and I was starting to get sad for her that we hadn't found the princess yet.} The first show didn't begin until 11:30 and since we missed the Disney Jr. show that meant we were at the head of the line. We waited maybe 5 minutes before they started letting us fill the amphitheater which meant we got amazing seats ~ fifth row!! The show was wonderful and completely mesmerized Anna Claire and Mallory. If you ask them, I think they will tell you this show was their absolute favorite thing we did at any of the parks...and totally made what had just about become a wasted morning at Hollywood studios completely worth it!

That evening we headed back to Magic Kingdom for dinner reservations at Crystal Palace. My plan was to get a Fast Pass for the princess meet and greet before dinner, so we could go straight back there afterwards. Lucky us ~ the wait was only fifteen minutes and Belle was there! Belle!! Twice in one day! You bet we got right in line.

Mallory suffered through Sleeping Beauty...

 ...so she could get to Belle, who was just wonderful with them, by the way.

Cinderella was last, and Mallory was outta there!

Next up was the Pooh and friends character dinner at Crystal Palace. The girls did great and the buffet here was awesome ~ much better than Chef Mickey's.

I don't have many pictures of after dinner, and I'm trying to remember what we did. This must be the night we rode the Jungle Cruise {no pictures; the girls were a little on edge ~ maybe because it was getting dark and they were on a boat with dangerous jungle beasts lurking on the banks of the river!}.

Thank goodness for Aladdin's Magic Carpets!