We arrived at Animal Kingdom a little bit before opening at 9am but we missed the rope drop and the park was already open.

Us

Hailey decided the first ride she wanted to go on was Dinosaur.  She was very scared of this ride last year but we decided to let her try it again.

Ready to go on the ride

Going through the line

Hailey on the ride with her eyes covered.  But she said she loved it.

Hailey and Rich

Me and Hailey on Dino-Rama

Hailey and Flik

Next we got to meet Lilo and Stitch.  While we were waiting in line Hailey asked me why Lilo’s face looked the way it did.  I asked her what she meant and she said, “Lilo’s face always stays the same.”  So I said I guessed it was because she had to be ready with a smile for whenever people took her picture.

A hug for Lilo

A hug for Stitch

Hailey with Lilo and Stitch.

We tried to make it to the Lion King show but we missed it by a few minutes.  So we decided to go to Camp Minnie Mickey.  Going while the Lion King show is on is a great time to meet a lot of characters quickly.

While waiting in line to meet Pocahontas, Hailey said, “Why can Pocahontas change her face?  Why doesn’t hers stay the same all the time like Lilo’s does?”  I didn’t know how to answer that question… but I did realize that with all the questions Hailey had been asking, this year would probably be the last year she really believes in the characters.  And that made me sad

Hailey with Meeko and Pocahontas

Thumper and Miss Bunny with Hailey

Donald Duck and Hailey

Us with Goofy

Us with Minnie Mouse

Us with Mickey Mouse

Brear Bear with Hailey

Brear Fox and Hailey

Brear Rabbit and Hailey

Then we went to see one of our favorite attractions at Animal Kingdom- It’s Tough to be a Bug!  We love it!

I love the Lion King show!  Definitely my favorite show!!

Hailey loved this set up, so she wanted me to get a picture.

Hailey and Rich

We ate lunch at the Flame Tree BBQ and this was our view during lunch.  The food was great- probably my favorite quick service of the trip.  My only complaint is that I wish they had indoor seating.  The did have covered seating but it will still so hot that some AC would have been nice.

A kiss for King Louie

And a kiss for Baloo

Playing a little tune.

We got to see DeVine!  I was so excited.  We have never seen her before and know that it is a rare treat to get to watch her.

DeVine

Us with Terk

Rich and Hailey went on the safari ride… no pregnant ladies on the safari, so I couldn’t go.  I’m guessing it’s because it can be so bumpy.

Hailey on the safari ride.

Elephants

Lion

Us

We went to see Tough to be a Bug again.

Then Hailey wanted to do Dinosaur one more time, so Rich and Hailey went on that using their fast passes from the morning.

Time for the Jammin’ Jungle Expedition Parade.

Minnie

Timon

Mickey

A quick pose on our way out of the park.

We had dinner reservations at Boma at the Animal Kingdom Logde, so we hopped on the bus and headed to AKL.

We had never been there before- so beautiful!

Inside Boma- which was my favorite meal of our whole trip.  It was soooo delicious!

It had sprinkled on and off a lot during the afternoon, but it poured while we were eating dinner.  I’m thankful we were inside!

After dinner we went outside to see some of the animals.  They are right there next to the resort.  So cool!

Animal Kingdom Lodge

After dinner we went to Magic Kingdom for the evening.

Us

First we rode Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin.  Hailey loves this ride!

Can you find the Hidden Mickey?

After that we went to the Laugh Floor, rode on Stitch and then went on Buzz again.

Castle

Then we saw the Electrical Parade:

After the parade we went on the Haunted Mansion and then did a little shopping on Main St.

We saw the fireworks on our way out of the park.

Hailey asleep immediately!  And stayed asleep the rest of the night.

Half way through the trip!  I must get these posts done before Christmas!!

On the 5th day my plan was for us to sleep in and hang out at the pool for the day.  When we got up in the morning Hailey said she really didn’t want to go swimming all day because she wanted to go to the parks and go on rides.  It turns out that Rich didn’t want to spend a day at the hotel either.  We did sleep in and took it kind of slow in the morning, but then headed to a park.

We had breakfast at our hotel and Hailey and I found this Hidden Mickey on the floor in the food court.

Hailey getting ready to eat a yummy breakfast of pancakes and sausage.  Right after I took this picture Hailey squeezed her maple syrup container and it went all over.  Nice sticky mess

We picked Epcot to go to.

Us on our way in to Epcot.

First we rode Spaceship Earth.

Then we went to the Space Base play area so Hailey could play for a little while on the playground.

Hailey wanted to try Mission Space Race.

Rich and Hailey playing the game.

It was super hot- as expected in Florida during August.  Hailey kept cool with her water squirting fan.

Getting Mulan’s autograph.

Mulan and Hailey

Jasmine, Hailey and Aladdin

Hailey and Rich taking a little break to make some music.

We went on the Norway boat ride- Maelstrom.  Hailey remembered the ride from last year and was talking about certain parts of the ride she remembered.  She did that a lot- she would talk about stuff that we did in 2010 that she remembered doing.  It amazes me what she remembers!

Posing in the gift shop at Maelstrom.

Then we stopped in Mexico

On the Gran Fiesta Tour boat ride.

Time to cool off again

Hailey and Rich went on Test Track while I rested in the AC.

Then we got to meet Mickey and Pluto.

Mickey, Hailey and Pluto

A hug for Mickey…

…and a hug for Pluto.

Us with Mickey and Pluto

Afterwards we played the Great Piggy Bank adventure- Hailey loves this game!

Time to cool down with some yummy ice cream.

A big hug for the Beast.

Awww… a kiss from the Beast.

Riding on Journey into Imagination with Figment

Getting some energy out.

Time to see the 3D Captain EO show.  I may have taken a little nap during this show

Then we went to see Storm Struck

Afterwards Hailey worked on making a first aid kit.

Then we went to Universe of Energy.  It surprised me how often Hailey asked to do this ride- it’s pretty long and doesn’t seem all that exciting for a kid- but she loved it!

We had dinner at Sunshine Seasons

Hailey on the Nemo ride

Hailey always has to stop and pose for pictures after the Nemo ride.

Trying to get away from Bruce.

Rich and Hailey in Bruce’s mouth.

Rich and Hailey went and rode Spaceship Earth again while I went to pick up our free pictures from the meet and greet we had with Mickey and Pluto earlier in the day.

We stopped and watched the fountains for a little while.

Then it was time for Illuminations:

After Illuminations Hailey fell asleep immediately while we were walking to the buses.  She stayed asleep the whole time- in her stroller, on the bus, on our way back to our room, etc.  We were able to just put her right to bed!  I didn’t get to ask her what her favorites were for today since she was so tired.

Hailey got this shirt for her birthday.  She had begged for one of these shirts that she could color in and decorate herself.  The marker washes off though, so I bought some permanent fabric markers for the next time so it will stay colored.

Hailey wrote her own Thank You cards this year for her birthday.  She was so proud of herself that she was able to write them out on her own.  She loved writing her thank yous.  Let’s hope that continues.

Pa, Hailey and Rich working on a Halloween Haunted House.

The finished house from the front…

…and the back.

Hailey went to a birthday party where she got to wear her Halloween costume- she dressed up as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz this year.

Hailey at dance- we got to watch a Halloween dance the girls had been practicing.

Hailey doing The Monster Mash.

Some more of The Monster Mash

On day 4 we got up nice and early so we could be at Hollywood Studios for the opening.  We arrived at 8:50am and got pretty close to the front to get into the park.  When they opened the park Rich took off to get us fast passes for Toy Story Mania (a very popular ride that almost always has a very long wait and usually runs out of fast passes during the morning.)  After Rich got the fast passes we got in line to ride it since it was a short wait (we ended up waiting 30 minutes) and saved our fast passes for later.

While we were in line I went to take some pictures and my camera wouldn’t work.  I tried and tried to get it to work and it was not cooperating.  I have another lens (a zoom lens) so I tried that one and it did work.  So I figured it had something to do with my regular lens.  Since I couldn’t use my zoom lens all day (I can only use that one for things that are further away) I talked to my brother Matt to see if he had any ideas since he has a similar camera.  While we were in line he was trying to figure out what I needed to do to fix my camera.  I was so thankful that I had bought a little hand held camera to bring along just in case of an emergency with my good camera.  I didn’t expect it to actually happen, but I’m glad I was prepared!

Part of the queue to Toy Story Mania.  This was actually the first time we have ever gone through the regular line- we have always used fast passes in the past.

Hailey in line for Toy Story Mania

We loved Mr. Potato Head!

My little miss waiting to get on the ride.  (I was able to take this one with my good camera, but had to use the zoom lens and stand really far away from her.)

Hailey on the ride, ready to go.

After the ride

While we were on the ride Matt figured out how I could fix my camera.  So, I tried his suggestion and it worked!!  I was so happy I almost cried!!

I had to take the picture of the entrance to the ride after the ride since my camera wouldn’t work before.

Hailey at the entrance to Toy Story Mania.

We noticed that Buzz and Woody had a short wait (short for them anyways, their line gets very long during the day) so we got in line to meet them.

There were lots of fun places to stop and pose for pictures while we waited.  While Hailey and I waited to meet Buzz and Woody, it was already time for us to get another fast pass, so Rich went and got us another one for Toy Story Mania to use later in the day.

A kiss from Woody

A hug for Buzz

Buzz, Hailey and Woody on Andy’s bed.

Hailey with a Green Army Man

Hailey and Minnie- 2 pretty princesses

We went back to get our picture taken in front of the hat since we were in a big hurry when we first arrived at the park and didn’t do it then.  We also watched one of the shows on the street- those shows are so fun to watch… as long as they don’t pick me to be involved!

Then it was time to go to our 11am lunch reservation at Hollywood and Vine.

Hailey waiting outside the restaurant.

We were the first ones there and had the whole place to ourselves for a while.

Hailey dancing with Oso.  She was the only one there!  After they danced Oso walked her back to our table.

My pretty princess

Leo and Hailey

June and Hailey

Time for more dancing!  June and Hailey danced together.  At this point I think there was one other kid, so Hailey was still getting lots of attention.

Handy Manny and Hailey

Oso and Hailey.

The characters all came around to our table at least 3 times each.  Even when other people started to arrive there still weren’t very many people there.  This was a great character interaction!  And we loved the food.  We almost didn’t eat here but decided to book it at the last minute and cancel something else.  I am glad we did- this was my second favorite meal!

After lunch we went to see the Beauty and the Beast show.

Belle and Gaston

Belle and the Beast

Belle and her prince

Hailey decided she wanted to try Tower of Terror.  I thought (and maybe hoped) she’d be too short to ride it.  But she was tall enough… and brave enough to ride.  I had to wait nervously at the exit to see how it went.

My little miss (much too little to be riding!) on the Tower of Terror.  I think she’s looking a little nervous.

When she got off she came running to me to show me that she gave it 2 thumbs up.

Hailey decided she wanted to ride again and since it was a 10 minute wait they went on it again.  She decided the second time though that it made her feel a little sick and she was done with it for the day.

Enjoying at Playhouse Disney Live Show.  This year Jake and the Neverland pirates were there.

Then it was time for the Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun parade:

Flik

Boo

Russel

Mr. Fredricksen

Bullseye

Lotso

After the parade we met some more characters:

June, Hailey and Quincy

Hailey and Mike Wazowski

We decided to go use our Toy Story Mania fast passes.  We love that ride!

Then we went to the Animation Building.  I had read that if you go around 5pm you will see lots of characters- many more than are usually there.  And this proved to be true!

Hailey with Frozone and Mr. Incredible

Hailey and Pooh

Hailey with Geppetto and Pinocchio

Hailey with Jafar

Belle and Hailey

Chip and Dale with Hailey

Last year when we were in Disney World we searched for Captain Hook and Mr. Smee and could not find them anywhere.  We were told that they were only appearing in shows and no longer doing meet and greets.  Hailey was so sad because she just loves Captain Hook.  So for the last year Hailey has prayed every night that she would be able to see Captain Hook and Mr. Smee again.  So she was thrilled when she got to see them!

Hailey with Mary Poppins and the Penguin

Hailey with Goofy and Max.  Max thought that Hailey’s braids were like his ears.

Stitch giving Hailey a kiss

We had to go see Mr. Incredible again so that Hailey could meet Mrs. Incredible this time.

When we went to leave the Animation building we realized it was pouring outside.  We put on our ponchos and headed to the Pizza Planet for dinner.

A view of the Pizza Planet from the 2nd floor

Hailey found some Hidden Mickeys on this wall.  There are 2 of them (that I know of).  One can be seen a little easier than the other.  Can you find them?

The park really cleared out while it was pouring out.  It was emptier than Extra Magic Hours usually are.

We had another set of fast passes for Toy Story Mania so we rode it again!

Then we went on The Great Movie Ride.

Even though the park was really empty, we were exhausted and needed to go back to the hotel.

When we got back Hailey played in the kids area for a little while.  See the Hidden Mickey she found?

I enjoyed a piece of Tie Dye Cheesecake.  Yummy!

We actually went to bed around 10:30pm- pretty early for us in Disney World.  We were planning to sleep in the next morning and hang out at the pool at our hotel to relax.

Hailey’s favorites for today: Ride- Toy Story Mania, Characters- Woody and Buzz