LivinWithMe » Vacation

Disney Vacation 2011- Day 10

Melanie — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 22:34:02 +0000

Our last day in Disney World We weren’t planning to go to the parks but we had a late flight so we had a nice relaxing last day.

Yummy breakfast! Hailey loved sitting at the little table that they had set up for the kids. She sat there all by herself, looking way too grown up.

A little hula hooping in the lobby on the way to the pool.

Time for some swimming:

We had a blast at the pools!

Goodbye Pop Century… we made reservations before we left and we are staying at a different resort next year. As much as we have liked Pop in the past we didn’t think it was as good this year. The food court used to have amazing food but the selection and quality had both declined. Plus we paid very close attention and the lines for the buses for Pop were always the longest at the end of the night. Other resorts may share buses but their lines move much quicker. Plus the other guests at Pop made us want to stay somewhere else. So we’re trying a new resort next year.

Hailey on the Magical Express on our way back to the airport.

Playing at the airport while waiting for our flight.

We had a great trip to Disney World, as always, and can’t wait to go back!!

Disney Vacation 2011- Day 9

Melanie — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 22:01:54 +0000

We got up nice and early on our 9th day- this would be our last day in the parks.

We were at Hollywood Studios for the rope drop. As soon as the rope dropped Rich took off to get us fast passes for Toy Story Mania while Hailey and I got in line for the ride.

We love this ride!

I love the theming!

Hailey and Lightning McQueen

Hailey and Mater

Hailey meeting Ferb

And now meeting Phineas

Posing with Phineas and Ferb

A nice healthy breakfast- a cookie as big as her face.

Hailey and Rich had a last ride on Tower of Terror. Then we went to see the newly refurbished and just reopened Little Mermaid show.

Hailey got to welcome everyone to the Little Mermaid show!

Ariel and Eric

We went on Toy Story Mania one last time

Me on Toy Store Mania

Then we headed over to Magic Kingdom

I love the castle!

This was the only day we experienced big crowds. The crowds were pretty low at Hollywood Studios, but it was super busy at Magic Kingdom… it doesn’t look too bad here but it was really crowded. It was the day before Labor Day, so I’m sure that was part of the reason.

Hailey found a Hidden Mickey- she became quite the little expert in finding them!

We rode on Snow White and then headed over to Splash Mountain

Hailey on her favorite ride (Splash Mountain).

After a ride on the Haunted Mansion it was time for our early dinner reservation. We had originally had a dinner reservation at ‘Ohana but decided to change it. We were worried we weren’t going to have enough time at Magic Kingdom on our last day, so we switched to the Liberty Tree Tavern. I was really disappointed we didn’t go to ‘Ohana as that is my all time favorite. But, I wanted to make sure Hailey had enough time to do all of her favorite rides again, so we wanted to be able to stay in the park.

Hailey coloring while waiting for our table.

Liberty Tree Tavern ended up being Rich’s favorite meal of our whole trip. I liked it too, not my favorite, but still good. I was glad we made the decision we did. But next year I’m not missing out on ‘Ohana!

After dinner we went to the Laugh Floor… always a good show and different every time.

Hailey on the People Mover.

After the People Mover we went on Stitch’s Great Escape.

Stopping for a minute to make a little music.

Then it was time to go on Splash Mountain again… and again…

Riding on Buzz Lightyear

One last time to capture Zurg!

Then we rode Peter Pan and got off the ride just in time to see the fireworks.

So pretty!

Then it was time for Extra Magic Hours and the crowds did go down a bit, but it was still quite busy.

Waiting in line to ride Pooh

A yummy sundae for a late night snack and then we went to see Mickey’s Philharmagic again.

I love the castle all lit up!

In line for our last ride of the trip- The Haunted Mansion

Goodbye Main St.

Disney Vacation 2011- Day 8

Melanie — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:54:15 +0000

We were able to sleep in today! We had a breakfast reservation but not until 10am, so it was nice to have a slow morning.

Hailey posing with her various toys she had gotten during the week. Each morning she set them up in the window so that they could watch for us to return at night.

We took a nice boat ride over to the Grand Floridian for our breakfast reservation.

Hailey checking out the Grand Floridian

Such a beautiful resort!

Us at 1900 Park Fare for breakfast- this is my favorite picture of us! We are all smiling and I don’t look like a huge pregnant whale- and if I do then just keep that to yourself so you don’t ruin it for me.

Mary Poppins was the first to visit Hailey. Right before Mary Poppins came over, Hailey wasn’t happy about something (I don’t remember what) and I love how when the characters see that a child isn’t happy about something they do their best to fix that right away. And it worked! Hailey was happy after a little chat with Mary Poppins.

Next up was Tigger and he was so funny! He had us laughing pretty hard.

A big hug for Hailey

Checking out Hailey’s breakfast

A yummy Mickey waffle

Hailey talking to Alice in Wonderland

Belle and Hailey… we love Belle but she was there because the Mad Hatter couldn’t make it. I was disappointed that he wasn’t there because he was my favorite character last year and one of the reasons I wanted to go to 1900 Park Fare for breakfast. He made me laugh so hard last year. So we love Belle but we were a little disappointed not to see the Mad Hatter.

Hailey and Pooh

After our late breakfast we headed over to Epcot.

This was going to be our last visit to Epcot for this trip so we wanted to redo some of our favorite things.

Hailey loved the Great Piggy Bank Adventure, so we made sure to do that first.

She was so happy at the end that we saved up enough money in the game.

Another one of Hailey’s favorites- The Universe of Energy

Hailey and Rich went on Test Track

See the Hidden Mickey they found on the tool bench?

Time to see some characters- Minnie and Pluto with Hailey.

Minnie and Hailey

Hailey did this really neat game where she got to be a part of a video game- here she is setting up the video game.

That’s Hailey on the screen as part of the game. It was soooo neat!

Hailey on Spaceship Earth

Hailey and me in the future

Rich and Hailey working on powering a city.

We tried doing a Kim Possible Mission for the first time. Hailey was so excited!!

Hailey with her Kim Possible phone

Watching the fountains

We had dinner at the Electric Umbrella- this was my delicious burger.

Last time on Test Track

Goodbye Epcot

We spent the evening relaxing at the pool.

Big jump! So much braver than she was at the beginning of summer.

Disney Vacation 2011- Day 7

Melanie — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:51:40 +0000

When we got back to our room on day 6, Hailey had found this note waiting for her:

So we got up bright and early on day 7 to head to the castle for an early breakfast reservation. We were all pretty tired at this point in our trip.

Main St was mostly empty when we arrived at Magic Kingdom.

I love being in the park when it’s empty!

Us in front of the castle with a mostly empty park behind us Love my little princess.

Another one of us in front of the castle.

Walt and Mickey

Hailey getting Cinderella’s autograph inside the castle.

Posing for a picture on our way upstairs to the dining room.

The dining room where we had breakfast.

Hailey had her eyes closed and was making a wish… she wished for a puppy.

Hailey and Aurora

Hailey and Snow White

Hailey and Belle

Hailey and Ariel

It’s really neat to get to eat inside the castle… we had dinner in there 2 years ago and it was a lot of fun. We wanted to try breakfast since I’ve heard the food is better at breakfast. The food was amazing! I had stuffed french toast and it was so delicious! It’s expensive to eat in the castle and if you’re on the meal plan you have to use up 2 meals to eat in there. But the experience of eating inside the castle is well worth it to me, and seeing the look Hailey’s face is priceless!!

After breakfast Hailey had to stop and try to pull the sword from the stone again before we headed off to some rides. She wasn’t able to pull it out.

Getting ready to ride on Dumbo

A little peek at The Beast’s castle that is being built.

In front of the Beast’s castle is a new ride they are working on- I think this is going to be the new Snow White and Seven Dwarfs ride, although I’m not positive.

New Fantasyland is being worked on behind that wall. I can’t wait to see what it’s like when we go back!

Next up we rode Peter Pan, then headed over to Splash Mountain. When we were at Magic Kingdom earlier in the week Splash Mountain was closed and Hailey really wanted to try riding it again (it scared her last year). So we got there early before the line got long so Hailey could see if she liked it.

Waiting to get on

Rich and Hailey in the 3rd row back. Hailey’s face doesn’t look very happy but when she got off she said she loved it! So they rode again

Meeting Jessie

A little dance with Woody. Hailey asked Woody if he had a snake in his boot.

Then Rich and Hailey rode Splash Mountain again!

Rich and Hailey in the front- Hailey with both hands in the air!!

Very happy on Splash Mountain

She loved Splash Mountain!

Next we went to the Enchanted Tiki Room- it had been newly refurbished so we had to check it out. We aren’t really big fans of it though. It was just okay, not something we wanted to go on again.

Just had to post this picture of what we had on the back of Hailey’s stroller. Since everyone with young kids has a stroller in Disney World it can get hard to find your stroller in the stroller parking (especially since the Cast Members are always rearranging and organizing the strollers, so it’s never where you actually leave it). Having this little sign made it so much easier to find Hailey’s stroller! I think this trip did her stroller her in though hahaha… it definitely has a lot of miles on it from 4 trips to Disney World!

Next up we met some fairies:

Hailey meeting Terrence

The scepter, which Hailey was very excited to see.

Hailey and Tinkerbell

After a quick snack it was time for more rides!

Waiting to go on Magic Carpets of Aladdin.

In line at the Jungle Cruise… Hailey had gotten tired of walking (we had parked her stroller), but Rich didn’t want to carry Hailey. He told her that she was too old to be carried but if she could find another kid that looked to be about her age being carried that he would carry her. Well it only took about a minute and she saw a boy who was the same size as her being carried by his dad. She was quite pleased that she won and Rich had to carry her.

Country Bear Jamboree… always a good place for me to take a quick nap… hahaha

Rich and Me

Hailey taking a nap. I love that she was able to nap in her stroller when she needed to. That was one of my favorite things about having a stroller with us… we actually debated bringing one this year since she was almost 5. But I needed somewhere to keep all our stuff (drinks, autograph books, medications, etc) and I love that Hailey could nap in it when she needed to so we didn’t have to go all the way back to our hotel for naps. Plus when you average 10 miles of walking each day it’s nice not to have to make a child do that much walking.

After Hailey’s nap we rode Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin.

Can you see the Hidden Mickey we found? It’s on the planet Earth if you need some help.

Rich and Hailey on Tomorrowland Speedway

We were getting hungry at this point so we went to Pinocchio Village Haus for dinner… we sat where we could watch the “It’s a Small World” ride and enjoyed our dinner.

We went to Mickey’s Philharmagic after dinner and found lots of little Hidden Mickey’s on this wall.

Then we headed back over to Splash Mountain so Hailey could ride it again… and again… and again! She rode it 6 times all together in one day

View from Splash Mountain

Next we went on the Haunted Mansion

Love the new queue they have there!

Little Miss

One more ride on Peter Pan

Good night Main St

We went back to our hotel and went to bed “early” at around 10:30 pm.

Hailey’s favorites: Ride- Splash Mountain

Character- Sleeping Beauty

Disney Vacation 2011- Day 6

Melanie — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 02:29:30 +0000

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

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

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.

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.

Disney Vacation 2011 Day 5

Melanie — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 01:36:18 +0000

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.

Disney Vacation 2011 Day 4

Melanie — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 02:48:05 +0000

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

Disney Vacation 2011 Day 3

Melanie — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 01:53:39 +0000

We slept in a little bit on the third day since we had went to bed at midnight the night before. We got snacks for breakfast at Everything Pop Food Court… I don’t remember what we had but it was probably something healthy like chocolate muffins. We rode the bus over to Magic Kingdom… the bus was pretty full and we had to stand. It made me sad that there were so many men sitting there while a pregnant lady and her 4 year old had to stand

We arrived at Magic Kingdom around 9:30am and saw some characters with really short lines as soon as we walked in.

Hailey got to meet Pinocchio.

Hailey did a quick pose with Roy Disney and Minnie while I waited in line for the next character.

Then she met Pluto.

Us in the most magical place on earth

Hailey’s princess pose

The castle

We went over to the Rapunzel meet and greet since we had been told that her line gets very long during the day. I waited in line for Rapunzel while Rich took Hailey to keep her occupied.

Hailey got to meet the White Rabbit and Alice in Wonderland.

Hailey loves riding the tea cups!

Then it was time for them to come back to meet Rapunzel.

Hailey worked on coloring a picture while waiting for her turn to see Rapunzel.

Hailey gave her picture to Rapunzel and Rapunzel told her she was going to hang it up at her house.

Hailey and Rapunzel. Hailey asked Rapunzel if Flynn still causes a lot of trouble. Rapunzel said he is always eating all of the cookies and then he gets in trouble with her.

After meeting Rapunzel Hailey had to stop and try to pull the sword from the stone (she didn’t pull it out) and then we were on our way to go on some rides:

We rode It’s a Small World (love the 5 minute wait on the sign!).

Hailey didn’t like the ride, she said it made her feel dizzy. She also didn’t like having the song stuck in her head.

We went to see Mickey’s Philharmagic, definitely one of Hailey’s favorite attractions.

In line for Peter Pan- one of Hailey’s favorite rides.

I love her beautiful eyes! This was on the Peter Pan ride.

Next we rode Snow White’s Scary Adventure.

This ride will be gone the next time we are there. I’m not sure when they are closing it but I’m glad we got to go on it again during this trip. It’s not one of our favorite rides, so we’re not too sad they are closing it, but it’s still fun.

Captain Jacks Pirate Tutorial

Hailey and Goofy

In line for the Pirates of the Caribbean- I think this was either her mad face or her pirate face.

Little sword fight in the store while it was pouring out.

I decided to brave the rain and go get a Pineapple Dole Whip- yummy!! The best snack there is!! Plus there was no line since it was raining And then we saw that Tiana had no wait, so Hailey went to meet her!

Hailey and Tiana

We rode the Haunted Mansion next and checked out the new queue. There was a lot of fun stuff going on. It was hard to keep Hailey moving in line though, she kept wanting to play with all the neat stuff.

Then it was time for the parade. I absolutely love the parades! Hailey played with a hula hoop while we waited for it to start.

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade- Jessie

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade- Donald Duck

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade- Stitch

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade- Mickey and Minnie

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade- Geppetto

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade- Jafar

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade- Cinderella and Prince Charming

We had an early dinner reservation at 3:20 at the Crystal Palace and it was perfect timing after the parade

Hailey tried on a hat while we waited for our table. We have always had to wait for a while during past visits for our table at the Crystal Palace, even though we had a reservation. But this time we waited less than 5 minutes. Yay!

Hailey and Pooh

Hailey watching Eeyore sign her autograph book.

Having fun

I have no idea what she was laughing at but I love this picture! Also notice me and my hand sanitizer… we all stayed healthy during our trip though, so my OCD paid off.

A kiss for Tigger

Hailey and Piglet

Rich and I were both really disappointed in our dinner. It was fun because Hailey got to see the characters. We have always eaten here during every trip but I think we’ll take a break next time. The food choices and quality seemed to be really lacking. And our waiter was awful. He never even brought our drinks out until we were going up for seconds at the buffet. Obviously that just depends on who your waiter/waitress is. But the food wasn’t as good as we remembered it being.

After dinner we went to the Laugh Floor… I’m always nervous during the show because I really don’t want to get picked on. The shows are so funny and so different every time but I hate sitting there worrying I might get picked on.

Then we went to see Dream With Mickey

Goofy, Donald, Mickey and Minnie

Hailey yelling “Dreams come true!”

Then we rode Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin… a definite favorite for Hailey.

Rich and Hailey went on the Tomorrowland Speedway… Hailey on the phone while driving. I don’t know if that’s against the law in Florida.

Hailey and Rich on the Tomorrowland Speedway

Here is a little peek at the Beast’s castle that is being built right now. Hopefully it will be open when we go back next year.

We rode the Winnie the Pooh ride and Hailey had fun playing in the new queue area. It’s so interactive and so much fun!!

Lastly we rode Peter Pan one more time before heading to Hollywood Studios for Extra Magic Hours.

Arriving at Hollywood Studios

First we rode the Great Movie Ride and then we headed off to see Fantasmic! We’ve never seen it before because in past years we thought Hailey might be scared of it. I’ve heard so many people say how amazing it is, so we were pretty excited to see it. My opinion was that it was good, but not as amazing as I expected it to be. And unless Rich or Hailey wants to go see it again, I probably wouldn’t go back. We did enjoy it, I just think once was enough for me.

During the finale of Fantasmic!

Lastly we saw the Muppet 3D show. Hailey just loves the 3D shows!

Getting ready to head back to the hotel. The main thing I remember when I see this picture is how much my feet hurt. Never in my life have my feet ever hurt so much. I don’t know if it was because I was pregnant or what… I wore the same shoes as always so it wasn’t my shoes. So I will blame it on being pregnant.

It was another midnight bedtime again! It sure felt good to lay down when we got back!!

Favorites for the day: Hailey’s favorite ride was Peter Pan, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin and the Haunted Mansion (she couldn’t pick just one) and her favorite character was Rapunzel

Disney Vacation 2011 Day 2

Melanie — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 10:00:11 +0000

On the 2nd day of our trip to Disney World we started our free dining package. The free dining didn’t start until the 2nd day we were there so in order to qualify for it we had to check out that morning and then check back in under our package. I had done online check in for this but I still had to wait a very long time. The regular check in line was even longer than the online check in, so it still saved us time. I think a lot of people had done the same thing we had and all needed to re-check in first thing in the morning. There weren’t very many cast members checking people in so apparently they didn’t realize how many people would be doing this. After waiting for probably 45 minutes we finally got re-checked in.

My little princess waiting for the bus to pick us up to take us to Epcot.

We had an 8:20 breakfast reservation at Akershus, so we arrived in the park before it was open.

Hailey and me (24 weeks pregnant).

My beautiful little miss

We arrived at Akershus and there was no wait. Even though we always have a reservation we have always had to wait in the past. This time we got right in.

Hailey and Belle

Hailey and Sleeping Beauty

Hailey during a parade around the restaurant

After the parade, Sleeping Beauty helped Hailey find her way back to our table.

Hailey and Cinderella

Hailey and Snow White

Hailey and Ariel. Hailey asked Ariel if she is able to turn back into a mermaid so that she can visit her dad and her sisters in the water. Ariel told her that she can change back and forth any time she wants to to visit. Hailey also sent a hug to Flounder.

Ariel during another parade around the restaurant.

Hailey parading

Having fun seeing all the princesses!

Our breakfast at Akershus was really good. I always love eating breakfast there and they have food that Hailey will eat, so that’s a definite plus! It’s not Rich’s favorite place to eat, but he puts up with it so Hailey can see the princesses.

After breakfast we were off to find some rides. Hailey decided that she wanted to go on Test Track. She tried it last year and was scared because it was too fast. But she decided she was ready to try it again this year.

Us, on our way to Test Track

So pretty

Rich grabbed some fast passes for Test Track to use later and since it was early and the line was short they decided to ride it right away (I couldn’t ride since I’m pregnant).

The princess in line for Test Track.

I think she looks a little bit nervous.

All ready to go! Definitely looking nervous now.

I think she’s having fun now!

Looking very happy! And she loved Test Track!

Next up we rode Soarin’. The wait was short and we got right on.

In line for Soarin’. We all loved Soarin’, although all of us feel dizzy during the part where you fly over the city. We just close our eyes during that part and we enjoy the rest of the ride. When we got off it was time for us to get another fast pass, so we got fast passes to ride Soarin’ again later.

Next we rode the Living With the Land boat ride. I always find this to be really interesting. But Hailey was complaining it was making her feel sick. When we went through the part where the greenhouses are it’s pretty warm and that was the part that made Hailey feel sick.

We found a Hidden Mickey on Living With the Land!

Next we went to one of Hailey’s favorite rides from last year. She stopped to pose with Dori and Nemo before we rode.

Ready to ride the Nemo ride.

After we rode Nemo, we had to stop and see Bruce. Hailey is doing her mad/scary face.

Hailey

Some of the fish in the aquarium

We went to see Turtle Talk with Crush. I am always amazed by this show. I can’t figure out how they do it! Hailey sat on the floor during the show and raised her hand to ask Crush a question, but she didn’t get picked. She was disappointed that she didn’t get picked and had planned to ask Crush where all of his friends were.

Rich grabbed more fast passes for Test Track and then Rich and Hailey rode it again using their fast passes from that morning. She really loved it!

Since we have never ridden on Mission Space (we aren’t big on the whole spinning thing!) we never realized that this fun Space Base comes after the ride. So we decided to check it out for the first time.

Hailey loved it! Here’s a few pictures of what it looks like:

She didn’t want to come down.

We got to meet Mickey and Minnie at the Character Spot. Hailey asked Mickey if was ever going to marry Minnie. It was so funny! Minnie gave her a high five for asking and Mickey kept putting his hand up to his ear like he couldn’t hear what Hailey was saying.

Us with Mickey and Minnie

We were a little bit hungry at this point so we stopped for a snack at the Promenade. Hailey had a cinnamon sugar pretzel. But I’m not sure who had more- Hailey or her new friend:

He would not leave us alone after Hailey decided to share some of her pretzel with him.

Hailey with Duffy

Next we rode the Gran Fiesta Tour Boat ride.

Then it was time for a little nap. We went into one of the innoventions buildings and Hailey (and Rich) slept for a little while. Sometimes Hailey will take a little nap, but it doesn’t happen very often. We don’t like to go back to our hotel for naps because it takes so much time out of the day by walking to buses, waiting for the bus, riding the bus, walking to our room, trying to settle Hailey down for a nap, etc. So we let her take a nap in her stroller in the park rather than waste all that time.

After nap time we went to Club Cool to sample some free soda from around the world. My favorites are from Costa Rica, Mexico and China.

Next we went to see Ellen’s Energy Adventure. I thought it might be a bit boring to Hailey because it’s long, but she absolutely loved it!

We ate dinner at Sunshine Seasons… it seemed like there was less of a selection than the last time we were there. Our food was delicious, but Hailey’s brownie had a hair in it. Yuck! We were given a new one, but still- yuck!

After dinner we used our fast passes for Soarin’.

Rich and Hailey went on Test Track again using their fast passes from earlier. While they rode I went and got our free pictures from the Character Spot photo opportunity earlier in the day. It rained pretty hard while I was getting our pictures but only for a few minutes.

Magic Kingdom had extra magic hours that night so it was time to head over there. We took the monorail over and it took a long time. Since I’m pregnant I assumed that someone would let me sit… but that was not the case. There was one guy who was sitting down and he looked right at me, then laid his head down on his wife’s shoulder and acted like he was sleeping. So rude! And then the monorail in front of us was having mechanical problems so we had to wait a long time on the track.

Finally at Magic Kingdom!

First up Hailey wanted to ride Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin

Yay! We captured Zurg!!

Next we went on Stitch’s Great Escape.

Then we went to see Mickey’s Philharmagic. Hailey had been asking to go to this allllll day long, she remembered how much she liked it last year.

Next we went on the Haunted Mansion.

Hailey had to try to pull the sword from the stone before we left.

A couple of castle pictures on our way out:

By the time we got back to our hotel, filled our mugs up and got to our room and in bed it was midnight. A long, but very fun first day!

Hailey’s favorites for the day- ride: Test Track at Epcot and Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin at Magic Kingdom. Favorite character: Minnie Mouse

Disney Vacation 2011 Day 1

Melanie — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 12:41:52 +0000

Back at the end of August we went on a trip to Disney World. We took lots of pictures while we were there (over 3200!) so it’s taking me some time to go through them and figure out what I want to share. Here is the first day of our vacation:

We woke Hailey up around 6am and told her there was a surprise for her in the living room (she had no idea we were going to Disney World). So she got right up to go see.

Opening her surprise box.

Reading the sign on her balloon that says, “We are going to Disney World.” She seemed pretty shocked at first and didn’t know what to say. When she realized we were leaving in a couple of hours she got very excited and ran to give me and Rich and big hug and said “Thank you so much!”

Other things inside the box included a new DVD (The Fox and the Hound) a new game for her MobiGo (Tangled), 2 autograph books that I made for the trip and a new shirt to wear.

The first autograph book I made for Hailey to take on our trip.

The other autograph book.

Hailey all ready to head to the airport, wearing her new shirt that says, “I’m going to the Walt Disney World Resort.”

Hailey and Rich on the airplane. The flight went better than last years did. Hailey complained she felt sick but she didn’t actually get sick this time.

Yay! At the airport in Orlando!

We went to catch our bus to our resort and didn’t have to wait at all. There weren’t very many people in line, which we were told was because of Hurricane Irene and a lot of people not able to come. We were very fortunate to make it when we did as we were one of the last flights to leave from our connecting airport to go to Orlando.

Hailey happy to be on the Magical Express… but that smile didn’t last the whole trip. When we got to our first stop (Caribbean Beach) to let people off Hailey begged to get off the bus because she was feeling sick. We couldn’t get off there and as soon as pulled out of the resort Hailey got sick Fortunately she felt better after that and we were pretty close to our resort anyways.

Pulling in to our resort- Pop Century. We stayed there last year and really liked it. We spend such a small amount of time in our room that we have liked staying at the value resorts in the past to save money. But I think after this year we are going to be staying away from the value resorts. We had an amazing time but there were a lot of things that bothered us this year.

Hailey loved playing with the big legos while Rich waited to get our suitcases off of Magical Express.

She had a little time to hula hoop too.

Hailey enjoyed playing in the kids room while I checked us in. I had done online check in before we got there, so it only took a few minutes for me to check in.

Off to find our room

After we got settled into our room we went to the food court to have some dinner. Hailey enjoyed a yummy pizza.

Then we checked out the Everything Pop gift shop.

Hailey decided she wanted a Lotso teddy bear from the gift shop. She’s posing in front of Lady, one of the huge icons that was near our room.

Hailey and Lotso in front of Tramp.

After a long day of traveling it was nice to just relax at the pool.

Hailey loved swimming in the pool!

A view of the main pool at Pop Century.

We were tired from our long day so we headed off to bed knowing that day 2 would be an early morning.