Disney 2014–Epcot!

We decided to end our trip with a visit to Epcot. We enjoy the park, and really, so do the girls. You could spend your whole day chasing princesses and other characters around this park, something that most people do not know. We wanted to be able to take our time because we knew we’d all be tired (and possibly cranky) by now. Our prediction was correct.

We started our morning with “the princess breakfast” in Norway.

The food here is good, I think. The family style dining is really nice and the eggs and potatoes are seriously YUM! The buffet is more of a continental breakfast with some traditional Norwegian foods (fish, etc.). You get lots of princess time, and a princess parade!, which is why we go!

Gianna and Mike used a Fast Pass to ride Test Track which they loved. I entertained Aleesia by checking out the “show room” area at the end of the ride and generally just walking around in that area until they were done. We then headed to meet Mickey and friends (can you believe we hadn’t done this yet?!). The line was short, no Fast Pass required.

And other friends, were there too!

The girls were Tired by now – and it was hot. We ended up hanging around Innoventions, which Gianna really enjoyed. Aleesia slept!

We actually skipped our FastPass for Soarin’ and didn’t get to Nemo and Friends (because the little one was sleeping), all of which were okay with us. Gianna had an overtired meltdown somewhere before we ended up in Canada and I still have no idea why. We stumbled upon an awesome character party between Canada and England but we only hit the end of it – there were TONS of unique characters there, such a fun surprise!

We eventually had lunch, visited some of the kidcot stations and visited Mulan, who we had never met before.

We went around the world and still had time to kill before our dinner reservations so Mike went on Mission Space. Gianna tried to ride it, but she got scared so she waited with me. Fun fact – at the end of the ride is a play area for the kids. I let them run around in there while we waited for Mike, it was perfect!

We had dinner in Italy at Napoli – HIGHLY RECOMMEND! The food was seriously so yum and the atmosphere was welcoming and kid friendly.  After dinner, we headed back to the hotel because again, TIRED!

I think Epcot is seriously so great, this trip we didn’t get to see as many the characters as we have in past visits, but we met them all other places and didn’t feel like spending our day stuck to a schedule. It was nice just to stroll around and relax a little.

Disney 2014–Magic Kingdom part 2

On our second day at Magic Kingdom we had just as much fun as the first day! Minnie Mouse left the girls each a new shirt to wear for the day as their special gift.

First stop was the Polynesian for breakfast at Kona. This was a non-character breakfast but the food? You guys! The Kona coffee and the Tonga Toast almost made my whole day. It was a nice, quiet, relaxed breakfast before our day started.

We headed into the park and first stop was Story time with Belle – this was so so fun! Gianna got to be Maurice (shiver, shiver!) and the magic mirror on the wall was so cool! I highly recommend using a fast pass for this so you don’t miss it.

Mike and Gianna then rode the Mine Train while Aleesia and rehydrated. According to Mike, it’s worth a fast pass but not a 60+ minute wait. Gianna didn’t seem to love it.

We decided to make our way back down Main Street USA to get Mickey ears (I wish we had bought them the day before, oh well).

We were selected for a Fast Pass lunch at Be Our Guest. We chose to pre-select our food when we selected our lunch time and it was really easy. The food is much more ‘fancy’ than we normally eat but I was able to put in special requests and the food was made to our satisfaction. The restaurant is such an amazing place – it’s worth a walk around, if you can. I didn’t get any good pictures of the inside, somehow. But take my word for it – if you can get a reservation here, TAKE IT! The grey stuff IS delicious.

It was raining when we left and headed to Ariel’s grotto (our 3rd and last Fast Pass this day). The line for this was outside, which stunk. And it moved pretty slow when we were there, which were the only downfalls.

 

Since it stopped raining by the time we were done, we  checked out Gaston’s pub. Gianna and Mike shared a LeFou’s Brew.

I can’t even remember what else we did but eventually Aleesia fell asleep and we found a good spot on Main Street to catch the 3pm parade.

Aleesia eventually woke up and seriously LOVED the Mickey balloons (this guy was so fun hanging out with her for a little while!). WE all goofed around taking selfies.

I still don’t know what made her cry, but this is a pretty epic picture.

Mike got me a much-needed Starbucks.

Finally it was time for the parade, which everyone really enjoyed!

We added on a Fast Pass to see Tinkerbelle so we headed there next. Aleesia liked looking at the “lost things!”

We wandered around Adventureland and eventually rode the Magic Carpets.

We had also added on a Fast Pass to see Cinderella – Gianna’s favorite princess. She signed Gianna’s ears and you would think they are now encased in gold.

Rapunzel was there too! Her and Aleesia became fast friends.

On this day, it was ready to start storming, we were all tired and we headed out of the park early and had dinner at our hotel. We enjoyed a slightly laid back park day and an early night of rest!