Disney World Day 3

After a BIG day at the Magic Kingdom, we decided to head to the Animal Kingdom. The lodge is so close to the park and we were there quick. The line to get in was HUGE but moved very quickly. We went straight for the Safari Ride, which was only a 20 minute wait.

Very happy our camera has an action mode and will take many consecutive picture in a row. I was able to get some good shots of the animals on the 'safari'.

Here is a small collection of the animals we saw:
(oh blogger why do you make it so hard to tile photos)

Hippo

Bloat of Hippos in the water

Giraffes

   

Elephant (Evie's Favorite)

Baby Elephant

Flamingos

White Rhinos

Zebras

Evie had a BLAST on the Safari. She loved looking at all the animals. Her favorite were the Elephants of course since they have a nice nose :) This is one of my favorite pictures because I get to remember the moment. Was trying to take a picture but Evie was having fun and doing the elephant arm raise. The ride is long, but 100% worth it, kids or not!

After the Safari ride, we walked around to look at monkeys. Evie especially wanted to see Gorillas. On our way there she had fun looking at fish, birds, turtles, and just having fun!

My girl running around

Fascinated by this bullfrog

We stopped at this big area where there were no animals. But this guy there gave Evie some coloring pages. Which this girl loved! We spent a good 10 minutes coloring. Daddy colored with Evie, Mommy colored with Evie, and Papou colored with Evie. This really nice guy who works there (do not remember where from Africa he is from) made Eve the cutest beaded bracelet! She wore it on and off all day!

Then we were off to see the gorillas! I don't have any good pictures. But the gorilla pooped, and went in a corner and ate it... Seriously. He picked it up and ate it! They said this is something gorillas in captivity do since they do not need to mark their territory. Was a wonderful sight.

Then it was lunch time and we at at the Flame Tree Grill (BBQ).  Was so tasty. Just what we wanted on a hot day. The pulled pork was tasty. Nick's ribs were good. YUM! Some of the best food at that park I think!

After we decided to take it easy and go see some characters. She saw Balou and King Louie from Jungle Book (has never seen the movie). Evie thought the bear was the bear from Brave. So had to meet them. When we got to them, they had to go get a quick snack (love how disney tells kids that when they need a small water snack break). Came back and Evie got to meet them! At first she was a little afraid, I think because how tall they were. Her Papou picked her up and she was able to meet them. 

Next was Minnie and Mickey! She knew who Minnie was and ran straight to her. She was not sure about Mickey. Most likely the outfit. 

 

After that we knew Evie was tired. It was hot. Time for a nap! During her nap, Evie and I left her with Yia Yia and Papou and headed to Epcot! We headed to the World Showcase mostly since we knew Evie would not enjoy it much. 

We met everyone at the Tangerine Cafe for dinner. Was excited because they have Shawarma. If you have not seen the latest Avengers movie, they talk about it a lot in it. The chicken Shawarma was only OK, very grisly. I am not a fan of lamb (animal is so cute!), but Nick said that was much better. The hummus was good as was the couscous. Should have gotten the falafel wrap. I love falafel! On the way out of the park we stopped at France to pick up some pastries! We did not leave the park till almost 9pm! Went back to the hotel and CRASHED. Well Nick and I did go out for another drink that evening (same as the day before), but I fell asleep quick.

Disney World Day 2

Evie slept pretty well the first night. She was an exhausted little girl from all the traveling and no nap. From what I remember she got up at 7, not bad for her. We walked outside on the balcony and saw Giraffes sleeping! Could not get a good picture without a flash and I didn't want to startle them. Surprisingly they sleep in a ball like a dog. They look like a rock when they do so that must be the reason for it.

Her and Papou went for breakfast at the cafe in the hotel. Got Bagels, cinnamon rolls, etc for everyone. Yum!

For the first day we HAD to go to Magic Kingdom. It was more crowded than I expected. But the entry line moved quickly.

First we got fast passes to see Tangled (Rapunzel) and Mickey. While waiting we wandered. Saw that the line for Brave (Mirida) was not long so got in line. While there Evie's Papou decided to spoil her and get some ice cream since she was asking for it. What grandparents get to do. She loved it of course.

The line was taking much longer than we thought it should, but Mirida needed a drink of water. Then we got in. Wow when it was Evie's turn, she RAN to Brave. It was amazing. Hugs and just amazement. Of course I wanted a family picture too :)

Then it was time to meet Tangled. The line was a good hour long and we got to walk right in with the fast pass. Really is the way to go. Evie's jaw dropped when she walked into the room and saw Tangled. Dropped. She could not believe she was real. Star Struck. Cutest thing EVER. We had to wait in a small line and Evie just stood there taking it all in.

Then it was her turn. Rapunzel saw Evie in her dress and came running over to her and took her hand. Walked her over to the picture area and got down to her level. Evie showed her the Tangled pin on her dress and they talked. Then posed for pictures. Just seeing my little girl in such amazement was one of the best moments I have witnessed.

Next was Aurora (Sleeping Beauty). I was not a big fan of Sleeping Beauty growing up, neither was Nick (surprise, a guy). Evie had no clue who she was. But she still gave a hug. Here she is dancing with her. 

And next was Cinderella.  Another one Evie didn't know who she was. But She was great with Evie. 

Then time to go see Mickey! Same with the previous fast pass. Got right into the room immediatly. And Evie ran straight to Mickey. Was great how we were first in line and she ran under the velvet rope to get to him! Hugs Hugs Hugs! Of course no talking. But he did give her a kiss on the cheek and she gave him a kiss on the nose. All day she pointed there and said Mickey Kiss. 

Evie went potty and had to change out of her dress since it was so hot. Speaking of that. Evie did wonderful using the potty at disney and not having accidents. She only had one accident the whole time we were there!

We wondered around for a bit looking at things. Ate at Columbia Harbor House. Everyone but me got Fried Shrimp (which the portion was huge) but I got a salad. The heat really makes me want to eat light and lots of veggies. I am a summer girl. Then we decided that Its a Small World is a must and got in line. She just kept looking around. I do enjoy that ride. But we all almost fell asleep except Evie at the end. Knew it was nap time. So we headed back to the hotel/time share.

While walking around, we saw them building Tangled's Tower. Will be so cool once opened up!

Evie napped. I fell asleep on the couch. Nick napped in bed. YiaYia and Papou napped. Yep we all needed it. Once everyone was up, had some snacks and headed out to Epcot for dinner. Stopped at Figment Imagination Ride. Evie loved the first time through and asked for more. We decided to do it again and she FREAKED out. Do not know why, but I think she was tired. I think she was saying more rides, not more of the same ride. After we ate at the Land Sunshine Seasons for dinner. That is really a good quick service restaurant. Fresh healthy food. After we ate went back to the hotel for the night. Put on a movie and all chilled.

Well after Evie was in bed, Nick and I wondered the hotel. Got drinks and sat outside near the fire pit and just chatted. Of course mine was virgin but yummy. I had a virgin Lava Flow (Pina Colada with strawberries) and Nick had an Old Fashioned.

Was a great second day at Disney/First day in the parks!

Disney World Day 1

Well our first day at Disney World we did not make it to the park. Oh well.

We got up at 5:30 to take an 8am flight. Lucky that we used the local airport near us that is in the same town we live in :).  Another benefit of driving ourselves to a local airport, we packed the car the night before. We got Evie up right before we left. We were very smart and kept her in jammies. Woke her up, changed her pull up and put her in the car. Yes she is potty trained, but don't want to deal with "gotta pee" and the mess that could go with an accident during take off and landing. But she was fantastic and did not pee in the pull up at all.

The airport is maybe 15 minutes away. About half way there, we realized we forgot Evie's pillow, so had to turn around and grab it. Not a big deal, but an added little stress. She sleeps so well with her pillow that we didn't want to forget it.

We got to the airport. Decided to park in the parking garage over the long term parking. The rational behind this: we get in at 9:30 at night, would rather not wait for a shuttle to get to the car an possibly clear off snow. Those with kids, if traveling during the winter - DO THIS. You do not want to sit there and dig your car out at the end of the trip. Checked in quickly (Southwest did not have a line surprisingly!) and got through security fast. Was able to pick up breakfast at the airport once through security and we ate on the plane.

The way down is around 3.5 hours. So much faster than our previous flight to California. Food, potty, movie, etc kept her entertained. I brought some gel window clings that entertained her for a good 20 minutes. Best $1 spent at Target for the trip. She pulled them off and put them on. They were Valentine's Day themed, so had X and O. Was able to teach her those two letters to. The flight attendants were quite entertained with her, they had never thought to bring those on the plane and work SO WELL!

Also for this trip, I wore sea bands. The trips to California I was queazy and did not feel well. The result of pregnancy. The sea bands helped so much. Worth the $7 to have them incase you need them.

Orlando Airport is HUGE. So happy I brought my ergo and was able to wear Evie on my back. Baby bump in the front and 2 year old on my back. Where southwest gets into Orlando Airport, you need to take a tram to the main terminal. Then you walk a ways to get baggage. Then even further to the car rentals. All on different floors. So if flying into Orlando, make sure you have a stroller or carrier for you kids!

Should have gotten a good full picture of Evie and I and my bump, but here is us when waiting for our luggage to arrive. Some how (knock on wood) we are very lucky and our luggage arrives very quickly. Do not know how that happens, but I'll take it.

Went to Alamo to pick up our car. Was very quick and a large line formed behind us. Alamo is nice since you get to pick out your car in the lot. Orlando Airport is amazing in that the car rentals are across the street and you don't need a shuttle. We had to go through the whole line of midsized cars to find one we wanted. Ended up getting a Toyota Corolla. Not a bad car and drives well.

Left the airport. Florida knows lots of tourists travel from the airport. Within 5 miles we hit 2 tolls. $2.25 I believe is what we spent on tolls. Not bad, just wish they had one toll. Directions were easy from the airport to Disney. Have to say everything is labeled really well. Did not need our garmin at all :)

Got to the Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House. So cool when you walk in. We checked our luggage when we arrived. Before kids we never did this, but with kids, it is worth the tip to have people help with luggage. Checked in and got our room keys. But our room was not ready yet. It was 3pm. So we walked around the main floor. Evie and I went outside and saw giraffes while Nick ran to the car to put the parking pass in it. Then we wandered around more and found Evie's YiaYia and Papou! We all met and went to lunch at Mara (the quick service restaurant there) since we had the quick service dining plan. 

Lunch was yummy. I had a african stew which was yummy. Evie even loved it! Checked and our room was not ready yet, so let Evie run around the playground they had. AFter still not ready so we chilled on a couch. The 2 year old had not had a nap yet, so was starting to get cranky. Finally at 4:45 or 5 our room was ready! 

 

Was able to quickly unpack and we headed out to Port Orleans Riverside Food Court. They have a great pasta bar where you choose your pasta ( fettuccine, spaghetti, penne ), sauce, chicken or shrimp, and a ton of veggies to put into it. Was yummy and a TON of food. 

Went back to the hotel and just chilled. We were all exhausted. We watched animals outside our balcony (AMAZING). We all went to bed early to start the day relaxed.

Were not sad we didn't go to a park. Would have been nice to get in to the room and put Evie down for a nap. But oh well. Was a fun day since we were staying in such a nice hotel :)