This was our last day at Disney - so sad!
I was obsessed with planning while we are at Disney for two reasons #1 It is so fun - I am just a planner, I can't help it! #2 - I want to make sure we see it all while we are there cause not sure if and when I could ever get back. I kind of said in my mind before we went that would probably be our last trip.
My detailed map for what we are going to accomplish on our last day - I tell them to get ready for "Disney Boot Camp". No one can even look at this and says "Just tell me where to go" (they didn't even use their maps - even though I had copied this thing over so they would all have their very own copy of our plan). Melanie tells me that I need to throw away my red marker, it has been proven to cause anxiety but I love it! Ha! Checking things off makes me feel happy and accomplished - which Melanie agrees is a good thing!
Last Tinkerbell treat of the week
(This was an idea I found online where you go to the Dollar Tree and bring treats for the kids each day and it costs a WHOLE lot less but the kids feel like they are getting something every day and you spend less on souvenirs). So I got them for all the kids and put them out each night.
We went straight for the Talking Mickey cause I knew it would have a long line and before the park opened it already said 40 minutes (but I find out that Disney knows that it will be a long line and automatically puts that up - we didn't wait long so my plan worked!
They pick on me and called me the "John Ed" of the trip because I am talking to random people and asking questions, but Disney simply was fascinating to me this time like never before and most everyone is nice there, not to mention who well trained the employees all are on everything!
FUN FACT - Kent went to Disney in February with the Barton Masters Program and he learned a fact while in training. "All the big wigs at Disney carry a trash picker upper." So we had fun spotting the big wigs around the part. Disney definitely puts an emphasis on cleanliness!
The kids loved the Talking Mickey especially Owen
"Walking right down the middle of Main Street USA"
First stop - Mickey Waffles for breakfast in Liberty Square. These big ones were much better than the small ones at all the character breakfast meals. It was also weird that they were a "snack" credit instead of a meal credit and came as a side to some entrees.
Then we headed on the Jungle Cruise - but wish we had skipped it because it was really not worth the wait except we got to sit down and was relaxing (but full of corny jokes)
These 3 were ready to ride Big Thunder Mountain with us - Mom and Brooklynn went to ride the Aladdin's Magic Carpets
Owen was so brave on these rides
Ella remembered the "Move It, Shake It, Feel It" parade from a video I had on my phone from our last trip and really wanted to go this time too! So I told mom to get us a spot for the parade and we would meet her after the ride - the ride took longer than expected so Ella and I literally ran hand in hand to the parade because we could hear the music but did not want to miss it!
Dancing in the Street
Ella looked like such a big girl - clapping and dancing
Brooklynn enjoyed it too!
Just a few Brooklynn memories cause she is a funny kid -
#1 -You can ask her anything and she will say this long drug out "Nooooooo"
#2 - She is recently potty trained and Melanie was asking her a lot if she had to go pee pee. We were sitting at dinner one night and she said "I got to pee pee". Melanie was like "Ok, you gotta pee pee?". She said "Yes, I gotta pee pee really bad". Melanie said "Ok then well lets go". Then she smiled and said "Just Kidding" and started laughing. She really didn't have to go and was just tricking us! What 2 year old thinks of that!
#3 - Ella was messing with her at dinner and said "Brooklynn, are you a baby". To which she replied "Nooooo" and shook her head. Ella then said "Well then, are you a big girl?". Which she replied "Nooooooo" shaking her head. Ella seemed surprised to get "No" to both answers and said "You are not, well what are you then?" To which Brooklynn quickly responded very seriously "A monster - and growled". I just don't know where she comes up with this stuff at her age.
#4 - I was keeping her one time while the others rode a ride and she was upset that her mommy and Mammy had both gone on the ride and left her with me. So I was trying to distract her and started skipping with her on my hip and she was bouncing up and down and giggling". After that, she became my buddy - and anytime I would hold her she would say "Maggie, I want to skip". That girl could wear me out but she is so funny! I know I might be biased but I think she is a super smart kid!
Owen was also a lot of fun and was very excited about everything and would say "Look Mammy, and point out stuff". He told Prince Eric all about his new Velcro shoes and the Talking Mickey all about his BBA toy. He also asked Tigger at breakfast if he wanted to play London Bridge with him. They are both almost at the same ages as my kids when we went last time and it is so fun to watch them at their age.
It is also SO fun for the ages my kids are because for the most part they can walk and you don't have to deal with strollers (even though Ella still wanted to ride from time to time), they could ride almost all the rides and LOVED them and could hang until late into the night with no naps.
So, if you are asking what ages to take your kids to Disney - there is something wonderful at every stage so go more than once! At ages 3 and 5, it is totally magical and you will have wonderful memories but sorry to say your kids won't remember much (or at least mine didn't). At ages 6 and 8, they can hang and it is fun for you because you can ride with them and don't have to worry as much about bedtimes. So just depends on what you want!
Move It, Shake It, Feel It Parade - one of our favs
I love Disney parades!
Sweet girls waving to the characters - we saw some different characters in this parade like Genie from Aladdin, Baloo from Jungle Book and the Incredibles.
Kent, Melanie, Corey, Owen and Caleb went to ride Splash Mountain because it had been broken down and reopened and the wait looked shorter on the app.
Mammy and I took the girls to ride the Peoplemover
Brooklynn loved it and would say "Weeee" and then when we would go thru a dark part she would say "Woah, it's really dark in here" every.single.time.!
Sweet sweet girls!
We decided it was time for a snack break - Mammy and Ella wanted their favorites (frozen lemonade for Ella and strawberry bar for Mom). I had not found my favorite snack so I texted Amanda to see if she had any suggestions - she told me to try Jeoffery's Donuts near Space Mountain. I had in my head that I wanted a cinnamon donut like Dunkin Donuts but was a little disappointed when they all looked like regular donuts. I settled for a blueberry muffin and headed to meet them not very happy with my choice but it turned out to be SO good! I had told mom I would share with Brooklynn but she ate more than me so we headed back to get another one - this time a carrot cake muffin - also good but not as good as the blueberry one. I love when a muffin has sugar crystals on top and this one did!
Meanwhile they had finally made it on Splash Mountain after a LONG wait!
We did some shopping in Fantasyland and Ella picked out a sweatshirt.
Brooklynn crashed and took a good nap while we shopped. We were going to take the Railroad back but decided we didn't want to wake B so we just walked back to the front to meet the rest of the crew.
Melanie had heard that they do silhouettes that are really good and cheap at Disney - and Mom really wanted to get them done (because she LOVES the ones of me and Kent when we were little) so we all met up on a side street on Main Street and got all the kids done.
While we were doing that, the parade started and we heard them say that "Steve Harvey was the Grand Marshall". We were like "No way, he was here when we were here 3 years ago" and dad was so excited because he loved Family Feud - even though dad couldn't remember his name and told the people next to us that it was Eddie Murphy and that he was really special to our family cause we watched Family Feud (not joke we are still laughing about it). So I rushed to get a picture. We later found out that he is there about every 2 week so it wasn't that big of a deal but seemed neat to us! Ella also LOVES Family Feud.
I took Ella to the bathroom and she was literally skipping and dancing to the parade music on the way back to meet the group.
We park hopped over to Animal Kingdom and Owen crashed on the bus! I was having to hold his head up so he wouldn't fall over - he was worn out!
First stop in Animal Kingdom was to eat - we tried to make it off two meals a day since that is what was paid for on the Disney plan - and we did. Most of the time Mom and I shared. Brooklynn didn't get a meal since she was 2 and free but we just got 3 kid meals and split them between the 4 kids and it worked great with an extra FREE water cup. We also packed snacks to take with us in the park and got 2 snacks a day on the dining plan and had PLENTY of food left!
We had 4 fast passes for Dinosaur and all the kids wanted to ride again so Melanie agreed to take them. I would say Melanie is the thrill seeker of our group and was always up to ride whatever.
Now the first time Ella rode it she said she was scared and didn't want to go again. When I told her that I had fast passes, she said she wanted to try it again and this time she would keep her eyes open.
While they did that, we rode Tricera Top Spin with Brooklynn - she loved all the spinning rides.
And Broolynn picked to ride with me over Mammy - complete shocker! Probably cause I skipped ;)
Ella came off the ride with a thumbs up and said she loved it!
Picture by the big dinosaur - can you spot them?
Ella decided she wanted to ride Expedition Everest this time since she was tall enough and Caleb kept talking about it was his favorite ride. Owen wanted to go too but he wasn't quite tall enough - poor little guy!
The kids were told a joke by a Disney employee that they loved and kept repeating
"Why is a T-rex always so angry?" Why you ask - "Because they can't hold their children" And the kids flounder around with their short arms as they tell the joke. Caleb loves a good joke!
I wasn't planning to ride Everest but couldn't let my baby go without me so I sucked it up, took a deep breath and headed off!
It was fun! Yay - my kids loved all the roller coasters - not sure who they get this from but it is not me! I am still nervous on a big ride everytime!
This ride goes forward and backwards and when first start going backwards you are thinking - what is happening?
We kept hearing how good the Dole Whip was so we set off to find it - Corey and Melanie liked it but decided they like it better mixed with vanilla ice cream. The kids all got Mickey Sundaes!
Ella helping B finish her ice cream
The boys hanging out in Pandora (new part of Animal Kingdom)
Disney really does amazing with details and making things bigger than life so it really has the WOW factor!
This is what you see while waiting in line for Flight of Passage
Here we go!!! I would ask Ella are you nervous on big rides and she would say "No, I am excited"
Waiting while Kent, Melanie and Mom rode Flight of Passage - the kids dumped all the candy out in my bag and went to town.
Just a funny story to remember - I had all 4 kids at one point while Mom, Kent and Mel went on a ride and Corey went to get something for us to drink. Brooklynn all of a sudden said "I got to stinky really bad and was holding her tummy." I was like "Crap, I can't lug all these kids to the bathroom" so I called Corey to see where he was. He said well I was getting a drink but I can come back. I said come and hurry, not sure B is going to make it. Long story short, he comes back, I literally run to the bathroom and B has had a little accident but not her fault cause she told me she had to go and I didn't get her there in time. Melanie was so sorry it happened while I had it but it wasn't a big deal, I just hated I didn't get her there in time.
Caleb was having a hard time with what he wanted with his souvenir money and kept looking at this BBA in the hotel gift shop. So he finally decided to spend his money on it. He picked out a small one that said it was for age 3. I talked him into getting the bigger one for a little more money cause I thought he would enjoy it more and longer. He is def my saver that things thru his spending unlike Ella who wants everything she sees! Owen got a bubble maker so they matched!
Silhouettes - if you can't tell who is who - look at the lashes (Kent's kids have the best lashes)
Kent wasn't feeing the best (bad cold) and everyone was getting worn out so we called it an early night. The girls crawled up in Mammy's bed, Ella scratched Brooklynn's back and they were both out in no time!
Kent went straight to bed cause he wasn't feeling good, we ate our candy/caramel apples and packed up because we had an early morning and had to leave!
The Disney bug has definitely bit me and so has the travel bug and I am ready to plan another trip! #YOLO
No comments:
Post a Comment