"Travel Tuesdays"...Disney Day 5

Welcome back to "Travel Tuesdays!" I missed some over the last few weeks because of all of the snow that we had! You'd think with Tanner being off that I'd be able to get more work done, but that was not the case. Anyway, I'm back, and it's time for Disney Day 5! We started this day at Hollywood Studios and ended at the Magic Kingdom. 

It just so happened that before we left the hotel that morning, Eliana saw her Sofia the First dress sticking out of her suitcase. She immediately asked if she could wear it that day, even though she had no idea she would be meeting Sofia. I, of course, told her she could because let's be honest, how cute are these pictures? This is another meet and greet that made me tear up a little. I didn't expect it at all, but she got more excited about seeing Sofia than she did when she met the Frozen sisters (stick around for those pictures).

We also got to go to Mickey's clubhouse! This is a super cute show if you have preschool-aged kids! It featured a lot of the Disney Junior favorites: Mickey and friends, Doc McStuffins, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and Sofia the First! Tanner was impressed with the puppetry.

Tip: You sit on the floor for this show and it does fill up. Try to get there a little early.

After that show, we hurried over to see the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. I loved this show the last time I saw it, and I had heard that it was closing soon, so it was definitely on our to-do list. Note: It is still showing, but I'm not sure what the plans are for it at this time. 
I knew this would have some loud parts, so we brought Eliana an iPad and headphones to play with. Unfortunately, we didn't get them on her in time, and she got a little scared. My mom ended up taking her out of the theater.
Tip: This show may scare toddlers...even with an iPad and headphones.

It was a show kind of day for us. Next up was Voyage of the Little Mermaid. This is a pretty short show where they do a quick recap of the movie. It's cute, but if you don't have time to make it to this, your vacation won't be busted. 

Our final show at Hollywood Studios that day was Beauty and the Beast - Live On Stage. This is also a cute show, but I may skip it next time. Not because it isn't good, Beauty and the Beast just isn't Eliana's favorite, so I think we could make better use of our time doing other things. If she changes her mind and gets on a Beauty and the Beast kick, I'm sure we'll see it again.

We even managed to squeeze in a few rides. We rode Rock 'N' Roller Coaster two times.

Tip: Do the single rider line if you don't mind being split up. It was much faster!

Then we did the ride that I had skipped the last few times I was at Disney. I've never liked drop rides very much, so I had never ridden the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. I had heard excellent things about it though, so I was determined to conquer my fear this time and ride it. Tanner felt the same. I'm not sure if you can tell by the picture, but I laughed through the entire thing. It was fantastic! You never know what's going to happen, and it felt like we had super long ride. Please enjoy Tanner's face in the picture below (bottom right). Then feel free to watch the video below that. Yes, we have video (ask me about Memory Maker before you plan your next trip). Enjoy!

After a quick nap it was time to head to the Magic Kingdom for the event that Eliana had been desperately waiting for...eating in Cinderella's Castle. I'm sure I've told you on a previous post, but for over a year Eliana has been saying, "I want to go to Cinderella's Castle someday, but it's too far away." She would say this any time she saw a picture of the castle. Once we saw the castle on Day 2, we told her that in a few days we would get to go inside and eat. She couldn't believe it! She had no idea that other princesses would be joining us.

We got a great table with a view of Eliana's favorite ride! 

When they started announcing the first princess, Eliana didn't know what to expect. She was so excited when she saw Snow White walk out and start coming toward our table (we were Table #3).

When they started announcing the next princess, she said, "Who's it going to be?" She had been wanting to meet Aurora, but she always had a long line. We knew she would probably be at this dinner, so we kept trying to distract her until then. She finally got to meet her!

Ariel! I don't have a good picture of Jasmine, but she was there, too. The only picture I have has other people's kids in the background.

The castle is so pretty at night!

Watching Elsa light the castle.

Next, it was time for a Disney Classic...It's a Small World!

I had heard so much about Dole Whips that I knew I had to try one. I had pineapple juice and pineapple ice cream. Next time, I'm going to try it with vanilla ice cream. It was just a little too strong for me. Tanner said he'd get the same thing next time, though.

We hurried to watch the parade! This parade is so pretty. Be sure to watch it at least once on your trip.

I promise we weren't blocking anyone's view. There was a fence behind them.

To end the evening we hurried to meet Tinkerbell. This was one of my favorite meet and greets. She was so much fun! When she found out we had eaten with the princesses she asked Eliana if Aurora was awake. She said that she had been known to have problems staying awake and had even fallen asleep in her waffles one morning! Eliana thought that was hilarious! Tink told us to come back any time because she thought Ellie was so much fun.

"Travel Tuesdays"...Disney Day 4

Disney Day 4 was full of the Magic Kingdom! Some of my favorite meet & greets were on Day 4. Merida was fabulous, and as you'll see in the pictures below, I may have met my favorite princess (trust me, it will be obvious when you see the picture)! I was a wee bit excited. This was also the day we got stuck...on Space Mountain! Tanner and I were riding (Ellie was with my mom). It was actually quite fun. Basically we were riding and then we stopped and the lights came on. Eventually a cast member came and pushed the rocket that was in front of us, and they finished the ride (it still wasn't working). Then she came to us because we were next. We were at the top of the last hill when it stopped. She pushed us, and off we went. We videoed the whole thing, and laughed about it for the rest of the trip. When we got to the end they asked us if we wanted to stand at the front of the line and ride again once it was fixed.

TIP: We couldn't stand in line because it was time to get Ellie. We told them that and asked if there was anything else they could do. A cast member took out a pad of FastPass vouchers and handed us one. It basically said that we could use it once as a Fastpass on a ride of our choice that day. It was not allowed on Seven Dwarves Mine Train or character spots. The even better part was that it was for our whole party (not just the two of us).

Merida!

 Ariel!!!

 

Clearly, I was excited. Ellie was just trying to figure out why Ariel was holding a Dinglehopper.

After Ellie's nap we went back to the Magic Kingdom for a bit, but it was a Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP) night, so we had to leave at 7:00. 

I kept telling Tanner that he had to see the Country Bear Jamboree. Wow, it's a lot different watching that as an adult. There were so many lyrics that I didn't remember, and didn't understand as a child. Lyrics like: "There was blood on the saddle. Blood all around. There's a great big puddle of blood on the ground," and "All the guys that turn me on turn me down."  Wow. I'm surprised this attraction is still around.

TIP: If a guest only has a ticket to MVMCP and not a day ticket, they can enter the park at 4:00 pm even though the party doesn't start until 6:30 pm. 

TIP: We rode several rides between 6:00-7:00. It seemed like most of the guests were watching the castle lighting or other party events that started before 7:00. We rode Splash Mountain. Yes, it was pretty cold outside, but there was no wait, so why not? Then we darted across the park to try to use our FastPass voucher at Space Mountain before the park closed. When I handed the cast member our voucher, he asked why the other members of our party weren't with us (they were riding the Carousel with Ellie). Instead of taking our voucher, he handed us a Rider Swap pass and told us to keep our voucher! How nice was that??? Unfortunately, we didn't get to use it because the park closed right as we got off of Space Mountain.

TIP: If you do not have a ticket to the party, you won't be allowed to do anything after 7:00. This means ANYTHING. We had planned on riding rides until 7:00 and then grabbing some food at a counter service restaurant on the way out. Wrong. They wouldn't even allow us into the restaurant without a party armband.

"Travel Tuesdays"...Disney World Day 3.

Day 3 of our Disney World vacation was great in a different way. We didn't ride a ton of rides, but we saw some great shows, ate great food, and even saw one of the actors from one of my favorite tv shows.

We started the day in Hollywood Studios. The plan was to stay there until Eliana's nap time, and then after her nap head over to Epcot to catch the Candlelight Processional.

Our very first FastPass of the day was to the Frozen Sing-a-long. 

TIP: I still haven't decided whether I think you should use a FastPass for this one or not. The FastPass area of seats weren't in the front (we only ended up being in the front because my stepdad hurt his ankle and was on a scooter). I'd say if you're there during a busy time of year, and you have a child that's obsessed with Frozen, then yes, definitely FastPass it. It really was a cute show, and Eliana definitely enjoyed it. She was in awe at first, but once they sang "Let it Go," she came out of her shell a bit. Oops, spoiler alert: They sing "Let it Go." Ha. 

My girl making a silly face.

I posted this picture so I would remember this phase and how happy I am that I think we've broken her of putting her hair in her mouth 24/7. 

Someone looks happy.

I actually don't have a ton of pictures from this day, but I will tell you that, yes, Toy Story Mania is all that it's cracked up to be. What a fun ride! 

TIP: Toy Story Mania FastPasses are some of the hardest to get. Be sure to try to get those first when planning your trip.

Tanner of course got to geek out riding Star Tours, and he loved MuppetVision3d because those are also some of his favorite movies. 

We had a lunch reservation at 50's Prime Time Cafe. 

TIP: Be prepared to wait even if you have a reservation. We probably waited about 30 minutes for our table. 

I had eaten here on two other occasions and had so much fun, so I couldn't wait to bring Tanner here because I knew his silly, sarcastic self would have a lot of fun with the waiter or waitress...plus the food is great! However, I was a little disappointed with our service this trip. Our waitress wasn't really into the whole, "I'm going to pretend to be your mom and make you eat your food and keep your elbows off of the table" thing. I started watching other waitresses to see if this was the new standard, but it appeared that it was not. Maybe it's because we had a 2-year-old with us, who knows. Anyway, I still love 50's Prime Time Cafe, and I would still recommend that you go there if you visit Hollywood Studios.

After Eliana's nap, we rushed over to Epcot to try to get a good seat for the Candlelight Processional. This is a Christmas show that Epcot has every year that includes a celebrity narrator (it's a different person every few days), an orchestra, and a huge choir. The narrator reads The Christmas Story (from the Bible, in case you're wondering), and the choir sings Christmas songs. They have about 3 shows per night, but we were trying to get to the 6:30 show. 

TIP: Get to the Candlelight Processional WAY early. By WAY early, I mean WAY more than an hour. Especially if the narrator is incredibly popular...which, Neil Patrick Harris, from How I Met Your Mother is. Oh right, I forgot to mention, that's who we saw. We got there about an hour early. The show before had already started, and the line was INCREDIBLY long. At one point a Cast Member came by counting people. He asked each person in line how many was in their party. When he got to us he said, "I'm not sure if you'll make it in or not." By the way, there were tons of people in line behind us, too. At that point our guys went on a scouting mission. They ended up finding a great place to see the show, and it didn't require waiting in line. Are you ready for one of my best tips ever? 

TIP: You can stand behind the fence of the American Gardens Theater and see everything. We even took turns saving our spot and went to get food at the Liberty Inn to eat while we waited.

TIP: The Liberty Inn is a quick service restaurant in the USA section of Epcot. However, even though it's quick service, you can still get a steak! That's a great value if you're on the Disney Dining Plan!

After the Candlelight Processional, we hurried over to have Eliana's picture made with Santa and Mrs. Clause. 

Then there was the time that my silly girl made everyone in line as well as Mr. and Mrs. Clause laugh. She's hilarious!

Epcot is beautiful at night!