"Travel Tuesdays"...Disney Day 6

It's time for a post about Day 6 of our Disney Vacation! This was probably the most low-key day that we had (minus me sprinting from the car to the FastPass Kiosk in Hollywood Studios because my app told me there were still some Fastpasses available for Fantasmic). More on that later.

We started this day in Epcot, and ended in Hollywood Studios. We rode Test Track and Mission Space: Orange first. Test Track was a lot of fun!
Tip: Use the Single Rider Line if you don't mind being separated. We almost walked right on.

Test Track was a lot of fun for me partly because of the older man sitting next to me. He made car noises the entire time and pretended like he was shifting gears and steering. 

While we were busy riding rides, someone decided she needed a Minnie hat to match her Minnie sunglasses.

We rode several other things, and then it was time for our lunch reservation at San Angel Inn. 

 See that menu? See the item that says Pollo a las Rajas? Oh my... it was so incredibly good. In fact, I came home and found a recipe for it and made it.

We walked around a little bit more, but by then it was time to head back for a certain little girl's nap.

Once she woke up it was time to head over to Hollywood Studios. We were hoping to catch the first Fantasmic show, ride the Tower of Terror again, see the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights, and whatever else we could squeeze in. 

Everything I read said that you basically have to get in line for Fantasmic about an hour before the show. This did not sound like fun with a toddler. While we were in the car I looked on my phone and saw that there were still some Fastpasses available. We had already used our Fastpasses for the day, so the only way to get them was to go to the kiosk. The trams at Hollywood Studios take a lot of time because they wait for it to fill up, then they go through a long safety speech twice (once in English and once in Spanish), and finally they head to the park. At the time I thought the kiosk was at the front of the park, so I decided to hurry and jog to it instead of waiting on the tram. The rest of the group rode the tram. I forgot to mention that I don't run...ever. I hate running. I also had a sinus infection and bronchitis at the time. This wasn't my best decision. I got to the front of the park and asked where the kiosk was. Turns out it wasn't at the front, it was now closer to the middle of the park. I took off running again. Thankfully, there were still Fastpasses available by the time I got there. Unfortunately, even though our accounts were linked, the kiosk messed up and wouldn't let me add some of our group's Fastpasses. That meant I had to wait until I had their MagicBands. Goodness. We finally all had our Fastpasses, and we didn't have to wait in line for an hour. 

We got to use that time riding Tower of Terror instead! Seriously, even if you don't like drop rides, please try this one. It is so much fun! We're in the top left of this photo.

After that we headed over to see Fantasmic. You need to make it a point to see this show while you're at Disney! It has just about every Disney character you can think of in it, fireworks, water elements, and more. It is really, really neat!

We ended the night checking out the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights. This is an amazing Christmas light presentation. 

Anyone recognize the creature in the window?

Eliana Grace is 3!!!

I can't believe it, but today is Eliana Grace's 3rd birthday! I'm pretty sure it was just yesterday that I was talking myself out of being in labor for fear of going to the hospital and being sent home. 

I don't even have the proper words to use to describe this child. She is a joy. She is a challenge. She is a blessing from God. In case you didn't know, "Eliana" means "God has answered," and boy did He! Every day I tell Tanner that I love her even more. She is absolutely hilarious! I wish you guys could just be a fly on the wall to hear some of the things that she says. There is never a dull moment around here, and it's rare that she's not cracking me up. One of her teachers told me the other day that she was getting ready for work and was super tired, and then she remembered that Eliana would be there that day, and it was all okay because she knew she would say something funny. I'm pretty sure we have a class clown on our hands. I finish each and every day exhausted, but I wouldn't have it any other way! 

She is also really, really sweet. She is all about cuddling lately, and I am definitely okay with that! She loves to give super big hugs and kisses, and she randomly tells us that she loves us all the time. 

Thank You, God, for trusting us to be this fabulous little girl's parents. We don't deserve it, but I'm glad You chose us.

Happy birthday, Baby Girl, I love you bunches!!!

"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!