WDW Day 3: Epcot Afternoon

Grey chose not to nap this day, so after about 30 minutes of trying, James just walked him around the resort. Thankfully the rest of us got a little snooze before heading out to Epcot for the night. We stopped to take a picture with Rafiki on the way to the park. We passed him everyday when we headed to our room and Grey would gleefully say, "Fiki!"

 

If you have a bag you have to go through a (longer) bag check line when entering any park, so James and I always separated so that one parent could take the stroller and get inside with the kids quicker. This afternoon, James had the park bag, so the kids and I took some photos right in the entrance of Future World while we waited for him... 

 

The photopass photographer thought it would be a good idea to get some shots of just the kids. Hunter wasn't too thrilled with the idea and kept trying to push Charlotte's arm off of him during the photos (these 2 have a hard time getting along lately...but there are moments of fun and love between them and I cherish those!). The photographer said, "You'll have some real life shots in there!" And boy did she deliver... 

 

After James found us, we headed back to the World Showcase and straight to France so we could get some snacks from Boulangerie Patisserie. I think we got a napoleon, strawberry mousse (or some cream and strawberry dessert) and a chocolate éclair. They were yummy! France is probably the most beautiful area of World Showcase in my opinion, but it was dark and I only had my iPhone so my pictures didn't do it justice. Here's a stock photo...

 

They had Christmas decorations all around Disney World and in France, they had these large open ornaments with different French landmarks inside. Here's the Eiffel Tower...

 

Somebody should've napped...

 

They had their Eiffel Tower lit up just like the real one in honor of those who died during the attacks in Paris...

 

Next we headed to Japan, briefly looked around and then came back to Morrocco...

 

Here are my sisters and I on the same fountain in 1986!!!

 

We had fun looking around the shops in Morrocco. Char wanted to take our picture in front of this fountain...

Good quality right there. Hunter is into photo bombing right now. You'll notice this trend later.

 

Then we headed back to the UK...

 

There was a fun little quartet singing and playing instruments in the street. It really felt like we were in the UK. Cobblestone paths and all!

 

We quickly headed into Canada and caught the Lumberjack show. It was pretty cool. They were having a competition with different teams of lumberjacks...log rolling and wood chopping. We all enjoyed it. Once that was over, we headed back toward Future World to catch our dinner reservation.

More photo bombing...

 

We got to Garden Grill a little early and had to wait a while for our table. That was fun with our feisty little one, but we survived. We ate here last time and loved the food, so we were excited to go back. And it was going to be Grey's first encounter with his favorite classic characters!

 

First up was Dale (Grey isn't that familiar with Chip and Dale, so he just kind of stared)...

 

Chip came by soon after...

 

Then Pluto! Grey was excited about this one. He loves Pluto!

 

And finally, Mickey!! Grey saw him a few tables down and said, "Hi Mickeeeeyyy!!" in a quiet, high pitched voice, but once he came to our table, Grey was too shy to talk to him. Or maybe he was just in awe!

Mickey was excited that Grey had on a Mickey shirt and hat. He kept pointing to them.

 

Hunter's not that into characters, but he handled all of the meets well. Somehow he ended up inside Char and Mickey's hug...

 

It was a great meal and we were stuffed! Afterward, we headed back toward World Showcase to watch Illuminations, but got some photos along the way...

 

 

Here's our first shot in front of one of the big Christmas trees...

 

Here's the full tree. They were all glorious!

Epcot's tree had different ornaments from around the world and "Merry Christmas" written in different languages.

 

We watched Illuminations back in 2012 during our first trip, and I wasn't that impressed, so we skipped it in 2013. Well, I loved it this time! I think I must have been grumpy before or something. It was spectacular! I didn't take any pictures or video because I was just taking it all in, but here are some stock photos of the fireworks at the end...

It's a great show with water and fire and fireworks. We all loved it!

 

Epcot afternoon favorites:
James, Carole, Hunter, and Charlotte - Illuminations: Reflections of the Earth

Grey - Meeting Mickey and Pluto at The Garden Grill

WDW Day 3: Magic Kingdom Morning

The next morning we got up again bright and early and headed back to the Magic Kingdom...

We made it before the morning show, but weren't quiet as early as the day before, so we didn't get as close to the entrance. The good part about being a little later, though, was that we were positioned right in front of the stage for the show...

"Good morning! Good morning! It's great to stay up late. Good morning! Good morning to you!"

Love when all the characters come out...

I had planned to go to Enchanted Tales with Belle first. Hunter thought I was so smart that I picked this first because everyone else was going to meet Anna and Elsa or to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. The thing I didn't think about, though, was that no one else was there, so we'd have to wait for 15-20 people before they'd start the first show. We didn't want to waste time doing that, so we headed to Peter Pan's Flight. We had a fastpass for later in the morning for this, but we love it, so it was fun to go twice. And I'm so glad we did, because they have a new interactive queue that was so cool! With fastpass you skip the queue so we wouldn't have been able to see it otherwise. I was so impressed with it, that I didn't even think about taking pictures:(

Then we headed back to Belle and there were enough people to start right away! You enter through Maurice's cottage (they even had a Christmas tree up in there), and then magically are transported to Beast's castle.

 

Several people get to play a part. Last time Charlotte wanted Chip and she got it, but this time she wanted to be Beast. That was the first character that was assigned. The cast member asked everyone to roar, and Charlotte gave it her all. She immediately handed her the Beast cape and said that was the most ferocious roar she'd ever heard!

Grey and Hunter didn't want a part, but I guess Hunter is a good galloper because he got assigned Phillipe... 

Despite what it looks like, he was NOT happy to have a part (everything is embarrassing these days). Thankfully, there was a little girl who wanted a part and didn't get one, so we just gave her Phillipe before we entered the room to meet Belle.

 

 

 

Belle comes in and everyone acts out the story of how she and Beast fell in love. Char. did. awesome.

This Belle was pretty authentic, too.

Since Belle and Beast fall in love, Charlotte got to dance with Belle (pretty sure this is why she wanted this part)...

Such a magical moment!

 

After the re-enactment was done, everyone got to meet Belle (the boys passed)... 

 

Next we headed over to It's a Small World...

 

 

Another failed family selfie... 

Then it was back to Peter Pan's Flight to use our fast pass. We switched it around and I rode with Hunter this time.

 

We walked to Haunted Mansion after Peter Pan and passed by this area. I love the theming here (Tangled is one of my favorite movies). It's just bathrooms, though! 

I could definitely skip Haunted Mansion, but the big kids and James like it. Grey was kind of meh about it, too.

 

Next up was another princess meet. Tiana! 

Hunter wasn't thrilled to be there, but we got him to hush pretty quick. Grey was all over the place, though, and we got scolded by a cast member to get back in line while I was chasing him.:/ He kept slamming the indoor trashcan lid, and I'm guessing that must have been ruining the magic of meeting Tiana for the others. I was trying to stop him...geez!

She was another really good character. Great accent and everything! 

After Tiana we split up so that the big kids could ride Splash Mountain with our fastpasses. Grey and Charlotte went with James to ride the Magic Carpets of Aladdin while Hunter and I headed so Splash... 

Hunter had ridden before, but I hadn't. He was a little nervous about the drop and so was I (but I was only nervous about getting wet!). The woman in front of us was really familiar with it, so she kept warning us about what was coming up. We're on the third row back... 

Post-splash... 

Next James and Charlotte went while Grey, Hunter and I got a Dole Whip. The plan was to share it with Charlotte and James when they got off, but we finished it all! So after watching James and Charlotte go down the hill, we headed back over to get them a Dole Whip to have when they were done. Best snack at Disney World!

 

They're on the back row... 

 

James and Hunter had fastpasses for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, so they rode that after we grabbed a rider switch. Char, Grey and I headed to a little play area called Laughing Place (this ended up being one of his favorite things!). When they were done, we switched and James played with Grey while the bigs and I rode Big Thunder... 

 

Grey's playground... 

It was hot and we were hungry, so we headed to lunch at Columbia Harbour House. It was packed! But the line went (kind of) fast. We ate quickly because Charlotte and I had fastpasses to meet Rapunzel and Cinderella. We got there and the fastpass line was CRAZY!! We waited forever, and Grey was a complete maniac in line. (James and Hunter had gone to ride the people mover). Charlotte said she had to go to the bathroom, but we'd have to get out of line and waste that fastpass and all that time (and stress with Grey) would be for nothing. She said she didn't care, so we left the line. I was completely frustrated and didn't handle it well at all. Think that's a clue that we needed to go back for a rest?? So that's just what we did! We found James and Hunter after our bathroom break and headed back to the hotel. Maybe next time we'll meet Rapunzel!

 

Morning Favorites:

James - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Carole - Enchanted Tales with Belle

Hunter - Big Thunder Mountain Railraod

Charlotte - Enchanted Tales with Belle

Grey - Laughing Place playground