Epcot!

Today we went to Epcot center.  We were all excited that we were here during the food and wine festival!  So many cool foods to try!  We got there right when it opened, and we went straight to "Soarin'".  It is one of the big attractions and we weren't able to get a fast pass for it, so we were hoping to avoid the lines if we got there fast.  Our plan worked, and we were able to walk right on.  Unfortunately, James was too short to ride.  I offered to sit out with him, and go with the ride swap.  James was upset about being left behind, the workers gave him some mickey stickers, which helped and a card with a picture of a plane on it.  Then a manager looking lady came over and asked if we wanted to go on "living with the land" ride ( a boat ride through the greenhouses) while our family was on the other ride, she said she would get us right on and we should be done about the same time.  I figured, why not? so we followed her over.  James was wearing his turtle outfit today, mom and I made him a Squirt (from finding nemo) shirt and hat to wear to meet Crush at "Turtle talk with Crush" and the lady asked James about his turtle shirt.   I told her how much he loves turtles and was excited to see them today.  She took us right to the front of the ride, told them we were "VIP's"and asked them to give us a front row seat.  (there was practically no line, but cool to get the VIP treatment anyway).  James like the boat ride, pointing out all the plants and fish and water.  Once the ride was over and we arrived back at the start we saw the manager lady there waiting for us.  When we got off she asked James if he liked the ride, then pulled out a Squirt doll from behind her back and gave it to him.  He was THRILLED and gave her a big hug.  She told us to enjoy the doll and have a great day.  I was shocked!  Evidently cast members are allowed to create "magical moments" for guests if they feel so inclined and Jamie was a recipient of one such moment.  James clutched that squirt doll for the rest of the day and never once let it out of his sight.  After we met back up with the family outside of "Soarin"  I got my turn to go on the ride, and James went with everyone else to ride the boat again.












After my turn was over, we headed over to our fast pass for Turtle talk.  It was really neat, james liked seeing the turtles, and all of the kids got to talk with Crush.  While we were in the seas pavillion area we also went on the eas with nemo and friends and on Journey into imagination with figment.  (Not disney's best ride)  We started heading over to space ship earth, and on our way passed the photo op with Baymax!  Since Elinor was dressed up as Honey Lemon from the movie, we really wanted a picture so some of us got in line while the rest continued to Spaceship earth  After our pics, we met up with them and went on the ride.  We also saw the pixar film festival before heading over to the world showcase for lunch.  Everyone was tired and cranky so we went straight to morocco to have lunch at the Tangierine Cafe.








After lunch, we realized that keeping everyone together for the world showcase was futile, everyone wanted to look at different things, so we split up.  I took Elinor, Wesley and Brenna, and Jon went with his mom and olivia and the baby.  Kristy and chris took Jonas and mom and dad and kerri and Nick when off on their own too.  After we split up, i took my group on the boat ride accross the lake to the beginning where we signed up to do the phineas and ferb smart phone adventure.  Since I don't have a smart phone, they loaned us one and off we went.  The adventure was short video clips with clues to various places in the world showcase.  We had to find the places that were pictured.  Then things happened in the stores and streets, been steins sang, windows filled with water, Agent P escaped from a locked window and other cool stuff.  We did the adventure for the UK and then for Germany.  We also got some snacks from the food and wine festival booths.  By the time we finished the second mission it was time to meet up with everyone else to go on our Frozen fastpass.  The ride was cute, the animatronics were AMAZING.  A really cool blend of computer tech and old fashioned dolls.  After the ride, those of us who wanted to meet Ana and Elsa got in line and everyone else rode the Mexico ride.

























We exited the world showcase and went on TEST TRACK where we got another magical moment.  Wesley really wanted to go on the ride, but the line was long.  They had a single rider line so we went in there and Wesley thought he could ride by himself, but when we got to the front he decided he was too scared.  We let everyone else go ahead of us and still he couldn't do it.  So finally I asked the lady how to exit.  We started walking away down the exit ramp.  Wesley was super upset that he hadn't been able to make himself go on so we stopped to talk for a second about our choices.  While we were talking the exit cast member came to check on us.  Wesley told her that he really wanted to go on but was scared to go by himself, and we had taken the shorter single rider line so we couldnt' ride together.  She asked him if he thought he could go on if mommy went with him and he said yes.  So she took us back to the ride and let us ride together after all.  It was so very kind of her, she totally didn't have to do it, especially since we didn't wait in the long line, but it made Wesley's day and he ended up LOVING the ride!



Wesley and Jon wanted to ride again, so they got back in line and the people who wanted to spin really fast went on Mission Space.  I stayed out with the baby and played with him in the little test track car that was outside of the ride.  After the rides were done, we headed back to "china" for dinner.  This was probably the most disappointing dinner we had the whole time, small portions and pretty much what you would expect to get from any little take out place.  But it was food and we were hungry.  After dinner it was way late, so we headed back to the hotel to rest.  It was a wonderful day at Disney!

Animal Kingdom

Today was day two of our Disney adventure and we headed over to the Animal Kingdom.  This park was cooler and more shaded and much less crowded than Magic Kingdom.  It was a good start.  We had another full day planned, and it started with a long quick trek to the back of the park to go on the Kilamanjaro Safari.  My research said that it was best first thing in the morning, or at dusk so we planned to get to it first.  Our quick walk payed off and we walked right on to the ride without having to wait in line.  The safari was so great!  Wes especially loved it.  We saw tons of animals and the Rhinos were SO CLOSE to us.














We got done with the Safari just in time to make it to our fast passes for "The Lion King".  It was so awesome!  Totally Broadway quality.  My favorite part was the monkey gymnasts.  The music was great.  I think everyone loved it.








Our next fast pass was for Kali River rapids.  We grabbed some snacks on our way over there and then got in line.  James was tall enough to ride this one but in the end he didn't like it, about half way through he started saying "All Done Mommy".  Wesley was wary of the ride too, he was super scared, but agreed to give it a try anyway.  He was thrilled with the ride and couldn't wait to go again!  The line was short, so we ran back in and rode it again.  We got thoroughly wet, and stayed wet pretty much the rest of the day, but it really cooled us off.












After Kali river rapids, we had our last fast pass for Expedition Everest.  James was too short, so we did the rider switch this time.  The ride was pretty cool, one of the best roller coasters in Disney.  After the ride we headed over to the Flame Tree BBQ.  Lunch was Amazing!  They had awesome ribs, pulled pork and chicken.  I had their loaded fries, with pulled pork, cheese and BBQ sauce.


Once we rolled away from the lunch tables, stuffed to the brim, we went to the tree of life and watched the 4-d show "It's tough to be a bug".  It is fun because they spray you with water, and air and such to make you feel more like you are in the show.  Then it was time for Dino-land where we rode Triceratops Spin and the "wild mouse" coaster Primeval whirl.  After that we had some time to kill before Finding Nemo the musical, so some of us took the kids to play in the boneyard while the rest went to Ride Everest again.



We met back up at Nemo at 4pm.  It was a really great show!  The puppets were so cool, and the music was good.  I loved the shower of bubbles at the end too.  After the show, Mom, Laura, James, Olivia and Chris were tired and ready to go home, so they took one van and the rest of us stayed a bit longer.  Dad, Kristy, Kerri and Nick went to walk on the Discover Island trails and see the Gorillas.  Jon and I took the 3 remaining kids back to Everest to ride again.





We discovered the "Single Rider Line" and it had basically no wait at all, so we got right on, and then right on again, and then right on again... so we texted the rest of our group to let them know that there was no line and they joined us.  I think the little kids rode 11 times in a row before it was time to leave the area and head over for our evening fast pass to ride the safari again.









We saw some different animals on the safari this time, it was cool to see who was out in the evening vs. the morning.  After the Safari, we went over to Harambe Market for dinner.  Dinner was AMAZING especially the african milk tart for dessert.  I also really liked the "sparberry" soda I ordered.  After dinner, it was getting late, so we headed towards the front of the park.  We stopped to watch the tree light up and then went home and crashed.  It was an amazing second day at Disney World!!