which probably should be day 1 since it was our first day in the parks. but airplanes are still a huge adventure for my kiddos so that has to count too.
Day 2 started very early, waking up at 7 (after less than 5 hours of sleep with our delayed flight and late arrival) to ready the girls for the surprise we had planned. We started with the "Tinkerbell Magic", an idea I borrowed from another family. I had brought little items (purchased inexpensively at home), wrapped in glittery tissue paper to be a gift or souvenir each day. On our first day it was a new water bottle for each of the girls to carry with them during the day.
Dressed in their favorite princess gowns (Belle, Rapunzel and a pink Sleeping Beauty tutu), we made our way to Epcot for a breakfast reservation at Arkeshus. We were able to enter the park early (at the reservations lady's recommendation, otherwise we would have been waiting in line long enough to make us late for our reservation) and slowly wander back to the restaurant. We had arrived a little early though and had to wait for our official reservation time. Then we were led into the reception area and waited in line before being greeted by Princess Belle in her beautiful ballgown. The girls were delighted, near speechless. We took pictures with her, got lots of hugs, exchanged curtseys and eventually were led to our table.
We helped ourselves to fruit and pastries at the buffet line (amazing pastries!) and a hot breakfast of cheesy potatoes, scrambled eggs, bacon and sausages were brought to our table, accompanied by several rounds of chocolate milk. The food was good and plentiful, all-you-can-eat served family style. Our server even brought A her own serving bowl size order of just eggs since she continued to devour them. As we ate, we were visited by several princesses, who each stopped by to say hello and take pictures with the girls. Mary Poppins was also there and was the most fun, perfectly in character teaching them to curtsy properly. L loved it, jumping up to meet each of them, A was unimpressed at first but perked up after she had eaten awhile and E stared warily with big eyes. She didn't want to get too close but watched, waving and blowing kisses. The girls were invited to join the princess promenade (parading around the room to music) twice and as we finished our meal, A and E were each brought a birthday cupcake, generous covered with frosting and mickey-shaped sprinkles. With the cupcakes, they were presented with a birthday card, signed by each of the princesses.
Eventually we gathered our things and paid the check. I had warned Husband that the meal would be expensive and he started a joke that lasted all week by stashing a "$10 banana" in the bag as we left. (It appreciated quickly throughout the week. By Saturday, it was the $42 banana. Mostly because it was more funny each time he said it.)
From there we split up, Grammy taking the two smaller kids while Papa, kidsister, Husband, L and I rode Soarin' CA using FastPasses kidsister had picked up on our way in. After the ride, we met Grammy and the little girls, got the kids changed out of their princess dresses and into playclothes before continuing onto the Finding Nemo ride. A giggled through the whole thing.
The girls loved the ride, but were tired and fading fast. So we skipped the other rides we had considered and went to the character spot to meet Mickey and the gang. The wait was short and the girls liked watching the cartoons as we waited in line. Soon we met Mickey, Minnie and Pluto. L and A ran to them eagerly with lots of hugs, high fives and kisses. They posed for pictures, giggled and grinned. Meanwhile, E panicked, squirming in Daddy's arms to get away from them, crying if he got too close. As they took time to wave from a distance, she settled but made it clear she didn't want to go near them. We did get a few family pictures, E smiled happily, as long as Daddy stayed in between her and the giant characters.
After our Mickey meeting, we went back to the hotel, put everyone back in bed and slept soundly for a few hours.
Everyone roused by early evening, ate a quick sandwich and soon we were on our way to the Magic Kingdom, using the parkhopper option on our tickets. There were a few things left at Epcot that would have been fun to do and many shops and restaurants that Husband and I would enjoy, but we thought the kids would have more fun at MK.
At Magic Kingdom, we headed first to meet Rapunzel. She is A's "princess" so we eagerly jumped in line and went to meet her. Next week, the princess hall will be opening and will permanently host most of the meet-n-greets for princess. But for now, we met her in Town Square in a room with Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. The girls were happy, giving hugs and brief hellos. But Rapunzel was last and they raced to her, full of chatter and hugs and excitement. They gave her pictures they had drawn and had her sign the birthday cards.
We joined the character street party for a few songs, dancing and cheering. Kidsister showed us the new Rapunzel tower (which is just a backdrop but fun) and we stopped in at the Rapunzel courtyard, admiring the picnic area and looking for the hidden Pascals in the foliage. We rode Peter Pan's flight and It's a Small World, much to the delight of our happy little girls.
We also got to meet Tiana, which was a happy accident because she only appears intermittently and we happened to arrive at the right time. We waited in line, having snacks and making friends with the nearby kids. Apparently a creature jumped up onto the pavilion behind Tiana and she nearly took off running. While Naveen investigated and shooed him away, she was truly spooked and skittish and we teased her about being so leery of frogs. Naveen teased about it being his cousin, encouraging the little girls to kiss it. The girls waited patiently for their turn and then happily greeted and hugged them. A insisted on teaching them a dance she had made up and we asked Tiana to sign the birthday card too.
After that we joined Grammy and Papa who had been saving our seats for the nighttime shows. We had great seats to watch the castle projection show and fireworks. Little Miss E is the perfect, most wonderful and enthusiastic audience member, clapping and cheering at each appropriate break or pause, regardless of the rest of the audience.
We watched the PhilHarmagic 3D show, which was a little overwhelming for our oldest but A and E loved it. And then the park closed, sending us back to our hotel for a good night's sleep.
Miscellaneous tips:
--Epcot is a ton of fun. Our favorite is when we went in March and got to see the beautiful topiaries shaped into all the different characters.
--Epcot is a great place to meet characters, usually with much shorter lines than can be found elsewhere. (ie Mickey)
--Having said that, Epcot is probably more fun for adults than kids. There's a few kid rides but mostly it's the opportunity to wander the "lands", sampling food, browsing shops and feeling surrounded by the culture. But if you skip that, it's a half-day kind of park. Could combine with another park or we love saving time to just hang out in the resorts.
--We didn't see it this trip but the nighttime firework show is amazing!
--If you want to do a character meal with princesses, I highly recommend the breakfast at Arkeshur. There's lot of options for character meals and they can get really pricey but this worked great for us. It's less expensive than doing Cinderella's table in MK and I've read that the food is better anyway. Plus, L's favorite princess is Belle and she "hosts". We made reservations six months in advance and it was already filling up quickly. So hard to get in but it was a great way to kick off our trip!
--I love taking princess dresses for the girls to wear for a special day or occasion. And the princess that they match always makes a big deal of it. Sometimes even cast members go out of their way, complimenting or L's even been asked for her autograph.
--I really thought our kids would be too young to want to do an autograph book (ages 5, turning 4 and turning 2). But by the end of the week, I kind of wish we had. We met so many characters and they saw lots of other kids doing it. So next time for sure. Another idea I found but kind of forgot/ran out of time was to take a wide photo matte for signatures and use it to frame a favorite photo after the trip.
--If you're staying in the Disney resorts, you can send your purchased souvenirs directly to the hotel, rather than lugging them around all day. So shop early and avoid the crowded stores at the end of the day.
--Florida is ridiculously hot and humid. Fortunately, you can get free ice water everywhere in the park. We would get the cups of ice water and use it to refill our water bottles.
No comments:
Post a Comment