Disney Day 3 - EPCOT

We were up at the crack of dawn on Wednesday, as we had breakfast reservations at 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian. (Supercalafragalisticexpialadocious.)

We departed by bus by about 7:15, then boarded the monorail at Magic Kingdom and made it to the Grand Floridian by around 8:00AM.

On the monorail:




The hotel was spectacular:






Waiting to go into the restaurant:


Meeting some characters:










After breakfast, waiting for the monorail again:






Here we are!









I will start by saying that EPCOT was likely my favorite of all the parks...I just loved the ambiance, the different areas of the world, the aquariums, etc.

We started our day in futureworld, we went into Spaceship Earth (the big golf ball) and experienced technology past, present and future.

Paul did a couple Virtual Reality attractions, while the kids made paper:


We tested our strength:


Paige and I did one of the fastest Disney rides - Test Track:


Every now and then they do something cute:


Then we got in "clams" and did the attraction "Nemo and Friends" - I loved it. And afterwords, we spent upwards of an hour just staring at a billion different fish in aquariums - so cool!







Mine! Mine!




Then we managed to get the girls settled into a theatre where Crush (the turtle from Nemo)hosted an interactive show - kind of like a question/answer period - it was incredible (and funny.)

We then did Soarin' (an IMAX film) which I am so happy about, as it was on my list of "must do's" and I was afraid the kids wouldn't cooperate. They did (cooperate) and everyone loved it.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/epcot/attractions/soarin/

After Soarin' we headed over to the World Showcase Area - we stumbled into Mexico first, so of course had to partake in margaritas!


The twins were goofing around as we killed time in Norway waiting for our dinner reservation:


Dinner with the princesses!!

Belle:


Snow White:


Princess Aurora:

(Leah loves Sleeping Beauty)


Cinderella:


and Ariel:


After dinner (which was cold after all that action, as you can imagine) we were unfortunately on limited time, seeing as we left our villa at 7 that morning. We continued exploring the different areas of the world, kiiling time, in an attempt to "make it" to 9PM when the laser/light show started.

The kids got masks and decorated them - they were stamped by the destinations we visited:




While in search of a restroom, we stumbled upon a band playing in the Germany area:



CANADA!! (Notice the girls aren't smiling...they're all tuckered out.)



As mentioned, we had a goal of staying until the 9PM laser/light show - we knew we were pushing it, but we tried. Paul grabbed some snacks, coffee, hot chocolate and a beer for himself and we settled in to watch from the edge of a flower bed, but alas, it was not meant to be as all three kids curled into fetal position and started to doze. Knowing we still had a good walk ahead of us (we were still near Canada, for those who are familiar) we figured we'd better get going.

But all in all, it was a totally perfect day.

Up next...Hollywood Studios.

Disney Day 2 - Animal Kingdom

Here we are! (with the sun in our eyes...)


Birds:




The Tree of Life:




And Everest (Paul saw the Yeti!)


The first character meeting (Leah and Paige were terrified and would not pose):


We went on a mini-safari:








and onto a ride:


Komodo Dragon:


Fruit Bats (with a 6 foot wing span!)


The standard "Paige" pose:


So we started the day by going onto "it's tough to be a bug", based on A Bug's Life. The experience was so neat! Brilliant, 3D and totally interactive. It was in a theatre like setting, and we hearded the kids through the crowd, got them settled, and the show began. Total mayhem ensued, as the Ant (Flick) introduced many members of the bug community and they individually demo'd their defense mechanisms. The kids freaked out as we were stung from behind, sprayed from up front, steamed from the stink bug, and critters crawled around our feet. Needless to say, trying to get them into a theatre from that point forward was not at all easy, and there was a lot of anxiety.

As mentioned above, we did a couple of rides, a safari, a walked around a trail through the Pangani Forrest. Paul did Everest and then we watched Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade. We headed back to the resort, had dinner then bathed and put the kids to bed. They slept deep and well, as expected.

Next: EPCOT!