WDW Day 4

This day was probably the third most important day of our entire trip.

Jedi Training Academy Day

Believe it or not, my princess loving pixies also love Star Wars.  Whowouldathunkit?

So, the first mission of the day was to high-tail it to Hollywood Studios before rope drop in order to high tail it to the Jedi Training Academy sign-ups.  We got in line to enter well before rope drop, but Jedi training is very popular, naturally.  Fortunately, we were able to get a morning time that fit around our other fast passes.  Cora was pumped!  She could barely contain herself as we waited for her turn.

So, under the watchful eye of a Jedi Master, Cora suited up and learned skills necessary to take on Darth Vader himself.  Let me tell you, it's all fun and games until a life-size, menacing Darth Vader who speaks and sounds just like the actual villain comes out from behind a cloud of smoke.

Despite her focus and preparation, Cora politely declined sparring with the big, scary guy.  Not that I blame her one bit!  I was terrified of that guy as a kid!

Sissy declined to participate in the training academy, but did get in on some speeder bike action.

After that, it was pretty clear that Jackson was once again finished with theme parks.  John took him back to the hotel while the girls and I went to our first fast pass of the day, The Little Mermaid.  This was also a live show that combined actors and puppetry.  It was fine, but in my humble (yet accurate) opinion, the actress who played Ariel took a few too many liberties with the melodies.  I mean, nobody can do it better than Jodi Benson, so why try?  Amiright?

As we wandered around, we happened upon Daisy.  Fabulous - especially since she was not with Donald at Chef Mickey yesterday.

We still had a bit of time before our next fast pass, so we decided to check out the Frozen fun area.  The description promised tons of winter fun with real snow.  It probably should have promised tons of winter fun with snow cone because that's the consistency of what we were playing in.  But, thankfully, my Southern girls have little to compare this snow to.  It was a hit with them.  Plus, the cast members talked just like Oaken.  

We also ran into a few other people you might recognize.

Next up, Toy Story Midway Mania.  Super fun!  Definitely get a fastpass if you can.  

We ran into this guy nearby.  

For lunch, awesome Amy got us reservations at Hollywood & Vine.  This is where you can dine with the characters from Disney, Jr. The food was pretty good.  There was a braised beef dish that was delicious.  I'm told the lobster mac n cheese was tasty, too.  Just like Chef Mickey, though, the draw is the characters.  Presenting:

Jake

 Handy Manny

 Sofia

 and Doc McStuffins

Plus, periodically throughout the experience, the characters would 'sing' and dance and start a conga line for the kids to join in.  (Because what parent doesn't want their kids running off to join a random conga line in the middle of a crowded and large restaurant.)  

Our final fastpass was for the Frozen Sing-Along. It was pretty cute, albeit a bit cheesy.  The kids seemed to love it.  Cora sang her heart out to Let It Go.

On our way out of the park that afternoon, I forced the girls to take yet another photo.

Priceless!

But, I was determined to get our money's worth out of memory maker!  Plus, the sorcerer's hat is no longer at Hollywood Studios, so one day they'll thank me for this.  Or not.  Whatever.

That night, we had big plans.  Yiayia and Dado had volunteered to keep all the kids so Josh, Amy, John and I could have a date night.

Y'ALL!  Definitely eat at the California Grill at night!  It is at the top of the Contemporary Hotel and is considered a signature restaurant.  We had the most awesome view of the castle all lit up.  Plus, the food was amazing, and the service was stellar.  Our waiter was very knowledgeable and attentive.  John and I both had the bison tenderloin.  In a word, delectable!  I very highly recommend the entire dining experience.

After dinner, we hopped on over to the Magic Kingdom for extra magic hours.  So.much.fun!  I don't know if it was the fact that we were kidless for the evening, but that was definitely one of my favorite times of our trip.  The added bonus was that we had been told that John's favorite ride, Haunted Mansion, would be closed for refurbishments while we were there.  But, to John's supreme delight, the ride was open.  That was our first stop of the night.  We also hit up Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Space Mountain before closing down the Astro Orbiter.  As we were getting ready to leave we hit up as many photopass photographers as possible before finally hearing The Kiss Goodnight (Disney's version of "Don't let the screen door hit ya...").

(Told ya... as many photos as possible! But, since John and I rarely seem to end up in pictures together, this filled our quota probably for the next couple of years!)

Overall, a fabulous day!

WDW Day 3

We had big plans for day 3.  Our goal was to hit up Epcot at rope drop.

insert hysterical and maniacal laughter here

Yeah, that didn't happen.

Instead, we slept in a little and hit our late breakfast reservation at Chef Mickey in the Contemporary Hotel.  (As an aside, Y'ALL!  We are totally staying there our next trip!  How awesome to just hop on the monorail to get to half of the parks.  Plus, it's a pretty awesome view!  I digress...)

Chef Mickey was a lot of fun.  It's a buffet which is awesome because kids under 3 eat for free. Score! There was quite a lot of variety which was also nice.  The quality is not stellar by any means.  But, it is at least comparable to any nice hotel buffet.  The draw to it, of course, is the Fab 5.

Mickey

Minnie

Donald

Goofy

Pluto

Jackson was pretty impressed with Pluto.  

What can I say, the boy does love dogs!

After a nice and leisurely brunch, John took the little mister back to the hotel.  The girls and I hopped on the monorail to Epcot.

The mission:  Meet Mulan

So, I pushed 75 pounds of kid and stroller straight to China.  From the time we booked the trip, Cora was determined to meet Mulan.  This picture makes me smile because Cora was so excited, but so bashful when her turn finally came.  

Mulan was very beautiful and very sweet to a star struck little girl!

After crossing the number one thing (at least for this trip) off of Cora's Disney bucket list, we strolled our way around the World Showcase.  While in England, we managed to find another favorite of the girls.

Mary Poppins!

Okay, who am I kidding.  She's one of my favorites, too.  I still want to jump into the chalk drawing with her and Bert.  She was, in a word, lovely.  (It is possible that I may have scratched something off of my own Disney bucket list.)

We meandered our way around the World Showcase taking in the sights and sounds, forcing the poor children to take yet another photo pass photo.  

mais oui

We ended our day in Norway where my children spent their Christmas money from Yiayia and Dado on Frozen merchandise.  I'm sure Disney is relieved that at least someone is buying that stuff...  

After a rest at the hotel, we headed to the pool.  Because, when at an amazing place like Disney World, where else would your kids want to go but to a pool that is not all that much different to ones that we have near our home!

The rest of the evening was relaxing for the kids and me.  We ate at our hotel and turned in early for the night.  

John on the other hand ventured out to Epcot for some rides and fireworks and... Beverly.

If you've never experienced the beverage called Beverly, you are hereby obligated to do so whenever you have the opportunity.  It is an Italian non-alcoholic apertif, and it is... something.  I just don't think the experience can be described in words.  shudder  But, when in Rome... or in Disney's reasonable facsimile of Rome...

If you've managed to keep up so far, feel free to stay tuned tomorrow when we attack (literally) Darth Vader and Hollywood Studios.

WDW Day Two

Surprise!  I'm back on the blog!

I understand if you have to pick your jaw up off the floor.  I'm just as surprised as you!

For any of you who are still interested, here's my take on day 2 at Disney World with a 6, 3 and 1 year old.  Today:  Animal Kingdom.

I will preface by telling you that we love zoos.  We are definitely zoo people, but Animal Kingdom is probably my least favorite of the four parks.  It just seems like a very expensive way to see animals that we can see in any of the many fabulous zoos around these parts.  It is still worth seeing, but in my opinion it is definitely a one day or even a half day park.

Nevertheless, we got there bright and early and headed straight to Kilimanjaro Safaris.  I will admit that it is a pretty awesome ride (if you can call it that).  For those who have never been, the ride is designed to imitate what it would be like to be on an actual safari.  Disney has designed it so that there are no visible barriers between you and the animals.  In fact, when John and I were there several years ago, I could have reached down and pinched an antelope had I felt so inclined.  So, as we are guided along the safari, our guide pointed out all kinds of animals including rhinos, elephants, giraffes, zebras and even lions.  Well done, Disney imagineers!

Next to the safari, we visited the gorillas in the mist near blinding early morning sun.

Since we'd just finished our African animal trek, we hit up the Maharaja Jungle Trek next.  This attraction is a walking tour where we observed different Asian animals including tigers, gibbons, bats and birds.

By this time, we were ready for our next fast pass for The Festival of the Lion King.  This is probably a great show.  I did not get to focus on very much of it on account of a certain toddler who had realized he was done, DONE for the day.  Unfortunately for me, and for everyone in our section of the theater, no one is allowed in or out during the performance.  le sigh  My sincerest apologies to anyone who may have experienced a less than ideal show experience due to my little stinker.  As soon as it was over, we decided that I would head back to the hotel with Mr. J and John would stay with the girls and see more of the park.

Some of the limited proof that Jackson was in fact at Disney World with us.  Clearly, he is overjoyed.

The decision for me to go back to the hotel was probably not actually the wisest one John and I have made as a parenting team.  It's not that John is incapable.  Quite the opposite, actually.  It's just that he is unaccustomed to being out and about with two little girls.  Getting lunch for everyone was a bit of a circus from what I understand.  And, then it dawned on him that there is no good and easy solution should any of the three of them need to go to the bathroom.  Live and learn.  From that point on, John would be taking the little man back to the hotel.  On the plus side, the final fast pass for Finding Nemo was a lot of fun.  Both John and the girls were quite impressed.

After naps all around, we headed to Epcot for our dinner reservation.  We love San Angel Inn for the food and atmosphere, but the wait, even with reservations, always seems long.  This was a bit too much for Jackson. Despite my best efforts and purchase of a ridiculous miniature donkey pinata, he was not interested in partaking of the festive atmosphere.  Thankfully, Yiayia and Dado rescued him from the torture and took him back to the hotel where I am told he was a complete angel.  This left us free to enjoy the meal in peace - or as much peace as you can have with 5 kids 7 and under.  To cap off an already full day, we hopped on the monorail to the Magic Kingdom for fireworks.  We like to get our money's worth from our park hopper passes!

So that's day two.  If you survived this post, stay tuned for day three where we enjoy dining with the Fab 5 and Epcot.

Oh, By the Way

Clearly, I am a terrible archivist of my children's precious moments.  Because, we did this little old thing in December called "We Took a Cross Country Roadtrip to Disney World!"

Yep, I'm a wee bit behind.

And, by wee bit, I mean egregiously and practically inexcusably behind.

But, that's not the point.

The process actually started about a year ago.  We took the plunge, and along with John's family, booked a 7 night stay at the Happiest Place on Earth.  Let me preface this whole thing by asking if you know HOW MUCH PLANNING goes into making your young childrens' every dream come true??

A lot.

Like a whole lot.

You should really consider it your second job.

But, the good news is, I'm cripplingly type-a.  So, this process tickled every over-planning bone in my body.  (I'm already planning our next trip... which won't be for another couple of years... but it will be AWESOME!)

Here is a sample of my neurosis.  Maps! Crowd Calendars!  Notes (color-coded)!  Heavenly!

So, after months of planning, we loaded up our car (like hillbillies) with what we would need for every possible contingency and headed off to see the World.

The teacher in me was super excited about this trip because this year in Classical Conversations, we've been learning about the United States including the locations of the states and capitals.  I was envisioning such excitement as I would be able to point out some of the states that we've been learning about in school.  We were, after all, driving across 10% of the United States and through three state capitals.  That excitement pretty much wore off around the third time I participated in this conversation.

Darling child 1:  Where are we stopping tonight?
Patient mom:  Mississippi
Darling child 1:  Jackson, Mississippi?
Patient mom:  No, Gulfport, Mississippi
Darling child 1:  Are we in Mississippi?
Patient mom:  Yes.
Darling child 1:  Jackson, Mississippi?
Patient mom:  No, we're not going to Jackson.
Darling child 2:  When are we getting to Misses Ippy's house?
Patient mom: No, baby, not Misses Ippy's house.  We're going to a hotel in Mississippi.
Darling child 2:  Jackson, Mississippi?
Patient mom:  ::blink::blink::  Your turn, John.

But, after two full days in the car, we completed the 1200 miles to our home for the next week.  In case you are wondering, we stayed at the Coronado Spring Resort.  It is a moderate resort on the Disney property, and it was fine.  Though, in my opinion, it really wasn't much better than the All Stars resort John and I stayed in 7 years prior.  My children did love the pool, though.  And, it had queen sized beds as well as sliding doors to divide the dressing area from the beds.  So, there you go.  My opinion, worth what you paid for it!

But, y'all!  That first day was absolutely magical!  My amazing sister-in-law Amy did all our dining and event reservations.  She was able to get appointments for all of the little girls at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique that morning.  After a quick look around and a ride on the carousel, the girls (Cora, Carys and cousin Audrey) were made over into little princesses by Fairy Godmothers-in-Training at the boutique.

Sissy was in h-e-a-v-e-n!  This picture always makes me smile.

After the makeovers, they have a special studio where you can have a photo shoot in your princess finery.  So.much.fun!

Three sweet princesses

I love a good sister picture!

At this point in the day, patient Mr. Jackson was thoroughly and utterly done with all the hullabaloo. We were very thankful that Dado offered to take him back to the hotel to relax away from all of the excitement since the rest of us had an audience with another VIP (very important princess) soon after.

Ladies and gentlemen, THE Ariel.

She was very gracious and hospitable, admiring our amazing pens and the fact that we had legs.  

Our next stop was quite possibly the highlight of the trip.  Amazing Amy had also managed to get us a coveted lunch reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table inside the castle.  I wish you all could have seen Carys' face as she met her favorite princess.  She utterly glowed.  I can't help but smile thinking about it now.  How many different ways can you say precious?

The one and only Cindawelly (as her number one fan calls her).

We enjoyed a lovely meal where we met several other very important princesses.

Snow White

Aurora

Ariel (with legs, who knew?)

Jasmine

Fabulous!  The meal was capped off by a special wishing ceremony where the kids received wands and wishing stars of their very own.  Y'all, I'll say it again, fabulous!  The girls adored this experience.  I cannot tell you how thankful I am that we were able to do this.

Sweet Sissy could hardly contain herself as we were leaving the Magic Kingdom for the day.  Oh, that cute little patootie!

The rest of the day was a bit of a wash.  We went back to the hotel to rest and then headed to Hollywood Studios for the evening.  Our plan was to watch Fantasmic.  That is my one regret of the day.  Neither of the girls liked it.  Cora was actually pretty frightened by it.  We had many discussions about how this was just a show and not reality.  But, I rather wish we'd just gone and enjoyed the Osborne Spectacle of Lights and skipped Fantasmic altogether.  Live and learn.  But, regardless, day one was in the books, and we were ready for Animal Kingdom the next morning. Stay tuned!

Two

This little boy!

100% cute and 100% trouble.

How is it possible that you've turned 2?

What's new with you, little man?

To say you keep us on our toes would be an understatement.  You are all boy and always on the go.  You love to run, and you're quite fast.  You love to get going at top speed and then look down at your feet in wonder.  It's almost like you're thinking how awesome it is to move that fast.  You love to climb.  We've found you on top of your dresser, sitting on the window sill in your room, at the top of the girls' loft bed and on the kitchen counter.  You have no fear which is probably why we've been to urgent care three times this past year - the most recent time being on your birthday. Here you are waiting to get your head glued back together once again.

 I am increasingly thankful for great insurance as it seems that with you, we will definitely get our money's worth!

You have now graduated out of your crib and into a big boy bed.  Much to my own personal dismay, this was a very necessary transition as you've been climbing out of your crib for many months.  Mama was even more dismayed when you combined this talent with the ability to open your bedroom door.  Ay yi yi!  Mama was not prepared.  We often find you sitting in the hallway with your blanket and a book just listening to the goings on of the evening.  

You are a people person.  I like to call you a one man parade.  You treat a shopping cart like your own personal float waving and blowing kisses to all who pass by. You love your sisters dearly, especially your biggest sister.  After your nap, you run immediately to the back door and yell outside "Cowa!" until she notices and acknowledges you.  The next item on your agenda is to go and visit our neighbor, Auntie Linda, as soon as you think no one is looking.  You will run at top speed to the side of the fence, sneak over and slip through the doggie door which I'm sure you believe was put there expressly for you.  It's an extra treat when Mr. Rick is there, too.  You love to give him a big kiss right on the lips, an action that understandably unnerves him a little.  No one could accuse you of being shy with your affection.

You love books.  You will actually sit still and listen to book after book.  Then, you'll take those books and practice "reading" them to yourself.  It is so much fun to listen to you because even though your vocabulary is limited, your inflection and intonation always draws me into your story.  

You love to eat.  I joke that my children are hobbits.  And, like hobbits, they eat breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, lunch, afternoon tea (snack), dinner and supper.  When it is dinner time, you will get so excited that you will scale your high chair in order to get to the victuals.  Much to my surprise, you love spicy food.  You will chow down on a spicy meal like your father and I do.  In fact, today at lunch, you noshed on our friend's jalapeno chips for as long as you could stand it.  Other favorite foods include yogurt, apples, clif bars, pizza and cheetos. 

Little man, you love your boots.  You have worn those little boots out.  It brings so much joy to my heart when you wear those because they are one of the few things that all three of you kids have worn.  You definitely love them the most as you will actually sleep in them.  The first night you wanted to wear them to bed, Daddy came in after you were asleep to take them off.  Surely, it can't be comfortable to sleep in them!  But, you woke up in a fit of fury at 3 am when you discovered they were off.  You sat on the floor crying and holding the one boot you were able to find until I helped you put that book back on.  

I'm biased, but you are a total cutie-pie!  

You are very expressive.  You will intently converse with someone even if you don't quite have the vocabulary to make your exact intentions known.  You know enough words to get most of your needs met.  Some of the words we hear most often are mama, Cowa, yogurt, cracker, pizza (papa), puppy, bath, no and night-night (usually heard together).  Your phrases include go bye-bye, you okay? and luhhhh (love) you.  

What can I say?  Nothing could have prepared me for having a boy.  You will certainly give me the most gray hairs during these early years, but you more than compensate for it with your sweetness and affection.  We are so very thankful for our handful of a little man!