What can I say, it was our first day back in "the World" and we just couldn't get enough!
Let me back up a bit though and give you some background on this trip.
First off, we decided to go in the fall this year as opposed to Christmas time. In hind sight, I'm not really sure why we decided this, but one of the reasons was to experience a Disney water park and the other was to attend Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.
As for hotel selection, we were back at the Contemporary this year mostly because it's in walking distance to Magic Kingdom, and we really love that convenience! We left on a Friday afternoon and drove into the wee hours of the morning to Orlando. We stayed off site that first night because it's ridiculous to pay Disney prices for just a couple of hours of sleep:)
All of that to say, we were up bright and early Saturday morning ready to check into our "real" hotel and make our way to Blizzard Beach.
Blizzard Beach Review:
This was an extremely nice water park. The twins took advantage of every water slide there. Yes, even the twelve story free fall Summit Plummet!
There was also ample for Frances to do although these preschool sized attractions were separate from the others which kept our little group of five divided most of the time! (As a side note, life jackets are free for the littles. The addition of the life jacket gave Frances more freedom (and momma more peace of mind) and allowed her to try a few more slides).
After about five hours in the park, however, we were ready to call it a day! It was warm and there's lots of stair climbing involved to get to all of the beloved water slides. After a ride around the Cross Country Creek lazy river, we were ready to call it a day! I don't know how people endure the parks in the heat of the summer 'cause we were pooped!
Not pooped enough to go back to the hotel though:)
Walker couldn't wait to get to EPCOT, so to EPCOT we went. Mind you, I only packed some "play" clothes to change into at the water park, assuming we would stay there until it closed and head back to the hotel. So, you can see from this picture on the tram into EPCOT how homely (and tired;) we all looked at this point!
Finally, we made it to Walker's favorite ride....Mission: Space!
I think he was a little excited!!!
Announcing this mission's navigator...
And Kathryn, the pilot...
Thank heavens for a shower and a change of clothes because up next....Chef Mickey's!
Chef Mickey's Review:
This was our only character meal of the trip. I've learned that character meals are stressful especially if they involve a buffet. Trying to figure out when to get your food and not miss a character in the process all while wrestling extremely excited kids and forcing them to eat makes for a not so exciting meal.
Case in point, we decided not to wait to see Mickey Mouse during this meal. We saw the other four characters: Goofy, Donald, Pluto and Minnie. The kids had already finished their food and were wild and wooly. We knew we would see Mickey in Magic Kingdom, so we decided to check out early.
Character meals definitely have their advantages, especially if interaction with characters is on your list! I would recommend these dining options that offer character interaction and table service meals: EPCOT's Garden Grill with Farmer Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale or Akershus Royal Banquet Hall Dinner (also in EPCOT in Norway) for fun with a slew of princesses!
After dinner, we decided to make our way to Magic Kingdom. Why not, right! It was only 9:00 p.m. and the park was open until 1:00 a.m.The lines were short, and we just couldn't pass it up!
We were so glad we did because Walker was able to make his debut as The Beast at Enchanted Tales with Belle.
The kiss from Belle was worth the late night!
Oh, and let's not forget Ariel in her tail:) We've only seen her with her land legs! So this too was a treat!
And lastly, Frances' first ride on Splash Mountain! She just did make the 40 inches height requirement:)
Next up, day two at Hollywood Studios and a Birthday Boy!
