Day 4: Epcot

Epcot was really close to our resort. It was probably 5 minutes away.  First up on our Magic Bands Fast Pass+ was Soarin.  It was such a fun ride!  Everyone, including the girls, loved it!  They wanted to go on it again, but once again all fast passes were distributed by 9:30am.  :(

 Next up, was breakfast at Akershus Hall in Norway.  We went here for a late lunch last time, so we thought breakfast was perfect.  The breakfast was really yummy here!  They had the crisp bacon we all loved.  I loved the chocolate croissants and potatoes too!  Belle greeted us!

 The girls were delighted to see Princess Jasmine again!  It was Emily's favorite princess while there.

 We met Snow White, Ariel and Cinderella again too.

 All the kids went on a parade around the restaurant.  They were following Snow White and curtsied to her.  They actually curtsied to a lot of the princesses and it was so cute to see their reaction!  They usually curtsied back.

 Akershus is a favorite.  We loved Norway and rode on Maelstrom ride right next to it.  The Frozen girls were in Norway too, but the line was too long when we left the ride.

 The World was starting to open once we got out of breakfast and the ride, but our plan was not to go around the World until later that day b/c we had fast passes.  They were wanting to see Mulan, but once again I improvised.  ;)

We stopped and tasted cokes from around the world.  This was a lot of fun for us!  We liked most except Italy, their "coke" tasted like medicine.  blah!

Next, we had fast passes to Living with the Land.  Not sure why I fast passed this b/c we walked right on.  It's a ride I remember as a kid, but they totally re-made it.  It was pretty boring, but my Green Team member Emily loved it since it showed how all the plants and food were grown.  

Next we went on the Nemo ride.  Ella was skeptical about this ride, but she ended up liking it.  After the ride, we went upstairs where there was a huge aquarium.  They loved looking at the dolphin and other sea animals!   It was a fun experience!

We went to Test Track where we had a fast pass+.  This was our first time to go on it.  It was pretty neat how you make your car/color.  The actual ride was pretty fun!  I think it was too fast for Cita though!  The girls loved the exhibit in the hall, sitting in the cars, and making commercials for their cars!

We tried out the Innoventions game and it was really neat to see them get into making their pigs earn money.  The last thing we did before we traveled the world was to go on Figment Imagination ride.  The ride was ok, but they really liked the part where you could play around the room.  It was time to travel the "World Showcase".  It was around 4:30 when we finally made it, so it was starting to get dark.

We started in Canada and stopped at the United Kingdom where Alice was making an appearance.  She was on the girls' list to see and she's my personal favorite.  She was very interactive talking about wanting a castle called Alice's Palace.  Then, we went around the corner to see the Tigger and the Rabbit.  Pooh wasn't in there yet.  :(  As we were waiting, a band started playing Beatles and other hits, so my parents stayed to watch while we went around the world some more.  By this point, we were starting to get hungry. Emily and Ella got a Kidcot bear at U.K. and they really were wanting to stop at other countries to finish coloring and decorating.  I was wanting to stop in France, but there were tons of people around there.  We saw a belly dancer as we were walking by Morocco.  Japan looked neat, but it was really dark so we just kept going to Italy.  We found the Kidcot spot there and let them color while we rested.  Then, my parents met back up with us.  We considered eating in Italy, but most of us wanted Mexican food so we wanted to wait.  Roy wanted beer and brats from Germany, so we decided to stop there next.

We loved Germany.  It's a neat little spot.  The kids found the Kidcot spot and decorating more while Roy and my dad had beer and brats.  I enjoyed looking around the gift shops.  Then, we went on passed China and Norway since we already saw them earlier in the day, then landed in Mexico.  The quick service we went to was pretty good, but it was difficult finding a seat.  

 Next, my parents and Ella decided to stake out a spot for Illuminations and the rest of us wanted to go on Spaceship Earth.  It was a little bit of a walk, but Roy, Emily, Barbara, and I did it.  It's a slow moving ride, but I always think it's hilarious on the way down.
At this point, there was a storm heading our way.  Everyone around my parents was tracking the storm.  I was a little nervous that it was going to downpour. Luckily, we had our ponchos.  Illuminations started without problems.  It did sprinkle/light rain, but wasn't too bad so we all headed back to the resort.
Next up, Animal Kingdom

Chef Mickey's

We left Hollywood Studios at 8:30 and luckily the Contemporary was the first stop.  It's right by the Magic Kingdom, so it was about a 15 minute drive to that resort.  We got there with 5 minutes to make our reservation and we checked in 8:50pm on the dot.  I had brought some cute polka dot Mickey dresses to change to dinner, but since we were running so late I just forgot about that.  They did wear them on the last day we were there though.
On the bus, we tried to wake Ella and she was cranky/groggy, but we did manage to wake her up.  I didn't want her to miss this!  I wanted to include Chef Mickey's but since it was at another resort, it was hard to figure out where to put it in our schedule.  I had orginally had it for Friday night, but since our flight left later than I thought I had to cancel it.  My dad made one at 11:00 for the Friday we left, but we thought that would be pushing it b/c we weren't sure if we were renting a car yet.  So, that left us without Chef Mickey's but we checked a couple weeks before we went and there was a 7 am open Saturday morning.  I was skeptical b/c I knew we were going to get in late.  Then, one opened up Monday at 8:50pm.  It was late, but we could cancel Hollywood and Vine, but all the characters you meet at Chef Mickey's is fantastic!  We decided to do it, you're only at Disney once!

 We met Pluto first and both girls loved him!

 Then, it was time to raise our napkins and wave them around while all the characters went around.

 Minnie is definitely a favorite!

 The girls with Goofy.  I'm SO glad Ella woke up and enjoyed dinner.

Donald Duck is always a lot of fun!

 They had the cutest desserts.  Finally, we were able to see Chef Mickey!!  We had a great time at Chef Mickey's.  I thought the food was great here!  We ate here last time, but my parents had already left so they missed it last time.  They all loved it too!  Barbara, Ella, and I especially loved the Mickey-shaped mac and cheese!  And, Emily got her favorite there too:  baked potato!  As we were heading out, another magical moment occurred.  The castle could be seen from the windows and the fireworks were going on!  We were able to watch it as we waited for the monorail.  It was a night to remember!

Next up, Epcot!

Day 3: Hollywood Studios

 Breakfast at the resort.  Yummy Mickey waffles!  First up was our favorite ride, Toy Story Mania.  We had a fast pass+ to ride it between 9-10am.  The plan was to get another fast pass when we got there so that we could ride it again later, but when we got there at 9:30am all fast passes were given out.  Wow!  I saw the lines over 2 hrs long once!!  I'm SO thankful for the magic band!  We all LOVED Toy Story Mania.  It's a lot of fun.

 Next on the list was meeting Sofia the First.  Yep, the line was long but she's Ella's current favorite show next to Doc McStuffins.  After this, we went to Disney Jr. Live.  Ella absolutely loved this and sang along with each song.  Emily enjoyed it, but she doesn't watch Disney Jr. as much as Ella does.  The show had Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sofia the First, Doc McStuffins, Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  The only problem is that we all had to sit on the floor.

 Hollywood Studios famous hat!  The line was too long for Wreck It Ralph and Venelope, so I improvised.

 My plan for Hollywood Studios didn't quite work out.  I was just going to do a loop around, but then these lines for characters were long and messed up some plans.  My dad was out getting fast passes as we were standing in lines.  I changed the Little Mermaid show a couple of times b/c lines were long to see the characters and we went to the Disney Jr. show later than I hoped.  I thought my dad was getting Aerosmith passes for Roy and I, so I cancelled our fast pass+ on magic bands and changed it to something else.  However, the fast passes were all distributed, so we missed out on that ride.  We went on it last time and it was very good, but very speedy.

 The line wasn't too bad for Minnie since she was hidden in her dressing room.  Her dressing room was very pretty and she interacted with the girls.  Below is Mickey as the Sorcerer, but I was done standing in line for autographs.  ha!

 Next, Roy Poppy, and I went to the Star Wars tour.  I was nervous about it b/c I didn't review that ride well enough, but it was ok.  Cita, Barbara, and the girls went to see the Muppet movie and we met at Pizza Planet.  The girls love Toy Story and this was a replica like the movie.  I thought it was good, probably b/c we were starving.
After that, we went to see Little Mermaid Live show.  It was short, but pretty good.  Next up, was the Great Movie Ride.  We didn't think that the girls would like it so Cita, Poppy, and Barbara went then Roy and I went.  While we were on the ride, the girls plus others went to Beauty and the Beast Live show.  I've seen it before and  I heard it was good!  At this point, it was going to get dark soon and we had a couple of things on our list before Fantasmic.  Roy and I + the girls went to the Backlot tour.  It was the last showing of the day and Poppy, Barbara, and Cita missed out.  I heard that Poppy and Barbara had a great time on the Tower of Terror.  I missed out on that, but I have a fear of falling so I'm kind of glad.

We ended up getting Fast Pass+ on our magic bands so we can have good seats.  We had a Fantasmic Package initially, but needed to cancel something b/c we wanted to keep Chef Mickey's.   We ended up cancelling Hollywood and Vine, which probably was a good choice. I wanted to see Fantasmic b/c last time we didn't see it.  Luckily, Cita saved us all seats so we were right in the middle.  We still got a little wet.  It was amazing, but it really was a little scary for kids.  I'm glad I saw it!

We wanted to see the Osbourne lights and only had a limited amount of time to see them since we had to be at Chef Mickey's (at the Contemporary).  We were able to see them and it was very spectacular!  Another thing, someone gave my dad 3 fast passes to Toy Story Mania to ride again starting at 7:30pm.  Emily really wanted to ride again and so did Ella, but Ella fell asleep in the stroller.  Emily woke up, so Poppy and Barbara + Emily rode it again.  We were getting nervous b/c it was taking a while and we had to start to leave to go to the Contemporary.  In true Knotts-Sparks style, we like having every inch of fun we can so we hurriedly found the bus to the Contemporary.  At this point, it was 8:30pm and our reservation was at 8:50 + Ella was asleep.  Will we make?  Will Ella be happy, asleep, or cranky?  Tune in next time.

Toy Story Mania:  our favorite ride at Hollywood Studios.

Day 2: Magic Kingdom

Breakfast at the resort!  We loved the refillable mugs.  ;)

 We never made it to the morning Welcome show.  We chose to stay up a little later and get to the park around 9 each day.  It opened earlier when we were there because of the Thanksgiving holiday week.  It stayed open until 3 am this day, but we didn't make it to then.  I think we did stay past 11 though!

 My dad (Poppy) would always head out once we got there to get our stroller we rented b/c he didn't have a bag, then he'd head out to get some fast passes.  We had our magic bands already programmed with 3 fast pass plus selections, but we could also get some regular fast passes.  Somehow, we managed to avoid lines on a very busy week!  The girls wanted to meet Minnie first and of course this line was long.

 There was no wait at Aladdin carpet ride, so we decided to stop here first.  Great choice because Aladdin and Jasmine both rode this ride with a couple of little girls.  My view of Aladdin was blocked, but I think my dad has that picture.  It was a magical moment for sure!
Then, we headed to Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  My dad lost his backpack on the Aladdin ride so while he was finding that we jumped on this ride since there was no wait.  It wasn't our favorite and the girls didn't like it at all. I told them to try the rides and if they don't like it, then they didn't have to go again.

 Next up was Frontierland where we rode the Mountain Railroad roller coaster.  Cita and Emily were NOT happy with us that this was a roller coaster, but my dad and I laughed and laughed on this ride.  Roy and Ella rode together and they seemed to like it.
Luckily, we ran into Jessie and Woody right after this ride.  It took some convincing for Emily to ride the next ride (Splash Mountain), but I'm glad she chose to ride it b/c we all loved it!  Cita and Ella chose not to ride it and I didn't press since it was cloudy and a little chilly today.

We didn't get too wet, thankfully!  Next up was the Jingle Jungle cruise.  It was very interactive with all sorts of puns, so we all had some laughs.  We went on the Swiss Family treehouse and the girls saw Rapunzel's tower in the distance and really wanted to find it.  After the treehouse (which was very crowded where I couldn't really look at anything), we got a little snack at Aloha Isle (the dole whip).  Very good snack!!  We got the pineapple and vanilla swirl.  My dad had to leave to go pick up a special visitor at the airport (Aunt Barbara, which was a surprise for the girls).  I think Emily heard me talking about where someone would sit, so she had a feeling someone was coming to visit.

 Since Poppy was leaving, we decided to get a spot for the Street Party.  We all love the street party, especially when you get to dance with the characters.

 Shortly after the street party, the Dream Along with Mickey stage show in front of the castle was coming on.  We got a close spot to watch it.  It was a great show!

 After the show, we had a couple of fast passes we wanted to use before we left for a break.  We found Rapunzel's tower, which was really bathrooms and a rest area.  It was beautiful!  Then, we headed on the Little Mermaid ride again then went to the grotto to meet Ariel as a mermaid.  I will have to post pics when my photo pass cd gets in.  We decided to head back to the resort to rest b/c we wanted to stay out late this night (yes, me rest when on vacation-haha).  We hadn't had lunch so we got a snack at the resort when Aunt Barbara walked in.  The girls were so excited that they really didn't "rest" that much.  It all worked out though, thanks to the stroller we rented!

Next up was dinner at the Grand Floridian, Cinderella's Ever After Dinner.  I've heard great things about this dinner, so I really wanted to go to it this time.  We cancelled/added lots of dinner reservations, but I wouldn't give this one up.  Personally, I liked the breakfast better that we did last time.  This dinner was very loud and chaotic, plus we were stuck in a corner so I just think we had bad seats. We didn't really like the food here either.  We waited in line forever for the buffet and the layout of the buffet was difficult to maneuver.  Some tables were really getting into the stepsisters, but they just posed for pictures with us.  I think they could tell both girls were shy and weren't going to joke around with them.  Who knows?  We had a really difficult time getting to this dinner, so we had to ride in the van.
We did really enjoy meeting the Prince, especially Aunt Barbara.

After dinner, we did enjoy dancing in the lobby of Grand Floridian.  It was gorgeous in there!  It had the biggest gingerbread house too. Then, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom through the monorail.  We got there around 8pm and I realized everyone was already in a spot for the Electric Street Parade.  Cita and I decided to stake a spot while everyone else rode a couple of rides b/c this was Barbara's first time at the Magic Kingdom and the only time we'd be here throughout her stay.  I was able to do some shopping while mom stayed in our spot.  She's so much more outgoing than me and always makes friends with those around her.  :)  The Electric Street Parade was fun and a lot longer than I remembered it as a child.  ;)

 Then, we headed for a spot to watch Wishes.  This was spectacular!  I got teary eyed last time I watched it and I did this time too.  I was thinking as I was watching it, this is why I work hard every day, so I'm able to experience things like this and to give my kids this experience.  It truly is a magical place!  They have a show before the fireworks that makes the castle change color and projection on it.  I don't understand how they do it, but it is truly amazing.

Ella fell asleep in the stroller during the fireworks and she was perfectly fine sleeping in there.  I'm SO glad I rented that double stroller.  It was expensive, but I used part of my rewards card that I have been saving for 3 years on that stroller.  Emily had been wanting to go on the speedway track, so the wait was only 15 minutes so the guys + Barbara and Emily rode on it.  I think we walked around Tomorrowland some so that Barbara could see it, then went to Fantasyland but most lines were long.  We decided to try out Haunted Mansion, but Roy and my dad stayed back this time.  Emily was very scared before the ride b/c they try to make it scary, but it isn't.  She ended up having a good time with us (with the trusty flashlight).  It was getting late and we had to get the van at the Grand Floridian, so we headed out of the park.  The line to the monorail was very long, so we decided to wait for the ferry.  It was fun ride over there, but not so much fun for Roy b/c he had to hold a sleeping Ella the whole time.  :(  We made it back from our late night.  Next up, Hollywood Studios.

Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique + dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table

 The "before" picture

 Nails and hair done!  Wow!  They were having the time of their lives!

 Starting the pampering

 Emily with her fairy god-mother in training.

 Emily's first look as a princess, she loved it!  Look at all that glitter!  Cita and I also became princesses and got glitter in our hair!

 Ella with her sweet fairy god-mother in training.

 Ella became very relaxed during her hair and makeup appt and I thought she fell asleep at one point, but she was so excited to become a princess!

 Ella bought gloves with some of her money and she was just precious waving to everyone!  Emily absolutely loved becoming a princesses as well!

 I absolutely love this picture.  There was just a show at the castle and all the princesses and characters were leaving and they were waving to the girls!

 After the boutique, the 2 princesses saw the parade and had a great time waving to all the characters!  Ella is SO into everything at this point.

 We got to see Merida after waiting about 30 minutes.  We were almost late to the Cinderella dinner (whoops and Poppy was waiting there for us).  We were right around the corner and all is well now!  :)

 Meeting Cinderella

 The girls with Snow White!

 Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) was very sweet.  My picture didn't turn out well, but will get one from my mom.

Meeting Jasmine.  Emily says she is her new favorite princess.

 Meeting Ariel.

 Wishing on their star!

 My dessert was so awesome!  It was the clock like on Cinderella's castle.  The numerals were made of chocolate.  I loved the dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table.  The girls were in the bathroom with Cita during the Wishes part and the manager walked to our table to make sure everything was ok and told him, so he had them do it again except the princesses didn't come out again.  It was still good that they got to hold their wands in the air and make a wish on a wishing star.  ;)

We went to a couple of gift shops after dinner.  Ella bought a Little Mermaid baby and Emily bought some Mickey mouse earrings with their gift cards.  Then, we went into Philharmagic movie since there wasn't a wait.  We all loved this show!  It's in 3-d and both girls (maybe me too) were trying to grab items.  We went again later in the week.

We ended our night at a dance party in Tomorrowland.  We rode the people mover transit ride and it was pretty cool to see all the sights in Tomorrowland!  The girls loved it and really loved the dance party!

We got back to the resort around 7 and we decided to go for a swim b/c the kids were dying to go there.  There was a cold front moving in and this was the only day that it was going to be 80+ degrees, so I thought we better go when we can.  We had a blast and Emily loved the slide!  Thankfully, the pool was heated.  It was too chilly the rest of the week, but warmed up our last day there, so they were able to enjoy the pool one more time on Friday.  Next up, day 2 Magic Kingdom and another surprise to come!