Disney World Vacay...Part 2!

Ok...back for part 2!

Wednesday was our third day in the parks and we spent it at Magic Kingdom. Wayne's Dad even came down to spend the day with us, which was really nice. Our first order of the day was to meet all the princesses and then Marie the Kitty...thank goodness the lines weren't too long! Then we were off to ride Big Thunder Mountain, which Kaitlyn had been asking about since before we left Ohio because she remembered riding it last year. To say she was excited to ride this ride would be an understatement. ;o)  Then we were off to check out the NEW Fantasyland, complete with Ariel's Grotto, The Beast's Castle and a few other neat things. We even saw Rapunzel's tower (!!!!) still under construction...we then learned that it was only part of the soon-to-be-restrooms. Darn! We were hoping for a Rapunzel-themed ride or restaurant or SOMETHING Rapunzel-ish. Bathroom or not, it still looks just like the one in the movie and Kaitlyn was super excited to see it, although even she thought it was silly that it was going to be the potties! Ha! We ate lunch at Pinnocchio's restaurant, met Ariel, the White Rabbit, Buzz Lightyear, Tinker Bell and her sister. And we FINALLY got to ride the Tea Cups too...last year there was a TWO HOUR (!!!) wait for them, so we said "no way!" But Kaitlyn loved riding them this time. We ended the day with fireworks at the castle and a stop in the gift shop where Kaitlyn picked out a stuffed Ariel doll...this was courtesy of Grandpa W. for her Christmas gift. We took the bus back to the hotel where we ALL passed out quickly...Kaitlyn almost fell asleep on the bus!

On Thursday we headed to Hollywood Studios. We met Jake (from Jake and the Neverland Pirates) right away and then saw Handy Manny was there too. Kaitlyn didn't want to meet him for some reason, but Mommy did! His line was short, so what the heck. LOL. We also met Mickey Mouse dressed up in his sorcerer's costume, which was neat. We tried to catch a few shows, but it seemed like we kept missing them by just a few minutes. We actually wasted a lot of time at this park because we didn't plan it out as well as we should have. We did get to do some fun things though...I rode the Rockin' Aerosmith coaster (which was CRAZY!) and we ALL rode the Hollywood Hotel Tower of Terror...Kaitlyn LOVED it and giggled the whole time...meanwhile, Mommy and Daddy were thinking "Wow, this is more rough than I remember it!" LOL. We also went to this awesome playground (Honey I shrunk the kids) where everything was gigantic so it made you feel really small. Kaitlyn had a blast and didn't want to leave! We saw a few more shows, took in the parade and met a few more characters before heading for the hotel. We were all so tired that we were pretty much ready for bed at dinner time. Mommy actually fell asleep before Kaitlyn on this day!

All too quickly it was Friday, our last day in the parks. We went back to Magic Kingdom because that park seems to have the most to do and we didn't get to do everything we wanted on Wednesday when we were there. Kaitlyn and I actually went a little earlier than Daddy so we could meet Merida (from Brave) and she got to shoot a real (with soft end) bow and arrow! Then we headed to Belle's Enchanted Library, which we wanted to see since it was new. It was neat because all the kids got to participate. They each got a 'part' in the play (Kaitlyn was the feather duster) and then they performed for Belle at the end. The 'real' Belle even came out, which was a surprise. It was neat however I think it's something you only need to do once, not over and over again. It was cute for the kids, but not worth a long wait. By this point, Daddy had arrived and we met him in line at the Be Our Guest restaurant, which was amazing!! The food was good, but the decor was outstanding! They really nailed all the details from the Beast's castle in this place..very cool. After lunch we rode a few more rides, met Tiana, took a family picture at the castle, watched the show in front of the castle and watched the parade down Main Street. Kaitlyn spent the last (well, almost) of her spending money on an Ariel jewerly box that plays "Under the Sea." It's super cute...hopefully it won't get broken! We also bought some Disney snacks for the ride home so we could use up the rest of our snack credits from the dining plan...some otherwise very expensive cotton candy and gummy worms!

A few words to summarize our vacation would be: magical, dreamy, fun, exciting, memories, perfect and exhausting. We had amazing weather, the crowds at the parks were low, the food was good, our hotel was wonderful, the rides were fun (although, they are NO Cedar Point!) and all of our character experiences were amazing! With each new character Kaitlyn met, I could see the excitement in her eyes and the joy in her smile...she was in awe and it was amazing. I hope she remembers this trip for the rest of her life...I know it's a stretch because she's still pretty young, but I feel like this is the dream vacation of a little girl. It's kind of funny because last year I said "I have no interest in going back to Disney" because our last trip was a bomb since it was so jam-packed...it was miserable. I also said "I want our next vacation to be a relaxing one, where we just lay on a beach"...a Disney vacation is the furthest thing from relaxing! And Wayne really wanted to go on a cruise, not to Disney World...but we came across a good Disney deal at a great time of year to go, so off we went. And I'm SO glad we did Disney this year! Kaitlyn was the ideal age and everything was just perfect. Next vacation is Daddy's pick though...I wonder where we'll cruise to? ;o)