Day 1 – Evening
After napping at the hotel (well the kids and hubby fell asleep around 2:30 and I got them up at 4:30. I didn’t nap.), we headed over to Epcot. We got there around 5 pm. We stopped to take a few pictures in front of the ball and then we went to let the kids play in Innovations West. My daughter loves Great Piggybank Adventure. She and my husband played that while my son ran around and around and around this play house they have by the firetruck.
We had to literally drag them out of there to take them to Innovations East. Of course they had the time of their lives there like we knew they would. There is so much for the kids to do in both Innovations. They could probably spend the whole day there!
At 6:30 we left and went to Norway to eat. We ate at Kringla Bakeri og Cafe. We both had the Norwegian Club and the kids had PB&J, grapes, applesauce and a juice box. It was really good! We are trying to eat around the world on this trip.
Then we spent our time wandering around on our way to the exit. We found a very beautiful Princess and the Frog themed garden near Test Track. Emily loved it!
We got back to the hotel around 8 pm and we took the kids to play in the kiddie pool. They had so much fun and I got a great foot massage from the pop jets. LOL!!
I fell asleep the minute my head hit the pillow. It was so nice to get a good night sleep.
Recap:
Park time – 3 hours
Rides:
Innovations West – 1 hour
Innovations East – 30 minutes
Dinner in Norway – 45 minutes
Wandering around – 15 minutes
Day 2 – Morning
We got up at 6:15 am and got us and the kids ready for the day. Stopped by the cafeteria to eat breakfast and then boarded the buses to the Magic Kingdom. Magic Kingdom had evening magic hours that day, but we knew we could get in and get what we needed to get done and get out before it got too crowded.
We stood in the middle of the waiting area this time so Jacob could see the welcome show. When he saw Mickey he went crazy!! He was so excited. After it was over, we headed through the castle to Fantasyland. We rode Peter Pan and Pooh (we are on a mission to ride these both as many times as possible. They are the kids absolute favorites!) then we headed to Adventureland. We waited for about 5 minutes while Aladdin and Jasmine came out, rode Aladdin’s Magic Carpets (they will ride with guests, but you must be loading onto the ride when they come out and they just jump in an empty seat) and then it was our turn to meet them! This was our first time and Emily was so thrilled! Jacob just loves all the characters. He hugs them all.
While we were meeting them, my husband ran off to grab 2 Fastpasses to both Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I had no desire to ride either one, so they only needed 2 at each.
He made it back just as we said our goodbyes to Aladdin and Jasmine. We all got on the Magic Carpet ride and we rode it twice! Our only wait was for the ride cycle to finish and unload. It was awesome! Kids had so much fun and I am finally over my fear I have of these rides!! Yay!
We then went to ride Pirates again. It was about a 5 minute wait. They only had the left side open. We absolutely love this ride! The drop is sooooo fun.
By now it was 10:15 am, so we split up. Jason and Emily went to ride the mountains while Jacob and I headed towards Fantasyland. I think the time I wander around with him, might just be my favorite part of the trip. We stopped to see Frontier Donald and Jacob hugged him soooooo hard. Donald refused to use Jacob’s Mickey Pen and had to get a new pen from the Cast Member. HAHA! It was great!
Then we stopped by a man with a bell in Liberty Square who let Jacob ring it a few times. He got suck a kick out of this!!
Next we went to Fastpass Peter Pan. If you ever see them working on a Fastpass machine, head to that one to get your Fastpasses as soon as they finish with it. I did this, and the machine wasn’t working so he just printed us 4 Fastpasses for Peter Pan. That gave me a chance to go ahead and run over to Pooh and get our Fastpasses without having to wait. Woo hoo! We also got Fastpasses to Mickeys Philarmagic.
Jacob and I rode the Mad Tea Party again. We had to wait 5 minutes and the time passed quickly because he played a matching game on my phone. He loves loves loves this ride!
By now we were ready to meet up with Jason and Emily. We toured Mickey’s house and Minnie’s house before heading to Cosmic Ray’s for lunch. It was so nice to be in the A/C for a while!
Then we rode Pooh, saw Mickey’s Phillarmagic and rode Peter Pan one more time before we decided to leave Magic Kingdom for the day around 1:30.
Here’s a recap:
At the Magic Kingdom from 8:30 – 12:30. It is the morning of an Extra Magic Day. Park opened at 9 am.
Peter Pan – 3 minutes
Pooh – 3 minutes
Greet Aladdin and Jasmine – 5 minutes
Aladdin’s Magic Carpets – 2 minutes
Aladdin’s Magic Carpets – 2 minutes
Pirates – 5 minutes
Greet Frontier Donald (Kristin and Jacob) – 8 minutes
Splash Mountain – (Jason and Emily) – 3 minutes with Fastpass
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Jason and Emily) – 3 minutes with Fastpass
Mad Tea Party (Kristin and Jacob) – 5 minutes
Cosmic Rays – 30 minutes
Pooh – 3 minutes with Fastpass
Mickey’s Philharmagic – 5 minutes with Fastpass
Peter Pan – 3 minutes with Fastpass
Catch up:
Here is the Day 1 morning recap.
Jess says
You have your trip so planned and scheduled out, I love it!! I think planning ahead can save you so. much. time. in the parks!!! It’s crazy thinking about the people who go down without a plan at all—the thought of that just terrifies me! HA
natalie says
Wow!
I can’t believe your longest wait in the morning was only 30 minutes. Nice!
Cindy says
I have really been enjoying reading all your posts. I just came back on Saturday from Disney World and this is making me relive the magic!!
Karen A says
How did you like Mickey’s Philharmagic?
Judy says
we have never taken the kids in to Innovations East or West….sounds like I should schedule some time there in July.
Michelle says
I can’t believe all that you were able to get accomplished. That is so great, your kids must be thrilled!
kimberly says
Thanks for the ideas you provide for each land. I can’t wait to ride the Magic Carpet, Pooh and Peter Pan. I haven’t been to Disney since Pooh was Mr Toad’s Wild Ride!
heather says
wow, i am so impressed! i’m also seeing the benefit of planning a nice, looong wdw vacation! with only 4 days, we have to keep a moving in order to see everything. you get to travel at a much more leisurely pace! enjoy that and thanks for posting!!
Jeananne says
You are doing so well with the wait times!! I am also impressed by the naps! I don’t think I will be able to get my family to do that.
Barb says
Fantastic recap!! Sounds like you guys are having a wonderful time!
Ryhan says
Sounds nice so far!
Heather says
Wow! Sounds like you should start a Disney World Training class or planning trips for people who are going to Disney. Can you plan our trip when we go? LOL! Wish I was there now. I love looking at all your pics! Its awesome to relive my disney trip 11 years ago!
Annette says
Loving the updates! You are selling me on this time of year next year. We’re going in November this year. It’s a good thing you will be starting your fund stratagies all over so I can learn even more. Not to mention I can finish saving for November and start saving for May lol. Not so sure what the DH will think…shhhh keeping this secret among my Disney friends :).
Looking forward to your next update.
Becky says
I am LOVING your updates…especially where you said you didn’t nap – I wouldn’t have either! I’m way too excited when I’m there to sleep :). I’m also glad to hear your kids liked Epcot so much – we didn’t bring ours when they were 4 and 6 months but are bringing them this year at ages 6 and 3….I was wondering if they would be bored, but it sounds like they definitely will NOT. have a wonderful rest of your day! You deserve it!!! Your updates are making me smile all day!
Cindy says
You are so good at keeping track of the amount of wait time. How do you do that?
You don’t know what you are missing by not riding the mountains. BTMR was my son’s favorite ride last time we were there. It was his first time, since he was finally tall enough and we rode it at his request 3 times in a row.
I know this is silly, but I just love hearing about other families having so much fun and joy at my favorite place in the world.
DeAnna says
Sounds like a great day!! The crowd levels and wait times seem managable. We went last Christmas and it got crazy!!
Katie says
I’m really enjoying your pictures and report. I’ve never had a Dole whip, I’ll have to try one on our next trip. Thanks so much for sharing!
Marti says
What an awesome record you are going to have of this trip! We love reading it, but I think you and your family are going to be so glad to have all this info to keep all those wonderful memories from slipping away! Maybe I do need to start a blog!
Babs says
Ya know u could have had a dole whip for breakfast.
Melody says
Sounds like a GREAT time! I love reading about your trip. Taken notes getting ready for our 2nd every trip in December 2011!
Christina says
Sounds like an incredible trip so far!!!
Ann Marie says
Love it! Looks like you had a productive morning. This is very much like what we do. We have 4 kid, 7 and under. If I could just get one of the 5 year olds to consistently ride the mountains, I’d have it made, ha! It’s still a bit difficult for me to take 3 of them on any of the Fantasyland rides. I guess we could do It’s a Small World or something like that. Humh….might give that a try next time.
MichelleGraves says
You are doing GREAT!!! Love reading and looking at the pictures!!!