Tuesday
We were up early and it was another day of breakfast watching the animals on the balcony. :thumbsup: We headed to the bus stop just before 8 to make our way to the Magic Kingdom. The MK bus was waiting at the bus stop when we arrived. We were through bag check and entered into the park before 8:30. We took lots of pictures in front of the park and on Main Street then waited by Walt's statue to watch the Opening Show in front of the castle.
Then we were off to It's a Small World, Dumbo, Tea Cups, Under the Sea with Ariel, and Seven Dwarves (FP). We ate lunch at Casey's Corner, then were off to Peter Pan (FP) and we planned to ride the train back to the front of the park but it was full and the line was long. We didn't want to wait so we walked to the exit and went back to AKL for naps.
We returned to MK for Haunted Mansion (FP). While in line at HM I booked a FP for Pirates of the Carribean. We ate dinner at Columbia Harbor House; we sat upstairs and it was a nice quiet area to enjoy a good meal. We walked through Frontierland and DD danced with CM outside Country Bear Jamboree and LOVED it. We did Pirates of the Carribean (FP) then ate DOLE Whips at Aloha Isle. yum! DD did some Pin Trading then we returned to AKL. DH put DS to bed while DD and I went to do laundry and look for animals with the night vision goggles. We didn't spot any but it was fun to look.
Wednesday
Once again, breakfast on the balcony watching the animals. :thumbsup: A recurring theme of the trip. :)
We were up early and off to Epcot before opening. We had a plan of getting to Soarin ASAP to beat the line since we didn't FP it (FP for Frozen instead). We were waiting in the crowd and rushed to Soarin with many others and as soon as we get inside we stop on the ramp. :confused: CM began walking through telling us it was closed for technical issues. We waited. A few minutes later they walked by again with the same story. We waited. Many people were leaving. After about 20 minutes they walked through a third time and I asked if we could have a FP. The CM discreetly :secret: handed us tickets to return :thumbsup::mickey: We then went to the Character Spot to see the gang there. We waited about 30 minutes. The kids loved it, especially DS. He wouldn't stop hugging Mickey.
Then we headed to the Seas with Nemo (FP). After we finished there I noticed Soarin was open on the MDE App so we returned to Soarin. We ended up missing our FP time for Crush because Soarin's FP line was long and we had to Rider Switch so it took over an hour to go through twice. It was definitely worth missing our Crush FP. We loved the new Soarin around the World.
Then we had lunch at the Cantina in Mexico. It was ok but I wasn't impressed with the corn tortillas on the tacos. It was windy and we sat out by the water, which was tricky, not realizing there was seating inside until afterward when we needed the restroom and a CM directed us inside. Now we know. :mickey:
Next was Frozen (FP). It was great for my daughter, she loved it. The rain was nearby and we returned the AKL afterward for naps.
It rained during our naps and continued to lightly rain on and off into the evening so we decided to stay at AKL and explore. We walked through the lobby and there were lots of people. I asked a CM about it and they said it was a media event for the Pandora dedication ceremony. We ate dinner at Mara again. And again, it was unimpressive. We explored the playground area and talked with CM about the animals. He was from Nigeria and told us about his dream to come to America and how great this opportunity is to work for Disney. He talked to DD about never giving up on your dreams and always believing in yourself. It was a great interaction.
We visited the gift shop. DH and DD participated in the drum time in the lobby (not sure what the name of the activity is), while I took DS to the room to get ready for bedtime. DH put DS to bed while DD and I went to the pool and do another load of laundry. I could see fireworks through the trees (possibly Pandora dedication ceremony/reception?) It was a relaxing way to end the day.
