Happiest Place on Earth

Happiest Place on Earth
Showing posts with label favorite characters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label favorite characters. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

One More Gasp...

... of magic.

The last full day at Disney is always a little sad, even if you've been vacationing for a ridiculously long time!  We had some really fun adventures today, though, to finish up.  Traditionally, we like to spend our last day in the Magic Kingdom.

The Crystal Palace is one of our all time favorite places to eat breakfast at Disney, both because the food is incredible and this is where you meet the characters from Winnie-the-Pooh.  You can't do much better than that!  We may have "struck again" when Eeyore came by.  For those who have never heard the story, Caleb was terrified of the characters when we went to Disney when he was two.  When Eeyore visited our table on that trip, Caleb smacked him with a waffle, leaving butter all over Eeyore's nose.  Miah might have accidentally gotten permanent marker all over Eeyore's belly, today... 
 
One of the best character photos ever...
Poor Seth...

Because we have spent so much time at the Magic Kingdom on this trip, we only had a few things that absolutely had to get done.  Most of the day was consumed with re-riding everything we love after we knocked out the last few things we hadn't done yet, in the morning.

Liberty Square River Boat:

Exploring Tom Sawyer Island is one of my family's favorite things to do.  You would think, as a literary enthusiast, that I would love it, too, but it has never ranked very high on my list.  However, I enjoyed playing a game of checkers with Phil at the fort (even though I lost badly), and even though I ran camera lens first into a wall in the mines, at least I didn't get hurt... which has been known to happen on the island...

Reading the Map: 

Raft Ride Back to Civilization:

It was super hot and crowded during the day.  At this point, I have no idea how many cups of frozen lemonade we have consumed.  I am feeling pretty thankful for snack credits, both because they keep that frozen lemonade coming and because that led to this moment when you can see that Caleb and Ian do love each other, near constant picking at each other aside:


We don't always make it to the daytime parades, because we are usually so caught up in riding, and have I mentioned it's hot?  However, I was super impressed with the Festival of Fantasy parade and am glad we decided to take it in, even though it was a bit of a challenge when tall people decided to stand up in front of our kids... again.  I think Disney needs a parade watching etiquette guide or something.  I am quite certain that this was the last time that I am ever going to be able to throw one of my children up on my shoulders in the blazing heat for a parade.  In case you're wondering, Miah is super heavy... and wiggly... and again...  it was hot...  It was worth every second, though...

Well, hello there Maleficent:

Minnie is blowing a kiss to Miah here:

Over the course of this vacation, we have done 36 character greetings!  That has to be a record for us.  Tinkerbell was our last greeting, and she was super excited to be in Miah's hair:


Speaking of Tink, here she is flying across the Magic Kingdom during Wishes:


After some ice cream, which sort of revitalized us, we spent our extra magic hours riding Thunder Mountain and the Seven Dwarves Mine Train again.  If you need proof that it was a long day, this is the first time we have ever seen both the park opening and closing shows!


 It's been magical:
L.

Pictures Taken Today: 364

P.S.  Ian keeps saying that this will be our last Disney trip, because now all of the children in our family have had their magical trip.  This is cracking me up.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

It's Magic...




First, let me just say that this was, hands down, the most productive 8 hours we have ever spent at the Magic Kingdom.  Wait.  Just 8?  That's right.  In our original plan, we did not intend to be at the Magic Kingdom today, and there were short hours because of Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, but we figured we might be able to knock off some of the non-Fantasyland attractions, especially with extra magic hours in the morning, so we made a run for it.

We had conquered all of the mountains by 11:00 in the morning!  That's a win!

That moment when you remember that she's five...
And probably has no business on Space Mountain...
So you hold on... tight...  She loved it.

I have been waiting for this Disney Moment my entire life...
We're all finally on Splash Mountain, together...
We're still working on getting an epic picture,
but this one will have to do for today...

Thunder Mountain...
Well, we haven't done it quite like this
since Seth was five and I was pregnant with Ian...
Stupidest thing I ever did (intentionally) while pregnant...
But I think he turned out OK...

We also managed to ride Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (twice), The Peoplemover, Tomorrowland Speedway, Astro Orbiter, Carousel of Progress, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Haunted Mansion.  A quick note on the Haunted Mansion.  We never would have let our older kids ride this at age five.  Miah did, indeed, ride today.  I can't decide if this means our parenting skills are getting better or worse...

 Space Ranger Spin...
Phil wins for best ride picture face of the day...

Tomorrowland Speedway:

 Astro Orbiter:

Peoplemover:
 
Jungle Cruise:

Magic Carpets:

And, we went to the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, The Enchanted Tiki Room, The Country Bear Jamboree, and the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House.

If you know your Disney parks, this only leaves Tom Sawyer's Island (which we could have done, but it was blazing hot with humidity that made it even worse... I am quickly approaching the point with this heat where I could be happy sipping frozen lemonade for the rest of this vacation, and nothing else), The Hall of Presidents, Liberty Square Riverboat, and the Walt Disneyworld Railroad as far as non-Fantasyland attractions go.  We still have two more days scheduled at the Magic Kingdom, so we are in really good shape for getting everything done and riding our favorites over and over again. 

 This is a really dedicated big brother...
It was so hot.
Do not eat your children when they are young.
They might grow up to be decent people...

We left the park at 4:30 (this has never, ever happened), went back to the resort to catch a quick nap (well, I did, anyway) and get cleaned up for dinner (which was necessary, see: humidity).

We then proceeded to eat at Chef Mickey's, which had better food than I remembered... probably something of a drawback, since we ate more than anyone should.  Just kidding.  We're Disney foodies.  Great food is never a drawback!  The characters were making lightning speed appearances again, but I guess I'll suck it up, because free dining is... well... free (sort of...  if you have more than five people in your family, they automatically add the gratuity, and this really threw me for a loop at our first ADR, because it used to be included in the dining plan).  The waitress was fabulous, though.  She earned her gratuity, for sure, and told us what a nice family we have, even though I think we were a little on the crazy side tonight!

I will never understand the Chef Mickey's picture...
Why do we need a pseudo-professional photographer
to take our picture with a statue?
Somebody help me out here...
We are kinda cute... 

Minnie Mouse and Mini Me:

She's totally trying to drink a cheesecake shot:

How about an elevator selfie to end the night:

At this moment, I have five happy, sleeping kids who are looking forward to some water park fun in the morning!  

L.

Pictures Taken Today: 222

P.S.  Thanks Walt... 

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Something Just Hit Me Like A Ton Of Bricks…



Caleb’s 9th birthday is in 5 days.  And we didn’t buy him anything related to Thomas the Tank Engine.  Go ahead and laugh, but I’m telling you, Thomas stuck around for Caleb a whole lot longer than most kids.  I think starting at about age 4 we would say, “This might be the last year Caleb’s interested in Thomas,” and then it just went on… and on… and on…

I might not have even thought about it except I had an e-mail in my inbox, this morning, from Zulily, and they are having a big Thomas sale.  I actually clicked on the link.  I didn’t buy anything, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted, and I’d also be lying if I said I don’t feel just a little teary. 

The good news is, Caleb is still not embarrassed to sit on my lap or kiss me in public…  Gosh, I hope that never ends.  I’ll be a wreck!

How about a couple of retro pics for today:

Just Another Day At The Tracks (5/6/07):

 Riding on Thomas the Tank Engine in 2006:
L.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Movie Night...



I was sort of on a cleaning blitz today, so I’m a little late in posting…  I suppose there were a variety of things I could have captured with a picture… like the clean hall closet… or the clean downstairs bathroom closet… or the clean upstairs bathroom cupboards… but nobody really wants to look at those, right?

So…  Tonight we decided to get a movie in before school resumes tomorrow morning.  We watched “Blue Mountain Mystery”… the new Thomas the Tank Engine release… because, let’s face it, Caleb is a “lifer” when it comes to Thomas.  Really.  I’m not kidding.  We will still be buying him the new movie for Christmas when he’s 30.

Here he is:

Hurry and snap the picture, already, Mom!
I can't see the movie if I'm looking at you...
(He didn't say this, but he's probably thinking it!)
L.