Disney World - Day 3

Day 3 at Disney started off early again! There is no sleeping in when you are trying to see as much of Disney as you can in 3 days! We went back to the Magic Kingdom on Sunday with plans to spend the majority of the day there, since Mimi and Granddaddy missed our visit there on Friday.
We walked into the park not long after the gates opened and saw that the wait time with the princesses was only 15 minutes! We rushed in to take advantage of the quick line! This experience for Lily was priceless! I didn't think she'd get too excited about the princesses, as she's been much more into Minnie Mouse lately, but she was mesmerized and took in every moment!
First, she met Sleeping Beauty/Princess Aurora. If you ask Lily who her favorite princess is now, it's Sleeping Beauty. I think she must have been extra sweet to Lily when they were chatting with each other!

Next was Belle! You'll notice Bear isn't in any of these pictures! As much as he loved the characters at Disney, he didn't care for the Princesses...I think it's the fact that they were "real" people and not in big costumes. Belle did get a hug from him, but it took some coaxing!

I love Lily's expression here as she is looking at Belle - so sweet!

And last, but not least, Cinderella! Cinderella was so sweet to notice Lily's princess dress and talked with her about it. Lily loved it!

After meeting the princesses we took a few pictures in front of the castle and then headed to the Crystal Palace for a late breakfast.

Bear was less than cooperative in the family pic - I guess that's what you get with an overexcited 3 year old!

Crystal Palace was so much fun. We had a later breakfast time so the restaurant was not very crowded. We got to spend lots of time with each character. The food was great - made to order omelets, lots of fruit and muffins, and tons of other breakfast favorites.

Eeyore came to our table first. Daddy's back was to him and he got a surprise hug from him!

Bear hugs for Winnie the Pooh

We had a lot of fun with Tigger - after pictures and autographs, he bounced up and down with Lily and Bear.

Last, but not least, Piglet

After filling our tummies with breakfast, we headed for Tomorrowland. We had gotten FastPasses (which are the trick to having a productive day at Disney) and rode the Toy Story ride first. It wasn't as good as the one in Hollywood Studios, so we were really glad we didn't have to wait in line to ride! Next up was Bear's pick - the speedway. This little boy was on top of the world - he thought he was a real race car driver!

Bear with Granddaddy taking off

Look at that face!

From Tomorrowland, we headed back towards Fantasyland and rode lots of classics!

Daddy and Lily on the Tea Cups. She loved that Daddy would spin their cup really fast! Mommy and Mimi sat out on this one!

Lily, Mimi and Granddaddy on the Winnie the Pooh ride

Since Lily and Bear loved the Mickey Philarmagic show so much, we went back to show Mimi and Granddaddy! It was a hit again!

More rides on the Carousel

We also got in Peter Pan, Dumbo, and It's a Small World before deciding to head back to the room for a nap before the evening festivities. Mimi and Granddaddy stayed at the park to do the more grown up rides - and even braved through a Florida thunderstorm!

After naps and a quick bite to eat, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom

As we walked in, there was no wait to meet Mickey and Minnie! Mimi and Granddaddy were waiting for us at the gate so we all headed in for pictures and to see Minnie and Mickey one last time up close.

We took a train ride around the park on the steam engine and then noticed Main Street was already filling up for the evening parade. Daddy and Mimi saved front row spots and we dashed off to meet Princess Tiana - the last princess on Lily's wish list to meet. Prince Navarre was with her - Lily asked him about being a frog and he told her he still eats flies from time to time. Lily didn't know what to think about that :)

The Electric Parade was magical and well worth the wait. Lily, and especially Bear, loved every minute!

After the parade, we moved down Main Street to find a good spot to view the fireworks at the castle! Again, words can't describe how magical they were! Definitely the most spectacular fireworks display we have ever seen!

Our night was not over after the fireworks - we had 3 more hours left, thanks the the Extra Magic hours since we were staying in a Disney hotel. We rode the racecars, Snow White, Peter Pan, Dumbo, and more before finally ending out after midnight!

Our last view of Cinderella's castle!

Our Disney vacation was exhausting, but wonderful! We look forward to perhaps going again in several years to see how the additions that are currently under construction and when the kids might enjoy some of the "bigger" rides a bit more!

Day 2 - Disney World

Our Saturday at Disney started off early! We took the bus from the hotel to the Magic Kingdom and then jumped on the monorail for a quick ride over to the Contemporary Resort for breakfast with Mickey and friends and Chef Mickey's. We were seated very quickly and timing worked out so that we could visit the buffet and eat our breakfast before the characters started working their way around our dining area. We all thought breakfast was great - lots of choices, including fruit, eggs, Mickey Mouse waffles with toppings, and lots of other breakfast favorites! The fun really started when Goofy came over to our table to begin our character visits! We got autographs and pictures with all of the favorite Disney characters and I'd highly suggest the character meals to cut down on the lines to meet favorites in the parks!
Goofy, Bear and Lily

Lily and Minnie, in matching outfits. Minne is Lily's favorite right now!

Big hugs for Mickey

My dad does the best Donald Duck voice, so the kids insisted that he jump in for a picture. They even "quacked" at each other!

Pluto

After finishing breakfast, we headed over to spend the rest of the day at Disney's Hollywood Studios. I'd heard mixed reviews on whether or not this was a good pick for little kids, but with the Toy Story, Cars, and Disney Junior attractions, I figured it would be a win, especially with Bear. He may not have enjoyed the Princesses at Magic Kingdom on Sunday, but he had the time of his life with his favorites on Saturday.

The view entering Hollywood Studios

We were greeted by Goofy and Pluto - Lily and Bear were a little confused how they beat us to the Park, when they were still at the restaurant when we left :)

While we were taking pictures and getting autographs, Josh rushed

over to the Toy Story Mania ride to try and get FastPasses. We had heard this was the most popular ride and they run out of Fast Passes early in the day. This was true - by noon when we were there, they had already run out for the entire day. Lucky for us, the line at that point was only about 45 minutes (runs 90 minutes for most of the day) so we jumped in line to wait it out. The cue for this ride was very interactive. There were huge replicas of various toys and a talking Mr. Potato Head who spoke to those waiting in line. We had fun even waiting in line for this one!
Lily and Daddy in line for the ride

The ride was a lot of fun - it was 3D and was made to feel like an arcade game. Had we had the time to wait in line, we definitely would have done it again. After getting off the ride, we crossed the street and waited to meet Buzz Lightyear and Woody.

Bear in one of the photo opps while waiting to meet his Toy Story friends

Bear was absolutely amazed by his big screen buddies! He just smiled and stared. I didn't get a good photo (but mom did) because I had to pick him up to pull him into pictures because he was just star struck!

We visited other parts of the park, including the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area, before finding Lightning McQueen and Mater. Again, Bear was just thrilled and savored every moment. He got so excited when Lightning honked at him when he walked away!

We were able to catch the Pixar afternoon parade, which again, was really good. It was a great way to relax in the shade for 30 minutes!

After the parade, we went and saw the Disney Junior Live show, which featured a lot of our favorites, like Little Einsteins and Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

Bear listening to directions and helping out Jake with h

is piece of the puzzle

Lily clapping and singing during the end of the show

We wrapped up our day watching the Indiana Jones show, which Dad and Josh really enjoyed and then headed back to rest and make plans for dinner. After resting out tired feet for a few minutes, we headed over the Downtown Disney for a quick dinner and a little shopping. Bear and Lily got a souvenir from the world's largest Disney store and also got to spend a few minutes playing in the splash pad.

Both Lily and Bear fell asleep on the ride back to the hotel - we put them to bed - Day 3 to come!