DisneyWorld - Last Day

The last day at Disney World is so bittersweet.  Its then that you realize you didn't take enough pictures!  Here's are some classic shots we realized we hadn't taken.

Here's Claire and Lily on the teacups.  We rode twice in a row.  They wanted to ride 3 times, but I couldn't do it.  Twice in a row was one too many times for me!

Then as we were waiting for the the Magical Express to take us to the airport we got pictures with the first letters of our name.

DisneyWorld - EPCOT

We had a great time at Epcot.  We were kind of slow going on rides in the morning because Claire's not tall enough for Soarin' or Test Track.  Soarin' was Lily's favorite ride and she would get so excited waiting in line that she could not hold still.  It was funny (and annoying).  She rode Test Track with Jeff.  She said she liked it, but she didn't want to go again with me.

Then, when the World Showcase opened we enjoyed traveling the world!  Since we had extra snack and meal credits we decided to eat around the world as well.  The first stop was Mexico where we enjoyed a boat ride with the 3 Caballeros and then some tacos and Manzanita!

Then we went to Norway.  We rode the Maelstrom and got away from the trolls.

Claire loves to "honk" noses.  Here she is honking the Troll's nose.

Then we went to their bakery for some school bread.

Next up was China.  We sampled some egg rolls.  The video about China is my favorite!

Then onto Germany where we had a caramel filled chocolate cookie.  probably not German, but definitely delicious.

Then we went to Italy (but we didn't eat anything... we were getting full).

Next, we went to the American Pavillion. The Drum and Fife band had a parade that Lily and Claire participated in.  An then we listed to the Liberty Singers, an awesome a capella group.

Afterwards we rode a friendship boat back to future world so we could hit some of the rides we skipped earlier.  We also met Daisy Duck.

When we started to get hungry again we went back to the World Showcase.  We visited Canada (it looks a lot like Washington).

Then we went to the UK pavillion to get some fish and chips.  We couldn't find a seat at the tables, so we thought we'd sit at some benches by the water.  As I was walking down with our food a seagull flew over my shoulder and stole a WHOLE PIECE OF FISH!  I was so mad!  I went back up to the counter and they gave me another piece of fish, but there was no way I was going near the water again.  Fortunately, table full of teens from China invited us to sit with them.  Then the birds left us alone.  I don't like seagulls anymore.

Then we went to the France pavillion.  Here's me kissing Jeff; that's the Eiffel Tower peeking out in the background.

Here are the girls playing in the fountain.

We cashed in at the French Bakery and enjoyed some sort of pastry, cheesecake, and chocolate cake (the cake of the day).  Maybe this is why i gained 6 pounds!  :o)

After this, we breezed through Morocco on our way to Japan.  We had Teriyaki in Japan, but my favorite was the strawberry adzuki bean ice cream we had for dessert.  No pictures from Japan because it got too dark.

Before we went home, we stopped to listen to some 80's British rock in the UK pavillion.

DisneyWorld - Hollywood Studios

We enjoyed Hollywood studios, but there aren't as many kid rides.  We really liked Toy Story Midway mania, but Lily didn't like it because she got a little squirt of water in the face.  Then we went to do some more grown up rides!  We took turns on the Rockin' Rollercoaster and the Tower of Terror (my other favorite ride...so scary!!!).

We ate lunch at Toy Story Pizza Planet, which the girls enjoyed.  While we were waiting in line to get our food Claire was standing on her star.  She was being so silly.

We all really liked the new Star Tours ride.  Lily especially loved it.  I think she's pretending to be a robot.

I found waited in our parade spot while Jeff went on the ride again.  He came back with funnel cake and ice cream so that was worth it.  Claire slept through the parade again....

We all liked the Beauty and the Beast show.  My favorite part was the girl dressed like an ice cream float.

Then in the evening we went to "characterpalooza" where we met Winnie the Pooh.

We were surprised to find Mary Poppins and two of her penguins.  I was so excited I got in the picture with the kids!

To end the day, we watched the last American Idol show of the night.  It was really fun to be able to vote for who was going to win.  The judges they had were great as well.  Very funny!

DisneyWorld - Magic Kingdom

Our third day was spent at Magic Kingdom.  This was definitely the girls' favorite park.  We dressed them up like princesses before we left because we knew we would be visiting a few.

We visited all of our favorite rides: the teacups, the carousel, and It's a Small World.

We went backstage to meet Mickey Mouse.  While we were waiting, I saw some signs for the Three Little Pigs and I thought they were so cute.

Because we were first in line to meet Mickey, he came out to get Lily and Claire.

 It was fun to see Mickey's dressing room.  I was playing with one of Mickey's hats and the cast member told me that it was magic.  If I put money in there, it would disappear.  I had a good laugh.

We stopped for a break at the Main Street Bakery.  The ice cream sandwich and cinnamon roll were huge!  I think this is the reason I gained 6 pounds this week.

Cast members would give the girls stickers a lot.  What kid doesn't love stickers?  Can you find all 6 of Claire's stickers?

We rode our favorite rides again.  Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh were the biggest hits with the girls.

During the parade the balloon guy told us about "Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom", an interactive trading-card game they were beta testing while we were there.  They gave us a stack of cards with different magic spells on them (like Winnie the Pooh's bees and Pinocchio's sawdust) that we could use on our mission to defeat Hades.  Our mission took us to Frontierland to help Pocahontas.  Hidden throughout Frontierland were screens that would recognize our "key card" and then give us another video clue to follow to help Pocahontas. We'd check on our map and find the next location (like a treasure hunt).  It was really fun.  We got some more cards on a different day, but we didn't have time to do another mission.

After this, we rode the Liberty Belle Riverboat at sunset.  It was very relaxing.

Because we'd finished our touring plan for the day and still had some extra time we went to Tomorrowland and rode Buzz Lightyear and a few other rides.  Here's our little alien.

DisneyWorld - Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom is my favorite Disney theme park.  I just love the lush, tropical setting.  I love seeing the animals.  I love Asia and Africa and how I feel transported to those places.  And I love Expedition Everest (an awesome roller coaster that runs into the Yeti)...a lot.

Here I am waiting for the bus at our hotel, anxiously awaiting our adventure.  Notice it is sunny, and warm.  This was the complete opposite of the weather we left behind in Washington!

Lily and Claire loved playing the drums at Animal Kingdom.  I think they have a percussionist streak from Jeff.  Here's a video of Claire singing Jungle Bells while she drums.

We saw DiVine, which was something we had missed on our last trip to Disney World.  She is a street performer that has very good camouflage and looks like a moving plant.

As we were heading to the Asia jungle trail a cast member noticed my "Happy Anniversary" button (Yay! 7 years!).  He told me that I had a phone call.  I went over and answered the phone and Mickey and Minnie were on the line to wish me a happy anniversary and sing me a song.  It was a really fun surprise!

We saw lots of animals including some flying foxes (huge bats) and cool birds.

We enjoyed the parade and then went home.  Claire slept through the parade.  We really enjoy the cars for each of the characters; they are packed to go camping.  Minnie Mouse has a mountain of luggage and perched on top is a bubble bath...absolutely essential.

Goofy's car is towing his smoking grill.  So funny!

After Animal Kingdom, we went to Downtown Disney for dinner.  On our way, we passed the lego store and they had some amazing creations. This is the seven dwarves.

We ate at the Wolfgang Puck restaurant.  Yum!  And then we went into a toy store to play with Mr. Potato Head. 

Then, some of the cast members at the store pulled Lily and Claire aside and started a tea party.  The girls loved it.  Afterwards, they each got to pick out a pin.  Lily got Minnie Mouse and Claire picked Tinkerbell.