Disney Halloween Trip, Day 4

We had planned a full day at Animal Kingdom today. We love this park because there is so much to see and do, yet it is a slower paced day, with lots of more relaxing activites to choose from. We always manage to be exhausted when we finish in either case!

We headed to the park and grabbed Fast Passes for Exbidition Everest. This was a must do ride this time around, only when the time came for the ride, Casey chickened out! I didn’t mind, as roller coasters really aren’t my favorite – I was happy to keep my feet safely on the ground.

We did the Dinosaur ride for the first time – it was quite scary! I wouldn’t recommend it for younger kids, or children who are easily spooked. Lots of shaking around too, my neck was feeling the effect for days afterwards. We grabbed more Fast Passes for the Safari ride and then headed to Tusker House after for our Donald’s Safari Breakfast reservation. This is an African themed buffet with mostly standard fare, plus some unique Afican-flavored breakfast items thrown in. Donald Duck greeted us outside, and we had our photo taken. The photo was available to purchase for $29.95 – a bit steep, but they included a coupon for $10 off a future character-breakfast photo. Since we knew we were going to want to buy another picture later in the week, it was a good value.

Mickey, Daisy & Goofy were all inside dressed in Safari gear. Our reservation was for 10:30 – towards the end of their breakfast seating. The characters visited our table, and then came back around spending extra time with people who were finishing their breakfast. It was a wonderful experience – especially when Casey got to dance around the room with Daisy – I cried!

Later we got on the Kilimanjaro Safari. This is a favorite ride every trip – the views of the animals are amazing, and the guide is playful and fun while you are driving. I highly recommend this attraction, but make sure to always get a FastPass! We then took the train down to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. This area of the park is secluded from other sections, and takes you through the section of the park where they house the animals at night. It is a great look at the inside working of the animal side of this park. We met with a veteranian and animal trainer who gave us interesting tips and facts about the animals featured here. We also got to meet Jiminy Cricket down here – I had never seen him before – great treat!

We took time out of the very hot afternoon to ride the Kali River Rapids. This ride warns “You will get wet, you may get soaked.” We got SOAKED! We dressed Casey in her bathing suit – next time I am doing the same thing; it took hours for my capris to dry :)

We stopped to watch Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle parade on our way out of the park. This was an interesting parade as the focus was more on the intricate designs in the “floats”—mostly people walking with elaborate animal costumes—than on the entertainment value. We really enjoyed it, but then we had to rush to get to our dinner reservation at the nearby Animal Kingdom Lodge.

The Lodge is a stunning property set on the savannah section of the Animal Kingdom theme park. From right outside the hotel you can view animals grazing in their natural habitats. It is a definite must-stay for me in the future, but it is a hotel to be enjoyed; not a hotel to simply lay your head down after a busy day at the parks. Perhaps when we get an adults-only trip planned sometime soon we will take in this fabulous resort!

We headed back to our hotel and indulged in some wine & cheese in our room. We always order groceries to be delivered in advance, and sometimes you just want to relax and feel like you are at home. All-in-all a busy day, and tomorrow…shopping!

Disney Halloween Trip, Day 3

Today was EPCOT day! Casey had previously asked to be Princess Tiana for Halloween back in Newfoundland, and we had planned to buy her a dress and accessories when we went to Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique on the Friday of our trip. However, this morning we had a breakfast booked with the Princesses and Casey decided she wanted to dress up now! What else do you do except make her happy!?

We raced into EPCOT to Mouse Gears, one of the largest Disney shopping stores. We found the dress right away, but they didn't have her size. Thanks to a great sales lady who searched for what we wanted, we quickly purchased the complete outfit - they even helped us cut the tags off as we were rushing out the door! Off to breakfast at Restaurant Akershus - one of our favorite breakfast meals. Everyone gets to meet Belle and have their photo taken. You receive an 8x10 and 4 smaller photos as part of your meal. Inside, a variety of princesses visit you at your table - we saw Cinderella, Snow White, Princess Aurora and Ariel. The food is great here too - more on that in my restaurant review!

We did the Test Track ride - very fast - great experience! Then we headed to the International Food & Wine Festival Pavilion to check out this great Special Event. The Food & Wine Festival is held each fall, and features taste-testings from around the world, sessions where you can learn about different food and drink offerings, as well as sessions to meet with world renowned chefs. There are lots of cool souveniers to buy too!

We enjoyed some of these food offerings on our way around the lagoon. We also did the Kim Possible Adventure, which was a great way for Casey to learn more about the countries featured in EPCOT. We had some lunch in Mexico and spent some time inside the beautifully redone Mexican Pavilion. Then we stopped off at Spaceship Earth (the EPCOT ball) to do this relaxing ride.

Then it was off to Hollywood Studies for dinner! We had reservations at the Sci-Fi Diner - you sit in a car, in a replica drive-in movie theatre. Very cool restaurant and effect of being outside watching a movie while eating. There was a long wait even with our reservation and we ended up missing out on seeing Fantasmic this night. That was one of my must-dos this trip, so I was disappointed, but going back to the resort to swim in our pool was a relaxing second-best option. We swam for a while and called it a day - off to Animal Kingdom tomorrow!

Disney Halloween Trip, Day 2

Peet peeve...people who leave the alarm on when they check out of a hotel! We were woken up at 7 by an alarm from the day before. Yawn! We got an early start though, and were at Magic Kingdom just after the opening at 9 AM.

We did one of our favorite rides from last year first - Splash Mountain. I like rides that take a little longer and let you relax while enjoying them, plus there is a nice thrill at the end (and you get wet!) so this ride is perfect. We headed up to Liberty Square to meet Princess Tiana and Prince Neveen from Princess and the Frog. Casey is in love with Tiana and wanted to buy a dress like hers so we were estatic to find a short line up for these characters. They spent extra time with Casey chatting to her which was really special as well.

We spent some time in Fantasyland which is perfect for young kids. Then we headed over to Tomorrowland, stopping to watch the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! parade in front of the castle. The floats stop in the circlular road in front of the castle and you can walk and dance among the floats. The characters come down to interact with the kids - tons of fun.

We shopped a bit and headed back to our hotel to relax in the pool. We wanted to have a relaxing afternoon before our big Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party that night. We even got to enjoy some authentic New Orleans beignets (a feature in the Princess and the Frog movie) - delicious!

That evening we headed back to Magic Kingdom around 5 PM. We got our special wristbands for the Halloween party and picked up our trick-or-treating bags. People were in costumes throughout the park, adults included, it was a great atmosphere. We had supper, and by 6:40 we were waiting in line to meet the Disney Fairies at 7. This was a must do as Casey was dressed as Tinkerbelle for Halloween. It is a great experience getting "shrunk" down to fairy size before you meet them.

There were games throughout Magic Kingdom for kids to play, and treat or treating stations everywhere. Lots of candy for everyone! We visited a special set up of Cinderella's carriage to have our photo taken, then headed to the Haunted Mansion. Too scary for Casey, but we had our photo taken near the hearse outside - a surprise was waiting for us when we saw our Disney photo online...a ghost driver! Cool trick!

There are two dance parties in MK that night where you can interact with the characters. Once featured Stitch, with the other having Jessie and Woody from Toy Story. We danced for a while with the Toy Story characters - the kids were really loving it. We got to see the parade from Frontierland with the featured the Headless Horseman riding by. Great to see the detail Disney puts into Halloween.

We spent some more time in Adventureland seeing the characters from Alladin, and doing a few rides. Then we watched the fireworks before trying to call it a night. Casey wanted to do a few more things before we left - she had more energy that we did! We finally made it back to our room after 10:30 to eat some candy and sleep. Great way to enjoy Disney - I can't wait to try this event another year.

Disney Halloween Trip, Day 1

Off to Disney World again for our favorite family vacation! We opted to return to Disney this year because we find it offers so much for our entire family. Casey is well entertained with the activities and attractions offered for kids, and we get to enjoy her happiness along with rides and events geared more for adults.

We woke up early (3:45 AM!) and got ready for our 6:10 AM flight. It's early, but WestJet's great service had us in Orlando by 1:30 PM. Still lots of time left to enjoy Disney on our first day. We boarded Disney's Magical Express transportation to our resort. Casey was asked to be the co-pilot on the coach bus- she was so pleased! At one point she leaned over and told a departing guest, "Watch your step!" Very cute!

We arrived at Port Orleans French Quarter and checked in seamlessly. I had requested a room in Building 5, top floor and got exactly what we wanted. We had also arranged for groceries to be delivered from www.gardengrocer.com so a quick call to Bell Services had those groceries delivered to our room.

Then it was time for fun! We headed to EPCOT, one of our favorite parks. It was very crowded by this time (around 4 PM), but we enjoyed stopping at a few pavilions around the World Showcase as we made our way over to Germany for supper. We had reservations at Biergarten Restaurent for 6 PM. Biergarten is a buffet style restaurant with authentic German entertainment. We grabbed some food and sat down to enjoy the German band. Casey and I even got up to dance to the Bird Dance!

We shopped a little in Germany and then made our way back towards Norway. There is a ride here that we had always wanted to try - Maelstrum. It was a great ride with just a little bit of the thrill aspect. Casey really enjoyed the boat ride and effects inside. We shopped some more (our favorite pasttime) and then headed back to our resort. All in all, a great start to a magical vacation.

Disney Summer '09 Trip, Day 6

Today was supposed to be Typhoon Lagoon (which we planned to pay for out of pocket), but Casey choose Animal Kingdom (after passing it up the day before) so we saved our money, and off we went. We were surprised to see Br'er Rabbit outside—he was one of Casey's favorites, especially after riding Splash Mountain the day before.

We headed straight to the Kilimanjaro Safari to get fast passes and then walked down to see the Festival of the Lion King show. This will be a repeat performance for me on future trips, I was very impressed.

We walked the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail where there were some great animals to view. Then we rode the Kilimanjaro Safari—this is another highlight. The animals are so close to the vehicle, and they make it exciting for younger riders by playing up the scenario that there are poachers in the area, and you are on the hunt!

We spent the afternoon at our resort waiting out a thunderstorm. It was a welcome relief from the heat and we got to relax before our big night. We headed to Magic Kingdom and took the water taxi to Fort Wilderness Resort & Campgrounds. We had reservations for Mickey's Backyard BBQ. What a great night of food and entertainment!

We caught the water taxi back to Magic Kingdom just in time to catch the SpectroMagic parade. The floats are all lit up, even the characters walking in the parade have lights in their costumes - the best parade in Disney World by far. THe crowds were intense afterwards, but we stuck around to wait for the Wishes Nighttime Spectacular fireworks display. Again - by far the best in the World!

Disney Summer '09 Trip, Day 5

Today was supposed to be Animal Kingdom day, but when we got up Casey said she wanted to go back to Magic Kingdom. We had a table service reservation in Animal Kingdom that afternoon, but we decided to cancel it and see if we could pick up another table service meal somewhere else during our trip. I am a meticulous planner—this was spontaneity for a change!

We made sure to head to Tomorrowland and ride Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin first thing. When we walked out of the ride we saw Buzz himself standing by the Astro Orbiter—what a great character meet! We also had a close run-in with Zurg—aah!
We ate lunch at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe. Sonny Eclipse, an animatronic lounge singer that entertains you while you eat, was a fun attraction. We picked up fast passes for Splash Mountain but had some time to spare, so we went into the Country Bear Jamboree. What a blast from the past! I remember seeing this show back in 1990, so it was a real treat for me to see what had changed…and what hadn't!

Just as we were getting in the fast pass line-up for Splash Mountain, I noticed the note on the bottom of our tickets that said "Eligible for another fast pass at XX:XX time". It was that time now, so I ran over to Big Thunder Mountain and grabbed fast passes for one hour after our Splash Mountain ride. Great decision, because by the time we got off Splash Mountain, the fast pass return time was as additional hour and a half later—whew!

Splash Mountain was so much fun. We still had to wait for a long time, but there were people waiting in line (in the hot sun) for over two hours for this ride. Those are some dedicated riders! We were prepared to get wet at the end when you splash down into the br'er patch, but we didn't realize that as we were climbing up the steep roller coaster hill, the car plunging down by the side of us would send up a huge splash—we got soaked! It was a great ride though—very enjoyable and a must-do for next time for sure.

Big Thunder Mountain was also a fun ride. We had watched videos of this online before we travelled, so Casey was particularly looking forward to riding through the dinosaur bones. We rode the Funny Jungle Cruise—the kitschy humor is another fav. Then we found Rafiki just standing by in Adventureland—a real treat.

After cooling off in the pool back at our resort, and grabbing some dinner in the food court, we felt rested enough to try EPCOT in the evening. We headed straight to England in the World Showcase where we knew you could meet Winnie the Pooh characters in the back of the toy store.

Then we walked up towards the fountains, had some treats and did some shopping, and watched Illuminations: Reflections of the Earth. This was a really nice show, with an interesting story. We stayed back towards the entrance of the park as much as possible so that we could be among the first group headed out to the buses. You could still see most of the show and it was a great night.

Disney Summer '09 Trip, Day 4

Today was Sea World day! This was the main reason we had arranged for a rental car. Our travel agent had recommended getting our car for a 24 hour period spanning two days so that we would be able to shop on one day, and still have lots of time for Sea World on the second day.

We arrived at Sea World to a mass of cars, so we paid for premium parking and got a spot near the main entrance. There was another long line to head in to the park, but we finally made it in by 10:30. There simply wasn't enough time to enjoy all that Sea World has to offer. There were animals on display at different sites throughout the park.

Believe was the absolute highlight of the day for me. I cried! The trainers and whales are so talented, and it's a really moving performance.

There is a fantastic kids ride area Shamu's Happy Harbor. Casey absolutely did not want to leave here. We finally dragged her away for lunch—very cute offerings for kids.

After lunch we headed towards the Clyde and Seamore take Pirate Island show—absolutely hilarious. These sea lions are legendary at Sea World, and a must-see for everyone. The humor may be over some younger viewers heads, but the physical humor draws everyone in.

We had to leave this park early to get our car rental back on time, but I could have stayed here much longer. We went back to our resort where we had reservations for Shutters—the table service restaurant at Caribbean Beach. Dinner is 1 Table Service credit if you are on the dining plan, or you can order individual items from the menu. Overall, this was a nice restaurant, with okay food. We very much wanted to stay at a moderate resort this time to have a restaurant available to us, but we found that we would rather use our table service credits in the parks and have really unique dining experiences.