Adventures at Disney World - Day 5

Our prayers for a dry day were not answered - sigh...  Tropical Storm Debby was parked over Florida, moving at zero miles per hour (no, that is not an exaggeration).  We had planned to spend our last day at Animal Kingdom, but with the weather the way it was, we made a last minute decision to go to Hollywood Studios instead.  That was an excellent decision, as it turns out, as almost all of the attractions are indoors, and we were faced with another very WET Orlando day.

It was raining pretty hard as we drove in to the park, and right after we forked over the cash to pay for parking, both Kyle and I gave each other an "are we seriously going to do this?" look.  The parking lot was a not-so-small pond, but we poncho'd up the kids, the double stroller, ourselves, and headed on in for what we were convinced was going to be a horrible experience.

The first attraction we hit (well, swam to) was the Voyage of the Little Mermaid show.  The cast member informed us that it could be as long as 45 minutes before we were let in for the next show, but as the line was covered and dry, we were more than happy to wait.  The kids enjoyed a snack and some time out of their ponchos while we waited, and we enjoyed a GREAT show.  The special effects were really cool too - lighting on the ceiling to make it feel like you were swimming underwater, bubbles sprayed into the audience, etc, etc.

Ariel with Ursula the Sea Witch

As it was still raining like crazy when we exited, we immediately made our way next door to catch the Disney Junior - Live on Stage show, featuring Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and I think I may be forgetting one more... (Hannah is so hooked on Mickey Mouse that we simply don't have time for the other Disney programming).

Excited for Mickey Mouse's debut!

The little one, in particular, went nuts when they were all on stage

We were slightly encouraged after this show was over to find that the children's risk of drowning had somewhat diminished.  Though ponchos were still a necessity, the rain had slowed down somewhat as we made our way over to catch the Muppets 3D movie.  We enjoyed that (also very cool special effects - bubbles, water spray, etc, etc), and had just enough time when it was done to make our way back to the front of the park to hit Beauty and the Beast - a Broadway-like show performed in a large amphitheater.  Shockingly, not only had the rain stopped when we finished up with the Muppets, but the sun was actually out!

The whole show was great - especially the costumes for these guys

I feel for the guy who gets stuck in this Beast costume on a hot day...

Belle in her "fancy dancing dress" as Megan calls it

Megan loved, loved, loved the show!  The sun was still out when we left the amphitheater, and I was actually considering applying sunscreen for a short second, though the skies remained a bit ominous.  Hollywood Studios is a pretty small park (microscopic compared to Magic Kingdom and Universal Studios), which was a welcome surprise after the last four days of intense long-distance hiking.  After Beauty and the Beast, we trekked back to the Pixar section of the park to redeem our fast-passes for the Toy Story Mania ride.  (We were thrilled to have them - though our fast-pass time was a full 3 hours from the time we got them, by the time we got back to the ride the standby line was 2 hours long and the fast-pass return times were 8-9 hours out!)

The ride was sooo cool!  It was a 4D ride, meaning we all looked awesome in plastic yellow glasses, spinning you through a "course" of various arcade games where you shot at different Toy Story themed targets.  It was definitely my favorite ride of the trip.

Looking forward to Toy Story Mania

Glasses on - almost go time!

"Let's do this thing!"

Attempting to shoot at the targets (disclaimer: I rode with Hannah and was unable to take pictures of Megan in action)

Having just a bit of fun

Despite her enthusiasm for the game, Player 1's aim was a little off

Mommy & the ladies post-Toy Story ride

The rain clouds had moved in again, and we decided it was time to get the heck out of dodge.  We made our way to the front of the park once again and prepared to say goodbye to Disney World...but not before we stopped for ice cream!

Sayonara, Mickey Mouse!

We picked up Grandma Purdy, grabbed some lunch and headed off to the airport.  Though we had an amazing adventure with lots of fun, Mom and Dad were pretty relieved to be heading home.  Disney World is E.X.H.A.U.S.T.I.N.G.

Lunch was at a McDonald's featuring the World's Largest Playplace.  By this point, our birthday girl was kind of too tired to care...

...and we were too tired to really care what this little game at the airport was all about, just relieved that the sisters were having fun together.

Two worn out little ladies on the plane ride home.  Amazing that they were  this calm, as we were in the throes of Tropical Storm Debby for the first hour of the ride.  Mom, not pictured here, was going a bit psycho in a seat across the aisle.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to make such special memories with these girls!  It was an amazing experience - one we will surely repeat...in several years...after we've recovered from this one.

A BIG, HUGE THANK YOU to Grandma Purdy for her efforts.  Thank you so much for traveling with us and helping us manage the chaos that comes with our little traveling circus!  Thank you for hanging out with Hannah so we could spend some one on one (well, two on one) time with the birthday girl.  Thank you for spoiling aforementioned birthday girl with special presents to unwrap while in Florida.  Thank you for hanging  out with us in the park to celebrate her special day.  Thank you for wrangling both of them on a rainy day in Florida while Mom & Dad enjoyed Harry Potter.  Thank you for talking to me on the airplane so I could be somewhat distracted from our imminent demise (still don't know how we escaped with our lives).  And thank you for allowing them to sleep in the next morning and ushering them off to school at a more leisurely pace.  You are a wonderful Grandma and we are all so lucky to have you!!

Also very not-so-small THANK YOUs to Grandpa Purdy (and Grandma Purdy again) for the use of your timeshare during our stay - it was very awesome to have so much space to destroy enjoy and a fully functioning kitchen, AND for watching our rotten beagle during our stay.  Thanks to Grandma Dee for also helping with Lacey and watching the cats while we were gone, as well as the unsolicited shuttling of our vehicle to/from the airport to avoid obnoxious long-term parking fees.  In our situation, the saying "it takes a village to raise a child" rings true, but could also be modified to included "and/or some really awesome grandparents".  Our baby girl could not have had a better birthday (the little sister was pretty far from miserable too), and we couldn't have done it without you.  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

Adventures at Disney...well Universal Studios, actually - Day 4

We had scheduled Sunday as an off day from the parks for the girls.  We had been having a ton of fun, but those kids were so off schedule by this point it was borderline ridiculous.  One of Mom & Dad's goals for the trip was to sneak off to Universal Studios to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Since we conveniently had a Grandma to leave the gals with, we went ahead and planned our Universal adventure for Sunday.

Despite a soaking rain when we got up, we left the ladies behind to enjoy a laid back pajama day with Grandma and headed to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure Park.

Hmmm...maybe this rain isn't going to let up?

Ponchos were on about two seconds after we left our vehicle

It was definitely a great day to not have the kids with us!  We learned shortly after entering the park that this was no ordinary morning rainfall, but rather a full blown tropical storm system (she went by the name of Debby, the #$%^&) that had parked itself over Florida for several days.  In Orlando, we didn't get the strong storms or damaging winds that they saw on the Gulf Coast, but I tell you what, I have never seen a soaking rain quite like this.  It. Did. Not. Let. Up. Once. ... even for a second.  Our ponchos were put to good use!

On a positive note, the fact that the park was nearly flooded really kept the crowds away, and we enjoyed 5 minute wait times on most of the attractions throughout the park.  And, most importantly, we LOVED Harry Potter.  They did a great job bringing the Wizarding World to life, and it was totally fun to experience.  Here are a few of the highlights for our fellow nerd friends Harry Potter fans.

It's the Hogwarts Express!  The Hogwarts Express!!

The poncho probably does not help make this picture less nerdy, huh?

The Three Broomsticks - we had lunch here (because it's awesome AND dry) - very Potteresque

That, my friends, is a giant keg of butter beer.  YUM!

Hogwarts!  (I think he pulls of his poncho much better than I do - no fair! )

A shot of the shops in Hogsmeade.  The snowy rooftops in Orlando was a nice touch.

Trying our first glass of butter beer.  Seriously amazing stuff -but I am guessing there is no less than 500 calories in this cup!

He may be a holographic image, but I was still kind of nervous about being addressed by Albus Dumbledore himself.

I would like one of these in every room of my house...if I wasn't afraid that E.V.E.R.Y.O.N.E. would make fun of me.

The sorting hat!  He totally whispered "Gryffindor" as I walked by...

Inside Olivander's Wand Shop 

Olivander picked this kid out of the crowd to find her the perfect wand.  He went through a 10 minute  process letting the wand choose the wizard (very important, you know).  I resisted all urges to push her down and run up there myself...

 Our fear of drowning, or worse, damaging our iPhones, kept our cameras tucked away after we left the Wizarding World, but we did spend several more hours exploring the rest of the park.  This particular park features a lot of water rides, which was convenient as we were already soaked to the bone.  We took advantage of the no line situation to ride most of the attractions several times, conquering the entire park in just about six hours.

We returned to find our girls well-rested, happy and dry, albeit a little stir crazy.  Daddy and Grandma took them to the swimming pool in the rain (why not?) for a little while, and I later took them on an exciting adventure to fetch slushies and snacks for the movie night scheduled for later that evening.

It was a very wet day in Florida, but we made the best of it.  We packed up after the kids went to bed (at or near their normal bedtimes - SHOCKING!) and prayed for a dry Monday...

Adventures at Disney World - Day 3 (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MEGAN!)

Day three brought us an early start to our morning, with the hopes of leaving for the park around 7:30 a.m.  We had big birthday surprise number 2 scheduled for 9 a.m., and though we were only a couple of miles from Magic Kingdom, we found it takes just shy of forever and a day to actually get inside the gates.

We made it in good time, and used our head start on the crowds (the park doesn't actually open until 9, but you can get in early with breakfast reservations - further details unveiled below) for picture opportunities in front of Cinderella's Castle.  (We'd seen the castle plenty of times by this point, but it's a crowd hot spot, and we hadn't taken the time to fight the masses for pics yet).

Family photo - I didn't drag five sets of mouse ears all the way from Michigan for nothing!

...and one with just our Minnie Mouses - or is it mice?

By this time, we had unveiled Megan's big surprise to her:  Breakfast with the Princesses INSIDE Cinderella's Castle!  The birthday girl was pumped!!

Royal invitation in hand, we were on our way through the castle gates!

Mom had made the reservation months ago, and was pretty unaware of the perks that came along with this monumental event (I prefer to think that they were nice surprises rather than I just completely forgot), such as:

A personal greeting and photo shoot with Cinderella herself!
 (The good folks at Disney also gave us 2 - 8X10s and 4 - 4X6 prints of each of these shots)

Our birthday girl is beaming!  

Breakfast was great!  We had a fabulous meal, and in addition to spending more time with Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, it also gave us a chance to meet Ariel and Snow White.  Each of our girls got a cool souvenir magic wand and wishing star as well, which they used as part of a special "Wishing Star Ceremony" during the meal.  The princesses were introduced individually, and came to each table to do pictures and autographs and spend a couple of minutes.  

Belle - dressed a little less formally than yesterday

Hannah was a little more interested in her waffles than dear Snow White - no offense, princess...

Sleeping Beauty poses with the birthday girl

Meeting the coveted Little Mermaid at last!  (and then our camera died during photo shoot time - of course...)

I think our birthday surprise was a success!

...and she got a delicious birthday cupcake too!

After breakfast, we were on a mission to locate Tinkerbell and crew in Adventureland.  Birthday luck was on our side, and we found them right away without much of a line at all.  We also stumbled upon where Tiana (from Princess and the Frog) was hiding, and were able to meet her right after Tinkerbell.  Meanwhile, we sent Daddy to the front of the park to secure passes for Mickey & Minnie Mouse.  The birthday girl was getting a little character'd out at this point, but we knew Mickey & Minnie were a must for our Hannah Marie.

Hannah meets Terence (Tinkerbell's Pixie Dust Fairy) - we've never heard of him, but this is allegedly a rare sighting, and our more adventurous child had no problems sitting with a strange male in a fairy costume.  Grrreat....

Tink!

The birthday girl waits to meet Tiana with Grandma

Tiana!  (She was also one of my favorite princesses - so sweet to the girls!  They had a lot of fun with her)

Megan was ready to move on to the next thing, but Hannah was all about loving on Princess Tiana.

"OMG Dad, it's Mickey & Minnie!!!!"

In the flesh...or fur?  Collecting their autographs for our books.

Hannah's big moment has arrived!

We were all done with our character stalking admiration for the day, and ready for some ride action. After Mickey & Minnie, we headed back to Adventureland to try out some new rides, as well as some of our faves...again.

Double trouble does Swiss Family Robinson's Treehouse

Jungle Cruise!

We found a splash pad to enjoy while Grandma held a spot in line for Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride

Showing Grandma how to properly drive a carpet

Double trouble in a teacup

Who let Hannah steer the teacup???

Dumbo with Daddy!

 We declared it to be afternoon break time after the rides, and in advance of a storm front moving into the area.  We headed back to the condo to rest up - narrowly missing a very decent rainfall.  Good timing!  After another no-nap for Hannah, and in accordance with the birthday girl's wishes (specifically three-fold - time alone with Mom & Dad, cotton candy and a "super late" bedtime), we decided to explore Magic Kingdom for the last time that evening with only Megan.  (Hannah didn't seem to have any complaints about one on one time with Grandma, and by that point in the trip I was sort of jealous of her being left behind! - Mom and Dad were getting TIRED).

Five year olds talk a big game, but this is what she looked like as we headed IN to the park for the evening

Luckily, she rallied shortly after her cotton candy wishes were granted

In line and ready for her first rollercoaster experience - Goofy's Barnstormer

She was a little timid going up the first hill, but after the first rush she was SOLD!  She and Kyle rode again  immediately after disembarking.

In line for Mickey's Philharmagic and ready to party!

We also caught It's a Small World, Buzz Lightyear (again) and Pirates of the Caribbean, to name a few.  As specified by the birthday girl, we shut down the park for the third night in a row, watching the fireworks on the ferry ride back to the parking lot.  It was a fifth birthday fit for a princess, which is very lucky as that is totally what we have going on here - and we wouldn't trade her for the world!

Happy birthday, baby girl!  What an amazing five years it's been as your Mom & Dad.  We could not be prouder of the little lady you are becoming!  (though if you wanted to slow it down a bit, that would be cool too)