Disney Day #3

Aloha!  We started day three with a character breakfast at Ohana's in our hotel.  I was so pleasantly surprised by this one.  I wasn't expecting too much considering Lilo and & Stitch aren't exactly on our list of favorite Disney characters.  I was thrilled to see that a few other Disney pals were there as well.

Our waiter was incredible and the food was great.  It was a wonderful way to start our last full day of vacation.  Even if I did have to wake the kids up for an 8:45 breakfast reservation.

Okay, so I think I may have lied in the last post.  Goofy was not the only character Lucy would have nothing to do with.  Stitch was definitely a sight for her and she wanted nothing to do with him.  I can't say I blame her, look at those teeth.  Lucy said, "he naughty".  

However, Lilo perked her right up.

And Jack even gave "a girl" an ever so slight grin.

We loved seeing Mickey dressed in his Pacific flair.

And Pluto just about did the girls in when he autographed their books on his nose.  Serious giggles.

We headed straight back to Magic Kingdom when we were finished eating.  I decided to give Magic Kingdom two days this trip and forgo the other parks.  It made for a very relaxing trip {if that's possible at Disney}.

We hit a few favorite rides and even some new ones.

But the best of all was snagging a Fast Pass last minute to see Elsa and Anna.  If you know Disney, these are not easy to come by.  We literally bypassed a 2 hour line and went straight in.  Maggie and Lucy were in complete awe.

Elsa and Anna spent, what I considered, a lengthy amount of time with us.  They were just as magical in person.

Of course the exit shoots you right out into a Frozen gift shop.  This sweet little doll made it home with us.  Flip her over and she is Anna.

At this point we had lost Jack and Daddy.  There was no way Jack was using up one of his Fast Passes on princesses.  They hit Space Mountain again, the Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Meanwhile Lucy spotted Chip and Dale.  You better believe she jumped right in that line.  She was not about to let a character get past her.  After seeing Anna and Elsa, Maggie had absolutely no interest.  Her character cup was full and perfectly content.

We made our way back to the resort for dinner poolside.  I had to share this of Lucy on the monorail. We had the entire car to ourselves and Lucy took full advantage of it.

Our last night at the pool was incredible.  Lucy made her way to the stage with the DJ for dance lessons.  It was absolutely hilarious and way too adorable for words.  I could kick myself for not having my camera down there.

The girls were tuckered out by 7:00pm.  I tucked them in and Daddy took Jack to downtown Disney for a visit to the Lego store...again!  And then they caught the late night movie on the beach.

All the while the girls and I snoozed away dreaming of our last morning in Disney...

Disney Day #2

If any day of our vacation was a challenge, day two would probably be it.  I'm not exactly sure what happened.  Lucy was a bit off.  Even after an incredible night of sleep {like 13 hours}.  And I even made sure she got a nap.  Other than that we had an issue or two with the monorail and later on missed Daddy and Jack at our meeting time.

But over all, those little bumps hardly did anything to waiver my opinion of this being the best Disney Vacation ever!

We started the morning on a working monorail and headed to Epcot.  I had all intentions of making this a pool morning for the girls.  But seeing as how we had just spent two evenings at the pool, I thought it best to get them out and about.  In hindsight my original plan was probably for the better.  Oh well.

For some unapparent reason, Epcot was bustling.  The girls and I had Fast Passes for our selected rides, but from what I can gather the boys waited in some long lines after we left.

After a very short morning, the girls and I headed back to the hotel for naps.  Post naps we were back to Epcot for characters and a princess dinner in Norway.  Somehow meeting Daddy and Jack for the Mickey and Pals fell through.  I was so bummed not to have Jack in our photos.  On the other hand, Jack could have hardly cared.  He was having way too much fun riding thriller after thriller.

Lucy was nearly beside herself at the sight of Mickey Mouse.  She raced right up to him with pen and autograph book in hand.

Goofy was a totally different story.  This was the only character on the entire trip that Lucy would have nothing to do with.  She said, "him too big".

Above all, Maggie and Lucy loved Minnie the best.  She twirled around with the girls and got the best giggles from them.

On our way to the Princess Dinner at Akershurs the girls conned us into Snow Princess face painting. By this time our party of five had reunited...and it felt so good.

Of course, if Maggie is doing it, Lucy follows suit.

We made a quick stop to visit with Duffy Bear.  Lucy seriously could not get enough of the characters.

We finally made it to dinner for our reservations with the princesses.  I was elated to see that Belle would be the one greeting us upon our entry.

We enjoyed a dinner of Norwegian cuisine while we were graced with visits from the Princesses.  Jack grinned and beard his way through this one, yet again.

Maggie's favorite was Ariel this go around.  She even got to join the princess parade around the restaurant with her.

Lucy's favorite was hands down Aurora.  She could not quit talking about her.  I'm pretty sure the gown twirl and skirt holding had something to do with it.  Lucy's been practicing her best princess curtsy since then.

Jack couldn't have been happier to get out of there.  Fair enough, I suppose.  We made our way around the countries before heading back to the "ho-town" as Lucy likes to call it.

Jack wanted me to grab a photo of him in each country.  I had a great time doing that with him.  Here are just a few.

Monday turned out to be a very late night.  The monorail was having issues {ugh} and we didn't get out of Epcot until way past bedtime.  Needless to say, the kids passed out as soon as we made it back to the Polynesian.

This was the only evening we didn't spend poolside.  I learned very quickly to return to our evening pool agenda.  It made for much happier {and well rested} children.

And with that, comes day three...

The Best Disney Vacation Yet Day #1

So I think it fair you know, that while I do love Disney, it is most certainly a trip I can handle {with a smile} about once every two to three years.  I find the trip both exhilarating and exhausting.  I honestly spent a few weeks mentally preparing myself for this one.  The lines, the crowds, the melt downs, etc., etc.

Well, we are back and I can without a doubt say, this was our best Disney vacation ever!  It was truly amazing.  In retrospect I'm thinking I owe that to a May visit {light crowds}, our fabulous hotel, and a highly organized agenda with lots of down time.

We arrived to the Disney Polynesian Resort on Saturday evening.  We were just in time for dinner poolside.  I absolutely loved this property.  The pools were great, the atmosphere was a festive South Seas flavor, the food was delish, and we were on the monorail.  By far my favorite Disney resort to date. 

The kids wasted not time changing into their swimsuits and hitting the volcano pool as soon as we were checked in.

On Sunday we hit it pretty hard with our first park day.  We had a few fast passes at Magic Kingdom and lunch reservations.  And might I note I am totally digging the new Disney Experience App.  It was super helpful.

I could hardly believe it, but we got in pretty much every ride in Fantasy Land before lunch.  I'm telling you this May vacation was incredible.

Out lunch reservations were at Cinderella's Castle.  I can't say Jack was too hyped about this, but the girls certainly were.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Jasmine at the castle.  That's a first for us.

The highlight of the day and the trip, for me anyway, was Belle's Enchanted Tales.  Last time we were in Disney this project was underway.  Belle is by far my favorite princess.  I can belt out a Beauty and the Beast tune on cue to my children's dismay.

Belle's castle was so quaint and intimate.  She retold the story of Beauty and the Beast and even had child volunteers join her.  Guess who was the first {and only} to raise their hand in our party?  Yes, my little Lu.  She played Phillipe, Belle's horse.  I could hardly stand the cuteness.

There was no flash allowed in Belle's castle so I did the best with what I had.  At the end of the performance, Belle invited all the children up for hugs and gave each of them book marks.  It was beyond sweet.

Daddy and Jack finished up the day with rides like Space Mountain and Splash Mountain.  All the things the girls had absolutely no interest in doing even if they had been tall enough.

We all met back at the resort pool for swimming and dinner.  The girls had a blast at the kiddie splash area.

While Jack opted for the big slides at the volcano pool.  I think he counted 47 trips down that thing by the end of our vacation.

There was even a man made beach behind the pools.  The girls loved every minute of it!

Jack joined us when the fire pit and marshmallow roasting was set up.

I think we could have gone home after that first day and been perfectly content with an incredible vacation.  However, there was still more fun to be had...