Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween!

Kylie making the 'not impressed face'  Kendall looking sweet



Momma!  Look at all these pumpkins!

Kendall

Uh oh.  Bedtime...
Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Day 4 - Hollywood Studios and Date Night!

We decided we were going to get in some time at Hollywood Studios on Day 4, and hoped that Kylie the girls were in better moods today.

I'm the good one, Momma...
We headed off to Hollywood Studios.  This park is always crowded, and this day was no exception.  Oh, and it was HOT.  Actually, the whole week was hot, but this day was really a scorcher. Once we walked around a bit, Kevin, my dad, and I grabbed fastpasses for the Tower of Terror, and my parents decided to go on Rockin Roller Coaster.  Kylie dropped off pretty quick after that, but Kendall seemed to have little interest in sleeping.

We walked and walked and walked and finally met back up with my parents.  Kendall was still raring to go! We went on Tower of Terror while my mom walked with the girls.  When we came out, Kendall had finally dropped off.




Grandma!

Grandpa!

There's me (upper right) yelling as usual :)
Snoozing again :)

Kevin and I got our chance to ride Rockin’ Roller Coaster (via fastpass) and met back up with my parents and the girls.  Kylie was awake and got to mug with Donald, Daisy, and Minnie.  Kendall slept through the whole thing. 


Grandpa and Minnie

Kylie, Grandma and the ducks!

Shhhhh...


Ky and Momma

Look at that sassy little face :)

Kylie and Grandpa
We decided to split up again so my parents could ride the Great Movie Ride.  Kevin, the girls, and I grabbed lunch and hung out.  After we met up again, we all went to see Disney Junior Live.  The girls LOVED it.  They love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (yes, they get to watch a few episodes a week…everything in moderation), so they were clapping and dancing through the whole thing.  Kylie kept bear hugging this guy sitting in front of us.  We were all cracking up.  I don’t know what her deal was with him, but it was hilarious.


Where's my guy?  I have the urge to hug!
When we came out of the show, it was down pouring.  We waited inside for another 10 minutes or so until the rain stopped, then headed over to the One Man’s Dream exhibit.  The girls really enjoyed looking at all the pictures of Mickey, and even more liked getting the chance to walk around (and be out of the stroller).

Mickey!



We walked around a bit more, and then decided to split up for the night.  My parents took the girls back to the resort for some pool time and dinner, while Kevin and I headed over to Epcot.

Throwdown back at the room!

Kylie in the pool

Kendall in the pool

Hanging poolside
Once over at Epcot we went on Spaceship Earth, saw Captain EO, and decided to explore the World Showcase for the rest of the evening.  (There may have been a Grand Marnier slushie or two involved.)  We ended the evening by watching IllumiNations, and eating at the San Angel Inn restaurant in Mexico (one of our favorites in all of WDW).  After dinner, we decided to head back since we had to be up EARLY for our 7:10 AM reservation the next morning at Chef Mickey’s.

Enjoying date night 

…to be continued…

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Day 3 – Animal Kingdom, A BIG Storm, and a Luau

So we set off to the Animal Kingdom in the morning on Day 3.  When we got there, it was a gorgeous day.  HOT, but beautiful.  My mom was especially excited to see this park because they had never been there before.



Expedition Everest


Yay!

 
My Dad, Kevin, and I grabbed fastpasses for Expedition Everest. My mom was fine staying with the girls while we all rode it. In the meantime we went and checked out the ‘Flight of Wonder’ bird show. Kylie was in an especially great (ha!) mood that day, and unfortunately we had to leave halfway through the show. We got the girls some Goldfish and put them back in their stroller. Not too long after that, they fell asleep (I hoped they stayed asleep for a while…no such luck)
 
While the girls were asleep, we went on Expedition Everest. We could see the clouds starting to roll in, but we went about our business and hoped that it would pass quickly.
 
This has to be one of my favorite pictures from the trip
When we got off the ride, we grabbed Fastpasses for the Kilimanjaro Safari and went on a walking tour. It was really nice. We got to see some really cool animals, and the girls napped soundly in the stroller.



 
We came out of the tour and it was almost time for our Fastpasses for the Safari.  It looked like it was going to start raining (and soon!) so we told my parents to go ahead.  Right then, the girls woke up and the sky opened up!  It was one of the hardest, longest rains I had ever seen.  We were able to duck into a nearby gift shop (along with everyone else) and stayed dry.  But then it kept raining, and raining, and raining (did I mention it kept raining???)  We looked at the radar on Kevin’s phone and it didn’t look like it was going to stop anytime soon.  We bit the bullet and dropped $45 on ponchos and went out to brave the elements.

We all put ponchos on and put one over the stroller to keep the girls dry.  Kylie was NOT a fan of this and started FLIPPING out.  I had never seen her that upset before.  I think the poncho scared her.  Luckily, the rain finally slowed, and we managed to get some lunch at Pizzafari.  It was surprisingly good.  I was especially a fan of the sangria Kevin got me because I was so stressed from Kylie’s freak out.

After lunch Kevin and I decided to take the girls back to the room for a nap (ha!  not so much), while my parents stayed at the Animal Kingdom.  It rained off and on for the rest of the day and we were thinking that the Luau we had scheduled that evening at the Polynesian was going to be cancelled.

After calling 5 times to make sure it wasn’t, we headed over to the Poly.  It was actually a great time!  The girls loved the food and loved the show.  I was really doubtful how the evening was going to go based on how dicey the day had been, but they did great.  They barely fussed, and were both thoroughly entertained for the whole 2+ hours we were there.







 
 
This video is so adorable.  Kylie does a little hawaiian hula near the end!
 


After the show was over, we headed back to the resort (via monorail/bus).  The girls got a bath, and went down without a problem, and we all pretty much collapsed in exhaustion! 

…to be continued… 

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Day 2 - The Magic Kingdom and Epcot

Despite the fact that my parents were out late partying (aka - hanging with  Mickey) we got up early. The girls did their part to make sure no one could possibly sleep in!  We decided to head back out to the Magic Kingdom to do some more things that we didn't get the chance to do the day before. 

Let me talk about Disney transportation for a minute.  We travelled by bus EVERYWHERE on Disney property.  It was great and it wasn't.  There were times where we got where we were going quickly, and there were times when it took for-flipping-EVER.

Kylie at the bus stop

Kendall at the bus stop
The biggest drawback to where we were staying was that the Animal Kingdom Lodge is located furthest from the Magic Kingdom and Epcot.  We would typically plan on having at least an hour of wait/travel time from the resort to the park and vice-versa (which with 16 month olds can be ‘tricky’). 


We arrived at the Magic Kingdom and walked around for a bit.  My parents had gotten to ride several rides the night before, so they told us to go on Space Mountain (a Kev and I MUST DO ride) and they would push the girls around.  When we came out, we found them like this:


We had to have a little fun :)
We had a great day there.  Kevin and I went on the Haunted Mansion, and then took the girls so my parents could see the Hall of Presidents.  When they had come out, Kendall woke up and was incredibly entertained by the band in Frontierland.  She even scored a flag out of the deal!

Grandma and Kendall

The Band!

Look at my flag!
After Kylie woke, we went to lunch and then headed over to Fantasyland.  They are doing construction on the new Fantasyland expansion, so there were less attractions than normal, but we did get the chance to check out the new Dumbo ride.  They have TWO rides now (makes the line go much faster), and an interactive queue which the girls loved!

She loved this little platform

Taking over!

Slide!
We all rode Dumbo.  Kylie loved it from afar, but wasn’t too big of a fan once we got going.  Next time, I bet they are going to be begging us to go on it again and again!

You can see me in the back negotiating with Kylie :)
We caught the train back to the front of the park and hopped on the monorail to finish out our day at Epcot.


  

We took turns riding Spaceship Earth (we weren't going to risk that one with the girls) while the girls ran around the waiting area.  They loved getting out of the stroller and having the chance to stretch their legs!

After that we went on the Seas with Nemo and Friends.  The girls loved that ride except when we got stopped right by the angry scary fish with the teeth.  Kendall was less than amused.  After riding The Land boat ride we headed back to the resort.

Kev and I took the girls to the quick service at the resort to get dinner while Grandma and Grandpa went back to the room to get ready.  We came back and got the girls bathed and ready for bed all while getting ready for dinner ourselves.

Ready for Bed!
We had reservations that evening at Narcoossee’s at the Grand Floridian to celebrate my parents 35th wedding anniversary and Kevin and my 7th.  We called a babysitting service called ‘Kids Night Out’ in Orlando to watch the girls.  They were in bed by the time Evelyn arrived, but she was great.  I would definitely recommend them (don’t forget, this is your vacation too!). 

We made our way over to Narcoossee’s where we shared a great bottle of wine and a terrific meal.  This is the second time we have been there, and we would all definitely go back.  It was a wonderful way to end a great day.

Lobby of the Grand Floridian



…to be continued…