Disney Day Three - Animal Kingdom and Date Night

Wednesday Donna, my parents, Lyla and I went to Animal Kingdom. Adam and Steve went to play golf. Adam loves to play golf, so I am so glad he and his dad got that time together to enjoy and play.  The weather was perfect for them, it even was a little cold, first thing in the morning! It was not hot at all this day and we even encountered a little bit of drizzle. We had to say goodbye to Mawmaw that morning. We had such a great time with her and we were sad to see her go home. I know she enjoyed her time with us, just as much as we did. We loved that she got to come and share in our Disney magic!

While Steve and Adam went to play golf, we headed over to Animal Kingdom. I have never been to this park, so I was excited to see what it had to offer. I had planned that we would only be spending a half of a day here. I wanted Lyla to take a nap that afternoon, since she hadn't taken a nap since Saturday. Adam and I had plans for a date night and the grandparents were taking Lyla back to Downtown Disney to see Cirque Du Soleil's La Nouba.

We got to Animal Kingdom and it was cold! Like I wished I had more clothes to put on! It was just kind of overcast, so there was no sun to warm us up.

We went in and headed to grab a few FastPasses. Since I was so unfamiliar with this park, I was not sure what the "must-do" activities were. I did not research super well, but I feel like next time I have a better idea of the things to do.

We grabbed a FastPass for the Kilimanjaro Safari and for the Finding Nemo - The Musical show. We had some time before our safari, so we headed towards the Tree of Life, and the bathrooms. Haha! Always have to go!

We heard from a cast member that Pocahontas would be back from her break shortly and that there was not really a line to see her. We have seen both of her movies, so Lyla was excited to meet her. We waited in line for a little while before she came out. We were able to see some wildlife while we waited though. We watched the colorful parrots and then I think there were wild boars? or something like that as well, right there where we were waiting.

I know I sound like a broken record, but I loved Pocahontas. She was beautiful and so so sweet with Lyla. 

Lyla loved chatting with her. I think they were talking about Pocahontas' friends Meeko and Flit.

It was fun getting to meet her, since we had never met her before!

Again, she gave Lyla so much time to sit and be with her. I love that as the week went on, Lyla really got in to talking with the Princesses. She was not shy at all.

We headed over to the Safari. I think if you are pregnant, you are not supposed to ride this ride, but I did not want to miss out. I was not really showing, so no one said anything. I think because the ride is SO bumpy, they just do not recommend it. We had a FastPass and it was so nice to be able to just walk up and get right on. This line looked extremely long and I have heard it is the thing people go to first after getting to the park!

My sweet parents! Ready to see some animals!

Lyla loved this one. We of course love going to the zoo, so watching all the animals was right up her alley. We sat in the very back of the safari vehicle, which I think was great because we were able to see a lot. However, I do not feel like we were able to hear the guide very well, and I would have loved to hear better what he was saying.

Up first, hippos. This ride was fun. We went through mud and water. They had chains on the road to help these massive vehicles grip better to get through the terrain. And it was super bumpy for sure, but nothing that made me feel worried or sick or anything being pregnant.

Crocodiles.  Definitely would not want to get left out here with these guys! There were so many of them! 

We rode right up close to these giraffes!

Sweet girl checking out the animals!

I mean it truly was amazing how close we got to some of these animals!

Zebras. Did you know that they are really black with white stripes? I did hear the guide tell us that. I never knew that!

After the Safari, we had FastPasses to see Finding Nemo-The Musical. We thought riding the train to the other side of the park might be a fun way to get there. We quickly found out that the train literally went in a straight line and went no where! Haha. So we rode it back to where we started and Lyla enjoyed riding it! It was kind of a pain to take everything out of the stroller, fold it up and get on the train for such a short ride that did not even take us anywhere. We could have left our stroller where we got on, but did not realize that we would be coming right back. Oh well.

Donna, Lyla, my mom and dad. Lyla was not interested in taking any pictures at this time. Lyla holding her Belle jewelry box that Donna bought her the day before. I am telling you she carried it around everywhere in her new sparkle princess purse!!

We walked right in to Finding Nemo - The Musical. It was phenomenal. It was a HUGE production. The music was spectacular and the puppetry by the actors was amazing. It held all of our attention. It was beautifully done. The colors were gorgeous and they even came out in to the audience for a few dance numbers. It was a little long though and did not hold Lyla's attention quite as well as some of the other shows. Maybe because there where no princesses? We busted out the snacks in there and that made her happy!

After Nemo, we were hungry and Lyla was kind of falling a part. This girl had been a TROOPER, but I think the lack of sleep was finally catching up. She never had a melt down or anything, I could just tell she was getting tired. It looked like it might start raining and actually did lightly sprinkle as we went to find a place to sit down and eat. I packed lunch for Lyla and I, so my parents and Donna grabbed some lunch for themselves. After lunch we left the park to head back to the condo to rest and relax. I really wanted Lyla to take a nap and I needed one too! So you can see, we did not get to do everything at Animal Kingdom, so I would love to go back and have some more time there. Lyla really wanted to go in the Boneyard play place to play. It's Tough to be a Bug, Kali River Rapids, Dinosaur, and Festival of the Lion King are a few of the things I would like to make sure to hit next time we go.

That afternoon we rested, and if I remember correctly, Lyla did not end up actually sleeping for nap time, but at least as was able to rest. After naps, we got ready for our fun evenings. The grandparents headed to Downtown Disney with Lyla to see Cirque Du Soleil's La Nouba. They had a blast! Lyla loved it! She was treated like a princess by her grandparents. She loved the special food treats they bought her especially, haha.

Adam and I headed to Narcoossee's at Disney's Grand Flordian Resort and Spa. This restaurant was AH-mazing!! First of all, it was so nice to have a date night to ourselves at the most magical place on earth. Narcoossee's is beautiful. We had a table that over looked the water and we could see Magic Kingdom. We had dinner as the sun went down and it was just perfect. The food was delicious! We seriously debated about grabbing a room for the night and just really living it up! I mean the hotel is amazingly beautiful. We could not bring ourselves to spend the money though, so we grabbed the monorail at the Grand Floridian and headed to Epcot for the Fireworks. 

We got there with plenty of time to spare, so we decided to walk around for awhile. We would be heading there the next day with everyone, so it was nice to get the "lay of the land" and get a plan for tomorrow. We walked through the whole park and each country. We grabbed a sweet treat and picked a spot to watch the show. Epcot's IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth was amazing. It was an awesome fireworks show and we really enjoyed it. More so than that, we loved the time together and we are so thankful to have parents that graciously allow us that time together. We were tired after the fireworks, so we headed back to The Grand Floridian to get our car. Can I just say how nice it would be to stay that close? I mean, we will probably never spend that kind of money just for accommodations, we would rather spend our money on the hours that we are actually awake, but it does just confirm to me that I would prefer to be on Disney property from now on. Even if it is just for the convenience factor alone. And can I just admit how lame we are (or how TIRED we were) we got home literally right after Lyla and the grandparents got home!! Haha. They already had Lyla in bed which was great and I was right behind her.

Another GREAT day down in the books for the week. Up next, a super fun character breakfast and full day at Epcot!

Disney Day Two - Magic Kingdom

Our second day, Tuesday, was Magic Kingdom. We had no reservations and no plans, so we could just enjoy the park without worrying about getting somewhere. I had planned on buying Lyla an autograph book when we got to Magic Kingdom. I know some people don't like spending money on that kind of thing, but I thought for Lyla this time she would LOVE it and she did!!

Her favorite thing for sure was meeting the characters, especially the princesses. I knew I wanted a nice autograph book that had a place for the character to sign and then a place to put the picture of her meeting each one. I knew she would love to get to go back through and look at it.

I love the one I got. It is a princess one, that has a page for each specific princess, an envelope to hold special items, a picture holder spot and a place to write about meeting them. Then in the back it has tons of pages for the other characters to sign and put pictures of them. She LOVED carrying it around throughout the week, looking at it and getting them to sign it!

Of course we had to make a bathroom stop as soon as we got in the park. That gave me a chance to buy the autograph book and we even were able to catch the "Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party Parade"!

The weather was perfect again this day. It even was a little hot! After the parade finished, we headed to Fantasyland. We wanted to grab a couple of FastPasses before we did anything else. I kinda wish we hadn't. It really disrupted the flow of the park and our day. We honestly would have been better off not getting them at all. We got FastPasses for Pirates of the Carribean, Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid and Space Mountain (for Adam, his dad and my parents) and Meet and Greet with the princesses for Lyla, Donna, MawMaw and I. Lyla was not tall enough this time around to ride any of the "mountain" rides (hopefully next time we go she will be!), so Adam went with my parent's and his dad while Lyla, Donna, MawMaw and I went to meet some princesses. Definitely Lyla's favorite by far.  More on that in a bit.   

After getting the FastPasses, we had some time before our first one, so we rode "It's a Small World".

Lyla and Daddy! Excited to ride! She held on to that autograph book the rest of the week! It was a great way to keep her entertained as well while riding in the stroller or standing in line. She LOVED looking at it!

Steve and Donna.

Me and my daddy!

After Small World, we took another bathroom break...one of those things traveling with a bigger group. Plus being 22 weeks pregnant did not help! We stopped at the ones where they just finished the town where Rapunzel lived. It is so cute! There is nothing to do there, it is just where the bathrooms are, but it was still fun to see! Tangled is one movie that Lyla and I have spent a lot of time watching when I don't feel good. It is such a cute movie and I love watching it!

Next we walked over to Frontierland. It was time to ride a favorite. This is my dad's favorite BY FAR. Pirates of the Caribbean. We rode this the first time we came and I was worried Lyla would be scared. As soon as we got on, she asked to get off. Not this time! She had no problem with it!

It was nice having a Fastpass for this one. As we walked through, it looked like the line was really long and I was glad not to wait!

Lyla and MawMaw.

Must be talking about something good!

My sweet parents about to ride their favorite!

After Pirates, we grabbed some lunch. Adam and I had packed our lunch, so we grabbed a table and ate while the grandparents got their food. It was nice to sit down and get out of the sun. It is different doing Disney pregnant for sure! I made sure to drink lots of water!

After lunch, we went on the Jungle Cruise. It was quite a wait in line for this one. Lyla did great while we waited. We did not get to do this one the last time because it was closed, so I definitely wanted to do it this time around. I think Lyla really liked it! She liked seeing all the animals.

Lions.

Rhinos and a zebra.

Hippos.

Funny elephants.

Mommy and her girl.

We headed towards the castle and Main Street. We happened upon the "Dream Along with Mickey" at the castle. I love watching this show and so does Lyla. I feel like it is just so magical. 

It was time for everyone to head over to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain. I must admit, this was probably my favorite growing up. I wish I had been able to go on it. But with being pregnant, I did not think it was the best idea. So what better way to spend our time?? Meeting Princesses!

The princesses have moved to their new home at Princess Fairytale Hall. This is back in Fantasyland. Talk about a lot of walking! Before, they were up at the very front of the park and there was only one room with the princesses and one room with Mickey. Now there are two lines and two rooms to see the princesses. So there are more to see which was fun!

We walked right in to see Cinderella. I have to say, the FastPasses are great to bypass the lines! I hate that you can only have three per day now and there are only a certain number of passes for certain rides and once they are gone, they are gone. I am glad we were able to get a princess FastPass.

Meeting Cinderella and getting her to sign her book. You will see in each picture, but Lyla sat down on the ground every time she went to meet the princesses. It was too cute. She walked up, and sat down. Maybe that way they would come to her level? Maybe she wanted to have a long chat with them? Maybe she was so in awe? Maybe she thought she would get more time with them if she got them to sit down with her? I don't know. But it was so sweet and each princess took the time to sit down with her and give her all the time she needed. I know I said it before, but you NEVER feel rushed meeting the princesses. At least we never did. It felt like they gave Lyla so.much.time. Like they literally would have let her sit there all day with them. I loved it. Each meeting with each princess was like her getting some time with her best friend. It melted my heart.

Telling her a secret. I asked her what she said and she said she couldn't tell me. Haha.

So sweet. Cinderella was wonderful. She was so gentle. So kind.

And took so much time loving on Lyla.

Had to get in one picture!

Aurora, Sleeping Beauty, was next. She was just as sweet and kind. She and Lyla going through all the princesses on her shirt.

I mean seriously. These princesses are amazing.

I know I have said it before, but spending time with the princesses is Lyla's favorite part of Disney World at this point. She loved the rides, but if we could have just met characters all week, she would have been perfectly happy. My favorite part? Watching her meet each and every one.

After meeting these two, we walked out into the gift shop. We loved looking around and Lyla was one lucky girl. Honey AND MawMaw both bought that little princess some fun things! Lyla picked out a princess purse (which she never put down the rest of our trip) a Belle musical jewelry box, which she quickly filled with princess treasures and put in her purse, and an Aurora dress. She LOVES each of these gifts. Even though it has been months since our trip, these are not junk items that have just gotten tossed to the side or lost like most "souvenirs". She plays with the items almost daily and loves dressing up as Sleeping Beauty. I also bought her a pair of princess flip flops for the summer. While we were there, a cast member was sprinkling pixie dust on little girls' hair. Of course my princess needed that too! Let me just tell you. That pixie dust is for life! No joke. It was STILL in her hair for weeks after we were home! No amount of shampoo or scrubbing could get it out. I guess the magic lives on :)

Now that the Princesses live at Fairytale Hall, there are two princesses on one side and two on the other. We called Adam to see where they were and they were still busy in Tomorrowland, so we decided to stand in line to meet the other princesses. We knew one we would meet was Rapunzel, but the other was a surprise. We stood in line for awhile. Long enough for Lyla to need to go to the bathroom twice. We also pulled out the snacks! On one of our bathroom breaks we got to see Cinderella's mean stepsisters and stepmother. We waited and waited and waited and seemed to never move up in line and then all of the sudden the line started moving and we got right in. Maybe the Princesses were on a break?

Rapunzel was first. I have to say, this Ranpuzel was great, she really was, but the Ranpuzel we met last time was much better and I liked her a lot more!

She loved turning to each princess's page and having it ready for them to sign! She loved watching them sign it and wanted to look at it right after.

She just was not as bubbly and animated as the other Rapunzel.

The surprise princess was Snow White!! We did not meet her last time and I must say, she was my absolute FAVORITE. Not only was she SO sweet and SO kind to Lyla, she was B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. She truly was the fairest in the land.

She was just gorgeous! And Lyla was awestruck by her. 

I guess since this was legitimately her first time meeting her.  

After meeting the Princesses we met up with Daddy, Steve and my parents over at the Little Mermaid Ride. We had a FastPass for this one which was nice. The line seemed long on this one too. Most lines were long. This time around, the parks were MUCH busier. 

I was hoping that the new Seven Dwarf's Mine Train ride would be finished this time, but it was still under construction. Oh well, maybe next time!

Ready to go under the sea!

We love this ride.

She had so much fun and loved looking at everything and pointing everything out to us!

After Ariel, it was hot and I was tired. So we headed towards the Mad Tea Party. Lyla had loved this ride last time and I figured the line would be short. We all grabbed a cold treat and I put my feet up while Adam and Lyla went to spin the teacups. My parents decided they wanted to go ride a few things while we took a break. I believe they went to the Carousel of Progress, another of my dad's favorites. I love that they felt like they could do that! This was in no way a trip where we all had to stay together all the time. I wanted everyone to enjoy themselves and do what they wanted to do. It felt nice to sit down and get out of the sun and enjoy some ice cream!

Lyla LOVED riding the Barnstormer on our last trip, so I definitely wanted to make sure we got to ride it this time. After our break, we walked over that way and were so disappointed to find out it would be closed the rest of the week and would not reopen until we were heading back home. Lyla was bummed and had a hard time understanding why she could not ride it.

Lucky for us we had a great distraction! Casey Jr. Splash and Soak Station! We had seen this the last time, but we did not come prepared. This time however, I brought everything we would need for Lyla to enjoy herself. Towel, bathing suit, a special change of clothes.  

It was fun to sit and watch her play in the water!

It was actually starting to really cool off, so I am surprised she was not freezing. 

She enjoyed every minute! 

Pure JOY!

Lyla and Pawpaw.

Seriously one happy girl!

While she was playing, we met back up with my parents.

All smiles!

After she was done playing, we got her changed in to her special princess attire. I know I am biased, but she was the prettiest princess I have ever seen. She was just glowing. 

Mimi fixed her hair and she got all accessorized. I mean who needs to spend all that money at the Bippity Boppity Boutique??

Mimi and Cinderella!

Yes, her dress lights up! Seriously the cutest thing ever and I did not see one other girl with a light up dress. Ever person we passed made a comment about her dress. It was precious especially as it started getting dark. She had the best time wearing it. Our sweet neighbors were gracious enough to let her borrow it. I saw it at their house and asked where they got it because I thought it would be perfect for Lyla to have one for the night things at Disney. She could not remember where she got it, so she let us borrow it! We hopped on the WDW Railroad, which I had never ridden before. We thought that would be a fun way to get back to the front of the park, instead of having to walk. It was a gorgeous ride. It was getting dark, so everything, including the castle, was all lit up and Main Street looked like a postcard!

For all the planning I did, some how it escaped me that there was NO electric parade tonight. While we were totally bummed, it ended up working out ok. We went and grabbed some dinner in Tomorrowland at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe I believe. Their food was actually pretty good. When we were done, it was time for the fireworks to start. We went and grabbed a spot near the castle and enjoyed watching Tinkerbell fly down from the castle and start the show. This is probably one of the most magical moments for me. Standing there with my family, Lyla on Adam's shoulders watching her face light up and squeal with delight as each firework went off. She clapped and opened her mouth in awe. Those are the moments I want to remember forever. Those simple, magic moments. We had a great day at Magic Kingdom. We headed home and went straight to bed. After all we had another big day, some of us were going to Animal Kingdom for the first time and some were getting to go play golf!