We spent Day 3 at Animal Kingdom.
Most days, the Vance clan split up. However, we always tried to meet up and ride at least one ride as a family of 10. It was tricky to coordinate fast passes, but we did! We all got to ride the Safari together. It was quite cute and all the family liked it. By this point in the trip, Hannah and Cannon had become good buddies and requested to sit with each other. It was cute!
Next, we were off to the Festival of the Lion King. Wow, Is all I can say! It was like a mini broadway production. We loved it!
This sweet smile couldn't be wiped off H's face!
Up next, Finding Nemo. This was also very cute. H was a bit concerned that we were going to Mickey's Philharmagic again (what a nightmare!). We had to keep reassuring her it wasn't and once the show started she was ok. H's first experiences with live theater were great! I can't wait to take her to her first broadway show!
Waiting with Smooth to go in.
This was the best "no flash" picture I could get.
H and I left the park around lunch on day 3. We were going to have a late night and I knew she needed the rest. I was right! She and I BOTH fell asleep and almost missed our dinner reservation time. Ha! Thanks to Aunt K for calling us to wake us up!
Dinner was at Chef Mickey. This was the night Wes was able to join us for the rest of the week, so this was an extra special day. Dinner was a winner all around. The food was excellent and the character sightings were some of our favorites!
The whole family- our only one from the whole trip. Good Christmas card op, huh?
Yay Mickey!
Hannah pretty much exploded at the sight of Minnie Mouse. She didn't want her to leave! She kept shouting, "Minnie, wait come back. Please, please, pretty please?"
Sir Goofy! And, again, look at that smile! I've never seen my child smile so big, for so long!
After dinner, we were rode the Monorail over to Epcot for the fireworks. As a fun surprise, I bought all of the kids glow bracelets. They enjoyed linking them together into necklaces too. A plus for the parents, it made the kids easier to keep up with.
Here's Cannon showing Hannah the map of Epcot and explaining where his favorite things are.
She loves Epcot!
We arrived at Epcot fairly early. We rode the big ball and ducked into a gift shop. H had been after Madeline's Minnie ears for most of the trip. We finally let her pick out her own. She chose hot pink, sequined ears. She was thrilled and wore them the majority of the trip.
We were grossly underprepared for how cold the weather was! We looked at the weather before leaving, but never imagined it would be as cold as it was. Night 3 was particularly cold. We ended up purchasing fleeces for the kids. Sweet Wes went back to the room and brought me a blanket. After we got the kids settled, the guys set off to find hot chocolate for everyone. What a life saver! It really was that cold!
Hannah did so well with the late night, but had an epic meltdown as we were getting off of the bus. After a very quick bath, she was off to slumber land and peaceful once again!
Day 4- Thanksgiving at the Magic Kingdom
Hannah woke up before the rest of the Vances, so she and I decided to get our day started early. We helped open the park. The great thing about being there when the gates open is that the lines for the rides are very short! We rode several right off the bat, and a few multiple times in a row!
No crowds first thing! And we were there Thanksgiving week!
First up, Ariel's Grotto. This was in the new area at MK. This, coupled with the new Under the Sea ride were a home run for this princess loving girl! Again, the smile.... My heart melts!
Beauty and the Beast was a real treat! We highly recommend this "show." Really, it's an interactive story where every kid that wants a role is able to have one. Hannah was the footstool. The kids get to walk through the mansion and act out different parts of the story. At the end, Belle comes out and interacts with the kids. We had no clue that the real Belle was going to be there. Hannah was the youngest of the kids for this show. Belle was VERY patient with her. Belle happens to be H's favorite princess and we had not met her yet. Needless to say, when H did get the chance to hug her neck and talk, it took her a little bit to get out all she needed to say. I had to physically pull her away.
Again, this was a "no flash" zone :(
Showing Belle her amulet.
The rest of the Vances met us in time to ride Winnie the Pooh. Disney did great stocking one of the longest wait times with tons of fun things to do while waiting.
Hannah LOVED the castle show! Mickey and the gang plus her favorite princesses, what's not to love.
She even got up the nerve to participate in a street band performance.
Dumbo!
The Tomorrowland Speedway. This ride was particularly fun for Wes to take H on. There's a great picture of Harry and Wes when he was a little boy on this same ride. I need to find the picture to scan it in.
We watched the Dapper Dans perform while waiting for the parade to begin. What a great way to pass the time. She loved hearing this wonderful barber shop quartet and kept king them to sing more! Hannah was so excited, that they even gave her an Honorary Dapper Dans card.
The parade was, by far, Hannah's favorite thing, i think we watched he parade all three days we were in MK. The sheer excitement on her face and in her little body was unlike anything I've ever seen. She literally started shaking with excitement when the characters walked past her. She screamed each of the characters names and desperately waved, hoping just one would wave back.
No, really, this was how excited she was. This picture doesn't even do it justice. She REALLY was about to explode!
Needless to say, she fell asleep on the bus trip back to the hotel. Ha! She was out cold!!!
We ended the day at the California Grill for Thanksgiving Dinner. Our reservation was a bit later so H was a champ. Our table was right beside a large picture window of the Magic Kingdom. Our view was literally Cinderella's Castle in beautiful lights. I thought it was pretty fitting for Thanksgiving. We certainly have a lot to be thankful for!
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