Today we did Day 1 of what will end up being 6 total days with family (at least... you never know if/when there could be more) at Disney. Steven's parents and my parents both decided to purchase 3 day tickets for the parks which have to be used within 6 months of first use, so we will be doing 3 days with each set of grandparents at Disney.
First off, I have to say that it was really nice to have some company at Disney. Kenzie loved showing Grandma and Grandaddy everything about EPCOT.... as if they have never been there. It was also just nice to have other people. We even got a few pictures of our family as a whole that didn't need to be taken by the professional photogs within the park.
As I mentioned, we did EPCOT today with Grandma and Grandaddy. We all met up before the park opened and were ready to go by the time 9am rolled around. We were so early that they let us park in the grass right in front of the place. It was weird... but sort of perfect. At the end of the day we only had to walk a few hundred feet from the entrance and we were at our car. Can't beat that.
Almost as soon as we entered the park, Kenzie spotted none other than Pluto. In true Kenzie fashion, she HAD to go see him. So, we waited in his line and she ran right up to him. Will has taken his first steps, but isn't taking many yet so we still can't let him go too but I am so looking forward to the day soon when we can let him run up to different characters with his sister. I actually have little doubt (though I could be wrong) that he won't be right up there with her. Anyway, she immediately had to show Pluto her tutu, Minnie shirt, and bow. He seemed impressed. At least as impressed as a not speaking dog character might be.
We decided to ride Spaceship Earth first once we officially got into the park. Kenzie thinks it is such a cool ride. It sort of still surprises us because it seems like it would be so boring for young children... but both her and Will seem to enjoy it. We then went over to Figment. We elected to not use any FastPasses because there weren't any crowds yet and our Fastpasses did not line up exactly with Grandma and Grandaddy's. We walked right onto just about everything though so it wasn't an issue. Kenzie had a blast jumping on the squares again after the ride and convincing Grandaddy to help her do some computerized game type thing. It didn't last long. I think we tried it last time and it was obviously too old for her.
After Figment, we went over to ride Nemo. Grandma and Grandaddy have actually never been on Nemo since it is one of the newer rides in EPCOT since they were last there. I think they liked it, but I KNOW everyone liked the aquariums at the end. The fish were all in a tizzy this morning because we showed up right around feeding time. I have never seen so many active eels. We were able to see the dolphins this time too. Last time they were not in the area of the tank that we can see. We actually learned a few days ago that the salt-water tank there is one of the largest in the world and has enough water in it to fill the ball (Spaceship Earth) in EPCOT. It doesn't seem that big, but I guess it is. We had a blast looking at all the sealife. I think it was the highlight of Will's day. He just kept pointing into the tanks and saying "Fish! Fish!". There was one particular fish he kept calling a dog. Not sure what that was about. It was always the same fish. Weird kid. Maybe it reminded him of Jack.
We then went over to Land. The kids like this ride too but again, we aren't sure how or why. It is a longer ride with very little going one. Either way, it works. It was funny to see even the exhibits within the ride decorated for Christmas.
At that point it was getting close to lunch, but wasn't quite lunch time yet so Grandma and Grandaddy elected to walk over to Starbucks while we waited with the kids to meet a few characters. I'm glad we waited. The wait was a bit longer than we anticipated (we were handed the timing card and when we handed it in the time went up about 15 minutes) but it was worth it. Kenzie was in her element. We were able to meet Mickey, Goofy, AND Minnie all in one spot. Sold! She had to show each of them her tutu and shirt (her bow kept falling out so it was off at this point). Minnie loved her shirt. Grandma pointed out that it is great that we have all of these pictures as a family and I have to agree. I love that we have these pictures to remember all these fun times and one day we will show them to the kids and tell them all about all the fun things we did when they were younger (and hopefully have continued to do.)
Finally, it was time for lunch. We had such a productive morning that we were all really hungry and ready for lunch. We decided to eat at the Electric Umbrella again. It just works out well for us. We brought the kids' food again (though each of them eat a ton off our plates too). Kenzie just kept eating and eating and eating. That's how I know she is either 1. growing or 2. had an eventful morning. Will always eats a ton so him eating like a horse wasn't out of the norm. Both kids polished off sandwiches, fruit, part of our chicken nuggets and fries, and other various snacks. I'm glad we had extra today because they ate all but 1 cereal bar and 1 fruit squeeze pouch that I brought.... and I had a TON packed today.
After lunch we decided to go ahead and take a stroll around the countries. We like to work off our lunch. Haha!
We first stopped in Mexico to ride the boat ride. Then, Will was OUT. We are actually lucky he made it through the ride before falling asleep. I think if the ride was a bit longer, I would have been carrying a sleeping boy out of the Mexico pavilion. We weren't even to the next country before he was done. Will continued to sleep around the remainder of the countries for the most part. We took a quick detour for Kenzie to play bongos and take a few pictures along the way.
As we were strolling through the United Kingdom, Kenzie caught sight of Alice. We didn't even know she knew who she was... but she did. She wanted to wait for a picture with her, but unfortunately she was getting ready to head inside so instead we went around the pavilion to wait for Mary Poppins. Kenzie did NOT know who Mary Poppins was. That didn't stop her from making new friends though. She immediately ran up to her, got a hug and started chatting. They talked about her tutu and shirt (again... this kid is relentless) and about all of Mary Poppin's friends. Apparently her and Minnie have tea parties and Minnie makes the best cheesecake. Who knew? Eventually, I had to drag her away from there because I'm sure she would have continued to hang out with Ms. Poppins for the remainder of the afternoon if she could. Mary Poppins did tell me as we left that Kenzie was very polite and obviously not in need of her services. =)
While we were waiting for Mary Poppins, Grandma and Grandaddy elected to head out because we were almost back to the entrance. They had plans to come back for the fireworks in the evening so they wanted to rest back at their hotel for a while. Can't blame them. Ironically, as we were leaving we decided to stop in at the gift shop. I was on a hunt for a Christmas ornament (but couldn't find one I really liked) and we happened to run into them there. We were able to all walk out together which I think made Kenzie happy.
We had an awesome day. I'm really glad we have the opportunity to visit Disney with the family. We have two more trips planned with Grandma and Grandaddy and then 3 to go with Nana and Papa. Our next day is in January... let's hope we aren't wearing shorts. Haha!
First off, I have to say that it was really nice to have some company at Disney. Kenzie loved showing Grandma and Grandaddy everything about EPCOT.... as if they have never been there. It was also just nice to have other people. We even got a few pictures of our family as a whole that didn't need to be taken by the professional photogs within the park.
As I mentioned, we did EPCOT today with Grandma and Grandaddy. We all met up before the park opened and were ready to go by the time 9am rolled around. We were so early that they let us park in the grass right in front of the place. It was weird... but sort of perfect. At the end of the day we only had to walk a few hundred feet from the entrance and we were at our car. Can't beat that.
Almost as soon as we entered the park, Kenzie spotted none other than Pluto. In true Kenzie fashion, she HAD to go see him. So, we waited in his line and she ran right up to him. Will has taken his first steps, but isn't taking many yet so we still can't let him go too but I am so looking forward to the day soon when we can let him run up to different characters with his sister. I actually have little doubt (though I could be wrong) that he won't be right up there with her. Anyway, she immediately had to show Pluto her tutu, Minnie shirt, and bow. He seemed impressed. At least as impressed as a not speaking dog character might be.
We decided to ride Spaceship Earth first once we officially got into the park. Kenzie thinks it is such a cool ride. It sort of still surprises us because it seems like it would be so boring for young children... but both her and Will seem to enjoy it. We then went over to Figment. We elected to not use any FastPasses because there weren't any crowds yet and our Fastpasses did not line up exactly with Grandma and Grandaddy's. We walked right onto just about everything though so it wasn't an issue. Kenzie had a blast jumping on the squares again after the ride and convincing Grandaddy to help her do some computerized game type thing. It didn't last long. I think we tried it last time and it was obviously too old for her.
After Figment, we went over to ride Nemo. Grandma and Grandaddy have actually never been on Nemo since it is one of the newer rides in EPCOT since they were last there. I think they liked it, but I KNOW everyone liked the aquariums at the end. The fish were all in a tizzy this morning because we showed up right around feeding time. I have never seen so many active eels. We were able to see the dolphins this time too. Last time they were not in the area of the tank that we can see. We actually learned a few days ago that the salt-water tank there is one of the largest in the world and has enough water in it to fill the ball (Spaceship Earth) in EPCOT. It doesn't seem that big, but I guess it is. We had a blast looking at all the sealife. I think it was the highlight of Will's day. He just kept pointing into the tanks and saying "Fish! Fish!". There was one particular fish he kept calling a dog. Not sure what that was about. It was always the same fish. Weird kid. Maybe it reminded him of Jack.
We then went over to Land. The kids like this ride too but again, we aren't sure how or why. It is a longer ride with very little going one. Either way, it works. It was funny to see even the exhibits within the ride decorated for Christmas.
At that point it was getting close to lunch, but wasn't quite lunch time yet so Grandma and Grandaddy elected to walk over to Starbucks while we waited with the kids to meet a few characters. I'm glad we waited. The wait was a bit longer than we anticipated (we were handed the timing card and when we handed it in the time went up about 15 minutes) but it was worth it. Kenzie was in her element. We were able to meet Mickey, Goofy, AND Minnie all in one spot. Sold! She had to show each of them her tutu and shirt (her bow kept falling out so it was off at this point). Minnie loved her shirt. Grandma pointed out that it is great that we have all of these pictures as a family and I have to agree. I love that we have these pictures to remember all these fun times and one day we will show them to the kids and tell them all about all the fun things we did when they were younger (and hopefully have continued to do.)
Finally, it was time for lunch. We had such a productive morning that we were all really hungry and ready for lunch. We decided to eat at the Electric Umbrella again. It just works out well for us. We brought the kids' food again (though each of them eat a ton off our plates too). Kenzie just kept eating and eating and eating. That's how I know she is either 1. growing or 2. had an eventful morning. Will always eats a ton so him eating like a horse wasn't out of the norm. Both kids polished off sandwiches, fruit, part of our chicken nuggets and fries, and other various snacks. I'm glad we had extra today because they ate all but 1 cereal bar and 1 fruit squeeze pouch that I brought.... and I had a TON packed today.
After lunch we decided to go ahead and take a stroll around the countries. We like to work off our lunch. Haha!
We first stopped in Mexico to ride the boat ride. Then, Will was OUT. We are actually lucky he made it through the ride before falling asleep. I think if the ride was a bit longer, I would have been carrying a sleeping boy out of the Mexico pavilion. We weren't even to the next country before he was done. Will continued to sleep around the remainder of the countries for the most part. We took a quick detour for Kenzie to play bongos and take a few pictures along the way.
As we were strolling through the United Kingdom, Kenzie caught sight of Alice. We didn't even know she knew who she was... but she did. She wanted to wait for a picture with her, but unfortunately she was getting ready to head inside so instead we went around the pavilion to wait for Mary Poppins. Kenzie did NOT know who Mary Poppins was. That didn't stop her from making new friends though. She immediately ran up to her, got a hug and started chatting. They talked about her tutu and shirt (again... this kid is relentless) and about all of Mary Poppin's friends. Apparently her and Minnie have tea parties and Minnie makes the best cheesecake. Who knew? Eventually, I had to drag her away from there because I'm sure she would have continued to hang out with Ms. Poppins for the remainder of the afternoon if she could. Mary Poppins did tell me as we left that Kenzie was very polite and obviously not in need of her services. =)
While we were waiting for Mary Poppins, Grandma and Grandaddy elected to head out because we were almost back to the entrance. They had plans to come back for the fireworks in the evening so they wanted to rest back at their hotel for a while. Can't blame them. Ironically, as we were leaving we decided to stop in at the gift shop. I was on a hunt for a Christmas ornament (but couldn't find one I really liked) and we happened to run into them there. We were able to all walk out together which I think made Kenzie happy.
We had an awesome day. I'm really glad we have the opportunity to visit Disney with the family. We have two more trips planned with Grandma and Grandaddy and then 3 to go with Nana and Papa. Our next day is in January... let's hope we aren't wearing shorts. Haha!
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