Day 5-Hollywood Studios/Very Merry Christmas Party

Today was SO much fun!  We started the day at Hollywood Studios.  Our first Fast Pass was in the new Toy Story area at Toy Story Mania.  We realized very quickly that we would have much rather skipped Epcot and spent more time at Hollywood Studios.  There was a lot more here that the girls would have loved and we just didn't have enough time to get everything in.  Toy Story Mania and Star Tours were both awesome-we all loved them both.  It got really hot, really quickly in the afternoon and the girls had been begging to go to the pool at the hotel all week so we skipped out a little early and headed back to swim.  It was so nice to have a little down time with how jam packed every day had been up until that point.  After some relaxation at the pool it was time for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.  This was definitely a highlight of the trip.  We got back to Magic Kingdom in time for Emerson to meet Merida-the only princess she had cared anything about seeing so we were determined to find her.  Then it was on to dinner at Tony's on Main Street.  We were lucky enough to be seated on the patio which was magical as the snow started to fall on Main Street.  We were able to get in a few rides, then got an amazing spot in Frontierland to watch the parade.  From there it was on to find a perfect spot to watch the fireworks.  We thought it would be pretty hard for them to beat the Happily Ever After show from earlier in the week but they definitely did-the fireworks were unbelievable!  Hard to believe the week is already over-back to H town in the morning!

At the entrance to Toy Story Mania

All the details in Toy Story Land were so fun!

We happened to look up when we were in line at Star Tours and Shawn and Emerson were up on the board, complete with being from Spring!  I only managed to capture Shawn in the pic.

 

After walking by this slide multiple times a day, they finally got to try it!

I was so glad when Em joined in on the poolside games-Braelyn was way too busy on the slide!

We were shocked by her hula hooping abilities...

She came in 2nd!  We actually both agreed she should have won because the kid who came in 1st cheated on the last challenge!

When B realized there were prizes involved, she was ready to join in the fun!

She won a rubber ducky too!

Life couldn't possibly be better!

Little Christmas cuties waiting in line for Merida-so thankful we made it to this!

Em actually talked to her telling her that she was the best princess!  So cute!

Definitely had to have a picture in front of the Walt Disney statue!

So cute!  Ready for a Lady and the Tramp dinner at Tony's.

The snow started falling not too long after we were seated out on the patio.

Right before dinner, the girls both picked out a Pluto at one of the shops on Main Street.

We just happened to be in the right place at the right time when the Christmas parade started.

A sweet older couple called the girls up so that they could be right in front to watch.  Shawn and I missed plenty sidetracked watching their faces!

The parade of course ended with a visit from Santa!

Perfect ending to an absolutely perfect week!

The castle as a Christmas tree

We ended the night with ice cream on Main Street.  Pretty sure it doesn't get any better!

That sweet smile sums up why this week was so perfect for me and Shawn.

Day 4-Epcot/Animal Kingdom

Thursday morning we took advantage of not having any scheduled meals or Fast Passes until the afternoon and slept in a bit.  When we got up, we hopped on the monorail and headed for Epcot.  By the time we got there and walked around for a bit, we were SO hot and STARVING!  First order of business was to find food in the air conditioning!  We found a restaurant in Ireland that looked pretty good and not very crowded.  After we ate, we circled through the different countries, nothing really appealing to the girls!  We went to our first Fast Pass, the Nemo ride.  After that, the more we thought about it, we decided to cancel our other Fast Passes and our dinner reservation and finished out the  day at Animal Kingdom.  Shawn managed to score the very hard to get Fast Passes for Avatar Flight of Passage for later in the afternoon and we were somehow able to get a dinner reservation at Yak and Yeti's.  Braelyn got cold feet right as the Avatar ride was about to start so she and I skipped out on that one.  Shawn and Em said it was incredible.  After that we spent some time in Pandora-it is beautiful at night!  As we were walking over towards Yak and Yeti, we were able to see the big tree lit up which was amazing.  We had just enough time to get in one more ride on her favorite ride-the Navi River Rapids before our dinner reservation.  So glad we came back over to Animal Kingdom at night!  It was a great night!

Playing with Daddy while we were waiting for our table at Epcot.

They looked so cute in their Merida and Ariel Minnie shirts!

In the little play area after the Nemo ride.

It was hard to capture how pretty Pandora was with everything lit up.

I had taken blacklight face paint that we had fun with as it was getting dark.

Day 3-Magic Kingdom

Wednesday was a pretty jam packed day.  We started the day in Magic Kingdom with breakfast at Belle's castle.  The girls loved seeing the castle.  In one of the dining rooms, it looked like it was snowing outside the windows.  In another, was the famous West Wing, complete with the magical rose.  The dining room we were in had big figurines of Belle and the Beast dancing, spinning much like a music box.  We thought this was a character breakfast but after waiting for quite a while with no princess appearances, we decided to move on and have fun on the rides.  We rode A LOT of rides!  I was so proud of the girls riding so many that I wouldn't have expected them to.  They loved them all with the exception of Splash Mountain...the picture below says it all!  We rounded out the day with a special dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table.  This was a highlight.  From the moment the girls had laid eyes on the castle, they had asked multiple times if it was possible to go into the castle.  Dinner in the castle was pretty magical...add princesses to the mix and it was over the top.  While we were waiting for our table, the hostess would come over the intercom saying that "Cinderella invites the _____ family to attend the party."  Braelyn looked up and said "Oh Mommy, I hope we are invited to the party!!"  It never crossed my mind that she would think not everybody waiting would get called!  She was beyond excited when our name was called!  When dinner was over, the fireworks were about to begin.  Since we had seen them the night before, we decided to ride some more rides while the crowds were all around the castle.  It was pretty magical to be flying high above Disney in a rocket ship when the fireworks went off!

We didn't know beforehand, but happened to catch Mickey and his friends welcoming everyone to the park when it opened to kick off the day.

In front of Gaston's after our Be Our Guest breakfast

I loved watching their faces on the rides!  This was on the Little Mermaid ride.

Might should have waited a little longer after breakfast to spin in the teacups!!

Making a wish at Cinderella's wishing well

Splash Mountain-me and Shawn screaming, Braelyn right before the tears started, and Em holding her breath!

They loved finding these machines to make souvenir pennies.

We caught the parade before heading back to the room to cool off and regroup.  It was awesome other than being extremely hot!

Braelyn was so excited about getting changed into her Ariel princess dress for dinner.  Emerson said she wanted to be the "comfortable princess".  

After our rest, we were ready for a few more rides.  We kicked it off with Pirates of the Caribbean.

We actually got to ride together on the Magic Carpet ride.

Too cute laughing and squealing together as their carpet flew high.

Note the very similar reactions to Splash Mountain, only this time everyone was happy on the other side and wanting to go again!

We had a few minutes before checking in for dinner for a carousel ride.

They were beyond excited to finally be IN the castle!

Waving her magic wand.

Closing her eyes and making a wish on her "wishing star".

One of the dessert options was a cupcake that they could decorate...

of course that was what they both chose!

So beautiful!  It was really amazing because a storm was off in the distance so every so often lightning would flash behind the castle too.

After we rode the rockets while watching the fireworks, we got in one last ride.  It was a Toy Story ride where you actually scored points shooting targets.

Needless to say, we all were apparently really into it!