Disney, Our last day:(

Last Day: Epcot
Our last day rolled around wayyy too quickly. I am not a fan of last days of vacation. I did enjoy this one though. My parents took both girls to see the Wilderness Lodge and the campground. That meant we were free to do whatever we wanted. I wanted to go back to Epcot to see the different countries, and Adam didn't care, so that's what we did!

I only had one fast pass this day, and it was for test track. I checked on the bus on the way to Epcot and was lucky to get a fast pass for both Adam and I. Test track is very popular. I had ridden it years ago, and I didn't remember it being like it was this time. We still had to wait about 20 minutes for the ride. We were able to design our own vehicle while we were waiting and virtually race it against other people who were riding. 

We walked around the different countries for most of the afternoon. It was a great day for a margarita and Mexico had little stands selling them. It was the best $10 margarita I have ever had!

Since I picked where we went this day, I let Adam pick where we ate lunch. He  wanted to eat lunch in Japan. Adam LOVES sushi. I haven't quite acquired the taste for it yet, but I am trying. It was my least favorite meal of the whole week, but he enjoyed it. 

The following morning we were up and headed back to the airport at 4am. Words can not describe how wonderful this trip was. It was a once in a lifetime experience that we will all never forget. I still look back on it and get a little sad. We looked forward to it for so long, and the week flew by. I am so grateful to my parents for taking us all on this trip together. Hopefully we can do it again soon. :) 

Disney, days 5 and 6

Day 5: Epcot
We woke up to clouds and rain, but that was not going to stop us from enjoying our day. We were really lucky to have sunshine and nice weather the entire week except for this morning. We had fast passes to meet Mickey and his crew, Turtle talk with Tuck, and the Seas with Nemo and Friends ride. 
The flower festival was going on this week at Epcot. The flowers were gorgeous!
It started POURING shortly after these pictures were taken. Ella, Autumn, and my parents  were the only ones who had a poncho. Adam and I didn't even have umbrellas. We headed to the first indoor place we could find and wasted time until it was time to go to our meet and great with Mickey. 

Ella was so excited to see Mickey again. She loves, loves, loves characters. 

 After we did the Nemo ride we grabbed some coffee and planed to explore the worlds at Epcot, but the rain finally got to us. Ella's stroller was soaked, as well as our clothes. We headed back to the hotel to rest and put on dry clothes. 

The best part of our trip was watching the girls play at the hotel. They had so much fun together. I don't think the trip would have been as much fun for them without each other. They loved running back and forth between hotel rooms and playing on the balcony. They are so lucky to have each other. 

After the rain stopped, we decided to go have dinner at Downtown Disney. We ate at Earl of Sandwich. I had my favorite fresh mozzarella, basil, and tomato sandwich. I order those wherever I can find them, because they are hard to come by in Evansville. 

 

Despite the rain it was another great day at Disney. 

Day 6: Hollywood Studios

The rain brought gorgeous weather. We could have stayed at Hollywood Studios all day. It was nice not to sweat to death all day walking around the park. 

Ella was obsessed with Pluto all week. We waited in line three times before we actually got to see him. We were first in line the third time to ensure she actually got to meet him.  

My absolute favorite ride all week was Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios. The line is crazy long for this ride. It was almost an hour and a half when we went, but we had a fast pass. We still waited around 20 minutes. It is a 4D shooting game that is SO fun. I wish we could have rode it again. 

Around the Pixar area they have these army men from Toy Story everywhere. 

 Ella loved the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" playground. It was fun for adults too. The only thing I didn't like was the fact it is hard to keep track of Ella if we were not watching closely. 

 You can't go to Disney and not meet Buzz and Woody. Toy Story is by far my favorite Disney movies ever made. I have probably only seen it like 100 or so times. The wait time was around 45 minutes, but I think it actually moved faster than that.  

That night we ate dinner at our hotel and played on the playground. Like I said before, some of our best times were at the hotel. It was fun for all eight of us to eat dinner together. The girls loved it, and it was fun to hear their conversation. Ella said she wanted to go swimming later at the pool, but she didn't want to wear a swimsuit. She just wanted to go naked. Autumn said, "Ella, that is legal." Stuff like that made this trip memorable!! 

The monkey bars were a hit at the hotel. Ella tried all week to make it all the way across. I think she farthest she got was four or five without help. She was bound and determined to do it. Maybe next time! :) 

Stay tuned for our very last day....

Disney, days 3 and 4

Day 3: Animal Kingdom
By Day 3 (actually on day 2 in a park) we figured out it was best to use fast passes.  Most of the popular rides at Disney have usually around an hour or more wait time. Fast passes allow you to get on rides faster. We had these awesome things called "Magic Bands." 

These bands have all your information on them. We used them as a room key. We scanned them to get into the parks. They were used for our meal plan. Lastly, they were used for our fast passes. Each morning I would get up and plan our day. There is an app called, "My Disney Experience." It has every bit of Disney information you could ever want or need.  This app also corresponded with our magic bands. That is how I chose our fast passes. If I wanted to change one throughout the day I could get on the app and change it. It was so easy to use and made our trip much easier. 

 Back to Animal Kingdom...

First up at Animal Kingdom was meeting Safari Mickey and Minnie. We didn't have a fast pass for this, but the sign said it was a five minute wait time. It ended up being more like a 20-30 minute wait, but it was worth it to see this. 

We had a fast pass for Mt. Everest roller coaster. Our wait time was only five minutes. Score! It's a decent ride. It travels up this mountain and back down. 

After this we headed to Dino Land USA. Instead of riding rides Ella wanted to play games and ended up winning three stuff animals. Exactly what she needed! 

Next up was a bug's life. Ella was terrified. Complete darkness is not her thing.  I forgot that it was that scary.  After a quick lunch, we headed to our next fast pass which was Kilimanjaro safari. This is one of my favorite rides in all of Animal Kingdom. It's beautiful and you never know what you are likely to see. 

After the safari ride it was hot and Ella was tired so we headed back to the hotel to swim. Luckily, I remembered to get a picture in front of the tree of life on the way out. It is so nice that Disney photographers are stationed all around the parks, and they are more than happy to snap pictures for you! 

If I remember correctly, I was absolutely exhausted after swimming. Adam, Ella, and I ate at the hotel and went to bed early. 

 Day 4: Magic Kingdom and Downtown Disney

Monday morning we headed back to Magic Kingdom. It was much less crowded and a lot cooler. We rode the people mover, the buzz light year ride, and pirates of the carribean. Ella was also able to meet Chip N' Dale.  

The best part of the morning was meeting Mickey. This was another one of the magical Disney moments. Ella was SO happy. This Mickey talked which was really cool. Ella ran to him and hugged him. I think Adam and I both could have cried. 

 We hopped on the monorail after and headed to the contemporary resort so we could take a bus over to Downtown Disney for lunch. 

We ate lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express. They had the best pizza I have ever tasted. No joke! I still think about this pizza. I actually did not order it, but my brother did. I meant to go back that week and get my own, but it never happened. Next trip I will be eating this pizza first thing. We went to the Lego store where Ella saw Hulk made out of tons of legos. We also went to the biggest gift shop at Disney for a few souvenirs. 

After spending the afternoon at the pool, we got cleaned up and headed back to Magic Kingdom for dinner and the parade. 

These two were so cute together the entire trip! 

 The whole Pennell/Bertram family. I'm so thankful for each and every one of them! 

Magic Kingdom at nighttime was my favorite!

We scouted out the perfect spot and waited on Main St. for the parade to start. It was well worth the wait. I think this one of my favorite nights of the entire trip. Disney knows how to do a parade!

 Snow White danced her way right in front of Ella. She said, "Your name is Ella? What a charming name." Ella just stared at her. It was another one of those magical Disney moments. I will never forget it!