Disney World 2016: Day 6-Animal Kingdom

Our last leg of the trip we decided to devote to Animal Kingdom since it would not be a full park day due to our flight Thursday evening. It was also the day Animal Kingdom had the EMH (extra magic hour) in the morning so they opened an hour earlier which was great for us. We had a week of PERFECT weather and were hopeful it would extend one more day and luckily it did.

I finally got to see The Tree of Life, this was the only Disney park we had never been to. It is as impressive in person as it is in pictures.

A little photo magic, Georgia thought this one was pretty cool :) One of her new favorite shows right now is Lion Guard so this was a fun day for her.

Our Animal Kingdom day fell on my 29th birthday and I can't think of a better way to spend the last birthday in my twenties than at Walt Disney World with my family.

Yay for a birthday at Disney!

Our first order of business was to do the Kilmanjaro Safari that we had fastpassed. I didn't take a lot of pictures because I was wrestling wild animals in our safari jeep but I did get a few.

We saw a little bit of everything-gators (pictured above), giraffes, zebras, elephants, lions, rhinos. It felt like we had stepped into Africa.

Wild animals in and wild animals out! Georgia had a million questions, Jack wanted down.

After our safari, we headed to Adventurer's Outpost to meet safari Mickey and Minnie. A photopass photographer caught this expression that made my whole trip. She was so happy to see them!

Hugs for her favorite, Minnie

A honk on the nose of his favorite, Mickey

Jack boy was after Minnie Mouse hot and heavy

I think M&M in their safari gear is the cutest thing! We only had to wait about 15 minutes to meet them (no fastpass) so definitely recommend this character meet and greet (go early!).

I posted this picture on Instagram to tell the story about how Jack was called princess on a daily basis while we were in Disney. He was fussy in the lobby when we were waiting for the Magical Express and a cast member came over with a pink star wand and said, "here's a wand for the princess!". Daddy declared it was time for a haircut. He hasn't had an official haircut but Daddy did trim his bangs so they weren't in his face and the curls around his ears that make him look like Grandpa Munster. We can't cut the curls yet!

Next it was time for Mommy and Daddy to use their fast passes for Expedition Everest.

Not having any fun at all

Georgia doing her scared face as we walked the trail to "It's Tough To Be A Bug".

Loved this show. Super cute. And the surprise effects are awesome!

Jack enjoyed all the shows too

We grabbed BBQ for lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue and it was delicious. Not every restaurant we ate from in the parks would I say that about but this one impressed us. There was wildlife all around our table and this girl had a hard time focusing.

The Festival of the Lion King. It was beautiful, inspiring, funny-it had it all. This was on my must-do list and I'm glad we had time to see it.

My mom took a picture of the birthday girl on her birthday.

Because I just so happened to spend my sixteenth birthday at Disney World too and a little side by side comparison is always fun. I'm loving my shox, air brushed tshirt and jacket tied around my waist.

I loved their madras plaid Mickey and Minnie outfits. They seemed appropriate for a day at animal kingdom.

Before we knew it, it was time to head back to CBR to catch the Magical Express to Orlando International. A nice thing Disney will do for you is hold your luggage while you enjoy a park if you have an evening flight. They do expect a tip for the bellhop but the ability for them to do this allowed us to go to a park without having to stay an extra night in the resort. A very nice gesture that saved us quite a bit of money!

When we arrived at MCO, Jack was ready to be uncaged so he crawled all over the airport. Probably the dirtiest, germiest place he could be but I didn't care, it was more important that he wear himself out so he would sleep on the plane :)

Time to go home and just like we hoped, this boy was asleep in my arms within five minutes of takeoff. Thank you son!

The fact that our Disney trip was over had us all feeling a little like this. We were exhausted but it was the very best week of exhaustion.


I'll do a post about some Disney tips and tricks next.

Disney World 2016: Day 5-Magic Kingdom

After a day of rest and relaxation, we were ready to tackle another day at Magic Kingdom. This post has a TON of pictures so if you're not into princesses, kiddie rides and parades, this probably isn't the post for you. If you are, sit back, grab a cup of coffee and come along for our Disney ride!

Our day started off the earliest of all with a very special appointment for Georgia Grace. She had an appointment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at 8am to be transformed into a princess. I wondered if she would be too young to enjoy BBB but she is very much into princesses right now. I could see her in future years not enjoying it as much and being more into the rides. I'm glad I went with my gut and reserved this special treat for her!

Sleepy girl ready for her transformation. Her "fairy godmother in-training" was coincidentally named Katelyn.

She looked so tiny in that big chair getting all dolled up. And let's take a moment to appreciate the godmother's attire. Adorable.

Just a little pixie dust to make all her wishes come true. The whole boutique was so picturesque and every detail had that Disney touch.

Presenting Princess Georgia! This is my favorite picture from the whole vacation. I had no idea I was also capturing our expressions when I took the picture. You can see it all over her face that she felt like a princess!

Seeing herself closeup to check out her hair and makeup. This is the first time she has ever had on makeup besides play makeup and she was a fan! 

We had a sweet fairy godmother that made our experience a great one.

We went outside of the castle (BBB is actually in Cinderella's castle) to take some pictures of her. They offered for her to go to a studio to take pictures but I decided I would rather have castle pictures instead.

Daddy's princess

Jack boy is a sweet little brother to get up early and set through a BBB appointment. He didn't have a choice of course but it's still sweet he did it without protest :)

The beauty of an early BBB appointment is an empty park for pictures! Another favorite picture of mine.

The park didn't open until 9am but anyone who wanted to go in early with your party was allowed so Aunt Ash and Aunt Rhonda got to come too!

The only prince this princess needs. She was so excited to ride the carousel.

After a ride on the carousel we headed to Tomorrowland to hit some of our favorites before the park started filling up. I love the People Mover ride that takes you through every ride in Tomorrowland. Talk about exceptional engineering!

A fun ride for everyone

I Fastpassed Space Mountain because you haven't been to Magic Kingdom until you've rode it. Love it!

I'm not sure how widely known this show is but The Carousel of Progress in Tomorrowland is like our all-time favorite thing at MK. Ashley and Rhonda had never even heard of it and they've been to MK several times so we may be the only ones that enjoy it :) It's such a special show that depicts how the American family has changed over the decades. It just makes you all warm and funny inside. I highly recommend it for your next Disney trip.

Another Fastpass for Buzz's Space Ranger Spin, Georgia really loved this one.

We finished up Tomorrowland and headed to Fantasyland. Just a little PSA-The Dumbo ride has been refurbished (not sure when but it was the old version when we went in January 2012 so some time between then and now) and the waiting area is enclosed in a big circus tent with a huge playground area and you are paged when it is your turn to ride. Genius! Don't waste a Fastpass because waiting was half the fun!

While we were in Fantasyland we took Georgia for her first ride on a rollercoaster. This picture is sweet because you can just barely see her hugged up to her Daddy. Such a tiny and brave rollercoaster rider.

She loved it! No fear. She totally surprised us and we were very proud of her. She was proud of herself if you can't tell :)

We ate lunch at Pinocchio Village Haus, saw the Hall of Presidents show (Marcus's favorite) and then caught the Festival of Fantasy parade. Georgia napped but Jack enjoyed it.

Love me some Pan

One last Fastpass to meet Elsa and Anna. She was a smitten kitten.

She had just woke up from her nap so she was a little somber but loved meeting them.

Jack boy got in on some princess action too :)

After a fun morning and afternoon at MK, we headed back to Caribbean Beach to rest and refuel. Gran Stan and Gammy agreed to stay back and keep Jack for us so we could take Georgia Grace back to MK for the night parade and fireworks. She was one excited girl to go to Disney World two times in one day!

This night was so much fun and one I will never forget. We didn't take our stroller or bags or need sunscreen. It just felt so easy and fun! I hope it's a special night she will always remember too.

This picture is hysterical to me. She really is just a baby in a big ol' world!

Fat skinny and sassy!

We were able to ride the Pirates of the Caribbean, Aladdin's Magic Carpet and go through the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse before it was time for the parade and fireworks. Since she missed the afternoon parade she was so happy she saw this one! We watched for a while and then we shopped a little before Wishes.

 

Wishes was amazing. I think I prefer the older firework shows, not that all the images on the castle wasn't neat, I think I'm just old fashioned and like to see the castle change colors and all the fireworks. It was a perfect end to a perfect day.

No way she was staying awake on this bus ride. I remember doing the exact same thing when I was about her age. 

We celebrated Jack's birthday over the weekend and he's gone all weekend without his pacifier. He hasn't really even missed it. It was a big and exciting weekend, pictures to come soon!