November 10, 2011

The Dog Days of Disney: Day 3

Thursday morning, we woke up early and got started on our morning in hopes of getting to Epcot as they opened. Didn't happen. It was quite a struggle for us- trying to find balance between our urge to be a well-oiled Disney-touring-machine and our desire for a relaxing-get-away-from-it-all vacation. This morning, sleep won out just a little bit.

When we did manage to get to Epcot, we rode Spaceship Earth again right off the bat. Well, after Tyler and Sassy went on a FastPass mission for Soarin' and Test Track. It was fun to ride again because for the interactive last leg of the ride, you can change all of your choices and see a completely different future world unfold. We ♥'d this ride!



The girls had chosen their signature books the night prior, and were pretty anxious to get started on their autograph collecting, so we took them over to the Epcot Character Spot.

I will just let it be known now that the time we waited to collect autographs on this trip far surpassed the time we waited for any other ride or attraction. But, Tyler and I decided early on that this trip was truly about the girls. After a couple days of touring, things didn't feel quite right. Our schedule was off, everyone was a bit out of sorts, but even still, it didn't feel like it was supposed to feel for the girls, and we could tell.

From that point on, we made the trip a little less about taking pictures, a little less about riding every.single.ride, and a little more about soaking in the experience, all four of us. I don't mean to sound cliche, but I'm being dead serious. So, when both girls shared that meeting the characters and getting their autograph books filled was most important to them, suddenly those lines didn't seem so long.

Anyway, Character Spot. The girls watched cartoons throughout the line and it was finally their turn to meet their first characters!



The loved it! I was a little nervous about Tink, because she is in a stage where she is seemingly frightened of everything, and we'd noticed things heighten since we'd been in Disney. But, she was grinning from ear to ear and ready to love on all the characters!



Both the girls thought it was hi-larious that Pluto signed his name on top of his nose. They were just perplexed as to why he would do such a thing. HA!



The girls were so proud to pose with their new friends!



Even the really tall ones...



You could totally see Tink's grin from behind. That's the BEST kind.

After the Character Spot, we headed towards the back of the park and into the World Showcase area. We had lunch reservations at Akershus, which was also our first character meal. When we first arrived, after waiting a bit, we were whisked away to meet Belle and have a professional portrait taken. The girls were about in heaven. The restaurant was beautiful and princess-like in every way.



After we sat down and ordered, the princesses made their way around to each table and took some time to talk with the girls, sign autographs, answer questions, and take pictures. Magical. First, it was Jasmine...



Then Cinderella...



Then Snow White... Tink was very proud to point out her shirt to the lady herself, who just giggled...



And, finally, Ariel...



The girls truly loved every minute of it. I didn't hassle with trying to get a reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table. I'm sure it's super fabulous to eat there! But, this was great, and it only counted as one table service credit instead of two!

After lunch, we spent a little time checking out the Norway Pavilion and then headed back front. Tyler and I took turns riding Soarin' with Sassy. It was very cool. I was super impressed by the smells! It really brought you into the ride. While Tyler and Sassy were on Soarin', I took Tink to ride Living with the Land, and we learned all kinds of neat new things about the cutting-edge methods of agriculture. I love how much we learned on this entire vacation!

Last, Tyler and I took turns taking Sassy on Test Track. Tyler went first, and then Sassy and I got all the way to the top, where they proceeded to take a lengthy rain break. Ugh!! We finally did get to ride, and it was pretty cool. A few times it really felt like you were going to crash right into something, but Sassy took it all in stride! I thought the hot and cold simulations were pretty fun. Sassy enjoyed the speed- 60 mph, baby!

We headed back to the resort and contemplated an afternoon swim, but it really started to rain. We decided to rest, hang out int he room, and head to Downtown Disney for the evening. The rain came down, let me tell you! The girls enjoyed a little bit of souvenir shopping for their friends and themselves. Sassy started a charm bracelet, and added to it profusely throughout the week. The giant Disney Store was something! So was dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express!

Day 3, Disney World, Done.

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