I had to split the Memory Maker pics up into two different posts so make sure you see both of them!
Saturday morning we got up and hopped another bus to Animal Kingdom. I had originally thought we might skip this park for a down day, but I'm so glad that we didn't. I loved the park and the Lion King and Finding Nemo shows we saw were absolutely amazing…broadway quality.
If you are wondering where Kennon and Eric are…both kiddos fell asleep in the stroller this day. This was the one and only day that we did not trek back to the resort for a nap. Maddox woke up first so she and I hurried back into the park to meet Pocahontas while Kennon got some zzzz's and Eric walked him around the entrance of the park.
Animal Kingdom has this gigantic Tree of Life as they call it. It is not real and I believe is made of wood. As you walk around the park you notice there are great animals carved out of the trunk. It is sort of the icon of Animal Kingdom.
Pocahontas was extremely attentive to Maddox. She even brushed away some of Maddox's hair from her face…very motheringly. I'm glad Maddox and I got the chance to run back into the park to meet her.
Most of you know by now my favorite Disney movie is UP. I was ecstatic for the kids to meet both Doug the dog and Russell the Wilderness Explorer as he is called in the movie. Doug was like giant, soft, excited almost human like dog…just like he is in the movie. I could have stood there all day and watch him interact with the kiddos. He licked us and even tried to play footBALL with Kennon and Maddox…. as we had on our Hawkeye shirts. Apparently Doug is a footBALL fan :)
Russell and Maddox
Doug kept motioning for Kennon to rub his nose…like all dogs LOVE to have their noses and ears rubbed… Kennon finally caught on but rubbed the wet black part instead. You can see on his snout where all the kids have rubbed him.
Doug even came up and gave me a huge energetic hug and a wet kiss.
You can see on Russell's sash that he has a bunch of badges. When we entered the park Maddox and Kennon were sworn in as Wilderness Explorers just like Russell. They learned the special handshake and special 'macaw macaw' call of the Wilderness Explorers. Then they were each given a book with about 25 pages and places for 'badges' to be placed. There were 'W's' all over the park where you could stop and listen to one of the caste members talk about a particular animal or about conservation or recycling and receive your badge. We only collected like 5 of the badges. But, the cool thing is , they don't change. So I saved their books and we'll find some more badges at our next visit! It was a brilliant way for the kids to explore and educate themselves while we walked about the park.
Group hug!
After a 'Mom and Dad' night out Saturday night… (the kids stayed at one of the Disney Club child watch centers…and had a ball!! The begged to stay longer) we got up Sunday morning in time to catch the first boat to Magic Kingdom for our 5th and final day in the parks. This was deemed to be a special day as we got to eat at the Beast's castle (one of the hot ticket reservations right now that our travel agent was able to get us) as well as meet Elsa and Anna from Frozen. And we had tickets to the special Halloween Party that night too. PHEW.....we saved the busiest day for last and I'm happy to say it was the most fun day too, despite being tired.
A family shot in front of the Beast's castle.
Maddox and Kennon meeting the Beast. He was HUGE and quickly got down on his knees when he saw that BOTH kids were super timid of him.
Eating in the Beast's castle was pretty cool. It was beautiful and resembled the movie perfectly. The Beast even made a special appearance in the Great Hall where we were eating and peered right down at Maddox for a split second as he entered the room! I thought she was going to jump out of her seat as he towered above her little frame sitting in her chair by about 4 feet. Our waiter said he doesn't normally do that. Unfortunately it happened so quickly that I didn't get a shot of it. Our meal was pretty good but the dessert was the best we had had on our trip so far. Kennon even decided to "try 'the grey stuff' it's delicious" as the song goes.
Eric and Maddox shooting targets on the Buzz Light Year ride in Magic Kingdom
After our dinner in the Beast's castle we stood in line for the Enchanted Tales with Belle encounter. It was this fabulous crowd interactive show. They picked about 10 kids from the crowd and even a few adults to participate in this skit with Belle. Maddox was a picture frame and Kennon the foot stand dog….both characters from the movie. At the end Belle comes out and dances and each child actor gets their picture with the princess. Kennon, in true princess fashion, wouldn't leave Belle's side and just kept ahold of her little finger. You can see her face was kind as he stood there smiling for the camera. Finally one of the caste members shooed him away.
Maddox and Belle
When we headed back to the park after naps we had the kids wear their Halloween costumes in prep for the party. Maddox wore her homemade Elsa dress and Kennon his pirate.
Our second time on the Seven Dwarf's Mine Train…this time we got the front car.
This was probably one of the highlights of the trip. I was able to secure a fast pass to the meet and greet for Elsa and Anna…way back in July. This is another hot ticket for the park so I was ecstatic to get it. Basically that cut our wait time to meet the ladies from about 2 to 3 hours plus down to 15 to 20 minutes! YES…..thank Heavens. Both Elsa and Anna spent loads of time with the kiddos and had great conversations about chocolate and ice cream and all sorts of fun stuff. They were really in character with Anna talking fast and super bubbly and Elsa more stately. I had a ball watching them interact and I think the pictures show that both Maddox and Kennon thought it was pretty cool too.
Second time on Splash Mountain. At night and front seat this time!
These were the last two photos we had taken at the end of the Halloween Party. The party was fun, complete with trick or treating, a Halloween parade and a fabulous fireworks show. You can see they put out quite the Halloween decorations and even shine these sort of creepy colored lights on the castle and all the shops. I would do the party again if we had a chance.
All in all a fabulous trip. I was surprised quite honestly about how much time we spent planning the event, but because every detail was sorted out ahead of time it made the trip run rather efficiently and created lots of magical memories for the kids. Although we all came home tired the kids are already asking to go back again. In fact I know they still think about it often. Today at lunch I asked the kids what was the best part of their day so far and Kennon promptly said "Disney!" We often ask this question or something similar, like what did they appreciate most about their day and we go around the table. So it's not like this question was foreign to him. But, he must have had Disney on his brain because he shouted it out before he had much time to think about it. I had to split all the Memory Maker photos into two posts as blogger wouldn't let me post them all. So make sure you see the other Disney post-Memory Maker photos. And I still haven't uploaded the pics off my iPhone and camera yet either….but don't worry I"ll try not to put on too many duplicates!! I'll get those up maybe next week. More pictures with characters and some cool shots of our Colorado Like resort. I'm sure I just got some raised eyebrow looks at the computer…..'more pictures' you are thinking!! YES…. I just couldn't help but take pictures of those smiling faces. Thanks for hanging in there…..it is now safe to press down and pull up on your safety bar and exit to the right. Enjoy the rest of your magical day. We hope you enjoyed the Kies Family Disney Vacation ride.
No comments:
Post a Comment