Day 6- Magic Kingdom Day 2

We all wore our Mickey shirts on the last day with cute headbands Dara made.

Our crew of 13

Alas, our trip has come to an end.  We finished it off with one last visit to Magic Kingdom again.  Our family had two missions - find Jessie and Belle - Kaitlyn and Abby's favorite characters.

Jessie was found first time in the morning.  Kaitlyn was so happy.  I mentioned to Jessie that she was Kaitlyn's favorite and she grabbed Kaitlyn and started dancing with her.  Huge smiles!

Belle now has her own cottage and story time.  In the afternoon we split from the boys and waited the longest to see Belle compared to everything else we did.  45 minutes for her story time and it didn't disappoint.  They take you in as small groups into Belle's cottage. At the beginning you ask the magic mirror to show you the day Beast and Belle fall in love and the mirror expands and turns into a door.  Abby's jaw dropped when this happened, it was pretty cool.  The wardrobe was there to meet you on the other end and parts of the story characters were passed out to the kids.  All girls participated and Todd was asked to be a knight.  After a quick review of all our parts, we were taken into the library where Belle comes out and the kids and Belle retell part of her story.  Afterwards each child comes up to get a bookmark, a hug, and a picture taken.  The bad part was they didn't allow flashes.  It was a great way to meet Belle.

Other Rides and tidbits:
*Today the favorite ride for everyone was Big Thunder Railroad which was ridden many times.

*Splash Mountain was a favorite for Kaitlyn but Adam was the only Porter who cared for it.

*Dole whips are always a yummy treat on a hot day

*Haunted Mansion- Everyone but Kaitlyn liked it.  We actually got stuck on this ride for about 10 minutes in the graveyard.  I put my head down and wanted to nap but Kaitlyn was a little scared.  Olivia and Abby loved it.

*Jungle Cruise - jokes were all puns that my Dad could have written

*Space Mountain was ridden again numerous times.  We left that night still with 10 fast passes for it in my pocket.

*It's a Small World - kids didn't like, too boring they said.

*Drove the cars around the track a few more times.

*Ran into a family from our ward who were on a cruise and it was their port day.  Crazy out of all the hundreds of people we saw them.

*Because last time leaving the park took forever we decided to leave before the fireworks.  I had it in my head that funnel cakes would be really yummy.  Kaitlyn stayed behind with me and everyone else headed toward the entrance of the park.  Had I known how long it would have taken I would have skipped them.  After a 15+ minute wait we ordered and quickly grabbed our funnel cakes but the crowds around the castle had grown immensely.  Kaitlyn was really good with sticking with we as we weaved our way through people and I was carrying 3 funnel cakes.   We caught up with the group and grabbed the train to the parking lot and got there as the fireworks went off.  It was a great spot to watch the fireworks from across the lake- I highly recommend it. You could see everything and no crowds.  Because I only bought 3 funnel cakes we were just going to share but Olivia was so tired, sharing sent her over the edge and she had a major meltdown.  The others didn't eat much so there was a whole one left but Olivia only ate a bite or two -go figure.

The next morning we packed up and headed for the airport.   Todd took an earlier flight out to Georgia and I was a nervous about getting to the airport on my own but we made it.  Luckily as we turned into the car rental place a man offered to take all our luggage on his cart.   He quickly lead us to the right ticket counter and it was a good thing too - best $10 spent.  It ended up taking us longer to get through security, taking the tram, and having a bathroom break.  We heard last call for our flight so I made everyone "run"- quick walk was more like it.  I had Alec, Brittany had the carseat, Abby had my bag plus hers and Kaitlyn and Olivia kept up.  I think if that man wasn't there we would have missed the flight.  Kids were amazing through the whole thing.

Looking back I have forgotten a lot of the frustrating parts, tears, and fighting.  I'm choosing to focus on the fun parts.  Overall it was a great trip and I'm glad we were able to share it with family.

Day 5 - Animal Kingdom and losing Olivia

After a restful Sunday, we headed out to Animal Kingdom with a breakfast at Tusker House with Donald, Mickey, Daisy, Goofy, and of course Minnie.  As we were getting ready to drive through the car lines to pay I told Todd to get over one lane because I thought the far line we were in were just for buses.  My brother was behind us and didn't move over and a good thing he didn't, they got a Magic Parking Pass - they got front row parking!  Lucky suckers.  It all worked out okay since we walk faster than them, we caught up to them quickly the slow pokes (love Porters!)

Breakfast was a buffet and Todd and I knew our kids would be too distracted to eat much and they were.  Every so often a character would come by for pictures and autographs.  Alec had finally warmed up to the characters and was even enjoying himself.  There was a cute little parade the kids got to participate in in the restaurant and a cupcake was brought out for Alec and Evan's birthdays again.  They were also given birthday cards signed by all the characters which was a nice touch.

*Side story about Sean before breakfast:  Because our group was so large we had to split up between two tables.  Sean ended up being with Todd, Olivia, Alec, and myself.  Sometime before getting in the restaurant he found a button and a rolly-polly bug which he wanted to put down at the table.  Todd told him no and made him put it on the floor which didn't make him too happy.  I was getting food at this time and when I came back I saw the bug on the floor and pushed it aside with my foot.  Well that made Sean just crumble.  We were the worst Aunt and Uncle ever!  I felt so bad but I didn't want to eat with a bug on the table even if it was just a rolly-polly.  Sean quickly went over to his mom and refused to sit with us so Brittany came over.  Our table had 3 adults and 2 kids - not good odds for Matt and Dara.  At least they had our older two who could take care of themselves.

After breakfast we took the safari ride.  All the animals were out and active.  We even heard the lion roar.  The kids loved it and Alec kept raising his arm up and tried sounding like an elephant every time we saw one.  Abby pretended to take pictures with her hands.

We then ventured on to ride Expedition Everest - a favorite for all except Kaitlyn who refused to ride it in the morning.  By the evening she rode it a few times and there were no lines! We just rode it over and over and over again until I felt sick.

Don't poop your pants Matt!

At one point during the day I took Kaitlyn and Olivia with me to get fast passes at Everest.   Todd and everyone else were off riding the ride. Within seconds Olivia got lost from me.  She was there as we got to the Fast Pass booth but as I turned around after getting all the tickets, she was no where.  Kaitlyn had stood by me but I have no idea what happened to Olivia.  I quickly walked back to the ride entrance - the place was swarming with people - a looked and looked, no Olivia.  After a minute or two of looking I informed an employee I couldn't find my daughter and he helped me start to look.  Finally I ran over to a rock and stood on top of it to scan the crowd and be an obvious person for Olivia to spot.  Finally we spotted her!  She was coming from another direction with another employee and a young girl.  I grabbed her and gave her a big hug and we both just cried.  Terrifying minutes on not being able to find my child.  We had told the kids if they ever got lost they were to look for an employee.  Well the other girl with Olivia had spotted her walking around alone and went and got help.  Hooray for that girl's help!

After tears and reuniting were over the rest of the day was spent very well.  I think all the kids got along and we managed our time well here.

Things we did:
*Nemo the musical - Alec at one whole box of orange tic-tacs to keep quiet.  When that was out he didn't want to stay anymore so we left with 10 minutes left of the show.  He did sing along with Dori though on her "la la la's"

*Dinosaur - scared Olivia and Kaitlyn terribly.  I took a picture of the picture they take of you on the ride - pure terror on their faces.

*Dinowhirl - Only Abby was tall enough to ride.

*Dino Dig - Alec spent a lot of time in here playing on the slides or digging.  A favorite spot for him and we all ended up here at the end of the day, the kids didn't want to leave.  I think Texas should have an indoor play place like this.

*Kali Rapids - rode at the end of the day and everyone got soaked

*A Bug's Life - loved the bugs that move under your seat

*Lion King - Such a fun show full of energy.

*Jammin' Parade - Alec waved to all the characters and we saw Uncle Cade's twin pushing the giraffe.

We tried getting Pocahontas' signature.  We arrived 5 minutes before the park closed only to hear that she was done signing autographs.  The girls were very disappointed.

Since the park closed early we went home to enjoy some

Giordani's Chicago Pizza and a quick swim.  Overall a fabulous day.

Day 4 - Mother's Day and Minute to Win It

We woke up Sunday morning to Todd making pancakes for everyone - hooray - Happy Mother's Day!  This was going to be our veg day and recoup from the past 3 crazy days. 

 The kids enjoyed swimming in the pool.  Alec jumped in with his floaties, the pool was still a touch cold and he went under.  As he surfaced he had the funniest look of shock on his face I wish I had my camera.  We all just laughed at his expression.  We spent the day swimming, watching movies, and Dara planned a great Minute to Win It party - there were a lot of fun games too.  It started off great but my girls must have just been too tired and too competitive that they just feel apart and we had to stop playing.  There were too many tears.  We were trying to tell them they weren't competing against each other but the clock.  That didn't work.  I felt so bad for Dara with all the work she put in to make it fun and the kids just imploded.

We did end the day on a good note, with a yummy Taco dinner and an early bedtime for more Disney fun.

Day 3 - Magic Kingdom

**Warning - Princess overload with pictures**

Ugh - to get to the park from the parking lot requires a lot of time.  The parking lot was pretty full when we arrived and it took almost an hour to get from the car, ride the ferry over, and get through the gates.  Too long if you ask me.

Today Meranda was becoming a princess, there was going to be a huge coronation ceremony, but we decided to skip this and ride the rides while people was busy waiting by castle.  I later read that no one could hear a thing and it was kind of a bust.  Glad we skipped!

Our first stop was the New Fantasyland - there is no more Mickey or Minnie's house which made me a little sad.  There was no one there so we rode as many rides as we could.

*Dumbo - Alec loved this and rode it a couple times.  They now have two Dumbo rides side by side to help with the number of kids who want to ride it.

*Goofy's Barnstormer - Alec was a little unsure with this one.  Because there were no lines, we were able to ride this one a few times.  At one point, Brittany took Kaitlyn and Abby on this one.  Kaitlyn was sitting by herself and one of the employees asked her how old she was.  When she responded 6 they said she couldn't ride alone so Brittanym sitting behind her with Abby, asks, "can I sit with her then?"  The employee looks at her and asks if there is a parent around because you have to be at least 14.  Brittany responds and says, "I'm 20!"  I laughed so hard that they thought she was so young.

*Voyage of the Little Mermaid - our ride got stuck about halfway through and we were stuck staring at Ursala's massive chin for 10 minutes.  Evan had three words for this ride as soon as it was done "I hated it!"  Poor 10 year old boy who got dragged on the ride by his girl cousins.  Kaitlyn and Olivia were smiles the whole time.

*Peter Pan's Flight - a classic and a favorite for everyone

*Carrousel - Alec refused to ride - freaked out really

*Mickey's Philharmagic - still a favorite and we watch several times.  Alec didn't make it through one showing though.

*Buzz Lightyear spin - it's fun but Olivia and Kaitlyn had a hard time with the guns and the targets are harder to get.  It's not as easy as Toy Story mania.

*Space Mountain - we had to fold down the backs of Olivia's shoes so she could get another fraction of an inch to make her tall enough to ride this ride.  I think this ride was the one that was ridden the most.  Kaitlyn rode it once the first day but when we went back the second time she warmed up to it.  I think it had to do with seeing her 4 year old sister loving it so much.

*Tomorrowland speedway - ah the cars that the kids think as so cool to drive.  I went with Abby, Evan and Adam.   There was a lot of arguing of who was going to go first and I threatened the boys I was going to throw them over the railings.  I don't know whether or not they believed me.  Adam ended up driving with me and Abby and Evan rode together.  Todd had gone earlier with the younger kids and they all loved it.

*Monsters Inc Laugh Floor - a man behind us asked Todd if he had the four girls (he was counting Brittany).  We laughed again that she was seen as being so young.  Funny show and it was nice to just sit in AC.

*Lunch in the Castle- We split from the Porters and got ready for our lunch in Cinderella's castle.  I could only get the 6 of us in so we gave some money to Brittany and off she went.  I was going to get the girls hair fixed but we were all hot and sweaty we just threw the princess dresses over their clothes. It was easy to get them changed too, just take the dresses off, no need to find a bathroom. Olivia refused to get into her Rapunzel dress and I really didn't fight her on it.  When we were at Disney last time, Kaitlyn was about the same age as Olivia and didn't want to wear her dress then either.

Kaitlyn was thrilled to be in the same dress as Cinderella.  Look at that cute smile!

Abby wanted a Belle dress that we had to order online and paid a little extra to get here in time.

 I figured this was probably the last time she'll ever want to dress up like a princess.  At first she said she didn't want to dress up because it was "a little babyish".  She then changed her mind the week before we left since I was taking dresses for the other two.  She loved her dress and had to wear the gloves that came with it even though it was so hot.

Olivia was cute enough in her Rapunzel shirt.

Lunch was fabulous.  Todd even said it was one of the best things we did.  We were inside with AC (it even rained while we were in there), sat for an hour, ate a decent meal that even the kids ate.  Alec had fallen asleep right before we went in and had a 15 minute cat nap but was so happy and good when he woke up.  The girls had the best manners we had ever seen!  I didn't know they had it in them.  They didn't want to get their dresses dirty.

I love the shoes.

Inside the castle they introduced all the princesses as they came out 10 minutes from each other.  The girls knew from experience to have questions for the princesses so they'd spend more time at our table.  As each princess was called out, Olivia was getting pouty and would say, "It's not Rapunzel!"  She didn't really smile because it's not the princess she wanted.

Ariel's favorite fish - a starfish since you can make hair accessories out of them.

Girls pointed out that Jasmine was immodest with her belly showing.

At the end, they did a wishing ceremony where the kids were supposed to take their wands (they each got a wand and wishing star) and twirl it over their star and make a wish.  Kaitlyn shut her eyes so tight and was mouthing her wish - it was too cute.

They brought out cupcakes for dessert and Alec went to town.

Shortly after lunch we headed home for a couple hours.  Todd volunteered to stay home with the youngest Porter, Jason, and Alec so the boys could get a good nap and a good night sleep.  The rest of us headed back for the evening shows.  This time parking was a little better.

We quickly ran and did Pirates and walked through the Swiss Family treehouse.

*Pirates of the Caribbean - not as great as I remember as a kid and we got stuck on this ride too for about 10 minutes.  My girls thought it was okay, the boys loved it.

*Swiss Family tree - cool to walk around and explore the tree.  It would be awesome to have something like that in our backyard.

One of our main missions that night was to see Rapunzel!!!   The joy on Olivia's face when we saw her was priceless.  Right before we were to go in, we were cutting it close to the electrical parade too, Olivia decided she had to pee.  Brittany had to take her across the street.  Before she left I asked Abby and Kaitlyn if they needed to go and they said no.  Of course, two minutes after Brittany and Olivia had left, Kaitlyn said she had to go.  Ugh.  Luckily she was old enough to hold it until we quickly went through and saw Rapunzel and then ran to the nearest bathroom.  We were worried we were going to miss the electrical parade but the girls were super fast.

Rapunzel is Olivia's favorite!!!

*Electrical Parade - we had split up earlier from the Porters and my brother saved us a spot for the parade and fireworks.  It was the perfect spot to see everything.  Dara and I brought our cheap glow sticks for the kids so they wouldn't feel so bad when we wouldn't spend $15 on Disney's glow in the dark toys.

*Fireworks - before the fireworks there was a cool light show on the castle walls with scenes from several Disney movies.  It was really neat to see.  Then there was the awesome firework display starting off with Tinkerbell flying over the crowd.  The kids loved wearing glow sticks and watching the show. The bad part was walking back through the park, waiting for the ferry, and then walking the long way to the car.  It took over an hour to get to the car.  Bleh.  Kids were exhausted!

Day 2 - Hollywood Studios

This was our first time to ever visit Hollywood Studios and I think if I had a little more experience with this place I wouldn't have made us all walk so much.  There was a lot of back and forth today and it was hot!  The one good thing is the park isn't as big as others.

When we arrived before the ropes dropped, Todd took everyones tickets and ran off to get Fast Passes to Toy Story Mania while the rest of us took the kids to get them signed up for the Jedi training.  We were a large group so we had to wait until the afternoon.  That right there messed up our plans to go home and have naps.

The day started right off the bat with everyone loving the Star Tours ride.  It was so much fun!  I went with the kids on the first ride and my cheeks hurt from smiling from listening to the kids and the ride alone.  We also loved posing on the speeder right outside.

Watch out storm troopers, these girls mean business!

From here we decided to hit the more popular rides - Tower of Terror and Rock N'Roller coaster.  We got to the very top of Tower of Terror and then everything shut down.  Our 10 minute wait ended up being almost 40.  Olivia was really scared at first but this ended up being one of her favorites.  Kaitlyn didn't care for it.  Abby of course loved it.  Brittany was nice and took Alec to see Jake and the Neverland Pirates while we did all of this.

Rock N' Roller coaster was my favorite and I think Abby's favorite.  Riding it for the first time not know what was going to happen was awesome.  Only the bigger 3 kids could ride this and we went back later in the afternoon to ride it a few more times.

Hooray for the Disney employee handing out small bubble containers.  

It kept the younger kids happy while we waited for the big kids.  

Adam was so cute keeping Alec entertained.

 We took a break inside the Animation Studio where the kids had so much fun playing with everything around there.  It was a great hour break from the heat.  We saw Mr. Incredible, Fro-Zone, Wreck it Ralph and of course Sorcerer Mickey.

 Toy Story mania was a favorite for everyone and we were able to ride it a couple of times thanks to Todd always staying on top of getting Fast Passes.

 One of the best parts of the day was when the kids did their Jedi training.  

 Kaitlyn is practicing using the force.

 Jedi training was a highlight for all the kids.  They thought it was so cool to fight Darth Vader.  First was training by a Jedi Master on how to use their weapons.  During their training Darth Vader and a couple of storm troopers come out and fight all the kids individually - he wants them to join the dark side.  The audience booed when he appeared and Abby loved that.  My girls were the only girls in our session - they thought they were extra cool and they really got into the fighting.

Jedi Abby

 Jedi Kaitlyn 

 Jedi Olivia - she complained it was too hot. When she was asked to join the dark side the Jedi Master pointed out her princess shirt and said it was not likely to happen.

 Other things we saw and did:
*The Little Mermaid Show - cute, glad the boys skipped it.
*Beauty and the Beast Show - the girls really liked this short stage production.  Todd left to get fast passes and came back with 2 ice-creams (it's all he could carry) and Olivia threw the biggest fit that she had to share.  I took her out of the show so she wouldn't distract all those around us but I don't think that helped because then Alec started crying for me.  Alec did entertain himself by pouring all our water over him.
*Indiana Jones stunt show - funny and entertaining.  We were sitting in the middle row of seats and could still feel the heat from all the explosions.  Kids were entertained, Alec liked to wander around and sit by Uncle Matt.  Alec did love being with his Uncle and got so excited whenever he saw him.

Earlier in the afternoon the parents made the decision to finish the park by 5, go home for dinner and let the kids swim.  If any of us wanted to come back to watch Fantasmic we could (no one did).  It was one of the best decisions we made.  The kids cooled off in the pool and we all had an early night.