Our Long Day!

I missed my entry last night because we had a late night and I just couldn't stay awake any longer!

On the plans for yesterday was Animal Kingdom for the first part of the day and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in the evening (and after hours). This normally isn't a park we visit since Ryan and I really don't care for. Nothing about it really excites us and there are so many things to do in The World that we choose to forgo this one. However, Ally loves animals and has so much fun at our local zoos I decided to schedule us for a half day to see just 4 attractions. The hard part about this park is the attractions we want to see are shown only at specific times so it's a puzzle to get to them all. This park also requires a lot of back tracking to get to each show. We arrived at opening (9am) and were hoping to do Picnic in the Park lunch but found out when we arrived Disney canceled this food option last spring. SO bummed! Ally adores picnics and she was so excited. We promised her we'd do a picnic at our resort on another day instead.

We hit the Maharaja Jungle Trek (tigers and such), Nemo the Musical, Festival of the Lion King, and Kilamanjaro Safari. We did lunch at Flametree BBQ instead and it was decent. We also did the Boneyard which is a play area for kids. Another disappointment here...this used to be a sand playground with dino bones hidden that kids could uncover with various tools. They apparently got rid of this too. It's now just rubber flooring everywhere with slides. Ally still liked it since she loves slides, but it wasn't what we were expecting. We probably won't return to this park anytime soon. I really enjoyed the Nemo Musical but the park in general just doesn't do it for us. The kids didn't seem as enthralled as we thought they'd be.

Jace's attempt at sliding by himself. HA!

 Ally watering the plants, with her Minnie Mouse thermos....oh my.

Back to the resort for rest time before our late night at the Magic Kingdom. The naps didn't happen again so we headed to Hollywood Studios to catch a few things before going to dinner. We did the Disney Jr. show and Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Both were hits with the kids. We hopped from Hollywood Studios to the Contemporary Resort which took forever, and then walked to the Magic Kingdom.

 Ally watching the Disney Jr. show

The party goes from 7pm-12am and is a separate ticketed event with most attractions open, complimentary hot chocolate & cookies (apple juice and apples as well), an exclusive Christmas parade and fireworks, and lots of character greetings. We had dinner at Pecos Bills so we wouldn't waste party time with a long sit down meal. This was fine but since we had to cancel our breakfast reservations for a character meal at Cape May Cafe this morning to get to the Animal Kingdom in time, we didn't do a table service meal at all today which really bothers me. I need that time and service in my vacation day and I always plan 1 everyday.

We did several attractions and Ally begged for more after doing Dumbo for the first time. With the line being 20 min, we promised her a ride on the Magic Carpets later. She did this ride 2x back to back since there was no wait. LOVED it. Mommy & Jace stayed on the ground...I don't do round-and-round rides. It's all I could do to watch and wave to her. Same goes for the Carousel; she and Daddy did it and had loads of fun.

The parade and fireworks were wonderful and Ally got all kinds of attention from characters again. It's so special to see her so excited and interacting so intensely! We did Small World one more time and then Pooh before leaving. I noticed on Pooh that I was bothered by bouncing with Tigger which is not something I normally have issues with, though I am sensitive to motion. I chalked it up to it being so late and worn out. We got back to the resort shortly after midnight and got the kids to bed. I was fried so I turned in immediately too. Ryan hung out on the Awesome Balcony for an unknown amount of time.

 How many shots does it take to get Ally to cooperate......here's the sequence.

 Hunkered down for the parade...she swore she was cold so she has one 2 jackets, mittens, and a hat...I had on a short sleeved shirt. Silly girl.

Ally had a little meltdown when the parade ended and she didn't get any candy canes from Santa Claus...that took a lot of talking to get her to calm down and understand.

Here's where things took a horrid turn. I woke up at 2-something throwing up. I did this all night. So much for being spared the misery my family had already endured.

Tomorrow: Off day (no parks), Downtown Disney, lunch at Portobello's, dinner at Restaurant Akershus in the Norway Pavilion with Princesses!