Disney World 2013: The Long Trek Home

We left our hotel and headed strait to the airport to drop off Dad.  He had reserved a place on a van with a transportation company, but he did not get back in time to ride with them.  We got him to the airport in time for his flight back.






Some of the scenery we saw on our way back home.



We made it to Mississippi before we stopped for the night.  We wanted to go down to the beach the next morning before getting back on the road.  Emmy LOVES the beach, so it seemed mean to be that close and not take her.

We played on the beach for about 30 minutes.  The water was pretty cold, but it was such a beautiful day!





















We had only been on the road for about two hours when we saw a sign for Krystal Burger.  We immediately took the exit for some Krystal goodness!





They passed the Emmy taste test!



Then we kept driving...and I started to feel like this about our drive home.



We finally made it back to Texas, and we stopped to see these two!




After hanging out for a while and then getting dinner, we got back on the road (without Mom).  Dad picked Mom up and took her to go see GiGi.

It was around 1:30 when we pulled into EC, and we were very happy to be home. 

Not so happy to unpack the suburban...but that's the breaks when you get to go on an amazingly fabulous vacation! :)

Disney World 2013: Magic Kingdom (Day 3)

Our last day had finally arrived.  We I decided that our last day at WDW should be spent at Magic Kingdom.  I understand that this may seem strange to some people since we had already spent two days at this particular park, but it is by far the best park for small children.  There are so many rides and attractions that cater to the smaller crowd, so it only made sense to end our trip here.




We didn't go straight to Dumbo since we wanted to get FastPasses to go on the Jungle Jingle Cruise.  Starting on Friday, our last day, that ride was transformed into the Jingle Cruise, and they would be telling Christmas jokes and it would be decorated for the holidays.  Supposedly.

So we went straight to adventure land, and along the way, we noticed that there was not a line for the Flying Carpet ride.  Emmy enjoyed it the other time she rode it, so Brad got in line with Emmy while I grabbed our Fast Passes.  Imagine my surprise when I got back and noticed that Jasmine and Aladdin were getting on the ride with some of the children!  Apparantly it is something that they do for the opening ride everyday, and I thought it was such a neat surprise for the kids that they chose.







Then we got in the short line to meet Aladin and Jasmine (since we were there anyway).  Emmy was a little apprehensive.  I think it was mostly because she hasn't seen Aladin yet.







Then we dashed off to Fantasyland to meet up with the grandparents.  Emmy enjoyed a couple more rides on Dumbo.  She cried when it was time to leave Fantasyland. :(







We took one more voyage with Ariel on Journey of the Little Mermaid.





A cast member gave me this cool sticker.  So of course I held it up so you could see some of the new aspects of Fantasyland behind it.





Emmy wanted to sit on the benches and rest for a few minutes outside of Belle's village.  I am still not sure why someone who was riding in the stoller needed to rest.



One ride that we really missed getting to ride because it was still under construction was Peter Pan's Flight.  Emmy loves that movie, so we will look forward to riding it the next time we are there.



We finally made it to the Jingle Cruise.







It was pretty much the same cruise, but there were a few holiday decorations scattered about during the ride.  I was slightly disappointed.







We stood in line to get one more Dole Whip as well.  These are THE BEST snack at Magic Kingdom.  I am not kidding.  It is imperative that you get one everyday that you are there.  They are that good.  Trust me; you won't be sorry.





We also realized that we didn't take a full group picture the other day that we came to Magic Kingdom, so it was essential to our (Mom & I) happiness that we get this photo.



Emmy saw Goofy outside while we were watching the parade from Main Street, and she asked for this photo.



Our time at the World was coming to an end.  We took a few more photos to commemorate our time.



This is our "We are really sad that you are making us leave Disney World" face.


This is Bradley's "We have to leave Disney because you spent all my money" face.


Nana wasn't ready to leave yet either.



But she was ready to get home and see GiGi, Brittany, and Kari.



We had an amazing time at Disney, but unfortunately, all good things must come to end.  For some reason our mortgage company doesn't let you pay them in magic and FastPasses.  ;)

Disney World 2013: Hollywood Studios

We spent Wednesday at Hollywood Studios. The last time that I visited this park, it was called Disney's MGM Grand.  Sometime between our visits, the name was changed to Disney's Hollywood Studios.  Everything still looked the same for the most part other than that detail.




As soon as we got the the park, we rushed over to Toy Story Mania.  We grabbed our FastPasses, and we stood in line to ride it once before our passes could be used.  This was one of the only "rides" in the park that Emmy could ride, so we wanted to make sure that we would get to enjoy it a couple of times.



Next, we ran over to ride the Rockin' Roller Coaster.  We couldn't get a FastPass for this, so we just stood in line and then did a rider switch.  We only had to wait around 25 minutes, so it wasn't too bad.



Emmy wasn't keen on waiting that long for anything- especially something she couldn't ride.



In between rides, we took a few pictures in front of the guitar.



I love that my parents still know how to have fun!



Emmy wasn't really into taking a photo at the moment, so we had to get down on her level.



One more without her!



We rode Tower of Terror and looked around.  Then Brad and I took Emmy to use the four Fast Passes that we had for Toy Story Mania.  Mom and Dad went to watch Beauty and the Beast, so we could take Emmy on the ride twice.  It was perfect.

Next we took off to watch the Lights, Camera, Action stunt show.  We have seen it before, but it is fun every time.



We sat at the top away from other people so Emmy would have a little room to walk around and play.  It was also a warm day, so we didn't mind being away from the crowd.









Afterwards, we were STARVING, so we tried to get away from our nearest and dearest 3500 friends that had been at the show with us.  All of the restaurants in that section of the park were packed, so we moved further away until we found a little pizza arcade.  Of course the guys weren't feeling pizza and Emmy was really grouchy, so Mom and I walked half a mile away to the ABC Commissary.  We brought back burgers and fish plates for everyone and ate in the arcade.  By the end of the meal, Ems was asleep, and we all breathed a little sigh of relief.

Dad was ready to leave, so while he and Mom went to take photos, Brad and I rode through the great American Movie Ride.  It was definitely not the most exciting ride that I have ever been on, but it was air conditioned and we got to sit down on a padded seat with our napping baby so it was perfect.

After that we met up with Mom and took a few photos.









Emmy woke up during the Little Mermaid Show, and it was time for an activity just for her- DISNEY JUNIOR LIVE ON STAGE!





She was enthralled!





After the show, we went to Disney's Animation to take photos with some of the characters.  Since the stunt show and the Indiana Jones show were going on at that time, it was pretty empty. Score!

We met Frozone and Mr. Incredible.



Penelope and Wreck-it-Ralph





We walked into a room that didn't have a line at all, and who should we find in there, but MINNIE MOUSE!  Emmy spent about 8 minutes visiting with Minnie uninterrupted before someone else finally came along.





We tried to sneak out, but Emmy's little eagle eyes spotted Mickey Mouse over in the corner.  He unfortunately did have a line, but who cares about a little waiting when a little girl smiles like this?





Group shot with Sorcerer Mickey!



After this, the park was getting pretty close to closing, so we just walked around and looked at some of the shops for a little while before heading back.  It was a great day!

Next up, Animal Kingdom Day 2!