Meeting Mulan

Meeting the Princesses

Princess Aurora

Snow White

Mary Poppins and Ellie

Mary Poppins and Max

Meeting Princess Aurora

Getting Aurora's Autograph

Ellie telling Aurora she was going to be 4 on her birthday. "Almost an entire hand"~Princess Aurora

Ellie posing for a picture with Aurora

Ellie hugging Aurora

Our Vacation: Day 7

On Thursday we went back to Epcot for a Storybook Breakfast with the Disney Princesses. Ellie dressed up in her Princess Aurora gown and she fit in very nicely with all of the Princesses. We walked into the Akershus Royal Banquet Hall and immediately had our picture (ok, CJ, Ellie and Max) taken with Belle. I'll have to scan that one in later. Then we were taken to our seats and Ellie was always addressed as "Your Royal Higness" or "Your Higness". Even I was addressed as "Your Magesty". It was a lot of fun.

The Princesses took their turns coming to each table. Ellie was in complete awe. The first Princess to arrive our table was Ellie's favorite Princess, Princess Aurora. She was so happy and talked to Aurora for several minutes. A few minutes after Aurora left our table, Ellie's smile grew and she started clapping wildly. I think it took her a minute for the moment to sink in! After Aurora left, we were visited by Snow White, Mulan and Mary Poppins. Ok, so Mary Poppins isn't really a Princess, but Ellie and Max didn't care. Mary Poppins took a liking to Max and played with him for several minutes.

It was a great experience and one I definitely recommend to all little girls who want to be treated like a Princess.

Max eating a chocolate and sprinkled covered marshmellow in the rain.
Ellie dancing in the rain.
CJ posing in front of Tower of Terror. He loved it!

Max finding Winnie the Pooh.
Max finding Jo Jo.
Ellie and Goliath
Ellie and her birthday cupcake. At every restaurant with characters we ate at, she received a birthday cupcake or sundae and a card autographed by all the characters. We came home with three of them.
Ellie hugging Jo Jo.

Our Vacation Day 6

We went back to Hollywood Studios on Wednesday. The weather was still rainy, but not quite as bad. We went to see Playhouse Disney Live On Stage. Ellie and Max really enjoyed it, but we learned a valuable lesson--don't sit in the front row. We could barely see a thing. We did video tape it though and we could see more on the tape. Regardless, it was fun.

The high light of the day, though was not Playhouse Disney Live on Stage, but our breakfast at Hollywood and Vine. We were able to eat with Jo Jo and Goliath from the show Jo Jo's Circus and Leo and June from the show Little Einsteins. Every 20 minutes, the "hosts" would call all the kids in the middle to dance and sing along and because there were not many families in the restaurant (about 10 at the most), we got a lot of one on one time with the characters.

Ellie got over her fear of them and finally gave Jo Jo a big bear hug. Max was in love with Jo Jo and the Little Einsteins characters. He chased them all around the restaurant--especially Jo Jo.

Leaving the park in our ponchos.

Ellie was signing "I Love You", but the camera didn't take the picture fast enough.

Ellie was singing at the dinner table at Planet Hollywood. Hannah Montana was singing on the radio in the restaurant.

Max enjoyed his spaghetti dinner. Can you see the orange tint to his face? I didn't have a chance to wipe it clean before he past out!!

Ellie in front of the "barrel of monkeys" monkey. These are all things that we saw while waiting in the Toy Story Mania line.

Giant Mr. Potato Head. He was singing and dancing and telling jokes to keep everyone entertained.

Daddy tried to get us to pose for the picture, but Ellie and Max were too busy listening to Mr. Potato Head to turn around and smile.

Ellie, waiting in line at the Toy Story ride.

Ellie and Mommy in front of the giant View Finder.

Ellie, Max, and Mommy in front of a giant Candy Land board.

Ellie in front of the giant crayon.

Our Vacation: Day 5

Tropical Storm Fay is not going to keep us from having a good time! And neither will Pink Eye! Max's eye is doing so much better. He is not fussy at all and his eyes are no longer pink. I think we caught it just in time! As for the storm, well, so far it is just a lot of wind and rain and a little more rain. We bought some ponchos and headed out to Hollywood Studios. Ellie thought stomping around in the rain was a lot of fun. We watched a live Little Mermaid show which really captivated Ellie and Max's attention. We also stood in a really loooonnnngggg line for the Toy Story Mania ride. The sign said 60 minutes, but it was wrong! It actually took an hour and a half! It's ok though, there was lots to see during the wait and Ellie and Max had fun--for the most part. It turned out to be worth the wait. Both kids had fun on the ride.

We left the park fairly early because we had early dinner reservations at Planet Hollywood in Downtown Disney. We took the bus over from the hotel (we have used Disney transportation during our whole trip). The bus driver didn't tell anyone there were multiple stops in Downtown Disney and we got off on the wrong one. We had to walk through the entire complex in the pouring rain! By the time we got there we were soaking wet and Ellie was in tears. Thank goodness, I had a change of clothes for her. That cheered her up pretty quickly. We were seated immediately and enjoyed our dinner. Max enjoyed it so much, he fell asleep waiting for dessert!

We came home early and everyone is passed out cold. I guess the rain is a good thing. It is forcing us to pace ourselves and not try to squeeze too much in to quickly.

Us and Goofy.

Max giving Mickey a kiss.

Us with Mickey at the Meet and Greet.

Us with Minnie Mouse

Epcot

Princess Aurora, I mean Eliana. I'm not sure what she's pouting about, but I kept telling her that princesses don't act like this. She didn't believe me.

Max and Chip (or is it Dale?)

Max, Mommy and Mickey Mouse.

Our Vacation: Day 4

Monday got off to a rocky start. Max woke up with pink eye!! Or at least the beginning stages. I called our pediatrician right at 8 and had her call in a prescription. Under ordinary circumstances, I would not have brought Max out to play, but we kept going with our plan. So we headed off to Epcot. We ate lunch with Mickey Mouse, Pluto, and Chip and Dale. Ellie was a little nervous at first, but she got over it pretty quickly. I asked her why she was scared of Mickey and she said, "Mommy, I'm not scared, I'm just a little bit shy". She warmed up by the end of the meal--as long as I was next to her. She still won't give hugs, but she's an expert at giving high fives!

This trip is Ellie's birthday trip, although her birthday is actually a month away. When we booked the trip, we told the Disney people that we were celebrating her birthday. When we booked the reservation for lunch, the Disney people told the restaurant. They surprised Ellie (and us) by bringing her a cupcake with a candle and a card signed by all the characters. She was soooo excited!
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We didn't do too much yesterday. We rode the ride, Soarin', which Ellie thought was a lot of fun and went through a character meet n' greet. We walked around a bunch, but didn't want to stand in too many lines. Plus, Max started to get fussy, so we went back to the hotel. The kids rested a bit and then had fun in the pool.

Ellie's Happy Dance

Pluto greeted us at the Magic Kingdom. Max fell asleep right after we got there.
Ellie's reaction to seeing Cinderella's Castle.
Mommy and Ellie in front of Cinderella's Castle
Ellie watching the parade.