We started our morning by walking over to the Ticket and Transportation Center from our hotel (about a five minute walk--another great advantage of staying at the Polynesian) to catch the Epcot monorail. It was about a ten minute ride on the monorail to the park. We got out and walked straight to the sea area to ride on The Seas with Nemo. This was a pretty cool little ride where you ride a clam-mobile and help try to find Nemo. At the end, you go past an actual set of aquarium tanks with real fish with images of Nemo and friends somehow projected into it. I thought that was pretty slick. It lets you off in the middle of a giant (and really good) aquarium. There was a lot to take in. We also got to do an interactive show with Crush the turtle from Nemo. That was really funny, and the kids enjoyed it. In the seas area, there is a neat photo op that the kids (especially Cate) really wanted to climb in over and over.
From there, we walked over to the land. I had Fastpass+ reservations to ride Soarin'. Cate was not big enough to ride, but Will went. We did the rider swap, so Will and Aunt Sarah rode back to back while Jenna and then I stayed with Cate. Soarin' is a ride that simulates hang gliding. It isn't too easy to describe, but trust me, it accomplishes its goal. It is a really cool ride and extremely popular (so it took a while even with Fastpass+). I think this was Jenna's favorite ride in all of Disney World. While we were there, I snagged a couple of paper Fastpasses for Jenna and I to ride it again that night.
Because that took so long, we had to skip some other stuff we wanted to do (like Test Track) and head toward our lunch reservation. We had lunch reservations at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Norway. But first we stopped in Mexico (the first country and right before Norway in the World Showcase) to ride the Three Caballeros ride (called the Gran Fiesta Tour). Cate LOVED this ride. The Three Caballeros is a really old Disney animated movie (one of the first). Our kids know it because Uncle Bobby got it for them at some point (it is one of Bobby's favorites). Anyway, it was really exciting for the kids. We rode it at least twice and maybe three times before lunch.
We then proceeded to Norway where we had a quick wardrobe change. Lunch at Akershus is a princess lunch in which you get to meet some of your favorite princesses. We had brought Cate's princess dress from Halloween with us, and she put it on. There was a bit of a wait even though we had reservations. During that time, Cate was sort of losing it. She was tired, hungry, and kind of fussy. Somehow, Jenna managed to get some cute pics of Cate in front of a waterfall in Norway before we went in. Once inside, you are immediately greeted by Belle. You have an opportunity to take a picture with her before going to your table. Will didn't want to take a picture with Belle, although he was acting oddly sheepish around her (as opposed to his too cool for school routine around the other princesses the day before).
We were seated and greeted almost immediately by Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty). Right after Aurora came by, they announced there would be a princess parade and kids could join them. Cate was lucky enough to get to hold Aurora's hand during the parade (this made her really happy)! After the parade, Cinderella came by, followed by Ariel and Snow White. Ariel was the only princess at the lunch we hadn't met yet. And she was great. She was really talkative with Cate. It was a lot of fun.
During all this time, Will just sat there eating his lunch and not really paying attention. Except when Belle happened to walk by. Out of nowhere, Will shot up in his seated and shouted, "Hey! Here comes Belle! Hi Belle!!!" He was as excited as I had seen him the entire time. Sarah, Jenna, and I started cracking up because we realized that Will might have had a crush on Belle. Anyway, shortly after Snow White left (and I think that whole exchange happened when Snow White was there), Ariel came back to our table because Snow White told her there was a little prince hiding. When she said that, Will popped up and practically ran around the table to her. We got some good pics.
As you can see, Ariel snuck a kiss. I think that may have caused Will to change his crush from Belle to Ariel (and quite frankly, I don't blame him). You tell me.
After lunch, I took the kids back to the hotel for a nap. Sarah and Jenna hung back to do whatever in Epcot. They had one task--find out what time we could meet Aladdin and Jasmine (the only characters remaining that the kids really wanted to meet). I got back to the hotel with the kids around 2:30, just as Jenna sent me a text to say the last time to meet Aladdin and Jasmine was at 4:30 in Morocco (the furthest country in the World Showcase from the front of Epcot). So I let the kids sleep for as long as I could, then I loaded them in the stroller and pretty much ran to the TTC to catch the Epcot monorail. Once we got to the park, I ran pushing a stroller with two kids all the way to the back of the park to Morocco. Luckily, we made it in time. I got sweaty. The kids decided they wanted me to join them for the pictures. I had to apologize to Jasmine for the sweat after she put her hand on my shoulder, which caused her to start laughing kind of hard. That told me she had noticed before I said anything. Seriously, look at my back and sleeves in these pictures.
It took a while to see Aladdin and Jasmine, so we only had like ten minutes to get from Morocco to Mexico for our dinner reservations. [Editor's Note: Sarah and I weren't too far up in the line because we may have gotten tied up watching some show with Michael Jackson in it…] Of course right when we start walking, Will announces that he needs to go to the potty immediately. So I picked him up and jogged ahead to the nearest bathroom. After that, I carried him and jogged to catch up to Sarah, Jenna, and Cate. I got to them right around Norway (right before Mexico) and figured that I was already sweaty and ridiculous, so I just kept jogging to the restaurant. Anyway, it was nice to sit in some AC and eat a really good dinner.
After dinner, we rode the Three Caballeros ride a few more times and then the kids and Aunt Sarah went back to the hotel. Jenna and I walked over to ride Soarin' again on the Fastpasses I pulled earlier. We then walked around the World Showcase and enjoyed the Food and Wine Festival that was going on while we were there. I really enjoyed seeing the different countries and walking from place to place (It was also a nice distraction from the fact that this was the night that Baylor was beating the snot out of OU. Baylor!!! Seriously, what world are we living in?). We were able to get a pretty good angle in Italy for a nice picture of the two of us before catching Illuminations (the Epcot fireworks show in the middle of the World Showcase lagoon). I was surprised by how crowded certain viewing areas got for Illuminations, but we found a cozy little spot and enjoyed the show. At that point, the park closed and it was time for Jenna and I to catch the monorail back to the hotel. On the way out, Jenna got a good shot of the iconic Epcot spot (Spaceship Earth).
Day 4 was in the books. We had one more to go…
Oh yeah, Happy New Year, Merry Christmas, and all that stuff.
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