DISNEY DAY 3: Animal Kingdom!

After a great day at Magic Kingdom on Sunday, we went to bed early. On Monday, we headed to Animal Kingdom!

Mommy's Favorite: Reuniting with an old friend!
Daddy's Favorite: Expedition Everest
Maddie's Favorite: Triceratops Spin
Sydney's Favorite: The Boneyard

Animal Kingdom is kind of the forgotten park for most people. It's the newest and a lot of folks don't visit it. However, I love it! It's a lot of fun and is simply beautiful.

                                                                       Some family pics we took walking in.

We started with Triceratops Spin in DinoLand. Maddie LOVED this. It's a pretty simple kiddie ride but she loved lifting our rhino up and down.

I thought Sydney enjoyed it but her face shows that she might be bored. Ha!

My parents took the girls to the Boneyard (a fun playground) while Chris, my sister and I rode Dinosaur.

Zoom in on Mercedes's face. I seriously can't stop laughing.

We had fast passes for the Safari to use next!

Maddie loved finding the animals, Sydney liked the ride!

Sydney poses when she wants to.

A Sydney-Mommy selfie on the Safari.

My parents and sister headed out for an adults-only behind the scenes tour of the park so Chris and I had the afternoon with our monkeys. Before we split though...

This felt right at the time.

Lunch!

If you gave me a spoon, I might try to eat her cheeks. Love her face!

After lunch, we took the girls to the 3D show, It's Tough to be a Bug.

No, she doesn't have to pee. This is her "model" pose. 

 

I've seen that show a ton of times, but never in the eyes of a four year old. Maddie was TERRIFIED. Sydney was already crabby from being tired so we had to sneak out. Funnily enough, we walked out with 3 other families, all with crying kids. I guess the show was a little too scary for our pre-schoolers. 

The girls had an afternoon nap and then we headed to the Finding Nemo show. My friend from high school, Sarah, works in entertainment at Disney. One of her roles is Nemo. I let her know we were coming and she got us VIP passes for the show and a meet and greet with the cast. 

IT was AWESOME!!

Waiting on Nemo to start!

The show was 40 minutes of fun. It kept the girls occupied because it was very bright and colorful with fun music. Chris and I loved seeing our old pal up on stage.

Sydney got a little antsy so I took her shoe off. She then worked on putting it back on for about 10 minutes. 

Meeting the cast after the show.

Sarah and I started dancing together in 6th grade and danced on an All-Star team in high school. We made a few trips together with our dance teams to Disney World, so we came full circle on this day. 

Fun with my foursome.

After the show, we met back up with my parents who watched the girls so Chris and I could ride Everest.

Then, they offered to watch the littles so we could go out to eat just the two of us. Um, yes?! We ran away before they could change their mind.

A beer to toast day 3!

Disney Day 2: MAGIC KINGDOM!

On Sunday Maddie woke up with a small dotted rash on her face, facial petechiae. This was from falling out of the bed and having her panic session. She has gotten this before so I wasn't too worried. Plus, she was acting normal, so off to Magic Kingdom we went!!

Mommy's Favorite: Lunch at Belle's Castle

Daddy's Favorite: Space Mountain

Maddie's Favorite: Tie - Little Mermaid and The Barnstormer

Sydney's Favorite: It's a Small World

Just inside Magic Kingdom, ready to hit the ground running!

The photographer made us do this.

 My mom refused to act ridiculous.

We wasted no time! Maddie met Cinderella!

And Rapunzel!!

My sister cannot ride roller coasters anymore so Chris and I rode Space Mountain with my parents while Cedes hung back with the littles. No wait!

 Someone show this to Chris's clients. 

Maddie on Cinderella's Carousel.

Mommy and Daddy. (and randomly, Tink. Disney added this in.)

Next up was Enchanted Tales with Belle. My sister suggested this and Maddie LOVED it. All of the kids get a part in the play. Maddie, fittingly, was chosen to play the little teacup, Chip.

All of the kids "auditioning" for their roles.

Maddie parading in with the cast.

Waiting for her debut.

 

"Chip" and Belle.

After the show, Maddie got a hug.

Sydney wasn't too sure, but she did blow Belle a kiss.

Then she got a little closer!

 

This was as close as she would go.

We did an early lunch at Belle and the Beast's Castle. This is the newest restaurant at Magic, called Be Our Guest. It's gorgeous!! 

Sydney cheesing. She kills me.

After lunch, we hung out around Fantasy Land.  We rode The Little Mermaid. Maddie loved it so we rode twice!

Waiting in line with tia.

All the girls.

Me and my Sydney. Her face is cracking me up. I don't know if she's suspicious of Disney or doing something in her diaper.

 

That's a little better!

We hit up the brand new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Ride. Maddie was one inch too short. :(

Maddie was big enough, however, for the Barnstormer. SHE LOVED this kiddie coaster.

Cool as a cucumber going up the big hill!

While we rode the roller coaster, daddy pushed Sydney around who fell asleep. 

We let Sydney nap for awhile and grandpa took Maddie up in the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.

Then, Maddie assured us she was NOT going to fall asleep.

Oh.

She fell asleep in line for It's a Small World. We rode it and Sydney was a HUGE fan. She stood on our legs dancing and clapping and smiling. I thought I had a picture, but I can't find it. This was her jam!! Maddie slept through the whole thing. 

What a fun day at Magic Kingdom!