Disney: Is it Thursday Already?

Today is the first day we are completely splitting up. No need to make everyone wait in lint to see Rapunzel, right? The girls and I headed to Magic Kingdom via water taxi and Steve set off for Animal Kingdom with the boys. I knew I had to give daddy specific plans otherwise they would just lounge around all day.

Considering MK opened at 8:00am for resort guests I was surprised to find our wait for Rapunzel to be under 2 hours. She greets her first guests at 9:15 but early risers formed a line when the gates opened this morning. The cast members securing the queue could not have been any nicer really and the other guests kept an eye on things while we grabbed a snack.

When it was our turn to file into Storybook Garden we were first in line when Rapunzel reappeared from her quick break. It made the wait all worth it. It amazes me how Grace and Caroline can easily wait a couple hrs to see a princess or character. I would love to have the drive and imagination to see things again the way children do.

All done with Rapunzel, it is time to catch the bus to Animal Kingdom. Disney does transportation well but sometimes, this time, the drop off point for the bus seemed to be at the back of the parking lot. This makes me very happy we stuck with our decision to rent a car. I am exhausted after walking the parks, the last thing any of want to do walk additional steps to wait in a line to board transportation.

For the first time this vacation I was able to sneak into a photo, how nice of that girl to offer her assistance. Steve and the boys had been in DinoLand killing time until we arrived so we all b-lined for the Safari to get in at least once attraction before moving onto Hollywood Studios for lunch. Thank goodness it is mating season for the giraffes, they are VERY active.

It ended up a full day at Hollywood Studios. Character lunch at Hollywood and Vine, Parade, shopping, Toy Story Mania a couple times, Muppets, Phineas and Ferb, Little Mermaid. There was something for everyone today.

At lunch Caroline only dropped her buffet filled plate once and Grace threw herself down maybe 3 times. The chef wasn't quick in coming out to the table and we were almost done eating by the time Mitchell got his food. The characters were great but the girl who was dancing & singing was really loud and the whole experience was extremely overstimulating for everyone. On the plus side, we didn't need to stand in line to get a spot at Disney Jr Live on Stage since we saw Handy Manny, Oso & Jake here.

Thea afternoon parade ended just in time for the afternoon rain the begin. Perfect weather for shopping and be inside at shows. Steve and I had forgotten how funny the old guys in the balcony were on The Muppets and all the kids love 3-D shows. Not wanting to overuse our "Mitchell Pass" and cut ahead of too many people we limited our Toy Story Mania to 2 tours. Then, Steven was very hesitant about sitting through Voyage of the Little Mermaid but I assured it was more a show than a princess story and it did not disappoint. There was even a little boy sitting back in the handicap section with us who clearly had issues similar to Mitchell. He kept talking to Caroline and the mom ended up switching spots with him so he wouldn't bother her. Of course I couldn't say anything to her because that would lead to tears at Disney, which are not allowed, I assumed it was obvious they were alike but maybe only in my mind.

Phineas and Ferb were a great distraction in the afternoon. Once again, we wait in line only to have them go on break, but we were first in line as they emerged for photo ops. Grace still talks about Ferb taking her Baby Minnie and doing rock-a-bye-baby. Quite the characters they are. We ended the night in the food court and transferred sleeping children to their beds upon return to our cabin. Doesn't get much better than this.