The Princess and the Frog

While C and Daddy went to the Star Wars Concert, K girl and I went to see the new Disney movie--The Princess and the Frog. Very cute story line, but I really didn't like the movie. I felt it should have been rated more than just G. K was actually scared in some parts. What I didn't like was the "bad person" in this movie. Every Princess Disney movie has one. This one was a voodoo doctor that had a voodoo doll and pin, masks that "came to life as shadows," and friends "on the other side" that he talked to. Voodoo magic is very real. I had an "inkling" that there would be some stuff like this in the movie--from the previews, but I wasn't prepared for the amount. There is a lot. In my head, the voodoo aspect stands out more than the story line. But not so for K girl. She talks about the movie, but only the frogs and her dress and her crown and the alligator. I'm thankful for that. I actually don't think we will even buy this one. Very sad. I'm extremely disappointed in Disney. They could have taken a very cute story line and made a very cute movie.

Back to Disney!

I wish we were actually going back, but actually I have one last post. I forgot that I was going to blog about C's favorite souvenir.

Saturday morning before we left for the airport, Daddy and C went back to Hollywood Studios specifically for C to build his very own lightsaber. He actually got to pick out all the components and the color and if he wanted one or two blades.

It was much bigger than we anticipated. It actually had to be broken down to be packed to come home. Once we got home and put it all together and extended it, IT WAS HUGE! It's actually taller than me! Oh I forgot. It actually lights up--on one side. We think it was supposed to light up on both sides but something got left out when it was built (no fault of our own).
Side note: the benefits of homeschooling--staying in your jammies until dinner time. Aaaaah yeah!

Guess that character!

Donald Duck at Chef Mickey's

Minnie Mouse at Chef Mickey's

Mickey Mouse and Daddy (both are characters)

Pluto (K girl calls him PluDog)

Indiana Jones and Marion

Minnie Mouse (she was a little confused as to where to look)

Eeyore, Pooh, Tigger (Eeyore is such a strange name to spell)

Snow White

Jasmine (from Aladdin)

Cinderella

Aurora (Sleeping Beauty-did you know she had a name?)

Belle (Beauty and the Beast)

Goofy (now he was truly a character; in every sense of the word)

Mickey Mouse

Pocahontas (my kids had no clue who she was)

Flik (from Bug's Life)

Terk (from Tarzan) did you know she's a she?

Disney-Magic Kingdom-Friday

Our last full day of Disney was at Magic Kingdom. There were 2 things that were a MUST for K girl: Cinderella's carousel and Dumbo. I had read that both could be very long waits.

But let me start at the beginning of the day. We got to the Magic Kingdom before it opened which was a good thing. We actually got to see them "open" the Kingdom for the day. The train came into the station and delivered everyone (Mickey, Minnie, and friends). They sang and danced and then declared it officially open. I'm glad we got there when we did even though: #1 we didn't know anything about it and #2 we did have to wait a little.

Magic Kingdom was nicely decorated for fall/harvest. It wasn't scary or creepy or even Halloween-y. We found out later that there was a Halloween party there later that night (by extra ticket purchase only). As we left that night, we saw MANY people in costume.

Now on to the carousel and Dumbo. Ever since we started talking about Disney, K said she wanted to go on Dumbo with Papa. When we finally go there, she changed her mind. Crazy girl. Wishy-washy already. We had no wait for the carousel and only about 20 minutes for Dumbo. Not what I expected, but I'll take it! (I will say it was HOT while waiting for Dumbo)

After those 2 rides we went inside and watched Mickey's PhilharMagic. LOVED IT! It's a 3D movie starring Donald Duck and Mickey's "magic" hat. Once Donald puts it on, chaos begins. Throughout the movie, Donald meets many other Disney characters, disrupting their lives each time. Objects "fly" out at you, smells make the pie seem real, water drops and air make it seem like you are flying. It was so neat to watch the kids try to grab the different things that were coming at us. It was so awesome! It's definitely not to miss.

One of the funniest things we did was to let the kids drive the Indy cars int eh Tomorrowland Speedway. K girl rode with Grandma, C rode with Daddy (he taped the whole thing), and Papa and I each had our own car. I was the last car in line so I got to see it all. The adults did the gas/break and the kids got to "steer" I laughed so hard watching the kids go everywhere, bumping off the guard rail down the middle and then jerking it back. It was great!

We also rode Goofy's Barnstormer roller coaster. Both of the kids got to ride this ride. We actually rode it twice. K loved it! A roller coaster she could ride!

One of the neatest things we watched was the theater presentation at the Hall of Presidents. Each President was introduced. I think C was really intrigued too.
Here are some misc. pictures from Magic Kingdom.

This was at Minnie Mouse's house. She wasn't home but the kids liked looking at all her stuff, especially her kitchen.

We have a picture just like this from our honeymoon, just without a K girl in the background.

C had such fun the entire week trying on hats! Here he is the little green guys from Toy Story.

And here is a pirate! At the Peter Pan store.

The kids being silly at Chef Mickey's which is technically not in Magic Kingdom. But we did go there on Friday.

And here is the man that started it all: Walt Disney and his creation Mickey Mouse (did you know that Mickey's original name was Steamboat Willie?)

And here is our happy little family at the Happiest Place on Earth. I am so ready to go back!

The parade and Wishes fireworks were actually Wednesday but I thought I'd show you a picture of the castle all light up at night. It actually kept changing colors. The parade and fireworks were awesome but pictures didn't turn out so well. We did get some good video though.

For those of you familiar with Magic Kingdom, you know it is divided into 5 sections. We didn't even go into one section: Adventurland. I don't even remember seeing the entrance. In Frontierland we did take C on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It's another roller coaster. He seemed to like it. He did say he was kinda squished; he was between Daddy and I. In Liberty Square we did the Hall of Presidents and took the Liberty Riverboat ride. It was a nice slow, take a break ride. In Fantasyland was Dumbo, the carousel, PhilharMagic, and a Winnie the Pooh ride. In Mickey's Toontown Fair we rode the Barnstormer and walked through Minnie's house (but not Mickey's). In Tomorrowland we drove the Indy cars and did Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (not as cool as the Toy Story ride at Hollywood Studios). At the end of the day, the last thing we did was eat hot dogs at Casey's Corner.

There. My Magic Kingdom post is finally done! I have one more post I want to do: all the characters we saw. Then I AM DONE! I know. You are saying finally too. Almost guys. Almost.

Honestly

I have been trying to finish my Disney blogging. Blogger will NOT let me upload pix. So frustrating! I have been trying for days to get it done! My husband is even frustrated that I haven't blogged in awhile. Loves you, honey!

So let's make this a test post and see if I can get this one - with a pix-- to post.

Craziness.

Disney-Epcot-World Showcase

I absolutely love the World Showcase at Epcot. I wish we would have had more time to spend there. Next time we go, I will make that a priority (and yes, there will be a next time).

Each country has what is called a "KidCot" table. There you can get a "die-cut" that represents that country. I wanted to make sure to get all of them--not so much for the kids--more so for me and whenever I get to scrapbook all this stuff. The kids also got their names written in Chinese and Japanese and we found out that C was born in "the year of the horse" and K "the year of the dog" (appropriate).

Each country has a restaurant and some kind of an attraction. I think we only did one attraction: in Norway we rode the Maelstrom which in an indoor boat ride. Once again--like all week--we were able to walk right in without a wait. Thankfully, K girl was able to ride this. We did watch the American Adventure in the United States Pavilion. It is a show of American history narrated by Mark Twain and Ben Franklin. It's done very well, but packs all of American history into 29 minutes. The show is a combination of action on stage by wax figures and motion-pictures on a huge screen. K slept through the whole thing; C asked questions through the whole thing.

Here are some pictures of each country and what "die-cut" came from each (more for my memory than your interest) Once again Blogger is being ornery; the pictures are in backwards order from what we walked around and saw.


Canada

We didn't spend much time in Canada. It was the end of the day; we were tired; and we wanted to get out of Epcot before the Illuminations started. (We didn't want another late night; there's always next time)

Die cut: Indian something-or-another

United Kingdom

While we were at the KidCot table, we found out that Pooh and friends would be there in a few minutes for pictures/autographs. So we waited (again for only a few minutes) and got to meet Pooh, Eeyore, and Tigger. (I've since found out that if we would've waited til the next character session we would've met Mary Poppins. Shhh. Don't tell my kids) We did get to see Mary Poppin's bag/lamp. Too cute!

Die cut: dragon

France
The kids were impressed with all the Eiffel Towers. Then they had to pose in front of the easel. While we were getting our die cut in France, C mentioned to the guy handing them out that we had friends in France. The guy seemed interested until C mentioned that they were missionaries.
Die cut: hot air balloon

Morocco

Unfortunately we didn't get to see the belly dancers in Morocco. However the architecture was beautiful! I read somewhere that the government of Morocco was heavily involved in the design.

Die cut: decroative hand/glove

Japan

There was an amazing "river" in Japan that was so clear that you could see all the rocks in the bottom so clearly. I'd like to know how they kept it so clear.

Die cut: origami frog:

United States of America

I loved the store that they had here. There was so much history stuff you could buy. We bought a ruler with all the Presidents and their pictures listed on it. (side note: it sat near where C does school for a few days after we got home; within a week or so he had learned 8-10 of their names in order. He has a great memory! Now let's concentrate on 1st grade work!) We also watched the show "American Adventure." While waiting in the lobby for it to start, there were many pictures and quotes to walk around and see. C wanted to make sure that we saw them all. I think he is going to like history like his Daddy.

Die cut: rocking horse (not sure why?)

Italy

Italy was beautiful! It had flowers and fountains and I would have loved to have eaten there!

Die cut: mask




Germany:

Germany had the neatest model train display. I think there were at least 4 trains going around a huge set of tracks. All the houses, animals, people, etc made it look so real! It was really amazing.

Die-cut: teddy bear (not sure why?)

China

China had some beautiful "works" of art--as in china, bonzi trees, clothes, art, knives etc. Everything there was very rich looking. They also had many statues of Buddha, which gave us an oppotunity to tell C what/who he was. A little bit of edcuation (I counted Epcot as a field trip for school).

Die-cut: kite

Norway

The Princess character meal was in the restaurant in Norway. Talk about some good food! The little gnome was at the end of the boat ride. Both the kids insisted they had to have their picture taken with him.

Die-Cut: Viking ship

Mexico

As you enter the Mexican pavilion, there was a lady hand painting wooden animals. They were amazing to look at! Once you entered, the scene was at night with pyramids, a river (I didn't know you could take a boat ride on it), a restaurant, and a shopping plaza--set up to resemble a market in Mexico.

Die cut: I don't remember and I can't find it! So disappointing!