Disney Day 5 - Final Day - Magic Kingdom & Castle Breakfast

We had to wake up really early to head to the castle for breakfast. Kaylea was a tropper on very little sleep. We headed to check our luggage and hopped on the bus to Magic Kingdom. Let me say, it is difficult to make an 8:05 reservation when the park opens at 8am. We waited in line and kept talking about looking for "Gus." We never did see him :) Kaylea had picture taken with Cinderella. We then headed up the staircase for breakfast. Breakfast was nice and it was a nice experience to do once, but I don't think I would pay that amount of money again for the experience. Kaylea did not have a choice on her food, so she basically ate the scrambled eggs and pieces of a muffin. My breakfast was decent, but extremely small. We did get to meet Princess Jasmine, which she really enjoyed. We spent the next few hours at the park. We enjoyed our FastPasses on Peter Pan, Goofy's roller coaster, and the highlight, meeting Elsa & Anna. Kaylea loved doing this. The regular wait was 300 minutes at its peak! We also did storytime with Belle where Kaylea got to play the role of the tea cup. She had fun with that. We headed back to the hotel a little early so we wouldn't miss our bus. Kaylea had a caricarture made. She is in an Elsa dress. It is pretty cute. We enjoyed our last dining plan meal and watched some TV before heading to the airport to go home! We were both excited to get home and see daddy and tell him about our trip.

Disney Day 4 - Hollywood Studios & Magic Kingdom

We got up early on Wednesday and headed to Hollywood Studios for extra magic hours.  We were able to catch 2 rides before going to breakfast at Hollywood & Vine. Kaylea didn't want to wear the 3D glasses on rides at first, but she ended up loving it.  Kaylea got to meet some Disney characters you normally don't see out and about.

After a half day of rides (Kaylea liked Honey I Shrunk the Kids & Disney Jr. the best) Kaylea wanted some downtime.  We went back to the hotel where she colored and watched TV.  We headed to the pool for a couple of hours before they closed it down for unscheduled maintenance.  

We decided this was a great time to head to Magic Kingdom.  Kaylea fell asleep on the bus.  It took awhile to wake her up, but once I did, she didn't want to quit riding.  It was hard to say no because there were no lines at night.  We rode and rode and laughed and laughed. 

I planned to have us in bed by 10pm, but we didn't leave the park until nearly 11pm!  It was definitely worth it.

Disney Day 3 - Typhoon Lagoon/Epcot

Tuesday morning, we slept in.  We needed it.  The rest of the week was packed with early mornings (I would never do this again).  We slept past nine and took our time getting out to the parks.  We started with Typhoon Lagoon.  We spent about 2 hours there.  In hindsight, I probably should have let Kaylea spend the entire day there.  She loves the water.  I don't.  If daddy would have been with us, we probably would have made this an all day event.

We went back to the room and got ready before heading to Epcot for the night.  We rode rides.  Kaylea's favorite was the test track.  She has a need for speed, but does not really like rides that are in the dark, so this was perfect.  We rode Nemo twice.  It was a fun night and we practically closed down the park.

After riding some rides, we headed to Germany for a princess dinner at Akerhaus.  The experience was great - the food was not so good!  Kaylea got to meet several princess and took home a photo of her and Belle.  

I promised her we could swim in the evening (she saw some people swimming in the dark and thought it was cool) so we headed back to the hotel for more swim time.  

What's in Your Backpack?

What's in Your Backpack? 

by Dr. Jean Feldman 

What's in your backpack? 

It's empty today. 

Where's your work? 

Did you just play? 

When I built with blocks

I learned about shapes. 

I balanced and shared 

Our skyscraper was great! 

I played in the windy house 

And talked with my friends. 

I rocked a baby 

And played pretend. 

In science I observed, 

Guesses & experimented, too. 

The same thing 

grown up Scientists do. 

Art was messy. 

I created and explored. 

I solved my own problem 

When I spilled glue on the floor. 

My fingers got a work out 

With puzzles and clay 

Those same muscles 

Will help me write one day. 

I counted and sorted 

And measured, too. 

I used my brain 

Like a math whiz would do!

Out on the playground 

I ran like the wind. 

I learned to take turns 

And helped a hurt friend.

Story time is what I always like best. 

I can use my imagination 

And give my body a rest. 

I sang and danced - Learned a finger play, too. 

I answered questions and said, "Please" and "Thank You." 

There will be a time For worksheets and tests, 

But talking and playing

Is how I learn best. 

I love to go to school.

I'm glad I'm me. 

An empty backpack 

Means I'm learning, you see!

MLP (and another week away)

I have spent the past week in Potomac, Maryland in a class called Managerial Leadership Program. It is basically a program for mid-level managers to improve their leadership skills. I have a traveled a lot this year. While this has been the most insightful training, I am sure missing my family back at home. Mrs. Connelly sent me these pictures of Kaylea this week. It sure felt good to see these. It's extra hard because I'm missing the end of the year program on Friday. Kaylea has been signing a lot of the songs for me, but she has been excited to tell me that she is playing the lost sheep in a skit. When I get back Friday night, I basically have Saturday home and then I'm surprising Kaylea with a trip to Disney World - just the two of us! She has no idea it is coming and I can't wait until she finds out!

Disney - Day 2 (Animal Kingdom)

I ended up getting a last minute reservation to Chef Mickey.  We had been there in the past so I knew it was a good one to get.  Kaylea absolutely loved meeting the characters.  We stopped before eating breakfast and got an autograph book and pen so she could get all of the characters to sign.  I plan to print the pictures this week so we can complete her book.

After breakfast we headed to Downtown Disney where we spent some time playing at the Lego store before going to the Biddie Boppidy Boutique.  Kaylea absolutely loved this.  She talked about it a lot after it was done.  It was super sweet (and super expensive) and so worth it!

After looking like a princess for the day we headed to Animal Kingdom for a few hours.  Kaylea feel asleep on the bus and I had to wake her up when we got there.  The cat nap seemed to help her get through the day.  We rode some rides at Animal Kingdom, including the safari ride before having dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe.

After our adventures of the day we headed back to the hotel relatively early for some time at the resort pool.  Kaylea loves to swim.  I swam with her for awhile and played and then she made a friend in the pool and swam for awhile longer.  She had a great night.  We were both asleep by 10 and looking forward to sleeping in the next morning.