Disney 2013, Day 10: Winterland Mini Golfing and Downtown Disney

The day began bright and early when Nana and the kids headed to the airport on their way home.  This shirt on Daniel is great!!  Daniel was amazing the entire trip and I loved sharing this week with him and getting to know him better!  When are you headed back buddy?  °o°
It was hard to say good bye to everyone but we built so many wonderful memories together that we will talk and laugh about for years to come!!
We headed to Art of Animation to share breakfast and then visit the ‘Cars’ area of the resort.  As we crossed the bridge between Pop Century and Art of Animation we saw some people feeding what we thought we the fish, from the bridge.  You can imagine our surprise when this was what we saw!  It’s hard to get perspective but these turtles had shells 18 – 24” across!!

We picked up breakfast and then I went to fill our mugs.  This was what I returned to.  My little love had taken it upon herself to split up the breakfast on to two plates and had is ready for us right down to the syrup poured on to our French toast.  So sweet and…so grown up! 
After eating we wandered around the Cars area.  The theming at this resort is outstanding!  Meeting Mater for her buddy Ben! 

After this I was excited to take Hannah to try something new for her:  mini golfing!  We went to Winterland which is at Blizzard Beach.  What a great time we had!
I tried to show Hannah how to hold her club but my independent Miss wanted to do it her own way.  I’m sure she got par on this shot, aren’t you?!

After mini golfing we went back to Art of Animation where we met up with my cousin and her 6 kiddos who had just arrived to begin their Disney trip!  Bridget and I enjoyed a Disney trip together in 2008 and when we were there we talked about how much fun it would be to someday be here with all our kids together.  This was that day!!  Her parents Uncle Tim and Aunt Chris were also there.  Love it!!  Have a GREAT trip!!
After visiting with Bridget and her family for a while Hannah and I headed out to do some last minute souvenir shopping, a visit at Goofy’s Candy Store and then sadly back to the room to pack. 
Hannah is not partial when it comes to Cinderella.  She loves every form of her favourite princess!
A cast member within the Wonderful World of Disney store was making buttons and asked Hannah what she was celebrating.  We mentioned she is starting school soon so they made her an ‘I’m celebrating going to school button’ that she wore with pride and wants to wear the first day of school too.
On a previous visit Hannah had been Pixie Dusted by at Fairy Godmother in Training and now she likes to go there each visit to be dusted again.  So sweet!

All too soon we headed back to our resort where Hannah snuggled in for the night and Mommy packed.  We woke early at 3:30 the next morning and waited for our Magical Express to take us back to the airport.  Hannah did really well and was her normal, chipper self.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, HANNAH IS AMAZING!!!
Our driver invited her to sit in his seat.
Hannah did great at the airport and this was my sweetie before we even left the gate.  You know that Mommy wasn’t far behind!
Hannah, I love you very, very much and our Disney trips are such awesome times together!  Precious moments.  Precious memories!!
Until next time baby….only 78 more sleeps until we’re back with Grandma and Grandpa, Nana and Papa!!

Disney 2013, Day 9, Part II: Magic Kingdom

Hannah and I tried a new restaurant for supper and not only was the food good but we had a lot of fun too!  When I was looking for a new table service restaurant my cousin Bridget recommended, ‘Whispering Canyon’  at Wilderness Lodge.  It was a great choice for us and a fun way to end our dining experiences this trip.
The servers are wonderful and each family experiences and entertaining meal with fun but not embarrassment.  We’re into having fun but not at someone’s expense.  Just not our family’s style.  They provided activities for the children before the restaurant opened.  Colouring in the lobby.
Enjoying her glowing drink.  A special treat for our final dinner.
Hannah and I shared a meal that was a sample of a variety of meats and veggies.  Delicious!  At one point Hannah watched the fun of tables around us and whispered to me, ‘Mommy, I want ketchup.’  Heh!  The next time our waitress came over she mentioned it to her and this is what happened!

GG was a huge ketchup fan.  He would have loved this!!  We had the ketchup on our table until the next table across the restaurant called for it and then Hannah and the kiddos at the table beside ours delivered it over to them.  Fun!!
At this point it was 6:30 and we’d been going strong since 8am.  I thought maybe we’d make it an early night and head back to our resort for a swim.  Can you tell I was the only one who thought this was a good plan?
So…..we boarded a boat behind Wilderness Lodge and headed over to the Magic Kingdom.  Once again, my girl had the right idea and we were in for an evening of fun, laughter and memory building together.
A final view of Main Street through the castle.  Sad that our annual passes were expiring but already looking forward to our next visit.
See you soon Magic Kingdom….

Disney 2013, Day 9, Part I: Epcot

All too quickly our final day of fun at the parks was upon us.  I had purchased Annual Passes for Hannah and I on the first day of our trip in 2012 and now at midnight tonight those would expire.  365 days of fun and for us, we’ve got our moneys worth for sure!  Purchasing APs is not for everyone and in years to come it probably won’t be cost effective for us either but now while she’s young and we visit Disney at least twice a year, they are the best answer and we’ve enjoyed having them!
Our day began with breakfast at Chef Mickey’s.  This character meal is special to me as it reminds me of the very first time Hannah met Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto back in April of 2010 when she was just 13 months old!
2010 @ 13 months old
2013

Kisses from Minnie and spotting Donald

I love this picture of Hannah and Nana sharing a special moment!

Nana and Josh scanning their MagicBands.  Lurved these!!  Do you have any questions about the MagicBands?  I’d be happy to answer any you might have.  We’re super excited about this improvement to our Disney vacations!
Check out the awesome car they created for their Test Track ride!
The Figment ride is a favourite of Hannah’s and then she mailed her Figment home to Grandpa and Grandma.
I was able to capture a little bit of Hannah’s excitement as she enjoyed Soarin’.  I love how she experiences this ride and all rides with her entire being!  Oh the innocence and fun of children!

We stopped at the Canada Pavilion and took some pictures together.  Tor had chosen to spend the day at the resort so unfortunately she was missing at this point.
Daniel and his ‘Grandma Sid’  (LOL!  Sharon had many names that week depending on which kiddo was calling her!  She was Grandma Sid, Grandma and Nana as she shares special relationships with each of the kiddos!)
Josh and Grandma
Precious friends!  Love you friend!  Let’s do this again in November, okay? 
Mommy and her amazing, wonderful, precious girl!
Sadly…all good things must come to an end.  Shortly after this our two groups went our separate ways as Hannah and I headed for a supper reservation and the others went back to the resort to pack for an early Sunday am departure.
We love you Nana, Daniel, Tor and Josh!  We had a great time sharing this vacation with you and all the wonderful memories we created together!!!

Disney 2013, Day 8: Animal Kingdom

Friday was our day at Animal Kingdom (AK).  Hannah hopped up on Nana’s lap to enjoy an early ride and we were on her way.  Oh how I love to see the love between Hannah and her Nana!!
Our first stop was the food court at our resort for some brekkie and then we made our way to AK.  We had a FP+ for The Lion King which is a great show.  For the 3rd year in a row Hannah was chosen to participate in the show.  (2012, 2011) I think it helps that as soon as they begin looking for little ones to help them she’s bouncing on my lap and her little arm is flying in the air.

Tor, Josh and I rode Expedition Everest.  A great roller coaster that I can see Hannah being ready to ride in the next couple of years.  Disney brings out the kid in all of us.
My camera was acting up again so I missed pics on Kilimanjaro Safaris and The Nemo Show but then it was up and running again.  Thankful for that!
Bubbles, bubbles everywhere!!
Digging for dinosaur bones as we ride out today’s storm.
Meeting special friends at AK.
Hannah’s new little friend.  I’d tell you her name but she changes it daily.   
Another amazing day together!
From AK we made our way to Downtown Disney for supper at Wolfgang Puck’s Cafe, a bit of shopping and pre-bedtime splash pad fun.  This is why I always carry a ziploc of dry clothes with us when we’re at Disney.

Disney 2013, Day 7 (Part II): Magic Kingdom

Thursday evening we met at The Grand Floridian Resort to dine with Cinderella at 1900 Park Fare.
This is one of our favourite places to eat and we enjoyed another super dinner.

Lady Tremaine
Anastasia
Drizella
Bec, look who we found!!  BOB!!!
Bob was a character handler when my niece Rebecca first went to Disney and he was instrumental in helping her learn to enjoy the characters.  We saw him on 3 different trips and then hadn’t seen him in years.  It was fun to bump into him at supper this night and took a picture with him with Tor (after I dragged her over ).  Here he is with Bec and Tor when we were here back in 2008!
After supper Sharon and the kids headed back to the resort for a swim and earlier night and I thought we might do the same.  Not my party girl!  I asked her if she wanted to do that and she gave me a big, ‘Nope!  Let’s go back to the Magic Kingdom!’  So…that’s what we did!
(In the meantime we stopped in at the store in the Grand Floridian.  As we looked around I heard, ‘Catherine?  Hannah?’  It was a treat to meet a long time blog reader whom I’d never met before and her family too!  Hi Theresa!  It was wonderful to meet you!!)
Once back in the MK we made our way past the crowds waiting for the Main Street Electrical Parade and headed to Fantasyland.  We rode Small World where Hannah pretended to nap.
From there we were able to walk on to the Carousel, Mickey’s PhilharMagic, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Goofy’s Barnstormer and Dumbo, all without waiting for a moment!  After the week of busy crowds this was a treat!
I told Hannah I wanted to go on Goofy’s Barnstormer one last time because the fireworks were about to start and I thought they would be neat to see from there.  The girls running the ride remembered Hannah and welcomed her back.  We went around once and when we got back nobody was there so we went again….and again….and AGAIN!  How many times you ask??
Yup!  10 times!

Needless to say, once we got off the ride around 10:30 Hannah crashed within moments!  Sweet Disney dreams baby girl!