Disney Trip 2011 Day 2: Disney’s Hollywood Studios

(Sunday, August 28, 2011)  I was awake at 6am, excited about our first day in the parks!  Hannah stirred around 7 and I took full advantage of it by talking with her and asking her if she was ready to go to ‘Mickey Mouse’s House?’  That was all it took and she was awake and ready to go!  She hopped off the bed and ran over to visit with Nana and Bec Bec.

We headed to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and were ready for a day of fun!   As a surprise I had made us matching t-shirts  so we decided to wear them day 1!  Rebecca would have preferred more colour but she humoured Nana and I by wearing it on 2 different days.  Thanks Bec!   

Hannah quickly took on the job of finding our route on the map and you can see that she took her job quite seriously.  ;o)  Each morning she asked for a map and after examining it for a bit would point in the direction we were to go.  it was quite cute!

After securing Fastpasses for  Toy Story Midway Mania we went into Disney’s Art of Animation (DAoA).  We didn’t know what was there so you can imagine our excitement when it was Mickey himself who was waiting for us!!  (Video in prior post)

Personally, I think meeting Mickey first thing is the very best way to start a Disney trip!  Hannah was super excited as she believes that every airplane she sees is on it’s way to ‘Mickey’s House’ and here she was standing right next to him! 

There were other characters inside and outside DAoA and we took time to visit with them too.

Minnie 

Pooh

Leo and Annie

Handy Manny

and for her friend Ben, MATER!  Ben, Hannah gave Mater a big hug for you and he said to say, ‘Hi’ to you!

Throughout the day it was cute to see Hannah hop on Nana’s scooter  occasionally for a little change from walking or sitting in her stroller. 

The weather the entire week was gorgeous with lots of sun each day and a brief downpours most afternoons.  Along with the sun it was hot, hot, hot!  I tell you, Florida in August is not for the faint of heart!  We knew it was going to be hot and dressed accordingly and drank lots of water and had a wonderful time!  I’m not sure what the temps were each day I just know it was 90 – 93o +70 or 80% humidity.  Thankfully we have a lot of humidity in Ontario so we handled it well and we were also thankful for how well Disney air conditioned their buildings so that we could get frequent breaks from the heat. 

Hannah found another way to beat the heat while we were walking down the Streets of America.  This little hydrant was spraying water and although she started by just hanging on the back of it, by the end of her playtime she was pretty wet…and cool!  It didn’t care that she was wet as she dried quickly in the sun.

Throughout the course of the day we visited many attractions and shows that Disney’s Hollywood Studios has to offer:

• Toy Story Midway Mania!  (Here Hannah has donned her 3D glasses,  yes, upside down and is ready to ride and play.  She did great and had lots of fun, even managing to score a few points.   Way to go XiaoFen!!)
• Backlot Tour
• Lights, Motors, Action!  Extreme Stunt Show
• The Great Movie Ride
• MuppetVision 3D
• Beauty and the Beast
• Fantasmic! and,
• Disney Junior Live On Stage

Hannah absolutely adores the Disney Junior TV station and the shows that are on it.  I like it because I know whatever shows are on it are safe for her to watch so if it’s on and I have to leave to room to change a load of laundry or do something else, she’s ok watching whatever is on.    There is a new show at Hollywood Studios that features the characters from the Disney Junior shows and it was great!  It’s geared for little ones and has lots of audience participation and Hannah got right into it!  Here’s a little snippet of the fun my little sweetie had watching her favourite characters in action.

Our first day was a wonderful success and we saw all that we wanted to at the Studios which left us with a free day later in the week.  

It didn’t take long for Hannah to crash for the night (like most nights) so this was a pretty common occurrence.   Hannah sleeping in Bec Bec’s arms while Mommy loaded the stroller and bags onto the bus.  When this happened she was done for the night and would stay asleep during the drive back to the resort, walk home, diaper change and pj change.  Yes, she’s an awesome sleeper!  Thanks for all your help with Hannah Bec!! 

Tomorrow…Epcot, Day 1.

Disney Trip 2011 Day 1: Travel

(Saturday, August 27, 2011)  Our vacation fun began as soon as I finished work on Friday, Aug 26th.  A quick trip to pick up Hannah at daycare and we were off to supper with Mom, Dad and Bec Bec.  We were excited to have Bec Bec staying with us Friday night and our conversations were filled with stories that we remembered from our previous Disney trips.

Saturday we excitedly woke early, ready for the adventures that were before us.  We picked Nana up at 6am and began the 2 1/2 hour drive across the border and to the airport.  Thankfully traffic was great and there as no wait at the border (phew!!) and we even had time to fit in a quick trip to Target before heading to the airport.   A trip to Target is always a good thing!

Our first flight left late in the morning and we made our way to Atlanta, very, very thankful not to be affected by hurricane Irene.  We had a 3 hour layover in GA where we had hoped to meet up with some bloggy friends but unfortunately that didn’t work out this trip.  Hopefully another time.  We enjoyed lunch and then decided to wear out my energizer bunny a bit by walking around the airport and taking a ride on the underground train that moves between terminals.

Our final flight left shortly after 5:00 and we were less than an hour away from Orlando.  Yay!!!  3 excited girls!

When we arrived at the Orlando airport it was a treat to not even have to think about our luggage and instead made our way to Disney’s Magical Express and we were quickly on our way to Pop Century, our resort of choice.  We were located in the 50’s wing in the Tramp building which is Bec Bec’s favourite so that worked out perfectly!

Check-in went smoothly and as we donned our pirate hats we were off to our room and our luggage arrived within minutes of us.  What a treat not to have to fuss with luggage!

  

It had been a long day and after quickly unpacking and preparing Hannah’s diaper bag for our trip to Disney’s Hollywood Studios the following day we were off to bed.  I slept fairly well but was so excited that I was awake my 6am Sunday, ready for our first day in a park!

Two Is A Terrific Age for Disney!!!

We’re home from Disney and had a blast from start to finish!!! 

The fun began early each morning and continued into the evening as we often closed whatever park we were in that day!  Poor Nana.  I had told her we’d probably find time to rest and swim some afternoons but um, yah, that didn’t happen.  There was just too much fun to be had and before we knew it each day was ending and we were still finding things we hadn’t done yet.

I have a ton of great pics and stories to share with you but for now I leave you with this wonderful little video captured within minutes of entering Disney’s Hollywood Studios the very first day we were at Disney!  As you can see, Hannah was more than ready to get up close and personal with the characters and she had a blast meeting each of them and asking for their ‘au-go-graphs!’  Heh, she ran up to Mickey so quickly that he didn’t even see her at first!  Bec Bec helped her out and she was all set to meet her favourite character!!

Before our trip people would occasionally question my judgement in taking Hannah at such a young age.  I’ll agree that if you can only go to Disney once or twice you probably want to wait until your child is older but if you’re able to go more often, two is a GREAT age for Disney!!  It’s all about living in the moment and Hannah lived each moment to the fullest and Mommy soaked in all her excitement, smiles, dances and more!  I can’t wait to share more with you here so that you can see just a snippet of our fun and adventures that we shared together these past 9 days!  More Disney fun to come……

*Disney Trip 2011, Day 4: Animal Kingdom + Kona Cafe

(Tuesday, August 30, 2011)  I’m so thankful that we decided to give Animal Kingdom another try.  Sometimes it’s a park that we seem to struggle with finding enough to do and would wander for long periods of time between rides/shows.  This time we went with no real agenda and we had a great time!
Our normal first ride at AK is Kilimanjaro Safaris and it did not disappoint.  The animals were up and active and it’s always fun to see what ones will come close to the truck.  Our driver was wonderful and we learned lots of new things about the animals. 
During this ride Hannah did something that shocked me!  As we went by one of the unusual animals and the driver pointed it out, Hannah pointed to the display of animals on the ‘animal map’ on the ceiling of the jeep and said, ‘right there Mommy.’ And….she was right!!!

There are about 50 animals displayed on this map and she knew exactly where it was!  Hannah seems to have a real memory for pictures and places and I know this gift will be helpful during her life!  This is the animal we saw.  I can’t remember what it’s called but I think if I ask Hannah she’ll remember!  
One of the rides I’ve longed to go on since it was built was Expedition Everest but it had never worked out.  This trip with Nana allowed me to opportunity to ride as she stayed with the girls and what fun it was!  It’s on my ‘to do’ list again when Hannah gets tall enough to ride it!
We made our way to DinoLand and enjoyed a few of the offerings there.  A ride on Triceratop Spin is similar to Dumbo without the wait.
Next it was on to The Boneyard for some playtime.  Bec Bec was amazing the entire trip and here she happily ran through the playground with Hannah.  That doesn’t sound like much but it was hot, hot, HOT (100oF plus high humidity this day) and the Boneyard is in the  sun so she was a big helper when she offered to go with her.  It was fun but we didn’t stay long as it was just too hot to let the girls run around for long.
Our next stop was a treat for so many reasons.  We went to see ‘Finding Nemo:  The Musical’ and it was AMAZING!!  The immediate bonus was that it was in an air conditioned theatre but aside from that the show is breath-taking!!  It’s hard to describe but it’s a bit of a play but done with huge puppets.  I really can’t describe it but here’s a little snippet of it.

Hannah sat for the entire 40 minute show with her eyes glued on the stage and the action taking place around us.  If you have the opportunity to visit AK please don’t miss this amazing show!!
We slowly wandered (well, some wandered while Hannah hitched a ride and spritzed herself with a water fan) across the park and watched another show, ‘Festival of The Lion King’ which was also great!  Hannah was chosen at one point to take part in the show and at first she did really well!  She went with the gal and stood with her for about 30 seconds before she decided that this wasn’t for her.  The gal was great as she made sure to wave at Hannah a few times after that and came over to wave good-bye at the end of the show.
It’s cute because Hannah talks about the show and about her part and then she says, ‘I want Mommy.  Wahhh!’ and does a little pretend cry.  This is followed by, ‘Next time, I want to walk with shaker’ so she wasn’t traumatized.
The show was followed by some character time.  On days when fans like this could be found all over the park,
I felt bad for the characters!  Thankfully they’re not out for long before they head to the back for a quick snack.
Mrs. Bunny
Donald
and Minnie
At this point Hannah crashed in my arms as we made our way to the bus stop.  I transferred her to Rebecca before we boarded and you can see that this didn’t interrupt her nap in the least!
That night for supper we had reservations at my favourite non-character restaurant, the Kona Cafe located in the Polynesian Resort.  They have a teriyaki steak there that is melt in your mouth delicious!!  For dessert I chose a chocolate fondue that Hannah was only too happy to help me eat!

I guess it’s comes as no surprise that a bath was in order when we returned to the room!

*Disney Trip 2011, Day 3: Epcot, Day I, Part III

(Monday, August 29, 2011 catch-up post)
Epcot, Day I, Part 1                  Epcot, Day 1, Part II
After Hannah’s nap we rode the Nemo Ride and then enjoyed Turtle Talk with Crush.This is the point in the day that I alluded to in the previous post.  About 4 hours after we visited the Character Spot we asked one of the Disney PhotoPass Photographers to take our picture and the evening light was absolutely beautiful.  She took one look at Hannah and said with a smile, ‘I remember you!  You’re the little jumping bean!’  Yes, Hannah’s silliness and excitement made an impression with many.
Check out this sunset!
As we were walking from Future World we came across a splash pad that had Hannah’s name all over it!  Even though it was probably 8:00 or so in the evening it was still hot out and she enjoyed cooling off in the fun fountains.  Around the 28 second mark you can hear Hannah exclaim one of her favourite sayings of the day, ‘Oh man!’  I love how and when she uses this cute little 2 word phrase.

It’s because of wonderful opportunities like this that I pack a spare set of clothes (or 2) for Hannah each day when we’re visiting the parks in the summer.  Sheer joy!!

My princess after a great day at Epcot!
Tomorrow – Animal Kingdom!