Wordless Wednesday: Coloring

A little coloring while Mommy washes the sheets!! 

Disney 2011 - A Day of Rest!!

Golf, Shopping, and Swimming

Monday

February 14, 2011

I haven't known my dad to go on many vacations and not play at least one round of golf.  He didn't have to twist Danny's arm very hard to play, either.  So after a fun-filled day at Epcot the day before, the guys headed off to play a round of golf and the girls headed to do some playing of their own at the outlet malls.....Happy Valentine's Day to us!!!  Emerson was pretty tired and didn't really want to shop, so towards the end of the excursion, we found a small playground at the outlet and Emerson got out to run around.  I think that's all she needed to perk her up.

We thought Emerson would fall asleep on the way home from the outlet mall but she didn't.  Since the weather was so nice, we headed out to the pool for some swimming in the pool and the hot tub.  Emerson and her daddy, practiced her swimming and relaxed in the hot tub.  

We finished our afternoon adventure with some playtime in the resort arcade.  Emerson and I tried our hand at the car driving game.  I'm not sure I am the best person for Emerson to learn this game from, I've never been very good at it.  After failing miserably at driving a car, we moved to the pool tables.  Another game, I'm not great at but much better than driving the car.  Birdie and Danny decided to show off their "Color of Money" pool skills.  Mimi and I just tried to get the balls in the pockets and not hit the other ones ball.  

It was nice to have a rest day and not feel so rushed to go to a park, plus we needed all the rest we could get, tomorrow would bring the Magic Kingdom!!! 

Disney 2011 - Epcot

So, I'm back to blogging about our Disney trip...it's taken forever and I've gotten sidetracked by other things going on.  But, I finally sat down and tried to get some memories down...

EPCOT

Sunday

February 13, 2011

After our Princess Breakfast in Norway, we headed back toward the center of Epcot.  We were on the hunt to find a few rides for Emerson.  As we were walking through the Test Track Pavilion, we decided to go ahead and get our fastpass for Test Track.  We then headed to the Imagination Pavilion where Danny ran over to get a fastpass for Soarin' and Mimi, Birdie, Emerson and I took in a short street show.  Emerson and I ended up standing in the character line to meet Chip N' Dale.  She had no fear with characters this year...she walked right up and gave them both huge hugs!!!

Since Soarin' was going to be a very long wait, and we didn't think Emerson would be able to ride, we decided to head to The Seas with Nemo and Friends Pavilion to ride the Nemo ride and see the Turtle Talk with Crush show.  We were lucky we didn't have to wait in line for the Nemo ride.  We made our way through the maze to get to the ride, hopped in our "clamobile" and started our journey through Nemo's underwater ride.  At one point, Danny and I heard Emerson exclaiming in the next clamobile over, "Mimi, get me out of here!"  I think she was a bit scared during one of the darker sections of the ride with psychedelic bubbles streaming over our heads.  

At the end of the ride, you are taken through a tunnel with live aquatic life swimming next to and/or above you.  The ride finishes close to the entrance of Turtle Talk with Crush and a small aquarium related to the ride.  We walked around the aquarium and activity center while we waited for the show to begin.  Turtle Talk with Crush was a great show.  Crush talks to all the children and answers their live questions...very interactive and neat to see how this animated creature actually communicates in real time with the kids.

Obviously Disney hides Mickey ears wherever possible!!

This fish loved Emerson's bright pink jacket.  He swam up to her at least 20 times and kept coming back.

After the show, we headed outside and met up with our friend Gretchen and her boyfriend, Doug.  They were spending the day at Epcot just for fun.  Wouldn't it be great to just go to Disney on a whim one day, I guess that's a perk of living in Florida and right down the road from Disney World.  I captured some cute pictures of Emerson while we chatted with Gretchen and Doug.

Emerson was dying to ride another ride, so we headed to Spaceship Earth, because we knew there was no height requirement.  Spaceship Earth is housed in the iconic white Epcot sphere.  It's essentially a ride that takes you up and around the ball teaching you all about the earth, time and space.  There is an interactive computer in each car for you to play with and personalize your ride.

After Spaceship Earth, it was time to redeem our fastpass for Test Track.  Emerson tried her hardest to convince the ticket taker she was 40 inches high.  She stood as tall on her tippy toes as she could, but the ticket taker didn't fall for it and told us she was too small to ride.  What ensued next was the only meltdown of the entire trip.  Emerson was so, so sad she couldn't ride with everyone.  My mom graciously bowed out (she was also afraid of getting sick on the ride) to keep Emerson while my dad, Danny and I rode Test Track.  I absolutely loved test track, so much fun!!  We definitely had to find a ride for Emerson after not being able to ride Test Track.  We headed over to Mexico and met up with Gretchen and Doug to ride the Gran Fiesta Tour.  It's basically a Mexican version of It's a Small World, centered around Mexico City and featuring Donald Duck and his friends.  It's a nice smooth boat ride, so everyone was able to ride.  

After our Mexican adventure, we decided to walk to England and catch the Beatles cover band.  My dad is a HUGE Beatles fan, so he was excited to see them.  Big thanks to Doug for the great suggestion!  We grabbed some fish and chips, and some of the adults grabbed a beer.  Epcot is the only Disney park I know that you can walk around with alcohol in hand.  It was nice to just sit and relax, watch a great band, and eat some yummy fish and chips.  After the band finished, we found the character greeting with Alice in Wonderland.  She had a great British accent, to which Emerson said, "Mommy, she talks different."  Emerson loves Alice in Wonderland, though, and was so happy to take a picture with her.  

Gretchen and Emerson in deep conversation!

Alice in Wonderland!!

After our England romp, we decided we were getting a little tired of walking and decided we didn't want to go through any other countries.  We headed back into Epcot and towards the Imagination Pavilion.  Gretchen said they had a great ride that Emerson would love, with a lot of interactive games at the end.  Journey into Imagination with Figment is a ride that takes you through sensory labs with a dragon named, Figment.  After the journey you can walk through the ImageWorks lab for interactive fun.  Emerson had a great time running, touching, creating, and jumping during all the different activities.  There was a great activity area where you can make a personalized puzzle (for a nominal fee).  Emerson really wanted to have a puzzle with the princesses, so we signed her up and off she went to the "green screen".  I must say the puzzle was really cute and Emerson has become a pro at putting it together.

The final puzzle!!!

By the time we finished the Imagination Pavilion, we were all pretty tired.  We decided to hop on the monorail and ride it around the 14.7 miles of track.  It was nice to just sit for awhile and catch a breather riding around the Disney property.  The monorail takes you through and around several of the Disney resorts.  After our second trip around, we got back off at Epcot and decided to call it a day, but not before Emerson convinced Mimi and Birdie that she needed another souvenir (or two). Mimi and Birdie took Emerson to get some souvenirs, while Danny and I got the car.  We all had a great first day at the parks, as always, it was magical!!!!