The Lion King Has Returned

Marina and I really enjoyed The Lion King when we saw it four years ago. So we were excited to see it again at the when it returned. The first time we saw it we arrived a bit late and missed the opening song “The Circle of Life.” So I made sure we had plenty of time today.

Marina decided she wanted to dress like a cat for the show. She didn’t have any animal print dresses, so we tried a shirt of mine. It worked pretty well with leggings. Then she added her headband with cat ears to complete the look. She also brought her baby Simba toy we got at Disney World.

We were a bit early for the show, so we settled into our seats to wait. A family with kids about Marina’s age were next to us, so she was happy to chat with them.

The show didn’t disappoint us. Marina was particularly interested in the lionesses, especially Nala. She was also fascinated by the puppets used throughout the show.

At the end, we had the opportunity for her to have her picture taken with one of the lionesses. Of course she wanted to do that! The actress loved Marina’s outfit and told her she looked ready to be in the show. I think that was exactly the reaction she wanted.

Frozen Symphony

Marina and I had such a fun time at the Symphony's Halloween Spooktacular concert last year, that we were looking forward to going again this year. We wanted our costumes to coordinate, so I wore my Elsa costume again and Marina dressed as Anna. She wore the beautiful green coronation dress that a friend bought at Disney World for her. I even attempted to recreate the intricate bun Anna had in her hair. Marina hated the process but she was pleased with the result. I finished it off with a white streak, gold sparkles and green ribbons. Marina also brought her baby Anna plush doll as well.

We had a bit of a rush to get from church to the symphony, but we manage with 10 minutes to spare. Our seats were really good this year. We settled in and admired the rest of the costumes we saw.

The concert was very entertaining this year. We were surprised when the conductor came out in a suit - the musicians were all in costume. The first piece was music from the movie Spiderman. When it was nearly over, the conductor opened his shirt to reveal the Spiderman costume underneath. By the end of the music he had completed the transformation. We gave him a loud ovation.

The rest of the music was just as fun. We got to judge the best costumes in the orchestra. We got to participate in the music from Beetlejuice and Ghostbusters. The program ended with the theme from Star Wars, which created excitement with the kids. On the way out, each child was given a bag with candy and other goodies. It was a fun way to spend the afternoon.

Just Keep Swimming

Today's Disney Store activity was Turtle Talk with Krush. We love that attraction at Disney World, so we had to check out the store version. We were a bit early, so we wandered around the store for a while. Marina can always find cool stuff there!

During the Turtle Talk, the kids learned how to talk and swim like Krush. They were each given a Nemo swim mask to wear during the show. At the end, Marina got a Sophia the First button for her lanyard. We're building quite a collection!

We stopped for lunch and since it was a hot day, we headed for the pool. We were a bit early and the pool wasn't pen yet, so Marina played on the nearby playground for a while. Once the pool opened, she was ready. Quickly she made a couple of new friends and they spent all their time in the pool together. Marina also took a few trips down the shark slide.

After a few hours, we headed home. It was a day full of summer fun!

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

After our first experience with archery class, Marina and I were anxious to try it again. We took Archery II today at the wildlife museum. We found out that today at Disney World, Merida had her coronation as the thirteenth Disney Princess. Archery class was the perfect was to celebrate that occasion!

Marina wore a Merida t-shirt today as well as a flowery skirt. She also brought her American Girl doll Julie with us. Since the weather was beautiful, the class was held outside.

We started off with a few practice rounds. Marina still has a tendency to rush, but when she took her time, she did pretty well. My first two arrows almost hit the bullseye. Marina was so excited she insisted on taking a picture of the target.

We learned more about aiming and the targets were moved from 7 yards away to 10. That made it much harder. We got a chance to aim at balloons on the target.Marina was disappointed she didn't pop any of the balloons, but she was happy that she got to pop them after class.

Marina was a bit grumpy, so we had lunch at the museum cafe. Then we went into the Museum. We went through the GPS exhibit first. While figuring out the different stations, Marina met a boy and they helped each other. From there they went together to the animal habitats.They played together for awhile before he and his dad went home. We checked out a couple of other temporary exhibits before heading home. 

Sea You Next Year!

Marina and I went to the New Year's Eve party at the Aquarium today. Marina wore her Ariel costume which is much like the one Ariel wears at Disneyland and Disney World. After all, what would Ariel wear to a New Year's Eve party?

When we arrived, she had a quick hello with the mermaids before we got our dinner. While we ate, there was entertainment. Marina was selected to help the MC with a juggling act. There were games like freeze dance and a limbo contest. Marina did pretty well in both.

Once the entertainment was over, the DJ started to play dance music and all the kids jammed the dance floor. Marina wanted me to join her for a while. I taught her how to do the YMCA arm movements correctly. I'm not sure she believed  that I learned when I was her age!

At the end of the party they had a countdown and balloon drop. Everyone got a glass of sparkling cider for a toast. A huge sheet of bubble wrap was laid on the floor and the kids had a field day stomping on it to the sounds of "Auld Lang Syne."

After the party, we went through the aquarium exhibit. Marina was very disappointed that we missed the last mermaid show. But we still enjoyed seeing our favorite parts of the Aquarium. The stingrays were particularly feisty, so Marina spent longer than usual checking them out.

After an hour, we were both tired, so we headed home for our usual CNN ball dropping party.

Fairy Farewell

Today was our last at Disney World for this trip. Naturally, we spent it at the Magic Kingdom, Marina’s favorite park. Today Marina dressed in her Tinkerbell costume. So we knew we’d be seeing her today.

Once we arrived at the Magic Kingdom, we went to Liberty Square where we had our favorite breakfast, Mickey waffles. We walked around Cinderella’s Castle to Fantasyland. We rode the rides Marina loves there. Marina wanted to move on to Adventureland. On our way we met the Fairy Godmother and Peter Pan. We rode Aladdin’s Magic Carpets, the Jungle Cruise and caught the Enchanted Tiki Room show which had just opened after being refurbished.

I wanted to watch Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Tutorial. Marina was hesitant, but she enjoyed the show once it started. During the show, he picked four children to train in sword fighting. He chose Marina, but she didn’t want to go. So he picked someone else. Later on, he chose more kids to come up to take the pirate oath. He asked Marina, “Are you ready now?” She was happy to go on stage then. She took the oath and got a certificate declaring her a “Pirate Apprentice.” She was quite pleased with that. Once that was over, we stayed in the area and met Angelica, the pirate who said she could train Marina better than Captain Jack. We wanted to ride The Pirates of the Caribbean, but it wasn’t working at that time.

We went back into Fantasyland where we took a final ride on Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh and the Carousel. We went over to Tomorrowland. Marina was still so funny on the Motor Speedway. She yelled at the cars ahead of us, making me think I was in rush hour back home! We rode the Buzz Lightyear ride and even got to meet him. We went back to Adventureland for more rides and we finally got to see Tinkerbell. She had Rosetta with her this time.

We watched the Main Street Electrical Parade one last time and then went to the Theater to say goodbye to Mickey, Minnie and the Princesses. We had hope to have an early evening, but seeing the Princesses took longer than we expected and we ended up staying well after the fireworks. It took quite a while to get back to the hotel. I think we’re both ready to go home now.

Princess in the Animal Kingdom

We met with Grandma and Grandpa to have breakfast this morning. We went to IHOP, one of Marina’s favorites. Once we’d eaten, we waited for the shuttle to take us to Animal Kingdom. Marina dressed as Princess Tiana today. All day, she was greeted as a princess. Some of the cast members even expressed surprise, such as “Your Highness, we didn’t know you would be here today!”

We headed right for the Kilmanjaro Safari in Africa. The line wasn’t long and we all loved it. We got a good look at ostriches today as well as elephants, hippos, wildebeests and giraffes.

We looked around Africa for a short while before heading over to Asia. I’m not sure how, but her grandparents talked Marina into trying the Expedition Everest roller coaster. It was quite a thrilling ride. Marina’s reaction was the same as the Kali River Rapids, “I hated it!”

We went to Dinoland USA and rode the Triceratop Spin (sort of like Dumbo) and Dinosaur (which both Marina and I didn’t like, but Grandma and Grandpa loved it!). We stopped for lunch, watched Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade, then saw the 3D show, ”It’s Tough To Be A Bug!” I thought it might be a bit too much for Marina, but she loved it! It started to rain, so we quickly ducked into Finding Nemo – the Musical. It was as good as we remembered it.

Once that show was over, we walked across the park to Camp Minnie-Mickey. We saw the Festival of the Lion King, which was fun. Then we met a whole bunch of characters as the park closed. We saw Mickey, Minnie and Daisy Duck in their safari gear as well as Terk from Tarzan.


At that point, the Animal Kingdom was closed for the day. Marina and I went over to the Magic kingdom to see Princess Tiana. We had dinner in Liberty Square before getting into line. She was pretty popular that evening, but we enjoyed talking with the attendant and Photo Pass photographer while we waited. The photographer even pulled her aside and took a few pictures, including a “magic shot” of her kissing a frog!

Marina and I were tired, so we headed out. But not before taking a moment to see the princesses at the Main Street Theater. We saw Sleeping Beauty, Belle and Cinderella before going back to the hotel.

Belle of the Ball

This morning we had Grandpa and Grandma meet us at our hotel room. They dropped off a few things and joined us on the shuttle to EPCOT. Marina was excited to see them. She wore her Belle dress because we were having lunch at Akershus Royal Hall and she remembered you see Belle first there. We started our day at The Land building. We got Fast Passes for Soarin’ then went on the Living With the Land ride.

From there, we went to the World Showcase. We stopped to see Duffy the Bear again. Then we went over to Akershus for lunch. Marina was delighted to see Belle was still there. We sat down and ordered our lunch before heading to the appetizer bar. As we ate, Sleeping Beauty came by our table. After she left, they announced a “Princess Parade.” Cinderella came by our table and took Marina by the hand. All the princesses and children marched through the dining room before returning to their tables. It was quite fun for them. During the rest of the meal, we had Snow White, Cinderella and Ariel come by to see us. Marina just loved it!

After lunch, we went on the Maelstrom ride in Norway and the Three Calleberos ride in Mexico. Marina really loved the Three Calleberos, so we went again. We also met up with Donald Duck in Mexico.

We went back to the Land to ride Soarin’, which everyone loved. Then we went to The Seas. First we rode the Finding Nemo ride. Marina and Grandpa really enjoyed looking at the aquariums. We saw the end of a dolphin demonstration. They were quite fun to watch. We all went to see Turtle Talk with Krush where Marina asked Krush how far turtles can swim in one day. We rode Finding Nemo one more time before heading out to Future World. The line for Mission Space was really short, so we rode it twice. (Marina’s grandparents rode the wilder version the second time!) Finally, we went on Spaceship Earth. We were all tired, so we headed back to the hotel early.

Marina and I spent a little while at the hotel pool. She was quite happy to do so. She wasn’t happy when it was time to go to bed. She would have been happy to stay in the pool much longer!

Snow White Adventure

After discovering the Snow White ride, Marina decided to dress as Snow White today. I thought that would be an easy character visit for us, Snow White had been appearing next to City Hall all week. But, as it turned out, she was not appearing in the Magic Kingdom that day. That was disappointing. The Move It, Shake It parade was going on as we walked into the park, so we stopped to watch it for a while. Then we went to Liberty Square for Mickey Mouse waffles.

We did our usual trip through Fantasyland. Naturally, we went on Snow White’s Scary Adventures, plus all her favorites – Mickey’s Philharmagic, the Carousel and It’s a Small World. We also caught most of the Dream Along with Mickey Castle Show. We did a meet and greet with Mickey and Minnie before taking a trip to EPCOT.

Since Snow White was not in the Magic Kingdom, we went to EPCOT to see her. We took the Monorail to EPCOT and then the ferry to Germany. We made a quick stop to see Duffy, the Bear, a new arrival since our last visit. When we got to the German Pavillion, Snow White wasn't at her spot yet. So we had bratwurst and frankfurters for lunch. Very German! Once we were done eating, we found Snow White and had Marina’s picture taken with her. We stopped in Italy for sorbet, then headed back to the Magic Kingdom.

Marina wanted to try Pirates of the Caribbean this time, last year she didn’t even want to get near it. She was not only not scared, but she liked it! (Perhaps the pirate exhibit we saw earlier this year changed her mind about pirates.) We went to Tomorrowland for Buzz Lightyear. We also gave the People Mover and Carousel of Progress a try.

We did our usual visit with the princesses in the Theater before we left. Marina visited with Sleeping Beauty, Belle and Cinderella. She didn’t want to stay for fireworks, but we were able to see them from the ferry. That did get us back to the hotel a bit earlier than usual.

Pocahontas at the Parks

We slept in again today. Three nights of fireworks will make one tired! Today’s first stop was the Animal Kingdom. It was a very hot day. Marina was dressed as Pocahontas, but she wanted a hat. So we picked up one as we entered the park. She also bought herself some binoculars. She certainly looked ready to see some animals. Our first stop was the Kilmanjaro Safari. This year they let Marina sit next to the window. She was happy about that. We got a good look at quite a few animals including hippos, elephants and giraffes. It was as good as we remembered from last year. The train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch was near Africa, so we went ahead and took it. We met with Pocahontas and Jiminy Cricket while we were there.

We were both hungry, so we stopped at the Yak and Yeti and had honey chicken for lunch. We had a hard time finding a place to sit, but a nice newlywed couple from Georgia offered to let us share their table. The food was really good and perked us both up. We headed deeper into Asia and went to the Kali River Rapids ride. It looked like river ride at our local amusement park but, as it turns out, you get much wetter on the Kali River Rapids. Marina was not pleased about how soaked she was. When we talked about the ride, she said, “I hated it!” Then we walked the Maharajah Jungle Trek where we saw a tiger playing in a fountain. She kept roaring. The guide said she was calling to her sisters to come play. We also saw bats, birds and snakes on the Trek.

We decided to Park Hop today and went over to Hollywood Studios. We found out that the unscheduled character visits still happen at the same time, so we were at the right place to see that. Marina got to meet Stitch, Goofy and the Queen of Hearts. But the best part was, Pocahontas and Meeko were there. So Marina had her picture taken with her again. It was fun for all of them.

We went over to the Streets of America to meet Phineas and Ferb. She loves that show and they are new to Hollywood Studios. It was a long wait, but we were entertained by songs from the show while we waited. Lightning McQueen and Mater were just around the corner, so we stopped to see them as well.

After dinner, we watched The Voyage of the Little Mermaid show. Then we went to the stadium to watch Fantasmic. We missed this show last year – it was canceled due to technical difficulties. This year it was delayed by weather, but it finally started. It was an amazing show. Marina loved it – especially since it featured Pocahontas. She definitely wore the right costume today.

Tangled up in the Magic at the Kingdom

After a day at EPCOT, Marina was ready for another day the Magic Kingdom. Today, she dressed as Rapunzel. Shortly after we arrived, we saw the "Move It, Shake It" parade. This year Marina has been more interested in the parades, so we stopped to watch it.

We decided to meet Rapunzel early to get it out of the way. The lines for her are always long. Marina was quite excited to talk to her. She also grilled her on the absence of Flynn Rider. Poor Rapunzel looked a bit uncomfortable.

We headed into Fantasyland to ride Marina's favorites, Prince Charming's Carousel, It's A Small World, Winnie the Pooh. She even agreed to try Snow White's Scary Adventures - and learned it wasn't so scary after all!

Next we went to Adventureland. We rode the Magic Carpets of Aladdin and the Jungle Cruise. We also went over to meet Jasmine - Aladdin was not with her today. Once we'd finished with that, the Celebrate A Dream Come True parade had started. We got a great spot for that because a ton of characters came over to see Marina.

We went back to Adventureland and met Tinkerbell and Vidia, the wind fairy. This was our first time meeting her. Not the nicest fairy ever, but we already knew that.

Tomorrowland was our next stop. Marina loves the Tomorrowland Motor Speedway. I pressed down the gas pedal and Marina steered. The whole way, she shouted "Let's go, people!" to the cars in from of her. We rode the Buzz Lightyear ride and went to the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. This time, Marina was featured onscreen during a "Parade of Princesses."

We went through the Theater to see the Princesses again. Today we met Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine and Cinderella. Then we settled into a spot along Main Street for the Electrical Parade and fireworks. It has been another fun filled day!

Rainy Day at EPCOT

Marina and I slept in a bit, but we got ourselves going for a day at EPCOT. Marina wore her Jasmine costume today. When we arrived, Daisy Duck and Stitch were near the entrance. So we took the time to meet them. Then we went over to The Land - a building we missed completely last year. We got Fast Passes for Soarin', then looked at the Living With the Land and Circle of Life attractions.

The Seas was next for us. We rode the Finding Nemo ride. Then we went to Bruce's Shark World and Turtle Talk With Krush. Marina remembered all of that from last year.

We entered the World Showcase and took the ferry to Morocco so we could meet Aladdin and Jasmine. We had lunch at the boulangerie in France and looked at the model trains in Germany. We went to China to meet Mulan, but before we did that, Marina wanted to change into her Mulan costume. As we waited to meet Mulan, the rain started. We hung around the China pavillion for a while, but Marina wanted to move on. So, we put on our ponchos, and headed out.

We went over to France where we managed to find Sleeping Beauty, Belle and the Beast in the French theater. Then we walked over to the UK where we found Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger in a toy store.

We went back to Future World and rode Soarin' which Marina loved. We learned where we could meet Snow White and Marie the Aristocat despite the rain, so went over to see them. Marina also wanted to see Mickey Mouse again, so we caught him as well as Minnie, Pluto, Donald Duck and Goofy.

By then, it was time for the IllumiNations show. So we watched that before heading back to the hotel. It was another full day.