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.

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.

Disney World - Day Three

We had breakfast with Marina's grandparents this morning before heading off to Epcot. Marina wanted to wear her Ariel costume. Turns out, it fit in perfectly at our first stop - The Seas. There was no wait for The Finding Nemo ride or Turtle Talk with Crush. Marina loved them both. She also enjoyed looking at all the aquariums throughout the building.

We went into the World Showcase for lunch. We had reservations at Akershus Royal Hall for the Storybook Lunch. As we walked in, she had her picture taken with Belle. Marina ordered ravioli for lunch, it was shaped like Mickey Mouse! As we ate we were visited by Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel and Sleeping Beauty. But I think Marina's favorite part of the lunch was the chocolate mousse for dessert.

We wandered around the World Showcase. While we were there, we met Aladdin and Jasmine in Morocco, Marie the Aristocat and the Beast in France, Mulan in China and Mary Poppins in the UK.


We tried a few rides in Future World. First we tried Spaceship Earth, then Mission: Space. For Mission Space, she was the engineer. Despite being a little nervous, she did her job and even liked the ride. After that, we went back to The Seas. It was Marina's favorite part of Epcot.

By then it was getting late. We split fish and chips in the UK and settled down to watch IllumiNations, the fireworks show. Marina really enjoyed it and she cheered loudly when it was done.

We were both exhausted on our way back to the hotel. It had been a long day.