Zoo Trick or Treat

Ever since Marina was a baby, we have gone to the zoo for their Halloween celebration. We decided to go today. The weather was perfect to be outside.

Marina wore her Yandere Chen costume and I dressed as Daenerys Targaryen. We didn't get started as early as I had hoped, but when we arrived at the zoo we found a parking spot easily. We quickly got into the zoo and Marina started her quest for candy.


We walked from booth to booth collecting candy and other offers. Marina played a few games and tried out some activities along the way. We actually got through the whole zoo very quickly.

After walking through the zoo, Marina wanted to see the "kitties." so we went back and went through the feline house. A tiger was fast asleep right next to the glass. Marina insisted she wanted to hug it.

We found the Pirate cove and decided to wait in line to meet Captain Jack Sparrow and Zarina, the Pirate Fairy. Marina greeted Captain Jack with a hug. Then we made our way to the Fairy Garden, where we were happy to find Tinkerbell, Rosetta and Silvermist. After chatting with them for a few minutes, we explored the rest of the garden.

Marina wanted to visit the bird exhibit. So we took a walk through it. Once we finished that, we decided to head out. The zoo was getting much more crowded and we were tired from all the walking we had done today.

Fairies, Pirates and Mermaids

We had many options to do today. I let Marina decide what we would do. She chose going to the zoo. Today they had fairy, pirate and mermaid meet and greets. It seemed to be an easy decision for her. More difficult was choosing what to wear. Ultimately, she decided to bring several outfits and change for each meet and greet. She started in her Silvermist costume.

I was concerned the zoo would be crowded for these special events, but it wasn’t bad at all. We found a parking space in the garage and headed inside. We started by finding out where the “pirate cove” and “fairy garden” were located. Since Marina was dressed as Silvermist, we headed toward the fairy garden first.

As we walked there, we passed the pirate cove. As we passed, we saw Rosetta and Zarina, the pirate fairy. So we quickly went in to see them. We took some pictures and chatted with them for a few minutes. We learned that Captain Jack Sparrow would be coming soon.

We found the fairy garden and saw Tinkerbell there. Marina talked with her for a while. Then we explored the garden. It was filled with butterflies and doors. Some doors were large and Marina walked through them. Others were tiny and “fairy sized.” At one point, Marina heard some kids on the other side of a large door. They said they were looking for fairies. So Marina hid behind the door and surprised them.

We took a ride on the carousel and then found a place for Marina to change. She put on her Elizabeth Swann costume and we met Captain Jack. At first her called her a princess, but caught himself and called her Elizabeth. When he posed for a picture with her, he said, “Say rum - cheese!”

Marina decided the Elizabeth Swann costume was too hot, so she switched back into her Silvermist dress. We spent some time looking at animals. We started with the big cats. Eventually we sat down for lunch. We found a table near the sea lions. We also could look over where the mermaid meet and greet was scheduled. So as we ate we saw the mermaids arrive. Marina took a few minutes to change into her Ariel costume.

After lunch we went to meet the mermaids. One of them remembered Marina from the Washed Ashore Beach Party a few weeks ago. Since there weren’t many people around, Marina spent a few minutes talking with them.

Once we had taken advantage of all the meet and greet opportunities, we went through the zoo. The sea lions were active, so we stayed at the underwater viewing area for a while. Marina wanted to be sure to see all the wild cats at the zoo, no matter where they were!

When Marina was convinced she had seen all the big cats, she was ready to leave.

Ice Fairies

Marina and I are big fans of the Disney on Ice shows. The show playing this week was Worlds of Fantasy, featuring characters from Cars, The Little Mermaid, Toy Story and the Tinkerbell movies. We invited Marina's friend Ainsley. As it turned out, Ainsley's grandmother, aunt and cousin also joined us which only made it more fun.

Ainsley came over to our house a few hours early so the girls could get ready. Since the Tinkerbell stories were included they decided to dress as Tinkerbell and Silvermist. Both girls wore make up and we finished up the look with lots of glitter - gold for Ainsley and silver for Marina. The girls also brought Marina's Tinkerbell and Silvermist dolls from Disneyland.

We went out to lunch before heading to the arena. We were a bit early so we had time to get cotton candy before the show began.

We had really good seats for the show. Naturally the girls favorite part was the Tinkerbell story. The both really enjoyed helping Ainsley's much younger cousin understand the stories.

 After the show, the girls were in no hurry to leave. We took pictures near the ice and around the arena. Finally we were informed we needed to go so the arena could be prepared for the next show. I think the girls were having so much fun they just didn't want to leave.

Disney World - Day Six

Our day started with a mad rush. Marina had an appointment at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique and the shuttle schedule wasn't at all compatible with the appointment. It didn't help that the shuttle was ten minute late either. We were dropped off at Epcot and we did well making the monorails to the Magic Kingdom. But once we arrived on Main Street, we had to negotiate the crowds who were watching the morning parade. We passed Snow White and the Fairy Godmother who had short lines waiting to see them. But, fortunately, the Boutique was able to fit Marina in half an hour late.

Marina chose to wear her Silvermist costume today. So she chose a fall with black hair. I found it humorous that the dark haired girls were choosing blonde falls and the blondes seemed to want darker hair. As she was getting started, the Fairy Godmother came in to visit. Fairy Godmother in Training Sabina worked on Marina's hair. Later on, Christina helped with make up. I noticed that their names rhyme: Sabina-Christina-Marina.

Once her hair and make up were done, we had her picture taken. I wasn't happy with the first batch, so I made them do another set. I hope the photographer doesn't hate me!

We went into Fantasyland where Marina's favorite rides are. Then we went off to meet the fairies. We had lunch there. A nice young woman at one of the food stands asked Marina for her autograph. It was so cute to see her sign her name in the book!

Since Marina was dressed as Silvermist (and we had managed to get her picture taken with every character she was dressed as, I didn't want to ruin our streak). Unfortunately when we went through, Silvermist wasn't there. We did meet Tinkerbell, Fawn and Terence though.

We finally caught a performance of Story Time with Belle that wasn't rained out. (It was the only show of the day that wasn't.) But it was important since that show will be ending next month, so we won't have another chance to see it again. I wanted to see the entire Castle show, but lightning was visible in the distance and the performance was canceled.

We went into Adventureland to say goodbye to Aladdin and Jasmine. Unfortunately, we missed their last meet and greet by five minutes. Marina was crushed. A cashier in the store next to them offered to take a note to them. Marina wrote, "I love you," on the paper and then signed her name. She added a flower she'd picked for Jasmine. I wish I could have seen them when they got that!

We went over to see Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen again but the rain started. We ducked into the Christmas store for a while. Marina loved looking at the ornaments and I bought one for our tree this year. But we got restless in the store, so we walked over to Toon Town to try to meet Silvermist again. The wait was longer than before but what else were we going to do? By the time we got to the front of the line, we learned that Silvermist wasn't there. The cast member let us wait about 15 minutes until she came. By the time Marina got into the room to meet the fairies, they all knew she was waiting for Silvermist. Tinkerbell even called Marina by name. So fun!
By the time were done with the fairies, the rain had stopped. So we caught the train to Frontierland. Then we went back to Adventureland where we rode the Magic Carpets of Aladdin and the Jungle Cruise. Then we went back for our chance to meet Princess Tiana. She wasn't there but the line was, so we got in it. Good thing because they closed it soon after. Marina had her picture taken with Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen. I asked if I could be in some of the pictures. Prince Naveen offered me his arm. So I was on the arm of a handsome prince while looking out at a castle. Sigh. Does it get any better than this?

We caught the end of the Electrical Parade, then went over to City Hall. We each had one day left on our passes and I wanted to know if we could keep them somehow. The wonderful man at the counter arranged for non expiring passes for our next visit. I left thinking our next visit should be next summer.

We watched the fireworks then made the made rush for the ferry. We were exhausted after nearly 12 hours at the park but I was sad to leave. I watched Cinderella's Castle fade into the distance. I hope we'll see it again soon!

Disney World - Day One

After many months of planning and dreaming, we finally made it to Disney World. As we entered the Magic Kingdom today my eyes misted over. I was as excited to be there as Marina was. It was a rainy day, but it didn't dampen our spirits.

Just after we arrived, a short parade began. Frozone from The Incredibles saw Marina in her Cinderella costume and bowed to her. On the next float were Woody and Jessie from Toy Story. Marina is a big fan of Jessie lately, so she was very excited. It was a fun way to start the day.

We found where Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen appear in Liberty Square. They were on a break but due back soon, so we waited to see them first. Tiana was pleased to hear we were the first stop on our visit to Disney World. She asked Marina who her favorite princess was. Marina answered, "Jasmine!" Tiana was very gracious and even told us where to meet Jasmine and Aladdin in Adventureland.

After hearing this, Marina immediately wanted to go to Agrabah to meet Jasmine and Aladdin. They were not there when we arrived, but we did ride the Magic Carpets of Aladdin while we were there.We happened to see Ariel and Prince Eric, so we decide to meet them. Ariel twirled around with Marina while Eric spoke very kindly to her. She was enchanted with them.

We left Adventureland and headed for a very important date at Cinderella's Castle. We had lunch with the princesses. We started out by meeting Cinderella and having a picture with her. Marina had worn her Cinderella dress for the occasion. We had a lovely table near a window overlooking Fantasyland. The food was wonderful and so was the service. Best of all, during the meal, we had visits from four more princesses: Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel and Belle.

After lunch, Marina was anxious to meet Jasmine, so we went back to Agrabah. This time we managed to meet them. They spent a while talking to Marina and she even showed them her loose tooth. Aladdin said he thought it would fall out tonight. I didn't think that was likely since it has been loose for weeks.

We went back to Fantasyland and rode some of the rides. Many of Marina's favorites are there: the Carousel, Dumbo, the Teacups. She was happy to ride them all again.

Then we wandered into Toon Town. We toured Minnie's country house as well as Mickey's. We went to the Toon Town Hall of Fame where we went to meet the fairies. We got to see Tinkerbell, Silvermist and Rosetta. Marina told them she wanted to be a water fairy like Silvermist. She even got a lesson on how to put dewdrops on spider webs.
We briefly visited Tomorrowland before having dinner. We'd had a very full day, so we left after dinner. I was amazed at how much we covered today.

Disneyland - Day Two

After yesterday, I expected Marina to be worn out, but she was ready to go to Disneyland again. She dressed as Snow White today. We started Day Two, much like Day One. We got on the train and went to Fantasyland. The line at the Disney Princess Faire was short and we found out that Jasmine and Mulan were visiting. Since Marina calls Mulan her "sister" we had to meet her! Unfortunately, after a half hour wait, Mulan was not there. We did meet Jasmine (who was gorgeous), Ariel and Belle. We also saw Tyler, the page. He had helped Belle remember that she had already met Marina yesterday. Marina was disappointed at not meeting Mulan. She actually cried. So I suggested we see Mulan in "It's a Small World." That perked her up.


We looked into Toon Town next. We visited the houses of Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Marina was excited to meet each one of them. We checked out the homes of Donald Duck and Goofy as well. Toon Town had a small roller coaster, so we tried that out. Marina didn't like it. That told me some of the wilder rides were out of the question on this trip! After lunch we ran into Pluto, who licked her, and Goofy, who twirled her around a few times then bowed to her. When he did, he hit her on the head with his hat. She got a bit fussy, so I decided it was time for lunch.


Since Toon Town hadn't been a big hit, we headed back to Fantasyland. We tried out the Alice in Wonderland ride (which she didn't like) and the Teacups (which she loved). We also found Pixie Hollow where we got to meet Tinkerbell and her friend Silvermist (Marina knew who she was, I didn't). In the Pixie Hollow gift shop, Marina had a complete meltdown until I let her buy a Tinkerbell doll. Aunt Ann had given her some money to spend on our trip, so I let her use that.


We were both tired, so we went back to the hotel for a while. After lying down for a while and having a snack, we went back to Disneyland. This time, we checked out Adventureland. We started at the Enchanted Tiki Room. I had no idea what we were in for, but we both enjoyed it. I was unsure how Marina would react to the Jungle Cruise, but she seemed to like it. We took a ride on the Mark Twain steam boat. That might have been the dullest 15 minutes I've spent at an amusement park.

After watching a bit of the Celebration Parade, we went back to Fantasyland. We got our first chance to try the Dumbo ride. I let her take the control which she had fun with. Marina didn't want to ride the Storybook Boats because it starts by going into a whale's mouth. But once we were past that part, she loved it. Fantasyland started to shut down for the fireworks, so we found a spot to watch them from with a pretzel to watch. We couldn't see the fireworks well, but we could see Tinkerbell fly over Sleeping Beauty's castle. That was cool.

It took a while to get back to the hotel. Marina fell asleep quickly once we did. We did so much today, it's hard to imagine what we'll do tomorrow.