Thanksgiving Feast

We went to Grandma's house for Thanksgiving this year. Marina got dressed up for the day and even Julie wore a new dress. We were the first to arrive and Marina soon settled in front of their computer to play games (they have a larger monitor and faster connection!). As more family arrived, Marina was thrilled to see them, especially Uncle Andrew, Uncle Brian and Emily.

At dinner time, she surprised me with her food choices. She wanted the turkey drumstick, but white meat as well. She was also excited about stuffing and mashed potatoes, which she had not eaten much of in previous years. I also convinced her to try the sweet potatoes which she loved! Despite a very full plate, Marina cleared most of it. She even ate the whole drumstick!

We had a little break before the pumpkin pie. Marina ate all that too. Late in the evening when it was time to leave, she didn't want to go. She was having too much fun!

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!

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.

Disney World - Day Two

Today's plan was to see the Animal Kingdom. We were fortunate that Marina's grandparents were able to drive up from the Miami area to join us today. Marina hadn't see them in two years, so they made the day extra special.

Marina wore her Pocahontas costume today. People called her "Princess" and "Pocahontas" all day long. She loved telling everyone it was just a costume and she wasn't the real Pocahontas.

We started off in Africa with some breakfast. There weren't many places to sit, but Marina found a spot for herself and Grandma.

The safari had a short wait, so we went on that first. Marina was disappointed she wasn't allowed to sit near the window, but she really liked looking at the animals. She got especially excited to see the giraffes and the baby elephant. We went on a jungle trek after that. Grandma and grandpa got a chance to tell her about the animals they know about.

We were all really hot, so we took the Wilderness Train to Rafiki's Planet Watch which was air conditioned. There we go a chance to meet Pocahontas. Marina was excited about that. The cast member with Pocahontas acted confused that there were two Pocahontases. Marina did her best to explain it. We also met Rafiki (who played hide and seek with Marina) and Jiminy Cricket.


We had lunch and then went to Camp Mickie-Minnie to see The Festival of the Lion King. It was a wonderful show of music from the movie and acrobatics. We all enjoyed it.

By then, Marina was wanting to ride some rides. So, we headed to Dinoland USA. We all tried out the TriceraSpin. It was much like the Dumbo ride at the Magic Kingdom. She loved it. We also rode the Dinosaur ride. It was much more intense than I had expected. Marina didn't like it at all. There weren't many more rides, but Marina got her face painted and she was happy with that.

We went to see Finding Nemo - the Musical. It was a great show that we all loved. The puppets were very clever and the effects impressive. Once the show was over, Marina's grandparents decided to go back to the hotel. Marina wanted to stay a little while longer. As we were eating dinner it started to rain. We ducked into a store until it lightened up. Then we went back to Camp Mickie-Minnie. The line to meet Mickey and Minnie Mouse was not long, so we got to see them in their safari gear. There was no line for Goofy and Donald Duck, so we stopped to see them as well.

The park was getting ready to close, so we left. Marina wanted to go swimming when we got to the hotel. She's loved having a pool at the hotel.