Trip Report Disney Easter Eggcellent Adventure

Hello everyone. Just got back from our journey into the bubble and thought I would try my hand at a trip report so bear with me.

Who - DW, Miss E (23 months old now), and myself, this is from our last trip in June 2017

Why - Originally planned a trip over 4th of July, but we are expecting another Disney Prince or Princess in August so pushed the trip up over my wife's spring break (special education teacher) and benefited with one more free flight for Miss E.

Where - Staying at Wilderness Lodge Copper Creek Deluxe Studio. Try to pick a place that allows easy transportation back for a nap and usually after the nap will always go to Magic Kingdom so shorter the distance the better.

Saturday March 31, 2018
Had a 9am flight out of Chicago Midway, so finished packing and then got the little one ready and off we went. The airport was a little busy, but expected since day before Easter and the line for Southwest Full Service Check In was a little slow going since E was still a lap seat but passed our time looking at all the dogs that were now at the airport. Right before our first trip to Disney World with E we purchased the TSA Pre Check since it will be worth the cost alone for any trips through Orlando, so we were through security in a breeze and arrived at the gate. We had time before the flight so walked around area with E and found a nice balloon set up for Easter/Spring and E was more than happy to take a picture and then proceed to try to walk off with some of the balloons.

Miss E is waiting patiently for the flight and enjoying some blackberries.

Flight was uneventful for the most part; the landing was not kind to my DW who fell a little ill (I think a combo of the pregnancy and turbulence). When I turned on the phone received the room not ready text, so while I was grabbing the luggage from baggage claim, DW and E went to Chick-Fil-A to get a “quick” bite to eat, turns out I returned with the bags before they even got the order. 10 minutes later, we received the wrong order, no sandwich for me but we have 3x as many fries as ordered, but we just ventured on with a potato rich lunch for myself. With it being midday during Spring Breaks on a Saturday we opted to take Uber to our room at the Wilderness (with also hopes of E falling asleep on the drive), unfortunately the nap never happened, but we did receive the room ready text for Copper Creek Studio 1155, which is a positive. Once we arrived at the resort got the stroller and headed to the room, which involved still taking an elevator down since the lobby is on the 2nd level (The More You Know!)

Once settled into the room we attempted a nap with E, who was not having it and decided to admit defeat and head over to Magic Kingdom to get our tickets situated. Took the boat over to Magic Kingdom, which E was a huge fan of and loved to go “Toot Toot” and “Beep Beep” when the horns sounded. Once at the Kingdom I turned in my redemption card to pick up my first ever annual pass.

Our goal is to head back to the bubble next February or March and with that factored in as well as the Memory Maker it was a huge savings to make the splurge!

 

[Balki228]

Saturday March 31, 2018 - Part 2
After getting everything settled with Guest Services, we decided to take the Ferry over to the Transportation and Ticket Center and enjoy a nice walk through Polynesian to the Grand Floridian for a meal at Gasparilla Island Grill.

Upon arrival to the lobby of the Grand Floridian we checked out all of the impressive chocolate eggs, E was a big fan of the Minnie Mouse Egg, the rest of the egg tour was in hyper speed as E kept pulling me around and dancing to the big band playing.

Such a nice view and a great temperature with the overcast skies.

The Minnie Mouse egg was a favorite of our daughters.

All of the details blew us away

Once we arrived at Gasparilla Island Grill, I had the smoked ham sandwich with fried and a side of watermelon and DW had Fire-Roasted Tomato Pizza without the pesto. Both were great tasting, especially the pizza crust, but did not have time to grab a photo. After our delicious dinner we grabbed the monorail back to the Magic Kingdom and then the boat back to the Wilderness.

Enjoying her monorail journey!

Got the "big boat" for our way back to the Wilderness

 

[Balki228]

Upon arrival back to the Wilderness, Miss E really enjoyed the "water splashing" by the elevators in the lobby and asked for a pic. We checked out the shop for some bath toys, well E took it upon herself to grab herself Mickey and Friends Squeeze Toys, in fact she grabbed two and said “Doubles, Need It”…luckily was able to talk her down to just one!

Miss E had a blast today with all the modes of transportation (planes, fonorail, boats, and monorails). Upon coming back to the room we gave E a bath and got the room situated to avoid lights entering near her pack and play. We called it an early night for ourselves a little later as well as we were gearing up for Easter Sunday festivities tomorrow.

 

[KatieLVT]

Following along! Can't wait to read more of your adventures. E is adorable!

 

[LisaBelle]

Following along! Your family is adorable and you can tell that you are all enjoying yourselves. Those eggs are incredible! I laughed out loud when I read E's quote, "Doubles, Need it!" So cute!

 

[Balki228]

Following along! Can't wait to read more of your adventures. E is adorable!

Thanks for following!

Following along! Your family is adorable and you can tell that you are all enjoying yourselves. Those eggs are incredible! I laughed out loud when I read E's quote, "Doubles, Need it!" So cute!

Thanks!

 

[Balki228]

There was one photo I forgot to add from our walk over to the Grand Floridian, as we passed by Wedding Pavillion I noticed they had people by the doors. My first thought was disappointment because thought maybe we could be lucky like @blgauger right before Christmas to see inside. But it appeared a wedding was happening and then when we rounded the corner we saw the carriage with the horses!

Sunday, April 1, 2018 – Easter
We were awoken a little earlier than normal, both DW and I got woken up at 3:00am by our daughter talking in her sleep. She said “MICKEY…….MOUSE…….MEET HIM” Obviously Miss E was very excited to meet Mickey over at EPCOT today!!

Once our official wake up occurred at 5:40am (E is an early riser) and we started getting ready for the morning and E went with me to the Roaring fork to happily pick up some Mickey Waffles for breakfast. We arrived a little early so I went to the front desk to get the Minnie Van Service set up on my phone. I had not used Lyft before so I downloaded the app before our trip and signed up for $5 off for 2 rides, that small discount along with no increase for the car seat made it justifiable to try out 2 times this trip. After getting set up we went back to Roaring Fork to place our order for waffles to bring back to the room.

After a delicious breakfast, we heading towards the marina to get ready for the Easter meet and greet scheduled at the Wilderness. DW stayed in line while Miss E and I explored the area and saw the set up for the Candy Scramble shortly afterwards.

We got back in line with the DW and got to meet the Easter Bunny! E was happy to wave to him from our current spot in line but as we approached closed she was not happy with meeting him anymore. In order to get the photo, I had to switch sides of holding her and have the DW next to the Easter Bunny as an extra buffer. But as we were leaving Miss E was happy to wave and say Bye to the Easter Bunny!

We had about 25 minutes until the Candy Scramble began, so we noticed a regular bunny (right above her hat) enjoying some breakfast this morning and Little E was very fascinating with the bunny so that helped pass the time as she would keep tabs of where it has been traveling.

Soon it was time for the candy scramble, it was broken up into different age sections (0-4, 5-9, 10-12, 13-16) and they let the 0-4 get into positions first before everyone was able to dive in. DW and I were coaching up E before asking her how many candy she wanted to get. She was more than happy with an answer of 2, which pleased us because we would not need to worry about much. However when the scramble started and she noticed the other kids grabbing a lot she then told DW she needed “More, More” and when asked about just needing the 2 pieces of candy she now responded that “Need ALL of them!” so she ended up filling her bag about half full which was an impressive haul.

Miss E is ready for the action!

She started working on deconstructing the Mickey the Cast Members put together

Right in the thick of it now, like a pro!

The madness outside the 0-4 year old area! I was very impressed on how long it took until the other age groups started coming into the 0-4 area.

Next up - A character change in their Easter finest and EPCOT

 

[Balki228]

Sunday, April 1, 2018 – Easter - Continued
Upon heading back to the room we noticed that Mickey and Minnie dressed in Purple were meeting with guests but the line was too long since our plan was EPCOT today.

Once at the room we grabbed our stuff for the day and set off to the lobby and called upon a Minnie Van. It only took 2 minutes before one showed up and it was a very easy ride to EPCOT. Once through security we set upon the lines to get in, since the Annual Passholder line was very short, I decided to give it a go with Miss E while we waited for the DW in the regular line. While waiting we took some photos of the Flower and Garden and noticed a lonely photopass photographer and decided to get a few pictures.

After that we set off to grab some Egg Hunt maps from Pin Central to go through later in the day. The crowd levels were not too bad at this point; I did not think they would be as bad on Easter Sunday compared to the rest of the trip.

With Egg maps in hand, we headed over to our first fastpass of the day Turtle Talk with Crush. Miss E was getting excited about seeing “Turtle….Talking!” She did enjoy this but it was a little too long for her at this time in her life, which is understandable but did enjoy seeing the fishes. It was a very energetic group, with some highlights from the kids of Crush asking what they like to do at the beach and a kid shouts out “Eat Turtles”, Crush stayed away from him the rest of the show.

Once we finished Turtle Talk, it was time for the event Miss E was sleep talking about since 3am….MEETING MICKEY MOUSE! We headed over to the EPCOT Character Spot and had the same idea as a lot of people with Fastpasses but the line moved at a decent rate. However it was about 11:00am at this point and we had reservations at the DW favorite Via Napoli for lunch at 11:40am, it was unlikely we would make it in time and unsure how Miss E would be waiting for a meal as well so we pushed out the reservation to another day and cancelled to avoid the cancellation fee. We were the next group to meet Mickey and Miss E saw him and got excited, however when I asked her if I could put her down to walk up to him she wanted NOTHING of it!! In fact, as we approached Mickey she started acting the same as she did with the Easter Bunny this morning and wanted me to put her on the other side while she hid her eyes. Luckily Mickey was prepared and won her over with a game of Peek A Boo which won her over and got some happiness. As usual as we left Miss E could not help but wave and yell “BYE!”.

Not a fan right off the bat

Miss E decided to play Peek-A-Boo with Mickey!

Next up was Goofy, DW, mother and brother came along on the trip so we decided to have them interact with Goofy first to help smooth over any nervousness. However, it was not working too well, but Goofy must have overheard Mickey before and played Peek-A-Boo by using his ears to cover his eyes and Miss E was laughing up a storm!

Finally, Minnie Mouse was next and Ellie was prepared for this one and was happy to say “Cheese”. After the meeting, she was happy to wave and say Bye to Minnie.

Up Next - Egg Hunting, Fish, and Elsa!

 

[Balki228]

Sunday, April 1, 2018 – Easter - Continued
After the meetings, DW and Miss E stayed cool inside the building while I gathered up the stroller and came back to them. Upon coming back, I noticed we were right next to Annual Passholder Mickey Magnet, so I was happy to pick one up and Miss E loved looking it over. Since our sit-down lunch was cancelled, we decided to head over to the United Kingdom to look into their Easter Activities and decide on some lunch options. When Miss E and I came up to the gardens at the United Kingdom, we were met with a very long line to register for Egg Hunts and to meet Mr. and Mrs. Bunny. However, Miss E was not old enough for the egg hunts but I read last year they had an open space with tons of eggs for those less than 3 years old to still have an egg hunt. They were just about to start a relay race but asked the Cast Member if I needed to register at the line for this, she said as long as she is under 3 we can just come in (so that was very exciting for me not having to worry about the line!) So I parked the stroller and I took Miss E in before the Relay Race and DW joined us shortly after it finished. They gave us a bag and said Miss E could take 6 eggs with her. Because of her candy scramble, this morning and wanting “ALL OF THEM” it was a lot trickier than I anticipated keeping her in line with only 6 eggs, she would happily put then in her bag and go back out saying “MORE, MORE.” While she was hunting for more, I took the opportunity to keep her on task with only 6 eggs and keeping ones that appeared to have stickers or trinkets in them compared to candy which she would enjoy more.

So many eggs, so little hands!

Deciding which ones are the best

Showing off all she hunted with Mom!

Once we finally convinced her to finish we went back by the stroller and I decided to pick up lunch at Yorkshire County Fish Shop.

So many very colorful flowers at the United Kingdom

While I was picking up lunch DW and her brother took Miss E over to the next area that had little games to play like ring toss and toss ball through a hole, since she succeeded she was rewarded with an egg in the shape of a duck (Miss E loves ducks so this was thrilling for her). After a delicious lunch, we decided we needed to start walking to look for eggs and Flower and Garden Topiary with the hopes of Miss E taking a nap.

Up Next - Will She Nap??? a question I ask everyday

 

[Balki228]

Sunday, April 1, 2018 – Easter - Continued
As we made it through United Kingdom we took in the sights of France, Morocco, and Japan at which point Miss E had succumbed to the nap. We slowly strolled through The American Adventure and Italy, we noticed Sergio was performing and caught a little bit of the show on the way to Germany. While near Germany, we noticed a Photopass Photographer that was waiting for us, we made sure that Miss E did not miss out of her cross country world adventures during her nap.

The Outpost was alive with drums, but luckily Miss E was zonked out still.

Got some good photos in China of the Panda Bears, flowers, and an egg (oh my)!

We approached Norway and Miss E was still snoozing so DW mom stayed with her while we were getting to the close of our fastpass window for Frozen Ever After. I decided to make our picture more festive since it is Easter and all and brought an egg that Miss E collected earlier in the day!

We made it to the showcase plaza to turn in the egg maps and collected a Mickey and Minnie Egg for Miss E, who coincidently woke up from her nap then. After we got her some milk we changed her into her current favorite character shirt of Elsa! We walked backed to Norway and noticed the wait time for Meeting Anna and Elsa was 30 minutes so we got in line with Miss E. After we made it through the house it was our turn to meet Anna first. According to the DW, Ellie was not too happy meeting Anna, when she first came over she jumped up because she did not see her coming because she was looking to Elsa already. The pictures show that even when Anna was chatting Miss E was staring off in the distance and commenting on Elsa dress. Anna is still a favorite of DW and I.

Miss E is already looking to Elsa!

I will say this picture is just a post nap picture for Miss E and nothing on Anna.

Now was the big moment for Miss E, however she still did not want to walk to her (she needed the comfort of having someone holding onto her). Her eyes widened as Elsa and her sparkling dress came towards Miss E. Elsa was really impressed that Miss E had a shirt of her image and then Miss E stated “Dress, Pretty!” Elsa was very flattered and showed Miss E that it had snowflakes on it. Once our photo was done Miss E waved Bye and even gave a hug (granted she does not look thrilled in the photo, but still a big feat for the hug).

Very engaged in conversation

First Disney Hug, Miss E is processing it all in

Next up a little more time around EPCOT then off to the Magic Kingdom!

 

[MomofPrincessGrace]

The Anna you encountered looked extremely similar to Amanda Bynes circa 2000. Just throwing that out there. Love your report so far!

 

[Balki228]

The Anna you encountered looked extremely similar to Amanda Bynes circa 2000. Just throwing that out there. Love your report so far!

Thanks for reading!!
Looking at the picture again, I can definitely see that. Also thank goodness it was not Amanda Bynes circa 2013

 

[Balki228]

Sunday, April 1, 2018 – Easter - Continued

After meeting Anna and Elsa, we went to get our stroller we noticed the Photopass Photographer in front of Anna and Elsa topiary with only 1 family in front so we decided on a photo.

Once finished, we made our way to the exit to head over to the Magic Kingdom. On the walk, back I noticed the flowerbed and amazed by the bright colors. I waited a little bit to try to get the monorail coming around but did not see one (missed it by about 3 mins) but we did manage to get a family photo in the front. Miss E decided to start being silly and flip her sunglasses upside down.

It was truly a beautiful day!

Miss E being silly with her glasses!

We hit a major blunder when we were leaving; there was a debate on how we wanted to leave. I just said to take the monorail to the Transportation and Ticket Center but DW wanted to let Miss E enjoy a bus. So we get to the bus stop and do not notice a bus for the Magic Kingdom or even Contemporary (OUCH!) to make matter even worse we were privileged enough to be able to go through security again to make it on to the Monorail. However once we got to the monorail platform Miss E was very happy to see the blue one arriving.

We then took the ferry over to the Magic Kingdom and then decided to take a photo in the front with a fun prop for Easter!

The main objective for the journey to the Magic Kingdom was to let Miss E experience the Move It! Shake It! Dance & Play It! Street Party Parade. When we were here last June, it was a huge hit for Miss E who loved dancing to the music and seeing the characters from a distance. We were meeting DW’s mom and brother at Pinocchio Village Haus for a quick bite to eat. I had the Chicken Parmesan Sandwich and DW had the Pepperoni and Sausage flatbread (it was definitely not anywhere near the same as the Grand Floridian last night!).

From this trip and our previous trip it doesn’t seem that Disney offers just a sausage pizza, it always has something else with it. Has anyone else seen this or are we just going to the wrong places?

After our meal, we had some time before the street party so we looked at the app and noticed the wait for Prince Charming Regal Carrousel was not too bad at all so we jumped into line. Miss E is a very big fan of the carrousel and loves riding the horses.

Next, we were heading to the street party. As soon as Miss E heard the music, it instantly jogged her memory and she started dancing and clapping as they came around. DW took a good video I will attempt to possibly upload later but she was a very big fan. I was surprised the songs the crowd voted on towards the end of the party was the same 3 as last June. We decided to head back to the room to call it a day. All in all it was a very busy but great Easter.

Next up – Animal Kingdom, Pool, and Fireworks?

 

[MomofPrincessGrace]

Thanks for reading!!
Looking at the picture again, I can definitely see that. Also thank goodness it was not Amanda Bynes circa 2013

Now that would have been a sight!!!

 

[Balki228]

Monday, April 2, 2018 – Animal Kingdom

Today Animal Kingdom had Extra Magic Hours from 7:00am-8:00am, so we started getting ready when Miss E woke up at 5:45am. After getting ready quickly, I made my way to Roaring Fork to pick up some quick breakfast picks and brought back to the room. Miss E and I shared a blueberry muffin, while the DW had the breakfast of champions some Cheerios and a Mickey Bar!!

We were all ready to go by 6:45am and when to grab the bus to Animal Kingdom. The last time we went to Animal Kingdom for an EMH was 2 weeks after Pandora officially opened and were barely got on the first bus, but it was quiet different today, I actually got a seat myself which usually never happens since I carry the stroller. It was a pleasant ride over to Animal Kingdom and Miss E loved the travel in a bus.

We got through security pretty easy and got into the park and scanned our Magic Band to enjoy the extra time. There was quiet a line for photopass pictures in front of the tree so our thought was to get one later in the day (which we find out later was not in the cards) and walk towards Pandora. The line for Flight of Passage was already outside of Pandora (which I anticipated) so we headed towards a safari ride. The first safari did not begin until 8am when the park officially opened but when we did this in June it was a quick walk through the queue and we were on in no time. Today was the first day that I truly got a taste of the Spring Break crowds; we were very deep in the queue, which surprised me. Miss E was in good spirits because she got to enjoy some strawberries for the ride (which with the line she made short work of!) In order to keep her happy I let her out of the stroller and let her help me push it ahead. We finally got on our truck and started taking in the sites while in line Miss E was excited to see some giraffes and elephants.

Up Close and Personal with the Giraffe!

Just after the picture he let out a huge yawn, but was not quick enough to catch.

However at the end of the ride she kept saying her favorite animals on the trip was the squirrel that ran fast by our truck!

After getting the stroller we noticed a photographer with no line and decided to get our photo, Miss E was being a little shy but with the Magic Shot she was the star of the photo with her acting skills!

Miss E was on point!

We wanted to get some more fruit for Miss E, but was very surprised about the lack of fruit, no strawberries or blueberries to be seen around Africa. We settled on a banana, which Miss E did enjoy (at the time!) Our first fastpass opened up for Navi River so we made our way towards there. I believe the wait time was already up to 105 minutes at 9:00am, we parked our stroller and then went in the fastpass line, soon after we were in the boat. This was my first experience with the ride (DW and Miss E went on it last June when I utilized rider swap with my fastpass of Flight of Passage) it was a very nice ride and Miss E did enjoy the colors and seeing the different things. Overall I was very happy to have a fastpass for it compared to waiting standby

After our time in Pandora we went back to Africa to see if we can squeeze into the next Festival of the Lion King show instead of waiting for our next fastpass at 11am. We were some of the last people to get in which was a positive since it was less time Miss E had to wait around before the show. We passed some time with some silly snapchats, then it was onto the show.

FOTLK is always a great show and Miss E was very happy with the seeing the tumbling monkeys.

Very focused on the activities in front of her.

Once the show ended, we decided to do something new to us, head over to Conservation Station. Miss E was very happy to walk over with my DW.

One of my favorite photos from our trip!

When we arrived, we were told they were operating on a duck, which drew a pretty big crowd. Miss E however saw Doc McStuffins and moved over to her line. My parents got her a Doc McStuffins board book within the last month and she greatly enjoys it even though she has not seen her show on Disney Junior. I waited in line with Miss E while DW went to investigate the duck. I was very surprised that Miss E was standing in line on her own and going forward when the line moved forward. Will this be her first time walking up to character?! NO, as the line moved even closer to Doc she stayed in the same place, in the end DW had to pick her up for the meeting. She was very happy to see Doc McStuffins and even gave her a hug afterwards

Doc McStuffins is offering to let Miss E take her pulse.

Up Next - Meeting Mickey and Minnie? Aborting all plans?

 

[Balki228]

Monday, April 2, 2018 – Animal Kingdom - Continued

Sorry if this is a text heavy post....

When we finished meeting Doc McStuffins we went outside to the petting area, Miss E grabbed a brush and first approached the pig, but the pig scurried away under the ropes, next we found a goat that was more than happy for a brushing. Miss E swiped once, was content, and went back to the front to drop off the brush. She was very happy to be able to wash her hands once exiting.

The plan was to take the train back and head towards Adventurers Outpost to meet Mickey and Minnie and then grab some lunch. However when we got on the train Miss E started crying and saying her belly hurt! She kept crying and saying “Belly Hurt Belly”. Miss E has had an umbilical hernia since birth and has not had any problems with it, our doctor sent us to a specialist due to the size when she stands up but the specialist said there is nothing they can really do until she is 4 years old for surgery reasons these days. As long as it is not discolored or hard, everything was the same. With her crying her belly button was harder than normal so both DW and I worried a little but not at a concerning level. The new plan was just to take her back to the room to rest and hope she feels better. It was not the best to walk to the front of Animal Kingdom from the far back with a very upset 23 month old in your arms knowing her being upset was because she did not feel well. I decided the best way to get back to the Wilderness the fastest would be taking a Minnie Van. At the gift shop outside of the entrance of the Animal Kingdom, I asked where the pickup was for the Minnie Vans and was told it was by the taxi drop off. WRONG!

We got a call from Penelope our driver and she said it was just outside Bus Stop #17 (basically the entire other side) so we hiked all the way over to that side now with an upset toddler and an upset pregnant DW. When I arrived, Penelope apologized on the location and said she made a call to her upper management to let them know as well. I did forewarn her that Miss E is not feeling well and may be a vocalized ride back, but once I got Miss E strapped in and started cooling off in the vehicle and drawing on her generic magnetic drawing board she was calm the rest of the way. Just as we passed the gates for Wilderness, Miss E feel asleep. I was very tempted to ask Penelope what it would cost to drive around for like an hour…lol. I got her out of the vehicle but she woke up, and when we went to the lobby asked her if she was hunger or just to go to the room. She said she was hunger so we went to Roaring Fork for a quick bite. I had the Bacon Cheeseburger and my wife shared chicken tenders with Miss E.

After lunch we went back to the room and put Miss E down for a nap which she took about a 1hr45min nap and was feeling much better. Looking back at it all, I think maybe the banana resulted in the upset tummy since she is use to more mature bananas at home and this was just yellow and very large. After the nap we decided to experience the pools!

Also I almost forgot to mention when we got back to the room we got a wonderful Minnie from our Mousekeeper and Ellie was very excited about it the rest of the trip.

Up Next - Pool Time, Magic Kingdom and Glorious Rain!

 

[hanwill]

So cute. I was there the same week... the crowds were nuts! Looks like a great trip. Your daughter is brave to meet those characters. I have a 7 year old boy that wants nothing to do with it.

 

[Balki228]

So cute. I was there the same week... the crowds were nuts! Looks like a great trip. Your daughter is brave to meet those characters. I have a 7 year old boy that wants nothing to do with it.

Thanks. Miss E definitely enjoys the character (from a distance even more so than any other way), I expect it to change in the future so enjoying it while we can! I expected the higher crowds, but was very surprised by the amount of people at different parts of the day. I was definitely not expecting the high temperatures when we were there.

 

[Balki228]

Monday, April 2, 2018 – Animal Kingdom - Continued

Once Miss E woke up, we got some milk and decided to get our suits on and head to the pool. Miss E was always a big fan of splash-pads and the pools. When we went last June she had a blast splashing and being carried around the pool. So with sunscreen applied we left our room and went to the water playground which Miss E has been eyeing whenever we take the boat.

The Pool area has changed so much for the better since the last time we stayed at the Wilderness during our Honeymoon in 2012.

We got in and got settled with our towels and chair and went to the bubbling water by the base. I then pointed out the slide to Miss E who got excited and started climbing up the stairs; she made it up the 3rd step and then noticed the water pipe at the top with holes that was spilling out water at the very top step. Miss E is not a huge fan of water hitting her head so she stopped dead in her tracks. I went up with her and tried to get her to climb some more but she just kept saying “No, No”. We walked on the other side away from the pipes to the slide and was very tempted to just pick her up to put her at the top of the slide but did not know if that would be allowed. We decided to head to the “quiet” pool with the zero entry to maybe entice Miss E some more.

Me and Miss E off to the right before we had to come back closer.

Miss E initially was happy in the pool and enjoyed cruising around but then did not like it when I got deeper in the water. She ended up being perfectly happy sitting on the edge of the pool next to DW with their feet in the water and then splashing around.

Since pool time was not as much pool as anticipated plus a little warmer today with the sun beating down we called it a day and went back to the room. We decided to head back to Magic Kingdom via the boat. While on the boat, DW made a fastpass for the Teacups, which would be available when we arrived. Once at the Magic Kingdom they were prepping for the Flag Retreat Ceremony. DW wanted to stick around to get some photos, but we both knew Miss E would not be interested in sitting in the stroller for that long, so Miss E and I went down Main Street. We saw another Photopass Photographer on Main Street near the castle with hardly any line so while we were waiting for DW we decided to talk a photo.

DW eventually caught up to us and we made it over to Teacups, which Miss E does enjoy the motion, but have not started spinning it yet. After our ride we made another fastpass for Under the Sea with Ariel for after dinner. Our dinner this evening was Pecos Bills; we ended up sharing the Beef Nachos and an order of the Kids Chicken Nachos with a good fill up on the toppings bar. Our photo did not turn out too well with lighting, and it was pretty crowded in there. Excellent food as always, and by the time we were finished it was time to head back to Fantasyland to go under the sea with Ariel.

Miss E enjoyed clapping and waved goodbye to Eric and Ariel in their wedding outfits. During the ride, it began to rain heavily, so people were gathered around the exit. I was certain I packed ponchos in the book bag but could not find anything in the quick search, but we knew there is no point to go for the exit. So DW and Miss E quickly went over to the Big Top to get in line to meet Minnie/Daisy or Goofy/Donald (depending on the lines) and I went and gathered the stroller and came over to meet them. The rain was letting up so it was now a lighter steady rain nothing too hard but it was amazing the number of people huddled in the shops or a ton were crammed at Dumbo under the spot you can sit in a stationary one for a picture which I thought was humorous. When I got the area, I saw them in line to meet Minnie and Daisy. The line was probably about 30 minutes but we had nowhere else to go so we waited it out and made small talk to others around us. First up was Daisy, who Miss E enjoyed and even got a kiss blown to her.

Next was Minnie, who Miss E was very excited about (still not excited enough to walk to her) but she wanted to pull up her hood to show Minnie her ears as well!

Once we finished, the rain had pretty much came to a light mist at best and while in line for Minnie/Daisy, I was able to grab a fastpass to meet Ariel. The best thing about this rain is that it really cleared out a ton of people from earlier in the day and cooled it off a little as well (Heat Index that day was over 90 for April 2) which both were very welcomed!

Miss E had a great time with Ariel, she asked her about Flounder which really surprised Ariel and she told Miss E all of the adventures Flounder went on with her!

While in line to meet Ariel, we were able to grab another fastpass to meet Rapunzel and Tiana immediately after we finished. Before going in we did a quick change of Miss E to get her ready for Rapunzel. While waiting in line, DW and I were prepping Miss E on getting ready to meet both. In past occasions whenever we met Rapunzel and Tiana, it was always Rapunzel followed by Tiana, so we were working on Miss E saying “Best Day Ever” for Rapunzel and asking about a Frog for Tiana. However when we got in there, they were flipped (which I remembered reading in a recent trip report here) so Miss E was thrown off a little and kept looking towards Rapunzel at first, but loved Princess Tiana’s dress and in the end even gave her a hug.

Rapunzel really enjoyed Miss E’s shirt and she was telling Rapunzel pretty dress. After our photo when we were, waving goodbye Miss E started asking about a frog! A little late but at least she remembered.

Normally we would be getting Miss E to bed, but the DW and I agreed if she had a good nap during the day and was in good spirits we would try to finally get a lantern photo and watch a little of the fireworks. It was 8:15 at this point and we got in line for the Lanterns, it was a decent sized line but moved at a good pace. We got two sets of photos, one with Miss E and one where Miss E stood by our legs and just the DW and I.

After our photo, we got Miss E back in the stroller and made our way all the way to the train station. Since we would not be staying for the entire show we wanted to be back to get our quickly and hopefully avoid crowds. While waiting a little for the fireworks to begin I got DW a Mickey Bar to enjoy (they are her favorite!) When the fireworks started, Miss E was not scared by them at all, although she was also not impressed by them. DW soaked in all the glory of her favorite Disney event, FIREWORKS and we ended up leaving after the Moana portion. As we exited the park, a boat just pulled up to the Wilderness, which was great timing. We were able to see the finale from the boat as we were pulling away. A quick bath once we got back and it was off to bed.

UP NEXT - A day at the Magic Kingdom!