Disney Day #5

Tuesday was also my friend Sarah's birthday and we spent the day at Epcot.  Our first stop was getting a FastPass for Soarin' so we could come back later and not have to wait in line.  Juliana was started to get nervous about new rides so we didn't want to wait in line and give her any extra time to panic.  Then we went to the VIP Center for Siemens at Spaceship Earth.  We had a drink and relaxed for a few minutes (it was already getting hot out) and then we walked on the ride from the special back entrance - no waiting! 

We were also given a Express Pass for Test Track while we were at the VIP Center, so we headed there next.  And once agin we walked right on without waiting in line. 

Then it was time for our Soarin' FastPasses so we rode that and to my surprise Juliana loved it!  There was one loud part that scared her, other than that she was very excited that we got FastPasses to come back later.  After a morning of rides and no lines we were having a good time.  Then it was time for our lunch reservation in Norway with Princesses Belle, Aurora, Ariel, Cinderella and Snow White. Juliana took advantage of a few minutes wait to play in the dirt before our Royal lunch.  Juliana posed herself in these pictures, we were cracking up at her positions and expressions.

The food was much better than I expected it to be and Sarah got a birthday treat and a card signed by all of the Princesses.

From Norway we walked through the World Showcase.  At each country they had a kid's center with markers and a shaped tag.  At the first stop, Juliana got a mask and started coloring it and then at each country we would find the stop and get a tag to add to her mask.  There were stamps that could be added at each of the countries and they wrote her name in Chinese on the mask when we stopped in China.  It was a great way to keep her entertained along the way.  That and she was riding in the stroller so she didn't have to walk.

At one point, Mickey and his pals appeared and Juliana was right there when they lined up.  So she quickly ran to Mickey and we took pictures with all of the characters without waiting.

Santa and Mrs Claus were waiting for us in the United States pavilion.  And Santa couldn't stop himself from laughing when Juliana announced that she wanted fake hair for Christmas.

We also stopped for treats along the way.  Lemoncello and Champagne for Sarah and I - it was a birthday celebration afterall...  And of course a break for pastries in France.

Canada was the last stop and Juliana spent some time working on the finishing touches of her mask and she invited a boy to come and talk to her.

We went back to Soarin' and Juliana had a great time again and told everyone that was her favorite ride at Disney.  Then we went on the Energy ride (Juliana was scared throughout most of it) and left the Park asit was getting dark.  We went back to the hotel, had dinner and Juliana went swimming in the kiddie pool.  Then it was time to wash all of the Princess glitter out of her hair and go to bed.

Princess at Rest

Usually the Princess of the moment at our house is running wild, but she took a few minutes to be true to Sleeping Beauty and rest.  I like that she took the time to arrange the skirt of her dress and clasp her hands at her chest.

The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique

Getting back to the final Disney posts (because if I don't post them here, I won't remember the details).

On Monday afternoon Juliana had her appointment at The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Cinderella's Castle.  The package was a gift from Nonni and included a Belle dress with shoes, crown and wand, the hairstyle of her choice, makeup, nails and a photo session.

We arrived at the Boutique and waited for Princess Juliana to be called back.  She went back to the dressing room and her dress and accessories were waiting for her.  The "salon" area was filled with stations designed for little girls.  Chairs like little thrones and fancy mirrors on the wals.  Juliana climbed right up in the chair and selected her hairstyle.

During the entire process, no matter how tight her hair was pulled, she never complained.  This is the child who runs from the hair brush at home and never wants even a ponytail. After her hair was pulled to the top of her head, the tiara was slipped into place and a huge amount of glitter hairspray was used to hold her hair just right.

Then is was time for nails and makeup - I told her we should not tell her Daddy about the eye shadow and that is of course the first thing she told him when we got home.

After the wave of the magic wand and the magic words - Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo - the transformation was complete.

Then it was off to the photo studio for her photo shoot.  This was such a fun experience - I highly recommed it!

Children's Museum with G

My Mom stayed home with us when we young so we had plenty of one-on-one time with her.  Since my Dad was at work all day, I loved when I would get to go on an adventure with him.  As Juliana has gotten older, she has been going on adventures with my Dad - and I love that!  She loves the dedicated attention that she doesn't get much of at home since the boys arrived. 

When I realized that school was closed for MLK day last Monday and I had to work, I knew that my Dad had the day off and asked if he wanted to take Juliana on an adventure.  He came up with some ideas and presented them to her, when he got to the Children's Museum she started screaming and jumping up and down.

So last Monday they went on their outing.  They spent the first hour in the water room - good thing I sent dry clothes.  And she climbed the maze and the net, and the slide, and painted and had a great time!

Another thing I love...my Dad takes pictures whenever he has Juliana - good pictures.  So even though I am missing out on the fun, I get to see how much fun she had.  Thanks Dad!

Disney Day #4

Monday was another Magic Kingdom day.  We arrived at the gate prior to the Park open time so we could make it to our breakfast reservation .  We were dining at the castle and Juliana wasn't the only one looking forward this meal (I might have been a little excited to go to the castle as well).  First we had Juliana's picture taken with Cinderella and then we sat at our table upstairs.

While the price was certainly no bargain, the food was very good.  During breakfast, the princesses were announced and walked around to each of the tables: Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine and Snow White were all there.

Keeping the princess theme going, Juliana insisted that we go straight to see Arial after leaving the castle.  Arial and Belle were her favorites while we were there.

Then we went on rides in Fantasyland and did some shopping before our lunch reservation at Liberty Tavern - one of my favorite restuarants at Disney.  After lunch we got fast passes for Splash Mountain.  There is a small playgound near the ride and we let Juliana run around while we waited for our time slot.  Juliana was in tears as we walked up to the ride - she wasn't happy about getting wet or going down the big hill.  But she calmed down and walked along the line.  She liked the inside of the mountain with the music and characters but every little hill got her upset.  She was quite happy when the last hill was over.

We exited the ride just in time to watch the parade.  After days of rain and cooler temps, this is the point when it drastically warmed up...as I was holding her up to watch the parade and the sun was beating down.  That was a long 20 minutes.  We had to waeve our way through the past-parade crowd back to the castle for Juliana's appointment at the Boutique - I am going to add that to a separate post since there are so many pictures to include.

After her appointment and photo shoot, we browsed through some stores.  In the candy store Juliana was given a free bag of cotton candy since it was National Cotton Candy day. Then we waited at the end of Main Street for my mom.  It was getting dark and they were getting ready for the parade.  They have stations set-up with activites for kids as they wait along the parade route and they had hula hoops near us.  So we had a crazy hula-hooping princess for a little while.

We got back to the hotel and Juliana changed out of her dress and ate some of her cotton candy.  A little bit later my friend Sarah arrived.  Sarah lives in Chicago and came to Dinsey to spend some time with us for her birthday.  Disney is running a Celebration promotion (might have been 2009 only) and she got free admission to one Park on her birthday.  Since we were already planning to be there, it was a perfect fit to get to spend some time together and celebrate her birthday.  We had dinner at the hotel and then we carefully removed Juliana's tiara in the hopes that her hair would stay mostly in place for the next day.