Disney World - Part 2

Day 4 - February 24: We took at break from Disney action today and started our day with a photo session at Picture People. We don't have any around our neck of the woods and my cousin's pictures always turn out so cute from there so we scheduled an appointment while we were in Orlando. We got some great shots of Ellie and she seemed to have a lot of fun. As soon as she walked back to the picture area she sat down on the white backdrop and said "cheese"...she loves having her picture taken. Here are the results.

We call this one "Spider Ellie" and rotate it so she can climb walls too.

We took the kids back "home" and had lunch. Next stop Sea World! We arrived at SeaWorld later in the afternoon but did our best to take it all in that day. Our first stop was the "Dolphin Cove" where we tried to touch the dolphins...I was the only one who lucked out due to being at a different location so I could look back and take pictures of the group.

We stopped at the "Manatee Rescue" area where Ellie liked to call them dogs. She thought they were really neat!

The "Journey to Atlantis" ride appeared to be getting the passengers too wet so we skipped that ride and went to the "Jewels of the Sea Aquarium". They had an aquarium inside that you walked over. Ellie was fascinated with it but didn't like it when the fish came too close to her feet and wanted to be carried over most of it.
Carl and Chad headed off to ride the "Kraken" next while Ellie, Rachel, Carson and I hung out and relaxed.


Next stop "Penguin Encounter". There was a moving walkway in front of the penguin exhibit and Ellie just loved it! She kept pointing to them and giggling. I think that was one of her favorite stops of the day. We then headed to the "Pacific Point Preserve" and saw the Sea Lions. They were really loud and quite interactive. We didn't buy any fish to feed them but stood by those who did so we could be part of the action.


We headed over to the "Sea Lion & Otter Stadium" for the "Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island" show. We experienced what happens when you do live shows with live animals...as Clyde and Seamore had a mind of their own throughout the show. The actors did great and played right along with them and made jokes with the audience the whole time...it really was a super fun time. Ellie loved it when the Sea Otter ran across the stage.
The night was approaching quickly and so was "Believe" - the Shamu show at "Shamu Stadium". As we were walking into the stadium Ellie fell asleep. She slept though the first half of the show then Carl and I decided that we had to wake her up. We knew she would enjoy the show and her quick power nap would recharge her enough to make it through the show and get home. She quickly was drawn to the large screens showing what was happening in the pool. Then one of the Shamus dove down in the water with its trainer and as soon as they shot out of the water Ellie started flapping her arms then yelled "WOW". The words couldn't get out as quick as her brain was working...sleepy little girl. After that she was wide-awake and watched the pool non-stop, clapped, giggled and smiled. She LOVED it!


We did a quick swing through "Wild Artic" to see the Polar Bears then headed out of the park. On the way out we had to cross a "lake" by way of a bridge. As soon as Ellie saw the water she yelled "Moo" (Ellie talk for Shamu). She wanted him to jump out of the lake. This continued across the entire bridge...it was very cute! It was a JAM PACKED day...but still loads of fun!

Day 5 - February 25: After such a busy day on Tuesday we decided to take Wednesday a little bit more relaxed. We woke up and had a leisurely morning and then headed down to the pool. To say Ellie had fun would be an understatement! She went swimming at the lake at my parent's house last summer but this was her first pool experience and she LOVED it. We were out there most of the morning. Then I took Ellie in after lunch at the pool and she took a nice LONG nap.







After naps we packed up and headed to Epcot for the rest of the day. First stop "Spaceship Earth".


Then a visit with the Fab 5.





Ellie was beside herself, again, and ran to each character full force. Each visit started with a hug, a picture, then telling her that her turn was up, then she had to give each of them a kiss. It was wonderful, sweet, cute and made every penny spent on the trip worth it!
The kids were ready for another adventure so we headed to "The Seas with Nemo & Friends". Ellie loved the ride and looking at the live fish swimming with all the characters from "Finding Nemo". We even had a pleasant surprise...as we were un-boarding our "clamobile" a dolphin swam right in front of us.

We headed to "Soarin" next. Thanks to the switch passes we were able to get on rather quickly. Rachel and I went first and then sent Carl and Chad. The kids enjoyed the magic jumping fountains while we took our turns. It was quite the adventure to see and smell all the sights as we "flew" across the country.
We were pretty hungry after that and headed to "Mexico" for dinner. As we ate our Mexican food, Ellie throughly enjoyed a churro and made quite the mess. It was now dark at Epcot but we still made our way around the "World Showcase". We made a quick stop in France at the "Boulangerie Patisserie" to pick up some authentic French pastries...delicious! It was now about 8:30pm and the kids were spent so we headed home. Another long...but fun day.