Disney Vacation 2015-Day 7-Heading Home

To say that I get in a major funk when we leave Disney is a vast understatement! I start getting this awful feeling like the day before we leave, and it gets continually worse until we get home. Then I spend the next few days after just moping around. I know, it's sad and pathetic, but it's just a part of life when you're a Disney addict! ;) 

Our flight did not leave until the afternoon on our last day, so we had a morning to fill. At first we were going to spend the morning swimming at our resort, but we decided that might be a lot more work than it was worth, so we went to Plan B. We still had 5 table service credits left, so I decided to see if there was a breakfast we could get into last minute. I was able to get us into Ohana at the Polynesian which I have had several people rave about to me, so we were excited. We packed up, enjoyed our breakfast at the Polynesian, and headed to the airport. Luckily, our flights were uneventful and we all made it home safe and sound! 

The girls and their Mickey ears from Mickey! Now to figure out how to display all their ears...

They got to walk the parade with Pluto! SO fun!

My souvenir--two of my favorite things: Disney and Vera! I'll be asking Santa for a few more pieces this year. ;)

The Post Disney Depression Disorder is in full effect now, and the only cure seems to be planning the next trip, so here's looking at you June 2017...you'll get here before we know it! ;)

Disney Vacation 2015-Day 6-Animal Kingdom & Hollywood Studios

Our last day at the parks was actually quite relaxing. It's nice when you get to the point in your trip where you've checked all your "must do's" off your list and you can just enjoy the parks for lack of a better word. We got to sleep in, I got to go for a longer run, and life was good. The girls got an invitation from Sofia this morning to have lunch with them at Hollywood and Vine. They were totally floored! 

Reading their note from Sofia

We started our morning at the Animal Kingdom. I'm not really a huge fan of the AK, but I also think it's important to make an appearance while we're there. I do love Expedition Everest afterall! :) Mom and I rode the roller coaster while Jovan and the girls rode Kali River Rapids. We met Pocahontas, did a little dancing in Africa, and went to the Bug's Life show. After that we made our way to HS for lunch with Sofia and gang!

Love the guy's face behind us!

You would think with all the technology Disney has that they could figure out how to photoshop out the large construction vehicle in the background, but oh well!

This is us basically exhausted by the heat and the trip in general

The Play and Dine lunch at Hollywood and Vine was great! We will do this one again! The girls loved the food and loved getting to dance and play while they ate!

I had heard about this drawing class they offered at Hollywood Studios, and I knew our little artist would love it. Turns out there are a lot of little artists out there who want to take this class, and the line proves to get quite long. Like most things "Disney" you are definitely looking at a 30 minute wait unless you time it perfectly...and even then you're not always guaranteed into that class.  I waited in line for the class though while Nana and Lainey went and rode rides. Lainey & I took the class then while Nana shopped. There were 52 of us artists, and we learned how to draw Minnie's face. Apparently you never know what you are going to learn to draw. It is based on the animation artist that is teaching the class and on what the class votes to draw. This was a great experience, and we will definitely be doing this again!

Our finished products

This was my favorite part of the Dining Plan--my snack credit being used wisely on a venti iced coffee from Starbucks each day, ha!

Jovan & Lainey would go back at night to do the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom challenge, so they went back on the last night as well to see how many cards they could get. I believe this will be a repeat activity on our next trip! Such a great thing for these two nerds to do together, ha!

Yet again, another ridiculously successful day at Disney, but this was about the time when my depression was about to kick in knowing it was coming to a close. #thestruggleisreal 😩

Disney Vacation 2015-Day 5-Epcot

Epcot day is probably my favorite day!  I know a lot of people don't like Epcot. Shoot--I hated it as a kid, but I have gained such an appreciation for it the older I get.  It doesn't hurt that I'm over 21 now also! ;) We really like the princess breakfast at Akershus, so we booked it once again. I was a little nervous going in because my friend had been last week and only had 4 princesses, and Aurora was not one. I am a traditionalist, and I always want the "Fab 5" (Aurora, Cinderella, Belle, Snow White, and Ariel), so initially I was worried we wouldn't have those ladies. Turns out by the time this day rolled around we had seen all the Fab 5 with the exception of Snow White, so I was hoping we'd have some different princesses, but I was pleased to have the ones I love so much.  Always a great breakfast with great interactions!

Love their little Epcot ball shirts!

After breakfast we had time to kill before the World Showcase opened, so we headed to ride some rides. This Rider Swap thing Disney does is awesome. It is really great for Lainey who gets to ride rides over and over while the adults switch out. 

Once the World Showcase opened, we booked it over to Morocco to meet Jasmine and Aladdin. On our way there, Jovan and Lainey stopped to meet Pluto behind this hidden gate while Mommy went to stalk Jasmine. We found out on this trip that Epcot is where they train characters and their cast member handlers, so you just have to be sure to keep your eyes open for it!

I had seen these passports while researching for our trip and decided I wanted to make my own for them.  Every country has a "Kidcot" where they can get their passport stamped and the cast member there writes something native to that country. It was so cool! We will definitely be doing this again!

Front cover

We took a picture of the girls at each country, and that is what will go on the right hand side when I get them printed. 

Lainey loves the Test Track! We got to ride this twice in a row, and she had so much fun designing our car.

This was our second go round when we knew where the cameras were. :)

After our long, HOT day at Epcot, Nana and Lilly headed back to the resort, I headed to the Magic Kingdom to buy cinnamon rolls from Gaston's Tavern for breakfast the next morning, and Jovan & Lainey stayed at Epcot to participate in the Agent P's World Showcase Adventure. At the end of the night, they went to the Character Spot and hit the jackpot! They got a Magical Moment since they were the last ones in line, they got all three characters together for a picture! YAY!!!!

Once the girls were in bed, Jovan and I headed to the resort bar to join a billion other of our closest friends to watch the NBA Finals. Loved it!

OUR FAVORITES:

Jovan: Soarin', Agent P's World Showcase Adventure

Jenn: getting their passports filled

Lainey: Magical Moment with Goofy, Mickey, & Minnie

Lilly: breakfast with the princesses

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique

So Disney is genius....just genius. Besides the fact that they suck you into their parks, their resorts, and their restaurants, they also come up with about a million other things that you feel you MUST DO as part of your magical experience! One of those things is the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique where your very own fairy godmother transforms you into a hooker princess! Lainey got to be transformed last time, and this time Lilly got in on the fun too!  We figured we had to do this for Lainey because we don't know how many more years she will think this is fun. Luckily, I did see several girls older than Lainey still participating, so that gives me hope! :)

The big reveal! She LOVED it!!!

Lainey's Fairy Godmother, Donna, was incredible!  She told the most amazing stories about Tinkerbell and the princesses and was just so convincing.

I let Lainey choose her hairstyle this time. This was a big deal for both of us because I let go of some control, and she was SO excited for this hair.  She's been talking about it for two years since the last time!

After they get all gussied up, they head over for a royal photo shoot. These pictures are just AWFUL! We got a good laugh out of them though! These were the "best" ones...I decided to get rid of the others, ha!