I posted this on my Instagram yesterday, but wanted to post it here too. We accidentally found this stand while stopping to look at a map at Magic Kingdom. I knew this would be the perfect souvenir from Disney World and couldn't wait to get one made! $8 bucks for two copies, yes please. What I didn't know is how awesome it would turn out and how much it would truly look like my little Mason Lane. It's perfect!! It looks just like him and it even shows his little cow-lick! And the most impressive part was that she just looked at him and cut and that was it. And it came out this great. I will cherish this for eternity! And I can't wait to get this on our gallery wall. Do you have a souvenir that you love a little more each and every time that you look at it?
Our last and final day at the parks was spent at Epcot. I am pretty sure it was my 2nd favorite day at all of the parks. I remembered thinking Epcot was so cool {when I visited for Cheerleading Nationals in HS} and it definitely didn't disappoint this time. It's easily my 2nd favorite park at Disney. And it was a good park to spend our last day at because we were able to move at our own pace and the crowds were not bad at all.
As soon as we got there we took our pictures and got the stroller and then got straight on Spaceship Earth. I was surprised that it wasn't already packed since it's the first ride in the park. After that we went to the future world. We had a fast pass for Soarin pretty early so we made our way over. I think Mason and I were the only ones excited about this ride before it started. Everyone else looked like they were about to puke. ha! But it was so neat and I think almost everyone enjoyed it. I loved that as you soared over the water & falls you could smell fresh water & trees and over the orchard you could smell that, too. So cool! I could do this ride over and over. After Soarin we straight to Living with the Land because there was no wait at all. It was a nice little boat ride through the Land Pavilion. We enjoyed it. After that we had a fast pass for Nemo and Friends. It was actually kind of cheesy, but the colors were pretty. We ended in the aquarium so we walked around and looked for a bit before we saw that Turtle Talk with Crush didn't have a long wait. So went to watch that show. If you go to Epcot, this is a must. We loved it so much. It was hilarious and so fun for the kids. Crush interacts with the audience and lets the kids ask him questions. Kids come up with some crazy stuff, I tell you. After those attractions 6 of us went to grab some lunch and the other 2 went to check out some of the countries. Lunch was chaotic because there were two different school groups in there and every line was packed. But, we had some pretty good food. After lunch we made our way to the countries. We met back up with Nate's brother and his wife for a bit. We started in the UK I believe and Nate tried a Bass Ale beer. I don't think he was impressed. But then again, he's not a big beer drinker anyway. Nate's brother wanted to wait in line to see Mary Poppins so some of us went to check out some other places. We made it to France and went through some shops and then back to get Mason. After that we pretty much split into 3 groups because everyone was moving at a different pace and wanted to see different things. We enjoyed walking through each country. Mason got ice cream in France and loved it. And we ate some amazing nachos in Mexico. I will say that Epcot isn't so much of a kid place. But it was definitely okay with Mason. It was day 6 and he was exhausted beyond belief and was much happy to just hang out in the stroller and relax.
We left the park before 6 I believe and went to our hotel's pool! We had so much fun that night. It was the perfect way to wrap up our last night in Disney! And there is our recap. In case you missed any of the Disney posts just click here.
On Day 5 we went back to Magic Kingdom. Everyone told us that MK was huge and would need at least 2 full days to truly experience it. Honestly, we did everything we wanted to do that very first day. I guess we were lucky with smaller crowds even though it was Memorial Day! For Round 2 we went to the park later so that everyone could sleep in {we were plum exhausted at this point} and so that we would stay later at the park and watch the electrical parade and fireworks! I'm so glad we did. It was pretty amazing. The castle show was just about the coolest thing I have ever seen! We had a really great time and I also found my most favorite souvenir ever {picture below}!!
Day 4 was spent at Hollywood Studios. I was interested to see Hollywood Studios because the last time I was there it was MGM. When we first got there all I could think as how cool everything was. I loved the different backdrops and all of the buildings. It truly felt like we were on a movie set. We watched a few shows, rode the Toy Story Mania ride, met Buzz & Woody & Mason played on the Honey I Blew Up the Kid playground. I think I enjoyed HW Studios more than some people in our group. And, I think we left before actually seeing it all. For lunch we had reservations at Prime Time Cafe. We had reservations for 2:35, but didn't get seated until after 3:00. That was kind of a bummer. It was super crowded and felt like we waited forever. Kind of defeats the purpose of making a reservation 3 months in advance. ha! Prime Time Cafe is a cafe set back in the 50's. The waiter greets you like long lost family that you haven't seen in a while. It's quite entertaining. If they catch you doing something at the table that you're not supposed to they will "shame" you and put you in the corner. Hilarious! As far as the food goes there are not many options at all. It was pot roast, meatloaf, pork chops or fried chicken {for the most part}. Nathan and I chose Meatloaf and it was just okay. It had a weird texture and I am big on textures. It was fun though and I am glad we did it. After lunch we watched the Indiana Jones show. It was pretty interesting. Mason enjoyed it! So that's a win. After the show we had a fast pass for Star Tours so we headed that way. This was probably my least favorite thing that we did the whole Disney trip. If you're not familiar...it's a 3d motion-simulated ride through space. Itmade me incredibly nauseous. I had to close my eyes just to get through it. And then I felt sick for about 45 minutes after! Eh! After Star Tours we went to ride the Great Movie Ride. We enjoyed that one too. We went back to the hotel after that.
Have you been to Hollywood Studios? Did you like it, or no?
We visited Animal Kingdom on Tuesday {Day 3} and we all agree, without a doubt, it was our most favorite day! We all loved the park and the day was just perfect!! It wasn't very crowded, lines went quick and it was so easy to meet characters {unless you're looking for princesses}. We just loved it! We also met the sweetest cast member there...more on that later. Also, our fast passes were a little more spread out on this day and we were able to just enjoy the day and take our time between attractions.
We started out our day with a ride on Kilimanjaro Safaris and it was great. It was fairly early and not burning hot yet, so we got to see most of the animals. I think it was the best way to start off our day at Animal Kingdom. The ride was about 25 minutes long and the scenery was just beautiful. So relaxing!
We walked around and did a few more things before it was our fastpass time for The Festival of the Lion King. While we were walking up to get in line we met the sweetest cast member. She asked us if we wanted to sit in special seats and save our fastpass for something else. We much obliged. So she walked us over to get our names on the list. We had no clue what the 'special seats' were, but we were dang excited! We hung out and talked with sweet Lillian while waiting on our show to start. She asked Mason what his favorite animal at AK was and he told her a monkey. About 15 minutes later it was time for the show and she walked us in. She put us on the front row and told us that the cast members in the show pick kids from the front row {4 total} to be in the show. Mason was ecstatic and couldn't wait. While we were waiting on the show to start sweet Lillian came back holding a big Disney World bag. She told Mason that she got him a monkey since it was his favorite! It was a huge monkey that you could wrap around your body. I think it instantly became his favorite Disney World souvenir! I cried because I couldn't believe the kindness and generosity of this sweet lady. Made my mama heart so full.
While we were waiting on the show Mason entertained us with some dancing...
The show started and we were in awe. It was the most amazing show that we had watched. The lights, the singing, the dancing, all of it was wonderful. Nate's brother Ty was chosen to be a part of the production and then Mason was chosen to be a part. It was so neat!! Mason had a blast
When we came out of the show we were right near the entrance of the restaurant that we had lunch reservations at. So we just hung out and waited until it was time for us to go in. We ate at Tusker House and it was amazing. It was an African inspired buffet type lunch and it definitely didn't disappoint. This was also a character lunch. We saw Mickey, Goofy, Donald and Daisy. No Minnie and I am not sure why. Mason loved getting to see the characters and get their autograph in his book. After lunch they brought him out a cupcake and a birthday card signed by all of the characters! He loved it.
After lunch we walked around the park, rode some rides and met lots of characters. Our favorite ride was most definitely Dinosaur!! We really didn't know what to expect going into the ride and it surprised us. The ride is fast, a lot of it is in the dark and you have dinosaurs jumping out at you. So much fun! I could have rode it over and over. Mason loved it, too. Actually, I think our whole group loved it. So much fun!
Our favorites from Animal Kingdom: The Festival of the Lion King The Tree of Life // It's Tough to be a Bug Dinosaur Kilimanjaro Safaris Have you ever been to Animal Kingdom? What is your favorite thing there? Miss Days 1 & 2? Click here {also updated it with a video}
