"Rapunzel Let Down Your Hair"

Have you seen the movie Tangled?  It's one of our favorite... super cute and it appeals to both kids with the princess part and the bad guy part.  Evidently it's a lot of peoples favorite because the line to see Rapunzel and Flynn Rider was out of control.  Henry was a great dad and staked out a place in line while the kids and I went and rode no less than 6 other rides. 

We got in line at 9, and our anticipated time to see them was 11!  But, it was more than just a quick meet and greet.  The kids were ushered into an area where color pages and crayons were set out and they got to color a cute picture. 

Then they learned to do the dance that Rapunzel does when she goes to see the lights.  After practicing Rapunzel and Flynn made their big appearance and did the dance with them and guess who got to hold Flynn's hand!

The kids went and got back in line and waited to have individual time with the characters.  All in all, it was worth the wait since they got to do more than just say hi.  My biggest piece of advice for those of you going... get there early!

Magic Kingdom

We have visited Disney three times now and hands down the Magic Kingdom is our favorite place to go.  There's just something so magical (cheese huh) about it.  This time was no different and we actually ended up spending two days there (and skipped Animal Kingdom).  The first day we went to see Mickey first thing because we had heard the line could get long.  Addie and Carter were super excited to meet him and felt very special going "behind the scenes at his movie theatre). 

After Mickey came the princesses (again).  Addie asked Henry who his favorite princess was and he told her Belle so she brought her Belle dress to the park since "Daddy likes her best."  She changed into it and got in line.  What's funny is that Addie was awestruck when she saw them and Carter just sat there and chatted with them.  He told them all about Buzz and Woody and made mention that he liked Cars too.  The girls ate it up!

Now that we had knocked out the big meet and greet (or so we thought) we headed into the park to have fun.  We rode the Buzz Lightyear ride (super fun), the Race cars (Carter's favorite), Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, the Carousal and then called it a day.  We took the kids back, gave them naps, and then returned for nighttime fun.  I have to say this was the best idea.  They were both so tired and would have melted down by 5 if we hadn't taken a break.  It also gave Henry and I time to get things packed up for the trip home without staying up until midnight (which we did anyway because we were having so much fun at the park).

We call this Carter's thinking face.  He made it over and over whenever he was really concentrating on something and it was so funny!

After we got back we headed to Pirates of the Caribbean, met pirate Goofy, rode the ride, and then went to dinner. 

Post dinner we hopped into a short Haunted Mansion line (the ride stopped halfway though so we were stuck listening to the ghosts howl for a bit.  The kids loved it though.  Not once were they scared) and then went to Tomorrowland to ride the people mover.  Sounds boring huh?  Actually it was pretty cool.  It takes you inside Space Mountain and all over Tomorrowland.  Addie in fact said to was one of her favorite "rides."  We came back, Jungle Cruised, and then staked out a place for the parade with our delish Dole Whip. 

After the parade Addie decided that she was ready to ride a roller coaster.  I told Henry to jump on her decision and go before she could chicken out.  So our Addie girl rode her first big girl roller coaster, Big Thunder Railroad, at 10:00pm!  She said it was a bit scary but not too bad. :)  We stayed for another 45 minutes and then high tailed it to the parking lot. 

The next day we gave them the choice of Animal Kingdom or Magic Kingdom and they both chose Magic Kingdom.  Addie had wanted to see Rapunzel the day before but the line was out of control (4+ hours) so we said no.  Today we made a beeline for the Rapunzel line thinking for sure we would be one of the first ones there.  Nope, the people staying in the Disney hotels got an extra hour and were in line before us.  Henry was a great sport and waited in line while we rode rides.  See this post for the details about seeing her.  It was worth the wait.

Post Rapunzel we rode the people mover again, got lunch, took pictures, Carter took a nap, and watched a parade.  Again, once the parade was over Addie decided she HAD to ride the roller coaster again so off she and Henry went with their fast passes.  Carter and I watched and took pictures and the poor guy cried the whole time because all he wanted to do was ride the choo choo too.  Next time buddy for sure!

After a brief visit with Woody and Jesse we hit the road.  Goodbye Disney for now... we will for sure be back soon.

Hollywood Studios

Addie and Carter are still very much in love with Disney Junior and the only way to meet their favorite characters (Little Einsteins and Special Agent Oso) was to do breakfast with them (a very ridiculously priced one at that).  We got to Hollywood Studios before it opened and since we had reservations we were able to walk around the front part of the park with no one else there.  Very cool.  Breakfast was worth every penny too!  Not only did it taste good (the Mickey Mouse waffles were awesome) but the characters really spent a lot of time with each kid.  Very different from waiting in line to say hi for 45 minutes.  They walked around, led them in dances and were super sweet.  We will for sure do another character meal sometime because it's nice not to feel rushed when seeing them.

Loving on Leo

Look at the look on Addie's face!  June is her favorite and has been for years (yes we have been faithful Einstien lovers since 2007)

Oso asked Addie to dance

The ring leader (guy in obnoxiously green shirt and blue pants) did a really good job getting the kids involved.

After breakfast it DOWN POURED and the park cleared out. 

We were able to do everything with the exception of the Toy Story attractions with no wait and we saw/rode everything by 5pm.  It was awesome.  If you're planning on going head straight to the Toy Story ride when you get there.  The line is ridiculous but the ride itself is so fun.  Grab a fast pass if you can and come back later.  Also, the Buzz and Woody line was long but they were so fun and really interacted with the kids which made it worth it.  And Carter was in heaven... two of his favorite people in one place!

Waiting in line to see Buzz and Woody

As Addie would say, "you're cracking me up."

High Fives

The best part of Carter's day

He refused to turn for a picture because he was too busy looking at "race cars."  We cannot wait for Cars 2 to come out. 

Hum... what's up with the thumbs up and peace sign Addie?  "Good day and Peace Out."  She is SO funny!

Epcot

To begin our Disney adventure we started out with Epcot.  Neither Henry or I had been there in years and we thought it would be a good one to start with since we weren't sure there would be much for kids there.  And, we were right.  Ride wise there wasn't much but there were a few all of us could go on, mostly ones that meandered around the Epcot greenhouse, but there were two, Soarin and Test Track that Addie was able to go on.  Soarin was my favorite ride of the whole trip.  You're lifted up over a huge imax screen and you feel like you are flying in a hang-glider down the California coast.  Addie rode it with Henry and loved it so much she rode it again with me after we did a rider switch since Carter was a few inches too short.  Test Track takes drivers around a track at super fast speeds.  Addie and Henry rode it but when it came time to switch is was POURING rain (because no trip to Disney would be complete for the Schantz family with out it raining) and they were about to close to ride so I didn't get the chance to ride.  Addie said it was fun.

Educational ride... OK it was a bit boring

Going on Nemo

Nachos in Mexico

One of the best things about Epcot was that the characters were very available.  Addie and Carter got to meet many princesses (Carter was excited about it because Addie was) and we even did a little autograph book for them.  They thought it was super fun to run around and get the characters to sign them.

Their first "princess"

This Snow White was so nice and sweet.

Carter just loved her... he even gave her a kiss.

Addie and Alice having a serious conversation.  Addie is planning on being Alice for Halloween and wants Carter to be the Mad Hatter.

Right before the skies opened up on us.  The rain was awful.

Aladdin and Jasmine were so nice.  They got such a kick out of posing like them that they continued to take pictures like this the rest of the week. 

We enjoyed Epcot but it's really for older kids.  If you're thinking of going it's a half day park with little people.