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Lincoln started Kindergarten at Cane Bay Elementary on Tuesday. I think having sent him to pre-school the last three years made it easier on all of us. There wasn't nearly as much anxiety
as I expected there to be.
He has already made some new friends and seems to be enjoying himself. He gets to eat lunch, play on the playground, take a "nap" on his mat, and learn (Lincoln's order of important things, not mine!
We went to Studios Saturday morning by boat. I wish they could figure out how to get better AC on the boats when it is that hot out. Yikes it was hot and humid on there.
Had breakfast at Starring Rolls and then went straight over to Toy Story Mania. It was 60 minutes from the time we got in line until we walked out the exit but we had fun.
From there we went and visited with Mike and Sully (pictures on other camera). Then we wandered through some stores, Lincoln bought a Phineas and Ferb toy and we decided on Backlot Express for lunch.
Headed back to hotel for a swim. Got to the pool to see the dark clouds moving in. I think we were in for maybe 20 minutes before the storm hit and they cleared the pool.
Even though it was still drizzling we headed back out. EPCOT was our last park this vacation. We rode Soarin' and then Living with the Land. Did some shopping at Mouse Gears and then headed "around the world".
Lincoln and I had fish and chips again and Michael had Moroccan. Quite yummy.
We went to Japan to look at the koi but the entire pond area is walled off. I hope they are doing a refurb only and not replacing it. We loved that pond and the path up through the garden.
From there it was to America for ice cream. Mickey bars... Yum.
We then headed back to hotel. Michael and Lincoln went for a final swim (in the quiet pool) while I relaxed in the room.
Time for bed.
Because I forgot the most important thing from last night. At the Monster's Inc Laugh Floor... An interactive comedy show hosted by Mike W., Lincoln got chosen to participate. He had been laughing hysterically throughout the show and he had seen the woman in front of us get chosen but when the light hit him and the girl came over with the microphone the look of terror set in. Once he said his name though he relaxed and played along. The monster asked him his age, what he wanted to be when he grew up (a shark catcher)... And then he had to explain what that was and how one catches sharks, etc. The monsters are all computer generated but with people operating them so the interactions are "live". The discussion about being a shark catcher had the audience rolling because Lincoln was so serious and the "monster" was floored. It was a blast and over much to quickly. A new family favorite though.
After a long afternoon of pool time, Lincoln decided we should go to Magic Kingdom.
Straight to Buzz Lightyear ride. Michael won. (I think he cheats - ha!). As we were leaving the ride the wind and thunder started. The Speedway was already closed due to the coming weather so we ducked in to Cosmic Rays for dinner. As it turned out, that was a very smart move. The rain started 5 minutes later and it was so windy it was coming down sideways. Really scary actually. The sun was out, it was pouring and VERY windy. Odd.
It had stopped by the time we finished eating so we thought we would go try to do Big Thunder Mountain again. We took too long getting there I guess; the wait time had jumped from 40 to 80 minutes. I think the crowds were already flooding in for extra magic hours: the park is open until 3AM. Craziness.
Since it was already after 7 and because Lincoln said he wanted to go hunting for characters at the Studios in the morning, we took the train around to Main Street to head out. The boys headed back to the hotel and I got to wander the shops for a short while. It was almost parade time so they were packed... Not my idea of fun.
Tomorrow is our last full day. I can't believe vacation is almost over already. It feels line we just got here yesterday.
At Stormalong Bay. Lincoln and Daddy went down the big slide another 10 times or so again. We played in the sand, floated in the lazy river and Lincoln practiced swimming under the water some more.
We moved to our new "home" this morning... The Beach Club Villas. This was the first time I was able to get a room here on the DVC side of the house.
Lincoln was super excited when I told him because he loves the pool. He got to try it out once before when the Boardwalk pool was closed. Stormalong Bay has many sections: A sandy bottom shallow area with a sand bar in the middle for the kids to play on, a lazy river area, a kiddie play area, a cool slide that starts high up on a ship wreck and then just a big pool with many depths, shelves for sitting, etc. It is definitely one of the best pools on property especially for kids.
It was crazy hot and humid so we spent 3-4 hours in the pool today. Lincoln even tried the big slide and ended up loving it. I think he had more fun on it than playing in the sand which was all he had been talking about wanting to do.
Once the sun finally started to go down we walked over to EPCOT. Directly to the piggy game... Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Since we skipped it the other day there was no avoiding it today.
One Piggy Game later we headed over to Test Track. Sign said 40 minutes... I think it was more like 20 at the most. I think Lincoln likes it but it scares him too.
We then decided that we needed to eat in different countries, different continents even. Lincoln and I had fish and chips from the UK and Michael had the lamb and chicken plate from Morocco. All the food was good.
We started to head to Soarin but I checked my wait times app and the listed time had gone from 45 minutes to 65 minutes. We should have gone there first... Like with Toy Story mania the other day. We missed the "good" wait time by doing something else first. Oh well, it's a good thing we have ridden all of them many timed and are lucky enough to visit often. Anyway... Lincoln chose to get ice cream and watch fireworks instead of riding so that is what we did.
Illuminations was great as usual. I miss the original 30 minutes of music before the show starts. They have changed the soundtrack... And I know this because I have the original on my iPhone that I listen to frequently at work. This new music (although i dont think it is really new anymore) is good... It's just not the same. Guess I don't like change. LOL. But I digress...
After illuminations we walked back to the hotel discussing tomorrows plans. Probably very similar to today. Pool with an evening visit to a park.
Good night... Or good morning if this fails to post again tonight like last night.
After meeting Phineas and Ferb Lincoln chose to see the Stunt Show instead of doing the Toy Story ride. Lightning McQueen now makes an appearance in the show instead of Herbie. He chases around a bad guy with Mater "helping" on screen. The sequence isn't all that great but it was cool to see Lighting "in person" driving around.
Did I mention we had lunch at Pizza Planet (from Toy Story)? It was OK pizza.
After the stunt show we tried to go ride/play Toy Story. So did everyone else leaving the stunt show. The wait was 90+ minutes and the Fast Passes were all gone.
Off to Playhouse Disney and then on to another "first" for Lincoln, the Voyage of the Little Mermaid show.
We had a good snack at Starring Rills bakery (napoleon, butterfingers cupcake and m&m brownie).
At this point the sun seemed to be sticking around so we came back to the hotel for some pool time. Lincoln is becoming a pro at swimming with his face in the water... Now if we can get him to not hold his nose.
Back to Puck Express for another yummy dinner and then an unusually long bus and monorail journey to the Magic kingdom. It took so long we missed the start of the parade. Not sure Lincoln missed anything though... He was happy with what he saw from Daddy's shoulders. Ouch!
The new Pre-fireworks show on the castle has some cool effects. The pictures from the day are nice too. You'd just have to see it I suppose... I'm sure it is online somewhere for viewing.
As always, Wishes did not disappoint. Actually brings a tear or two to my eyes every time I see it. We have so many great memories of our Disney vacations... The music and fireworks just sum them all up so nicely.
Moving hotels tomorrow... Off to a few nights at the Beach Club. Lincoln is so excited about the pool (one section has a sand bottom and sand island in the middle for playing on).
Good night!
We do!
The meet and greet was really cool. There are props everywhere from the show, music playing, and Phineas and Ferb are great. They were dancing and playing with the kids, posing for pictures, making fun of one another, etc.
Of course, I forgot the good camera so I'll have to buy the photo pass pictures I guess. Hopefully P&F will be around for a while so we can see them again on our next trip.
One downer... Evidently Perry made a one day only appearance this weekend for the movie premier. Found out too late. Oh well.
Finally convinced Lincoln to go to T-Rex for dinner. Very much like Rainforest Cafe but all dinosaurs... And fish. Odd mix but whatever.
Oh yeah... And it is loud. Very loud. And then every 20 minutes there is a meteor storm. Did I mention it was loud?
Lincoln got to dig for Dino bones before dinner. Then we had to go touch some of the dinosaurs to convince him they were not real. After a few meteor showers he pronounced himself brave. Such a cute boy.
Dinner was decent... Dessert was insane rich... Total cost a bit much even with Annual Pass discount.
Did I mention it was loud?
Oh yeah, and the rain has finally stopped now that it is 9:30PM.
