Disney Day 7 - Friday

We had no plans in the morning for our last day.  Daddy really wanted to ride the roller coaster at Animal Kingdom and there were supposed be some great trails we had not explored yet, so we set off for Animal Kingdom.  As soon as we entered the park, the bottom fell out of the sky.  Daddy went ahead to wait in line and the girls and I waited out the storm in a gift shop.  Since the rain had seemed to settle in, the girls and I headed back to the room.  Daddy waited it out and got to ride - he said it was amazing.  I will never understand that thrill!

This was the view outside of our room.  It was fun peeking out and seeing what new animals may be roaming about that day.

We had dinner reservations at Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom.  The food was delicious but by this point in the trip I think we were all a little tired of eating.  We even turned down our dessert.  Another storm popped up as we were leaving so the girls covered up in Daddy's poncho.

While waiting in line to meet more princesses, Sarah Ellen entertained us with her many silly faces.

 Rapunzel

 Cinderella

Waiting on the nighttime Electrical Parade!

Disney Day 6 - Thursday

Thursday was a much needed park free day for us.  We were all pretty worn out and happy to not have a schedule ahead of us.  After a lazy morning, we headed out to the pool for some swim time.  The girls loved the pool and I am thinking we may have to try the waterparks next time.  

We ventured over to the Kidani Village pool again but didn't even get a chance to enjoy because of yet another Florida afternoon storm.  We waited it out a bit in their lobby where the girls were perfectly happy to watch, guess what, Disney on TV.

After some down time, we headed out to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue.  I had heard such great things about this dinner show.  Lily was a bit nervous going in, but as soon as the show started she LOVED it.  It was really cute and had a little something for all ages.  The meal was fabulous.  All you can eat fried chicken, BBQ ribs, mashed potatoes, salad, cornbread, and salad.  That was by far some of the best fried chicken I had ever had.

Sarah Ellen finally got a nap in on the way to dinner.

We were up on the balcony with a great view of the whole show.

Our waitress found out it was SE's birthday the day before and brought her dessert with candles in it.  And yes, that would be a very large strawberry shortcake for two.

Disney Day 5: Sarah Ellen's Birthday!!

Day 5: The big day!!!  Sarah Ellen’s birthday.  It wouldn’t be a good birthday without a phone call first thing from your BFF.  She and Olivia chatted it up while we waited on the bus to take us to the Magic Kingdom.  Disney is a fun place to be on your birthday.  They gave Sarah Ellen a special birthday button and EVERYONE wished her a happy birthday.  She was made to feel very special.  

Our first stop was to meet Elsa and Anna!  Sarah Ellen couldn’t wait.  As you can see from the picture, Lily was a little nervous going in.  She was slow to enter any new building, but once in, she was okay.  I loved the look on their faces as they talked to Anna and Elsa – compete awe!

We also were able to meet Princess Aurora.

Our next stop was The Enchanted Tales with Belle.  Poor Lily had a rough time with this one.  We were ushered into small rooms for each part of the story.  She hung in there though and enjoyed the story.  I was a bit bummed with this attraction.  They pick children to participate in the story.  My newly six year sat there with her hand in the air to volunteer and didn’t get picked for ANY part.  HELLO???  Did they not see her birthday shirt OR her birthday button.  Come on people – help a birthday girl out.  They did pick Lily to be silverware and she sweetly gave hers to Sarah Ellen.  She has been such a loving big sister this trip.

Next Sarah Ellen wanted to ride the Adventures of Pooh.  While she and daddy did that, Lily and I took a turn on the carousel. 

Next on to meet Tinkerbell!

Then it was time for our birthday lunch.  Sarah Ellen chose to eat with the characters from Winnie the Pooh at the Crystal Palace.  We stuffed our bellies with the all you can eat buffet and enjoyed meeting the characters.

After lunch, we stopped at the gift store for the girls to spend some of their money then back to the room to open presents.  The girls played with all of Sarah Ellen’s new things for a solid two hours while James and I somehow managed to nap in the same room with them.

For the evening we headed over to Epcot to visit the countries and hopefully to see Illuminations since we were rained out earlier in the week.  As soon as we got there, the bottom fell out, so we took shelter in Mexico for a bit.  The girls enjoyed the Kidcot stops and colored Duffy Bear for a while.  We then ran from country to country until finally the rain stopped.  

Daddy had a bit of a poncho malfunction.  

The rain held off long enough for us to enjoy the nighttime show.  Well really for mommy to enjoy it.   This was one of the things I really wanted to see while here.  Lily wanted nothing to do with it.  Sarah Ellen enjoyed it once I held her ears.

We had a full day and crashed as soon as our heads hit the pillow. 

Happy Birthday Sarah Ellen