The Poprik's Go to Disney - Part 7 Hollywood Studios Redo!

After spending a day at each of the Disney parks we had 3 days left. We decided that our top 3 places to visit again were Hollywood Studios, Epcot and The Magic Kingdom.




This time at Hollywood Studios, we hit the attractions that we missed first, Like the Studio BackLot Tour. Ashley was excited to see the props from Pirates of the Caribean were prominently featured. The only thing missing was Johnny Depp.





Herbie!


Then we hit up our favorite rides. This time I got to ride Tower of Terror with Ashley.



We all relaxed  a lot on this round and started just acting really goofy. Maybe it was the lack of sleep!



That evening there was a Disney Junior dance party. We decided to stop in and check it out. Alan had the best time dancing with Handy Manny.

He told Minnie Mouse that he didn't need to learn the electric slide because his "moves" were better.



Rowan stayed close to the wall. Too many costumed characters for her, but every now and then we would catch her dancing.

Of course we had to hit our favorite ride, Toy Story Mania, several times.





Rowan was quite the little pro.


After we left Toy Story Mania, we saw that there was a character greeting with Buzz Lightyear across the street. The line wasn't too bad so we went on in. There were lots of opportunities for goody pictures while we waited.








and finally, they met Buzz!


Alan was very excited!



We decided to take advantage of the photopass!

After realizing what time is was, we decided to head over to see Fantasmic! It was right by the Tower of Terror and I have to say it was kind of creepy looking at night.

Fantasmic was fun, but Rowan didn't stay awake to the end. One of the Disney cast members say us carrying her out and offered us one of the strollers that had been left in the back of the back of the park. We only had to carry her from the gate to the tram and the car.  The next day was more fun at Epcot!

The Poprik's Go to Disney - Part 6 Animal Kingdom

By Day 6 of our trip we had already visited, Downtown Disney, Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Typhoon Lagoon and had 2 character dining experiences. We were tired but ready to check out Disney's newest park. Animal Kingdom! We got the park right as it opened and hopped the tram to the gate.






The kids were getting tired of  pictures, but we still had them pose in front of the Tree of Life.



David went to get our locker and fastpasses for Expedition Everest while I took the kids to DinoLand. Along the way we bumped into Stitch again and this time he had Lilo with him.


Help my son is being mauled a bear!


While we were seeing Winnie the Pooh I found out about the Disney Photopass. The Disney photographers take your pictures and then scan the information to a card. You take the card with you and you can check the photopass website to buy the pictures. They are much better than anything that I could take and we really wish we had known about it 6 days earlier! You can add some really fun borders to the pictures too.







After visiting with Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore, met up with David and he and Ashley headed over to Expedition Everest while I took the little ones over to DinoLand.  The first ride they spotted was the Triceratops Spin. It is basically the same ride as Dumbo, but with dinosaurs.



After wards we went over to the Boneyard for the kids to climb and play. It is basically a big playground and they enjoyed having the chance to climb and run. When David and Ashley met up with us we decided to check out Finding Nemo- The Musical and then Dinosaur.


As you can tell this ride was intense and not a favorite AT ALL. Alan was terrified and Rowan was not a happy camper.


After our scare in DinoLand we  decided to watch  It's Tough to be a Bug. We had enjoyed all of the 3d movies so far and thought it would be a great way to make up for the scary Dinosaur ride. We were WRONG! Tarantula's dropped from the ceiling and the seat backs poked you to simulate being stung in this 4d experience. Not cool for little ones at all.  Afterwards we headed over to Asia to decompress a bit and have a picnic lunch.

There was a nice area with tables across from the Flight of Wonder and it had a great view.

During lunch we decided to do something low key and fun for all of us, so we headed out to Rafiki's Planet Watch. You ride a cute train out to the attraction and the kids had a good time.



Rafiki's Planet Watch has a small petting zoo.


and a nature trail. The kids liked trying to find butterflies.

Rafiki's Planet Watch has a large educational building where they show the food the animals there eat and have different hands on exhibits.


They also had some really big animals.




As we were leaving Rafiki's Planet Watch we bumped into this guy.


After returning from Rafiki's Planet Watch we headed over to Africa and the Kilamanjaro Safari. Honestly, we were disappointed. Instead of making the  safari a normal and informative experience that our family was wanting, it was a full blown ride with fake bridge collapses and hunting poachers. We really just wanted to see some giraffes and zebras so it was kind of annoying.

After Africa we headed back over to Asia so that Ashley and I could ride Expedition Everest and Kali River Rapids.


David took the kids back to the Boneyard to run around and play.


Animal Kingdom closed at 6pm the day we were there, so we headed over to Downtown Disney to do some shopping before heading back to the hotel and getting ready for the next day.

The Poprik's Go to Disney - Part 5 Typhoon Lagoon

On Wednesday we decided to take a mid-week break from the parks and have a relaxing day at Typhoon Lagoon. We started off with a ride around the lazy river and then Ashley and David took of for some of the big kid slides. I stayed with Alan and Rowan at the wave pool and kids areas.

Floating in Castaway Creek



The wave pool has incredibly large and srtong waves that would knock Alan and Rowan over even in just a few inches of water, so they sepent most of their time playing in a shower. Rowan was having an AWESOME time!


David and Ashley met up with us and pointed out Ketchakiddee Creek. This was a great play are with water cannons and a kid sized tube slide. They basically spent the rest of the day in there.










At lunch time we grabbed our lunch bag and floated over to the shark tank area for a picnic lunch.





While we were eating David surprised Ashley by telling her that she was going to get to scuba dive in the shark tank. There is an overturned ship in the middle of the tank and on one side you can snorkel across the tank, but the other side has a a place to rent scuba gear and you get to dive in the tank for 20 minutes!



Hanging out on the rock in the tank after she found a hidden Mickey with some new baby fish by it.






Posing for a picture before Ashley and I went off to do some slides and David hung out with the kids at Ketchakidee Creek.




We ended our day at Typhoon Lagoon with another float in Castaway Creek. The park closed while we were in the water so we had to get out and walk a bit to get to our locker.  While David was getting our stuff, Stitch showed up.  Alan  took the opportunity to give him a hug and get a picture.


Ashley was getting a bit tired of her brother and sister at this point. LOL


We took advantage of the early day and went to our last character dinner at Grand Floridian and Cinderella's Happily Ever After Banquet. and got ready for the next day at Animal Kingdom.