Another Magical Day!

We were up very early this morning - we had a breakfast reservation at Chef Mickeys at 7:05. Grace was up in time, but Carson was very tired and sleepy. Trav ended up carrying him to the van in his pj's. He changed up in the van at the parking lot (which didn't thrill him) at the Contemporary Hotel.

By the time we got settled in and had our sighting of Goofy, well, Carson was goofy. Soon Pluto, Mickey, Minnie and Donald Duck were swarming around. We got pics with all five characters, plus autographs of the ones we didn't have yet. Grace has been a bit skeptical of these 'characters' but by this morning she was warming up and a bit 'goofy' herself. Carson was THRILLED to meet Donald Duck. Not sure where this is coming from, but, he is so excited about Donald.

In true Disney style, both kids celebrated their birthdays (the reservation woman recommended we do this for extra perks for the kiddos at all character meals). Carson liked to correct people to tell them it was his pretend birthday. With buttons, place mats, cupcakes and more, they had quite a party and family pics to follow.

We were off to Animal Kingdom after this. GKTW staff recommended we get a special sticker for the stroller that treats it as a wheelchair. Basically, we get to take the stroller pretty much everywhere. This was so incredibly handy with the kids. Carson was tired today and spent quite a bit of time in the stroller. We admired the Tree of Life, the Kilimanjaro Safari (WOW!!!), two rounds on the Kali River Rapids (can you say WET?), Dinosaur, and the TriceraTop Spin were some of our stops. It was a beautiful day and we had a leisurely walk around the park. Grace fell asleep in Africa (first France and now Africa - impressive!).

We came quite close to getting scolded by a Disney cast member. We were waiting in line for a character signing (Chip and Dale) and he told us that GKTW kids and families never wait - even for character signings. So, we breezed through Chip and Dale, Daisy Duck, Pooh, Tigger, Eyeore, and two more that I can't remember right now. We saw others too, but since we already had their autographs and pics from other places, we just waved 'hi'.

After Trav and Carson's turn on the River Rapids, we left. We were close to leaving anyway, but they were in the wrong (or right) spot on the raft and both got soaked to the skin. With a quick shuttle to our van, we were soon on our way back to GKTW, soggy pants and all. I had extra clothes for Carson to change into at the van, but not Trav.

Back at GKTW, we enjoyed some time in the Castle of Miracles - Carson put his name on a star and it will be placed on the ceiling of the Castle. Within the next day or two we'll get a visit from the Star Fairy and she'll tell us the coordinates of his star. We also made Magic Pillows for both Grace and Carson to keep - they are adorable mini pillows.

Next, we explored outside a bit. We took a train ride and a tram ride around the Village. Soon it was supper time. After supper, Trav took Grace back for a bath and bed. Carson and I found the chapel (he wrote a beautiful note - 'I love you - thank you, God! From: Carson'), we danced a bit on the Avenue of Angels (to music from the Lion King - how can you NOT dance?!?), stopped by the House of Hearts to sign up for a bedtime tuck in from the Village mascots tomorrow night and on our way back to the villa we stopped in for ice cream. YUMMY! Oh I could get used to an ice cream selection like that. Carson once again enjoyed strawberry swirl soy ice cream with rainbow sprinkles.

Trav and I took in some sun today - it felt so good!!! More beautiful days are slated for the rest of the week as well.

Tomorrow is Sea World for a bit - no big schedule. Major thing we want to see is the Believe Shamu show. Pretty flexible!

Time for bed again - we are tuckered out, but having a magical and amazing time!