February 2019, Day 2; Animal Kingdom

 We were so excited for our first trip to Pandora as a family of four.  LittleCJC was super excited as well since she was finally tall enough for Flight of Passage and Expedition Everest.  Of course, we were at the park before opening.  Officially, the park opened at 9:00, but by 8:50, we were already on our first ride of the day.  I keep saying, it pays to be early.  Here we are on Na'vi River Journey, attraction #1.

9:00

When we got off the ride, we made a loop through Pandora and caught a bit of the ACE demonstration.

With no photographers out this morning in Pandora, we decided to make our way over to Dinoland.  As we crossed the front of the park, we noticed that a few characters were out without much wait.  So, we quickly got in line and visited Russel and Dug, characters #1 and #2.

I love her wide eyes.

After our visit with these wilderness explorers, we continued on to Dinoland where LittleCJC and Patrick rode Dinosaur, attraction #2.

10:00

We were able to do an immediate rider swap where LittleCJC was able to ride with me to get Dinosaur, attraction #3. 

I love how she remembered exactly where the big dino was and chose to just not look at him.  With her two rides done, we were en route to our first fastpass at Safari when we came across another character with no wait.  So we of course took a little time to meet Launchpad McQuack, character #3.

LittleCGC was asleep, so she missed out. LittleCJC also took this time for an ice cream break.  When we moved on, we were ready to use our fastpass at Safari, attraction #4.

Look who woke up.  Of course, she quickly got fussy wanting to nurse, so I had to oblige.

If you read my past posts, you know I was concerned about this leading up to this trip.  I definitely would say I became more comfortable with it all throughout the week, but the most uncomfortable part was always just awkwardly putting the cover on and getting situated.  If you can get past that, nursing while on rides like Safari are actually convenient.

11:00

After our Safari, it was time for our next fastpass, and LittleCJC's most anticipated ride this trip.  She was finally tall enough for Expedition Everest, attraction #5.

The rain had started to fall, but this little girl wasn't going to let that stop her.

So what's the verdict?  She absolutely loved it and was eager for her immediate re-ride with Dad on Expedition Everest, attraction #6.

I love how proud she is.

Here's LittleCGC watching big sis and seeing what her future will be.

12:00

When we were finally able to move on, we decided to stop for some lunch in dinoland.  So fun fact, the kids meals here are served in a sand bucket.  This apparently is a great toy when it's raining.

1:00

After lunch, it was time for another first for LittleCJC.  It was back to Pandora for our third fastpass at Flight of Passage, attraction #7.  She actually rode first with Dad, but look how excited she still was for her second ride with me on Flight of Passage, attraction #8.

2:00

Thankfully, by the time we were done with Flight of Passage, the rain had stopped so we decided to get a few pictures.  First in Pandora.

3:00

 With the sun out and little one awake, we decided to then go to the tree of life for our next picture.

We also backtracked just a bit to get this other picture.

If I'm being completely honest, I'm pretty sure Patrick wanted to get a photo here when we first left Pandora and it somehow became a trigger for LittleCJC to melt down.  With kids, there always seems to be something that sets them off for no reason.  Today, it was this picture.  Of course, after moving on and getting the tree of life photo, she wanted to go back to get this one.  Please tell me I'm not the only one with a kid like this?

Once everyone was calmed down and our pictures were taken, we moved back to Expedition Everest.  Thankfully, after using our last fastpass at Flight of Passage, we were able to pick up another one here since it was LittleCJC's new favorite ride.  On the way, we found another photopass photographer and thought we should stop since it was such an appropriate photo for our day.

4:00

After this last photo stop, we finally made it back to  Expedition Everest, attraction #9

I love how she's so excited...even when she's about to fall backwards.

5:00

Before doing an immediate switch, we had an early dinner reservation at a new to us restaurant.  We were suppose to meet up here with some friends, but they ended up not being able to join us.  I was a little worried about this, but the wonderful workers at Yak and Yeti didn't bat an eye when I said our party size had changed from 6 to 4.  Our meal here was delicious, but the best part was definitely the dessert.

6:00

When we finished eating, LittleCJC was ready for her rider switch ride on Expedition Everest, attraction #10.

Look at my big girl.  Fourth time on this big kid coaster and she already has her hands up.

With a lot of constant searching and probably more likely a pure stroke of luck, we were able to get one last fastpass for Flight of Passage, attraction #11 and #12.

Of course, while I rode with LittleCJC, Patrick got some great photos with LittleCGC.

7:00

We took our time exploring Pandora in the dark and watching the Tree of Life before leaving for the night.  With the exception of LittleCJC's meltdown, we had a great day.

February 2019, Day 1; Hollywood Studios, check-in, & Magic Kingdom

 This was our originally scheduled arrival day, so our fastpasses were planned in the late afternoon at Magic Kingdom.  We decided to keep these and spend our morning attacking the new Toy Story Land without using fastpasses.  So, of course, we were at Hollywood Studios early and headed to Andy's backyard with the rest of the crowd.

I know this looks crazy, but it also adds to the excitement when it is for something new to us.

 Like everyone else, we went to Slinky dog first. Believe it or not, we also had the shortest wait of the entire day as well.

9:00

LittleCJC rode with Daddy first, and she was so excited for this new coaster.

A great way to start the day, Slinky Dog Dash, attraction #1.

She loved it, and was so excited to rider swap and show mom everything, Slinky Dog Dash, attraction #2.

Dad was great and got this video, too.

After her two rides on Slinky Dog, we were ready to test out the other new ride here.

10:00

At this point there was bit of a wait here, but really it wasn't that bad.  Honestly, it worked out well for me, because LittleCGC was ready to eat.  I was able to find a spot in the shade that was fairly empty still this early in the day.  I know I was a little curious as to how nursing in the park would go for us.  Each park has a baby care center, so I knew this was an option.  However, the baby care center here is located at the very front of the park and I didn't want to spend my entire vacation away from my family, so I really wanted to feel comfortable enough to nurse anywhere.  Other than extra thought into what I might wear everyday, this worked out great.  During this particular time, I just sat down on the ground at the viewing area and actually felt fairly secluded here since it wasn't too busy yet.

So while we were nursing, Patrick and LittleCJC waited in line for Alien Swirling Saucers.

We were done in time to watch Daddy and LittleCJC's first reactions to Alien Swirling Saucers, attraction #3.

Here's a glimpse of them in action.

Just like before, LittleCJC was excited to rider swap and show me everything, including this hidden Mickey that she spotted while waiting in line.

11:00

However, before using our rider swap fastpass, we decided to test out the new Woody's Lunchbox for lunch.  We both got the bar-b-que sandwich and we thought it was great.  LittleCJC opted for the grilled cheese sandwich, which was also really tasty.

When we finished our lunch,  LittleCJC and I used our rider swap passes for Alien Swirling Saucers, attraction #4.

When LittleCJC and I got off the ride, LittleCGC had a surprise waiting for me, resulting in her first outfit change of the trip.  When you have little ones like this, you always need to make sure to pack at least one extra outfit in your bag.

With everything except Toy Story Mania (which we already rode yesterday) done in the new Toy Story  Land, including lunch, we decided now was a good time to leave the park and go check in to our new hotel.  Check-in at Disney is typically in the afternoon, but you can request an earlier time and whenever your room is ready they will send you a text.  In this case, we recieved a text earlier saying our room was ready so we were able to head straight to our room now.

12:00

During this trip, we were staying at Pop Century.

I love how LittleCJC is becoming a big help, in this case, rolling both her and her sister's suitcases to the room.

1:00

Once we were inside our room, we took our time settling in and let LittleCGC take a bit of a nap.  We're not ones to typically leave a park for naps, (that's what strollers are for) but since we already had the break in our day to check-in, we decided to take our time. 

 We did end up leaving just before 2:00, when we drove over to Magic Kingdom.

2:00

Since we were arriving later in the day, we were parked at the very back of the villains lot.

With both girls and the double stroller, we thought it would be easier to just walk as opposed to the tram.  By the time we made it to the park, our goal was to get in our fastpasses at Big Thunder Mountain before our dinner reservations.  However, by the time we made it to Frontierland, everyone was already lined up to watch the parade.  LittleCJC didn't want to miss it, even though we didn't have a great viewing spot.

3:00

LittleCJC still enjoyed the parade from this spot, of course she still had a pretty good view.

Lol, here's how the rest of us viewed it.

When the parade ended, Patrick and LittleCJC were able to use their fastpass at Big Thunder Mountain, attraction #5.  Unfortunately, LittleCJC didn't get her second ride here with a riders swap, because we had a dinner reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table.  LittleCJC started making this request a few days before the trip and Daddy was able to pick up this reservation on the short notice.  We hadn't originally thought we'd eat here this trip, but Patrick is definitely a sucker when it comes to his little girls.

4:00 - 6:00

As always, we were greeted by Cinderella, character #1, upon entering the castle.

This ended up working out perfectly for Cinderella, in her castle, to be LittleCGC's first princess meet and greet.

After both girls got their picture, we got one with the whole group.

With our pictures complete, we were seated upstairs and ready to eat our dinner.

One of the reasons LittleCJC was excited to eat here, was all the princesses she gets to meet.  The first one to come to our table was Snow White, character #2.

Next up was Aurora, character #3.

Our next visitor was Ariel, character #4.

The final princess to visit our table was Jasmine, character #5.

LittleCGC also loved the magic wand she received here.

Another highlight here for LittleCJC is the build your own cupcake dessert.

Don't worry, they have delicious adult desserts as well.

When we finished eating, we decided to head back to Frontierland to get back to that rider swap at Big Thunder Mountain, attraction #6.

This was actually our first trip where they switched the rider swap system from the paper return passes to the digital ones on your magic bands.  We had heard that the rider swap passes had a return window of one hour and I was a little concerned that this could cause a bit of an issue with the little one.  However, this wasn't the case for majority of the rides.  This could always change, especially if the parks are more crowded maybe, but there were only a few rides that showed an expiration time for us during this visit.

7:00

When we finished in Frontierland, we were ready for our next fastpass.  We were off to meet Mickey and Minnie, characters #6 and #7 and we were excited to celebrate Mickey's birthday.

We all loved their festive birthday outfits, especially LittleCGC.

After wishing Mickey a happy birthday, we decided to find a spot in front of the castle to watch the evening fireworks.

8:00

At 8:00, Happily Ever After began, and we enjoyed it as always.

When the fireworks ended, we had to fight the crowd a little bit and then were directed all the way around toward the Haunted Mansion, as we tried to make our way to our third fastpass Peter Pan, attraction #7.  I didn't get a photo on the ride, but I snapped this when we got off.  I think she approved.

9:00

Since this was our last fastpass, we were able to search for a new selection and we were rewarded with immediate passes at Winnie the Pooh, attraction #8.  It may be getting late, but I think she was happy to get in a few rides this evening.

Poor Daddy, had to sit in the back by himself after LittleCJC declared that the girls all had to sit in the front.

Again, we were able to pick up immediate fastpasses after our ride with the Pooh Bear.  This time we were visiting Ariel, character #8.

I know many people would probably think we're crazy for visiting Ariel when we had already seen her this evening at dinner, but in this case it actually made this visit more fun because Ariel remembered us from dinner.  What are the odds?

Yet again, we were able to pick up another fastpass.  This time we got lucky with Splash Mountain.  So, we crossed the park again and LittleCJC rode first with Daddy on Splash Mountain, attraction #9.

While they were on the ride, I took advantage of the quiet benches placed nearby to feed LittleCGC again, and thought this snapchat filter was appropriate.

Again, the timing worked out nicely, and everyone finished about the same time.  We then switched places and LittleCJC and I took our turn together on Splash Mountain, attraction #10.

Ironically, it started to rain while we were on the ride.

10:00

We're not ones to let a little rain stop us, and LittleCJC was still going strong, so we continued on with another immediate fastpass.  This probably wasn't necessary, but we used it anyway.  Since LittleCGC had fallen asleep, LittleCJC and I tackled this one alone, making Aladdin's Magic Carpets, attraction #11.

This ended up being our last ride of the night.  Although there was enough time left for another ride or two, the rain had really started to come down.  By the time we made it to the front of the park, waited for the ferryboat (the monorail had stopped running due to the storm,) and made our way to the tram we were pretty wet.  Since I was carrying LittleCGC I thought the tram would be a better option.  Patrick, however opted to walk to the car with LittleCJC in the stroller.  I learned my lesson.  Patrick made it to the car before me and he was definitely drier than me.  Thankfully, LittleCGC stayed dry and asleep so at least there's that.

Regardless of the rain at the end of our day, we had a great day.