Day 4 - The Day In Which we Princessed Ourselves Silly

On Wednesday we were yet again at the park before it opened - this time at Epcot, specifically to attend the "Storybook Princess Breakfast" at the Akershus Castle in Norway. There wasn't a lot in which we though Caroline would be interested at Epcot and we had left William back at the hotel with Nana and Papa, so it was nice to have a relaxing morning just the three of us without much of an agenda.

All week at Disney we kept hearing about how empty the park was, and to be honest, I didn't think it felt empty at all - until we were at Epcot. It was practically a ghost town. We were up against the rope at opening, and Mickey & Friends came right up to greet us.

As soon as the park officially opened, Caroline and I headed off to ride Nemo and Friends and to check out The Seas (an aquarium-like exhibit featuring manatees, dolphins, and other tropical sea life) while Steve rode Soarin' (Caroline wasn't big enough). We were literally the first people on the ride! Next we were off to the Character Spot to meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck, Pluto and Goofy. Characters were definitely a high point for Caroline - you can see how much more comfortable she is with them by this day. :)

And finally it was time for the main event: The Princess Breakfast. Caroline had been dreaming about this since we first started planning our Disney trip. We got to eat in a castle with Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Jasmine, and Mulan. It was a little girl's dream come true. As a mommy, it was pretty awesome to watch. :)

Here's some free Disney advice for you: if you are taking a little girl who is obsessed with dress-up/princesses/etc. to Disney, make sure you bring a princess dress with you. Practically every little girl is dressed up like her favorite Disney princess throughout the parks. We managed to convince Caroline to save her dress for our breakfast, but I'm pretty sure we would be paying for her therapy someday if we didn't have it with us. Of course, you can always buy the $65 costumes there, too. :)

Caroline found some time for dancing outside the castle:

We ended our morning with a boat ride across the World Showcase Lagoon.

After lunch and naps at the hotel, the four of us headed back to the Magic Kingdom to try out some of the other rides. We rode the railroad, took a raft to Tom Sawyer Island, explored the Swiss Family Treehouse, and rode the Jungle Cruise and The Magic Carpets of Aladdin twice. We ended our day with the magnificent Spectral Magic Parade.

Final Thoughts On Disney: This was an awesome, magical trip. Although we've travelled quite a lot with the children, this was our first technical "vacation." It was absolutely wonderful to be together and to just have time as a family. Caroline has led a relatively sheltered life, and to watch her having all of these incredible first-time experiences was so special. This may shock some of you, but I can actually be a tiny bit uptight about naps, schedules, bedtimes, etc., but I was able to let go of that (a little) and just have fun. The kiddos were amazing the entire time - I am so proud of them. Finally, I want to thank Steve's parents for making this trip happen. From the groceries to the babysitting to the William-toting, we couldn't have done it without you. We love you so much.