Florida Trip: Day 4 - Parade Day!

Wednesday, November 23
Day 4
Epcot! Monorail ride! The parade! Epcot again! Illuminations!

Wednesday was the big day. The whole reason for our trip. Christine and Kelly marched in the parade at the Magic Kingdom!

But first, we went to Epcot right away in the morning. Soarin' is an extremely popular ride at Epcot, so we wanted to get on it right away in the morning and then get the girls Fast Passes so they could go on it that evening without waiting two hours. The Fast Passes go quick so they wouldn't still be available when they came in the afternoon. It worked out well. I had never been on Soarin' before in Florida, but had at California Adventure in California. It's a cool ride, but I still don't get what all the hype is about.

We did a few other things at Epcot before taking the monorail to the Magic Kingdom.

• Spaceship Earth - They redid it and it's pretty cool now and interactive
• Turtle Talk with Crush - Good for little kids. I wasn't as amused though...
• Living with the Land -A boat ride through the greenhouses. It was actually pretty interesting to see all the different plants and how they grow them.
• Lunch at the World Showcase - Mom and I got cheese empanadas at Mexico. They were good but really cheesy. I couldn't eat all of them.

With our food at the Mexico pavilion

Taking the monorail to MK

 At the Magic Kingdom, we met up with the girls right away to give them their Fast Passes.

Then, we got Dole Whips (yum!) before heading over to get a good spot for the parade.

Dole Whip floats!

A little show with characters at the castle

It was really neat to see the Aquinas band march at Disney.

Christine is in the front row, second from the right

Kelly is front row far left, Stine is front row second from right

Christine trying not to smile at mom's shouting

 After they went by us on Main Street USA, mom and I dashed over to Liberty Square to see them again and get some photos with the castle in the background. Worth it!

Me: "Christine, did you see us when you were marching?"
Christine: "Yeah... both times..."

 Then, we rejoined Carey, Mary and Caroline to watch the parade.

Stitch giving mom a high five

Once the parade was over, we went and watched the Monster's, Inc Laugh Floor show. It was pretty good.

Caroline, Mom and I with the last of the parade going by in the background

 Next, we took the Walt Disney Railroad around the park before getting on the Monorail. Carey, Mary and Caroline headed over to the Grand Floridian to check out its Christmas decor, but mom was anxious to meet up with Stine at Epcot so we went straight there.

We met up with the girls in the UK pavilion at Epcot. There we got our pictures taken with Tigger and Pooh! Christine's favorites. How lucky.

Tigger hugging mom

Us with Tigger and Pooh

 We strolled around the World Showcase the rest of the night. In France, Christine and I split a crepe. It was okay. While the girls went on the rides at Norway and Mexico, mom and I went on the GM Fast Track. Even the single riders line was long, but I enjoyed it.

We met back up with them by the world showcase to watch Illuminations before heading back for the night.

Illuminations, Reflections of Earth