Bye, Belle

We spent our last day at Disney World in Epcot. If you want to see beautiful pictures of flowers and princess topiaries, go to my old posts because this time all the flowers were covered with blankets.

The first thing we did was ride Soarin'. Then we went to the character spot to take pictures with Mickey and Minnie and company. Jackson acted like he couldn't care less about this but look at this picture! He gave every last one a big hug and nearly knocked Goofy down.

We had a hard time booking any character meals that worked with our schedule, so we ended up doing the princess storybook breakfast. I thought I could teach Annabeth who all the princesses were in time, but I was lacking in zeal.

I put Annabeth in her Alice in Wonderland costume from Halloween. Here she is waiting patiently with Nana to see Belle.

The cast members who play the princesses are amazing at their jobs. Belle greeted Annabeth by name and the only way she could have known it was by listening to us talk to her while in line. I couldn't tell what Annabeth was thinking, but when we walked away she said in a sweet baby girl voice, "Bye, Belle." Melt my heart. She also said, "Princess."

Then Annabeth got her food.

And we realized that our princess was still in progress.

What a dainty flower.

Cinderella was the first to stop by our table. Like a wise woman, she kept her distance from grubby little Alice.

Snow White has the best dress, doesn't she?

Ariel got a smile out of AB.

It was nice of my boys to put up with all the princess business.

Next we did the Finding Nemo ride and Turtle Talk with Crush. Jackson was crushed when he wasn't called on to ask a question. I was secretly relieved. When we asked him what question he wanted to ask, he said he wanted to tell Crush about his new shoes. Awesome. We watched the dolphins in the aquariums for a while and then we headed to the Test Track. We gave this one two thumbs up.

Annabeth fell asleep in the stroller.

Our final mission was to find Alice. We heard she was in England, so we stalked it until she showed up. Annabeth had Babies with her when she approached Alice, and to my horror, Alice took the gunky thing and laid it on her lap, calling it "quite curious." What a servant. I didn't even want to touch it by then.

Alice told Annabeth she must have gotten some jam on her nose.

On the way out we were feeling very snacky, so we stopped by the caramel shop in Germany. It was OUT OF CONTROL. It smelled so good in there. Cozy bought some hot caramel popcorn that had just come out of the skillet. We also got a gingerbread man and some apple cider in America. To top it all off, homegirl was craving some Mexican food like any good Texan who's been out of her homeland more than 24 hours. Even though my family had a horrible meal in Mexico when I was in 8th grade, I was willing to risk it! We got a huge plate of nachos and churros. Delish! We left happy and with stomach aches.

On the way back to our hotel room, Jackson let out a huge burp. There was a lifeguard nearby and he was laughing so hard and congratulating Jackson on his manly achievement. He said, "God bless you, Buddy." Then I asked if I could take his picture because it was so weird seeing lifeguards in snowsuits. The pools were heated but not enough for the Arctic blast of 2010. We did see some crazy people swimming though.

Cozy, Jackson and Curtis went back to Magic Kingdom that night but Annabeth and I were too tired to leave the room. This is when she finally decided to put on her hat and gloves. I gasped when I saw her face because I felt like I was looking at myself as a child.

We stayed in the 1950's section at the Pop Century. Lady and the Tramp were always there to greet us. I couldn't stop singing "We are Siamese if you please."

We had a late breakfast before leaving on Thursday morning and it was so crowded, there weren't even enough tables to eat inside. That's when I had to admit that Curt's Earliness Project was legit.

Also, I miss my special mug and instant hot chocolate.

If you stay at a hotel on the Disney property, there are lots of perks. One of the best things is the transportation. This is the Disney's Magical Express bus that takes you to and from the airport. We even got to check our bags and get our boarding passes before leaving the hotel.

Abe was in quite a mood. I guess she didn't want to leave. When Curtis pointed out that we had literally moved everything out of reach from her at lunch, we died laughing. This picture is a treasure.

If you're thinking of visiting Disney World soon, the number one thing I'd tell you is to pay $22 for a membership at www.tourguidemike.com. It's worth every penny and you would spend more buying the Disney guide books at Barnes and Noble. He helps you plan (strategize, really) your itinerary based on the dates you'll be going and how historically crowded it is at that time. And he gives tips on where to stay, what to eat, what to do and when, etc. If you use his strategies, you won't wait longer than 15 or 20 minutes at any ride. Just do it!