Day 6 - Downtown Disney

Today we told Abbey she could sleep in a bit as we were in no rush to get anywhere this morning. I had full intentions of taking Oaks out to the pool first thing so it would be nice and quiet for Abs to sleep - but I woke up at 4 am with terrible heartburn, and then around 5 Oakley came and slept with us. When she was up at 7 for the day I was in no mood to go to the pool. So I turned on the Disney channel and she quietly watched tv for a while so I could doze a bit more.

Our plan for the day was to hit Downtown Disney which has restaurants and shopping galore. So we got Abbey up by 9 am and by 10:30 am we were on our way. It was close to 11 am when we got there, so we wandered the shops for a bit before our lunch reservation at 'T-Rex' at 11:30. There were some great stores - I did find a few items for Oakley and for my nephews (still so much shopping to do!) and then we found the lego store! Pretty cool - Jason took a few pictures but I don't think any of it does it justice.

Then we found our lunch spot - T-Rex. What an amazing place. I think that is where 90% of todays pictures come from! It had a 'show' every 15 min or so where you'd hear some animal noises, the lights would change and the dinos would move - pretty neat. We had some great food and then hit the road. A bit more window shopping, not a lot of buying, and before we knew it we had hit the end of the road. It was pretty quiet, being a weekday and all, and we had a pretty tired girl on our hands (Abbey!). So although we had reservations at Planet Hollywood for 4:30 for supper, we decided to head back to the hotel instead. By 2 pm we were on a bus back. Oakley slept for a grand total of 15 min in the stroller - ask me what kind of a fun day we've had??

So back at the hotel and Abbey crashes instantly. Oakley did not have as much luck with the napping, so Jason took her for a walk while Abbey and I napped. Pretty soon after Jason came back to get Oakley into her bathing suit and so I went down with them and let Abbey sleep (again - thank GOD for these walkie-talkie radios we have!!). So I played with Oakley in the water for an hour and half or so and man was it hot. I sunburnt my face and my one shoulder based on where I was sitting! Oakley is good - I think she's tanning but she has not burnt yet. I have either an allergy to our sunblock or a heat rash... not fun at all. Thankfully the girls are fine! (and Jason hasn't used it once so he's fine too!)

So after our swimming fun, I bathed Oakley and tried to get Jason and Abbey to decide on a place for dinner since we no longer had a place in mind to eat. It's been REALLY nice having all of our dining chosen in advance, as we are TERRIBLE decision makers and there are just so many options! I suggested two things - 1) we just go down to the hotel restaurant and have a bite there, or 2) we go to Magic Kingdom and cruise that park a bit and find a place to eat there. We hadn't used our park pass at all today (Downtown Disney doesn't need a pass to get into), Magic Kingdom is the biggest park and we are doing it on our last day (friday) and since it's a friday it will likely be busier than the weekdays here. So, after much discussion we decided to head to Magic Kingdom for a bite to eat and to scope the place out a bit in advance of Friday.

So it was almost 7 pm by the time we caught our bus and made it to the other end of the park where Magic Kingdom was. Then it was another 20 min or so to wait to get seated at the restaurant we found (Liberty Tree Tavern). So we had a very tired and hungry pair of little ladies and I must admit I was pretty hungry and grouchy too! This restaurant was a pretty cool concept - and the food was great too. It was an 'all you can enjoy' meal but it wasn't buffet - it was served 'family style' - which means exactly what you think it should mean. They bring you clean plates and platters of food to your table and they will fill them up as many times as you want. We had salad and buns, mashed potatos, mac & cheese, ham, turkey and roast beef, stuffing and gravy, green beans. YUM!!!! Everything was so good. It was just like being at home for Christmas dinner (with the strange addition of the Mac & Cheese- wonder what these crazy Americans are thinking! And apple crisp and ice cream for dessert. I would definitely recommend it!

Then we wandered around Magic Kingdom a bit. We only had an hour or so until the park closed at 9 so we had some ground to cover. We walked over to 'Tomorrowland' and rode a little skytrain around the park that gave you a good view of the major sites of Tomorrowland. Lots to do on Friday when we come back!

After that we walked for a bit and ended up in "Mickey's Toon Town Fair" - where Minnie and Mickey have their houses! We were pretty excited to go there as Oakley doesn't know what "Disneyworld" is - she just knows this as "Mickey's House" - so we actually got to tour inside Mickey's house! And lo and behold - who was doing a meet and greet in another building beside Mickey's house but Minnie and Mickey. So - for the third time so far this trip, Oakley got to meet Minnie & Mickey - but for the first time together! So more autographs and pics. It never gets old I tell ya! Good timing too - we were pretty much the last ones through for the night. It was just about 9 pm when we were done so we made our way towards the exits. We knew there were fireworks at 9 pm but we wanted to get to the bus - we'll be here to see them on Friday and we had tired little ladies to deal with. So we walked around the castle and through the crowds, and did get to see a sideways view of the fireworks - they look pretty cool.

We made it pretty easily to the bus and we were the second family in line for the first bus that left after the park closed at 9 - but just missed the one that left before. The ride home was pretty painful - Oakley cried just about the whole way - but we made it home by 10 and she was in bed immediately after with very little fussing. Today was hard as I think for the first time she's adjusted to Florida time, so instead of 10 pm 'feeling' like 8 pm which is pretty darn close to her regular bed time, tonight's bed time FELT like 10 pm. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

So yes - tomorrow is our FREE day. We have to get our car rental in the morning, we will just call an hour before we are ready to go, and bring it back whenever we are done. We have two goals tomorrow - 1) Hit the beach, any beach. and 2) Outlet mall shopping!