Disney Day 3

       When I planned everything for our trip, I figured that we would all need to sleep in a bit since I knew we were going to have a late night the night before.  We didn't have any reservations or fast passes until lunch time.  Of course, I forgot that we were in Disney and there is no sleeping in when there is too much fun to be had!  We were up about 7:15 a.m. to shower and get ready for the day.  As I had mentioned before, we needed to switch rooms and Joey had to get the room packed up and the bags down to bell services.  So, I headed over to Epcot with the kids and my parents.   There was no wait at the International Gate and we got right in.  We stopped and took some pictures on the way in.  

   We decided to head towards the Land and ride some rides there.  The line was very short for Soarin so everyone rode that while I sat with Emmy.  

    After Soarin, we rode Living with the Land.  I just love this ride even though it is pretty uneventful.  It's just an Epcot classic and it's great for all ages.  Emmy enjoyed it.  

Ready for our boat ride

Emmy wasn't sure what to think

I loved the Christmas decor

Hidden Mickey

Emmy being a silly girl!

After we rode the Living with the Land, the rest of the family joined us.  

Emmy eating some breakfast

Trying out some shades

     Once everyone arrived, we headed over towards the world showcase to explore that area a bit.  We first went to France to get some breakfast.  They have an amazing bakery that I imagine is just about the closest thing you can get to a French bakery outside of France.  

The girls and I pretending we were in France

I loved the French Christmas decorations

Since we were on vacation, I decided to live it up and get a mimosa with breakfast.  

Joey enjoying his breakfast.

    After an amazing breakfast, we walked around the showcase some more,  We took a lot of pictures along the way.  We stopped at the store in Japan because it is huge and filled with the neatest stuff.  Gracie was insistent that she needed a fan, so we bought her a Japanese fan.

Bryan took some good shots

The guys being goofy

Some how Jameson wound up with Pascal on his head!

Jameson showing off his new toys

Ella always picks the most random stuff

Gracie showing off her much sought after fan

These two were excited they found Pokemon

Quick picture in Canada

     By the time we made it to Germany, it was almost time for our reservation at Biergarten.  This restaurant is a must do for us every time since it's fun and we like the food.  Every time we have been before, they have always sat us at one table.  This time, most of us were at one table, but four of us were seated at a table with another family. It was a little odd, but Joey made friends with the family in no time.   A German band performs and they always invite people to come down and dance.  The kids had a great time on the dance floor.  It's always pretty amusing to watch.  

Looks like Germany

Emmy was sleeping when we first got there, and the German music woke her up.  

Yummy dessert

Mommy and Emmy selfie

When in Germany you have to get a huge German beer

   After a very filling German lunch, we continued walking around the showcase towards Norway.  Joey stopped and got a beer flight along the way

   We finally made it over to Norway to ride Frozen Ever After.  I was so excited to take Gracie on this ride because she just loves everything Frozen.  We had Fast Passes, so we didn't wait long at all.  Gracie absolutely loved it!

There is too much humor in this picture

Grace taking it all in

    As we were walking around the showcase, the skies just opened up and it rained heavily for like five minutes and it just stopped as suddenly as it started.  

Seeking shelter from the rain

Trying our hardest to not get wet

This is the biggest Christmas tree I have ever seen!

Dawson got a caramel apple and he loved it!

    We finally made it over to Spaceship Earth for our fastpasses.  Most of us had not ridden it yet, and we all love this ride.  As usual, it was fantastic!

   We decided that we wanted to head back to the rooms and rest for a bit.  On the way out, we stopped at Club Cool which has free Coke products from different countries around the world to try.  The Italian one, Beverly, is famous for being just awful.  It is bitter and tastes to me like the fluoride rinse at the dentist.  I knew it was bad, so I managed to trick just about everyone into trying it.  Their faces were just priceless when they tasted it.  

Steven trying some Beverly

Ella getting a ride

  We walked back to our hotel and checked out our new room.  It was so much better and much bigger than the first room . We also had a nice balcony.  We unpacked our stuff, and then freshened up a bit.  When I was in fourth grade, my grandparents took my entire family on a Disney cruise that included staying in Disney World for a few days.  We stayed at the Beach Club and took family pictures at the lighthouse.  My Grandparents were way ahead of the times, because they got everyone matching Disney sweatshirts with our names on the them for the pictures.  We decided we wanted to recreate those pictures.  So, Katy made us all shirts to wear and we went to the same spot.  We had to use a tripod, and I can't tell you how hard it was to get 6 kids to all look at the camera, but we did our best.  We also were beating the clock with the sun going down, so it was quite a challenge, but we got some decent shots.  

The view from our balcony

Best shot of the kids.  Gracie was very tired and not wanting to cooperate at all

Gram and Papa with all the kids

All the girls ( Gracie refused to get in for the picture)

Joey managed to get a shot with her

The boys

Silliest boys ever!

Ashlyn and Gram

Pretty decent group shot

    After our photo shoot, we decided to head to Disney Springs.  There was a new chicken restaurant there that my mom and I had heard was good.  Disney Springs is like a huge outdoor mall with lots of restaurants.  It was crowded and we had such a hard time figuring out which way to go to the the place we wanted to eat.  We went the wrong direction when we first got there, so we ended up walking in a huge circle.  We finally managed to find the restaurant and we got some food.  We picked tables outside because there were no tables inside.  Just as we all got our food, it began to rain, HEAVILY.  We ran into the restaurant and managed to grab a table to finish our food.  Unfortunately, the rain did not let up.  We ended up getting split up, and it just poured and poured.  It was not the best moment of our trip that's for sure.  But, it was the only rain we dealt with the entire trip, so I consider that a major win for Florida!

Waiting for food

Lego Store!!!

    We had to wait forever for a bus, and it seemed like it took forever to get back to our room.  We finally made it back around 10:00 P.M.  Our new room had a little fold out bed that Gracie was so excited to sleep on.  She slept there every night.  

Ready for bed!