"This is the BEST DAY EVER"A Dec'12 TR-A Princess's 5thBday and 3000 pics! UDx2 5/20

Your castle show pics really make me miss MK! Loved em!

Olivia is adorable as little Maurice in Belle's show. Seventy minutes is just nuts though! Yikes.
 
Your castle show pics really make me miss MK! Loved em!

Olivia is adorable as little Maurice in Belle's show. Seventy minutes is just nuts though! Yikes.

Ugh I know!!! If it was any thing else or any other time (not Olivia's bday) we would NOT have waited lol
 

Liberty Square, Frontierland, and Adventureland

We ventured through Liberty Square...

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And headed to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!!!

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DD and I went first. DH got a child swap and walked around Fronteirland with Carter in the stroller.

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SO excited!!

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Here we go! Olivia picked the very front!

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We loved this coaster!! Olivia giggled the entire time. I wish I had been taking video to record those sweet sounds!! Once we were finished, DD and DH headed through the FastPass line.

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We wanted to ride Splash Mountain, of course, but I didn't want Olivia's dress or hair to get messed up before dinner with the princesses. So, we skipped by that this time.

On to Adventureland! My #1 stop for here was POTC, of course!!

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Loved POTC!!! We had just watched all the movies, too, so that made it extra nice!!

Next, was The Jungle Cruise!!

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I can't remember our guide's (skipper's??) name, but she was hilarious! I was laughing so hard the whole time. I think DH was getting tired, because he just wasn't getting any of the jokes LOL

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Then, we saw the Magic Carpets! The line wasn't too long, so we jumped in!

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Olivia was so curious about every ride!

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UP NEXT: We meet some fairies!!


 



Fairies and Celebrate A Dream Come True

I knew DD would love to meet Tinkerbell. It was double great because she had just got and LOVED the new Tinkerbell movie with Periwinkle in it and Peri was meeting with Tink now!

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I didn't tell her who we were meeting while waiting in line.

She was so excited when we turned the corner into Pixie Hollow! And it was SO pretty!!! I love the great themed M&Gs like that b/c they make me feel like I'm a kid again, too!

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I loved how the little lights made everything seem to sparkle!

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Priceless!

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And we had to get in there, too!

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I asked Tinkerbell about some details of her movies. I had always wondered if her new movies came before or after she met Peter Pan. And why had there been no mention of him in her new movies?? She said that both her and Peter come from the same place and that there should be a movie coming out soon all about that! I was glad to have some kind of answer, although vague! lol

Next up was Peri!

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I had to get as hot of the M&G area...too cool!

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Right outside was....

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DOLE WHIPS!!!!! This had been on my "must eat" list since day 1 of planning! lol DH didn't want to wait in the line. I just had to have one. He was afraid we wouldn't get to do anything in Tomorrowland before our 4:15pm reservation at CRT. So I told him to go on with the kids. They could do Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor and I would get my Dole Whip and meet them in Tomorrowland. This ended up working out perfectly!

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OMG YUM!!! I want one RIGHT NOW! *Sigh!*

On my way to Tomorrowland, I got caught by the Celebrate A Dream Come True parade. I am so glad I did because this ended up being my favorite parade out of all of them!!!!! It is so magical and the princess float is so sparkely and pretty!!!

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Genie looks a little crazy, though, if you ask me! LOL

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OMG Aladdin!!!!!

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<3

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My fave!!

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UP NEXT: We get spit on and dine with royalty!

 

Where We Get Spit On & We Dine With Royalty

I finally made my way over to Tomorrowland. DH and the kids were just coming out of Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor. DD Loves Lilo & Stitch, so I wanted to take her on Stitch's Great Escape. Yes, I had heard the awful reviews, but part of me just wanted to see it for myself! lol

It was as pointless as I had heard!

Despite not knowing what was going on, DD wanted a stuffed Stitch.

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Then, we met my parents back at CRT to check in for our reservation! Yay!!!!

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Yay! There was Cindy right inside!

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haha

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I will show the PP pictures with the whole group at the end of the TR.

We didn't wait long before we were called up to our seats!

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Again, I was surprised with how small the Disney restaurants are!

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UP NEXT: The Food!!!

 



The Food!

I had paid for our CRT reservation 180 days out when I made the reservation. I choked a little paying, but I was sure the food would be worth it. Would it live up to the price?

Cheers!

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Cute drink goblets.

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Fresh rolls are always good.

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Sleeping Beauty snuck up on us! Look how excited Olivia is!!

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<3 Enamored <3

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Then our appetizers came. I think this is a Tomato Bisque.

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I got the Trio of Cheeses. I was excited because I like cheese! I should have known, though, that they would be stinky cheeses! LOL The pairings worked well together, but the cheeses I could have done without! Half way through, I switched with DH and ate the rest of his salad. It was super delicious with the nuts and huge Romano shaving!

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Castle Salad: Mixed Greens, Apples, Cucumbers, and
Candied Walnuts topped with shaved
Romano Cheese with a hint
of Herb Vinaigrette

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Then came along Snow White!

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All the Princesses commented on how nice the book was that I made for DD!

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And Jasmine!

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She was so pretty!

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Delicious looking grilled chicken salad! My dad ordered this. He said it was okay.

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Pasta and chicken dish my mom ordered. She loved it!

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Fish dish that DH ordered. He said it was great!

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And Risotto for moi!!! Yummo! The little herb salad on top really made the dish wonderful.

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And then there was DD's pizza. Over $30 for her spot and this is the entree she got. It was like 4 inches across! LOL (Her appetizer had been some grapes and cheese cubes.)

Ariel came around during dinner.

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Meanwhile, to my right, Carter had been throwing a royal fit the entire time!!! I just did not want to be strapped in. He kept throwing things and dropping food on the floor. Oh my word. Stressful! lol

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UP NEXT: Dessert and an evening in MK

 

Dessert and an Evening In Magic Kingdom

Dessert!!! A couple of us got the Chef's Trio. It was a Pumpkin Cheesecake, some kind of cream, and a flourless chocolate dessert. OMG It was so good!

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The staff sang "Happy Birthday" to Olivia and she got another decorate-it-yourself cupcake and ice cream.

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Happy!!!

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I picked Carter up once we were done eating and he kept trying to grab at my pins. LOL

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Back outside the restaurant, the castle was all lit up!

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The view up Main Street:

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My parents wanted to leave, but we stayed in Fantasyland. We had until 7:00 to ride as many rides as we could on our last evening in Magic Kingdom. There was a MVMCP that night, so we had to hurry! I wanted to get some classic Fantasyland rides out of the way!

To be honest, this whole couple hours are a blur! I was so happy and in such a rush to get these last few things done that I don't hardly remember it!!

It's A Small World

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Peter Pan's Flight

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Then we did Philharmagic! (Loved this!!)

About that time, it was nearing 7:00, so we made our way back in front of the castle and down Main Street.

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As we left MK, it started snowing on Main Street! And the CMs started coming out in their Christmas Uniforms. It was so unbelievably cute and magical!!!! We weren't able to buy tix to MVMCP, but I'm glad we got that tiny glimpse of it! :)

As we neared the monorail to the parking lot, we saw this:

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Wall to wall people!! UGH!

We stood in line for a long time, making conversation with a nice family visiting from England. At one point, there was an announcement that the a monorail tram had broken down on the track and we would all have to turn around and take the resort monorail. Now, keep in mind we had been moving toward the front of the line. So now when everyone turned around to head the other direction, we were now in the back. Again! Double UGH!!!!

Thank Goodness the kids ended up falling asleep in the stroller.

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Well, Carter did eventually lol

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When we got back to the hotel, my parents said they were out at the bar/pool area. And they had BOGO drink coupons! Yeah!!

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This was my parent's last night in Orlando, so I'm glad they got to enjoy it relaxing! We headed back up to our room and had some caramel apples they picked up on their way out of Magic Kingdom. They were so good!

UP NEXT: Our solo day in DAK!



 

DAK

Saturday was our last day in Disney :( But we were going to make the most of it!! We had left this day open to whichever park we either
a.) liked the most or
b.) felt like we missed the most in

Well, of course MK was our favorite and it was my first choice of which park I wanted to return to. Buuuutttt....it was a Saturday and the crowd level was a 10. That sounded very stressful to me and I figured we wouldn't get to do a lot, so we picked our 2nd favorite park: Animal Kingdom!

We were excited to ride Kilimanjaro Safaris again to see how different it would be. The wait was longish by the time we got there, so we decided to fastpass it and check out the animal trail while we waited.

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See that rock looking thing on the left?

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Holy Moly! It's a HIPPO! lol

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I guess he wasn't feeling photogenic today.

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And this one was hiding in the back.

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See him waaayyyyy back there?

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Crazy hair!!! It is so funny to see Carter with long hair b/c we've since shaved it down.

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Uh oh. What did daddy do?

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We didn't see any major differences on the safari, but it was still an enjoyable ride!

The Okapi, cousin to my favorite: the giraffe!

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Pretty bird

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Baby elephant!

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The bouncy ride put Carter right to sleep!

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NEXT UP: We had to return to our all time favorite!!



 

A Treat and A Show

After the safari, I had to try the Zebra Cupcake from Kustafari Bakery!!! I had read about it on another trip report and it sounded SO good!!!

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Olivia and Carter split a snowman cookie.

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They were both very delicious!!

Here's a sneaky peek at the other deliciousness they have at this bakery:

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We ate in a little corner to the side of the bakery. It was in front of an exit for a restaurant...I guess it was Tusker House??? It smelled divine!! We may have to eat there next time we visit. Has anyone eaten there? Let me know if it's as good as it smelled!

We studied the show times for a minute and decided we would see Festival of the Lion King again! It is such a great show. My favorite in all of Disney! I wanted to try and get better pictures...and maybe some video, this time!

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This is DH's favorite part...Scar is his favorite villain! lol

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My favorite part is the birds!! Can you feel the love tonight?

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Video: http://youtu.be/OlK1DvhFB0E

UP NEXT: We hop over to Asia!

 

Asia

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DH took DD on Kali River Rapids! She was SO looking forward to a water ride!! We got a Child Swap pass and Carter and I went on the Jungle Trek!

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I love the theming...even on the animal trails!

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Pretty Kitty!

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When we finished the trail, I stood on the bridge waiting to see DD and DH come down the hill on Kali. Waited...and waited...and waited. So I thought maybe they got through quickly and were trying to find me. I had DH's phone (so it didn't get wet) so he couldn't call to say he was done. So Carter and I walked around the area for a few minutes, but didn't see them. So I took pictures of strangers LOL

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and gibbons (??)

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I got a jalapeno cheese pretzel...OMG It was SOOO GOOD!!!!

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Right then, up walked DD and DH! Of course! LOL I wanted to eat that whole pretzel, but I had to share lol

It was my turn to go on Kali! DD could have ridden it a million times and still had fun!!

DH manage to snap the picture I was trying to get...

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There was a dance party going on in Asia!!

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The DJ was gettin down!!!

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Video: http://youtu.be/c8v1RlmNDNU

We headed over to DinoLand next.

I got a FastPass for Primevil Whirl and DH took DD on Dinosaur while I gave Carter a snack.

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Look who we saw while waiting!

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I love this area of the park. It's so fun!!!

UP NEXT: More time in DinoLand




 

More DinoLand

We rode Triceratops Spin, then it was time for Primevil Whirl!!

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I ended up riding with another single rider. Her husband had been in line with her, but decided against riding. He thought it would make him too sick. Poor guy!

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It was so fun!!! I can see why the height limit is so high, though, because it does jerk you around a lot. I didn't mind, though! I loved it!!

Next up was Nemo: The Musical!!

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The concept of this show is really good. The colors are fantastic and the actors/singers were great!! It kept my attention by looking from the puppet to the actor and back again. HOWEVER...I do kinda wish it wasn't the exact storyline as the movie. I mean, I've seen the movie. Give me something new! I ended up having to walk out with DS because he was just too cranky at that point.

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Video: http://youtu.be/PJDoxKW_LPU

UP NEXT: Time to Eat!!!
 

Time to Eat!!!!

It was getting close to closing time once the Nemo show was over. We stopped in the gift shop and get a few things. (Surprisingly, shopping was NOT one of my priorities this week and we had barely bought any souvenirs!)

I'll do a post at the end with pics of what we ended up bringing home!

I had bought a Groupon for a pizzeria in Orlando, but couldn't find many reviews for the place online,

Franceesco's
5667 Vineland Rd
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 345-5490

It was SOOOO GOOD!!!! I am so glad we ate there. The people were very nice, too. It is just a small, family owned restaurant. Nothing fancy, but the food is awesome! And it was nice to have something that wasn't park food or fast food.

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Their menu is huge...about 4 pages long.

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Our appetizers: onion rings and mozzarella sticks

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For our pizza, we got ham and pineapple.

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Cheesecake for dessert! (This is premade cheesecake, but they were up front about that from the start.)

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And now, I'm at the end of our vacation :( :( :( :(

The next morning, we got up early. We checked out of the hotel and headed toward home. We stopped at Burger King for lunch (Hello, BOGO Free Whoppers!!! What?! lol) We also stopped at a Florida Souvenir shop...you know the ones I'm talking about lol They're everywhere!!

Once we got back home, life got back to normal. The hospital that DH and I work for had a big holiday lunch catered in for everyone, so we attended that. Talk about a feast!! They know how to do it right! lol I had to stop by work anyway to put some Secret Santa gifts into my person's mailbox. And I had a ton of candy from my Secret Santa!

We had Christmas to look forward to, but I was still devastated to be home from Disney! lol I had Post-Disney Depression really bad!!! Ugh.

UP NEXT: The TR isn't over yet!!! See our PhotoPass pictures!
 

PhotoPass Pictures Post #1

Since we did a PhotoPass Share through a Facebook group, our cds didn't arrive for awhile. I had already started the TR, so I decided just to save the PP pics for some posts at the end.

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My kids are mean muggin!! LOL

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DD's face looking at Ariel the Mermaid for the first time!

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Telling her all about her birthday plans

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My creeper pic! hahahahaha It makes me laugh every time!

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UP NEXT: More PP Pics!
 
Oh phooey! Finally got. Chance to catchup and it's done!

I loved readin through and seeing all the pics. Your kiddies are just so adorable! Pics are amazing. I'm looking forward to tryin the jalapeño pretzel, I've herd it's good!
 

Our Souvenirs

At the park, we got:

a gift from my dad to Olivia

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Some cups for the kids

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And an awesome mug with just about every Disney character and several WDW icons. (And it's huge!!) Here are some pics from all angles so you can see all the design.

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Saturday night, before dinner, we stopped at one of the Disney Outlet stores. I think it's the one at the Orlando Premium Outlets on International Drive.

I found a comfy t-shirt

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and some Christmas ornaments!

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The prices here were really awesome! I would recommend looking here before buying stuff on property. You never know what they might have!

On the way home, we stopped at one of those Florida Souvenir Shops and picked up a few things.

Florida oranges, bbq sauce, and Vidalia onion dressing. Olivia picked out a shirt and a bouncy ball. The clerk threw in some salt water taffy for free!

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UP NEXT: Closing Thoughts


 

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