Disney World Vacation

Day 4--Tuesday, October 18, 2005--Disney MGM Studios and EPCOT--We decided to go swimming this morning since we haven't spent much time cooling off in the pools. We took a leisurely tour around the resort, and we ended up at the main pool area. Pop Century has a great kiddie pool and three large pools, so Raymond & I switched off watching Kara & Kailey. With Kara we got to spend some time relaxing, but even with lifeguards it's hard to relax with her in the water. She's becoming a good swimmer, but the mom in me makes me nervous. Kailey absolutely loves the water! She would stay there all day if we let her. We spent a good amount of time in the water then set off for Disney MGM Studios. We arrived just in time for the parade. Kailey loved it! She had so much fun watching all the characters and floats. Next we went to see a production of Beauty and the Beast in a open-air theater. Kailey lasted five minutes, then Raymond took her out. We only spent a couple of hours here since we had to go to Epcot for dinner. We actually caught a boat from MGM to Epcot's second entrance at the World Showcase. I didn't know it until the captain told us, but Epcot is the only Disney park with two entrances. We still had to get our bag searched even though we had just come from MGM, but it was a much more relaxing entrance into the park. I get stressed out with lots of people around. (I guess Disney isn't a good place to go then!) We had a reservation at the Garden Grill Restaurant, which is located inside the Land building. I ate here when I went to Disney with my family 17 years ago. All I remembered about the restaurant was that it rotated, so Raymond asked the dining hotline about it and they knew right away. It was just as I remembered it! The restaurant slowly turned, revealing different ecosystems--a rainforest, a desert, farmland. Kara really liked it. Kailey slept through it. That seems to be the best thing for us at this point! It turned out to be a character dinner though we didn't expect that. And what a dinner it was. They brought us a salad and dinner entrees to share. It was delicious! Chip and Dale came around several times, signing autographs and posing for pictures. They pointed to a sleeping Kailey and made a sleeping gesture. Mickey Mouse also noticed Kailey. They made Kara feel at home. Then Pluto came. First he tried to eat our food, then he ate Kara's head! Kara didn't like this too much, but she did get over it in time to pose for a picture. After dinner we walked around Epcot and purchased light necklaces and a glowing Mickey Mouse headband for Kara. Then we found a spot to see the fireworks show. Big mistake! It was so loud and scary that Kailey climbed up me. Raymond had gone to get a Pina Colada, so when he got back he took Kailey somewhere and then Kara got scared. I didn't know where Raymond and Kailey were, so I knew I had to stay put. I held Kara close and she wasn't quite so scared. After the show, Raymond re-appeared and then went to the room for a good night's sleep.