Day 5 - Epcot and Downtown Disney

Saturday we headed to Epcot! We FINALLY had the chance to meet some blogging friends that I've gotten to know since before Ashlyn was born. It felt as though I already knew them...but getting to meet them for the first time in person was exciting. They are great people and just as fun in person as they are on Facebook and blogging. So glad we got to meet them!

(Thank you Trish and Marty for showing us around for a while. Still sorry we didn't make it back in time for our picture. Maybe we could photoshop something? *smile*)

align="center">We all made our way to The Seas with Nemo and Friends. What a cute little ride it has. Just takes you on a search for Nemo. Then project Nemo, his dad and Dory into an actual fish aquarium so it looks like they are really swimming with real fish. That was great!
align="center">We even found the REAL Nemo and Dory!!

align="center">After Nemo, we walked around looking at the different fish and aquatic life including seahorses, eels, manatees and yes, even dolphins!

After checking out all the animals, we went to Turtle Talk with Crush. This was super cute. All of the kids got to sit on the floor at the front of the theatre and the parents sat on benches behind them. Crush is animated but interacts with the audience. He would talk to you, make faces, move around the screen as he interacted. It was MAGIC!! We all loved it.

align="center">We went our separate ways from Trish and Marty after this as they were going to ride something that looked awesome ("Soarin'") but Ashlyn was too short and the fast passes were for MUCH later in the day and I wasn't sure we would be there then (and we weren't). We thought we would catch up with Trish and Marty later...but that didn't work out. *sad face* It was still great to visit with them for a little while. *happy face*

We had lunch at Epcot and then headed to Downtown Disney. There was a lot a wanted to see and do there. Who knew that there was no straight shot there from Epcot. Bah! align="center">As soon as we arrived in Downtown Disney, Ashlyn was ready for pictures. She found some odd little soldier fellows and without me even asking she posed perfectly with them...and Mickey and Minnie too! She's such a character.
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We then went to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for Ashlyn to get a princess makeover. I didn't even think about it being Saturday afternoon and that they might now be able to do it. Fortunately I was told they were accepting walk-ins which was highly unusual, especially for a Saturday afternoon. Shew...that was close. They got her right in. She got to pick her hairstyle, color and make up. She sat so perfectly still that I wasn't sure she was still my kid. She NEVER sits that still when I'm doing her hair. *shaking head*

The transformation was unbelievable. When they pulled all of her hair back she looked several years older. If you had walked me out of the room while they were doing it and back in when they were done, I'm not sure I would have recognized her. Seriously. Look.

Just getting started...

Halfway done...

Then final touches... GLITTER!! The final prodcut.

I TOLD YOU...she looks like she's 6+ years old now!

We completed our tour of Downtown Disney and enjoyed dinner at Wolfgang Puck's. Mmmm!!! Then we returned to the Magic Kingdom for one more evening of princesses, fireworks and light shows. We would be heading home the next day so we wanted to make the most of it!

We decided to try to get in to see a princess before they left for the evening. We actually got to see THREE! The fireworks were getting ready to start, so the line was incredibly short. Yay!

After the royal visit we went to Adventureland and got to meet Tinkerbell and Terence.

Another short line due to other things going on in the park. Woo hoo!

Finally, her autograph book was full!!
We then went back to the hotel and I began the process of getting things ready to go home the next day. Ashlyn wasn't much help. I got all of her make-over undone and she passed out. Oh yeah...her hair was hysterical the next day. Thank goodness we had time for a bath 1st thing in the morning! Hee hee!

(Pedometer Steps: 19,682)