An Italian Family in Dutch Wonderland : Magical Moments

It was another day full of Disney Fun for the D'Eletto family. We were at the parks for over 12 hours and there only a handful of rides that we haven't done yet. Truly, just a handful...5 rides total between both parks are all that we haven't done! Magic Kingdom, we are missing the ferry boat and the train. Disney Studio - Magic, Carpets, RC Racers, and Crush's Coaster (although that had an 80 minute wait just minutes after the park opened...that may be one we don't do). Kayla's favorite ride of the day was Rockin Roller Coaster (she did it twice) and Roman loved the Toy Soldier Parachute Drop. Both kids braved the Tower of Terror with me but I don't think Roman wants to do it again! I think he was truly trying to secretly impress his sister with the brave face! This morning we hit up Disney Studios and had a great time. It is a scaled down version of the Florida park - significantly. It was awesome though that a whole section of the park was dedicated to Toy Story...rides and photo opts! We saw a motor stunt show and Stitch Live. Stitch Live is similar to Turtle Talk with Crush at Epcot and is very interactive. During the show, Stitch picked Roman out as having the best monkey face and had a whole conversation with him, took a picture of him with his digital camera, then gobbled it up to keep our boy near and dear to his heart! It was something R talked about the rest of the day.

After Disney Studios we went to Rainforest Café for an early dinner. It was great to have a sit down meal and re-energize. The kids and I have never been to a Rainforest Café! What an amazing experience. I wish there was one closer to our house in the USA! While throwing a euro cent into the fountain, Kayla managed to cut her arm on the wiring that surrounded it...she was okay but it was a long, shallow cut and the 4 band aids that Momma had did not cover it. Never a dull moment.

Then we headed to the Magic Kingdom. The goal of the night was to ride the Buzz Light Year Ride and I can say - Mission Accomplished! (Now may be an appropriate time to divert to say - Boy are they sticklers for the fast passes this park! Don't try to use a fast pass two minutes before the start time...they will make you wait and get back in line! Also, don't try to use it after your 1/2 hour window has passed! We had a fast pass for Tower of Terror and the ride was down when we returned to ride. The attendant at the time said we could come back at any point in the day without a problem to use them. Of course when we went back, they initially denied us entry! Wow! Nothing like home.) Back on track...we got on some "highly desired" rides with very little wait this evening - Dumbo, Stat Tours, and Autopia were among them.

I'd like to take a moment to introduce you to Mac. Mac is the mascot for Immaculata University, my alma mater. They are doing a campaign where alum and current students take pictures with Mac in awesome places around the world. IU got word of our trip and my kids really wanted to show Mac what living in Europe was like. After a few emails back and forth with the IU Communications office, I received a package at our hotel yesterday -AMAZING - with a Mac plush for each of the kids (which interprets to no fighting!)! We plan to take him with us on our trips and take pictures with him in various locations throughout Europe! Today he visited the Magic Kingdom with us! Be on the lookout to spot Mac in our pictures and on the Immaculata FB page.

Up again bright and early tomorrow to explore the city of Paris!

A visit to the Magic Kingdom First Aide Station was needed for the cut arm.