It was now about 2:45 and we headed back to our room to change into casual clothes. We rested for about 10 minutes and then headed back down to the bus stop. This was our first time experiencing the Disney buses.
As soon as we made it over to the bus stop, guess which bus pulls up right away!??!? We didn't even have to wait, and just walked right on to the bus. It was great! What's even better is that Downtown Disney is the next stop after Grand Floridian!!!
Tink passed out on the bus, as usual. Something about a warm, moving vehicle! DH had to carry her off the bus and we had to put an end to the nap because it was so hot, and DH was not in a mood to carry a sleeping 38 pounder around!
Tink was pretty good at waking up as soon as told her in her half sleep that we were going to look for her prized Simba! She had been dying to buy a plush baby Simba since day 2. It's funny that she should become so attached to Simba since she has NEVER seen the movie Lion King!
The first store we walked into was Once Upon a Toy. We immediately went to the plush toy section and the girls found their stuffed pets. Belle went for Dumbo (I had just shown her the movie prior to coming to WDW and she fell in love with Dumbo too!) and Tink found her Baby Simba with a leaf blanket.
I had shown the girls some Dis photos of the My Little Pony Disney set where you get a box and you fill it as much as you can for a set price. They were so excited to get that toy. So that was our next stop:
Here we went around to all the bins and took one of everything! The girls picked out one pony and then we took all the accessories, which included Disney Princess outfits, furniture, Minnie outfit etc. Then after we got what we believed was one of everything, we sat on the floor and watched Daddy do his magic and fill the box efficiently to squeeze every last thing in!
It's an art I think, to be able to pack a box efficiently, full to the brim! You had to be able to close the box too I think, and he just made it!
After the boxes were packed, we walked around to look at all the other cool things. Here are some photos of the store:
For those of you who think you may need to or want to buy the strollers that are sold in the Disney parks, here is a photo for you!
Plush heaven:
Belle changed her mind and wanted a Baby Dumbo with a blanket now:
This was all we bought at this store. Next we headed out and I saw Ghirardellis off in the distance. I LOVE San Francisco's Ghirardelli Square. And whenever I am travelling somewhere with a Ghirardelli, I try to make a point of sampling something there! So we decided it was time for an ice cream break! We ordered this:
After our nice treat, we walked over to World of Disney. Largest
Disney store I have ever seen. It just kept going on and on and on it seemed. Here the girls spotted the Make a Wand station, and I was feeling generous
and decided to let the girls go at it!
I believe this was the fill your own Princess jewellery box station:
Some more random pics of the store:
After walking through here, we went outside and posed by our favourite princesses:
For those of you who plan on taking little princesses to the BBB, if you can't get in at the Magic Kingdom location, there is a BBB at World of Disney, the original location for BBB.
We walked by
Legoland, and I got Belle to pose with the
Lego Family:
You could play with tiny bits of Lego right outside the store and try to build something with the tiny bits of Lego....needless to say, we just kept right on walking....
It was getting hot now and the girls were getting tired (we didn't bring strollers and made the girls walk, which resulted in some whinning!). We had everything they wanted, so we made our way back to the bus. Luck was on our side again, and a bus approached as soon as we made it to the bus stop. Unfortunately, when you are the first one to be dropped off going, you will be the last one dropped off coming "home". We we did the milk run, and went for a ride to Pleasure Island, Typhoon Lagoon, Wilderness Lodge, and then finally GF!!!!!
We went up to our room so that we could rest and the girls could enjoy their toys. Once again we grabbed some food and ate in the comfort of our room. I had originally wanted to make it back out to Epcot and walk around some more. But we were feeling lazy now, and the girls weren't in the mood for going back out. All they wanted to do was enjoy their toys. However, Belle decided she wanted to go for a dip in the pool. Tink did not. So I stayed in the room with Tink, while DH took Belle to the Courtyard Pool for a splash. By the time I was able to convince Tink to leave the room and at least go for a walk to watch her sister swim, Belle decided she had had enough and was on her way back to the room! So we just went for a walk around the resort and picked up even more souvenirs at M. Mouse Mercantile for some friends back home.
One of the nicest things we ever did this trip came up next. We had wanted to catch the Water Pageant and made our way down to the Beach around 9:15. I guess we were a little late, because we saw the last minute of it as it was sailing by the Poly! I thought it started at the Poly and then passed the GF....I don't know, and we didn't ask. DH and I just sat on the swinging bench on the beach, while the girls had an amazing time playing together in the sand. They were making up their own games and just having fun. The weather was so nice, and the sand was so soft and cool to the feet as they ran around. There was a lightning storm off in the distance with a little thunder, but I was glad to see that it didn't deter the girls from continuing their play. They loved it and hoped that we could come back again the next night. The girls could never play in the sand on the beach in the afternoons because it was just too hot, but the evening temperatures were amazing! We could have stayed out there for hours, but it was time for Wishes to start and we wanted to catch one more viewing of it. This time we found a seat on the steps outside Gasparilla Grill. There were quite a few people sitting out here, including kids running around. Made for a more chaotic kind of viewing, compared to the quiet calm viewing in front of Narccoosee's. Plus we couldn't hear the music, which really does make a big difference to the whole experience. So, if anyone is going to ask me where the best place to view Wishes at the GF is, you must go to the boat dock or better yet Narcoossee's so that you can hear what's going on.
Up Next: Chef Mickeys
Ohh I'm so excited!!! I think it's ME who wants all these things, but I get to use the girls as a good excuse! I think mind will be a bit too young for My Little Pony stuff but hopefully the jewely won't be something the 2 yr old would choke on! 
Although I live 1 hour away from Montreal, and not near Toronto 
I have been quietly following along. 
