With the new school year started, I'm officially concentrating on finalizing our Disney plans, finding airfare, and getting everything settled. The kids' first day back was Tues and Stitch's first football practice was the same night, so things are oddly quiet around the house. I'm not quite used to it yet, it is almost eerie and I don't know what to do with myself.
I guess this is why I do "fall cleaning" and decluttering instead of in the spring or after New Years.
They had a nice first day. Stitch stole my Kid Rock jersey for his back to school outfit. Teenagers are so funny - I'm the lamest thing in the world when I'm being the heavy about homework or bedtime, but he sure is proud of having a "cool" mom who went to a Kid Rock concert *and* gave him the exclusive, limited edition, only available with the VIP tickets concert jersey.
Now, back to the Disney planning!
Somehow I've even managed to make a late night out of an Animal Kingdom day, so once again we'll be getting a slow start in the morning at whatever time it happens to be when we wake up. I don't expect it will be very late, though, and I would like to be in the park by 10:30 to get an early start on the World Showcase fun.
The plans for our second day at Epcot are pretty loose. Our first day was all about Future World; this day is all about the World Showcase. If there is anything in Future World we missed or want to repeat we'll start there, but food is the main order of the day.
I plan on starting in Mexico and sharing snacks from the Food & Wine booths as we go. We'll work in a Kim Possible mission or two as we go, because Stitch has never done one and I know he'll like the quirky little interactive things that go along with the missions.
After her first trip, Boo absolutely fell in love with Donald so El Rio de Tiempo (I know, I know... it has a new name now but I forget what it is) is a must-do. I don't expect any real lines here because there so seldom are, and multiple rides are a possibility.
And while we're in the pyramid, a stop for a passion fruit margarita is on MY must-do list. I love all things passion fruit but somehow missed La Cava on our last trip.
Next up is Norway, not our favorite so we won't spend much time. I plan on focusing on the festival booths during the day, since in recent years they haven't been open for the evening EMH. If we want to come back to some of the attractions, like Maelstrom, and grab a few to-go snacks from Kringala bakery we can do that after the festival closes and the crowds thin.
In China we'll probably stop to see if we can find Mulan, because Pocahontas is a big fan. The movie isn't a must-do so we won't stay long, though if the timing works out I would like to see whatever entertainment offering Disney has scheduled now just to see how it compares to the old acrobats.
In fact, we don't spend much time in any of the next few countries on the path.
When ever time dictates, we'll jump ahead to my personal favorite of the World Showcase countries - Japan. We have a 12:40 lunch reservation for Teppan Edo at Stitch's request, and I expect the kids will be hungry and ready to sit down for a bit even if we adults aren't.
In addition to lunch, I want to take Stitch to see the anime exhibit in the gallery in Japan, and we'll blow a good chunk of our souvenir budget at Mitsukoshi as usual.
After lunch, we'll pick up where we left off.
Our time in Germany will be spent mainly on getting some take-out treats from Karamel Kuche and exploring the shops a bit. One of my favorite things about traveling with a stroller is room to keep goodies that we want to take back to the room.
The Poland booth is in this area and I know we'll be trying the offerings despite mixed reviews and knowing that no mass-produced Polish food can live up to my grandmother's or FIL's home cooking.
I doubt we'll really stop in Italy at all because we'll be back here later. My favorite way to end a day at Epcot is with a glass of Rosa Regale and Illuminations.
We'll continue snacking our way around for the afternoon.
Another country that usually commands a fair bit of time just for exploring is Morocco. Pocahontas will want to get a henna tattoo, and of course there are characters to see. But mostly I just love the pavilion's architecture and attention to detail.
France is all about the characters this time. We saw Impressions de France on our last trip and that's just not something I make time for every trip. Hopefully we'll be here during Marie's afternoon set because the girls adore her, and of course we'll have to stop to see Belle and the Beast because Beauty & the Beast is my favorite of all the princess movies.
Britain and Canada will both be rather time consuming simply for the musical entertainment. Seeing the band that replaced the British Invasion is a must, and I love Off Kilter.
Dinner is at Rose & Crown, so we should be in the right neighborhood when dinner time rolls around. Stitch is going to love this one, because he's a huge fan of the Scotch egg and has no idea you can find them anywhere other than the Renaissance Festival. I didn't get a late enough ADR to watch Illuminations because I'd like to be at the back of the park for the show, with a glass of Rosa Regale in hand, poised to head for The American Adventure to avoid the post-fireworks exodus.
Since in recent years the festival booths have not stayed open into evening EMH but the World Showcase attractions and many restaurants are, we plan to hit a few things there during the earlier, more crowded part of the extra hours. So we'll see The American Adventure, maybe grab a take-out treat from Boulangerie Patisserie for the next morning's breakfast, and enjoy the nighttime atmosphere with a ride or two here and there. Test Track, which is our Epcot highlight (Soarin' is fun but once is enough for us), will wait for the very end of the night when the early birds have had time to throw in the towel.
The park closes at midnight and I figure we'll stay right to the end, so once again we'll be getting back to our room in the wee hours of the morning.
Still, when it is 95° a shorter day works well, and I was glad we spent the extra 45min in the car to get to Toledo because by 2pm it was hot enough that we were ready to head home for a dip in the river. 
The zoo looks like it was fun, but your day at AK looks like even more fun. 
Definitely my favorite show at Disney World!
We did get 2 swimming days in, the first being a little cool, but the second was 80 and perfect.
