Sunday, January 18th

It doesn't seem like it's our 3rd full day at Disney! This morning we had breakfast reservations at Chef Mickey's, which is inside The Contemporary. In order to get there, we took the shuttle from the resort to Magic Kingdom and then got on the monorail to The Contemporary. We got there early, but luckily they were able to also seat us early.

This was most definitely the best character meal since we got to see all of the characters....Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald. Although the only way Mitchell would have his picture was if Granddad was holding him.

We walked over to the Magic Kingdom after breakfast. Mitchell picked out some mouse ears and we were all surprised to see that he wore them for the rest of the day. He then rode Space Mountain again and we got Fast Passes for later. Then we went to Stitch's Great Escape. I think we're all still trying to figure that attraction out. It made no sense to any of us! We then got on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (TTA) train. We needed a little bit of downtime! After that, Dave and Mitchell rode Astro Orbiter. By now it was time for Space Mountain again (this would be Mitchell's 5th ride). Dave was worn out by now, so Aunt Kerri and Mitchell rode for the last time.

We had 12:45 lunch reservations at Teppan Edo at Epcot. So we hopped on the monorail for the ride over to Epcot. On our way to the restaurant, we stopped at Fast Track and got Fast Passes. Then we trekked over to the World Showcase. They don't make it very easy to get from one side of Epcot to the other! We were pressed for time and now that it was getting warmer, the walk over was a bit harder. But we made it in time for our reservation.

Mitchell has never eaten at a Japanese restaurant before, so having his food prepared on a hot grill in front of him was a totally new experience that had him completely entranced. This is the quietest I've seen him in a while.

Then he started eating with chopsticks.

He told us that he loved eating there and this was one of his favorite things. I guess we should tell him that we can dine like this in Atlanta as well!

Dad had also gotten 2 Fast Passes for Fast Track and they ended at 2:10. So we decided to rush over there after lunch instead of waiting for our Fast Passes (which started at 2:55). We made it with 2 minutes to spare. While Dave and Mitchell rode Fast Track, I found a tired looking family of 4 in line and I gave them our Fast Passes. At that point, the wait was 70 minutes and they seemed appreciative of the fact that they wouldn't have to wait in line.

We decided to head back to the resort for football family time. Dave and Mitchell got in the pool for a little bit and even though it was supposed to be heated to 82 degrees, they were both quite chilly! Then we headed to the resort bar to watch the games. I took Mitchell to the arcade for a little while. We had passes from the resort for free arcade time.

Once that ran out, we hit the gift store in search of post cards for Mitchell's friends and teachers. I was excited when Mitchell said he wanted a Disney t-shirt. I also got him a Space Mountain pin. He wanted to put the shirt on immediately. I let him sleep in it and he also wore it home on Monday. But then I insisted that we wash it!

We ordered pizza for dinner and hung out watching the end of the Eagles vs. Cardinals game. The Eagles fans departed quickly after the game was over and the Steelers fans moved in.

I took Mitchell back to the room so everyone could watch the game in peace (aside from the cheering Steelers fans). He was asleep by 7:57pm. I packed and got things ready for our departure on Monday morning.

Dave came back to the room and I nervously watched the game with him. But I had to go to bed after the 3rd quarter. I was too tired and too nervous to keep watching. On Monday when I woke up, I was scared to ask him if the Steelers were Super Bowl bound. Thank goodness I got good news!

We headed around 7:30 on Monday morning. Almost immediately, Mitchell said he wanted to come back to Disney. And he thought March would be a good time to come. We told him that was probably not likely to happen! He also informed me that I better not forget his big blankie (knotted fleece blanket made by my friend Bree) the next time we come to Disney.

He was excited to head back to school on Tuesday. He took the 2009 Disney bus he got and the postcards for his teachers. On Wednesday, he took the 2009 Disney football that Aunt Kerri bought him. Today he wore his Disney shirt to school.

Now we can only hope that trips to Six Flags will suffice until we can head to Disney again.