Ariel's Grotto

We wanted to keep this vacation pretty cheap- we drove and stayed at an offsite hotel, but one thing we splurged on was the Princess Celebration lunch at Ariel's Grotto. Our reservations were for 12:40 and we didn't have to wait long before we were allowed to go down a winding staircase to meet Princess Ariel herself (with legs, of course!)

Ariel was the first character that Emilia met and we weren't sure how she would do. She tucked her little arms in and walked over very shyly, but then gave Ariel the biggest hug. 

Ariel's grotto was really pretty and the food was great. Joe and I each got the crab chowder and catch of the day- macadamia crusted mahi mahi. 

Over the course of lunch, Emilia got to meet 4 princesses: Rapunzel, Aurora, Tiana, and Cinderella. Each princess came to our table and gave Emilia a hug and signed her autograph book. It was really great even though Emilia didn't eat much. She just wanted to follow Cinderella around! 

Before we left for the trip, Emilia watched Cinderella a million times. She was so excited when she walked out.

After lunch, we got in line to meet Donald Duck. He was great! Here he is giving Emilia a huge kiss. She kissed him too, but I didn't catch that one on camera. 

Then Emilia started getting sleepy and actually fell asleep in her stroller which is something she never does. 

When she woke up, we saw the Disney Jr. show which featured The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sophia the First, Doc McStuffins, and Jake and the Neverland Pirates. Emilia LOVED that show. She sang and danced and had so much fun. I'm really glad we saw it.

After the show we decided to go back to the hotel for pizza and some pool time. We caught Goofy on the way out, but forgot to get his autograph :(

The whole day was pretty much perfect.