A Whole Day In Fantasyland...

If you'd asked me, before the huge Fantasyland addition, if we could spend an entire day there, I would have told you no.  Now it is completely possible.

We started out our day at Cinderella's Royal Table.  It is always a big deal to eat in the castle, even though I have to say that the food, itself, seems to have deteriorated in quality.  Not that we pick character greetings based on the food, but we might pick dining options based on the food, in the future, so this is more of a reminder to myself than anything else.  Still, you just can't beat the view, and the princesses were great (Jasmine was pretty concerned about the level of pixie dust at our table).

I just love this face:

From there, we proceeded to take in as much of Fantasyland as possible, which ended up being all of it, because the Magic Kingdom hours changed, so instead of a 10:00 close with extra magic hours until midnight, we ended up with extra magic hours until 2:00am. 

I have mixed feelings about "New" Fantasyland... I guess they're not actually referring to it that way anymore, but whatever.  Now, part of how I'm feeling about this is undoubtedly influenced by the fact that I am really, really sick.  I wasn't even sure I could do Disney when I woke up, and it got worse as the day went on.  Sore throat, nose running all over the place, asthma kicked in full force, whole body aches.  And I'm grumpy.  Really, really grumpy.  Which is probably why I loved the Seven Dwarves Mine Train...

Beast's castle and Gaston's tavern are less than impressive to me, but maybe I am just bitter about not being able to get a reservation for "Be Our Guest".  Ariel's castle is pretty cool, and the ride is fun, but it seems a bit redundant considering the Little Mermaid show at Hollywood Studios.  Some of us still rode it three times, though.  Miah and I only rode it twice, because we took some time to wait for Elsa, Anna, and Rapunzel.  I'm a little bit sad that character greetings are completely obsolete for "the big four"...

If you've ever complained about the It's a Small World song running through your head all day long, guess what?  Your wish has been granted and the song no longer plays, in excess, at It's a Small World.  I mean, the music is still there, but you are only subjected to the lyrics a couple of times.  In theory, the lyrics are sung in multiple languages throughout the ride, but the soundtrack drowns this out.  As someone who loves It's a Small World, I was kind of disappointed.

Miah has been wanting to ride Prince Charming's Carousel for months, and she got to ride it three times, today.  I think she was pretty happy with that.

I was really worried about the modifications to Dumbo, since this is my all time favorite Disney attraction, but I think it turned out OK.  At least, it turned out well enough to ride it four times and to take more Dumbo pictures than anything else... all day long...  The best part was when there was no line and they let us stay on to ride twice in a row!

How many kids can you fit in one Dumbo?

Three...  Just three...

Or maybe five, if it's the trained photo Dumbo:

We got the pink Dumbo!

Don't judge us.

We have been trying to get the pink Dumbo for years:

The Barnstormer, The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh (can't believe we all made it in one honeypot),  the Mad Tea Party, and Mickey's Philharmagic were fun, as always.  And I think that only leaves Peter Pan, which had a typical hour plus wait throughout the morning... afternoon... and evening... but finally dropped to 25 minutes during extra magic hours.  I have always liked this ride, but I have never understood why it is the most sought after attraction in all of the Magic Kingdom.

Of course, somewhere between the riding, we watched the Main Street Electric Parade, Celebrate the Magic, and Wishes.  I was super impressed with Celebrate the Magic.  Wishes is, as always, my favorite.  The parade caused a little bit of stress, because we had been sitting in a prime viewing location for about 90 minutes, eating ice cream (while Phil went in search of Ian's lost magic band), when a full grown man decided it was appropriate to push Ian out of the way and to sit on him.  Are you kidding me?  I made mention of this and was completely ignored, which I thought was rather rude.  Perhaps he could have said, "I'm sorry"?  Then, at the very last minute, a couple of other people pushed in beyond the barrier where you are supposed to leave a walkway, and stood right in front of my kids with their cell phones held up above their heads to get some pictures or video or whatever.  I cannot believe how rude people can be.  In the end, we managed to find a way for everyone to see alright.  Geesh!

Who thought this ice cream sundae was a good idea?

We did eat dinner at Cosmic Ray's and ended our night with Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (again), so I guess we didn't spend the day exclusively in Fantasyland.  Close enough... 

 Lovin' us some Sonny Eclipse...

Well, except Miah...

She thinks he's "creepy"...

But she does love to drink frozen stuff:

These don't really fit neatly anywhere, but...

All five year olds are entitled to a late night

Disney meltdown:

Because sometimes you just need a nap...

at 11:00pm... on a bench...

L.

Pictures Taken Today: 429

I think we finally found the rightful leader:

Sometimes Things Are Different Than We Remember Them...

Today was like that.

It was a good day, filled with experiences that we have been looking forward to... waiting for... some of them for a very long time.

For example, we started out our day at Typhoon Lagoon.  We had not been there in almost ten years, for various reasons.  We remembered Typhoon Lagoon fondly and were a little sad each time we took a Florida trip and couldn't get back there.  And it was fun today.  It was really fun.  But it only took us about four hours to enjoy the whole park, and then we were done.  This is a far cry from how it was with two, four, and five year olds all those years ago...

I'm pretty sure we have now been successfully eaten

by every shark in Orlando:

There were quite a few moments where I heard words like, "That slide was kind of boring..."  It can be difficult to admit that there are some things the "big kids" have outgrown.  Much of Typhoon Lagoon was like that.  However, we did find the Crush 'n' Gusher water coaster slides, which kept us all busy for quite some time while we took turns playing with Miah in the wading pool.

Look!  We're a Hidden Mickey:

Ketchakiddie Creek:

Crush 'N' Gusher

After a stop at the cabin to get cleaned up and reset for the second half of our day (how weird is it that we have now done this two days in a row), Phil, Seth, Grace, Caleb, and Ian dropped Miah and me off at the Ticket and Transportation Center where we caught a monorail to the Magic Kingdom for an appointment at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.

The best part of this experience was just having some time alone with Miah.  She was super excited about going to the BBB, although she kept saying, "I have enough hair?"  Honestly, she doesn't.  I was pretty miffed by how her hair turned out, and to make matters worse, I felt like the fairy godmothers in training (yes, they sent two) were sort of snooty about her hair.  There was definitely an eye roll when she told them her favorite Disney princess is Rapunzel.  But here's the thing.  The kid just cannot grow hair.  We don't know why.  And that's OK.  She is beautiful all the time, and she loved her BBB hair, even if I had steam coming out of my ears.  It's about the experience.  I say this all the time, so I guess I'd better be able to suck it up and live into it.

"I have enough hair?"

Miah's eye roll cracked me up:

Seeing her princess makeover

for the first time:

Just hanging out at the castle:

We met the rest of the family at Epcot, where they had been having some fun of their own, taking another spin on Mission: Space and Spaceship Earth and having dinner at the Electric Umbrella.  This makes me smile.  I'm not sure exactly why these are favorite things, but they were happy.  We rode Mission: Space, again, Nemo, and then we found some food, too.  And by found, I mean that it was pouring rain, so Phil ran through the park hunched over Miah with an umbrella and dropped us off, again, at the Electric Umbrella, because that is where she wanted to eat (of course).  He then ran back across the park, in the downpour, to get me fish and chips in the UK, because that's just who he is. 

We considered watching Illuminations in the rain, but in the end exiting the park won out, because we are exhausted.  Honestly, I am also getting sick, which feels extra miserable on vacation and is probably adding to my propensity to be grouchy about every little thing.  I'm almost certain the water at Typhoon Lagoon was teeming with germs.  We'll see how this all pans out... 

L.

Pictures Taken Today: 267

It's Magic...

First, let me just say that this was, hands down, the most productive 8 hours we have ever spent at the Magic Kingdom.  Wait.  Just 8?  That's right.  In our original plan, we did not intend to be at the Magic Kingdom today, and there were short hours because of Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, but we figured we might be able to knock off some of the non-Fantasyland attractions, especially with extra magic hours in the morning, so we made a run for it.

We had conquered all of the mountains by 11:00 in the morning!  That's a win!

That moment when you remember that she's five...

And probably has no business on Space Mountain...

So you hold on... tight...  She loved it.

I have been waiting for this Disney Moment my entire life...

We're all finally on Splash Mountain, together...

We're still working on getting an epic picture,

but this one will have to do for today...

Thunder Mountain...

Well, we haven't done it quite like this

since Seth was five and I was pregnant with Ian...

Stupidest thing I ever did (intentionally) while pregnant...

But I think he turned out OK...

We also managed to ride Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (twice), The Peoplemover, Tomorrowland Speedway, Astro Orbiter, Carousel of Progress, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Haunted Mansion.  A quick note on the Haunted Mansion.  We never would have let our older kids ride this at age five.  Miah did, indeed, ride today.  I can't decide if this means our parenting skills are getting better or worse...

 Space Ranger Spin...

Phil wins for best ride picture face of the day...

Tomorrowland Speedway:

 Astro Orbiter:

Peoplemover:

 

Jungle Cruise:

Magic Carpets:

And, we went to the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, The Enchanted Tiki Room, The Country Bear Jamboree, and the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House.

If you know your Disney parks, this only leaves Tom Sawyer's Island (which we could have done, but it was blazing hot with humidity that made it even worse... I am quickly approaching the point with this heat where I could be happy sipping frozen lemonade for the rest of this vacation, and nothing else), The Hall of Presidents, Liberty Square Riverboat, and the Walt Disneyworld Railroad as far as non-Fantasyland attractions go.  We still have two more days scheduled at the Magic Kingdom, so we are in really good shape for getting everything done and riding our favorites over and over again. 

 This is a really dedicated big brother...

It was so hot.

Do not eat your children when they are young.

They might grow up to be decent people...

We left the park at 4:30 (this has never, ever happened), went back to the resort to catch a quick nap (well, I did, anyway) and get cleaned up for dinner (which was necessary, see: humidity).

We then proceeded to eat at Chef Mickey's, which had better food than I remembered... probably something of a drawback, since we ate more than anyone should.  Just kidding.  We're Disney foodies.  Great food is never a drawback!  The characters were making lightning speed appearances again, but I guess I'll suck it up, because free dining is... well... free (sort of...  if you have more than five people in your family, they automatically add the gratuity, and this really threw me for a loop at our first ADR, because it used to be included in the dining plan).  The waitress was fabulous, though.  She earned her gratuity, for sure, and told us what a nice family we have, even though I think we were a little on the crazy side tonight!

I will never understand the Chef Mickey's picture...

Why do we need a pseudo-professional photographer

to take our picture with a statue?

Somebody help me out here...

We are kinda cute... 

Minnie Mouse and Mini Me:

She's totally trying to drink a cheesecake shot:

How about an elevator selfie to end the night:

At this moment, I have five happy, sleeping kids who are looking forward to some water park fun in the morning!  

L.

Pictures Taken Today: 222

P.S.  Thanks Walt...