We have been anticipating this day for a really… really long time now! It was pretty close to everything we hoped for!
My day began at 4:30am… yikes! There was much to do and many people to get ready and out the door by 6:30! We actually left the driveway at 6:45, but no worries… we still arrived in plenty of time at the Magic Kingdom parking lot, and as an added bonus, the parking attendants weren’t quite ready for traffic, so they let us park for free in pretty much the most prime parking spot you can get at the MK!
From there we walked over to the monorail station, and hopped on a train… completely by ourselves! In fact, Phil, Seth, Grace, and Caleb even got to ride in front, in essence “driving” the monorail… oh… yeah… very sweet!
When we got off the monorail and headed for the MK entrance we had to wait in line, because they weren’t letting anyone in just yet. Grace’s appointment at Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique was scheduled for 45 minutes before the park opened, so we got in early!
Phil and the boys waited in the castle by the roped off area to Fantasyland, while Grace and I visited the BBB. And let me tell ya… it was just amazing! It was worth every single cent, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat! By the way… I don’t think I ever stopped smiling… start to finish!
Since the park still wasn’t open when we were done, we all waited by the ropes… well… except for Ian who thought it would be more fun to run under the ropes into the closed park… and then… well… Caleb thought it was a pretty good opportunity to get in early, while looking like he was chasing the baby… And then… well… Phil couldn’t just let them both run around in there, so he had to jump the ropes, of course! I wish I’d gotten all of this on video, but I was laughing way too hard to even think of it at the time!
Finally, the ropes were taken down, and we proceeded to be the first family into the park, slapping “high fours” with all of the Disney Cast Members and their Mickey Mouse hands! We rode Dumbo (my classic all time favorite), Peter Pan, Small World, and Cinderella’s Golden Carousel in record time (seriously, around 20 minutes)! And then… after all of this excitement… It was time to eat Breakfast in the castle, at Cinderella’s Royal Table… where they actually managed to accommodate our entire party of 15, even though we only had 12 reserved seats! Yes, dreams really do come true at Disney!
We met the fairy godmother, Cinderella, Jasmine (yeah… check it out… that’s Phil in that pic.), Snow White, and Belle! Grace was pretty much in Princess Heaven, and my three little princes cracked a few smiles, too… I think the highlight for the boys, though, was getting souvenir swords. I have already hidden them…
After breakfast, we continued our adventure through Fantasyland, riding everything else there, and then we went to Mickey’s Toontown Fair. This was especially exciting for me, as we missed a lot of this part of the park last time around. We explored Mickey and Minnie’s houses, and I glanced at the Pixie Hollow sign long enough to gasp at the 90 minute wait… I have a plan for this on another day… Amazingly, Grace didn’t catch the sign and still doesn’t realize that she is going to get to meet Tink live and in person! I cannot wait to capture the look on her face!
We rode The Barnstormer, and I got some pretty decent video of Grace’s ride. It’s hard to know exactly what I’m taping, because I can’t flip the screen. Unfortunately, blogger is acting up again, so no video footage for this post!
After we’d covered Toontown, we hopped on the train and took a spin around the entire park (dropping Grandma off in Frontierland to hook up with the rest of the family). And then on to Tomorrowland, where we ate at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café, now a tradition…
We skipped the Indy Speedway due to the long line, but we’ll be back to catch a ride later in the week! We rode Tomorrowland Transit Authority (The People Mover), Astro Orbiter, and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin (oh… love that ride)! Then we checked out the Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor, which was a lot of fun, and Seth, Grace, Caleb, and I went into Stitch’s Great Escape (which was not fun at all… worst waste of time I have ever spent in an amusement park, hands down… Grace was terrified… Caleb was completely confused… Seth was irritated… and, frankly, I was disgusted… did I mention it was a huge waste of time?)
Tomorrowland was apparently having some ride issues, because Space Ranger Spin shut down just before we got on, and Stitch’s Great Escape (which is a huge waste of time… did I mention this?) also shut down briefly before we got on… The second delay cost us some time getting in position for the Spectromagic Parade, but we still got pretty good seats, and once everyone was settled, I went to get us all ice cream, which was delicious… and messy… hehehe…
Steve, Nancy, Elizabeth, Audrey, Brad, Sheri, and Abby all joined us for the parade. The kids were really into it this time around, especially because they are more familiar with the characters than last time. Ian loved the “fishies”, which brought back memories for me of when Caleb was a baby.
After the parade we headed toward the castle to get into a better position for Wishes. Each time we found a better spot, Phil would run ahead and look for another place, while the kids and I stood our ground. In the end, we got almost to the statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse and enjoyed a very good viewing area for the show.
Wishes is the most amazing fireworks show ever! Even though I have seen it before and own the soundtrack, I was still in tears at the first note! There is nothing in all the world like sitting on the concrete at the happiest place on Earth and snuggling your kids while the whole sky explodes in color overhead…
After the show, we took our time getting out of the park. We even stopped for pictures in front of the castle in two different locations. It was a beautiful end to a wonderful day:
While we were waiting in line for the monorail, I turned to Phil and laughed, saying, “There’s no rush to get out of the Magic Kingdom… I mean, who wants to leave?” And I meant it…
I know it doesn’t really compare, but if a place like the Magic Kingdom can inspire such amazement, what must the Kingdom of Heaven be like… No doubt it will be so overwhelming we could never begin to comprehend it here on Earth…
We stopped or slurpies at 7-11 on the way back to the house… Well, Phil and I did, anyway… All of our little people were sound asleep within moments of buckling their seat belts:
And our vacation continues…Lisa
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