So today was THE DAY. The day we had been looking forward to for months, years even. Every time we saw the beginning of a Disney movie, the kids would see Cinderella's castle and exclaim "I want to go there some day". Well some day had arrived! MAGIC KINGDOM here we come!
Now let's just preface that when in Disney, you do things you wouldn't normally do. Case and point: wear matching family t-shirts. Outside Disneyworld, people might think your family doesn't get out of the house much. But surprisingly, inside those magic gates, you are the minority if your entire family is not wearing some sort of Mickey Mouse gear that matches. The best were the ones that listed each family members name and informed us they were here for a family reunion. Poor grandpa getting stuck with a neon green shirt that proclaims him as "Gappy". Those were entertaining to see while waiting in line at rides. (So these were surprise #2 of the trip - the kids woke up and found these shirts on the foot of their bed this morning. It was just an extra surprise that Mommy and Daddy were wearing the same ones. The kids were loving it.)
I will also preface that this was the ONLY day we did this. When in Rome...
So here is KK's face when we turn the corner on Main Street and she sees for the FIRST TIME IN HER LIFE (all seven years that is) Cinderella's castle! This was the face that we envisioned when we paid, I mean planned, for this trip...
Now please turn your attention to the yet again (refer to the Day 1 blog post if you aren't sure why I say "again") unimpressed boy we brought along on the trip. Yes, the short one in the middle of the picture... Forget castles, he just wanted to stop a minute so he could look at the map he found and be in charge of which way we were going. I didn't have the heart to point out he couldn't read the map. This kid makes me laugh!
The kid's first ever view of the Magic Kingdom...
It took a moment, but AJ did start to embrace the wonder of it all and even posed for a few pictures in front of the castle for us.
Another family shot - a little closer to the castle this time. Thank you to my sweet family for accepting that Mommy was going want to take several family shots of this moment. Love them!
So after taking in the sights of Main Street and the castle, it was time to RIDE OUR FIRST RIDE. What would we jump on first?
THE TEACUPS!
We got to see Alice in Wonderland and the rabbit start the first ride of the day, then it was our turn. These two were ready to make this teacup spin like crazy.
This was one of my favorite rides as a kid.
Daddy wasn't as excited about our choice of ride haha! Teacups just weren't made for people who were 6 foot 5 inches... but we did manage to fit him into the teacup! And then Daddy got really really dizzy (much to the kid's delight).
So of course they demanded we spin even faster...
After surviving the teacups, we had to hit another classic: DUMBO!
The kids were having a blast and it was only ride #2. AJ loved being in charge of Dumbo and making him fly up high.
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So we did have to ride several times of course!
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KK and Daddy loved it too!
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So then we rode it even more!
Our two cute little Dumbo riders! I can't wait to do this with baby Kins next time.
After we rode Dumbo more than a few times and Goofy's rollercoaster the Barnstormer, it was time to grab some breakfast. We had heard about Gaston's Tavern and their snack foods, as the hubs and I might have been more excited about the foods of Disneyworld versus the rides. A sure sign we have crossed over to "old age" maybe?
Did we mention the reason I picked this place was that the menu included a cinnamon roll the size of your face?
KK tried the "Brew" which was frozen apple juice with a little bit of toasted marshmallow and a passion fruit froth on the top. As it was a hot day at the park (already), it sounded refreshing. Turns out it was disgusting. Oh well, live and learn. We decided to head across the park to check out a few other rides...
And we literally just ran into the Fairy Godmother as she walked by Cinderella's castle! OUR FIRST AUTOGRAPH! She was lovely and magical and KK couldn't stop smiling the whole time. Shoot, I was just as excited and I kind of wished I had an autograph book and reason to hug her. And maybe just maybe I thought about asking for a turn with her magic wand... I mean if she can clean Cinderella up, why not me? Shoot, just find me some mice and birds that will clean my house while I sing....
Not pictured: AJ. He refused flat out to allow a girl to be his first signature. He wanted Donald Duck or Pluto and that was that. Stinker!
Our next stop was almost the early end of the first day.. I might have had the bad idea to ride the Haunted Mansion ride. It was a very short wait and I didn't have a bad memory of it from when I was a kid. At first we had fun going through the silly grounds of the mansion before entering the ride. Here are the kids and Daddy pretending to be scared:
The pretending kind of ended the moment the ride started. My bad! I also hit my knee really hard when exiting the ride - so hard I saw stars spinning around my head and almost passed out (twice). While I took a moment to sit and will my knee to not be hurt (by praying very hard), Greg took the kids to "It's a Small World" to see if it was as awesome and we remembered as kids (and distract them from the fact Mommy was a little out of it). Once I started feeling better, I realized I was sitting right by Rapunzel's tower and outside the Lucky Ducky tavern. One of my favorite movies :-)
So of course, after making sure I really wasn't going to pass out on the sidewalk and embarrass myself, I took a picture (or five)....
The kids came out of small world very unimpressed. Ouch, we were 0 for 2 now in the last hour. We crossed our fingers as we headed to our first FastPass: Belle's Enchanted Tales. Turns out our Fastpass was just what we needed as it was wonderful! We enter Belle's castle and discover that this isn't just a sit and watch show. No, this was an interactive show and we were part of it. We turn a corner and who do we see but the talking Wardrobe. You know, the one who helps Belle find that beautiful yellow dress in the movie. She is very real, looking at us and talking to us. She informs us all that we will be recreating the magical "Be Our Guest" feast and song with Belle herself, before Belle goes to have her romantic dinner with the Beast tonight.
All the kids in the small audience got to be a part of the show. I was so proud, our AJ decided he wanted to be the dancing fork and spoon. HaHa! KK passed, she just wanted to watch. We entered Belle's library and OH MY WORD, there Belle was! Real and alive and in person! (And oh my word so pretty)!
She talked to Lumiere (the candle shown above on the mantle) and sang and danced around the room to the music of Be Our Guest. AJ was quite the handsome fork and spoon (if I do say so myself). KK even joined in to take a spin around the room with Belle. After the dance, Belle stood by the fireplace to thank and hug each and every child in the room. It was wonderful! Of course, our AJ wasn't so sure about hugging a girl, princess or not. Classic!
So note to yourselves: go to Enchanted Tales with Belle. Very personal experience and the kids loved that it was interactive. After the show, AJ made us promise we were going to find Donald Duck so he could get his autograph book signed already...
Luckily Goofy, Donald, Daisy and Minnie were all at the Big Tent dressed for the circus!
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Silly Goofy! Using AJ's and KK's head to sign the books, then "dropping" the pens before the kids could get them back from you...
So here was our FIRST autograph from the "original" Mickey gang... big smiles all around, made my heart happy!
Here was AJ's FAVORITE part of the morning! DONALD DUCK! Prior to the trip, AJ surprised me by saying Donald was his favorite as Donald was so silly. I couldn't argue that logic. Donald loved hearing AJ tell him how much he loved him - because Donald does love being #1 haha!
Surprisingly, Daisy and Minnie were greeted with equal enthusiasm by AJ, and KK loved meeting the girls. Minnie was a big fan of KK's headband, which made KK smile and light up.
The kids loved meeting all four and we learned that this autograph book thing was going to be a lot more important on this trip than we previously thought. The kids also started trading pins at this point.
I forgot - that was surprise #3 of the trip. I had gotten the kids trading pins on ebay for the trip, along with lanyards that they could wear them whenever they like. And it turns out trading pins was also a fun way to pass time while waiting to meet characters.
Just to be clear, as I might have forgotten to explain, I came to Disneyworld with a bag full of surprises. Why buy t-shirts and trading pins at full price at Disneyworld when I can surprise my kids each day with another little treat that was so much cheaper to buy at home. I must confess, I was pretty proud of this "plan" of mine. So far in the trip it was working perfectly! The kids were surprised and happy, but most importantly they weren't begging to buy a single thing at the parks.
I had to take a picture of these candy apples they make that look like Disney characters. Crazy! They were adorable but we passed and tried some of the smaller treats instead.
After finishing up at the Big Top, we were off to use our next FastPass. We were going to meet Rapunzel and Snow White at the castle!
Please note who is not pictured here... yup! AJ was NOT going to take a picture with princesses... we were starting to see a trend. Rapunzel was so sweet. As she signed KK's book, she asked her if she saw any ruffians or bad guys while she was waiting outside. When KK said no, Rapunzel said to make sure that you always had your frying pan with you just in case. So cute! KK was soaking it up (and maybe I was too).
Snow White was equally sweet, she even talks in the high voice just like the movie! This is where KK decided these girls were the real deal and not pretend like some of her friends had told her. Snow White was also teasing AJ trying to get him to take a picture. When AJ refused to come over to say hello, she looked at KK and said, "I have a friend who is bashful too he-he". After giggling, I mentioned it might be naptime, Snow White looked over and said "Oh he should find my friend Sleepy, he loves naps". What a fun experience - I wanted to hug them (and maybe I did)!
So it was getting hotter and AJ was getting crankier. We decided to head back to the hotel for either a nap or a dip in the pool to cool off. And what was waiting for the kids, but surprise #4: New Swimsuits!
AJ's Ninja Turtle swim shorts were a tad big (so big that his white little bootie might have accidentally made an appearance at the pool when he was getting out hahahahaha)!
After the swim and some down time in the room, we decided to return to the park to see the Electrical Parade and the fireworks show. KK decided she was going to dress up as Cinderella for this outing, so of course I had to take a picture of her by her castle!
So precious!
She also had to show us how she can bow like a princess
and then she wouldn't stop bowing in pictures hehe. So I was forced to bow as well.
We found a spot on the sidewalk in front of the castle and ate some dinner while watching all the people walking by. Sometimes it is just fun to people watch. I will brag about myself for a moment... I did remember to bring a hotel pool towel to help us save spots on the curb. Worked like a dream. Just saying...
After eating, it was almost time for the parade, and really on your first day EVER to the Magic Kingdom you have to
eat Mickey-shaped ICE CREAM!
YUMMY!
The Castle was beautiful at night!!!
We were ready for the Electrical parade!
But first one more picture of the princess in front of her castle (all lit up)!
The park went dark and then all of a sudden we look over and see Minnie Mouse riding a train to start the parade:
The little turtles were cute - they would spin around on the street and get close to the crowd before spinning wildly the other way.
The BEST PART OF THE ENTIRE DAY (well for me and KK): As Prince Charming rode by on his float, he see's KK all dressed up like his Cinderella sitting on the curb. He waves at her and then bows and offers her the glass slipper in his hand. Greg and I were screaming we were so excited! KK didn't even notice at first, but once she saw what we were screaming about she was grabbing her face and screaming and kicking her feet in excitement. Oh my word, I still tear up a bit thinking about how excited and happy she was in that moment. I won't forget it. Sadly, I was enjoying the moment way too much to even think about a picture of her while it was happening (gasp). Just envision a teenage girl at a Justin Bieber concert a few years ago, screaming when she sees him on stage and losing control about it all. That is pretty much KK after seeing Prince Charming thinking she was his princess. Best.Moment.Ever.
AJ loved seeing Peter Pan and Captain Hook battling it out on the pirate ship!
And Puff the Magic Dragon came around puffing smoke!
After the parade, the Castle Light Show happened - it is where the castle almost become a movie screen and almost every Disney movie made is flashed up on the castle to music. We didn't catch all of it but what we saw was beautiful. At the end, Tinkerbelle flew up to the castle and used her pixie dust to officially light up the castle. And I don't mean on a screen - a REAL Tinkerbelle flew up there as she flew right by our seats!
Then it was time for the Wishes Fireworks show over the castle. It was AMAZING! So pretty and big and bright. I leave you with this perfect picture that my awesome hubby captured on his phone:
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What a way to end our first official day at Disney! There really aren't words for how great it was, even with a few low moments that are just a part of being tired, hot and little (and to be honest perfectly expected as its real life, just covered with a bit of pixie dust).
Sweet dreams Y'all from the Magic Kingdom!
I can't wait to see what we see tomorrow :-)
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