Vacation Trip Report #2

Day number two and it was off to the Magic Kingdom. We were very excited about this day for a number of reasons. Number one, the magic of this particular theme park seemed to be off the charts. Number two, it was the first full day we would spend with Grandpa Saint and Mimi. And number three, we were having breakfast with Pooh and the Gang!! So exciting!

As soon as we arrived inside the gate, we ooed and awed over the sweet little Main Street environment, and then PINOCCHIO appeared out of the blue! I told Livi to go get a hug and an autograph but she was a little slow. I was worried that she would miss her chance so I gave her a little shove! She got a hug, an autograph AND a picture. Our day was starting off with a bang! As soon as we took some other must have pics, we made for Fantasy Land. This is where the Dumbo ride is, as well as other rides like the Tea Cups, Pooh Bear, Small World, etc. My research had strongly suggested that we get to this area of the park early to beat the crowds that didn't know better.

What great advice! We practically walked onto Dumbo and only waited 25 minutes to meet Ariel - yes, the real Ariel! She was so sweet and beautiful. Aidan was coy and decided after sitting next to her for 20 seconds, that he couldn't handle the pressure of her beauty! Olivia, however, got hugs and some conversation before we had to give up Ariel to the other guests in line. What fun!

Once we met Ariel, we had to haul our butts back to the front of the park for our breakfast ressy at Crystal Palace. I had made the ressy for 10:30 so that we could experience some of the park for an hour or so, eat without it being too crowded in the restaurant, and eat late enough that we wouldn't need lunch. I have to say, that my plan worked like a charm!

The breakfast was really great. We got to have some one on one time with Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore. This included autographs and pictures. Olivia was about to bust she was so excited! The breakfast food was good too. Lots of variety and very fresh. Yum!

After we ate, we made our way back to Fantasy Land. We rode the Tea Cups (only waited 5 minutes!), got fast passes for the Pooh Bear ride and headed over to Toon Town Fair. I was looking forward to this part because of Mickey and Minnie's house tours and, this was a part of the park where you could meet the characters and get more autographs.

Toon Town Fair was adorable! Minnie and Mickey's houses were darling. Rick wanted to know why after all these years, these two still weren't living together! Geez. We didn't have time to go on Goofy's Barnstormer ride, but Aidan got to go on Donald Duck's boat while Mom, Liv and I went to meet some characters. We waited for about 35 minutes before we got up to the front of the line. When it was our turn, Pluto came out and collected Olivia. The two of them skipped all the way to the meet and greet room - too cute! We got some great pics of Donald, Pluto and Goofy.

Small World and Pooh Bear were waiting for us when we got back to Fantasy Land. Since we had fast passes for Pooh Bear, we just walked right on. Small World didn't have a long wait either, maybe 5 minutes at the most. Both rides were very cute and something that we could all enjoy together.

The Haunted Mansion was next - yes, we were making great time but not at all rushing which was so nice! The wait for HM was only 15 minutes - amazing for the first week of July - and was fun because of the theming while in line. There was a hearse carriage pulled by a ghost horse, tombstones with funny epitaphs and a really cool look of the house. The ride itself was fun and not too scary. Even Aidan liked it!

It was almost 2:30 by this point and we knew we needed to get a spot for the parade. So we ended up in Liberty Square right next to the parade rope. Prime spot! When the parade started, the kids were up in front and saw everything. They even got some interaction with some of the characters. Grumpy and Aladdin interacted with Livi and Captain Hook came over to Aidan. It was very magical! Oh, except for the part where I almost decked some woman for nearly injuring my babies. She was trying to weasel her way up to the front and she nearly pushed over our stroller with the kids inside. I said something to her about backing up and Rick did too. She finally got the message and backed off. It got a little dicey there for a minute!

Okay, my fingers are cramping - more to come later!