DISNEY WORLD: DAY 2

Magic Kingdom Day!

We arrived at Magic Kingdom at 8:30 AM in anticipation of the park opening at 9:00 AM - turns out the park actually opened at 8:00 AM for people staying on property!  Nonetheless, we took advantage of the small crowds. 

Our first stop was to wait in line to see Mickey.  The kids were fresh and it seemed like a fitting first stop.  After about fifteen minutes, we were led into Mickey's dressing room.  The kids were in awe.  

 JP, AA, and Brayden collected their first (of many) autographs. 

Next we hopped on the Prince Charming Regal Carousel and It's A Small World (AA's favorite) before using our Fast Passes for Peter Pan's Flight.  The kids were finally starting to realize what Magic Kingdom was all about!  I was happy to be able to take Baby J on almost all of these rides- I had anticipated sitting on the sidelines for most of the day while the Big Kids had fun - but there were only a couple of times when he was too little to ride (or sleeping in the stroller).

We caught most of a show on Main Street mid morning and then started sweating.  It was HOT.

One of our favorite attractions of the day was using a FastPass for Enchanted Tales with Belle.  This wasn't really a "ride" … instead, a group of about twenty kids met Belle (Beauty and the Beast) and gathered for an interactive story.  Many of the kids volunteered to play a role in the story - AA was a picture frame!

 Even Daddy and Baby J got into the story!

Next we rode the fast roller coasters on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (JP's favorite) while Ms. E sat out to watch the babies.  We then took a much needed break for a picnic lunch (did I mention it was HOT?!?).  Shortly after, it DOWNPOURED for about twenty minutes - cooling everyone off!  We visited (my favorite) Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid.  

While the babies and AA napped, Ms. E and I searched for a few attractions to take JP and Brayden to.  Lilo and Stitch had a short line, so we hopped in.  Epic Fail.  This attraction was TERRIFYING to JP (and to me!).  We were shoulder harnessed into a seat while the lights went out - pitch black- for several minutes while steam and water shot at us and scary sounds and screams were everywhere.  It was horrible and there was no way out of the tight harnesses.  JP just cried and cried.  At one point, he asked me to pray for him.  I sang Jesus Loves Me as loud as I could, but I don't even know if he could hear me over the loud noises.  (I'm writing as many details for this post so I can be reminded of our experiences if others ask for recommendations - and I will definitely say do NOT do this one with a five year old!)

We turned things around and laughed at the show/attraction Monsters, Inc Laugh Floor.  Next we took our spots on Main Street for the big Parade at 3 PM.  (And it was HOT - I missed the first part of the parade as I was frantically trying to find an indoor place to cool Baby J off - I was so concerned he was getting heat exhaustion).  The Parade was probably the most miserable time of the day - heat wise, but the Big Kids didn't seem to mind.  This was a great way to see all of their favorite characters (and not need to stand in line for an hour at a time to meet each of these princesses- the wait time was 90 minutes to meet Elsa!)

Following the Parade we walked down MainStreet to the Barber Shop for Landen and Baby J's First Haircut!  (Ms. E and I made reservations many months ago - I can't believe we held out the boys this long - they both really needed a haircut!)  For $20, they received a haircut, certificate, sachet to keep the hair, and a set of Mickey's ears.

BEFORE:

 DURING:

 and AFTER (this is the part where Baby J was DONE!)

 (the back of his ears read "My First Haircut" - this pose lasted for 0.1 seconds).

Our kiddos seemed to be handling our eight hour Magic Kingdom experience thus far, so we decided to stay while Mr. A and Ms. E headed back to the hotel for a break.  We strolled around the Agrabah Bazaar, rode the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, and then cooled off for an indoor snack.

We rode the boat on the Jungle Cruise 

 climbed through the Swiss Family Treehouse, 

 and soared with Dumbo the Flying Elephant.

By 7:00 PM, we called it a day.  After taking the bus back to our hotel, we went for a swim and ordered a pizza by the pool.  Great way to relax after one of the best days of our lives!  We watched fireworks from our hotel and the kids were fast asleep by 9 PM - so we never did make it back to join Mr. A and Ms. E for the big Firework display at Magic Kingdom.  Maybe next time!