Magic at the Magic Kingdom

Tuesday was our first day of three that we were spent in the Magic Kingdom. The forecast called for afternoon showers (only 30% chance) so Jen and I thought it best to go the direction of Tomorrow Land and Fantasy Land first. This was so we could do all of the outdoor rides first and then if it did rain in the afternoon we could go on the rides that are inside. As we entered the park I wanted to get a picture of the family on Main Street USA. This so happened to be the same time that several of the Disney Characters came out to sign autographs and have pictures taken. We were able meet Pluto, Chip and Dale, Daisy Duck, Pinocchio, and Jiminy Cricket. The kids loved getting their signatures and pictures taken. I was worried that the characters would freak Dan out so the week before we left for Disney, Dan and I watched youtube videos each day showing other kids meeting Disney Characters and we talked about how big they are but how nice they are. Dan really loved hugging each and every character that we saw. He even cried when he didn't get to hug Buzz Lightyear so Jen told him to run back and do so which he did.









The very first ride that we went on was Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. We went on this ride three times in a row without a wait each time. The best part was that after the third time we told the kids that we needed to move on and just as we were leaving we ran into Stitch. This made Michael's entire trip. His favorite character is Stitch and he was able to meet him. He was one giant smile. From there we moved through Tomorrow Land and went on the Astro Orbiter and the Indy Speedway. I know why they give licenses at the age of 16 and not 2, 4, 6 or 8. I rode with Sam and Dan and they practically threw me out of the car several times. We laughed the entire time and had a blast. We moved on to the Mad Tea Party (tea cup ride) and on the second time riding the ride, Alice and the Mad Hatter hopped on the ride in the next cup to our family. It was perfect timing.




We planned to work around the park from the right because of the weather but this was also the day that we were eating at Cinderella's Royal Table for lunch and I wanted to enter from the back side of the castle because this is where the reservation counter is located, away from the new stage on the front of the castle. This plan worked out perfectly. We checked in for lunch, were escorted in to meet Cinderella and have our family picture taken with her and a picture of Becca alone with Cinderella. This made Becca's entire trip. While eating lunch we met all of the Disney Princesses and had outstanding food as well. It was awesome knowing that we were eating inside the castle where many people never get to go because it is very difficult to get reservations for this meal. My favorite part is where Dan was flirting with Princess Aurora which she picked up on and gave Dan a big lipstick kiss on his cheek. He wore the lipstick for the rest of the day proudly. I think this made Dan's entire trip.







The rest of the day we finished most of Fantasy Land , Mickey's ToonTown and then headed to Liberty Square to sit and watch the parade. The parade was fun and the Mad Hatter recognized Michael from earlier in the day because he made fun of Michael's mohawk calling him a hedgehog. After the parade I thought it would be fun to let Jen ride her favorite ride since all of the kids went on their favorite rides so we hopped over to the Haunted Mansion for a spin in the Doombuggies. Dan and Becca rode with me and Dan was not too amused with this ride. I thought he was going to crawl into my shorts mid ride.







This was a perfect Disney day at the Magic Kingdom. The park closed at 7 PM this night because it was the first night of Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween Party which cost an extra $55 per person and ran until midnight. We figured it was not worth the money since our kids breakdown at 9 PM so we thought it would be wise to leave a bit early (around 6 PM) to get dinner back at the hotel. This is where my brain kicked in and said let's ride the ferry to the Transportation Center and catch the bus back to our hotel. The idea was that the kids get to ride a large ferry boat on our vacation, not something they get to do everyday in WV. Jen thought it was a great idea since I knew what I was doing. After 30 minutes of waiting and riding the ferry, we went to look for where the bus stops were for the resorts. When we couldn't find them we asked where they were and the Disney person said that resort buses leave from the parks only, not from the transportation center. So we gathered everyone up and hopped on the Monorail to go back to the Magic Kingdom. So now after a large circle on a ferry and Monorail, we were right back to where we left the park 1.5 hours earlier. The kids did get their Monorail driver's license by sitting up with the driver. Oh well, as the motto goes, Hakuna Matata. We made it back to the bus and to our hotel a bit later than we thought but we still had fun.