The Magic Kingdom, Part One

We started out our morning fairly early, with a 7:30 a.m. breakfast reservation, again at the Whispering Canyon Cafe, here at the Wilderness Lodge. One thing we are learning quickly here is that having reservations at the sit-down restaurants is nice, but one cannot expect the experience to be a quick one. However, we are just embracing it and trying to relax. Breakfast was yummy (complete with gluten-free Mickey waffles for Elsa, and plenty of other gluten-free options for both of us). Once done, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom, and despite some hiccups in our choice in transportation over to the park, still made it to our first FastPass reservation in plenty of time. The first ride of the day? Peter Pan!!! This ride was in my memory as one of my favorites from my family's last visit here, back in the day. And it proved to be a favorite of both Elsa and Aveline as well. It probably helped that we just recently watched the movie on a family movie night for the first time, so as I rode the ride with Elsa, she was quickly pointing here and there, recapping the entire story. She was in awe over how the ride worked, and how it felt like we were flying over the city. Next up, we rode the Prince Charming Carousel, and somehow my mom knew that one of the horses was specifically know to be Cinderella's horse, so of course we had to find the horse with the bow in its tail, and Elsa was lucky enough to ride on it. Our next FastPass was It's a Small World, which I know can get on people's nerves after awhile, but I actually quite enjoy it. The girls did as well, although my dad's worst nightmare occurred when we were about three-quarters of the way through the ride—the lights went out and the ride stopped... but the song kept on playing! The boats ended up stacking up on each other, and we were stuck for probably about five minutes before the boats finally started moving again (lights still off), and we were eventually able to exit the ride. After this FastPass reservation, my parents split off from us to do their own thing until lunch.

Our family of four wandered Fantasyland a bit, and ended up passing by Ariel's Grotto, which stated on the sign that it was only a ten-minute wait to see Ariel. I believe the sign was a little off—either that, or it was the longest ten minutes of my life. Nonetheless, we survived it, and the the girls did, in fact, get to meet Ariel. They were enthralled with her, and Elsa was excited to get her first autograph in the autograph book my mom purchased for her that morning.

The weather ended up being much colder than we were anticipating, and though I had enough layers to suffice, Jarrett didn't even bring his fleece jacket into the park, and we also felt the girls were lacking a layer, so we all ended up getting on the steam-engine-led train that goes around the entire park, and Jarrett jumped off at the stop for the main entrance so that he could go back to the lodge and pick up jackets. The girls and I stayed on the train, and road the entire way around. Not wanting to really experience the rides without Jarrett, we kind of just wandered around (we did rent a double stroller for our two days in the park), bought some popcorn, and ended up back at the front of the Magic Kingdom, where I was hoping we might run into some characters. Marie, one of the cats from The Aristocats was there, but we just missed being able to get in line to see her, as she was about to go on break. I did notice that there was only a 30-minute wait to see Tinker Bell at the Town Square Theater, so the girls and I decided to jump in line. This wait, unlike the one to meet Ariel, felt much shorter than 30 minutes, which was great, and Tinker Bell was a fun character to meet. The actress had her personality down quite well.

By the time we were finished meeting Tinker Bell, Jarrett was back from the lodge and was waiting for us outside. With just a few minutes to spare before needing to head to our lunch reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern, I happened to spot Princess Aurora (from Sleeping Beauty) across the square from us, in a little courtyard area, and noticed no one seemed to be over there. So I beelined it over and had the girls quickly hop out of the stroller. We were in luck, as others began to notice her as well, and were were one of the few three or four groups who were allowed to meet her and get photos with her before she had to dash off for a performance. Score!

We then made it to lunch to meet my parents, where we were served a nice, warm meal. Jarrett and I both had the pot roast, which was really quite good. And paired with a salad and a cappuccino (and a gluten-free brownie dessert!), it hit the spot on this chilly day. After lunch, we decided to do the Haunted Mansion, another one of my favorites from when I was younger. The girls were a little wary going into it—especially Avie, who wanted out when we were standing in the initial entryway, and everything went dark and the creepy laugh came through the speakers. But once we were on the actual ride, both girls seemed to do fine. I think they were both kind of wondering why on earth it was one of my favorite attractions, though. Post Haunted Mansion, we went to something a little more light-hearted—our FastPass reservation for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which was a bit of a letdown, I'd have to admit. I feel like they could have done something a bit more cool with Winnie the Pooh. After that last reservation, we split up from my parents again for the remainder of the day.

Us, in a honeypot.

Jarrett, Elsa, Avie, and I ended up riding the Teacup ride and Dumbo, finishing up our rides for the day with an added FastPass for The Barnstormer. This ended up being both of the girls' first roller-coaster ride, and Elsa was quite intimidated going into it. She was even in tears at one point, until I assured her that we would not let her go on anything unsafe, and that she would likely love it; and, if she didn't, she did not have to go on a roller coaster ever again. This ride was short, but it was fast, and it was fun. Jarrett rode in a seat with Elsa, and I was with Avie, and I have to admit that I really had a hold on Avie, as I felt like when we were cruising around curves, that Avie might just slip out. Both girls really loved it, though!

Teacup ride!

Elsa and me on Dumbo.

Jarrett and Aveline on Dumbo.

On our way out of the park, I noticed that the wait to meet Mickey Mouse (in the same building as Tinker Bell) was only 30 minutes, so we decided to end the day with Disney's main character. And what an ending it was! The girls decided Mickey was the best character they had met, and I would have to agree. I cannot even really describe the encounter, except to say that it was Mickey to a tee, and really quite magical.

Seeing, and anticipating, Mickey Mouse.

That is PURE happiness on Elsa's face there, folks.

Happy family with Mickey!

The girls, Jarrett, and I took the ferry back over to the lodge and had dinner at the quick-serve joint there on the property. It was not anything too special, but it was convenient and, again, they had several gluten-free options, which was great. From there, it was to bed for the girls. They were so tired, and they went to bed fairly easily, knowing that we have a full day in the park again tomorrow.