We started off getting to the park early so we could see them open the park. A big deal at Magic Kingdom. They have all the characters come in on the train, sing a song or two and the mayor of Main Street USA comes out, etc etc etc... its pretty cool. So we got to see that first and foremost.
We took a few Photo Pass pictures before we got all hot and sweaty and stinky (that was the idea, but these aren't the greatest pictures anyway... oh well).
Then we headed over to visit Peter Pan and Wendy (ones we hadn't seen on our last trip). They were great. They put on quite a show...even did their own rendition of Frozen, singing the Happy Snowman song. Quite hilarious.
From there, we went over to meet Alladin and Jasmine. While there was a tiny wait, I waited in line while Brad and the girls did the Magic Carpet ride (a favorite). The spitting camel is particularly amusing to the girls.
By the time they were done, we were just in time to see Aladdin and Jasmine.
Another ride on the Magic Carpets before we headed over to a different area of the park. On our way by the castle we caught the tale end of the castle show.
We decided to eat early - always advisable to avoid the crowds and long lines. And we ate at our favorite counter service restaurant, Starlight Cafe. They have a wide selection so Brad and I can get good quality food while the girls can still have hamburgers or chicken nuggets. And we were always able to find a power outlet to sit by to plug our phones into to charge while we ate. Have I mentioned that tip yet? We brought along our cords and just sat by the outlets. Not that we were making phone calls or texting often, but just pulling up maps and wait times and taking pictures, you'd be surprised how much you use your phone and how quickly it can die so always good to recharge when you can. :)
After lunch we went and visited Tomorrowland. We got a FastPass for Buzz Lightyear's ride and went and watched the Monsters Inc Laugh show in the meantime. Always funny. Girls loved it of course!
We went back to Buzz Lightyear but there were mechanical difficulties, ride shut down so we moved on and rode the People Mover. I explained to Brenna how the last time we were there she had to make sure everyone followed the rules of the signs in the cars so this time we recreated the picture. Memories. Had to be there moment maybe.
We checked out Buzz Lightyear again, which was up and running and we went on that. Brad really likes this ride. The girls and I think its just ok. But it is rather popular for some reason - so I recommend a Fast Pass.
By that time, it was time for the one-time-a-day afternoon parade (forgot the name of it...sorry), so we got our seats and got squeezed to watch that one. I won't mention the annoying lady that knocked me in the head w her stroller to try to sit on top of me at the last minute so her screaming kid could watch the show, all the while taking pictures with her IPAD! blocking my view and my kids views and preventing us from getting many pictures. Ok, maybe I will mention it. Sorry. I'm still bitter. And so was everyone else around me. Grrr... Anyway, great parade of course. Girls loved it!
After the parade was over, we went back to Tomorrowland to ride the Tomorrowland race cars - ALWAYS a favorite. I mean, they love love love this ride. Brooke especially. For some reason, they seem to think that it actually matters how they steer the car and crack up at the fact that we are driving so bumpy and sporadic. This particular time, though, Brenna was not too excited to "drive". However, afterwards, she loved it and wanted to do it again. And again. And again.
On our way out of Tomorrowland we stopped for a photo pass picture. And this is perhaps my favorite family picture from DisneyLand. A good spot, no people in the background, great picture of all of us. I just like it. :)
We took a few other pictures, as it was during the "golden hour"...
Then we went to the new part of the park, part of Fantasyland, but further back, where they have a new castle - Belle's I think - and have all the Princess-y type stuff. There we rode Little Mermaid's ride.
After, we could have chosen to meet Little Mermaid, but neither girl seemed to want to, so we moved on. Got a few pictures of that castle I mentioned as we left.
Cinderella's castle from the backside...
Our thought process (or my thought process anyway) was to work through each "land" thoroughly. So sure we totally skipped some parts of the park, but knowing we would be back the next day to work through them thoroughly too. I knew the next night was Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and that we would be staying VERY late (on our last night too) so I thought...you know, let's NOT close down the park tonight. We'll see it all tomorrow night anyway. Let's beat the crowds, get home a tiny bit early (it was still "late" don't get me wrong...but not like midnight late), and rest up for a super long day the next day.
However. Big mistake. Because - we did not get to see all the stuff they do on a 'regular' night b/c they had the Christmas party. We still got fireworks and such.. but we missed the Electrical Parade, for instance. I was super bummed the next day when I realized my mistake. But oh well. They still had a parade, just not the same one. They still had fireworks (amazing ones of course) just not the same ones. Anyway, lesson learned. Oh well. We got to see better stuff. Just not ALLL the stuff.
On our way out, we stopped by the silhouette guy as we've gotten a silhouette from every trip, we had to get one here too. We decided to do it on a more 'free' night and when we could take it home and be done with that. As usual, they did a great job!
We left the park and went back to our hotel and decided to go eat at one of the five or six restaurants located at our hotel. We ate looking out over the bay and enjoyed a nice peaceful dinner before headed up to our room and to bed for the night.
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