The Disney Series Part 7 - Magic Kingdom Day 2

Ok, after a brief intermission I am back with the final day of our Disney trip.  I still get giddy thinking back to it.  We spent our last day back at the Magic Kingdom, and it was a completely different experience from the first.  Remember back to that early morning breakfast with Pooh I scored getting us into the park early?  Oh yeah, no cattle herding for us this time!  It didn't, however, make the process of parking and getting there any easier though.  Early arrivals meant we had to get up extra early.  I had my alarm (and the coffee maker) set for 3:50AM.  We were ready, packed up and headed out the door before 6.  When we got there the park attendant waved us into our spot (there's no debating over a parking spot, they are filled in order).  As we were getting unpacked he stopped to chat and said he was so excited when we pulled up because we had MN plates and he's from Minnesota, but then he realized it was a rental.  Well boy did we make his day when we said we ARE from MN...that's why we picked this van!  :)  He proceeded to give the kids Mickey stickers at which time he remarked "well now I know you're from Minnesota, they all said thank you."  One of the best compliments a mom can receive, way to go kids.

When we got to the monorail station it was EMPTY, no hoards of people to contend with.  We walked up to a cast member and explained that we had 7:15 breakfast reservations.  They scanned our magic bands and pointed us to the monorail....(again empty!) and almost no wait.  So different from the experience of a few days ago where it was wall to wall bodies and I was afraid to let go of my kids!  We took advantage by taking goofy selfies and checking out all the hotels we were going by. When we got to the park we were let in the main gates, but still had to wait with the rest of the hotel guests for the opening ceremony before getting into the main park.  This was by far my favorite morning of the trip.  We arrived in the dark so we got to see all the lights and ambiance of the park and then watch the colors of dawn spread across the sky as we waited.  The kids loved as the train came by and all the characters sang to them (who am I kidding, I loved it and was singing right along).

Once they let us in the doors we moved along with the crowd to The Crystal Palace for breakfast.  It was still dark so main street was all lit up, looked magical, and just in general made me giddy.  Once we got checked in at the restaurant we had a few minutes...perfect for getting some pictures with a sunrise castle backdrop!  

This was probably my favorite breakfast of the trip.  Inside really was like a palace, mirrors and windows everywhere.  Everything seemed to sparkle, and we had the perfect view of the sunrise out the windows. The food was SO good, especially the Pooh Puffed Pancakes and Breakfast Lasagna!  We got to meet Eyore, Tigger, and Piglet.  The best part was seeing Sylvie interact with them.  Up until now she only wanted to admire the characters from afar.  But these fuzzy guys, she went nuts for!  She wanted to hug them over and over. We missed Pooh, let me tell you, these character breakfast are great, but if you want to see all the characters you need to plan a solid hour to hour and a half in order for them all to get to you.  Now for the Johnson family we consider it an accomplishment if we can stretch a meal out for 30 minutes (apparently chew and pause is a foreign concept to us).  Anyway, we used the bathroom one at a time and stretched it out as long as we could, but in the end time was ticking and the park was calling...sorry Pooh.

Once we were done we were headed to the Adventurland area of the park.  We still had a whole section that we hadn't seen the previous day!  Well as it turns out Adventurland wasn't opening for another 15 minutes.  Beau had to use the bathroom (again) so the girls and I decided to just hang out around the castle while we waited.  The BEST part of the day!  There were hardly any people, we had extra time, and could just explore.  It was so much fun to be able to be right up at the castle without a huge crowd smashing up against you.  We danced around, twirled and just spent a few minutes being goofy.  When the boys got back they were even able to get some pictures of us up by the castle.  We took our time heading over to Adventureland just enjoying being in the moment.

This is quite possibly my favorite picture of the trip ;).  Even Little Miss Serious Sylvie has a Disney side! (And pretty much how I felt the whole time!)

 We began our Adventureland tour on Aladdin's magic carpet (another Dumboesque ride), and then took our time taking in the scenery as we headed over to the Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster.  The kids had been waiting for this one so the excitement level was high.  I took the older two on this while Luke stayed back with Sylvie.  We didn't have a fast pass, and there was a bit of a line, but based on our experience from the other day I knew it was nothing compared to what it would be in a few hours!  There were plenty on props and scenery to keep the kids entertained, and I must say that Disney is a master of making the lines look like you're almost there only to loop you around 15 more times before being loaded on to the ride.  We were able to sit 3 across on this ride so that was an added bonus, and the only thing to fly out were my Minnie ears (much to the dismay of the rest of my family;).

Cora's taking charge of our magic carpet (Mommies least favorite....seriously Disney how many versions of this ride do we need?)

First ride of the day

We know it's not real Dad...

Big Thunder Mountain here we come!

We got off the ride right next to Splash Mountain, which Beau really wanted to do again, and since I didn't do it the last time I was more than happy to take him.  We tried to convince Cora to come along, but she declined.  I think she was more reluctant to relive the line than the ride itself.  But even when we tried to explain that the line was short it was still a no go.  I'll admit I was slightly relieved that I didn't have to worry about her small body flying out of the ride as we plummeted down the mountain (yes I was still being haunted by that image).  I was surprised by the length of the ride and all the entertainment before you got to the mountain, it was like being in a storybook.  Beau did his best to trick me with every small drop "get ready, this is it Mom!" but when I saw the buzzards paying their respects as we went up the final climb I knew that was it.  Thankfully we weren't nearly as wet as we were after the River Rapids ride!  We continued through Adventureland to the Jungle Cruise.  This line was long and we could already tell how much more crowded the park was beginning to feel.   As we stood in line the kids' lack of sleep was starting to become apparent.  Lots of "don't touch me", "are we almost there", and wanting to be held (always awesome when accompanied by wet muddy flip flops).  It was one of the more lack luster rides for the kids as a lot of the guides humor/jokes were lost on them.  By this time we were beginning to watch the clock so we wouldn't miss our Space Mountain fast pass.

Uggghhh.....how much looooonger.........

Headed in to the Jungle

 We ended our Adventurland Adventure with Pirates of the Caribbean.  This was another boat ride, but with pirates, cannons, guns, dark and surprise drops it was much more entertaining for the kids.  We spent a little time looking for pressed pennies afterward before making our way to Tommorrowland (another unexplored section of the park) for our Space Mountain fast pass.

The Johnson family all cozied up ready to meet some Pirates!

Off to Tomorrow Land, but first to find the stroller.  I wonder if the Disney cast members stand around laughing at all the people trying to figure out where their stroller was moved to.

We got to Tommorowland just in time to use our Space Mountain fast pass (it's almost like we planned it ;).  Luke and I knew we would both want to do this one, but Beau was the only one tall enough, so we did the rider swap.  Luke went with Beau first while the girls and I used the bathrooms, wandered around, and shopped the gift shop.  When they got off they let us know how "awesome" it was.  This ended up being Beau's favorite ride of the whole trip and we didn't need any bribery to convince him to go again with me.  Luke decided to take the girls on the Astro Orbiter (another, though more intense, version of Dumbo) while they waited.  We moved through the fast pass line very quickly, it was another one where Disney did a great job making even the line interesting and fun.  Beau was excited and was doing his best to spoil every surprise the ride had in store for me.  I could see why it was his favorite!  It was dark the whole time and had you shooting around so fast you didn't know which way was up (explaining my mild neck pain afterwards!).  When we were done Luke and the girls were still in the Astro Orbiter line.  He text me to let me know they were just going up the elevator.  Beau and I did a quick stop at the photo booth before heading over to watch them.  If you go to Disney and have the photo pass option make sure to look for the photo pass booths.  They're included with your photo pass, so you just need to scan your band.  Beau just happened to see it and I wish we would have looked for more of them in other parks!

 Ah the Astro Orbiter....I have some serious issues with this ride, and when I say serious issues I pretty much mean I hate everything about it.  The first warning sign should be that you have to ride an elevator to board the ride....a ride that has NO height limitations I might add.  Up to 3 people are allowed in each rocket, perfect for Luke, Cora, and Sylvie right?  Well the ride must be loaded with the largest person in the back and the smallest in the front.  So that means that Luke was in the back with my dear sweet 2 year old all the way in the front.  It seemed she was at least a 1/2 mile away from her dad, the one person able to save her from falling to her death.  Oh yeah, did I mention that this ride takes place 80 FEET up in the air (that's a googled fact, not an exaggeration) in an open air rocket.  Which brings me to the safety restraints, oh don't worry they have them.  It consists of ONE strap beginning behind the person seated in the back, wrapping all the way around the person seated in the front where it fastens together with a clip much like you would find on any piece of baby equipment in your house.  Sounds like the perfect solution to keep a squirming 2 year old from falling as she leans over to yell "HI MOM!".  Finally we top it off with those child manned levers allowing them to jerk and tilt the rocket up and down at will.  Luckily I didn't know any of this until they were back safely on the ground.  At the time it was more like "wow, they're up really high."  The girls both loved it and kept expressing their desire to do it again.  

My precious cargo ready to orbit

Notice Sylvie WAY up there ready to control the rocket

Next up was Buzz Lightyear.  This ride was pretty similar to the one we did at Hollywood Studios, but we all loved it so we were excited to do it again despite the long line.  We spent the time blowing (spilling) bubbles, snacking, whining, and sweating.  By now it was hot so once we got to the indoor portion of the line it was immediate relief and everyone happied up.

Sylvie didn't get a blaster, but the joke was on us because she controlled the cars spin and direction!

 After the Astro Orbiter we were ready for a break and some lunch.  The crowds were crazy  again and once we had lunch ordered we had to stand and wait for one of the cast members to wave their light saber at us signaling that a table was empty.  It was chaos to say the least, but some downtime in the air conditioning was worth it.
Next up was our fast pass for the Tommorrowland Speedway.  The kids saw this one on the train ride last time we were here and had really been looking forward to driving their car.  Sylvie wasn't big enough and this was one that I was more than happy to volunteer to miss.  Luckily Luke was able to take both kids at once and they were able to switch drivers half way through.  Sylvie and I spent our time watching from the side lines and using the stroller and her blankie to make a tent to keep us shaded.  After the driving was complete we went to use our fast pass at the Little Mermaid.  Beau was less than enthused about having to go on this, but in the end it was air conditioned and a nice break.

Beau driving

They switched so Cora could drive halfway through 

Beau may not have been overly excited about the Ariel ride but the girls LOVED it, look at that face!  Seeing her light up at every little thing was the highlight of this trip for me.

After emerging from under the sea we decided ice cream was in order.  The ice cream carts all over Disney World sell the same 6 or so ice cream options.  At first I was a little disappointed in the lack of variety, but by the end of the trip I loved that we could say "lets get ice cream" and the kids could all decide what they wanted before we even got to the cart.  Disney, I'm sorry I doubted you.  Unfortunately half of Cora's landed on the ground, but in true Cora fashion it was just a "*sigh* aw come on!" and slight look of disappointment before she was on to the next thing.  By this point we had used all of our scheduled fast passes so we meandered over to the fast pass kiosk to see if we could find anything else available.  It just so happens that the kiosk is right across from the carousal, a favorite of the girls, so Luke took the kids to get in line for that while I scoped out our options.  I ended up finding one for 'It's a Small World'.  This was the ride that we kept skipping over in the interest of getting to something bigger and better, so when I saw the fast pass I knew I had to snatch it up.  You just can't go to Disney and not experience this ride!  There was a bit of a line, even with the fast pass, but the kids loved being able to look down into the water at all the coins people had thrown in, and throw a few in of their own.  The ride itself was definitely different from most of the other Disney rides (think streamers hanging from ceiling fans as the special effects) but it was fun to experience a classic Disney ride.  At least I thought so.  Luke and Beau will  probably be content to never hear that song again ;).

throwing coins into the water

and making a wish :)

We went from the singing canoes to get the stroller and go back over to Tomorrowland to catch a showing of the Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor show.  Sylvie (and her 5lb fleece blanket) fell asleep in my arms, so by the time we got to sit down in the auditorium I was a sweaty mess and my arms felt like they were about to detach from my body.  After the show we boarded the Tomorrowland People Mover.  This was a fun little futuristic ride that took us all around Tomorrowland, including through part of Space Mountain.  That was an added bonus for Cora since she wasn't tall enough to get to ride the Space Mountain ride.  There was a minor breakdown where we had to wait, but of all the rides to be on when it breaks down I think this would be the one to choose.  You board and exit People Mover right next to the Astro Orbiter (you see where this is going right), and of course the girls wanted to ride the rockets again.  By this time we had made it through most of our itinerary so there wasn't anything we were in a hurry to get to, and since Beau hadn't gotten to ride yet we decided to hop in line.  I made Luke take the girls again (tiny bodies plummeting toward Earth wasn't even that far fetched this time) and Beau rode with me.  My impression of the ride did not improve as we stepped off the elevator and boarded our rockets, especially when Sylvie was leaning over waving "hi Mom!".  I attempted to smile and wave back while mouthing "HANG ON TO HER!" to Luke (probably good I was to far away to see the eye roll ;).  Even if I wasn't worried about my toddler falling to her death I would have hated this ride....spinning at high heights while being tipped and tilted against my will...no thanks.

After the rockets, the only thing left on our itinerary was Swiss Family Robinson Tree House and the Tiki Room.  We had tons of time to get that in before the fireworks so we decided to stop at a fast pass kiosk on our way out of Tommorowland to see if we could get another pass for one of our favorites.  When we arrived at the kiosk there was a cast member standing there to assist.  He immediately greeted the girls by saying "helllloooo priiiiincesss" while giving them the Vulcan salute in a voice that had them stopped in their tracks staring with their mouths open.  Luke and I couldn't help but laugh as we said hello.  Beau wanted to look for a Toy Story fast pass, but it was a no go.  In fact all of the fast passes were either completely gone or not available until after 10pm.  I said "sorry bud, no luck" he shrugged and we were ready to head off to find something to eat.  Our enthusiastic cast member had other ideas however.  He asked Beau "Do you really want to see Buzz?"  of course he said yes "ok, me and Buzz are tight, but you have to be quiet, it's a secret.  Come on follow me."  At which point he starts very dramatically "tiptoeing" across the park.  Picture a grown man hunching his head down while tiptoeing which involved his knees coming well above his waist.  We were all laughing following  him.  Beau was following behind and Luke and I were sneaking glances back and forth like ummm what are we doing?!  Cora however matched his tiptoeing and was absolutely convinced that we were actually on some sort of secret spy mission to get across the park.  The best part is when we were about halfway there he exclaimed "get down!" and Cora followed him as they ducked behind the nearest garbage can.  When we got to the Toy Story ride we expected he would pull out some fast passes and drop us off at the line.  Oh no, he took us around behind the ride where he talked to a fellow cast member and snuck us in the back door (only after we saluted him of course).  I was still thinking we must be entering at some point of the fast pass line.  Wrong again...he took us in the handicapped entrance.  There was no waiting, people were already boarded in the cars going by us, but the very next one was empty...yep just for us.  It was awesome and fun and an added experience none of us will forget.  It brings tears to my eyes to think of how many people went above and beyond while we were there making it a truly magical trip.  It was fun for Luke and I, but it really made it so special for the kids.

After riding Toy Story we went back over to Adventureland to see our final two attractions.  First up was the Swiss Family Robinson Tree house.  It really was just a giant tree house with lots and lots of steps.  There were so many people that you couldn't really stop and look around without holding up everyone behind you.  This was particularly awesome when we had a 2 year old that had decided she wanted to go down all the incredibly steep stairs all by herself.  We eventually had to pick her up, which resulted in her screaming the. whole. way. down.  After that I was pretty much done, but we still had the Tiki Room and it was right across the path, we couldn't miss out on it now!  We entered the Tiki Room for the show.  I don't even know what to say about this.  It was dark the whole time there were singing birds (as in songs, not tweeting), various objects on the walls kept coming alive.  Lost?  Yeah me too, I still have no idea what it was supposed to be.  I do know that the Tiki Room song will be stuck in my head for the rest of my life, and the kids, oddly enough, actually enjoyed it.

People Mover selfies

Stuck on the People Mover

Getting ready to climb the tree house

And with that, we had completed our Disney World itinerary.  We loved the Wishes show and fireworks from earlier in the week, so we planned to stay to watch that again.  We headed over to Main Street to grab some food and stake our claim on the sidewalk for the show.  We decided on Casey's Corner, which was basically a lot of fancy hot dogs.  Luke and Beau went in to grab the food while I waited outside with the girls.  It just so happened that while we were waiting the Playhouse Disney parade went by filled with lots of singing and dancing and MINNIE!  It was just what we needed to get our  my attitude back on track.  We were lucky enough to find a little table to eat at (even if we did have to share with the ducks!) and then found a spot to relax while we waited for the Wishes Spectacular.  I had brought a ton of glow sticks glow swords, and glow wands with, and since we hadn't had much of a chance to use them yet we busted those out and had enough to share with the kids around us.  The show was the same as it was the other night, but it was just as awesome the second time.  At the end of the show I saw a little girl about 12 years old or so just sobbing telling her mom that she was so sad the trip was over.  I'm not going to lie I may have been a bit teary eyed myself and inside I was doing the same exact thing.  On the outside I was clinging to my kids to keep them from getting lost in the crowd as the masses began exiting the park.  We decided not to stay for the electric parade this time, and instead shopped the gift shops for some souvenirs for the kids to bring home.

Our own little rave

Glow Stick fever

And that folks brings us to the end of our Disney adventure, and I for one can't wait to go back.  We have a "Disney jar" collecting change and talk about a return trip all the time (well at least the kids and I do ;) but I know somewhere deep inside Luke longs for that Disney magic just as much as the rest of us.  

Farewell for now Disney.....