First Trip to Disney...Part 5 "Princesses, Castles, Parades and Fireworks oh my" (Magic Kingdom day 2)

We have had a busy couple of days and today would be no exception.  We were headed back to Magic Kingdom for the ENTIRE day (well we are going to take a break, but we will be back).  Magic Kingdom opened at 9am today and I read that the opening show was at 8:40am.  We decided to drive our car instead of taking the bus so we needed to be ready and out the door by around 7:45am so we could take the ferry over.  You ladies were troopers this morning, sleepy troopers, but troopers non the less. Ms. Cameron made your skirts, bows and ironed on the decal for your shirts.  You looked adorable.

While daddy went to get the car, we ran into the food court to grab some bananas and juice for a quick breakfast.  I had some other snacks for us as well.  On the way we were finally able to get a picture with Goofy.

It didn't take us very long to drive over to the parking at Magic Kingdom. Man I love this sign.

I really need to clean the car windshield

The sky today was breaktaking and so very magical.

We had a short walk over to the ticket and transportation center, where we would catch the ferry over to the Magic Kingdom.  We were going to take the monorail over, but it did not start running until 8:30 and we did not want to wait.

The ferry ride was over was fun and it was neat to see cinderella's castle in the distance.  We got into the front and had a short wait for the opening show to start.

While we were waiting mommy and daddy were discussing our strategy for this morning.  We had a ride reservation all set, but you ladies still had not been able to meet Anna and Elsa, so we decided to try this morning with rope drop.  So because these sisters are so POPULAR, they no longer allow guests to just run in when the park opens.  There are cast members who have two ropes, one for each side and you walk behind the rope in a slow orderly fashion.  So you were with me, Emma and they allowed us in and since there were a lot of strollers I picked you up and briskly walked through so we would be by the rope.  I was not sure where Daddy and Lily were, but I knew they were behind us.  One the crowd gathered, then we started the slow and controlled walk through the park, once we got to the castle, some of the group veered off towards the Mine Train and the rest of the group continued to FairyTale Princess Hall.  At the point I was still not sure where Daddy and Lily were and I was hoping that they did not take the Mine Train turn and then I hear Lily call "Mommy" and you were right there with us.  We were all one row back from the front of the rope, and once we made our way to the Hall, they dropped the rope and we all filled the queue.  At this point you ladies had no idea what we were doing or where we were.  Since we had no idea if this would even work and if it did work, how long the wait would be, we decided to keep this as another "surprise."

I will say that the queue for the meet and greet was pretty awesome.  We were on the other side on Thursday to meet Cinderella and Rapunzel, but we went right in and didn't get to see this.

We were fairly close to the beginning of the line so the wait was quite short.  I love this picture of the two of you when you realized who you were going to meet.

You both said "we are going to meet the REAL Anna and Elsa"

I thought that your meeting with Tinkerbelle was pretty special, I think that this meet made it to the top of the list.  You ladies were to happy and mesmerized with them.

When we left I thought that my heart was going to burst.  You ladies were so so so happy and the smiles on your faces never left.  We were so happy that this worked out and you got to meet them. We overheard you telling them that you were dressed like them for the Halloween party :)  The best part was that we were out of there by 9:05am and had plenty of time to get to our next ride reservation. Out the exit, they have you enter the "Elsa and Anna" store (very clever and tricky Disney).  So you ladies looked around and we told you that you could each pick our one thing and we would come back and buy them before we left.  You ladies picked out the barbie like Anna and Elsa dolls.

Since we were right there, we decided to go on Prince Charming Regal Carousel.  It was fun and we got some cute pictures.

After the Carousel we went to Peter Pan's Flight.  It was a fun ride and you ladies loved seeing tick-tock alligator. After Peter Pan's flight we walked over towards Mad Hatter's Tea Cups and Alice was out meeting friends so we got in line.  While we were waiting in line the White Rabbit joined Alice.  We were told that Alice might not stay since the White Rabbit was now here, but she ended up staying and you ladies got to meet both of them.  Alice was very polite and proper and according to you Lily, the White Rabbit was "very fluffy".  I did overhear you ask Alice if she would go on the teacups with you, but she politely declined and said that she had to meet all her other friends.

I think this is when you were asking Alice to ride the tea cups with you.

After meeting Alice and the White Rabbit it seemed appropriate to go on the Tea Cups. 

I'm not sure what came over us, but we let Lily control the spin on the tea cups and boy were we dizzy afterwards.

After the Tea Cups we headed over for a spin on Dumbo.  We had a few minutes until our next reservation opened up.  Besides you can't go to Disney and not go on Dumbo :)

I was really excited for our next item and I knew Emma would be too.  We were going to meet Belle, but first we had to participate in her show at Enchanted Tales with Belle.  This was fun and interactive.  We went into Maurice's workshop and looked at the magic mirror and it gave some information on the story.  We then went into a room where the wardrobe was and it talked :)  It then picked and gave out parts for the show. Emma you were picked to be Maurice.  You were a little apprehensive so I went up with you.  Lily you were initially picked to be Beast.  I think that you thought that the actual beast was going to be there and were a little scared so you decided not to do it. So you were given an enchanted plate.  We went into a room and Belle appeared and then all the participants acted out the story of Beauty and the Beast.

Once the story was over, each participant got to go meet Belle and get their picture taken.

And Belle gave everyone a signed bookmark.

I was very proud of you ladies, even though you were a little apprehensive about going up and participating, you did and then you got to meet Belle.  Since we were near Beast's castle we had some pictures taken with it in the background and even had a little guest join in our pictures.

being the beast

We had a little bit of time before our lunch reservation so we headed over to the Little Mermaid ride. We missed out time on Thursday for this.  It was fun and you ladies were singing the song while we were on the ride.

After the ride we went over to the circus area to see if we could meet Minnie and Daisy before lunch. The line was pretty short so we waited.  By this point you ladies were practically pros at meeting the characters and getting your autograph books ready.

It was now time for lunch and I was so excited....we were going to eat in Beast's Castle.  I was able to get a reservation at Be Out Guest.

It was SO COOL inside. It was set up like the castle from the movie.  While you were in line there were "knights" lined up against the wall.

Once you placed you order you then got to pick between the three rooms, the West Wing, the Rose Gallery or The Ballroom. We picked the Rose Gallery.  In the middle of the room there was a music box figure of Belle and Beast dancing.

Our lunch was super yummy and of course we had to order cupcakes. And yes "the grey stuff is delicious"

We didn't have another thing planned for a while so we took some time and walked around.  We decided to see how long the wait was for the Haunted Mansion.  We tried to go on during the Halloween party, but the line was way too long.  It was posted as a 45 minute wait and since we didn't have anything else to do we decided to wait.  It was quite hot outside so it was helpful that most of the line was under a covered area.  I'm pretty sure the wait was longer than 45 minutes. Once we got towards the front of the line and could see the entrance, Emma you asked about how much longer the wait would be because you had to go to the bathroom.  I said that we probably had another 10 or so minutes until we are at the door and then maybe 5 for the ride.  So you said I can hold it.  So the line moved ahead and we pasted through the gate area and were about 10 people from the door and you said "mommy I really don't think I can hold it anymore".  So we went to a cast member who was right there and he said that the only bathroom was outside the ride, so we left Daddy and Lily and went to the bathroom.  We waited about 10 minutes for them to get done with the ride.

It was really hot and it was almost time to go get our space for the Festival of Fantasy parade.  I had read about this La Fous Brew that was over at Gaston's Tavern and remembered it being a frozen apple drink of sorts which I thought it sounded perfect given how warm it was outside and we would be waiting for the parade.  So we get in and the regular cup is $4.50 (or something like the) and the souvenir Belle Goblet Cup was $9.99.  We were not going to pay $9.99 for a special cup when the same drink was available for $4.50.  Well the cast member who was taking our order saw Lily's birthday button and gave her the special Belle cup because it was her birthday.  Emma you were back with Daddy but came up right after.  I said that you ladies were going to have to share the special cup when we got home.  The cast member was still filling our orders and when he brought over the other three drinks, another one was in the special Belle cup.  He said that Emma also needed a special cup for her birthday (more pixie dust).  The drink was pretty yummy.  I had read that it was super sweet and I was afraid of that, but it didn't taste all that sweet to me.

We made our way over to the castle to see the parade, but first stopped back at the Anna and Elsa store so you ladies could get your dolls.  While we were there a cast member asked if you had received your birthday pixie dust for your hair, which you had not and she sprinkled pixie dust in your hair.

So we used on of our fastpasses to get front row seats for the parade.  It was really awesome (and really hot).  We had to wait about 20 minutes until the parade started.  You ladies and daddy found a shady spot and then moved over right before it started.

see how awesome our seats were :)

Naveen was pointed at you ladies and said "happy birthday princesses" It was awesome

The parade was amazing and I am so glad that we used a fastpass for the seats.  So after the parade it was time for us to head back to the hotel for a break.  It has been a long day so far (it was around 3:15pm).  We took the monorail to get back to the ticket and transportation center.  So at this point you ladies have taken every mode of disney transportation (Bus, Tram, Ferry and Monorail). We got back to the hotel and you ladies crashed hard.  We had three ride reservations starting at 5pm.  We also wanted to see the Main Street Electrical Parade, the castle show and Wishes (since mommy and Lily missed it on Thursday evening).  Let's just say that by the time we woke you up and got moving, we had already missed two of the three ride windows.

round 2 :)

Even though we missed two of the rides, the window was still open for the 3rd...Splash Mountain.  So we made our way over to Frontierland and got in the short line (holy cow the regular line was super long).  Although you can get wet on this ride, we did not bring our ponchos like we did for the rapids ride at Animal Kingdom.  As luck would have it Mommy and Emma were put in the front row, our chance of getting wet just went WAY UP :).  This was such a fun ride, going through the briar patch and all the drops that build up to THAT last drop.

I love the looks on all our faces and yes I did get wet.  But it's only water and we were dried before we knew it.  Even though it was dark outside, who know how that can happen.  We knew that the Main Street Electrical Parade came though Frontierland last and since we were already there, we decided to grab some dinner at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn.  The food was not bad and once again you ladies were given the chocolate cake cup because we were celebrating your birthday.  So earlier in the day, Daddy mentioned that maybe at some point we could get the Mickey Ice Cream Bars. Because it was so hot earlier and they would have made a colossal mess, he snuck out while we were still eating and went to get some for you.  They were still messy, but not melting.  We grabbed a space on the ground outside the restaurant and waited for the Main Street Electrical Parade to come our way.

It was a little hard to take good pictures of the floats, but some came out pretty good.  This parade was really fun and I loved that it was in the dark.

After the parade was over, we tried to make our way to the Castle to watch the castle show and the bridge was already blocked off.  So we were relatively close, but it was not the best place to watch it. Daddy said it was the same as what was on Thursday evening.  Because the bridge was closed, we could not move any closer to see Wishes, but I did get a somewhat distorted video of tinkerbelle flying.

We did move a little bit to see some of the fireworks.

During the MSEP I overheard a cast member telling a guest that if they can, do not try to leave after Wishes.  The majority of the people leave then and it causes a 45 minute wait to get on the ferry and monorail.  So I relayed this information and we took the long way around to the castle.  On the way we passed It's a Small World.  We had not yet been able to go on it and the wait was only about 5 minutes.  We figured with the low wait and the fact that the ride is about 15 minutes long that this would hopefully take care of some of the crowds.  So we get and line and explain to you ladies what the ride is about and we were about 8 families from getting on the boat and Emma you say "mommy how long is this ride" and I tell you about 15 minutes and you say "I have to go to the bathroom".  So again we leave the line.  This time daddy and Lily went to the stand by the cast member to wait for us, since the line was relatively short.  So we run to the bathroom and get back in line.  We can see Daddy and Lily and wave to them.  We are moving right along and then we we get to the point where we are on the same row as them, Emma you tell me that you have to go to the bathroom again.  At this point I tell Daddy and Lily to go ahead.  We go to the bathroom again and then text daddy and tell him we will be in front of the carousal.

While we were waiting you tried to pull the sword out of the stone and we took some selfies with the castle.

After a few minutes, daddy and Lily arrived and we made our way out to get the ferry and head back to the hotel.

not the clearest, but "See Ya Real Soon"

We were all pretty tired at the point and since it was so late there our other parking area at the hotel was filled up so we had to park somewhere else and walk a little further to our room.  One benefit of this was that we got to see other things at the hotel that we hadn't seen before. Such as a larger than life laptop.

Today was such an amazing, wonderful, fantastic day.  We did so much, but still have so many things left to do at Magic Kingdom, so we will definitely be back soon.  Tomorrow we head home, but, not before having breakfast at the Kona Cafe.