Our third day of vacation was by far the most awesome! I say this because we LOVE Magic Kingdom, and we literally spent all day there! My goal was to be up and at 'em early enough to get to the park before it opened. Did it happen? Yes! It sure did! We were there about 8:15 or so, and the park opened at 9. So, when we arrived, we took some pictures outside the park, and waited "patiently" for the opening show.
Every morning, when the park opens, the train pulls into the station at Magic Kingdom, and the Mayor greets guests. They sing songs, and some of the characters are on the train, too. It.is.so.CUTE! So, Derrick grabbed a spot, with Natalie, towards the gate, and the boys and I hung out. They traded pins, I took pictures, chatted with others around me. Then when the show started, we put Natalie on my shoulders and watched it. Loved it! What a GREAT way to start our day!
Once the rope dropped, we were off. We headed straight to Tomorrowland and hit Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin-we practically walked right on. Then when we exited, we got FastPasses for it, and went to ride the Tomorrowland Speedway.
The boys were super excited that they were tall enough to ride solo and drive. But, because of our family dynamics, Derrick rode with Matthew, I rode with Natalie, and Lucas drove himself. They were beaming! After this, we headed back to Buzz Lightyear and rode it again. We finished up Tomorrowland, and then worked our way around the park.
While Derrick and the boys went to get FastPasses for Peter Pan's Flight, Natalie and I went to the Storybook Circus Meet and Greet. We saw Minnie, Daisy, Donald, and Goofy all in one building, with a maximum of five minutes to wait for each one. Then, we did the Barnstormer, which Natalie said she didn't want to ride again because it was "scary", and Dumbo. We also checked out the new Ariel's Grotto ride, which I have to say is super cute. By this time our FastPass for Peter Pan was ready, so we rode that and saw Mickey's Philharmagic.
It's a Small World was next, and then it was time for lunch. I REALLY wanted to try the Nutella and Fruit Waffle from Sleepy Hollow, and it was divine! We grabbed the kids and Derrick some burgers, chicken, etc. at Pecos Bill and enjoyed our lunch.
Then, we hit Adventureland. The Jungle Cruise-this is the first trip that neither of our boys were chosen to be a guest Skipper-, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Aladdin's Carpets were some of the attractions we hit. Also, the boys love climbing the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, so of course we did that. While we were making our way around Adventureland, we noticed that Aladdin and Jasmine were going to be meeting and greeting.
So, we got some ice cream, and waited for them. Derrick and the boys went to ride Pirates again, while Natalie and I saw Aladdin and Jasmine. This was so cute. They were so cute, chatting with her, and calling her a princess the whole time. Adorable.
By this time, Natalie was ready for a nap, so she huddled up in the stroller and slept. While she was sleeping, we let the boys do the Pirates Adventure-Journey of the Seven Seas, a few times. It takes place in Adventureland, and it is a treasure hunt. You scan your magic talisman, and it tells you which adventure map to take. Then, you go around, scanning it in various props, gift shops, etc. for clues. After you are done, you can go back and get another map. The boys had wanted to do this from the second they saw it, and it kept them entertained for the hot parts of the afternoon. It was free, and they thoroughly enjoyed the treasure hunting.
We stopped at Pinochhio's Village Haus for some dinner, and then started making our way up to Main Street USA to get a spot for the Main Street Electrical Parade. We stopped by Prince Charming's Royal Carousel-Natalie's absolute favorite ride of all-and then took some time to pull the sword out of the stone-we still aren't strong enough! We got our family picture in front of the castle, and went to camp out on Main Street USA for the parade. Thankfully Natalie was sleeping, because the 90 minutes we spent waiting for the parade-but we had an AWESOME spot-would've been tough if she hadn't napped again.
The boys had popcorn, watched the castle change colors, and the street performers sing, dance, etc. while we waited. We saw 3 proposals in the time we were waiting for the parade-kinda cool! Soon, it was 9:00 and time for the Main Street Electrical Parade. This is one thing our family refuses to miss when we are at Disney. The music, floats, characters, and just the whole ambiance really are awesome. I kinda get goosebumps thinking about it! We had a spot at the corner of Main Street USA, just across from the Confectionary. We were right at the beginning of the parade, and so that made it even more awesome. Totally worth the 90 minute wait. After the parade, we hit the bus stop and made our way back to the Beach Club.
Overall, our day at Magic Kingdom was awesome! The waits were reasonable, our FastPasses worked well time wise, and we really hit the park to do some great touring. I was so thankful we were there at park opening-it was for sure a great experience!
