Thursday we woke up early to head to the most magical place on earth - Magic Kingdom! I am not sure who was the most excited for this day - Peg, my parents or myself. The girls were excited, but they didn't know what to expect. I have told Brandon since we've been home that if we went back to Magic Kingdom, they would be much more excited this time.
Warning - lots of photos- because really, can you go there and not take lots of pictures?
On the tram to the entrance after we paid the entrance fee *gasp*. They don't give those away for free.
But you do get a "free" pin if this is your first time. Thank you, Disney.
Past the entrance, this was our first sights of Magic Kingdom.
I once again used my guide from my book to select how we should attack our day at the park. It was so helpful. I can't remember the specifics now, but I know we grabbed fast passes and then rode the carousal.
Next ride - tea pots. Analise would tell you that was her favorite ride.
Within a week of us going to MK, they opened their new Fantasyland. How fun to see it so new. They now have two Dumbo rides, so we didn't have to wait long. This was another favorite ride that we rode more than once throughout the day.
Pops didn't ride Dumbo. See how he is under the building? That's because it was raining at this point in the morning. I am soooo thankful I had the girls wear coats, and I was wishing all day that I had mine. Thankfully the rain didn't last too long, but it was cloudy and cool all day.
We took the girls on their first "real" roller coaster ride.
Sadie chose to ride with A. Peg this time.
And what did we learn from this simple roller coaster? Analise did NOT like it. Maisie LOVED it. And Sadie was take it or leave it.
From there we used our fast pass to ride the new Little Mermaid ride.
Doesn't Brandon look so happy to be riding in a sea shell? Really, it was a neat ride.
Sebastian was always my favorite in that movie.
The sight we had the first hour of our day. Poor guy just couldn't get off the phone with work. Unfortunate for him, and this isn't the first picture I have of him on vacation while he talks on the phone.
He was finally able to put it away for good after awhile.
One can't got to MK and not ride It's a Small World.
When we got a fast pass for one of the rides, we got a bonus fast pass for Mickey's Philharmagic. It was nice to get inside and warm up, and the 3D picture was a lot of fun. Now if mom and dad could just figure out how to wear their glasses correctly. :)
Brandon was excited to see these cars because it took him back to his childhood. He remembered riding them over and over wiht his brother. Back then he thought they went so fast. Oh how perspective changes as you get older.
We took the book's recommendation on where to eat lunch, and everyone liked it. From there we split up for a bit. Peg, Danny, Brandon and Maisie went off to ride some of the bigger coaster rides. Rest of us went for some more mild rides. Here we are riding the carpets of Aladdin.
I spy Pops
Brandon got two girls to go down the water log ride, and he got one to go back on it again. Guess who. :) This was Maisie's favorite ride at the park.
While the other still rode the coasters, we walked to the main street to see the parade.
On our way there, we discovered a show in front of the castle. We stopped to enjoy.
Thankful for the zoom on the camera.
I love this one of Pops holding Maisie so she could see better.
We enjoyed the parade with close seats. High five to Pluto.
Hi Woody!
Brandon wasn't at the parade; he was on the other side of the park waiting for a ride on Thunder Mt. I believe. He had a fast pass and wanted me to get Maisie to him asap. So Maisie and I huffed it across the park...only to get trapped on the wrong side of the street as the parade went by. So we watched it again just hoping it would hurry along. I could see Brandon on the other side of the parade, there was just no way I could get to him. Finally the parade ended, and I gently "pushed" my way through the crowd with Maisie, threw her in Brandon's arms and off they went. I think they were technically a couple minutes past their fast pass time, but they still got on. Yeah! I caught my breath while we waited for them to be done. We then walked back across the park to use our fast passes to meet the princesses.
All three enjoyed this time - even Analise. (I had them unzip their jackets since I have bought them new Disney shirts to wear and they were covered all day.)
Cinderella
Sleeping Beauty
Tangled
By now it was getting a little darker and cooler. We went and rode the Toy Story ride. Dad, mom and Brandon had a lot of fun. The rest of us were not all that impressed since we had ridden the other Toy Story ride at DHS.
We went here and laughed a lot!
Analise got Wheezy as a Christmas gift from P and D. It was just what she wanted.
Towards the end of the night. We did a little shopping in the stores on Main Street and then headed out at 7pm. The park was having a special Christmas with Mickey party that we didn't pay extra to attend. And we were all tired by this point anyway.
We went and ate dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse. Wow, was it good!
Sadie fell asleep after she ate dinner. I couldn't blame her; her legs walked a lot that day.
That night I went to bed with complete gratitude to the Lord for such a great day. We all had so much fun. We never waited longer than 15 minutes for any ride. The fast passes were splendid to have, and we cut it close many times but they always let us on anyway. The crowds weren't too overwhelming. And though we were on the cool side, I think the girls lasted longer being cool than too hot. We were so glad not to have a stroller and no one in diapers. And all the girls did well walking. Sadie snagged piggy-back rides occasionally. We were glad adults outnumbered girls. I am sure there was even more reasons to be thankful.
A day of a lifetime. And now we all want to go back. Well, at least four of us. :)