Florida Trip Day 2 (Magic Kingdom)

January 21st 2020

Our day at Magic Kingdom finally arrived.  We needed to have an early start.  Our resort has a free bus service to Disney which saved our family $50 since parking there is $25 per car.  We arrived at the bus pick up at about 7:40 for the 8:00 bus.  Since it is first come first serve we wanted to make sure we got a spot.  The bus didn't arrive until 8:00.  It was quite cold while we waited.  The temps in FL the week we were there were very low, the lowest in 2 years and the coldest week in 10 years.  In fact the weather service issued warning about falling iguanas.

T:  I have on lots of layers and I am ready for Disney!

Two cold cuties!

Picture in picture.

Killing time, using energy and keeping them laughing!

So thankful for a woman who took a pic of the whole crew. 

We were dressed as warmly as possible with cuddle duds and lots of layers in case it warmed up.  We never really ended up taking off the layers.  M still had his cold and I gave him some cold medicine to start the day.  Yes, he was wearing my coat in the picture above.

We got to the park and had our tickets and were walking in at about 9:04.  Pretty good for the park opening at 9:00.  We road the monorail to Magic Kingdom.  The kids were excited for the day, but they were already tired of waiting while we were waiting for the monorail.  Lots of prayers were happening!

We are off to see Disney!!!

The crew and the castle minus mom

The crew and the castle minus Brandon. 

Our family with Walt!

Before I talk about the rides, I want to clarify or reclassify that we chose this day about a week we went based on sunshine vs. rain.  I am so glad it was a sunny day.  I include this clarification because there were many rides that were not available for fast pass at all.  We did the best we could and enjoyed the day.  Sure we looped back and forth in the park a lot, but you know I never complain about a good walk!

After a quick bathroom stop we decided to do  It's a Small World first.  There was no waiting so we walked right on.  This ride is so classic and brings a smile to everyone's face.  We loved looking for China and Ethiopia.

First ride here we come!

T:  This is China!

M: I think I see Ethiopia. 

It truly is a small world after all! 

After Small World we went to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  My mom and I skipped this one, but we were able to get pictures of the crew on it.  This was the kids first real coaster.  The wait was quite short and they LOVED it!  In hindsight they should have gotten right back in line then, but oh well.

The coaster!

Waiting and playing.

More waiting and playing. 

Mom and I spotted them getting close to the front of the line. 

About to ride for the first time!!

There they are... in the last car. 

Here is a closer view, lots of smiles. 

There they go!

After Big Thunder Mountain we decided to check out The Barnstormer.  We were very let down.  It was quite a longish (25 min) wait and the ride was so very short.  No one was impressed.

Even though they didn't love it, I see a smile on Brandon's face. 

Under the Sea Journey of The Little Mermaid  This one was fine, but the wait was pretty long for the experience.  Because we had a long wait, we were able to take some photos. 

Heading under the sea. 

The girls. 

T wasn't in a very good mood, but I was trying to compensate with a big smile!

They were glowing!

Jungle Cruise: We had a fast pass for this and still waited about 15 minutes, but much shorter than the long non-fast pass line.  We all enjoyed the cruise and the corny humor.  It just feels like a classic Disney must do!

Almost on the boat. 

Ready to cruise!

Thankful that A didn't might splitting up the kids!

 Pirates of the Caribbean: We had a fast pass for this and were thankful to have it. This ride always impresses me greatly.  We all enjoyed it.  We didn't take pics on the ride, but the gift shop was a great place to take pics of fun things and not actually buy them :)

Some pirates we ran into. 

A happy pirate.

A fancy Minnie!

Swiss Family Treehouse:  My kids love the movie so it was fun to explore and imagine.  They enjoyed the water wheel and the organ and the bunks but I think they wished they could have actually played with things.  None of the pics we took of this look like more than stairs and backs, so you will have to use your imagination.

It was time to take a snack break!  We had two "meals" at the park besides all the many snacks we brought.  We got the orange Dole Whip things because the kids can have them.  T loved hers but must have gotten a bit of dairy somehow because we had to make a quick dash to the bathroom.  Thankfully everything happened where it needed to and she was in good spirits.

Enjoying the treats... before the bathroom run!

Besides being cold, we were battling other things too.  M was getting sicker and sicker.  He began running a fever and I would guess it was in the 102 range whenever the meds wore off.  It was harder to be on top of the meds when I was not watching a clock.  Thankfully I had meds along and when they were working he did pretty well.  M tends to be more regulated and sweeter when he is sick so this was actually very helpful.  My mom had a cold that was bothering her too.  She never complained, but her voice was almost gone by the end of the trip.

I gave cuddles during the snack.  When his meds wore off he was miserable, but with new meds he could rally!

 Tomorrowland Speedway: We had a fast pass for this and in hindsight I would have tried for a Big Thunder fast pass instead, but oh well.  The kids enjoyed driving, but the cars go slow and really jerk you around quite a bit. 

A good driving team!

This was one wild driver!!

Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress: I love this one!  This has always been my favorite and when asked by Brandon without me in the room T listed it as one of her favorites as well.  I love seeing the way things used to be and I was quite impressed by their predictions for the year 2000 and how close they got it. There is never a wait and it is cozy and warm inside.

After Carousel of Progress we knew we needed some real food. We ate at the Launch Pad in Tomorrowland.  Food was insanely expensive (a $10 hotdog), but there was no wait and of course eating a Mickey shaped pretzel is part of the experience, right?

T:  It is the fanciest pretzel I have ever had. 

Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor:  We waited for quite a while for this and the kids were under impressed.  It was fine, but not as funny as we were expecting.  I personally thought the improv was fun.

Castle Show with characters and songs:  I am sure this has an official name, but I don't know what it is.  The kids LOVED this.  I was almost in tears as they watched the performers and stood in awe when Elsa and Anna entered.  Such pure sweetness.  Both kids asked if they were the real people who were in the movies.  Lol!!!!  All the lines and the planning and the people and the stress... worth it in that moment!

The show begins!

Many smiles!

T is screaming Let It Go and sure this is the REAL DEAL.  M:  But that is the real Olaf, right? 

The didn't want it to end. 

 Street water painting: A gentleman was painting Mickey and Minnie with water and both kids were fascinated! We would have missed this precious moment if not for an extra bathroom break.

Mickey and...

Minnie!!

We wanted to use our extra fast pass to meet a character.  The one my kids were most interested in that still had openings was Ariel.  We had a pretty late fast pass time so we went to some shows while we waited. 

Country Bear Jambore:  The kids were not especially impressed with this one, but it was a warm place to rest which was much needed when we did it.  The Smoky Mountains will always be a tender sweet spot for me and this show makes me think of that area of the country, so I enjoyed those thoughts.

The Hall of Presidents:  I remember hating this when I went as a child.  I loved it this time.  It has changed much since then.  Our whole family really enjoyed it.  It was also very nice and warm and cozy and no wait.  Seriously, I know it sounds lame, but it was a 100% win!

Meeting Ariel in her Grotto: As I said, we used our 4th extra fast pass for this character meeting.  We weren't planning on meeting anyone, but the timing worked out so we went for it and I am glad we did.

T: It was REALLY Ariel!

Getting her autograph. 

Cinderella Castle: We ended up walking through it a couple of times throughout the day.  The kids were impressed with the mosaic artwork and the fact that it had been a part of Disney for a long time.

Our crew minus my mom, the gracious photographer. 

Our meeting with Ariel meant that we missed the first bus back to the resort and we had to wait until 8:35 for the second bus.  The kids all wanted to ride Big Thunder Mt. again so we did.  The wait was 38 minutes so it used up some time.  My mom and I found a food court that didn't seem to notice we were not eating and just warming up.  We were able to rest our feet and warm our bodies.  If you know me, you know that being cold is not my favorite thing so it was nice to thaw a bit. The ride was apparently much scarier in the dark. They all exited in good spirits but were ready to go home and it was not close to time for the bus.  

After the ride we asked someone to take our whole family shot with Big Thunder Mt. behind us.

Our family with the favorite ride in the background. 

We ended the day walking through the Main street stores.  The temps were around 40 and we were all cold and tired.  M was basically laying in a corner of each store waiting for a dose of Tylenol to kick in.  I was so thankful that the kids didn't beg for us to buy them things.  They didn't really even ask at all.  This is a big deal and an answer to prayer for sure.

The beautiful castle at night. 

We were able to get first visit pins just before exiting which was a special free treat!  

 Happily Ever After Fireworks:  We didn't actually watch the whole show from Magic Kingdom.  We took the monorail over the the bus pick up before the fireworks, but we were still able to see them from the pick up area.  The kids lost interest very quickly which made us very glad we didn't try to stay and battle the crowds afterwards.  We hung out in a heated gift shop near the parking lot until it was almost time for the bus to come.  

Waiting by the bus stop was very cold and we had to jump around to stay thawed... OK I was probably the only one jumping around.

Trying to use the garbage can to block the wind. 

Waiting eagerly for the bus to arrive. 

Enjoying the ride back to the resort. 

After we took the bus back to the resort we made frozen pizzas for dinner.  It was a late night and a full day.  We were thankful that Sea World didn't open until 10:00 the next day so we would have a little time to sleep in.

I got over 20,000 steps and went to sleep basically the same time as the kids.  M was really keeping T up the night before due to loud breathing and snoring from his cold.  We decided that T would sleep with Brandon and I would sleep with M.

A very full and very good day!