Disney Diaries / Day 1 - Magic Kingdom

 

Our first magical day started out around 7 am with me quietly getting myself ready, so not to wake the little people. After all, they didn't go to bed until 1 and 2 am that morning, so they needed to sleep as long as possible! Once I was ready, I woke a very excited little girl up and a very sleepy little boy and got them dressed in their "1st day outfit" (yep, planned an outfit for each magical day because I LOVE dressing my baby dolls). Em was happy to find a surprise from Tinkerbell. Cade really enjoyed the tissue paper. =) 

Tinkerbell gifts was an idea I found online. It was suppose to keep her behavior in check (Tinkerbell will not bring you gifts if you do not follow the rules) and also prevent her from wanting to buy so much in Disney (no, Em, we cannot buy that $500 Belle doll because Tinkerbell already has you some gifts she is bringing!). 

I let her decorate a gift bag for her and brother at home before we left and I picked up some cheap Disney junk from Party City and The Dollar Tree. In all honesty, she was a bit young for the "rules" to work (they went out the window the 1st day anyway with the "nap each day after lunch" rule...yeah, that didn't happen. And if no naps happen, meltdowns WILL occur no matter what rules Tinkerbell gives you. ha! Also, it was a tad annoying for mommy (eh hem, Tinkerbell), to dig out the hidden bag of junk and put it out each night. Will I do it again next time? Maybe. It might work for older kids. I never expected it to work for Cade - it was totally for Emily, but Tink couldn't leave out my little boy.  

Getting out the door with 9 people (4 kids) is so hard. Lisa and Bo were waiting on us, which is something I never thought would happen..haha! I was so flustered trying to get out the door with my backpack, snacks, cooler, etc. Lisa had to talk me down because I was about to cry. Being my 1st trip to Disney with babies, I was just unsure of exactly what we needed and felt so tired, hungry, and rushed.  I grabbed Emily's Belle dress and shoved it into the back of the stroller (we had dinner reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table that afternoon), but Lisa stopped me. "We are coming back for naps - that's the plan," she says. I loved her being on board for naps because I certainly was wanting my kids to nap, so I left Belle dress. Mistake!

Breakfast was had while walking down to the bus stop from the hotel room.  Mini muffins, fruit loops, and cereal bars were the breakfast of choice.  Walking from our room to the bus stop was a long walk, but it was filled with lots of fun for Emily. She wanted to stop at every little statue and attraction on the way. I was always in a constant state of "we have to hurry up" and "slow down and enjoy the little things!"  This battle stayed with me for most of the trip.  

The girls waiting at the bus stop. Em was already exhausted and was super cooperative with pictures obviously. =) 

Once we FINALLY got to the Magic Kingdom (a 25 min bus ride later, not including waiting in line at the hotel for a bus), there was the line to get your bags checked and then a line to actually get into the park. There seemed to be a TON of people there that day, which I wasn't expecting. I thought we were coming at a low traffic time. I think it's safe to say, MK is always busy! 

Once inside, our 1st stop was to see some princesses! After all, this is one of our main reasons for coming to Disney - the girls LOVE the princesses. I made them each an autograph book since that's the thing to do - get autographs.  I even made my Cade one too - thought he might enjoy taking it to the characters.  I couldn't wait to see their faces when they met them! The princesses are located in front of the park in the Town Square Theater.  However, I noticed a new section was being built in Fantasy Land next to the carousel.

Of course, there was already a long line to see them. We probably waited about 20 minutes or so, but it felt like an ETERNITY with Cade.  He was HORRIBLE. He wanted to run away, then would FREAK out when I brought him back. I leashed him and it made it worse. He HATED the leash. He cried and cried. I felt sorry for the people around us. Sorry people! At one point, he just laid in the floor and had a good meltdown.  In this moment I thought to myself, is there a way to put him in a box and ship him home to Granny??!! What is a mother to do?  I didn't want to leave with him and miss my Emily seeing a real live princess. So, I just let him cry.  Again, sorry people in line.  =)

We finally made it into see the princesses and the girls were excited, but it certainly wasn't the excitement I was expecting. You can see exhaustion in their faces.  I know Em and Cade were already exhausted from the night before. 

Em's face in most of these pics is ridiculous.  Not only was she tired, but when asked to "smile," she gives this crazy, fake smile.  

Rapunzel! She is Abby's favorite! 

Sleeping Beauty. She is obviously Cade's favorite. =) 

 

Cinderella! 

 

Em showing Uncle Bo all her autographs from the Princesses. 

After seeing the princesses, I looked at the time and it was lunch time! I started to freak out slightly as we had done ONE THING and it was lunch time. ONE THING and we hadn't made it off Main Street.  ONE THING and we were supposed to go back for naps after lunch?  How is this going to work??!!  Disney is a huge time vacuum.  One minute it's 8 am and the next minute it's 2 pm! 

We headed down Main Street toward the Castle with the Be Our Guest Restaurant as our goal for lunch.  Em was in awe of the Castle.  I couldn't help, but be mesmerized by it also - I think it represents childhood, innocence, and magic.  Oh, how I LOVE Disney!

 

I wanted to eat lunch at the Be Our Guest restaurant (Em is a HUGE fan of Beauty and the Beast), so we walked all the way to New Fantasyland. Once there, we quickly realized it was not possible to eat there as the line to GET INTO the restaurant was a 60 minute wait! Geez!  This restaurant is a quick service for lunch and a sit down for supper.  I tried to get reservations for dinner prior to leaving, but they were already booked.  =(

So, we walked back to Tomorrowland and ate a quick lunch at the Starlight Cafe. This restaurant had your basic burger, fries, chicken nuggets - our kind of meal. I packed a couple of PB and Jelly sandwiches and some milks for Cade since he was not on the dining plan. But, we all shared our food. Emily ended up eating the PB and Jelly a lot of times and Cade would eat her meal - she is so picky or just doesn't eat. While at the restaurant, I regrouped and tried to figure out our next move. 

Lisa and I decided naps were simply not going to happen this day - especially since our dinner reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table was at 4:15. It takes a good hour to get to the park from the hotel.  Like I said before, we had done ONE THING!  

Cade continued to be leashed. We learned if we put the leash on backwards (give the puppy dog a hug), he would wear it and be ok. Silly boy. 

Sweet pic of Abby and Pawpaw during lunch 

Emily's favorite part of lunch was the chocolate cake. Desert with every meal!

I honestly felt much better and more relaxed after we decided to go hard core and skip naps. I felt a lot less rushed and able to enjoy myself.  There was just no way we were going to get anything done if we went back for naps.  Plus, our dinner reservations were so early this day (4:15). 

After lunch, we decided to head to New Fantasyland and visit Ariel in her grotto and also ride the new “Voyage of the Little Mermaid.” The line to see Ariel was a 20 minute wait.  Lisa, Dad, and I waited in line with the kids while Bo and Michael got fast passes to “Voyage of the Little Mermaid.” 

Standing in line with these guys is never boring.  It was HOT as you can probably tell from our glistening faces. Ha! 

Ariel!!

 

No telling what Emily is talking to her about. =) 

Owen was not a fan. 

The picture below is horrible of me, but it shows the sea of strollers in the background.  We were constantly having to park the strollers to ride ride, visit characters, or eat.  Good thing we brought bright colored bandanas to help mark our strollers.  Cast members would also move the strollers sometimes to make room for additional strollers, so the the bandanas really came in handy to quickly locate them.

 

After Ariel, we decided to hit up "It's a Small World" since it only had a 10 minute wait and it wasn't time for us to use our "Voyage" fast pass yet. 

 

A 10 minute wait with this little guy might as well be an hour! 

 

Once on the ride, both Emily and Cade loved it. Cade may have been a handfull while standing in lines, but once on the rides, he did great. He really enjoyed them and didn't act scared of any of them. 

At one point on the ride, Emily broke out into song. "It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all..." she sang, along with the ride. It was so cute. She loved it just like I did when I was a kid. One of my favorite parts of being a mom is reliving my childhood through the eyes of my babies. It's almost like I get to experience it all over again - but on a deeper level. =) 

"Voyage of the Little Mermaid" time! Super cute ride. I was worried about the Ursala part, but both did great and were not scared. 

I have no idea what time it was at this point (maybe 2), but the boys were in serious need of a nap. We walked over to Belle's section of New Fantasyland and gathered in a little corner near some restrooms to regroup, potty breaks, change diapers, get some drinks (out of our coolers - we did not purchase ANYTHING unless it was with a "snack credit"). I got Cade situated in his stroller  - leaned him back (LOVE these strollers by the way), gave him some water, paci, and he was OUT. Praise the Lord! 

My kids do not sleep in strollers and car seats. They both take a nap in a bed, everyday, no exceptions...unless we are in Disney apparently. No idea how he was able to sleep in this heat or with the noise, but glad he did! 

Cade Michael - 1st Magical Visit at 19 months old 

 

Owen Wesley - 1st Magical Visit at 13 months old 

While we were getting the boys situated for stroller naps, Gaston suddenly appeared! Emily LOVES Beauty and the Beast, so I was super excited to see one of the characters, but she wasn't having anything to do with him. However, Abby Grace was all about some Gaston. As soon as he appeared, a lined quickly formed. Luckily, we got in on the front and Abby and Bo were able to see him without much wait. 

 

Gaston told Bo, "you've been eating your eggs, man! Bahaha!" Pretty funny. I think Bo was just as excited to meet Gaston as Abby. Gaston is, after all, his role model. =) 

 

Emily watching from the side - she wasn't going near that mean old Gaston. 

Emily and Mommy in front of Gaston's water fountain.

  

We decided Bo and Michael would run back to the hotel room and grab the girls' princess dresses, so they would have them for our dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table (remember, we left them because we thought we were coming back for naps). They probably left us around 2 or a little after. Lisa, Dad, and I just started walking aimlessly thinking ALL the kids might sleep, including the girls. Both girls were really tired too. But, it was just to much action going on for them to take a nap. 

 

Since naps were not going to happen, some sugar was needed to recharge (mommy included). We came upon cast members getting ready for the 3 pm parade, so we decided we'd stop for a snack and watch the parade while the boys continued to nap. 

 

The girls were really excited to watch the parade!  Great place to see all the characters at once.  I'm so glad we ended up getting to watch it. I never planned for us to see this parade since I assumed we'd be napping at this time. 

Boys slept through the entire thing. We have pictures of Lisa doing the same thing when she was about 2 years old (sleeping in a stroller during the Disney parade). =) 

Once the parade was over, we decided to start heading toward the Castle for our dinner reservations. Since we had some time to kill, it was a great opportunity to get some Castle pics. Even better time since the daddy's were not around (they get super annoyed at picture taking). 

We made our way to the castle and just hung out for a bit waiting on Bo and Michael to return with the princess dresses. It was 4:00 and they still were not back! The boys woke up from their nap, so I let Cade run around a bit. He was burning up in that stroller! I felt so bad for him. 

 

Group shot of the day with their cute Disney outfits! 

 

Bo and Michael finally returned with the princess dresses (and my "good camera"). I was thinking they went off and played hookey, but they swore they went straight to the hotel and back (2 hours). This justified us not returning for naps - we wouldn't have had time to nap anyway! We changed the girls into their princess dresses right before entering the restaurant (yep, just stripped them down quickly in public). 

We could see Cinderella as soon as we walked in. With this reservation, you get (3) different professional Disney pictures with your meal. 

 

Emily (eh, hem, Princess Belle) taking a bow =) 

As soon as we got to our table, the girls were handed princess wands and the boys got swords.  Well, Cade got a princess wand at first too ("here you go Princess," said the waitress).  I don't care what they say, I LOVE his curls and am not ready to chop them yet.  =)

These items were super dangerous as Abby later learned when Cade almost took her eye out with his sword. 

 

It wasn't hardly anytime when the princesses began making their rounds. I LOVE Disney and LOVE the character dining, but I never felt I could enjoy my meal because I was on my feet every 5 minutes ready to take pics!  Oh well, you don't go to Disney to enjoy the food.  ha!

 

Love the girls expressions here. You can just see the wonder in their faces. 

 

Emily asked Ariel "where is Flounder?" 

 

Listening very intensely to Sleeping Beauty 

Once all the princesses were finished visiting, the girls started to pretend they were princesses giving tourists hugs. Silly girls. They loved every minute of it! 

 

On the dining plan, we got desert with every meal! This was Emily's favorite part. 

 

All in all, it was a great experience. A MUST for a princess loving girlie girl! 

I was a little disappointed that Belle wasn't one of the princesses during our dinner. Belle is Em's absolute favorite princess! She pretends to be her all the time. I also call her my little Belle a lot. I think she sort of looks like a little Belle. =) 

After dinner, I was on a mission to visit "Enchanted Tales with Belle" in New Fantasyland. I watched a youtube video of this prior to our trip, so I sort of knew what it was about. Basically, cast members pick kids (and even adults) out of the audience to play different parts in a play and perform them for Belle (who also joins in the play). I was crossing my fingers our girls would get to play a part. 

Bottom line, I KNEW Belle would be there and I wanted my girl to meet her! Bonus, Em was wearing her Belle dress! 

Waiting in line for the "Enchanted Tales with Belle" with my little Belle. =) 

 

My Cade. He was happy to be out of a stroller or a high chair for a change. He loved climbing on the fences and poles and also loved running ahead or behind mommy while in line. Grrr. 

  

Sweet Owen and his Mommy 

 

Once we got inside, cast members started giving our parts. 

Abby was chosen to play "Ms. Potts" 

 

Pawpaw was chosen to play a knight 

 

And, my little Belle...she was chosen to play the lead role as "The Beast!!!" 

 I was beside myself as I knew she'd get a lot of time with "her favorite Belle" as Em calls her. 

 

 ***  Enter Belle! ***



"the Beast lets out a most ferocious roar," says the Disney narrator.  Emily, "roars" 



Ms. Potts' turn to perform (she had to hop up and down)

Before we went to Disney, I had several moms tell me, "Oh, you'll cry when she meets her favorite princess." I really didn't think that I would cry. Well, I was proven wrong.  The set up of the meeting really made is so special.  The lighting, the music...she walked down the aisle with the spotlight on her to meet her Belle. This moment will live with me forever. It was the sweetest thing and I certainly cried. Michael and Lisa said they even teared up a little over it.

Emily is SUCH a Belle fan, so I knew it meant the world to her little soul. It was a very, very special moment I will cherish it forever. When she walks down the aisle to get married some day, I'll think back to the moment my 3 year old baby girl walked down the aisle to meet her favorite princess, Belle. =) 

 

Abby and Princess Belle (so sweet how Abby is holding her little dress)

 

Pawpaw and Princess Belle =) 

 

Emily holding her goodies she received while visiting Belle. 

 

Oops..forgot something.  Before heading off to see Belle, we stopped at Mickey's Philhar Magic (no wait), which is a 3D movie type of deal with special wind and rain effects too.  Super cool!  Abby LOVED it.  I kept leaning over to watch her try to grab the flying objects or dodge them from hitting her.  Emily and Cade liked it, but neither would wear their glasses, which made it obviously not as good.

After Belle, we walked over for "Goofy's Barnstormer" ride (Bo and Michael got fast passes to this popular ride while we were waiting to see Belle). It's a small roller coaster in Fantasyland. Thankfully, my little shortie made the cut! 

 

Pawpaw sat with both boys, so we could all ride with our girls...thanks Pawpaw! Photo Op while waiting in line! 

 

The dark clouds were moving in and it started sprinkling on us while waiting in line. We kept our fingers crossed we would be able to ride, but then the thunder started rolling in and they closed the it. =( 

We hung around a few more minutes to see if the rain would pass quickly. While waiting for the weather to pass, the sweetest thing happened! A random tourist saw both girls dressed as Cinderella and Belle, walked up to them and said, "Oh my goodness! It's Belle and Cinderella!! Can I have your autographs??!!" The girls were happy to sign her book and it made them feel so special. Oh, the magic of Disney - it's everywhere! 

Love this picture of Abby Grace

 

Unfortunately, the weather didn't seem to be getting any better and it had been a long day, so we decided to head back to the hotel for the night. All in all, the 1st day was great...memories were made, lessons were learned. It started out a little stressful, but turned out to have some amazing moments that I'll remember forever.