Tuesday we were finally off to the Magic Kingdom! We woke up to black skies, thunder, and lightening with a forecast calling for rain the majority of the day.
TIP(S) OF THE DAY:
My sister was smart enough to pack some of those cheap plastic ponchos. I, of course, forgot ours even though they were on the list. They were perfect for today as we threw them away once the skies cleared. The only other thing I would recommend is taking child-size ones for the kids, we ended up buying one for Trey at the hotel and it was I think around 8 dollars.
If you are bored and it's raining out or just need a break, take a ride on the tram! Our hotel was a boat ride away from the Magic Kingdom but we rode the monorail around in the morning to stay dry and kill some time. It was fun checking out the different hotels.
Don't let rain spoil your day, understand you are going to get wet and head to the parks! This day was awesome because there were no crowds and hardly ANY lines. We loved it.
Magic Kingdom day was here! We were so excited! We had breakfast in the room, the in-room refrigerators were perfect for storing milk to go with the cereal and bananas we brought. The kids were bouncing off the walls...but the sky was pretty dark. We headed down to the lobby to figure out if we were going to kill some time or head to the park. My sister Aimee took advantage of this downtime and took a bunch of cute photos of the kids in the lobby of the hotel.
We were all getting antsy and at this point it was around 10 so we decided to be brave and head out to the bus stop to take us to the Monorail station. It was actually a ton of fun riding around and checking out all of the other hotels. We got off at the Polynesian because that had been my second choice on where to stay to look at the decor and property. Very green and leafy, the lobby was impressive but it seemed tighter than the Wilderness Lodge, probably because this is a multi-story lobby and the Lodge is just one big expansive room. Brad got a Kona coffee and the kids split a croissant. Back on the tram, we all made sure we were decked out in hats and plastic ponchos, it was still coming down pretty hard outside.
When we got to MK, we made a mad dash for the gates in the rain. The new Mickey meet and greet is right inside the gate and we decided to start there first. You can FastPass for this but because of the storm, the wait was only 5 minutes!! Amazing as I have heard nightmare stories about the line for this. You can't come to Disney and not meet Mickey right?
After Mickey it was on to see the Princesses. This was mostly for my niece but I will admit Trey loved it too. They took the autograph books and got to meet 4 Princesses and have their photo taken with each of them. Brielle was wearing a t-shirt that said something about how to be a princess and she loved it when Cinderella took the time to read it!
Heading up Main Street to Tomorrowland was fun, despite the weather. All the cute shops were beckoning! First stop was the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, where the kids got to meet Alice. This ride made me a little sick but Brad and T had fun turning the wheel to make the cup spin faster and faster.
My dad, Brad, and my Brother-in-Law took the kids on the Tomorrowland Speedway. My dad said there was a moment when Trey almost fell out so if you have a skinny little 4 year old sharing a lap belt with a 6'6 man, know that you need to take extra care. The kids ate some lunch in the viewing area after they got of the ride which was covered. We had packed PB&J and fruit snacks. Staying in Tomorrowland, we went on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, which was fun! The stage show Monster's Inc. was next door. The kids really liked it...it reminded me a lot of the Crush Turtle thing at Epcot and I would say it's a don't miss. The best joke for the kids that we still tell is "How do you make a tissue dance?" "Put a little boogie in it!" After the show we heard some loud music and Brielle and Trey were drawn to it like flies. Tim and Brad took TJ to check out Space Mountain for the first time (I love Space Mountain but I was limited on what rides I could go on. Tried to follow the guidelines on the Disney website for pregnant ladies and played it safe) and everyone else headed to the dance party.
My sister decided to take my nephew back to the hotel for a little R&R and we headed to Fantasyland, which in my opinion is the best area for kids in the MK. There is currently some construction going on there as they are expanding, but once again, because of the weather, it wasn't too crowded. We went on It's a Small World, an oldie, but a goodie! Brielle decided to go again and my mom, dad, Brad, Trey, and I went on Peter Pan's Flight, which is one of my favorites. We also went on Pooh, which had the longest line of the day, but at least has a fun play area for the kids. There were some scary parts on Pooh and on Snow White...but we just reassured Trey it was all pretend and the story always turns out happy in the end.
Then of course a trip to the Merry Go Round and Snow White's Scary Adventures, with a viewing of 3D Mickey's Philharmagic squeezed in. Time flies at the MK because it was almost time for dinner! We hoofed it all the way back to the front of the park to make our reservation at Tony's Town Square. The kids had Mickey shaped ravioli and the adults had a variety of things. calamari, pasta, and chicken parmesan. Everyone was happy about the food, the complimentary ice cream for the kids with Mickey sprinkles, and the delicious bread and oil. This dinner was a little more affordable then the Mexican one at Epcot because there is NO DRINKING or alcohol at the MK.
After dinner I took Trey back to the hotel with Tim, Brielle, and my parents. We took the boat back and the kids were wiped out. Trey was asleep on the boat and I actually took him back to room and changed his clothes while he was still asleep. He stayed passed out until we got back to the park, right in time to get ready for the Electrical Parade and Fireworks. My sister had secured an awesome spot right in front of the castle! My dad and I walked up to the Main Street Bakery and got some delicious treats and coffees for everyone and we were all set to watch the parade. The electrical parade is very trippy and must be Alice based because there were a lot of dancing mushrooms and of course the hookah smoking cheshire cat...and an appearance by Puff the Magic Dragon as well...perhaps the creators of this parade had a little help from their friends? LOL!
The end of our rainy day turned out perfect as the skies had cleared, everyone was happy, and the MAGIC of the MK came alive with the castle and the fireworks display, which was AWESOME!!
