Day 1 at Magic Kingdom

We arrived in Disney on a Monday and Tuesday was our first day going to the parks.  It was in the 80’s that day and beautiful!  Magic Kingdom was the first park we were going to spend the day at.  We took a very crowded ferry over to Magic Kingdom and got there around the time the park opened.  On the ferry we had to all sit in different areas because there just wasn’t enough room to sit together.  Joel and Vincent were with Grandma Diane in the back of the boat.  Grandpa Craig was standing in the back of the boat a few rows behind them.  Brad, Cecilia, and I were standing in the middle of the boat with the stroller.  From where I was standing I could see Grandma and the boys.  The boat ride is only 10 minutes long, if that, and I could see Joel was losing it.  Brad and I couldn’t get back there to help.  I said a little prayer and Grandma managed to contain him until the boat was docked.

Joel on the teacups

Vincent on the teacups

Brad spinning the teacup

Brad and I had a goal and that was to see as much as we possibly could, stay as long as we could (without too many melt downs), have fun and get our money’s worth out of our tickets. While I knew that Disney would be crowded, I didn’t anticipate how crowded.  Once we got past getting our bags inspected, through the main gate, and past main street the crowd wasn’t as bad.  We were able to ride several rides right away without too much of a wait.  As the day went on that changed and we took advantage of the Fast Passes!  One of the rides the kids loved was the carousel.  They would have gone on that ride several more times if we would have let them.

Grandpa Craig and Cecilia

Joel, Cecilia, Mommy and Vincent

Now Joel isn't looking and Vincent is looking at the camera

Joel and Cecilia riding together

Vincent

One of the first rides was the Winnie the Pooh ride.  I don’t think the kids have ever seen Winnie the Pooh, so they thought it was fun but didn’t care that much.  They liked driving the race cars around the track, the people mover, and Buzz Lightyear.  In the Buzz Lightyear ride you get to shoot targets and earn points.  There are two guns per cart.  Brad and I were in a cart together and of course we were a little competitive.  Brad won, but a few days later when we went on it again I won!  I saw that the line for the Lilo and Stitch ride was really short, but it had a height restriction, so I suggested Brad and Vincent went on the ride.  Apparently the ride is awful and when they got off of the ride Vincent told me “Mommy, you aren’t deciding what ride we go on anymore!”  It was about then that I remember my mom warning me that that ride was a waste of time.  If only I had remembered that earlier!

Joel and Brad on the Winnie the Pooh ride

Cecilia waiting for Daddy and Vincent to be done on the Stitch ride

Grandpa and Cecilia with the same grin

At some point in the day Grandpa Craig, Brad, Joel, Vincent and I went to ride on the teacups.  We all squeezed into one teacup, not the best idea ever.   Our legs were all crammed around and we couldn’t move, but we were still able to spin.  We took both the boys on Barn Stormer, a short roller coaster for little kids.  A very long line for a literally 30 second ride.  Vince loved it!  Joel seemed to like it enough stand in line to ride it again.  Dumbo the flying elephant ride is near the Barn Stormer roller coaster and the line looked short so we decided to go on it too.  The line wasn’t actually short, it was a bit of a trick and if we looked closer at the sign we may have realized it was almost an hour wait.  The good news was that you stand in line for 10-15 minutes and then get to go into a circus tent that has a playground in it.  They give you a pager, the kids run around and play, and then when your pager goes off you collect your children (easier said than done), and jump back in line for 10 minutes.  The ride itself is not worth the wait, but having somewhere for the kids to run around and play (without being able to run off) was completely worth it!   I would go on the ride again just to let the kids play again.

The Dumbo playland

Another view

It looks like Brad is alone on the Dumbo, but Joel really was there

There is the top of Joel's head

Vincent and Mommy on Dumbo

One of the highlights of the trip was that Vincent was 41” tall and you have to be 40” to ride on Brad’s favorite ride, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster.   It also made him tall enough for Splash Mountain, but that ride was closed.  Grandpa Craig, Brad, Vincent and I all went to stand in line to ride the roller coaster.  Grandma Diane was left with the two little ones but Joel was sleeping so we thought she would be fine on her own.  Grandpa did offer to stay back but she told him to go on the ride.  Grandma and the two little ones went to a small playground nearby to hang out in the shade and wait for us.  We had a blast on the roller coaster.  I couldn’t believe how much Vincent liked it.  He was a little nervous waiting in line, but he was very brave.  All he wanted to talk about way the birdcages they used for decorations, so we told him how they used canaries in the mine to warn them of dangerous chemicals.  Two weeks later and he is still talking about it!  Afterwards we found Diane and she looked a little exhausted.  She had just put both kids in the stroller after having them at the park.  While they were at the park Joel decided to run off while Cecilia was getting ready to come down the slide.  Poor Grandma!  After we were done on the roller coaster we let all the kids play on the playground for awhile.  They all loved it and were just as happy playing there as they were on all the rides around the Magic Kingdom, actually Joel and Cecilia were happier!

Little playground outside

Vincent demonstrating how not to go down a slide

Cecilia excited that we were letting her pretend to be a big kid

Vincent stopping long enough to pose for a picture

Cecilia LOVED the slide!

Joel loved the playground too!

As the day went on it became more and more apparent to Brad and I that we are not Disney people.  Fun? Sure, but we are not returning year after year.  Just way too many people and Joel, Brad and I were not enjoying the crowds.  Brad and I can at least handle it but Joel was not thrilled about all of it.  Actually Vincent was asking to go back to camp and Joel was asking to go home.  We told them that we were staying and having fun!  Which we did and as the sun began to set more people left, it cooled off and we all started having more fun.  Joel came to life and was having fun running around and pushing the stroller.  It was like he was nocturnal or something.  The lines were also shorter which made all of us much happier!  At one point we split up and Grandma Diane and I took the little kids on some rides while the boys all went on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad for a second (and third) time.  Joel and Cecilia had fun riding the magic carpet ride and seeing the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House.

Joel and Grandma Diane

Mommy and Cecilia

About 13 hours after we entered the park we headed back to camp to get some sleep so we could be ready to go bright and early the next day!  All the kids did really well considering that we were pushing them to their limits all day.  There were a few meltdowns, but a hot day, lots of people, random naps in a stroller, eating at random times during the day, and having to stand in line…I was expecting a meltdown or two.  As long as all three kids don’t melt at the same time we consider it a good day!

Cecilia being a ham!