Magic is Something You Make

Another great morning in Disney World, and it was finally time to head to the Magic Kingdom. This will always be our favorite park.  The atmosphere is amazing, the rides are just our speed, the shows are great, and the snacks are yummy.  With or without kids, this park has something for everyone!

This trip was typical of our Disney touring style.  I live to do two days at the Magic Kingdom and divide the park in half.  The first day we do Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.  Geographically they are right next to each other, and Fantasyland has all the headliners that make you feel like you are at the Magic Kingdom.  The second day we tackle Adventureland, Frontierland and Liberty Square.  Look for a separate post about our Day Two adventures!

I don't have a ton of pictures for the first part of our day because we were in go mode!  

Stop 1- The Seven Dwarves Mine Train.  This is the brand new roller coaster in Fantasyland, and its the first time Rob and I were able to ride it because it opened shortly after the kids were born and they are just now tall enough.  This is definitely one you want to get a FastPass+ for, which I did, right at opening (8:30 FP+).  

Grainy picture of us.

I give mine train two hands up!

Ok, here's my review of the coaster.  It's awesome for what it is.  Could it be longer, yes, but they shoehorned it into a place without a lot of real estate.  Is it a thrill ride? For me, its perfect.  I don't like roller coasters that flip me upside down, or make me want to hurl.  Space Mountain is too much for me.  All four of us loved The Seven Dwarves Mine Train.  The cars swing like mining cars, so the ride is very smooth.  There is a stop about halfway through with the animatronic dwarves, which was pretty cute.  And don't forget to look for the witch lurking at the end!  Love this ride!

Stop 2- Under the Sea~ Journey of the Little Mermaid.  A classic Disney dark ride where you ride in a clam shell through scenes from the movie.  It's great and we got on with 0 wait!

Another blurry picture!

Stop 3- The Barnstormer.  Kiddie Coaster, totally fun but lasts only about 30 seconds. We walked right on.

Stop 4- Dumbo, the Flying Elephant.  Classic spinner ride.  It's a must! We waited about 5 minutes for it.

Look at those smiles!

I don't think I got a good picture of our shirts. Mine said: Mama Mouse, Anne's said: Minnie Mouse. We had matching ears.

Ryan's shirt had Peter Pan on it and it read: I'm so fly, I Neverland.

Stop 5- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.  Dark ride where you sit in a honey pot and ride through the Pooh movie.  Cute.  We had a FP+, so no wait!

Stop 6- The Mad Tea Party (aka the tea cups).  Just me and the kids, walked right on.  Tons of fun.

Now it's time for a walk down memory lane.  I have tried to recreate the same-is picture every time we have gone to Disney with the kids.  Starting with our Babymoon.

Stop Seven- Prince Charming's Royal Carousel.  Ryan declared at the last minute that he wanted to wait with Daddy and didn't want to ride it.  So it was just the girls!

I put her on a horse on the outside so she could see everything, but she was mad because it had a green saddle.

Switched horses, burgundy saddle, happy Anne.

Stop 8- It's A Small World After All.  Such a classic.  Some people hate it, I can't go to Magic Kingdom and not ride it.  We waited about 15 minutes for this one.  In case you were wondering, we got to the front gate of the park at 8:15am.  It was now 11am and we had ridden 8 rides.  This is why we go when the crowds are low!

Stop 9- We headed over to the new area of Fantasyland with Gaston's Tavern for some people watching.  We found a table in the shade, got a popcorn refill and had a Lafou's Brew.  Grown ups: it's disgusting! Kids: best drink ever!

Stand in front of the statue and show me your muscles! Bubba has bigger muscles than me!!

Gah! Love these two blondies!

Stop 10- Lunch at Be Our Guest.  This is kind of a new favorite.  I love eating in the castle, but this is the second time we have eaten here and the second time our order was wrong.  And because of the way you order and then have your food brought to you, it's impossible to find an employee to make it right.  But it has air conditioning and comfortable chairs.  Plus, the food is way better than standard theme park food.  

We ate under this awesome tapestry.

Stop 11- Enchanted Tales with Belle.  You re-enact the Ball scene with Belle and then have a chance to have your picture taken with Belle.  This was a major drawback for our day.  It was our longest wait at 40 minutes, which was surprising because they use the same trick as for Anna and Elsa in Epcot.  Then, our Belle was not good.  I hate to be critical like that, but I'm such a big fan of the princesses in general.  This one had a constant look on her face like she was smelling a dirty diaper (maybe she was).  And she kinda didn't look like Belle.  But Rob and the kids were in the show, so that was fun! 

Looking back, maybe the lollipop while waiting was a bad idea?

Ryan is killing it in this picture!

Anne was Mrs. Potts and Ryan was Chip. Squee!

The things we do for our kids.

Stop 12- Peter Pan's Flight. Classic dark ride on a pirate ship through scenes of Peter Pan. We had a FastPass+, so that awesome.  The kids loved it, there was a lot of "look over there! look at Wendy!"

Stop 13- Tomorrowland Speedway.  Kids drive cars.  There is nothing "tomorrow" about this ride, but when you are 5, driving a car is about as much fun as you can have.  We waited about 20 minutes to ride, but that was fine because while we were waiting I was able to snag our 4th FP+ for Buzz Lightyear.  

Stop 14- The Carousel of Progress.  A rotating theater tells you the story of technology.  Woefully outdated, but the kids were entertained, it's air conditioned and you can sit down!  Never wait more than 10 minutes!

Stop 15- Tomorrowland People Mover.  A Schneider Family perennial favorite.  Sit down and ride through the sky of Tomorrowland.  Hardly ever a wait!

Stop 16- Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.  Such a cool ride.  You sit in a car with your very own blaster shooting targets as you move through an arcade-style track.  Thanks to a FP+ we walked right on!

Ok folks, how's that for a day at the Magic Kingdom?  We rode 14 rides, ate lunch at Be Our Guest, and chilled at Gaston's Tavern for about 20 minutes.  And all of this by 3:45!! But then we discovered our new favorite thing at Disney.  Green space!

Over the last few years they have redone the area around the castle, took out the mote and added these fake grassy areas.  During the fireworks, these grassy areas are used for people with a FP+.  It's nice that you can have a dedicated spot to see the fireworks (which I've heard are amazing, one of these days we will actually go to them).  During the day they are an awesome spot to let your kids run around.  Since this spot is right outside of Main Street, Rob sat with the kids while I did a little shopping.  Isn't that genius?  The kids were happy playing, I was happy shopping, and Rob was happy sitting down.  ​

Happiness is Disney with your BFF.

So that was our first day at the Magic Kingdom.  It was such a great day.  I know my blog post made it seem like we marched from place to place, but in reality we were having a blast and no one felt rushed.  And since it was not overly hot, we felt like we had a lot more stamina.  Only two more days. :(

We were staring straight into the sun. Ugh.