Disney is taking over our blog for a few days...We made so many special memories that I want to record them as fast as I can to hang on to all the magic:)
Thursday morning greeted us with an early morning wake up call. Guests staying on property get to take advantage or "extra magic hours". We left our hotel at 7:00 a.m. to board the Magic Kingdom bus to beat the crowds and place ourselves closest to the gates. We didn't anticipate the early morning musical and show that awakened us above the park entrance. Mickey and guests rode the railroad in above us to sing a wonderful "Good Morning, Good Morning..to you and you and you and you" song. It was just what we needed to pep us up for the events of the day. We chimed in with the crowd shouting the countdown to open the gates..Once they opened strategically we planned a mad dash to the back on Fantasyland to ride Peter Pan. Our strategy was to hit up the most popular rides at the back of the park. Once the gates opened to the public, we could make our way to another less popular section of the park...if that exists in the Magic Kingdom. One of the reasons we booked this week in March is because of its proximity to Miller's actual birthday and because there were two school furlough days built in our calendar this year. When consulting the Mouse research institute, we later found out that this particular week was rated an 8 out of 10 for long lines because of spring break. I figured as long as we were mid March, we'd be ok. My fears were calmed though when we didn't really have long to wait for each ride. We rode Peter Pan first and walked right up to board our flying ship. It was a short ride, but very cute! I narrated it for Miller in his ear to hold his interest.
I studied my Disney wait time app for days planning which rides accumulated the highest wait time early. We conquered the Tomorrowland Speedway next. I sat this one out and photographed all the fun from the grandstand viewing station. I was so excited for our little race car driver.
Thursday morning greeted us with an early morning wake up call. Guests staying on property get to take advantage or "extra magic hours". We left our hotel at 7:00 a.m. to board the Magic Kingdom bus to beat the crowds and place ourselves closest to the gates. We didn't anticipate the early morning musical and show that awakened us above the park entrance. Mickey and guests rode the railroad in above us to sing a wonderful "Good Morning, Good Morning..to you and you and you and you" song. It was just what we needed to pep us up for the events of the day. We chimed in with the crowd shouting the countdown to open the gates..Once they opened strategically we planned a mad dash to the back on Fantasyland to ride Peter Pan. Our strategy was to hit up the most popular rides at the back of the park. Once the gates opened to the public, we could make our way to another less popular section of the park...if that exists in the Magic Kingdom. One of the reasons we booked this week in March is because of its proximity to Miller's actual birthday and because there were two school furlough days built in our calendar this year. When consulting the Mouse research institute, we later found out that this particular week was rated an 8 out of 10 for long lines because of spring break. I figured as long as we were mid March, we'd be ok. My fears were calmed though when we didn't really have long to wait for each ride. We rode Peter Pan first and walked right up to board our flying ship. It was a short ride, but very cute! I narrated it for Miller in his ear to hold his interest.
I studied my Disney wait time app for days planning which rides accumulated the highest wait time early. We conquered the Tomorrowland Speedway next. I sat this one out and photographed all the fun from the grandstand viewing station. I was so excited for our little race car driver.
I wish I could say the whole trip was stress free like a vacation should be. It wasn't. The planner in me got a little anxious sometimes trying to squeeze everything we wanted to do in. My parents remember the days when you just showed up at the front gates of Disney presenting yourself with no official plans. One thing that was certainly flawless was the weather. It WAS absolutely perfect....mid 80's with very little humidity. Tomorrowland's Speedway was a definite hit with our little car lover. He loved being the driver and even boasted of his license inside his new wallet. Look out when this kid is really on the road.
Poppy and Grandmama were even cruising into the sunrise. Grandmama's hat was flapping in the wind.
The Teacups are a Disney classic. This ride brought waves of nostalgia over me. So neat to finally share in these memories with my boy. Miller's face lit up with joy on this dizzying spin. Landon turned the wheel as fast as it would go and there were a few times I thought I just might lose my breakfasat as Miller screamed "faster!"
And, this is all I could get out of him at the end of the ride. I think his face was frozen in that position from our fast spin. We made our way to Tomorrowland to snag a fast pass for the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. The fast pass gave us a future reservation to board the ride immediately later on in the morning. I just love this option. It allows you to book more rides in your day instead of wasting precious time in line. In the future, I'm sure their will be a tour guide app that lets you prebook fast passes on your phone to get a clockwork schedule down. Wouldn't that be nice?
We boarded the People Mover Transit which allowed us to get a bird's eye view of the park. Miller got to view what he wanted to ride next from way up high. This enjoyable ride helped us to pass the time while waiting for our fast pass window to arrive. Then, it was straight to Buzz and we waited just shy of 10 minutes to walk on. The park was getting crowded by mid morning. This intergalactic adventrue was Grandmama's favorite ride in the Magic Kingdom and it ranked right up there with Miller man. We loved firing our laser guns at all the "Z" targets. Spinning around was the best especially when familiar faces were in the ride behind us to laugh along with. We hopped off of this fun ride to make our way to Stitch. It was only a 10 minute wait, so we thought why not. Let's just say there was a reason this wait time was so short. Maybe it's because Miller isn't familiar with Stitch, but we all wished we had that 20 minutes of our lives back:)
Call me crazy, but I've always been a fan of "The Happiest Cruise That Ever Sailed" aka "It's a Small World". There's just something about the theme song that if you hear it once, it rings in your head forever. It's a catchy, happy tune. I guess I love it so much because it's a Disney original attraction ride that's been in Disney World since 1971. Being the traditionalist that I am, I love sharing in things that I enjoyed as a kid with Miller.
Managed to squeeze a smile out our little cutey while waiting in line. We noticed that all the elephants were messy eaters and their peanuts were stuck in the cement walkway up to the ride. Every detail of the new attraction area is just precious including the vintage circus posters leading up to the ride.
Dumbo the Flying Elephant...another classic was surely enjoyed by everyone too! We got to ride the refurbished Dumbo in reds, blues and golds. It now rides clockwise in a circle. It's part of the "soft opening" of Storybook Circus which is part of the newer section of Fantasyland. We can't wait to journey "Under the Big Top" when all the rides are open in the circus themed section of the park. I captured little snippets of video when I could here and there in case I ever want to make a slideshow of videos and still shots. You know, in all my spare time:)
Our boy was wearing down after lunch and so many rides. The full sun can do a number on your combined with all that walking. We were proud to say we conquered Disney World stroller free! Miller was a trooper and kept up with our journey from ride to ride on foot. Now, that's something to celebrate! Landon, Poppy and I redeemed our last fast pass to Space Mountain and then called it a day. Why not end the day with a thrill ride? I must say that I couldn't fully enjoy the coaster worrying about my dad behind me. I was hoping he'd make it out alive. The picture of the wind in our hair on this dark ride was priceless and my only regret is not purchasing the glossy print after the ride that they try to convince you to buy. It would be great bragging rights to show off Poppy's need for speed in his very early senior years.
At the close of our park going experience, my lens captured what Miller couldn't put into words. The feeling of wonderment was written all over his face. It had been one unforgettable day and there was much more to come.
“I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse.”
–Walt Disney
“I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse.”
–Walt Disney
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