Disney : The Magic of the Kingdom

There’s that old saying, and Vanessa Williams song, Save the Best for Last.  And when I say that this trip truly saved the best for last, it did.

I was seven the last time I was at Disney.  I have very few memories that I can recall about Disney from that age…one being riding Space Mountain with my dad after he lied to me and told me it wasn’t what it really was {still traumatized, can you tell?}.  I also remember It’s a Small World and a few things about Epcot, one being Figment of Your Imagination…I even had a ring with him on it.

Some things I didn’t remember so that Friday morning as we took the ferry across the lake and could see the castle, I got really giddy.  Through the gates

and there it was…

at the end of Main Street…I got goose bumps.  I giggled to myself and sighed…it truly IS magical.

As Andrew and his class gathered to start their behind the scenes tour, Reynolds, Eliza Jane and I hopped in line to have our picture taken with Pluto.

And then we waved at Minnie.  I would have gotten in line there too, but Eliza Jane was already terrified of Pluto…

Up to Fantasyland we went from there.  As we made our way closer to the castle, some music started playing and then all of a sudden, these characters started dancing and singing.  I felt like we were in a scene from Hello Dolly!

From Alice in Wonderland and the teacups…

To the fantastic carousel…

To Peter Pan’s Flight {which was simply wonderful!}

And then across the street to It’s a Small World…where I got just the sweetest picture 🙂

The memories came back in full!

Next up was Ariel…and I have to admit, I didn’t read this correctly, and didn’t quite understand that this 40 minute wait was NOT a ride…and rather just a photo-op with her…

Reynolds didn’t seem to mind!!!

We did, however, find the ride right next door after our little visit.

Andrew had also texted me while he was touring, that I needed to check out the Dumbo ride.  By this point we were having the best time.  Both kids could ride EVERYTHING which was complete and utter joy for the three of us.

At lunchtime I had saved a FastPass for us to get our picture taken with Mickey and wouldn’t you know as we walked back to Main Street, the parade was happening?  These people seriously must have the most fun doing all this…all day every day.

I posted on FaceBook that this was the greatest moment of the week.  As we waited in line, with Mickey in view, Reynolds had his hands in fists up at his face, humongous smile on his face and he was saying with the softest voice and biggest eyes, “IT’S MICKEY MOUSE!!!!”

As we were introduced to him, Reynolds showed him his Pirate Mickey shirt – which Mickey seemed to like!  And then Mickey invited R to be a choo-choo-train!
It was absolutely wonderful.  Then we took pictures.

After Mickey and some lunch, we caught up to Daddy and made our way over to Tomorrowland where Andrew and Reynolds shot aliens with Buzz Lightyear

We watched the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor show {to escape the heat!!} and then rode the Peoplemover as a break for all of us.  {Someone had on her sassy-pants at this point…}

Then Andrew rode Space Mountain {I wanted to, just to know what that ride was really like as an adult, thanks again Dad}, but the wait was 105 min!!!!!? {Andrew had a FastPass thankfully}.  Next up was Adventureland, and as fate would have it, we stumbled upon the dance party happening right in front of the castle!  

R has mad dancing skills.  For more, check out my Instagram videos here and here of the dance party!

When the party was over, we found Aladdin’s magic carpet ride

She’s blowing you a kiss  ↑.

Then we took the kids through Pirates of the Caribbean {don’t judge us :)}.  In the shop, we all had fun with swords and other pirate gear.  {This kid  ↓ looks like Reynolds, but it’s not…I had to do a double-take myself!}

After supper {did I mention that this was the longest day ever?  We were in the Magic Kingdom for 14 hrs…}, we made our way back towards Main Street, U.S.A. to get ready for the fireworks show.

But of course we had to get a few family pictures…in all of our hot-messness.

As we got ready, Andrew prepped Eliza Jane for all the firework noises…he taught her how to close her ears…or his, rather.

The fireworks show was beyond spectacular.  It was the perfect night to a most wonderful day and week for our family.  I took a million pictures of the show and none of them turned out terribly well {which was unfortunate}…but I’ll leave you with one and a reminder from Jiminy Cricket, that when you wish upon a star…anything your heart desires will come to you.

That’s the end of all of our adventures at Disney – I hope you have enjoyed sharing in our memories!