Our morning started at 5:45AM. That's an incredibly dangerous time of day to awaken a sleeping child, but to my amazement, the kids were all incredibly tame for the hour. Even Elliott. We ran late getting ready, in typical Beresford style, but were still the FIRST visitors in the parking lot. (And that's one VERY BIG parking lot!) We were waiting at the gate to the Magic Kingdom a full 45 minutes before they opened. We had brought along a bag with all of their dress-up items so that we could use that time to get them ready to go right before we went into the park, and not have to worry about wrinkled or missing items while getting into and out of the van. Waiting is a hard thing to do when you're five or six, and "Breakfast with the Princesses" is awaiting you on the other side of the gate!
At long last, we were admitted into the park, and had this really quick opportunity to stop for pictures in front of the castle without any other park visitors around.
My Mom and I, and the girls, had an 8:15am date with the Disney Princesses to have breakfast inside of Cinderella's castle. For those of you who are reading this who are or will be planning a trip to the Magic Kingdom in the future, if you have a princess-crazy daughter or granddaughter this is one splurge you will NOT want to miss. Yes, the cost of admission tickets is unbelievable. Yes, the additional cost of a mediocre breakfast selection is not fun to indulge in, but for $45 a person you get this:
This is what pure joy looks like.
After Cinderella greeted us on the first floor...
The kids were so star-struck they couldn't utter a word when she bent down to talk with them. After years of wishing to meet the 'real Cinderella' and watching the movie hundreds of times, neither one could speak. They just stared up at her with smiling, blushing little faces. So darn cute!
... we walked up the winding staircase with red carpet and through the castle to the dining room....
We were greeted at the top of the stairs and seated at one of the best tables, right by a stained glass window overlooking the Magic Kingdom to the southeast.
Our waiter, dressed in traditional European 17th century clothing, handed us menus and brought magic fairy wands and wishing stars over for the girls, then poured us coffee and orange juice. The girls both had pre-determined meals (which I wasn't aware of, and included bacon and eggs, which my vegetarian kids won't eat, but did also include french toast) but Mom and I had seven menu items to choose from. After giving us 60 seconds the waiter came back to take our order. Aside from chewing the food for us, they do everything possible to keep get you in and get you out fast, so they can serve other customers. With that said, that is my only complaint. Everything else is fabulous.
After we ordered, our waiter returned and brought a delicious tray of baked biscuits and sweet goodies for us to enjoy. Just as soon as Charlotte and Madeline had slid all of it from the serving tray onto their plates (they left Mom and I one biscuit to share!), trumpets blared and an announcement was made (in olde English) that the princesses were now arriving and were getting our of their carriages and were on their way up the castle stairs. That was Charlotte's last bite of food for quite some time. She was so excited she could barely breathe.
The first princess to come and visit was Snow White.
Star-struck once again, she complimented Madeline on her dress and all Maddie could do was give her the ga-gah eyes. She was smiling so huge I thought her face was going to crack.
Not long after Snow White came by, Princess Aurora's arrival was announced. We were sitting close by the princess entrance, so we were lucky in that the girls only had six tables or so of groups ahead of us before the princesses arrived at our table. It's the only reason we didn't have to sit on top of them to keep them in their seats that long.
These princesses do not break out of their roles. Princess Aurora was telling the girls about her ride in to the castle this morning with Prince Phillip, and asked them if they had heard about him before. All the girls could do was nod with their smiles and huge, wide eyes. They were still unable to utter a word. Or eat.
Then came Ariel, Charlotte's favorite princess. She just about fell out of her chair when Ariel arrived.
At this point, I was feeling kind of bad for the princesses, who were trying hard but having a hard time striking up a mutual conversation with my two little girls, who were obviously our of their mind with delight but not talking much. So when the announcer indicated that the next princess to arrive was Belle, I suggested that they ask her what her favorite book was. Reading is something that both of my kids enjoy, so I offered a suggestion that they use that to have a conversation with Belle.
Score one for Mommy, because it worked. Madeline asked her what her favorite book was, and Belle told her that she was in the middle of a really good book about a boy named Jack who planted some magic beans and climbed a gigantic beanstalk up into the sky, and Madeline knew the story. So Belle and Madeline had a little conversation about books while Charlotte stared and nodded.
At this point Madeline was halfway done with her french toast sticks and Charlotte hadn't touched hers at all. One bite at a time, I coached Charlotte through her breakfast and she ate all of it, talking a mile a minute about how pretty and how nice the princesses are.
After climbing back down the stairs to meet up with the boys, and while we were waiting for them to find us, guess who walked right by us?!?!
(pardon the sideways photo, there's a glitch and I can't rotate it)
At this point you could have knocked both girls over with a feather. When the boys (Dad, Matt, and Elliott) found us a moment later, and as Charlotte and Madeline were telling them about breakfast, guess who else walked right by?
and
What I absolutely love about these Disney characters is that they really know how to play their roles. These girls, especially, were hilarious. Drizella saw that Charlotte was wearing a pearl and ribbon necklace, and insisted that it was really Anastasia's necklace. Anastasia said no, it was a lot like hers but wasn't hers, and advised Charlotte to keep an eye on her necklace today because Cinderella had a way to stealing other people's things. Madeline asked her why they didn't like Cinderella, and the stepmother's answer was "Who said we didn't like her? She can do a lot of things, like sweep the floor and clean out the chimney and cook good food to eat. What's not to like?". What a hoot. :o)
Random photo #1: banana tree. The banana tree creates a red/pink dense flower bud below and grows the bananas in bunches above the hanging stem you see here. The bananas actually point UP, not DOWN, during the growing season.
Sweet, isn't it?
By this time we were ready to ride some rides. We had used a couple of Magic Kingdom manuals (if you are going to travel and need recommendations, let me know and I will send you titles and authors) to guide us which really helped us have a good day. We knew which rides were kid-friendly, which our kids would be interested in (Madeline loves rollercoasters, Charlotte likes things that spin) and what the 'peak' times were for most so we could avoid crowds as much as possible. We used the FastPasses, too, which are a WONDERFUL idea. We made most all of the 'to do' list, which was no small achievement. Here are some of the highlights of our very LONG and HOT (90 degrees F) day:
Mama Squirrel and her three Nuts.....
HOT TIP: If you have naturally kinky, curly hair and are traveling to the Magic Kingdom, do NOT start your day on Splash Mountain, even if the line is short. You will end up looking like a freak show and you may scare children.
Ice Cream for lunch? Only at DisneyWorld!
Being able to see the castle spires from everywhere in the park makes it easier to navagate.
While Mom and Dad went to ride the "Haunted Mansion" (not a family-friendly ride, very scary) and Matt went to get something to drink, I sat with the kids by the Monsters, Inc. show and in the 10 minutes he was gone these two fell asleep in my arms. We had been using a stroller but they couldn't get comfortable enough or get away from the chaos of the walkway enough to relax. I sat like this for a full hour, while Matt took Madeline on the PeopleMover ride and Mom & Dad went to get lunch. After an hour, not only was I bored out of my mind but hungry and I couldn't feel my legs after sitting on concrete and not moving. But I was thrilled at they were able to rest because that meant they'd have a better chance at maintaining a good attitude through the evening. Elliott especially, who sometimes gets overstimulated easily and doesn't do well in large crowds.
Stroller rental is quite expensive ($31.00) but worth every penny as a way to carry bags/lunches/merchandise and to cart slow-moving and tired kids around, especially as the day wears on and everyone is tired. My advice is to get a double stroller, even for just one child. Stroller parking is provided near every ride. Make yours easy to find by tying a balloon or a brightly colored bandana to it.
Tinker Belle's Nook is a good way to meet the fairies in person. This is 'Vidia', Madeline's favorite.
And no fairy visit is complete without Tinkerbell! (Charlotte's favorite)
There are LOTS of parades in the Magic Kingdom throughout the day. I felt awful that we missed the 3:00 Princess Parade, but this one was really cool, about 5:00pm. And the kids finally got to see Mickey Mouse!
Chip, Dale, and Minnie Mouse
Mr. Incredible (Elliott really got excited when he saw him!)
Donald Duck
Woody and Jessee
(Elliott was so cute screaming "Woo-dee! Woo-dee!" and the girls were jumping and dancing to the music and totally lost in the moment. It was so fun to watch!)
... and Balloo!
By now it was getting to be dinnertime, so we wound down with something to eat and rode a few more rides....
Then caught the 7:40 performance at the Castle by the Disney princesses, dancing to music Charlotte knows by heart. Her smile was so huge. She was really in her happy place.
After the dancing, Peter Pan came by to thwart Captain Hook's evil plan...
Maddie was totally into the storyline and forgot she was standing in a crowd of hundreds of people. (I wish she had this kind of laser-like intensity with school work!)
Then, at the end, Maleficient appeared in a cloud of smoke to try to take away all of the dreams of all of the children in Wonderland, but good prevailed and, with the voices of all of the children in the audience, they banished Maleficient from the Magic Kingdom and sent her packing, but not without some impressive pyrotechnics.....
Aren't they cute?
My parents, married 40 years this next year.... :o)
After the sun set, the castle turns different colors. Charlotte came unglued with excitement when she looked up and the castle was PINK!
The castle at night is totally breathtaking.
Then, at 9:15pm came the start of the Electric Parade. This is a definitely DO NOT MISS. It is by far the coolest, most unique parade we've ever seen. Best viewed in Liberty Square, and get there early! People were lining up at 7:00pm for good seats, which we just lucked into at the last second.
Disney's Electrial Parade steam engine
Cinderella in her glowing pumpkin coach
Wonderful wild delights: butterflies, mushrooms and spinning snails
Peter Pan and Captain Hook
Tinkerbell (on top of the hot air balloon, but I couldn't capture her on film..... so elusive! :o)
Pete and his magic dragon, Elliott
Pinnochio
One of the biggest highlights from the parade was when Alice (from Alice in Wonderland) looked directly at Madeline and blew her a kiss, and when Tinkerbell looked right at Charlotte and waved to her. It didn't take any words, but just one look at their faces at that moment to know that it was a big moment for each of them. Elliott was up a full hour and a half past his bedtime but still awake and alive and waving to each and every person that walked by with a rather British sounding "Helloooo!" that I have no idea where he picked up. That little boy makes me laugh. He so thoroughly enjoyed this day.
The parade lasted about 30 minutes, and then everyone (us included) rushed up to the castle for a lights display and fireworks. By now the kids were exhausted, and although they all enjoyed the lights display (seriously wonderful, a MUST SEE, and unlike anything you'll see ever again) they were all fast asleep in the 10 minute intermission before the fireworks began. So we fought our way out of the massive crowds (picture thousands of people packed into a tiny little space, in the dark; kind of scary for kids and intimidating for even the adults. Be prepared.) and enjoyed the fireworks as we slowly walked toward the exit and to the monorail trains that shuttled visitors to and from the parking lots. As it turned out, and perfectly planned, we viewed the grand finale from the tops of the trees as the monorail pulled out of the station and began our journey back to the van.
We were home at midnight: sweaty, stinky, exhausted, and totally satisfied.
Thank you, Disney, for delivering the perfect day. It was everything we hoped it would be.
Then today we passed the time relaxing again, after sleeping in later than usual.
Charlotte tries to be a 'Duck Mommy' to every "lost" duck we see here.
We're ready for another FUN day tomorrow: Disney's Animal Kingdom!
Goodness! I wouldn't have made it past 8 pm with a fun-filled day like that. I know I say it all the time but I must reiterate how amazing you and Matt are. You guys get the star for coolest parents - ever! I know the kids will remember this for years to come. Disney is just sorta magical like that ;)
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