We made it to the Magic Kingdom with a few minutes to spare before the opening ceremony. I won't lie: I found it a little emotional, finally being there after almost three months of living down here and scrounging for my Disney fixes. The kids were very excited!
We headed into Adventureland first, with Jungle Cruise being our first stop. We were in line before 9am, so it was nice to see that they still open the park a little early. Of course, when I say 'in line' I mean walking straight onto the ride.
After we got off Jungle Cruise, we stopped and picked our Fastpasses for the day. We tried to do the Magic Carpets next, but they were having some technical issues, so it was off to Pirates of the Caribbean. Kristine didn't remember ever riding it before, so I'm glad she got the chance! She hadn't been to Disney since she was maybe 15 years old. After Pirates, Kristine took the boys on Splash and Thunder while the littles and I rode the train around the park.
A late breakfast was next, which of course meant Nutella waffles at Sleepy Hollow. Mmmm. Then we rode the Haunted Mansion, then started on Fantasyland. It's a Small World was first, then the Carousel (skipping Peter Pan to ride with our Fastpasses in the evening). I convinced Lachlann to ride a horse, and Niall photobombed him. Of course.
Teacups were next, and Colwyn and Lachlann were thrilled to be able to ride in their own teacup. I guess they think they can go faster if it's just them. Kristine and I had a lovely tea party with the littles.
So far, we hadn't waited more than 10 minutes for any ride, and that was only for It's a Small World (oddly enough) - everything else was a 5 minute or less wait. Dumbo was pretty much the same - we could have bypassed the play area, but we let the kids run and climb for ten minutes or so before riding.
After riding the Barnstormer, we had a late lunch at Cosmic Ray's, then headed into Tomorrowland. We easily knocked out Buzz Lightyear, the Carousel of Progress, and the Peoplemover. The line for Space Mountain was a little long, so we headed back to Enchanted Tales with Belle, then Peter Pan.
By then, Doug had gotten out of work and picked up his annual pass, so we met up with him just outside of Tomorrowland. I opted to hold a spot for us on the bridge, right up against the railing so the kids would have an unimpeded view of the Castle projection show and fireworks. While I hung around, Kristine and Doug took the kids on Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear.
The fireworks were awesome, and I'm so glad I got us a good spot. I don't think the kids had ever had such a good view of the show on the castle before the fireworks, and Tinkerbell flew right over our heads! Niall was especially entranced with her! Of course, after the fireworks when I took Fiona for a bathroom break, she whispered to me, "Mommy, when we were eating lunch, I saw a rope that went out of the castle, and I think that's what Tinkerbell rode on. Like a zip line!" She's growing up. :(
The park was open for another hour after the fireworks, so instead of battling the crowds, Doug took the boys on Space Mountain again and Kristine and I took the littles on the Speedway. Kristine said Fiona had fun, and I'm sure she did, but Niall really had a blast. He laughed his head off at his crazy driving.
We were there for about 13.5 hours, and I did pretty good until the last half hour. Even though we brought a stroller to carry our lunch bag, the littles didn't ride in it until the last half hour as well. Kristine held up really well, but definitely gained a new appreciation of the fact that we did that for 14 days on each of our last two vacations. Whew!
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