Our Disney Trip: Magic Kingdom

Since we spent six days at Disney, I've decided to break up my posts by park and not by day. I'm pretty sure six different posts (loaded with pictures, mind you) would run off the few readers I still have. :) You can thank me later.

We spent two days at MAGIC KINGDOM. Or as Phoebe called it, "Belle's Castle." I forgot to mention one of my favorite stories from our flight to Orlando. When the pilot came on the speaker and announced that we would be landing in Orland shortly, Phoebe burst out into a spontaneous (and rather loud) song "We're Going To Belle's Castle!" The words were very original. "We're going to Belle's Castle! We're going to Belle's Castle. We're gooooiiinnng to Beeelllleee's Caaaaastlllle!" It made my heart happy. So from now on, I will always believe that the castle at Magic Kingdom is Belle's...no matter what Cinderella says!

November is the perfect time to go to Disney! The weather was perfect. Mid-70's. Sunny. No rain. The crowds were low because everyone waits until the holidays to go. If at all possible, I would go back again at this time. I know we took Eli out of school for a week, but we made up all his work beforehand and I made him journal every day that we were there. I think that time spent with family is just as important in growing a child's mind as school and he's only in first grade and November is when Brad's conference was that convinced him that we all should go. It just worked out!

Our very first ride at Disney was the Dumbo ride. I took this picture while waiting in line (which wasn't very long due to the low crowds).



I learned two things on the Dumbo ride. Phoebe is scared of e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. and I still get a little anxious on any ride that's up in the air and spinning around...even one as tame as Dumbo.

Let's talk a little more about the things Phoebe was scared of. She was scared of anything new or anything loud or anything in a boat or anything in a tunnel or anything dark. It was an aspect of Phoebe' personality that we hadn't seen yet.

Thank goodness for this Dumbo! It gave us a chance to get a good picture for Nena of her favorite ride.



And I promise not to document every single ride as I did this one. It was our first one and made quite an impression.



We finally did find something that Phoebe loved, though.



This was our first "princess sighting" and Phoebe was just about to burst from anticipation. She hid her face in my shoulder while we waited in line because she wanted to be surprised when she saw Ariel's dress. (By the way, Dad, this is Ariel.)



Disney does a great job of making each little girl feel like she's the most very special one.



If you're wondering why I have so many more pictures of Phoebe than of Eli at this point in our trip, it's because all Eli wanted to do was ride the rides and it's kind of hard to ride the rides and take pictures at the same time.

Here's a picture of Eli on the scariest ride at Magic Kingdom...Eli driving a race car!! :)



Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride.





Phoebe met Pirate Goofy while Brad and Eli rode the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.



We did the whole kid swap on this one because it was one of my very favorite rides as a kid. Still cool even if the world has gotten so much more high-tech and we've lost so much innocence.

Eli enjoying his favorite Disney snack. A Mickey shaped ice cream sandwich. Yummy.



I would be remiss in my posting if I didn't mention our food at all. I didn't take a PICTURE OF ALL MY FOOD because, really, I had enough pictures, but it does deserve a mention, does it not? At Magic Kingdom, we had quick-service (like fast food) hamburgers and nuggets at Pecos Bill in Frontierland and fish and chips at Liberty something-or-other. I enjoyed the fish more than the burgers. Eli and I also ate the Mickey ice cream sandwiches and they were my favorite snack. We had taken a backpack with water, granola bars, peanut butter crackers, and our "secret sweet treat". It was the treat that gave us a little pick-me-up when we needed an attitude adjustment while missing naps. Snickers Minis. Probably not my most shining mom moment, but it sure made my trip go a little smoother.

No words needed.



These next two pictures weren't actually taken at Magic Kingdom, but at the Dino restaurant where we ate one night after leaving Magic Kingdom. It was like the Rainforest Cafe but with dinosaurs. This picture captures Phoebe's trip perfectly. The "meteor shower" had *just* started.



Can't leave the boys out.



The second day we spent at Magic Kingdom started with Phoebe and I heading off to ride Dumbo and the carousel while Brad and Eli went to ride Space Mountain and the Buzz Lightyear ride.



We also met Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters. Phoebe was worried they would be mean, but mostly they were a hoot! Just look at Drusella's face! She's the one in green.



I just *heart* this picture of Eli.



We all rode the teacups together and Phoebe loved them! Go figure.



While Eli and Brad rode some more rides, Phoebe and I toured Minnie's house. Here's her living room.



Minnie also had a sewing room!



And who knew that Minnie quilted?!



Her kitchen table all set for tea.



Phoebe's favorite part of her house was Minnie's fridge full of cheese. They are like two peas in a pod!




Then we all rode "It's A Small World" togther. I don't care if the song drives you crazy or you find it the most boring ride at Magic Kingdom or you have no idea why it's still there, it might have been one of my very favorite rides. Here's why.



Every turn elicited a squeal. Every sparkle a gasp. She was enchanted and so was I. Precious, precious moments. I would ride it a million times with her if it enchanted her on the last as much as it did on the first.



Meeting Tiana and Prince Naveen.



Don't let Eli fool you. By this time on our trip, he had come to love meeting the princesses almost as much as Phoebe!

Just a nice picture in a sleigh outside the Christmas store. Someday I'll really need this picture!



Just like this one of Brad and Eli in front of the pretend Liberty Bell while Brad was wearing his Phillies shirt. Seriously, there's something for everyone at Disney World!



Here's a picture for my dad. His favorite movie as a child was "Swiss Family Robinson" and this was on the Swiss Family Treehouse in Fantasyland.



Eli was defending it from the pirates with the sword he bought with his gift card.

These next two pictures were taken on Brad's phone because I was hanging out with Phoebe while they rode the "big" rides.

This was just before The Haunted Mansion ride. Eli had already chickened out once, but we convinced him to try again and he was "trying" to be brave and conquer his fear. (His words, not mine.)



From this picture, it looks like he wasn't doing too well. He finished and said it was "kinda fun"...but didn't request to ride it again.

Unlike this next ride...



...which they rode three times! (The above picture was staged.)

Another family picture. We didn't get too many with all four of us, but doesn't it just scream "Christmas Card"?



This might be another of my favorite photos.



Phoebe was only smiling so maniacally because I told her if she smiled for another picture then she could turn around and watch the musical show going on behind her. It did feature dancing princesses, after all.



And what's a trip to Disney World without fireworks?



The thing about going to Disney in November is that most of the parks have off-season hours and not every park does their normal fireworks show every night. However, they still do the fireworks a couple times a week so we just had to make sure we scheduled appropriately. The greatest thing is that because the park closes early and it gets dark early, the fireworks are early. Like 6 o'clock early. Which means we could still be in bed by 8:30! It was awesome!



I will admit that I don't like to take pictures of fireworks because they never, ever turn out the way you wanted them to and you've spent all your time trying to catch the perfect picture and missed all the spectacular beauty of the fireworks. I might have even gotten a little annoyed at Brad for taking so many firework pictures. But two of them turned out pretty darn perfect and I might even be a little bit glad he took all those pictures.

But don't tell him I said so!

It's just too bad that the pictures I tried to take of the castle dripping with Christmas lights didn't turn out so well. It was absolutely breath-taking and I can only hope that the impressive sight imprinted itself on my brain because seeing that was a once in a lifetime experience.


Coming up next: Hollywood Studios. And I promise there are more pictures of Eli in that bunch!