Day Four: Magic Kingdom

Well, we accomplished a lot at Epcot. And it was nothing compared to our day at Magic Kingdom. And I am not sad about it. It was a full day. 

We were all up and at 'em. Ate mini muffins and applesauce in the hotel room and then got in line for the bus. We didn't have to wait long and we were on our way. I attempted a new technique to not get stopped at security: I gave C the water bottle, M the sunscreen, I held my phone and bonus battery in front of me and so did Husband and... we didn't trigger the alarm! 

So it really is about distributing the metal so there's not too much in one backpack. I am pleased to know this tip and will continue to use it in future trips. So we got into MK and I teared up like I do when I walk down Main Street. There's just something about it. 

That first glimpse of the castle... it just gets me. We bopped over to the early entry area and waited with a large crowd. Again, our plan was WILDLY different than most based on our own hopes and dreams of Magic Kingdom. 

While we were waiting I took a pic at Mirabel's new spot. This was the only thing I wanted to accomplish at MK so I was thrilled to spot it. Mirabel was going to come at 9:00. 

At 8:30 with early entry... we went to Dumbo. An unconventional choice but we were the first ride of the day and that was fun! It's M's favorite. And a classic so who can blame her? 

Then we went to Little Mermaid while that was still a walk on. C and M marveled over all the people who were in line for Seven Dwarves Mine Train just waiting. It was like a wait time of over an hour at the get go of the day. Aren't we all glad that we are not the cast member holding the lollipop that says "End of Line wait time 90 minutes" or whatever? That's got to be a thankless job. 

After that we went to meet Mirabel. Was I disappointed we were not first in line? Yes, I was. Were we in the first of the groups that was allowed in? Yes. Yes, we were. 

We made these shirts for our last trip but M and I updated them for this trip. They're from Encanto and say "My Family's Amazing, and I'm in my family so..." And Mirabel noticed them right away and it made the character interaction so great! 

So then we went to get a Gaston cinnamon roll and a LeFou's Brew because they came highly recommended by our friends we saw on Tuesday. 

I'm going to be honest, I could give or take a cinnamon roll on a good day and on a Disney day when I just wanted to do more things I personally felt it was a waste of time, but the kids really liked it and obviously we were on this trip for everyone not just what I wanted. Plus, Hangry M is no fun to be around. 

But then we went to ride Seven Dwarves Mine Train. 

M screamed the entire time. Even when it wasn't scary. And then got off and asked when we could go again. She keeps me on my toes that kid. 

So now I get to the portion of the day where I will not have a picture for everything we did in the essence of time: it's a small world, Mickey's Philharmagic, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Main Street USA to get a spot for the parade and a snacky lunch at Casey's Corner while we waited for the parade to make it to Main Street. This worked so well!! I am glad we did this! The kids might look grumpy, but they weren't! 

After the parade ended we booked it over to Tomorrowland! Where we did everything we wanted to do. Buzz Lightyear, People Mover, Carousel of Progress, Tomorrowland Speedway

M LOVED driving the car. She was however terrible at it. We let her get a driver's license after. $7 well spent! Then we hit Monster's Inc Laugh Floor just in time for a show to start with no wait! Nice! 

We did not attempt Tron, had promised M there would be no Space Mountain though I did offer to take C just the two of us, but he declined. Weirdly, he's never been on it and I don't know why he thinks that would be super scary or something. I know he'd love it. We also skipped Astro Orbiter. Because we did that in 2022 and the combination of the height and the angle you sit in makes it a little intense. And Husband has put it in the "never again" ride list. (Like the teacups for me.) :) 

With Tomorrowland as conquered as it was going to be we bopped back over to Adventureland for Aladdin's Flying Carpets, Dole Whip snack, then through the tunnel to Frontierland for Country Bear Jamboree. And it is interesting to note it was PACKED. Like so so crowded. The cast member said it was the biggest group she had ever had in there. 

Then we went to check out the construction of Tiana's Bayou Adventure. C was interested. 

We had an early dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern that we all really very much enjoyed. And now I only have one table service restaurant I haven't been to at MK. 

After dinner, we rode the carousel. Husband and I got the bench and we loved that experience! We were full from dinner and didn't feel much like going around and up and down. 

Then we rode the Barnstormer. Our plan was to take the train over to Frontierland but we missed the last one of the evening much to C's disappointment. (It was my fault... I said we should look at the Big Top souvenir place.) So we hiked to Jungle Cruise and then immediately walked into Tiki Room which had never happened to us before. We've always had to sit through the preshow at the waterfall. Then we went to Peter Pan. 

We watched the Fireworks from Fantasyland. So there were no projections or barely any, but also no crowd and I was a happy mom! While we watched fireworks we got the notification that school was canceled the next day. 

Then we rode Pooh and made our way out. Stopping for castle pics, shopping at the emporium, and calling my mom from a well-lit Main Street. 

We left at about 9:00 pm so it was a full 12.5 day in Magic Kingdom and we accomplished a heck of a lot. The train and Hall of Presidents being the things we wished we had snuck in but we missed the train and I couldn't convince the kids Hall of Presidents was worth it. Just so we're clear, I was texting Husband our itinerary throughout the days so I could reference it later to recap. You're so welcome. 

Now the fun didn't end. (Well... the next bit wasn't fun exactly.) After we had the kids showered and asleep I realized we hadn't heard about what time our transportation from the resort to the cruise was. I fired off some emails and texts to my travel agent but it was 11:00 pm so I wasn't hopeful I'd hear. I called the main dispatch and the front desk and they told me to call the cruise line and they opened at 8:00. 

So after determining I wouldn't be able to sleep until I had figured it out, I walked to the front desk in the misty rain. (Which was only annoying because I had just showered and dried my hair.) The absolute best front desk person named Caitlyn helped me for over 30 minutes. She got everything straightened out, made sure bell services would come to get our bags on time, and she calmed me down. Because let me tell you, I was exhausted and mostly just panicked we would miss the ship! Even though we had paid for transportation!

Caitlyn was for sure the hero of the story that day in the middle of the night. Because it was like 12:15 AM. And she was upbeat but not annoyingly so and so confident that everything was going to be fine. I absolutely went and talked to her manager in the morning AND filled out a comment card AND mentioned her in my post-stay survey. 

I finally went to sleep about 1:00 AM and that was the conclusion of our Magic Kingdom Day!