MAGIC KINGDOM: Day 2

MAGIC KINGDOM


We all woke up bright and early and ate a small bite in our room. I knew my parents were on their way over to the resort, as my Mom had really wanted to surprise the kids before we left for the park. The plan was that she was going to show up at 8:00 am, surprise the kids and then spend the rest of the day enjoying the resort pool while we went to Magic Kingdom. Then in the afternoon, she and dad would take the kids so that my husband and I could go out for a romantic dinner together.

We got dressed and packed our backpacks for the day at the park and then I headed to the food court for some coffee. By 9:00 am, my parents still had not arrived and I was starting to worry. I finally called their cell and found out that they had arrived and were checking in, thank-goodness! I was nervous we were going to miss my our first Fastpass of the day for the Seven Dwarf Mine Train so I was really anxious to get going.

My parents came up to the room, knocked, and the kids opened the door. The look on their faces was priceless. First confusion, then surprise, then excitement. We greeted them quickly and then explained that we had to be on our way if we wanted to make it to the park on time. My mom and dad then announced that they had decided to join us at the park today.

This complicated matters a bit, since they still had not unpacked their groceries, they had not yet picked up their scooter rental and they had no park tickets yet. If we waited for them to get all this done we would surely not make it to our Fastpass and we might even not make it to our reservation at Crystal Palace, which brought up another issue. We had a reservation for four people not six, so I would have had to try to add two people to the reservation.

As a solution, I suggested that instead of waiting here with them to get organized, they could make their own way to the park at little later when ready and we'd meet up there, but my parents finally decided that they would just stick to the original plan and do the pool day. Honestly, I felt a little guilty about leaving for Magic Kingdom without them, but if they had told me earlier or had arrived on time, we could have made it happen. I did get them a spare key to my room so they could change and relax there when not at the pool since their room was not ready yet.

We got to Magic Kingdom fairly quickly,  It was a beautiful sunny day and you could tell the cooler morning temperature were not going to last very long. It was going to be a hot one today! At least, my parents were going to enjoy their pool day. With only 15 minutes left to our Fastpass, we headed straight for the Seven Dwarves Mine Train. We did, however, make a few stops for some pictures in front of the Castle. My oldest son got a camera for his birthday, so he was enjoying playing photographer.

Picture taken by my oldest. Quite the photographer for a nine year old!
We actually made it to the Seven Dwarves Mine Train with only 2 min. to spare on our FP time. I could not believe it! The wait was 85 minutes long so I was so glad that we had a Fastpass. As we got into the cart I was a little nervous. I am not the biggest roller coaster fan. I am not only a little bit of a chicken when it comes to thrill rides, but I also suffer from motion sickness depending on the ride but this ride was AWSOME! It was not too scary, really fun and really, really well done. I loved the part in the mine with the Seven Dwarves. It was just all so cute!

We are in the middle cart.
Told you I was chicken! Check out my youngest son's face. Priceless!

We then headed straight to Crystal Palace for our 10:30 reservation. We love breakfast at Crystal Palace. It has become somewhat of a tradition to start all our Disney trips with a visit to Crystal Palace. We first brought the boys there when my youngest was only 8 months old and my was 4.

Our waiter quickly greeted us and took our drink order. He also told us that the chef would come out to speak to us about our food allergies. My oldest has a nut allergy, my youngest is lactose intolerant and I am allergic to anise and cold cuts. The chef was really nice and went through the buffet offerings telling us what we could or could not eat. He also offered to make my kids their own nut/dairy free Mickey waffles which they gladly accepted. The food was very good as usual and the character interaction was great too.





 After filling our bellies full of waffles, puffed french toast, eggs, bacon, fruit, coffee and juice. We made our way towards AdventureLand because our next Fastpass was for Pirates of the Carribean.


We were a little too early for our FP, so we had some time to kill and Captain Jack Sparrow was about to make his appearance on the stage right in front of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. So we found a spot to watch the show. To my youngest's great surprise, he was picked to participate in the pirate training with Jack Sparrow. Because he had his two front teeth missing, Jack said that he already looked like a pirate. He was so happy! He even got to participate in a sword fight which is always fun for a little boy. After the show, he received a pirate scroll inaugurating him into the Pirate League. It was definitely an experience to remember.





It was now time to use our FP  for Pirate of the Caribbean. The boys love this ride because of all the Pirates and Canons. Who am I kidding, I love it too! On our way out we explored the pirate gift shop which has tons of cool pirate weapons and accessories.

Our little pirate.

We then walked back towards Magic Carpet Ride that we had passed earlier because the boys were adamant about doing that next. As soon as we got there, the boys started complaining about being hot and thirsty. Since we were right next to the Aloha Isle, I decided to get the boys a Dole Whip each (no fighting) and a Dole Whip float for my husband and I. Now if you have never had a Dole Whip, it is something that you need to try. It is a kind of soft serve ice cream but with no ice cream in it. Instead it is made with Dole Pineapple juice. It is light, refreshing and creamy all at the same time and it is one of my families favourite snacks of all time!

Mmmm, Dole Whip!
Another picture taken by my lil' photographer boy.

Now we were ready for the Magic Carpet Ride. It was only a 20 min. wait and it was well worth it. The kids love the spitting lama and had lots of fun avoiding its spray.




We decided to go visit the Swiss Family Treehouse next. The kids actually enjoyed exploring the huge treehouse with its pulley systems and secret innovations. Plus it was nice to get out of the sun and into the tree's shade for a while.



We had some time to kill before our next FP for Splash Mountain so we headed into FrontierLand where we got to shoot up some targets at the Shooting range and then went to see a cute little show with signing bears called Country Bear Jamboree. It was our first time viewing this show and the kids thought it was a riot.
County Bear Jamboree
It was finally time to use our last FP of the day: Splash Mountain. It was actually my first time doing this ride as the drop had always kind of scared me . I really don't like that feeling in the gut when dropping, but my boys really wanted me to try it so I suck it up and went for it. I was debating wearing a poncho to not get wet but finally decided that a little water would cool me off in this hot afternoon sun.

The ride is quite pleasant with a cute storyline and I was enjoying myself until that dreaded drop. I was sitting in the first row with my youngest and as the log took the drop a huge wave of water landed on me and soaked me down to my underwear. Great! I grabbed my camping towel that I had packed in my backpack and soak up as much water from my clothes as I could but I needed to air dry for a while.


After that we had a FP for  Big Thunder Mountain. I had reached my quota of thrill rides for the day so I decided to skip this one and sent the boys with my husband while I found the closest bathroom. I had to try and soak up as much water from my soaking clothes as I could. We met up at the ride's exit and the boys told me all about the ride and what I had missed.

Of course after all the excitement my boys were hungry again. I found a food cart and checked what my oldest could eat that was nut free. Luckily, he was able to have a churro which he absolutely loved. My youngest really wanted a pretzel but I think it was the shape of the pretzel that he wanted not the actual pretzel itself. Mickey shaped food is always seems like a good idea but it wasn't this time because after a few bites he gave the pretzel to his dad. I don't think he liked it very much and after tasting it myself had to agree that the pretzel was kind of gross. Since my husband had also gotten himself a churro, he swapped his half eaten churro for the pretzel. 

Mickey Pretzel
I knew that we could add a FP after using up the three allocated so we found a FP kiosk and were able to add The Barnstromer. Another roller coaster, yay! We made our way to Story Book Circus and all rode this kiddie ride. Ironically this small roller coaster seems to make me more sick that the Seven Dwarves Mine Train. I think it is because the turns are more jarring. Anyhow, the kids had fun!

After this we decided to go on Dumbo the Flying Elephant since there was no lineups. We walked right on in.

Brotherly love!

Having too much fun on Dumbo
After a quick bathroom stop, we let the kids play in the Splash Area in front of Dumbo. We knew we were going to head home after this so I let the kids play in their clothes. I removed their shoes and they ran around playing in the water. 






 So instead of walking back to the front of the park, we grabbed the train from there. It was a fun little ride and it brought it right to the front gate were we exited. We hopped on a bus back to our resort and got to our room around 5:00 pm.

Our train ride back to the front of the park.


Once in our room, we knocked on my parent's door. They were lying there watching TV. I asked about their day and they said it was a great day to be at the pool. I felt better knowing that at east they had fun. They had eaten at the food court, swam, relaxed, and taken a nap. While they got ready for a night out with the kids, we got the kids changed into some long pants. for the cooler evening temperatures.

My dad still had not picked up his scooter so I went to bell service with him to retrieve it. We also asked if he could take it onto the boat to Downtown Disney and they assured us that it was no problem. It took him no time at all to get the hang of it and he was as happy as a clam riding his new vehicle.

Dad on his scooter!

My parents left for Disney Springs with the kids, while we hopped into the shower to get ready for our romantic dinner. I found out the next day, that Mom had brought the kids to T-Rex Restaurant for dinner as per Kheo's request. My parents said that the food was very good and the kids had a blast. But half way through the meal, the little one fell asleep and my Dad had to carry him back to the boat on his scooter so they had to end the night there. LOL

An evening with Grand-ma
On the boat towards Disney Springs

T-Rex restaurant

Having fun with Grand-pa

After getting changed into some nice clothes, we headed to the boat dock where we caught the boat to Disney Springs. The sun was setting and it made for a very romantic boat ride there.
waiting for the boat

Disney Springs

Romantic sun set!
We ended up trying the new Boathouse Restaurant in Disney Springs since my husband and I love seafood. The restaurant was packed but they found us a spot within 5 min. The restaurant was really beautifully decorated and the service was great but the prices were ridiculous for the portion size served.
The Boathouse

We started with drinks. I had a signature drink which I can'tt remember the name of.  It was good but it had more ice than drink and was not cheep. My husband ordered his usual drink of choice: a gin and tonic. As for food I decided on the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake $24 and my husband, the New England Lobster Roll for $29. When my plate came, it had only one crab cake the size of a burger patty and a small bowl of flavourless coleslaw. The crab cake was well flavoured but its size was a little pathetic especially since it was advertised as a main and not as an appetizer. The Lobster roll was exactly what you would expect at any lobster shake in Maine: big chunks of lobster mixed with mayo and celery in a grilled hot dog bun. Honestly, I found the size of the lobster roll was pitiful and that they could have at least made an effort to make it a little more special, especially since were were in such a fancy restaurant. They could have served it on a fancier roll or maybe added some flavour boost. Anyhow, my husband seemed to enjoy it regardless. It was supposed to be served with fries but my husband chose to swap it out for a garden salad. The salad was pretty flavourless too.

My Crab cake

My husband's teeny tiny little lobster roll
 In the end, we still enjoyed our meal because we were determined to have a good time but we felt it was not worth the high price tag and will not be returning again. The only thing pretty about this restaurant was the decor because the bill was definitely not pretty! With the exchange, this meal cost us $200 CAD. Ouch!

We decided to skip dessert here for obvious reasons and we went to check out the new Indiana Jones themed Hanger Bar. It was pretty packed in there and the decor left me unfazed so we decided that we would go shopping instead. The downtown area has really grown since our last visit with so many more stores and restaurants lining the streets. It was fun to see all the different merchandise sold and we ended up buying a few gifts to bring back for my sister and nephew.

We stopped for dessert at Ghirardelli's Ice Cream shop  before heading back home. I ordered a Sea Salt Caramel Sundae to share with my hubby. It was very good but my only criticism was that there was no sea salt caramel flavour present except for the caramel drizzle on top. It just tasted like a regular chocolate fudge sundae to me. Well a really good sundae with good quality vanilla ice cream covered with Ghirardelli's famous hot chocolate fudge sauce. Yummmm!


Sea Salt Caramel Sundae

After that, we were pretty tired and decided to head back to the resort. We hopped on the boat and 25 min. later we were back in our room. We knocked on Mom's door and found the kids sleeping in so we left the kid's there and and called it a night. It was not that late but we were so tired from our big day at Magic Kingdom that we just could not stay up any longer, kids or no kids! LOL

Up Next, Day 3: Epcot

Read about the rest of my trip:



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