A Magical Day at the Magic Kingdom

On the Monday of our vacation to Florida we had planned to go to the Magic Kingdom.  We were all really excited including Hannah and Owen.  Mommy and Daddy stayed up late making sure all the items we needed were packed in the diaper backpack and that we had a plan of attack for conquering the park with Hannah and Owen plus their 1 1/2 year old cousin Wesley.  Yes, we were brave to attempt Magic Kingdom with 3 kids ages 2 and under.  The weather was great which made for a beautiful day.  It was cloudy and cool in the morning, but the sun came out and it warmed up but was pleasant and not too hot.  Words can't describe how wonderful our day at the Magic Kingdom was.  I had no expectations for our day and so it was full of fantastic fun.  Hannah and Owen loved every minute of it so much more than I thought they would.  Hannah was mesmerized by everything she saw, every character, and every ride she went on.  That is one fabulous thing about the Magic Kingdom...Hannah and Owen rode so many rides and we could get on with them so it truly was a day of family fun together.  I am so glad we made the trip to Magic Kingdom with Hannah and Owen at the age of 2 because it was all so exciting and eye opening for them as they've never experienced anything like it.  I know they won't truly remember much, but that means next time it will feel new for them all over again!  They might not remember it in the years to come, but Chris and I will remember it always I hope.

Ready to Go:

Aunt Vic and Wesley pop in to say they're ready to go and to get the first pictures of the day of course!

Hannah, Wesley, and Owen are decked out and ready to go in their matching Mickey and Minnie shirts...aren't they soooo cute!

Our plan of attack started with riding the ferry from the parking lot to the Magic Kingdom instead of riding the monorail.  Hannah and Owen were able to stay in their strollers, but I will say we had a fussy start to the day as both were still feeling a little under the weather from their ear infections and sinus infections that occurred the week before we left.

 Our whole group walking towards the tram in the parking lot that would take us to the ferry.

The Magic Kingdom Ferry

 Our day begins:

Owen is ready to head into the park...we had a slight delay to get our tickets squared away upon arrival to the Magic Kingdom gates.

 We're here...what a sight to be greeted with!  

Hannah says this is where the princesses live.

Aunt Vic, Wesley, and Uncle Troy have a good time too!

Ready to find some rides:  

After much walking and stroller riding a fussy Hannah and Owen were ready to get their day started with some rides.  We headed to the new Fantasyland to see what we could find.

 Hannah and Owen waited so patiently in each line for their turn to get on.  They did well waiting through 2 rides but would get antsy if it took longer than that.  Thankfully May is a great time to go and we had short waits (our limit was 20 minutes).

 Nana and Grandma pair up for our first ride...Flying Dumbo

 Sheer joy!

 Hannah was so excited that she could ride Goofy's Barnstormer, a roller coaster in the new Fantasyland.  She is still too short for the one at Bush Gardens and she has been dying to get on a roller coaster. 

We all LOVED this ride...just look at us!  Yes, that's Granddad and Papa squeezed into the car behind us.  We heard Hannah's giggling and laughing throughout the entire ride...it was priceless!

 We checked out the carousel.

And the cars in Tomorrowland too!

They were excited to see Pooh and Tigger walking through the park and Hannah loved Pooh's honeypot ride.  Owen tolerated the rides and watched what was going on, but from the comfort of being snuggled close to whomever he was riding with.  He never said he didn't want to ride or refused to get on, but he didn't like them as much as Hannah did...maybe next time.

 Hannah was mesmerized by Ariel's underwater adventure.  She watched in amazement at all the fish and creatures around her.  She waved at Ariel and the Prince who were "waving" at the end of the ride.

We take a break for lunch and...naps!  I was thrilled that Hannah and Owen took naps so easily at the park...it was my dream come true.  Hannah would actually ask to go to sleep and within minutes of laying back with her lovey, Freckles, she would be out.  On this day they slept at good 2 hours or more.  Mommy and Daddy enjoyed some rides (Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain) while they slept.

 How sweet are they?!

 Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade:
I had a few must do things on my list for the Magic Kingdom and the parade was one of them.  Hannah and Owen love having parades down the hallway and do so each day so I knew they would love this parade.  Plus it was a good way for them to see all the characters without having to stand in line (remember they've been looking for Mickey since we left Virginia).  They LOVED the parade as much as the rides.  Hannah wanted high fives from every character and waved and waved until her arm must have been tired.  She would have watched it over again if that had been an option.

 Waiting for the parade to start.  Daddy found us a good spot and set up camp while Hannah and Owen finished their nap.  We actually had to wake Owen up so he didn't miss the parade.

 Owen doesn't want to miss anything, but doesn't like to be too close the characters in costume.  You can see him leaning in for a better look.  

 Hannah says hello to Jessie from Toy Story...you can see she liked being front and center.

 Owen watches the parade from the safety of Daddy's arms.

 Finally we see Mickey and Minnie!

 Hannah loved waving to all the princesses.  Even now when we read a book with one of the princesses in it she will say, "did we wave to her?"

Cooling off in the splash area of new Fantasyland:

 Aunt Vic, Wesley, and Hannah have a splashing good time running through the sprinklers and having the animals drop and shoot water at them.

Owen wasn't too crazy about the random water squirting at him and preferred to watch from the sidelines as Hannah ran back and forth until she was soaked and happy as could be!

Daddy and Owen went off to do a little shopping.  Daddy picked out a Mickey coffee mug for Mommy and Owen picked out Goofy Jellybeans!

 This face says it all and shows what a great day we had!

Headed home after a fun filled day:

 Hannah and Owen's last ride of the day was the monorail.  This is the only way we could convince them to leave without a meltdown.  Hannah thought it was pretty cool, but Owen did not like it.  He snuggled up with me like he did on the rides and he kept saying, "Owie not like monorail."