I *heart* Magic Kingdom

Today, we went to Magic Kingdom…and it was magic. We walked in through the train station and onto Main Street. Maya saw Donald and Daisy and it was instant love!





Then the mini-parade, I think they called it a dance party came through. Music, characters, dancing…..and……Cinderella’s Castle. Wooooo-hooooo! Now this is magic! Maya picked out a Mickey balloon - one of those that are a clear bubble with a color Mickey inside. She’d seen some at Epcot, but we asked and they only sell them at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood.




By the time we walked down Main Street and got to Cinderella’s Castle, the show had started. Maya sat on my shoulders for a great view - Mickey, Minnie, princesses, Peter Pan, Captain Hook (for some unknown reason, Maya really likes Captain Hook ???).




Then we headed to Frontierland for, drum roll please, taaaaaaa daaaaaaaaa, Princess Tiana!!!! After waiting in line for over ½ hour, Maya decided she didn’t want to see Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen (I think that may be what scared her). So Mommy had a nice little chat with Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen then picked up Maya and she at least got in for a picture. Then we headed to Colonial House for lunch. Maya ate Wayne’s fish (little monkey!) and I had a great salad. Wayne ended up eating odds and ends. He’s so happy with the receipts from our meals. Since we’re on the Meal Plan, it lists all our food with zeroes. He just loves looking at those zeroes, hehehe.




Then we headed for Fantasyland - preschoolers heaven. Maya saw the Carousel and went wild. Yup, wild. The balloon wasn’t allowed on the Carousel, so I held the balloon while Daddy and Maya went round and round. BIG hit for Maya!



Then we went on the Dumbo ride (Daddy’s turn to hold the balloon). I don’t know if I’ve ever been on the Dumbo ride. It was fun! A very smooth ride - windy day - wind in our faces - cute elephants - cute little kids - fun!




I have no idea what was going on here, but they sure are cute pictures, aren't they?





Then Wayne wanted to go to It’s A Small World. Maya wanted nothing to do with it. We had a little talk about how since Maya has no brothers or sisters, Mommy and Daddy have to make sure Maya learns to share and take turns. She just started screaming, so much for logic. So we let her stew, I mean think about it for awhile, but we decided not to give in, she has to learn that she has to do what other people want sometimes. Finally we convinced her. Wayne went to tie the balloon to the stroller and Maya and I took off for It’s A Small World. We started getting close and she could see a little of it and hear the music. “Mommy, mommy!” She was so excited, “Can we go on that?” That’s our bug, she didn’t even know where Wayne wanted to go, she just didn’t want to do it, on principal. Sheesh!. She loved the ride, wanting to do it again.

Check out the attitude! this is Maya reluctantly going to see Small World, hehehe.




Time for the parade! We love the park parades! We found a spot on the route and settled in.



Wayne went and got a popcorn for snack (a bit of which ended up fed to the egrets). You know how we have pigeons or seagulls all over begging? At MK they have egrets. Just before the parade, Maya said she had to go to the bathroom. Awwwww! She and I headed off. But she caught sight of the parade and snap, no more needing to go to the bathroom. It was too late by then to cross back across the street, so we watched it on one side and Wayne watched it on the other. Maya loved the parade. Every time she saw a new character she would shout and point, “there’s Ariel, there’s Pinocchio, there’s Goofty, etc” She loved it and I loved watching her.





After the parade we headed back to Main Street and the boat launch. We took the boat to Wilderness Lodge. Maya was a little nervous about the boat but I told her to watch for mermaids. Then we started saying funny things, like watch for a penguin. Then she was okay and ended up loving the ride. Wilderness Lodge - what a cool place. There were ducks in the swimming pool. Maya thought that was so funny! The lobby is very impressive - 4 or 5 stories high, with huge wood beams and poles. Totem poles. A geyser! Everything there is huge. We had 5:40 dinner reservations and got to the restaurant about then, maybe a few minutes early. They gave us a beeper, huh? The restaurant was almost empty….. We had reservations…. Whatever…. Luckily there was another couple with a four year old waiting with us. We talked to them, I had my Paris bag and the woman asked if I’d been there. Maya and Grace Lee played while we talked and it help pass the time. But then they were called in and the waiting was not so fun. Maya started getting restless, it was six o’clock now. We had reservations, we were on time, the restaurant was empty, what was up with making us wait so long???? I went and asked the hostess. She said what was your name, did we have a reservation? Hello, we were the only ones still waiting….Wayne had gone through all this with her…. So I said, yes we did, TWENTY minutes ago. She said, oh, it’ll be a few more minutes were waiting for the staff to be ready. Huh???? So we tried to be patient. Some guy came up with menus and crayons and called out someone else’s name. The girl looked at him and said, no, Carpenter. He looked confused and left. ????? Sheesh! I’m now officially CRANKY. Finally, he comes back and says our name. He starts to make small talk and I cut him off and said, excuse me, we are very tired - we’ve been waiting a long time, and we’d like to sit down. Sheesh! After walking all over Disney World, STANDING for almost ½ hour waiting, hello, why don’t they have seats??? , the last thing I wanted to do was chitchat with some bozo. Thankfully, things improved from there. Our waiter was very nice and went out of his way to make us comfortable. Maya’s “appetizer” was a bowl of watermelon - her favorite! - so she was happy. I got a delicious Cabernet Sauvignon, so I was happy. Wayne, well, this just isn’t his type of restaurant. He couldn’t find anything on the menu but the waiter recommended the beef tenderloin. The only other steak-like thing on the menu was the buffalo. Must a been good wine, because I ordered the buffalo. Yes you can say it, “What was I THINKING?” Sheesh! It was good. Not my fave, but good. Maya got penne pasta, PLAIN. She does not like anything, anything, on her pasta. No oil, no butter, no parmesan cheese, no cheddar cheese - PLAIN. Dessert was amazing. I got a Verhonna chocolate terrine with amareta cherries with hazelnut brittle. Yum! Very, very good. The cherries were surprising. Kinda had a bite to ‘em. But good. Maya had a choice between a chocolate sundae and a Mickey white chocolate puzzle. The puzzle sounded very cool but I wasn’t too sure about white chocolate. She really wanted the sundae, but strawberry. I asked and they said they would send someone to their other restaurant which did have some strawberries. How cool! Maya loved her strawberries.


We took the boat to Magic Kingdom, just in time for the fireworks! The boat captain was kind enough to stop right in front of the castle and let us watch. So cool! It took us a looooonnnnnnnngggggg time to get back to our hotel, though, because the park was closing . Time for bed!!!



"No more pictures, talk to the fox...."