We ended up buying a 5 day park pass with hopes of attending all 4 parks and hitting up one park again - more than likely Magic Kingdom bc a new "show" will be running starting Feb. 1st. There are so many different ticket options now - like the "Park Hopper" that lets you get into all the parks all day long - but we just don't have the stamina to do any park hopping right now.
DAY 1. Magic Kingdom! Jan. 28, 2012
We started off the morning with Lilly finding a birthday card from Cinderella herself! Jack and Gus (the mice) snuck into our bedroom over night and left the card for Lilly to find.
Being that I'm preggo and about to blow and Lilly's so little - we weren't concerned with getting there early bc really, how many rides can we go on? Our kid likes shows and parades so as long as were there for that - no hurry. We got there at 1030 (park opens at 9) and literally took our sweet time getting around.
Typical me - I did my research, brought my guide books and had a plan of attack - typical Brian - just show up and figure it out when we get there - ultimately both of our opinions don't matter when Lilly has her mind set and it was her birthday! How awesome is that? To spend her 3rd birthday at Magic Kingdom!!
Ever since Hawaii she has been entranced with water and animals so we took the ferry instead of the monorail to Magic Kingdom. As soon as we entered the park Pluto and Daisy were there signing autographs so we stood in line for Pluto. Lilly really enjoyed meeteing him. A good thing with having both parents there and one kid is that while Brian was in line w/Lil I was able to run to the hat store to get her "It's my birthday" Mickey ears, her free "it's my birthday" pin and "1st visit" pin. We also got some ears for Bingo. The pins were fun for her to wear bc EVERYWHERE we went Disney "cast members" (employees) from vendors and servers to characters all said "HAPPY BIRTHDAY LILLY!" She was so surprised that people knew her name and that it was her birthday. Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) even shouted Happy Birthday to Lilly from her parade float!
So here's what we did: Pluto's autograph, the "Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party (parade) - barely made it down Main Street USA when Lilly and Brian HAD TO HAVE hot dogs. From there we went turned left into Tomorrowland (home of Space Mountain which neither of L or I can ride) but Lilly and Dad went to the Tomorrowland Speedway. Dad was the driver and Lilly the passenger with some ocassional touching of the steering wheel. We got a fastpass (VERY COOL - if the line is too long, just get a ticket with a time slot for later and you can skip the line and go to the front!) for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (overrated) and headed to the next land, for the Mad Tea Party. (the teacups). The line was short, the kid loved it...so much that she went on it with Dad 4 times. After that we saw the White Rabbit! (still fresh in her mind from the ballet) So we got an autograph. Took a rest, used some of her Christmas money from Gampy (Grandpa Dale) to buy Toy Story figures and headed back to Main St. USA for the "Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade". The nice thing about the parades is that they circle back around so while we weren't front row when it was coming through, while it circled back, everyone in front of us left, so Lilly got a prime seat on the curb and got to shake hands with the characters, stare in awe and grin from ear-to-ear when Belle gave her the birthday shout-out. We cut back over to Buzz Lightyear - (lame) then headed back to Fantasyland where all three of us rode the carousel and It's A Small World. Lilly definitely dug the ride, maybe she dug the water element more. Happy to say that Thailand is still represented! Lilly identified with the "South Seas" section... "It's S'hawaii!" Then we killed time by going to Mickey's Philharmagic - cute musical show. And then she fell asleep. Am I that mom that makes her keep going? YOU BET I AM.
I was able to book (weeks in advance) a beauty princess salon at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique INSIDE Cinderella's castle. Unfortunately it was at 6:30pm - but it was the only opening, so I took it. Lilly had been looking forward to the salon where she would get her hair, nails and makeup done - her favorite! So I carried my sleeping child in there and she eventually woke up. She chose to the Cinderella costume, hair style and nail color herself. I was very annoyed that all these people who showed up after us were being serviced first and we were the VERY LAST people, but Lilly got a lot of pampering and had a magical exit: all the employees were lined up and blocking the exit and she got to say the magic words "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" and they parted and the photographer was there.
**Another thing I like about Disney this time around: there's a photographer for everything which is nice when MOM is the one always taking pictures and ends up not being in any OR there are no family pictures bc who's going to take it? Granted, it'll cost an arm and a leg, but it's optional to buy the photos and they're taken in front of an iconic image, ie. the castle.
We finished up with the "The Magic, The Memories and You!" image show (projected on the castle) and then the "Wishes" nighttime spectacular (fireworks). Then we left (even though the park was open til midnight).
So we only made it to two lands, but that's ok, we plan on going back. We made it out alive, Lilly was in a good mood, Bingo stayed inside the stomach - all in all, a great day!
Lilly was FABULOUS about standing in lines. Granted, the longest line was maybe 20 minutes long, but she was so good about it - much better than a lot of adults and older kids! Lilly was excellent about holding our hands/staying near us. She said it herself, "mom, this is too crowded". Although there were definitely families there who were wearing matching outfits - we get it, it's easier to identify a member of your group. There was also of course LOTS of Disney gear and Mickey ears on all the guests, young and old.
Brian and I had a great time but we were exhausted, especially Brian since he carried Lilly throughout the day. We noticed that all parents there just looked fatigued. We did appreciate the beauty of the park, the innovation, the service training and we estimated just how much it actually costs to run Disney World for a single day.
Three classic MK rides are down for refurbishment: Flying Dumbo (we missed out), the Riverboat (another miss) and Thunder Mountain (L & I would not have been able to go on it anyways). Brian doesn't mind not going on any of the rides that he can actually go on - which is pretty selfless of him. MK also has part of the park closed off bc they are building Belle's Castle and Village and there are 2 more rides opening (Little Mermaid and Seven Dwarfs Mine) - all this probably the summer of 2012. Another reason to come back in the future!
A few things:
STROLLERS: just bc you have a stroller doesn't mean you can rampage through the crowds. We're really happy we didn't bring/rent a stroller in Magic Kingdom. Even though it's off season it's still crowded and it was easier to manuever around holding Lilly in our arms. Also - it's pathetic when the kid in the stroller is taller than ME! We understand that it get's tiring to walk all day long but COME ON. Schedule some "rest time" into the day - you don't have to leave the park, just hang out on a bench.
AGE: Lilly's a good age... but to really enjoy the park I think age 6-10 would be better. She'd still be young enough to get excited about the princesses, she'd be tall enough for the rides and she could walk on her own. BEAR - we'll wait til you and Bingo are over the age of 5 to try this as a big trip!
AUTOGRAPHS: instead of buying the autograph book at the park, we went with a disney themed spiral notebook from Walgreens and I brought a big sharpie from home. (tip from a book - the bigger the pen/marker the easier it is for the character to sign bc of their costumed hands). When I get home the intention is to scan the signature in and match it up with the photo so it can all go into one digital photo album with the rest of the photos from the trip.
SALON: So yes, we spent a lot on Lilly's salon experience. Was it worth it? Certainly - it was our birthday present to her. Is there a less expensive way to go about it? YES. 1. Buy your costume gear OUTSIDE of Disney (after Halloween clearances at Target for example). 2. Do your child's makeup and nails at home. 3. For the Disney experience, go to the Barber Shop on Main St. USA and have them do your kids hair - it'll cost $20 at the most! Yeah, I think it's weird that there's a barber shop in Magic Kingdom too.
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