Part 4 Disney World!: Magic Kingdom
Anyway as mentioned earlier when we arrived at Magic Kingdom it was raining. After a potty break at the bathrooms next to City Hall and getting checked in (which is not necessary unless you have special circumstances), we made our way to the Castle for pictures. By the time we got there the rain had started to break to a drizzle so wanted to get our pictures in. I think I must tell you this was one of my biggest mistake ever. Ever I tell you! Ever!!!
We had JUST gotten to Disney and the kids wanted to just kind of roam around and check things out, not be wrangled to stand like this, do this, smile. Plus we were soaked; clothes stuck to us, soaked. Emma changed from her Crocs into her nice red satin shoes that matched her dress just for pictures. Also the kids were starving, Nick and I were hungry, but I didn't want to risk food stains on their outfits. All around it was a bad idea.
Our pictures came out nice enough. But the kids don't have big smiles of happiness but forced ones. I feel bad I did that to them. I wish I had just waited until later in the day and taken them then. Some of you may be wondering why we didn't just try to take more later, and let me tell you, we tried. But by then the kids remembered the first picture time so there was no way they were going to cooperate with us again. And Nick was just getting plain fed up with me (he paid thousands for his kids to have fun, not me force them into pictures again!!!)
So I didn't win. Boo. But it's my own darn fault.
Afterwards we grabbed lunch at Cosmic Ray's in Tomorrowland. We went in September and snagged the free meal plan deal. We upgraded to the Deluxe Dining plan for I think an extra $400.00! I must tell you, I think the upgrade to the Deluxe plan was totally worth it! I had oodles of friends warning me against this saying "all you'll do is wait to eat" but we really didn't. Plus we are major foodies so getting to eat at some really fancy places was super exciting for us! We ate at Cosmic Ray's which was a Quick Service meal. Our meal was $65.00 and it tasted like horrible cafeteria food. After that I was so glad we had upgraded to Deluxe meals. *I highly recommend a meal plan! It made it feel so much like a vacation. All we did was give them our card and everything was taken care of. Voila! I didn't have to plan meals to take, or pack, or worry about finding meals to fit out budget, or even tip! It all was on the card!
Oh and by the way, to explain: Quick Service Meals are basically where you go up to a counter and order. Think burgers, wraps, etc. Sit down service is a restaurant either with a menu or a buffet. On the deluxe meal plan we could order from anywhere. It was so nice!
*A tip is to stay away from Cosmic Rays (or any quick service restaurant I'm guessing) at all cost during high traffic meal times. There were so many people we literally could not get out of the restaurant. It was a jam packed nightmare. I'm not sure if it was because it was raining and people just ducked in or what. It was our only experience with a quick service and it was so crowded. Yeesh.
*Another tip: you can bring your own food in to Disney Parks. I am uber cheap. I mean tight wad extraordinaire but this trip I brought nothing. But you can totally pack your own snacks or meals and bring them in. If you're not on a meal plan I think this would definitely be the way to go. Cosmic Rays (as I mentioned, the only quick service meal we had) was over $65.00 for the 4 of us to eat! Nothing fancy: a couple of burgers, sodas, and kids meals. It was quite a shock!
After that we were amped up, Mom had gotten the dumb pictures out of the way, our tummys were full, so now it was time to Disney it up! We stopped at Merida's place where we could have a meet and greet with her and get her autograph. Do you get Autographs? Autographs are so fun! I'll write about that in a later post. I wonder how many times I can fit autographs in here in this paragraph? Autograph. Ha!
Next it was time for some rides! We decided to ride on the Iconic teacups and it was fabulous. We had so much fun! The children loved it and so did we. Well, I did. And Nick loved seeing the kiddos enjoying themselves. But after the ride he felt sick. That's right ladies and gentlemen...my 34 year old husband got sick on the teacups! Ha!
For the rest of the day he couldn't tolerate anything. He almost tossed his cookies on the train. That's right folks, the scenic train that goes around the park at an alarming slow snail's pace was too much for him. Oh Lord, help us all! Geesh!
We managed to cram a lot into the day...the Dumbo ride, the Swiss Family Robinson house, the Aladdin ride...we tried to experience a lot.
By late afternoon though we ended up with these kind of kids...
So we headed back to the hotel for naptime before we had more fun.
*Mom tip...get your kids to nap! Your schedule will not be the same as at home, just know that going into it. You may be up until midnight some nights (the horror, I know!) so if your kids need to crash and burn at 5 for an hour, let them. They are having so much fun, just make sure they get rest during the day. It was nice for Nick and I to get off our feet and just relax in the hotel room while the kids either played quietly or slept. And honestly (not making this stuff up!) they sometimes begged to go back to the hotel to have play time or to sleep. It was hot, they were sticky and very sensory overloaded!
