Disney's Magic Kingdom (Day 2 of 4)

Thursday we headed over to the Magic Kingdom. My brother and his girlfriend both had to work & we were on our own. Thankfully my brother lives about 20 mins away from all the parks so we didn't have to drive very far.

We paid $17 to park and were directed to the Peter Pan parking lot. To my surprise it was not that crowded, at least not at first. We boarded the tram that took us to the Monorail which we rode to the park.

J loved riding on the tram. It went through the dining area of the Disney's Contemporary Resort. I was unable to get my camera out fast enough to get a shot of it but it was pretty neat. I was able to get a picture of Space Mountain just before we got to our final stop.

Space Mountain

After getting off the tram we headed to the main entrance where we purchased our tickets into the park. Once in the park the first thing J sees is the parks train and of course we knew where we had to go first.

The train ride took us over to Frontierland where we got off. We walked around a bit and got in line to ride Splash Mountain. It was a fun ride in a log that was 4 rows and could sit 3 to a row. You can get wet toward the end of the ride, luckily we did not get that wet. 

on the train

Splash Mountain

We waited in line for 20 minutes for that ride and while waiting we noitced a people moving past us in another line that took them right to the front. After the ride was over we asked about how to get into the fast line and were told to go to the Fastpass+ kiosk where the park would give you 3 complementary fastpasses on any 3 rides of our choice. The thing is, that in order to use the Fastpass+ you must be at whatever ride you choose in a certain time slot. If you miss that timeslot then you lose your opportunity & have to wait in the regular line. 

We continued to check out Frontierland as we made our way to Liberty Square where the Fastpass+ kiosk was. While doing so, we ran into the Chip n Dale chipmunks. Luckily we were able to get in line right away as they were walking to the picture spot. By the time we were up, the line behind us was LONG.

  It just so happen that the picture taking spot with Chip n Dale was right next to the Liberty Belle Riverboat. We got in line for the boat & waited about 10 mins when they were boarding.

After the boat ride we visited The Hall of Presidents. It's a 20-30 minute multimedia theater presentation telling a brief history on all our presidents from the beginning until present day. Next door was the kiosk for the Fastpass+ passes that we were able to get. After we got our Fastpass + passes was the start of the Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade. 

We were at a decent spot to see the parade & J loved it. Funny because he has never been fond of people dressed up in costume. I remember taking him to Chuck E Cheese for a friends birthday and he absoulutely refused to get a picture or even stand next to the characters. I asked why? and he said they were all creepy. 

west view of the castle from Liberty Square

back of the castle 

east side view of the castle 

The 3 Fastpass + rides we picked were The Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain & Under the Sea.

I think the winner out of all 3 was hands down Space Mountain, the indoor roller coaster. I really liked the Under the Sea ride in Fantasyland. It was a cute ride that retold the story of the Little Mermaid. I remember when our oldest daughter "S" used to watch that movie over and over again. Even being a college girl I think S would have loved that ride too.

We stopped at the Big Top Souvenirs tent in Fantasyland & looked around. We got J some Mickey Ears with his name stitched on the back. They had all kinds of goodies for sale too. 

jump for joy

he wanted to do the Vulcan salute for some reason

Monsters Inc. cakepop eyes

It was starting to get dark so we boarded the train that took us back to the main entrance. We stopped at Starbucks for coffee & made our way toward the castle to find a seat for the Main Street Electrical Parade.

our Starbucks greeter

Sadly after siting & waiting for 30 minutes they announced (for some unknown reason) that the parade was cancelled, but that the fireworks would still go on. So we had to wait for another 45 minutes. Leaving to walk around the park was not an option since finding a good spot to sit was so hard, so we just waited along with everyone else. Soon enough it was time and the show was on.

Beautiful fireworks show & a nice comfortable night. Perfect way to end our visit to the Magic Kingdom.

A Florida birthday surprise trip for a very special little boy (Day 1 of 4)

Hello there, it's been awhile since I posted & I have not had much time to sit down and write. Last week we surprised our little guy "J" with a birthday trip to Florida. Hubby and I planned this trip a couple months ago. We decided that we would leave on a Wednesday and return on Saturday evening. The ticket prices were a lot less leaving in the middle of the week vs. the weekend.

We did a good job of keeping in a secret. We told our son that we both took the day off of work because Daddy scored some tickets to an "open house" airshow taking place at the airport & we wanted to let him see the insides of some of the big planes. When we got to the airport in the morning and opened the trunk to get our suitcases we told him that we were sorry but we infact lied to him about the airshow but we were going to see his uncle D & aunt M instead. His eyes got so big and he asked us "really, are you being serious?" After we assured him that yes we were & he would be riding on his very first plane, he did a mini jump & ran to us and gave each of us the biggest hug. You could just see the excitement in his eyes.

We got through security & made it to our departure gate with about 40 minutes until boarding. I wish I would have video recorded his facial expression when we boarded the plane. When we got to the door of the plane the stuardess gave him a little plastic airplane wings pin after he announced that it was his first time ever flying. We got seated and shortly after we were ready for take off. As the plane started to climb in the air he kept saying "whoa, whoa we are really high" & "oh Mom, look we are in the clouds, awesome"

It was so funny because his eyes were completely glued to the window for about the first 15 minutes, until he decided to pull out the tablet. He played some ship building game for the remainder of the flight. After landing in Orlando we got on the monorail that took us to the main terminal where my brother was waiting outside to pick us up. As soon as the doors slid open to the outside, we were instantly greeted with the nasty heat & humidity. Welcome to Florida.

We piled in my brothers car and headed to his house to drop off our luggage. Once we unloaded at his house we headed over to Burger 21 to get something to eat. I rarely eat at burger places & was pleasantly surprised at how good this one was. I ordered the Ahi-Tuna burger & let me say "yum yum"  it was delicious. I wish we had one near my house because I certainly wouldn't feel guilty eating any of their seafood burgers.

After eating, we all decided to go on an airboat ride at Boggy Creek Airboats. It was a nice 30 minute ride in and around the swampy waters. We saw a mix of birds but no alligators, I guess it was just too hot for them. After the ride they brought out a small alligator that J got to hold & he was happy with that.

As we were leaving, we noticed a good mix of animals roaming around a fenced in area. At first we thought it was some kind of petting zoo. The lady at the airboat place said it was a private owner who lets them roam around. We pulled over next to fence to say "hi". They were friendly & you could definitely tell that they are used to being around people. The little ponies had us all laughing because they kept backing up to the fence and rubbing up and down to scratch their butts.

It was 4pm when we got on the road to my brother's place. It was still fairly early enough & we were able to squeeze in a short helicopter ride around the Disney parks. Yeah it was ridiculously expensive ($55/person) for a 10-12 minute ride but it was very cool to be able to fly relatively low & over some of the parks. Great way to end day 1 of our trip.