Vacation Day 17: Magic Kingdom All Day

This morning was Uncle Robert’s departure day, so we decided to go out with him for a quick breakfast at McDonald’s before he took off. Ironically, McDonalds is currently carrying Shrek toys for the kids, and we were headed to DisneyWorld, not Universal. Turns out Aiden and Jeremy tend to prefer Universal characters. Aiden with his love of Spiderman, and Jeremy with his newfound love of Shrek. He was really excited to see the toys. They both were. Aiden got Baby Shrek and Jeremy got the Gingerbread Man toy. They wanted to bring them inside the parks, but Andrew told them that “Shrek doesn’t belong here”, and we left them in the van. Poor Shrek. Oh well, he’ll have his day that would be Dec 10, to be exact)!

So we drove over to the Magic Kingdom one man short this morning (bye, Uncle Bob! Thanks for visiting!)...reducing our party to 8 people. We drove over to the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC), and boarded the Monorail. First thing when we started walking down Main Street, there was a group of performers rolling in on the trolley, singing and dancing. It added really nice atmosphere to our morning. We stopped and watched for a bit.


After the sounds of yesteryear, we dove into the future – in Tomorrowland. Our first stop was the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Club Comedy Floor. Vavo, Vavu, Aiden and Jeremy did not have an opportunity to see it last time, and we really wanted to share it with them. Jeremy liked when the one-eyed green monster, Mike, kept getting hurt in various ways. Jeremy takes after his mom, laughing most when confronted with America’s Funniest Video type bloopers! Aiden could appreciate more than just the slapstick humor. It was fun to watch them watching!



Monsters, Inc.



While in Tomorrowland, the boys got to meet both Buzz Lightyear and Stitch. They were so cute approaching the characters! Jeremy wasn’t scared this time, and Aiden walked up with him to greet the characters, holding Jeremy’s hand as they went. It was really sweet.


Of course, our group couldn’t pass up Space Mountain, being right next to it, so Vavu, Laura, Andrew and MARIA (YES – Maria) went for a ride while Vavo, Jake and the kids rode the people mover. Maria hadn’t been on Space Mountain for probably 10 years! She’s more reluctant of “scary” rides these days, but she was up for it. And screamed the entire ride! Drew does a lovely (ahem) impression.

Meeting Buzz Lightyear

Before we left Tomorrowland, we wanted to hit the Indy Speedway. Maria rode with Aiden driving, Andrew rode with Jeremy driving, and Laura pulled up the rear. The boys weren’t very good drivers! Andrew said that Jeremy was banging the car around so bad that he almost flung himself out! Aiden was doing the same. He was just spinning the wheel all crazy like and the car was just banging back and forth along the track! :-) But they had a good time, and no one fell out, so it was all good!

Tomorrowland Indy Speedway

Jeremy's Driving, but he's so short, you can't see him!

Our next stop was the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party (aka the “teacups”). Laura and Jake took Jeremy on a teacup, and Andrew and Maria took Aiden. Our plan was to not spin the cups for the boys, but Aiden was intent on spinning that thing! He really got it going around, all by himself!

We left Fantasyland, and headed for Toontown right next door. Aiden really wanted to ride the kiddie roller coaster, so Laura, Andrew and Maria took him on. He’s so proud that he can go on some of the big kid rides now! And he’s all for them! Didn’t seem scared a bit! He really had a good time and wanted to go on again.

Goofy's Barnstormer Roller Coaster

We were getting hungry, so we decided to try the Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch. They serve their drinks in souvenir mugs, so we picked up a few of those.






Liberty Tree Tavern


When we walked outside, it was only 15 minutes til the parade was going to pass by the restaurant. It was a really good viewing spot!










Disney Dreams Come True Parade

Jeremy covering his ears - he looks like this a lot these days.



After the parade was over, it was time for the boys to take a nap. This was the first day that we decided to try and have them nap in the stroller. It shockingly worked very well! We told them it was time to sleep, and they did! While they slept, the big kids (that’s Drew, Maria, Jake and Laura) went on rides. We hit Splash Mountain, the Haunted Mansion and Mickey’s Philharmagic while Vavo and Vavu hung out to keep an eye on the boys (thanks, Vavo and Vavu!). Mickey’s Philharmagic was really good. It’s a 3D show with great special effects. It even sprays scents and water at you during parts of the show, and the screen expands when you aren’t paying attention to encompass your peripheral vision. It’s like being completely immersed in the experience.

Haunted Mansion

After meeting back up with the kids, we visited Enchanted Tiki Room, Under New Management. It’s fun to have the new version, but we really do prefer the old one! Our last ride for the evening was Pirates of the Caribbean. Aiden really did enjoy himself on that one! Jeremy did, too...but there were some parts when he took Laura’s hands and put them over his ears. :-) After the ride, we were getting hungry. We tried to stop at Tony’s Town Square Restaurant, but it was totally packed. And there was a parade going on, so it was all crowded. So we decided to get out of there and get something a little less hectic to eat.

Playing Swords after riding Pirates of the Caribbean

We drove to the popular shopping area, Crossroads, past Downtown Disney and ate at Chevy’s for dinner. Aiden was complaining about his stomach, so that put a damper on things, but he turned out to be fine, and we were all glad. There was a guy there making balloon animals. Aiden saw some kids with a parrot balloon animal, and was calling them “Iago”, like the bird from Aladdin. So when the balloon dude came by our table, Aiden asked for an “Iago”. Those balloons sure hold kids’ attentions! While Aiden was playing with his balloon, he was telling us that his, “Iago has a stomach ache”. It’s funny how kids will imagine and play whatever is on their mind.

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The best part of day 17 was Mickey’s Philharmagic – it was such an impressive show! We can’t wait to see it again.
The worst part of day 17 was Aiden’s stomachache.
What we learned on day 17 was don’t come home after 11pm and still expect to finish the blog that night, kids will sleep in the stroller if they have to, if Jake stands up on the Monorail it will make it go.
The weather on day 17 was hot, in the 80s.
Our character sightings on day 17 included TONS! Chip and Dale, Pinocchio, Chicken Little, Buzz Lightyear, Stitch, Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Christopher Robin’s female counterpart (forget her name), Woody, Jessie,
The crowd level on day 17 was beyond awesomely light – especially for the Magic Kingdom. We were so thankful!