So, Will can grow some hair. I remember the moment I saw him for the first time and Steven and I both said at about the same time, "He has hair!" We initially planned to get his hair cut shortly after his helmet was removed, but we elected to wait a bit longer and today we finally decided to bite the bullet and go forward with his first haircut. All week I have been excited... then this morning I woke up sort of nervous. I love his little baby curls but the poor kid constantly had hair in his eyes and once it became just a bit humid (which in Florida is ALWAYS), his hair started to look extra shaggy. So, I knew it was time.
So, today Steven took off work so we could go down to the Magic Kingdom with only two major plans. 1. Haircut for Will and 2. Tomorrowland Speedway for Kenzie.
We have read a few stories about September being the lowest month of attendance at Disney and they were right. It was empty compared to what we are used to. We initially planned to get there by 9am when the park opened, but we ended up getting held up getting onto the monorail and were there shortly after 9am. We went straight to Harmony Barber Shop. Since we were unable to get an appointment so close to the date we wanted to go, we put our name on the waiting list and were 6th in line. The barber shop is TINY. Just 3 chairs, so we were afraid of how long it could take before we were seen. We hung around outside the shop, put sunblock on the kids (and ourselves), and I nursed Will while we waited.
It only took about 30 minutes before Will's name was called and we were introduced to our stylist, Ms. Barbara. I admit, I was still nervous. Will sat on the booster on the chair like it was nothing though and we told Ms. Barbara that we wanted a "boy haircut". I had no idea what to ask for, but she understood entirely and got to work. It was fabulous to watch. It wasn't 30 seconds and he was covered in Mickey stickers and holding a spinning Cars toy. He was so enamored with his new toys that he didn't even notice that anything was going on around him. Those ladies in the barber shop certainly know what they are doing. He didn't make a peep while getting his hair cut. He would randomly turn to try to watch what was going on, but didn't pull away, cry, or anything. I think a lot of that is his age. He is too young to really understand that it might be scary. I think when we do Kenzie's she will be fine because she is old enough to understand that it isn't going to hurt. The little girl next to us was not having it though and had to sit on her mom's lap. I think that is because she was about 18 months old (we were talking to her parents outside) and she was just the right age to know that this could be scary but not understand that she wouldn't be hurt. Anyway, I digress. When Ms. Barbara introduced the clippers to Will she put in on his arm, leg, stomach, cheek, my arm and told him it was a massage. She let him feel and hear it before running it on the back of his head. When she introduced the shaver thing, she let him see and hear it and he was fine with her trimming up around his ears and rounding out the back of his hair. I was so amazed with him. We were given a certificate, a bag with his adorable little curls in it, and (best part) his Mickey ears. It was awesome! I totally recommend it for anyone needing a first haircut (or even a normal haircut) while at Disney. It is reasonably priced too.
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| Someone has been teething. He was chomping on those hands. |
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| Ms. Barbara knew what she was doing. She positioned me for this picture and it ended up being my favorite picture of the day. |
After all that was over, we went over to the Jungle Cruise. We had fastpasses, but as it turned out, I don't think we needed any of them. We used them just because we had them, but the waits were all around 10-15 minutes long. I love September at Disney. Kenzie wasn't super enthused with the Jungle Cruise. It is still very old school and hard to see anything because of the way you have to sit. It was still a boat though so she was good with that. After we got off we learned that the wait for Aladdin's Magic Carpet ride was only 10 minutes. It's like Dumbo but carpets. Sold. Kenzie LOVES Dumbo. This time we all rode and Will thought it was awesome. He especially loved that Kenzie made the carpet go as high in the air as possible.
We then walked over towards Fantasyland and Kenzie requested the entire way to ride the carousel. Once we got over there the wait was so short that we couldn't tell her no. So, she got to ride the carousel and Will got his first ride, as well. Both of them were super excited. Will was so happy that he kept jumping up and down and saying "yeah yeah yeah". Kenzie is such a big girl now that she rides her own horse and we are not allowed to help her.
After all that we went to the Haunted Mansion for our second fastpasses of the day. The wait time there was only 13 minutes. We wondered if that was on purpose since everything else was 10 minutes, 15 minutes, etc. Kenzie was mostly okay with the ride. We played it all off as a fun thing with a party and she was okay. When we left she said the ghosts scared her, but we think she was joking around. She has developed a sense of humor in the last couple of months that shows up more and more often lately. Then, a moment happened that lets you know that you are a family with young children at Disney World. Steven said, "Want to ride It's a Small World?" And then... we did just that. Kenzie (and Will) love that ride and it is a nice, calm ride for both of them. As it turns out, it was just calm enough for Will to fall asleep. I swear. This kid is so cool and relaxed. Especially compared to Kenzie. If he isn't going to sleep at night, at least he is super easy going. Also, I think Steven really liked the fact that Will fell asleep on him (instead of me like he usually does).
We were able to get him off the ride and into his stroller where he remained asleep. We then went over to Tomorrowland for Kenzie's ride of the day. She has been asking to ride the cars at Disney since the first moment she laid eyes on them. Today, she got her chance. She (unfortunately) isn't tall enough to drive (though there seemed to be other children driving that were smaller than her) but she insisted on helping Daddy steer. He said she did it the entire way around. She had a blast and when she got off she told me that she won the race.
After that, since we were already in the area, we woke up Will and had lunch at Cosmic Rays. We overheard someone that worked there saying that it is the busiest quick serve restaurant (or something to that effect) in the country. We can believe it, but today it wasn't bad. We have learned a lot over the course of our few trips to Disney so far and one thing we put to use today was bringing Kenzie's food. If we are going to just order her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich kid's meal, we might as well bring her that sandwich and save the cash. Today, we packed an uncrustable for her, a 1/2 peanut butter sandwich for Will, 2 cheese sticks (one for each kid), mandarins, applesauce pouches, spinach and pear pouch for Will, and a bunch of other snacks (plus water) for the day. It worked out well. Kenzie also ate 2 of our chicken nuggets but both kids were happy and we saved a few dollars by bringing something we would have ordered exactly the same way there.
After lunch we went back to Main Street and jumped on the train. Last time we were there we only made it one stop and had to get off. That was an ordeal. This time, we made it all the way around and both kids really liked it. Kenzie loves trains. Will just loves anything that moves and he can ride. Typical boy.
Once we got off the train, we decided to try to go to Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid. Neither of us have ever been on it and Kenzie loved it (she loves everything nowadays.) It was super cute and told the story of the Little Mermaid. Kenzie recognized most of the songs and danced along. Will seemed somewhat enthused, but enough that he wasn't upset or anything. When we came out of the ride we decided it was finally time to try Dole Whip. I don't know how we have lived all these years and never had it.... but we will definitely be going back. And I might insist on my own next time. We all shared a cup since we weren't sure if we would like it and we devoured it in minutes. Kenzie kept trying to steal the cup and Will screeched if we weren't fast enough getting his next bite. Steven might have screeched a bit too... or maybe that was me... but it was just so good.
Then, we determined we had done enough. It was time to go. We made it out to the car, loaded it up, and before we hit 429, both kids were OUT. I'd say it was a successful day. Our next stop will be EPCOT more than likely and then back to MK for Kenzie's haircut. It was an awesome day. I think it was one of our best Disney days so far. Kenzie is still in the stage that it is new enough to her that she is just amazed by everything and I am still loving watching her experience all these new, fun things.
One thing we did realize today... 3 is probably the magic number. If you are going to take a child for their first Disney experience, 3 is probably the best age to do it. When we went just 4 months or so ago for the first time, she had an amazing time but this time was so much different. So much more exciting for her because she was better able to understand things and she could do so much more independently. She also knows almost all of the characters now and can recognize them which opens up an entirely new world. Will is not going to have that same experience but he will get the excitement of growing up a Disney kid, so he has something going for him in that. Also, make that first trip in September. Seriously, best month of the year. They are also decorating for fall so you get to see all the fall colors, pumpkins, and the like. It was so pretty. I can't wait to see EPCOT soon.
Oh! And just so I don't somehow make it seem like our kids are always good as gold, just know that when we got home, Kenzie LOST it. She doesn't wake from car naps well usually. She wasn't happy. When we tried for dinner, we had a meltdown of epic proportions. That threenager thing reared its ugly head. Steven ended up sitting with her on the couch, holding her food bowls for her to eat out of. Good news? He got her to eat dinner. Will was asleep by 7pm and Kenzie by 7:30. She has woken once tonight already with a fever. We ended up giving her some tylenol in hopes that it breaks and doesn't hang around because tomorrow we are supposed to head down to my parents' timeshare for the long weekend. We shall see what tomorrow brings. Until next time... See ya real soon!
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