This weekend we spent some time with Nana and Papa and did Day 5 of our 6 Day Family Disney Tour (2nd day with Nana and Papa) at Magic Kingdom. The weekend started a bit early for us though when Steven was able to work some extra time and get off work Friday. I say that like it was some sort of bonus for him to get home late every night... there is a bonus in that he gets to take days away from work but having him be late every night for a couple weeks in a row, isn't easy. But I digress...
Anyway, we met my parents for dinner on Thursday night as they drove into town. They had a 3 night minimum at the timeshare they used, so they decided to come in Thursday night. We met at Bob Evans for dinner and other than the napkins, plates, and silverware, I think the kids ate everything on the table. There is a definite growth spurt (or 2) going on around here. After dinner, my parents went down to the timeshare and we went home to get ready for the weekend.
Friday morning after my run and some breakfast, I packed up the kids and headed out to the timeshare. Steven stayed behind to do some yard work with plans to meet us at lunchtime. We decided to hang out near the timeshare and just hit up the outlet mall next door. This particular timeshare actually has a gated entrance directly to the mall that we were able to walk right through. Bonus points for not needing to drive and park at tourist central! We went into a few stores and ended up buying the cutest outfit ever for Will and a couple adorable dresses for Kenzie before meeting up with Steven for some lunch. There was this little place called Freddy's right across from the timeshare. It was similar to a Steak n'Shake but it was counter service. The food was pretty good.We were actually really surprised and I actually really like burgers from Steak n'Shake... but this one was even better. We then went back to the timeshare with the intention of trying to get Will to nap. We had good intentions... they just didn't work out so well. Poor kid was NOT having it. Perhaps that was due to the fact that when we tried to get into the room, none of the keys worked. The light turned green... but the door wouldn't unlock. For the next 45 minutes or so, they replaced the handle and other random things on the door. Will screamed through the banging and slamming of the door. Finally, I called it and we elected to instead walk back through the outlet mall (Nana, Papa, and Steven left while Will was trying to nap and Kenzie, Will, and I joined them when I decided it was a lost cause.) On the plus side, as soon as I put the kid in the stroller and started walking... he was OUT. He slept for around an hour so I'm calling it a win. (They didn't actually fix the door though and it was still messed up for the next 2 days.) I'm going to spare everyone the details of our shopping trip, but if you ever want to hear about the search for the white, 11 1/2 wide sneakers, you can ask Papa. He must have told the story to 24 people before the end of their visit. I think this visit should be dubbed "Sneakergate." Anyway, he found shoes and we had ice cream before leaving the mall. Will woke up just in time to steal 1/2 of mine. When we got back to the timeshare, we had some time to kill so we walked across their lake to the playground. The kids had a blast. Kenzie made friends pretty quickly and Will climbed up, down, and all around the playground equipment. Eventually, we went to dinner at Longhorn. Where (again) the kids ate everything around them. After dinner, we went back to the timeshare, gave both kids baths, and Steven and Will headed for home. Because of Jack (and limited room at this timeshare), we couldn't all stay overnight but because we had to drive into Disney with Nana and Papa to save on parking, one of us has to be there or we have to leave even earlier in the morning to pick them up. So, Kenzie and I stayed. We let her stay up until about 8:30, but then we all went to bed. I think I fell asleep before Kenzie. All I know is that I would be asleep and then she would start talking and wake me up. I was exhausted. Will was too, apparently, because he slept the whole way home and had no issues transitioning once they got there.
I made everyone wake up before the sun on Saturday morning. I knew we wanted to be at the park when it opened at 9am and we had to eat breakfast first, so we were out of the timeshare quite early. Kenzie was super excited to wear her Rapunzel tutu for the first time since Daddy gave it to her at Christmas. And she was so cute! She wants to be Rapunzel so this is perfect for her. We had a quick breakfast at McDonalds before driving over to Disney. We couldn't have timed it much better either, because Steven ended up parked just a few cars away from us despite us leaving from the timeshare and stopping and him leaving from the house. Apparently when Will woke up that morning, he walked around the house looking for me and Steven had to show him that my car was gone for him to settle down and get dressed to leave. Haha.
We missed the Welcome Show, but I don't think Kenzie really cared and I know Will doesn't remember. We chose the WORST bag check line in the park, I think and waited in line for about 20 minutes (behind about 5 people) while this guy checked bags. It amazes me how different the people are. The guy next to him was going through bags 3 to 1.
Once we got into the park, we headed straight for the carousel. We wanted to see what the wait was to see Anna and Elsa as we have never been able to get a Fastpass for that, but it was already at 60 minutes so we decided to skip it. While waiting for the carousel, I'm pretty sure the funniest thing ever happened. The Ugly Stepsisters were getting ready to ride the carousel with us and as they entered the area, one of them went to open the gate and a squirrel ran under her hand. She actually touched the squirrel... and lost it. Poor thing. We were all cracking up at her reaction because it was hilarious.Watching both of them try to keep character while simultaneously calm one beating heart while the other sister tried to keep it somewhat together because it was hilarious was funny in and of itself. I bet she never offers to open that gate again. I just wish I had it on video. On the carousel, everyone (except me because someone has to be the adult and make sure the kids are doing what they are supposed to be doing) decided to ride on a horse. This is definitely one of Will's favorite rides in the park, and I think it might be Kenzie's, too. They LOVE these horses. Will rode for the first time with no one holding onto him and he thought it was so cool. Kenzie loved that Daddy rode a horse right next to her. It was super cute. They even high fived a few times as they passed each other going up and down.
After the carousel, we used our first Fastpass for Enchanted Tales with Belle. Last time we did this, Kenzie was a plate, this time, she was in a foul mood because her Minnie ears had blown off earlier when I was trying to gt a picture of her and because, well, threenager. Nothing like almost having to pick up your Minnie Ears from the ground to set off your entire day. So, she did not want to be in the show. She still seemed to like the show and once it was over, we finally convinced her to go up and take a picture with Belle. That perked her up right away and she was very excited that Belle gave her a bookmark. I guess princesses cure all ailments. =)
After Belle, we headed over to Small World. This is certainly ranked up there at the tippy top as Will's favorite ride. He just points and "oooooohhhhhssss" in amazement through the entire ride. They added this feature at the end where it says goodbye on screens to you if you have a magic band. It happened fast so I wasn't able to take a picture of it, but it was pretty cool. I'm not 100% sure where they scan you, but they must to know what boat you are on. After Small World, Steven and Kenzie went on Peter Pan's Flight. We have never done this ride as the wait is always so long and we never had a chance to Fastpass it, but we decided to split Fastpasses between the 4 adults for this trip so that we could do a bunch of things with Kenzie. This was Steven's. He said the ride wasn't as good as he was hoping based on how long the wait usually was but it was okay. Kenzie said she enjoyed it. She seemed a bit meh on the whole thing.
At that point, we headed farther back into Fantasyland to hit up Dumbo. This was Nana's Fastpass and she took both kids on with her. I tried to get a good picture, but Kenzie likes to just go up as high in the air as possible so the picture opportunities I am given are limited. They had a good time though. We then went back and went on The Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Kenzie always likes this one. The girls rode in one clamshell and the boys in another. Kenzie thinks it is quite funny when we split up like that for some reason.
At that point, it was close to lunch time so we headed over to Cosmic Ray's, our usual lunch stop. We had a pretty good lunch of chicken nuggets. Haha. Then it was time for my Fastpass with Kenzie. The Speedway. This is the first time I have ever done the Speedway with Kenzie and as we got into the car, she was so excited that she ended up on the driver side... so I let her drive. That was an experience. She laughed hysterically through the entire thing and a few times we bumped so hard into the track that keeps you from driving in circles and into everyone and everything that we were flung from one side of the car to the other. At which point she would just say, "Oops! Sorry!" while laughing. Let me tell you... we are in trouble in about 12 1/2 years. Let's just say that I wouldn't be opposed to them upping the legal driving age by the time we get there. She had fun though.
We had some time after that before our next Fastpass, so we took a gentle ride (way less bumping) on the People Mover. This was partially done to slow down the day some and partially to try to get Will to nap. I wore him on the ride and about 3 seconds before the end, he finally fell asleep. Score! We successfully transitioned him back to his stroller once on the ground as we were scared of the amount of sun he might get while being worn. We then set off for Adventureland.
Our next Fastpass was for Aladdin's Magic Carpets and this one was with Papa. As Kenzie got onto the ride, the attendant said hello to our princess and bowed to her. (I think her new outfit was a hit as this was the 10th compliment or so she had gotten.) Kenzie and Papa had fun and managed to get spit on by the camel, so that was pretty funny for the rest of us. After that, we didn't have our next Fastpass for a while, so we decided to indulge in one of the great things that Disney has to offer... Dole Whip. So good! We got the float this time and it was even better than just the ice cream. Yum! Will woke up right as we finished them so thankfully he didn't notice what was going on. He had an applesauce pouch and some goldfish and was happy with that. But you know what they say.... You snooze, you lose.
Then, it was time for Pirates. Except we parked the stroller, walked over, and learned that it was shut down. So, we decided to get the stroller and we were set to ride the train in a circle then come back and try again. But... right as Steven got back to us from picking up the stroller, they opened again. So, I made him repark and we ended up riding then. This remains one of my favorite rides in all of the parks. I just love it.
After Pirates, we decided to ride the train and this time we took on a new endeavor. Usually, we ride in a circle and come right back to where we started, but we thought it would be beneficial to bring the mammoth of a stroller we have and ride back to Main Street Station so we could be at the front of the park to leave. That was quite the undertaking. We had to lug that huge thing up the stairs and fit it onto a seat with us. We made it though and ended up sitting on the train for 10 minutes or so in the station or so while the parade started and crossed our path. Finally, we set off for Main Street.
As it turned out, right as we got off the train at Main Street, the parade route was winding its way toward us. Kenzie and Will have never actually seen the parade so we stopped to watch. We managed to catch all but the first float, I think. Kenzie LOVED it. I would definitely say this was the highlight of her day. She just kept yelling to us about each character that passed and she waved to all of them. She was most excited with Rapunzel (of course), Tinker Bell, and Minnie Mouse. She also pointed out Donald Duck to Papa at least 5 times. Donald is Papa's favorite character. Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures of the parade because Will was on my shoulders and Kenzie spent the parade either one Steven's shoulders or in his arms. So, we had no free hands for pictures. Nana has some on her phone, but I haven't gotten them from her yet.
After the parade we went back down Main Street a little ways and waited in a line to get a photographer to take a picture of all of us in front of the castle. I think this might be one of our best pictures yet. The photographer was really good and really interested in getting the kids attention for us. She took a super cute picture with Tinker Bell superimposed in Kenzie's hands, but we don't typically buy pictures so we just have a picture taken from the side without the fairy. I just love Kenzie's expression though.
We made a quick stop for our coffee mug to complete our collection and Nana and Papa took the kids into the gift shop where they got Will a cute stuffed Mickey and our girly girl chose a Mickey bracelet. It was a really fun day and it was actually the longest amount of time we have ever ended up spending at a park, I think. The kids did great. Well, they did until dinner. Perhaps stopping at Olive Garden after a day that big was a bad idea. Okay, it was definitely a bad idea.... but we all pulled through. I think our kids ate bread for dinner and nothing else, but at least we made it out in one piece. We went back to the timeshare and bathed both kids before heading home. We all went home this time because we had church on Sunday morning. (Which came really quickly thanks to the time change...)
Sunday morning after church, Nana and Papa came for lunch and we grilled burgers and hot dogs before they headed home. I'm sure Papa slept the entire way home. I'm thinking everyone in this house needs an early bedtime tonight. Mainly me. Haha! It was a fun weekend though and we still have one more Disney Family Day left in a few weeks. We will be doing Animal Kingdom with Nana and Papa. At that point, our passes are set to renew and we are going to do it, but because we are adding Kenzie this year, we are getting the ones with blockouts so our time spent at Disney over the summer will be extremely limited as most of June and all of July (along with a week or so of August) are blocked out. Not like we want to hang out at Disney during the heat of the summer anyway... you will find us at the beach on every available weekend this summer. This weekend was great though and I think the kids had a blast.
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