Monday morning, we got up bright and early so that we could arrive at the Magic Kingdom in time to see all the characters open the park. I could not wait to really get our vacation started. I had sat down the night before and planned out our day. I'm not one to miss opportunities to do things while on vacation so we had a packed schedule. To save time each morning, Kevin would take all of our refillable mugs, run over to the resort, and get coffee for himself and mom, Powerade for me, and lemonade for Ava. Mom, Ava, and I would quickly get dressed and be ready to head out as soon as he got back. The park opened at 9 that morning and we arrived about 8:30, had our bags checked, and joined the crowd to get ready to see Mickey and the gang make their appearance. The citizens of Main Street came out singing and dancing to greet us. As they finished up, we heard a train whistle in the distance and Mickey and friends pulled up waving and blowing kisses. At this point, I was already teary eyed. I discovered on this trip that Disney World makes me emotional. :) The characters got off the train, lined up, and then we all did a backwards countdown from 10 to open the park. At 1, fireworks shot up from the ground, cannons erupted with streamers, and the characters threw pixie dust onto the crowd. It was definitely a magical way to start the day. I can't remember why I didn't take any pictures but now I'm upset that I didn't. But just when we thought it couldn't get any better, we walked down Main Street and came upon this iconic view.
A picture of my family in front of Cinderella's castle on my daughter's birthday--it doesn't get much more magical than that! It was amazing. We all just stood there and stared for a moment and then starting taking tons of pictures. Such tourists!! As we entered the park, we also had a visit from Tinkerbell!
After we took in Main Street for a few minutes and just looked around in wonder, we set off to find Rapunzel. We found her in the Fairytale Garden and hopped in line to meet her. I was really disappointed that Flynn Rider wasn't there with her because he is my favorite "prince"--who knew animated characters could be so hot?! Apparently, he doesn't do appearances any longer but I did find this picture included on our Photopass.
We didn't have to wait too long in the line but it filled up quickly so I was glad Becky told me to head there first thing. Ava was still trying to take everything in as we waited.
Rapunzel was super sweet. She chatted with Ava for a few minutes and told us that Eugene, Maximus, and Pascal had gone out to pick apples for their breakfast. She was just as we imagined she would be in real life. Poor Ava and her sensitive eyes were having a hard time without her sunglasses!
Then, we headed into Fantasyland and mom, Kevin, and Ava hopped on the Mad Tea Party. I do not ride anything that involves spinning, dropping, or going backwards because I get motion sickness. So basically, I don't ride rides. Mom managed to get a picture with her cell phone.
Next, we set off for Tomorrowland and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. I did actually ride this one since I could control the spinning and we set out to help Buzz defeat the Evil Emperor Zurg.
We did lots of shooting with our Astro Blasters and I'm proud to say that yours truly earned the highest score in our group (I am just a little bit competitive). Then, we enjoyed a hilarious show at the Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor. It was one of those shows where they interact with the audience and I sat there half hoping they would put the camera on us and half fearing that they would! It was a lot of fun. We decided to walk over to Frontierland and get FastPasses for Splash Mountain before we had lunch. On our way there we caught the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party in front of the castle.
Mickey and Minnie
A side view of the castle--isn't it gorgeous!
We also stopped to hang out with the Main Street Philharmonic.
Once we got into Frontierland, we ran right into Donald Duck. Ava got to meet him
and compare shoe sizes.
Kevin got our FastPasses for Splash Mountain and then we decided to grab some burgers and take a minute to relax at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe. The little break revived us and we headed back to the ride. I agreed to ride Splash Mountain because I was under the impression that it was essentially just like the log ride I had ridden at Libertyland--just up one hill and then one single big drop. I can handle just one drop. Well, my impression was dead wrong. Almost the entire, loooong ride (again I thought this was a short ride!) took place in the dark and you had no idea what was coming next. Oh, and my mom and I were in the first car of the ride of all places! We went over one big drop and I was frantically screaming, "Was that it?! Is it over?!" to which mom replied, "Um, no, I think it is just getting started." By the end of the ride, my poor mom had Splash Mountain bruises on top of her airplane bruises from her darling daughter. She was a good sport about it. The picture the took of us on the ride is hilarious. You couldn't even see my face as I was shrinking away and attempting to crawl into my mom's lap. I would not let them buy the picture. Next, we walked over to Adventureland and the famous
We did have to wait in line here for about an hour due to "technical difficulties" with the ride. As we got closer to our turn, I interrogated the poor cast member about the ride and she put me at ease by letting me know there was just one 10 foot slide into the water. It was a really fun, relaxing ride and Kevin and I really loved the addition of Captain Jack Sparrow. He looked incredibly realistic. We got off the ride and ran right into Pirate Goofy! He loved on Ava,
she showed him Katie,
he hugged on Katie too and acted like he wasn't going to give her back!
Ava said, "That Goofy is silly!" She loved every moment of it.
Ava passed some time driving a toy boat and riding Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride with Kevin while we waited to use our FastPasses for the Jungle Cruise.
Here we are on the Jungle Cruise (yay, something else I could ride!)
Our skipper was great and cracked corny jokes the entire time which mom and I, in particular, thought were hilarious. Though when one of us starts laughing it doesn't take much for the other to start in and we end up inevitably crying with laughter. We kept wondering why everyone else in this large group with us was sitting there stone-faced and not even cracking a smile. The skipper even made the comment as we were finishing the ride, "Well, of all my groups today, y'all have been my most.....recent." Poor girl--tough crowd. As we were getting off the ride, they started talking to one another and they were French. A-ha! Hopefully they just didn't understand what our skipper was saying. That or my mom and I just have a really horrible sense of humor.
Ava didn't seem too perturbed by all the natives with their spears and the wild animals. She just stretched out and made herself right at home on the boat. I love this kid!
At this point, we decided to start making our way back toward the entrance because our dinner reservation was at 5:10. On the way out, Ava passed out in the stroller we rented for the week.
We had some time to spare, so we decided to let her get a nap and we sat down and people watched on Main Street.
Ava got a good 45 minute nap and we boarded the ferry to take us over to the restaurant at Wilderness Lodge.
We enjoyed the relaxing boat ride and checking out the other resorts from the water.
The lobby of Wilderness Lodge is 8 stories of massive logs!
We ate at Whispering Canyon Cafe which is quite rowdy and anything but quiet. Ava enjoyed playing with the very fitting Lincoln Logs during our short wait for our table.
Whispering Canyon serves all you can eat skillets full of smoked pork ribs, brisket, chicken, and sausage. Yum! They also have the most delicious cornbread I have ever tasted. Just be warned--do NOT under any circumstances ask for ketchup! The servers will yell for all the other patrons to bring their ketchup to your table. The table next to us ended up covered in about 40 ketchup bottles. It's a great place for kids (who seemed to think the ketchup thing was hilarious) as they do a hobby horse parade around the restaurant. Because it was her birthday, Ava was chosen to lead the parade! Here she is listening to directions and preparing to lead the other 30 or so kids.
I just love the look of sheer joy on her face that I was able to capture in so many of the pictures from the week. This right here is what Disney World is all about.
After the parade, our servers Bob and Claudia, brought Ava a birthday cupcake. She blew out her candle as the entire restaurant sang Happy Birthday to her.
Such a great birthday dinner! We hopped back on the ferry and headed back to the Magic Kingdom for the Electric Light Parade. When we got back, it had just started so Kevin and Ava watched the parade while mom and I claimed a spot on the bridge for the Wishes fireworks. Kevin and Ava joined us just in time for The Magic, the Memories, and You which was absolutely incredible. If you haven't been, it is a projection show that turns Cinderella's Castle into a canvas where they display images of Magic Kingdom guests and the memories they made that day as captured by the Disney Photopass photographers. The pictures along with the music, colors, and everything else they projected onto the castle were breathtaking. Then, it was time for the Wishes firework show. Mom was standing and holding Ava right in front of Kevin and me and during the show Ava looked back at us and noticed that I was crying (what's new, right?) and whispered something to my mom. I later found out that she said, "Neena, mommy's crying." to which my mom replied, "That's okay, Ava, it is because she is so happy." All throughout the rest of week, I would notice Ava looking at me periodically during the different shows that we went to. I guess she was checking to see if I was crying again. :)
It was pretty late when we got back to the room, but Ava really wanted to put on one of her new swimsuits and go to the pool. Since it was her birthday and vacation, bedtimes just went right out the window. She and Kevin went to swim and mom and I planned for the next day.
I cannot imagine a more magical way for Ava to spend her 5th birthday. It was definitely a day that I will always remember. Day 3 next--Animal Kingdom!!
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