The Magic Kingdom

We did what I promised we weren't going to do on our quick vacation to Orlando. We paid a whole lot of money for a day at the Magic Kingdom. I grew up in California and have been to Disneyland lots of times. I felt like I knew the magic of disney, and the pitfalls. I know it's hot and crowded and expensive and crazy - but a little bit fun! Everyone asked Lucy before we left if she were going to Disney, and apparently "everyone else" has been there but her. She really wanted to try going. My better judgement was against it, but here we are, and so lets go. For posterity, I have made a list of our memorable highs and lows from just one day at the Magic Kingdom!

Lucy's first ride: the Mad Hatter's Party Teacups. With dad!

Henry on his first ride: Dumbo The one and only roller coaster "Barnstormer"; Last we saw of Lucy's hat behind a wired fence
Souvenirs!
Happy on the Aladdin's magic carpet ride!

Highs:
*Lucy singing "It's a small world" long after we left Disney
*Henry interjecting the word "poop" after every line of Lucy's said singing of IASW. (all together now!)
*Lucy clutching her souvenir wand back at the hotel, saying "I can't believe I didn't dream it. I can only get this at Disneyworld so it couldn't have been a dream!"
*Dinner tasted really awesome in the Jungle Cruise restaurant-stuffed acorn squash was my dinner! henry was scared of all the tiki type decore though
*No one got sunburned. It was hot, and periods of intense sun, but some decent cloud coverage and breeze just when we thought we were near the brink.
*We made use of 3 fast passes, and hit about 80% of the rides we were hoping for.
*on our way out of the park we managed to find a great spot to stand and watch the entire magical electric light parade down main street. I confess, I got a little choked up as Lucy watched in awe and Cinderella waved to the crowd! (i'm a sucker for "enchantment"!)
*Henry had NO potty accidents! (He's only been using the potty away from home about a week!! He was awesome on the plane ride too!)
*We came away with 2 magic LED crazy sparkle night time star wands, a Lightning McQueen car dressed up as Luke Skywalker with a light saber, and a beautiful floral mouse ears headband with veil. and 1 plastic Mickey Mouse straw. And one reusable spray bottle with water and a fan that mists you and cools you way down!! Well worth the $20!!!
*Henry came alive at 9:45pm when we finally got to the quiet empty parking lot. He ran and laughed for the first time all day. I can safely say Henry is an introvert!
*"It's a Small World" is as sweet and wonderful as it ever was! that alone was worth the visit! The little mermaid was pretty good too, despite a few seconds of Ursula the Sea witch. Lucy laughed at the comic Jungle Cruise ride. Captain Amanda had a lot of (corny) jokes. Aladdins Magic Carpet ride, Dumbo and Mat hatter's teacups were equally exciting for her.
*Henry's favorites were riding the big Riverboat; climbing the Swiss Family Treehouse; and eating French Fries for lunch.
*The kids both fit in the rented double stroller. We would have lasted one hour if Lucy didn't fit in the limo.
*We saw Pooh and Tigger passing by! That was the only character sighting.

Lows: *Henry's tears at the start of the day caused by sweaty sunscreen drips in his eye. Not even in the park yet.
*Lucy's tears in the car ride home because she lost her favorite new gymboree hat on the one roller coaster we rode. No grown ups reminded her to take it off for the kidder coaster, and off it blew. :( that happened early on, but it took the exhaustion of the ride home to remember the sadness.
*as Henry finally was drifting off to sleep tonight he said "I never want to go to disney land again. I didn't even have a little bit of fun". I think he's not just saying that. He did not have fun as I predicted he wouldn't. He endured, but he didn't thrive. :( Only "Car wars" toy brought him any joy. (see above list of souvenirs).
*After the first few minutes of getting there, all the anxiety and dread I had in the back of my mind came flooding in, hating every single component of the disney experience. After about 3 hours, we finally settled in to a groove and I could enjoy the day. I think Tim might stay married to me. (that belongs in the highs!)
*Crowds. Crowds Crowds!!

So now that it's over, we can enjoy the rest of our vacation!!!