We got to MK around 8:45 for a 9:00 opening and headed straight towards the castle for the Welcome Show. Along the way we met the Mayor of Main Stree,t and he wished C a happy birthday...
And posed for a quick pic...I tried to get the PhotoPass lady to take a pic of us in front of the castle, but she said there were too many people so she had C pose over on the sidewalk. :)
Waiting for Let the Magic Begin to start.
After the little welcome show was over, we decided to hit up Pirates of the Caribbean first. We got almost all the way there before a cast member told us it was temporarily closed. I was so annoyed because it was not showing as a closure in the app! Curran was begging to do It's a Small World, so on our way there I made her try Haunted Mansion. She was NOT happy with me. :) Then we went to Small World and she was much happier there.
She wanted to pose by Rapunzel's tower on our way.
Waiting to board the Small World boat.
After Small World we decided to go to Winnie the Pooh because the wait time on the app said 15 minutes, but when we got there the sign said 35 so we said NOPE! and walked around the corner to meet Cinderella and Elena. The wait said 15 min, and it probably ended up being between 10 and 15 min and was the longest we waited all day. Pretty darn good for a Saturday in July! We ate a snacky breakfast while waiting in line. {P.S. I'm sorry I'm so neurotic about keeping up with the time but I can't help it.}
After seeing those gals, we rode Dumb then went next door to Barnstormer, which is one of C's faves, and rode it twice in a row.
We hit up the potties in Storybook Circus and headed towards Journey of the Little Mermaid and walked right onto it.
C wanted to do the Tea Cups, and when we got there, there was a tiny line (the wait time said 5 minutes), and Curran said she didn't want to wait. I was having a hard time convincing her that we wouldn't have to wait long at all. She was being such a pill! She finally agreed to ride it and we practically walked onto it. She's spoiled by not having to wait in many lines {we just don't do it and usually plan pretty well} that when she thinks there's any sort of line she's like "nah! moving on." {eye roll}
Then we hopped in line to meet Alice after the tea cups.
We went to the People Mover next and enjoyed that as always!
After People Mover we tried to go meet Tink since Curran was in her Tinkerbell outfit. The wait time on the app said 15 min, but when we got there the sign said 30 min, so we didn't want to wait. Instead we walked back towards the castle and caught Mickey's Royal Friendship Faire shortly after it had started and watched from the Hub grass.
This was one of those moments I hope I'll always remember. She laid her head on my shoulder as she was watching the show and just looked so happy. Made my heart soar!
<3 p="">
<3 p="">
After the show, we went to Jungle Cruise for our FP. The FP line moved kind of slow, but I was glad to get a shady seat in the boat. It was hot!
After the show, we went to Jungle Cruise for our FP. The FP line moved kind of slow, but I was glad to get a shady seat in the boat. It was hot!
Waiting for Jungle Cruise and looking hot and tired.
Then we grabbed a quick service lunch at Pecos Bill. That was our first time to eat there since it changed to Mexican food, and it was pretty good. Not the best food ever by any means, but it was a nice change of pace. After lunch we went to Big Thunder Mtn Railroad next for our FP.
There is a fun play area for kids near Splash Mtn. C ran right to it and when we were leaving I saw the sign that said "2-5 year olds only." Oops.
<3 p="">We wanted to check out Tom Sawyer's Island, but they had temporarily shut it down due to lightening in the area. We ran by the potty and then checked in for our Splash Mtn FP. That was actually my first time to ride it, so I was excited! I did not expect all the slower parts and cute inside scenes, but I enjoyed it!
That's me on the back row, and you can't see Curran because she was ducking beside me. :)
Then we were able to take the "raft" over to Tom Sawyer's Island and explore a bit over there.
After that, I needed to pump so we headed to the Baby Care Center. Thankfully the guys (??) working in there were nice and let C watch TV while I pumped, and when I came out she was buried in a good book and didn't want to get up. We had reservations for Tiana's Riverboat Party and Ice Cream Social- I was so excited about trying this for the first time! We checked in around 2:30, and they told us the boat wasn't able to run due to lightening in the area {common theme for the day}, but that the party was still going to take place under the covered entrance at Liberty Square, that we would have reserved parade viewing in Frontierland in the shade {alleluia} with complimentary food and drinks over there, and they gave us 4 extra Fast Passes for the inconvenience. I'd say we got the better end of that deal! I got some ice cream and treats and a Coke for Curran, and I grabbed some water for myself.
She met Tiana and Naveen, and then she had to scarf down her snack so we could head to the parade viewing area.
The Festival of Fantasy parade is one of our very favorite things at Disney, and we've never not watched it while at MK! As a cast member was taking us over there, he mentioned something about the fireworks that night and asked if we were going to be there. I said that yes we were but I was worried about getting a good seat since it was our first time to see the new show and people were lining up so early. He casually mentioned that I should talk to [insert some guy's name I don't remember] about getting into the dessert party that night. Then after we got seated at the parade, another cast member came over and found us and pulled me off to the side and discreetly offered us admission to the Tomorrowland Terrace fireworks party that night! I was so pumped!!
I love this picture of her waiting for the parade to start!
A wave from Punzie
This Lost Boy liked Tink on her shirt.
She got a hat tip from Captain Hook for the same reason!
Then Tink spotted it!!!
"That's me?!"
Seriously, Disney. You get me every time with your attention to detail and making kids feel noticed and loved!
My favorite float is Merida and the Highland dancers. :)
As soon as the last float in the parade was passing by, it all of a sudden started raining, so we booked it back to the Riverboat party spot. They had more snacks and drinks, and Tiana and Naveen came back for more pictures and autographs {they didn't sign autograph books before the parade}.
After we had had our fill of snacks, our new Fast Passes were burning a whole in our pocket, so we decided to scoot out of there so we could use them. We thought Peter Pan's Flight would be a good choice since we hadn't ridden it yet, so we headed over there and tried to check in, but the FP were not good for this ride or Mine Train. I should've looked at the passes because it said that as clear as day on there! Oh well. Curran wanted to use it to ride Splash Mtn again so we headed there.
This time I held one of her hands up so she couldn't duck down. :)
I had added a 4th FP for Pirates of the Caribbean after we checked in for our 3rd FP earlier that day, so we hit up the restroom and then made our way over to Pirates after Splash Mtn.
You can't even see C and me in this pic because of that lady's ears. :( We're on the second to last row.
What's not to love about a twirl from Mickey?
There was almost no one there, so it didn't take long to meet the characters, and then we fixed our plates and got to eat before the dinner even officially started! It was so nice! When I booked this dinner, I knew C would be excited, but I did worry that she wouldn't think it was as fun without her sister or cousins there to enjoy it with her. But I shouldn't have worried- she had an absolute blast and so did I!!
The signs for the reserved Category 1 seating. They place you at the ends of the tables closest to the dance floor which I thought was important since I would be there by myself with C. I figured it would be much easier to keep an eye on her that way.
Hot, tired, sticky, happy.
As the dinner/party was winding down to a close, we scooted out a few minutes early to get in line at the boat dock to head back to MK. It was a around 7:15 at this point {I think} and we were told to check in for the fireworks party between 7:30-7:45, but I really wanted C to visit Tinkerbell since she had on her Tink outfit. Gotta get the photo op, ya know? :) So even though it was close to 8:00 by the time we made it back into the park, we had that extra FP to use so we went to meet Tink. I figured if they didn't let us into the dessert party, it was no big loss since we hadn't paid for it.
After Tink, we went to the Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant and checked into the party with no problem, regardless of the fact that it was 8:15.
We enjoyed some yummy treats and were then taken to a reserved space on the hub grass for fireworks. It was our first time to see Happily Ever After, the fireworks show that replaced Wishes, and it did not disappoint!! The music and castle projections are wonderful, and it was just so special to enjoy that moment with Curran. As cheesy as it sounds, we stood with our arms around each other, sang along to our favorite songs, and took in every minute of the show. We both loved it! That's another moment I hope I'll never forget.
After the show, we made our way to our FP for Peter Pan's Flight which I had added after we checked in for Pirates. After Peter Pan, Curran really wanted to do Barnstormer again, so we went there next. After we rode the first time, we actually didn't have to even get off and rode it again since no one else was in line. C was thrilled! I decided we needed to call it a night after that because I knew I would be up late packing and getting us ready to check out the next morning. We walked out by the Tangled Tower because I really wanted to take a picture with the new lantern photo op, but the line was way too long.
On Peter Pan
So we kept on going and headed to the boat dock. We ended up waiting about 18 minutes or so for our boat, and it felt like forever to me! Curran was practically asleep in the stroller, so she was fine, but I was exhausted and tired of standing.
The Electrical Water Pageant came by while we were waiting.
After we made it back to Wilderness Lodge, Curran got in bed and I got us all packed up so we could check out the next morning before heading back to Magic Kingdom for the day. This was one of those days that felt practically perfect in every way! Sure, not everything went just as planned, but it was so magical nonetheless, and we had the most special time together! I hope I always remember how it felt to spend this day at Magic Kingdom with my big girl. It was amazing!
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