Day 188- Birthday Fun at Magic Kingdom

Today is a spectacular day! It is a very chilly 67 degrees on this this early morning. We are going to Magic Kingdom and know it will be a hot 89 degrees by this afternoon. The skies are so blue and there are fluffy white clouds in the sky.

We get to the heroes parking lot and can hear they just called for, “No more boarding…” on the tram. The safety message begins as we decide walk to the Transportation and Ticket Center. It is about a 5-minute, fast walk, and not bad at all. If you have little ones, you might want to put them in their stroller and save their excitement for the parks! They can use up a lot of energy dancing all the way to the Monorail. Once they get to the park, 8-10 hours can be a long day for little ones.

The kids have planned a special day for me and gave me a “Happy Birthday!” pin to wear for the day. So, first things first! We arrive at Magic Kingdom and head for our lunch reservation at Be Our Guest. We check in and have pre-ordered our meal, so we are seated in a timely fashion. We sit by the windows in the ballroom and I can watch the snow falling as we wait for our server to hand deliver our special allergy friendly order.

Be Our Guest is a beautiful place to celebrate everything. If it is your first time to Disney, an anniversary, wedding, engagement, birthday, or have any other reason to celebrate, this is one of my favorite places. As you walk across the bridge to the Beast’s castle, it is fabulous! Notice all of the details of the lamps as you cross the bridge, and the lion-creatures that guard the front doors. It is incredibly beautiful. As the doors open, there are wonderful archways before you enter the ballroom.

We are so excited that they have a gluten free roasted beef sandwich with French fries; we also have a gluten/corn free sandwich served with green beans, and order French onion soup as well. The food here is delicious!

After lunch, our next stop is the Main Street Bakery for our Starbucks drinks. They are setting up for the Festival of Fantasy parade as we enter. As we are leaving, the parade is coming down Main Street USA. I love seeing all of the floats, the beautiful dancers, and all of the Disney characters.

We stop for a moment in the shade and wait for Twinkie’s tea to brew. We meet a couple from Pennsylvania and they are talking about how difficult it is to make the weather change from very cold to this 89-degree day with 82% humidity. I sympathized and listened. Then, I remember that I need to get my cooling towels out since it is getting hot enough to need them.

Now, my favorite ride is next. So, we head toward Fantasyland. The kids went to look at Sir Mickey’s and I went to see if Gaston was out greeting his loyal fans. He was not, so I walked back up to go to Peter Pan’s Flight. In the meantime, Twinkie met some of the Royal Majesty Makers and was having quite a fun chat with them. As I approached Peter Pan’s Flight, I saw the kids chatting and quickly Twinkie introduced me as, “The Queen” and I asked if I could get a picture with the Royal Majesty Makers! They are such a delight; do take the time to chat with them if you happen to see them out!

Our FastPass+ time is here, so we are off to ride Peter Pan. I love this ride.

Now, the kids and I walk down to see Gaston and watch the girls swoon over him. It is so fun to see him interact and talk with the ladies. He looks across the way, to where buff guy was standing. Gaston left the girls and told the guy that he would “help him” with his sleeves and rolled the buff guy’s t-shirt sleeves back down to cover his arms. The crowd laughs and Gaston picks on him once again. It is just fun watching all of the interactions and pictures.

Next, we have the Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid ride. I love this one too! I cannot wait, they have added some more fishes and it is so fun to feel like you are in the movie. The kids loved this movie when they were little, so we saw it many times. I take in a moment of dreamy fishes enjoying the music, then listen to “Under the Sea.” I love this large cave full of so many fish.

We decide to grab another iced drink at Starbucks. It is so hot today and staying hydrated is very important. We drink so much water during the day. I love having a glass to refill in between rides. When we get to Starbucks, they are preparing for the second Festival of Fantasy parade of the day. There seem to be several High School Bands passing as we are waiting for our drinks to be crafted. They are really fun to hear and to see passing by the windows of Starbucks.

As we are walking to a ride or from a ride, there are characters everywhere, or a play, or a parade – there is something always going on when you are at Magic Kingdom.

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is our next ride and we get checked in with the FastPass+ on our MagicBands. The cast member greets me with, “Happy 21st Birthday! Oh, and I see that your brought your younger sisters!” He totally caught me off guard, and all I could do was to laugh and thank him! The line is fairly long, but soon we were on the ride. There is a score that I have not attained yet. That score is 999,999 also known as Galactic Hero. My kids have gotten it a few times, but I’m still working on it! Me? My highest score was today: 339,800!!! Oh, yes! I am happy with this new high score! We stop and get the Galactic Hero celebration pin for the kids!

Well, I have had a blast. It has been a lot of fun celebrating my birthday with my kids at Magic Kingdom. I have had tons of, “Happy Birthday!” greetings all day long! I think I am done for the day! We walk back through Tomorrowland to the new hub where there is a parade in process, so we take our time as we are heading for the front entrance. It gets crowded with people stopping to take pictures. The cast members encourage those taking pictures to go under the rope into the safe zones for those who want to stand and watch the parades. It makes it easier for the people coming up and down the sidewalks and aids in traffic flow. I like days that people are kind and thoughtful toward those around them.

As we are exiting, the cast member waving good-bye says, “Happy Birthday!” The cast member at the monorail hollers, “Happy Birthday!” As I am exiting the Monorail another cast member says, “Happy Birthday!” These are some of the wonderful things that happen all day long when you are celebrating! Be sure to get your special pin! It was a very happy birthday!

Day 80- Magic Kingdom and Main Street Confectionary

Magic Kingdom is absolutely beautiful this evening! The lights on Main Street USA are so cheery and beautiful against the darkening sky. The Christmas decorations glitter and gleam as we walk down the street. The Victorian buildings are pristine and beautiful. We are celebrating today and are going to the Main Street Confectionary to get a caramel apple! Twinkie looks at which apples are available, and decides on a Santa Minnie apple. It is too cute!

Our next stop is the Main Street Bakery for coffee to go with our caramel apple. There are fewer people in the park at the moment, so we are in and out quickly. We pass the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor, and then find a table where we can sit and share the caramel apple. We watch Cinderella’s Castle and enjoy our treats at Disney.

Soon, my coffee is gone, the caramel apple is eaten and we head for our FastPass+ for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. Our line goes quickly. We are on the ride and getting ready to make a high score! Tooti and Twinkie accomplish Galactic Hero today! Congratulations! Once we get off the ride, the girls tell the cast member at the shop (with photo evidence) and are given their “I’m Celebrating” button: Galactic Hero 999,999!

As we are going towards Cinderella’s Castle on the way back to the entrance, we hear Anna and Elsa talking, so we know they are about to light the castle! We stop and watch as Cinderella’s Castle is transformed into a beautiful, icy castle. It is so gorgeous, it is a must see if you are at Magic Kingdom during the holidays at night.

We walk to the front, and are off to the Monorail. It was a nice evening and it is still warm this evening. I love Disney!

Day 63- Magic Kingdom & Epcot

Today is an absolutely beautiful day. We are expecting it to be in the lower 80s today and even hotter tomorrow! The sky is a beautiful blue with a few puffy clouds floating by. We are going to Magic Kingdom today.

Magic Kingdom is bustling as we get our bags checked and our MagicBands scanned. We have until 7pm tonight, that is when Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party begins and you must have a separate event ticket. We plan to go later this season, we went in 2012 and it was so much fun.

As we entered by the train depot, the Festival of Fantasy parade was going down Main Street USA. After we watched the parade pass, we waited a few minutes and started down Main Street USA. What’s that I hear? It’s the Dapper Dans quartet singing! Their singing makes you feel like you stepped back in time. Then, we heard the Main Street Philharmonic a little bit later! I love all of the music on Main Street USA.

We headed for Tomorrowland to the Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. I love this ride, and there are so many people today that I am glad we have a FastPass+. The FastPass line moves quickly and soon we are on the ride. I got over 100,000 points today, that makes me smile!

Our next stop is the Main Street Bakery for some coffee. I know we are backtracking a bit, but that is not unusual when you go to Disney! As we step in and order, the cast member remembers us from a few weeks ago. He recaps our story and tries to remember Tooti and Twinkie’s nicknames. This is always fun, today he tries to recall and calls them Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. We chuckle and compliment him on remembering our story of 365 at Disney. We get our drinks, then go to sit and enjoy the Dream Along with Mickey show in front of Cinderella’s Castle.

After we finish our coffees, we head toward the front of the park to ride the Walt Disney World Railroad! We watched and waited as they refurbished the train recently, so this is the first time we have ridden on it since the refurbishment! I am so excited! I love trains and we get to sit at the very back; that is usually full during really busy seasons, so it’s extra special today. Twinkie gets to ride on the very, very last seat! Soon we are off and chugging down the rails! We stop at the Frontierland Station where some people get off and new folks get on. Twinkie heard that the girl who made her Paperman Ears was in Fantasyland, so when we got around to that stop, we got off. She was able to say, “Hi!” and then we made our way to the front gates once again.

We were all a little hungry, so we decided we needed a Power Salad at Sunshine Seasons in Epcot. We hopped onto the Monorail and went back to the Ticket and Transportation Center, where we changed to the Epcot Monorail and were off to find some supper! We met a wonderful family on the Monorail and had a fun time talking and sharing a few tips. The dad was trying to convince his daughter that Spaceship Earth is really made out of chocolate; if you peel back the wrapper you can go up and take a bite… just be sure to put the wrapper back down, though! I like that idea! They were going to be at Disney for eight days. How much fun they will have these next few days! I am so excited for them! They were a really nice family.

We walked down the ramp from the Monorail and got our bags checked, scanned our MagicBands, and we were officially in Epcot! YAY! I love being here and seeing so many happy people. The crowds are thinner than they were during the Food and Wine Festival and it is really nice! As we walk to The Land, there are several people who need directions to various parts of the park. I am always glad to help them and shout, “Have fun!” I hope they have as much fun as we did on our first trip to Walt Disney World!

As we walk up to The Land, Twinkie reminds me that the building is in the shape of a volcano! Really? That is so cool. Also, the sidewalks up to the building are colored to represent hot lava and cooled lava flowing down from the volcano. Now, that is really cool. As we walk up, a couple asks if Soarin’ is near here. Tooti told them to enter, go to the right, take the escalator down, turn right at the bottom, and you can see the Soarin’ sign.

Soon, we are finished with supper and we are back outside going to see the Epcot Christmas Tree. It is beautiful.

After an afternoon and evening of walking in two parks, I think it is time to call it a day! I have met so many nice families whose children were so kind and smart! What a wonderful day!

Day 59- Magic Kingdom and the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile

The sun is shining and the day is beautiful. We were running errands earlier today and saw the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile! I love seeing the Weinermobile! We were going to call home, but we forgot to tell Twinkie we saw it! So, now we are at the Magic Kingdom parking lot (at the Transportation and Ticket Center), thoroughly excited that we got a great parking spot as we wait on the tram. The kids wanted to walk, but they were waiting for the tram with me. Hey, Mom! Look! There is the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile!

What!? I am so willing to walk to get to see this amazing and fun Weinermobile! We chased the Weinermobile when the kids were little and we were driving in the country. We were driving near a lake where it was hilly and I thought I saw something that I had never seen. We sped up and saw it was the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile on the road in front of us! Yes, we chased it for over an hour before it stopped in a Whataburger parking lot. We met the driver, got pictures, and ate supper there. Then, we drove over an hour back home! Yes, we will do what needs to be done to have fun, like driving out of our way to get to see this fun vehicle! Today, we didn’t even have to chase it down!

After we got pictures with the legendary Weinermobile, we were off to catch the Monorail to Magic Kingdom. As we get into the Main Street USA area, we see that A Frozen Holiday Wish is going on, and Elsa is just about to light the castle. We run up to the top level of the Train Depot and just in time to watch from the balcony! It is beautiful!

Our first FastPass+ is Pirates of the Caribbean. I had heard that the crowds are heavy at Magic Kingdom today, and sure enough, they are very busy.

We scan out MagicBands for Pirates of the Caribbean quickly and get in line. The FastPass+ line is fairly long, and the mom behind us is trying to look past us as we turn another corner. I laughed and said that we go down this next hallway, then a little hill, and we will be to the boats. She relayed the information to her family, and we chuckled. We began to talk, started laughing, and she asked, “How many times have you been on this ride?” A lot! She asked us what out 3 favorite rides are! Oh, I love Peter Pan’s Flight. She said, “We have FastPasses for that one!” I love Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train, and Pirates of the Caribbean. It turns out that they had FastPasses lined up for all of these! We shared as much as we could in a couple of minutes, and they thanked us for all of the hints to enjoy Magic Kingdom!

Our next FastPass+ is Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, so, we head for Tomorrowland. However, on the way out of Adventureland is the Dole Whip stand. We grab two Dole Whip Floats and a pineapple wedge on our way.

We stop as we cross the bridge into Tomorrowland and sit to finish our Dole Whip Floats. We watch Cinderella’s beautiful castle with all if its thick, icy lights! It is so fabulously beautiful.

Now, on to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin! The FastPass+ line is very quick and we are soon on the ride! It is so much fun to shoot the targets and watch the score go up over 100,000! I can see Tooti’s score and she has a perfect 999,999: Galactic Hero! As we get off of the ride, onto the moving sidewalk, we are excited to see our pictures as we round the corner! The cast member says that the pictures are already linked to our MagicBands! How cool!

We must stop and get Tooti’s “I’m Celebrating” badge! If you get 999,999, a perfect score, take a picture to show the cast member in the store, they will give you a “Galactic Hero” pin and announce it to everyone!

The day is perfect and turns into a cool evening. It was a fun, yet busy, day at Magic Kingdom!

Day 35- Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom parking is so very busy at 4pm. There are two lines of cars going into park. The tram is very busy, but we are parked close to the Transportation Center and it is only about a 5 minute walk to get to the Monorail. As we get close, we see the Monorail is not running at this time, so we are redirected to the Ferry Boat. The Ferry Boat is a few minutes out, and the dock is filling up, but the Ferry Boat can hold a huge group of people.

The little girl behind us is a little hesitant to go on the Ferry, so I said, “If you go upstairs to the front, the breeze blows through your hair and your (Elsa) dress. It is so much fun!” Her mom repeated it to her. Soon, we were on the boat and her dad was walking up the stairs with her, heading for the front of the Ferry Boat! It is so much fun this time of the year.

Magic Kingdom is bustling as we arrive, and there are so many people just getting there. If you plan to come for the Not So Scary Party, you will need to plan ahead! Tonight’s party is sold out again. Now, we are off to our first FastPass+ for Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor. It is fun to hear the parents and kids laugh in what is a very fun, interactive attraction!

Our next destination is Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin! The lines are really moving fast today, we have our FastPass+, and just as I step onto the moving sidewalk, the ride stops. My spinning car is just behind the rail. I stopped and froze, just as the Cast Member advised me to step back towards him. Oh, good, I didn’t know what to do! In less than a minute, it was up and going once again. I got on my spinning car and was off, looking forward to playing this game! Tooti had the highest score of the day, Twinkie had a good score, and mine was way off today.  We exited onto the moving sidewalk after the ride. Then, we see several TV screens and we have to find the funny faces we made when they took our pictures during the ride!

We are thirsty, so we go towards Adventureland to get a Dole Whip! It is cool and creamy, perfect with a hot, sunny, Florida day! While we are waiting in line, I see a very young family of five with a Dole Whip Float. It is so sweet, they had their 5 straws and the little girls were helping put them in the float. The mom got a sip and gave the littlest boy a sip. I remember when we would share our special treats when the kids were little. Makes me smile to see how kind the family is as they share!

Yay! We got through the long line. Now we look for seating, but it is full, so back across Main Street USA. We see the yellow umbrellas standing over the tables outside of the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor. What a wonderful place to see the costumes! Look! That whole family is dressed like mimes! We saw some absolutely great costumes, and more are going by as we see eggs and bacon, peanut butter and jelly, Mary Poppins and a penguin, and so many others.

Now, it is after 6pm and we must exit Magic Kingdom before 7pm, when the Not So Scary Party begins. The Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party is starting and we get watch as we are leaving. Oh, there Waldo and Ms. Waldo! Picture, please?

There is an amazingly huge crowd of people leaving, and as I turn to look back, there is an amazingly huge crowd of people going into Magic Kingdom for the party! Wow!

What a wonderful afternoon of rides, dole whips, and sunny weather!

Day 32- Magic Kingdom

What a gorgeous day today! The high is only going to be 82 with a nice breeze. The day is relaxing for us as we head to Magic Kingdom. We asked if we could take a picture of this family, they were dressed as characters from Peter Pan and Jake and the Neverland Pirates! They are really cute and fun! We end up riding the Monorail with them and found out that they lived in Texas for a while. We enjoyed talking and hearing their story; their sons were amazing!

On the way to the Monorail, I saw that the ticket offices were sold out for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party tonight. If you plan on going to this, you might want to plan way ahead for the night you want to attend; I know they are totally out of tickets for October 31. I do love going to Magic Kingdom ahead of the party and enjoy seeing all of the costumes!  There is a tiny little baby in a Minnie Mouse costume… adorable! Then, little dudes decked out in little pirate costumes, and the cutest Elsa in a beautiful dress. I just had to ask her grandmother where they found it, turns out they found it at TJ Maxx! Of course, the little princess’ eyes lit-up as we adored her beautiful dress! The bustle is wonderful and the anticipation of the night’s activities is in the air.

We take a minute to enjoy the busy Main Street. We decide to go to the Main Street Bakery and get tea at Starbucks. We had a moment to wait for our drinks, so we visited with a mom and her son from Tennessee! They are full of energy and enjoying the day. I helped hold the door as she ushered her son out in his wheel chair, then another family came out, nice kids! Now, back inside to wait for one more drink.

I found that we got a last minute FastPass+ to get to go on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin!!! When it is really busy at the parks, like it is today, FastPasses are usually completely out. We begin walking fast and drinking our Starbucks quickly as we head to the ride. Today the standby line is only 20 minutes, but I am glad we have these passes. Again, I absolutely love this ride! I got my highest score ever- 344,000! Tooti and Twinkie made Galactic Hero status (999,999!); we took a pic of their scores and headed to the counter to claim their Galactic Hero celebration badges!!! Congrats, kids!

Now, off to catch the Monorail so we can pick up the pups from school! The costumes are numerous as we are approaching party time. If you are visiting the parks, know if you do not have a ticket for the party, the park closes at 7pm on the nights with Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (party guests can stay until midnight). As we get to the TTC (Ticket and Transportation Center), we are seeing costumes everywhere! Ninja Turtles (some with tutus), pirates, the whole group from the Little Mermaid (including King Triton!), characters from Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast, and so many more! So many fun and happy people.

Day 30- Afternoon Tea at the Grand Floridian & Magic Kingdom

Today is a celebration day! We have completed 29 days, and today is our 30th day! Now, where to celebrate? DISNEY WORLD! Yes, and today, we should celebrate with high tea! So, off we go to Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa to celebrate.

We noticed it is monsoon-like outside; I think Valet is a great choice as I am dressed to the nines and need to look nice for tea. As we are walking in, we see Richard, who is often greeting guests at the resort. We first saw him back in March during our visit on Dapper Day. He is dressed to the nines as well and is so very kind and happy.

There are a few minutes to spare and that will be a wonderful time to browse the stores upstairs around the Grand Room. There is piano music playing in the lobby; it is so relaxing and wonderfully dreamy.

Tea Time! We are seated by the windows, which is perfect because I love watching the people going by outside. Our waitress is wonderful and our tea is perfectly hot as we begin our teatime. We chose the “Buckingham Tea”. The chef made us the most amazing gluten-free tea sandwiches for the first course. Our second course was special breads from Babycakes with lemon curd, Devonshire cream and a jam. Finally, our last course had amazing chocolate mousse and coconut macaroons. It was a delightful time!

Now, we are off to the parks. Tonight we are going to Magic Kingdom, and the rains are pouring down once again as we head to the Monorail. Then, as we are exiting at the Magic Kingdom stop, I realized that with Florida life, you just get used to the flood of water pouring from the sky. So many kids were having a blast kicking up their heels and wading through the ankle-deep water. Did I say that we usually have shoes that work with the water and rain? Today, we only have our tennis shoes, so our feet are soaked. No problem, a little rain can’t stop us, nor can a monsoon! (Monsoon is Texan for tons of rain!)

I stopped in to get a Band-Aid at the First Aid Station, when a lady came in and asked a question I had never heard. She asked the staff, “When do they determine that it is time to shut down the park?” The attendant said, “This is Florida life, we don’t ever shut down the park for rain.” She was amazed that the park would allow people to stand under the awnings until the rain stopped. It was a funny thing to hear as we headed out in the pouring rain with our umbrellas, wet shoes, soppy purses, and dripping dresses to ride our first ride of the day! It’s a rainy day in Florida, good thing Mickey has a raincoat!…

First ride is Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin! It is one of our favorite rides and we love the challenge of hitting the Zurg targets with the cool laser shooters.

Next, we head for the People Mover! It ended up pausing twice for a couple of minutes inside of Space Mountain. Instead of darkness like usual, the lights were on and we got to see what the track and structure actually look like! It was pretty amazing to see.

Then, we have a FastPass+ for Peter Pan’s Flight, my favorite ride! Ok, one of my favorite rides at Magic Kingdom!

Now off to get a Dole Whip for Twinkie, this is her first day back with us after being sick. We are tickled pink that she is back up to speed for day 30!

Time to head home. We get on the monorail with a great young family! They were so fun to talk to! We were so glad to meet them and their son. As we get off the Monorail we look to see if it’s still raining, make that monsoon-ing, as we head home…

Day 7- Beignets at Port Orleans French Quarter & Magic Kingdom

Today we headed for a snack at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter.  They have the best Gluten-Free Beignets!  What’s a beignet?  It is like a square, fried donut hole with powdered sugar sifted on top.  Best things ever!  Got to meet the chefs, including the one who created the original recipe to make these!  Too fun!

Next, we went to Magic Kingdom.  It is always new!  As we walked into the park, we were greeted with happy music as we watched the last of the Festival of Fantasy Parade.  Then, we headed off to ride my favorite ride, Peter Pan’s Flight.  It feels like you are in the movie. We three are sitting in a ship and fly over the story being told in a most unique way.  It is truly magical.

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin: it is always a must do for fun!  See how many points you can rack up as you are shooting targets and turning your space cruiser to get optimal aim to defeat Emperor Zurg!  Nope, I am not the winner this time; Tooti and Twinkie totally know which targets gain you the most points.  I am in training.  Twinkie was helping me today, but she won today!  😀

The PeopleMover is right outside of Buzz Lightyear’s.  It is a great way to see many rides on that side of the park.  Love!

Getting hungry… what shall we do?  Oh, I think we will grab a bite at Tony’s Town Square; it is near the entrance/exit and it is a fantastic place to eat.  I love this time of the year.  We could walk up and a table was available.  (During the busier seasons, you almost always have to have a reservation.)  Right after we were seated, before our waiter could even take our drink order, the Chef was already there!  Totally surprised me!  He is a great Chef and in no time we were served GF bread.  Then, our food came and it was superb.  The waiter?  Superb.  Needed that nice dinner.

Also, the little girl next to us was named Mae.  Tooti met her and her mom.  Pretty cool since we three have May in our name too!  A nice treat to meet a Mae!

Then we were off to the Monorail and headed home!  On the road home, we were nearing the Contemporary Resort, two deer were galloping across the grassy hills near the monorail track.  We slowed to see if they were going to cross the road.  The oncoming traffic slowed too and we got to enjoy seeing them enjoy the cool evening!  Nice little treasures.

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