Day 5: Magic Kingdom

Wednesday, we spent the day at the Magic Kingdom. This was probably the most fun day for the kids since the Magic Kingdom is more like Disneyland and has mostly rides for little kids and is so magical! The kids loved everything! We were a little later this morning than most, but got to the park right about the time the park opened. To get the Magic Kingdom, you have to take either the Monorail or the Ferry. We took the Ferry and the kids really liked riding the boat over. It is fun to see the castle coming across the water, too - It is so pretty! I love the walk up Main Street to the castle - It just feels like it must be the Happiest Place on Earth!

Once we got there, we headed straight for Splash Mountain. The height requirement is 40 inches, which is what the rides that he rode earlier in the week were, so we planned on Logan being able to ride, but he wore different shoes and wasn't quite tall enough. The lady measuring was much more strict than the previous ones had been. It probably didn't help that Logan was yelling "I don't want to ride Splash Mountain!" and crying and wouldn't stand up straight. I think the lady thought she was saving him by not letting him ride and thinking I was a mean mom! I know he would have loved the ride if we could have got him on it, but I think he was perfectly content playing on the little playground with Rylee. Darren was nice enough to stay off with the kids so I could ride with the fam. It was fun, but when we first got on, another log came down the hill and splashed us and I got soaked! I was pretty upset because my hair was wet and looked SO lovely for the rest of the day!

After Splash Mountain, we went and rode Pirates of the Caribbean. I think this was the only ride that Rylee was a little weary about. She hated the loud noises and when the canon balls splashed in the water, she would jump so high! Logan found all this pirate gear in the gift shop after we got off the ride and loved dressing up like Jack Sparrow. I don't know why he knows who that is since he has not seen the movies, but he is always pretending he is Captain Jack!

Next, we rode the Jungle Cruise which is always fun! Rylee really liked seeing all the animals. For some reason, this ride always makes Logan a little nervous. He never wants to ride it, but he managed just fine. Then we went on the Haunted Mansion. We have never attempted to take Logan on this ride before, but we figured that with all his uncles going, he could do it. We told him that all the ghosts were just "Mickey Magic" and if he got scared to close his eyes, so I think that is what he did for most of the ride, but he made it without even crying! Rylee slept through the whole thing so we didn't have to worry about her!

After the Haunted Mansion, we headed to Fantasyland which was much happier for the kiddies! We were heading for Winnie the Pooh, but Logan spotted Dumbo and had to ride it, so we did that first. Logan was SO excited about this ride! He loved it! Rylee really liked the ride too, although it doesn't look like it from the picture! Next, we rode Winnie the Pooh and Snow White and then went to the Mickey's Philarmagic 3D show. That was really fun - My kids are usually a little wary of 3D shows, but they really liked this one, probably because it featured all their favorite Disney characters and had nothing scary! Then we stopped and took some pictures in front of the castle (well...it was actually the back of the castle). The kids were having so much fun walking around the castle and holding hands. It was the cutest! While we were standing there, a Disney employee came by and started talking with us. Logan noticed a plastic sword in his bag, and told him he would like one. The guy had a little "Magical Moments" ceremony for Logan and gave him a sword and certificate making him a Prince for the day! Logan thought that was pretty special! It started raining a little, but was just sprinkling. We put on our rain coats for a little bit, but didn't wear them for long. I loved that Rylee just sat down in her rain coat and said "Cheese" in front of the castle - So funny! It rained off and on most of the day, but never really rained very hard, except while we were at dinner, which worked out nicely!

Next, we rode the Tea Cups. The kids really loved the Tea Cups! Rylee was clapping the whole time and Logan loved spinning the wheel. After the tea cups, we headed for Toon Town. It is much smaller than Toon Town at Disneyland. The kids played for a few minutes, but it was raining, so we headed to meet Mickey Mouse - always a highlight! It was Mickey and Minnie and we got lots of fun pictures with them. Rylee didn't cry too much and LOVED blowing them kisses!

After ToonTown, we headed over to watch the parade. The kids really enjoyed it - Logan especially liked seeing Cruella DeVille and the characters from Peter Pan, and of course Mickey and all the classics. Rylee enjoyed it too and waved to everyone so cute!

Next, we rode Splash Mountain again and this time Darren came along while my mom watched the kids. We got a little wet, but not as bad as the first time, although we were prepared, wearing our ponchos. We looked a little nerdy, but I didn't want to be wet anymore than I had to! Then we went and saw the Country Bear Jamboree. They don't have that at Disneyland anymore, but the kids really liked it, although Logan was a little nervous about the HUGE talking animal heads on the wall at first. Once the bears were singing and dancing, we were all fine and Logan and Rylee were clapping along.

Then we went to dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern. It was a character dinner and was so much fun! Logan hardly ate anything because he was so excited about the characters all around. Rylee managed to get her fill though! They had Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Chip and Dale and they were dressed in clothes from the Revolutionary War period. The food was delicious, too! We all had a great time and Heather even had several pictures taken with the characters, which is huge for her! I have to say that she did really well - I think she only cried once the whole trip. Nothing like the fiasco at Goofy's Kitchen in Disneyland 5 years ago, with Max chasing her around and her bawling! We also managed to get Dean ANOTHER special birthday dessert!

After dinner, we went to the Tiki Room. Logan and Rylee were both dancing and clapping along and really had fun. Then we went and walked through the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. We tried to get Logan to ride Aladdin's Magic Carpets, but he wasn't interested! He was OBSESSED with going to ride the rockets, so we decided to head over there. On the way over to the rockets, we stopped and took a few more castle pics - this time from the front!

I think that the rockets were the longest line we waited in the whole trip! It took about 45 minutes and of course started raining again. Logan didn't mind though - He was so very excited and had been talking about riding the rockets all day. The rockets at the Magic Kingdom are a little different than the ones at the Disneyland. They are up on the 2nd level and you had to take an elevator to get up to the ride. Those spinning rides tend to make me sick, so me and Rylee just watched but Dad and Logan had a great time!

After the rockets, we rode Space Mountain. That is one of our very favorite rides! We love it! It is so much fun! Then we rode the little cars. Logan got a red one, so he thought it was Lightning McQueen and was SO happy about that! We noticed that Rylee had lost one of her shoes when we got in line, so my mom went back to find it and we were a little stressed about it, but she found it and she caught up with us right before we rode. Rylee was funny in the cars and was gripping the side. I don't think she liked how jerky they were.

After the cars, we rode Buzz Lightyear, another one of our favorites. Logan insisted on riding with Grandma. He loves this ride, but always gets so nervous before we get on. I don't know why - he really does like it. I think the GIANT Zurg makes him a little nervous! After the ride, we were walking around the little gift shop, and Logan used his charm once again! He told Jeff that he thought a Buzz Lightyear gun looked like fun and that he needed one, so Uncle Jeff bought it for him. They also had these funny Buzz hats. I just had to try it on Logan - I thought it was good for a laugh!

Next, we saw the Monster, Inc. comedy show, which was another interactive show that was HILARIOUS! We were all laughing so hard and Logan loved it! Then we went back and rode Space Mountain again (you gotta love the FastPasses!) and then watched the fireworks which were great. We also had FastPasses for Peter Pan, so we rode that again and then the boys went on Splash Mountain while the rest of us took the kiddies on It's A Small World. Logan and Rylee both really like this ride. Their eyes get so wide and they just seem to take it all in! Logan even started recognizing things from the times we went on it before and could tell us what was coming up. I know a lot of people think that Small World it is quite annoying, (namely my mom and sister...)but I think it is really cute and don't mind riding it. Its a Disney classic!

By this time, we were all completely exhausted from all our Disney touring! The kids were totally crashed out by the time we got back to the hotel! It was a good thing that we had a bit of a break the next day - Here is the slide show of our day at the Magic Kingdom:

Day 4: Hollywood Studios

On Tuesday, we went to Hollywood Studios. It was a little smaller than the other parks, but had some of our very favorite things! We did pretty good again about getting up and getting going, although each day our departure time got later and later. We still got to the park before they opened, so that was good. I love this picture of Logan and Rylee all ready to go in their cute Mickey ears!

While we were waiting for the park to open, my dad was checking out the map to figure out where we were going, and so was Logan. I thought it was kind of funny!

Logan was OBSESSED with the maps the entire trip! He would get so upset if one got ripped or if Rylee took it from him! Now that we are home, he loves to spread out his maps on the floor and will tell me to "tell him about Hollywood Studios" or one of the other parks. He knows where everything is on the maps and can usually even remember the order that we did things. It is pretty funny!

Once the park opened, we headed straight for the Aerosmith Rock-N-Roller Coaster, but it was closed, so we quickly changed plans and got some Fastpasses to come back later and rode the Tower of Terror. That ride is so much fun! We LOVED it! I had been on it before but it was 10 years ago and I forgot how fun it was - It is quite a bit better than the one they have at California Adventure. They drop you up and down so many times, my stomach was flip-flopping so much, but it was great!

While we rode Tower of Terror, my mom and the kids went to Guest Relations and got Dean this birthday button. It was pretty funny because it had his name right on it, so everywhere we went, Disney employees would say, "Happy Birthday Dean" and it would kind of freak me out that they knew his name until I remembered that his name was on the button! After that, we went and saw the Little Mermaid show and then we met some Disney characters. Logan gets SO excited when he sees a Disney character - I think it is favorite part of Disneyworld! We decided to let him meet Chip and Dale since there wasn't much of a line and we had never met them before. While we waited for them, Vanessa got a spot in line to meet Daisy and Minnie, so we cut with her and then cut in with Dean to see Donald. We upset a few people, but it worked pretty good! Logan really liked seeing Donald! He thinks he is so funny! He was chatting away to him.

After the characters, we went and rode the Great Movie Ride, which was really fun and took us through scenes of lots of famous movies. Then we went to see the "Lights, Motors, Action!" show. It was really awesome - It was cars doing stunt driving. They did some amazing things - driving backwards, jumping things and some pretty intense chases where the cars were just inches away from each other. After each sequence, they would show how they did things. It was really cool! There were a few explosions in the show and Logan told us that he was "Sunburned" because of all the fire! I think this was one of Darren and my brother's favorite things of the whole trip. After the show, we rode the Backlot Studios Tour. It took us through some movie sets and we saw some props from several movies. Logan and Rylee were both pretty upset by the Catastrophe Canyon Experience that simulated a flash flood and earthquake, but we made it through OK.

Then we went to the Indiana Jones show. By the time we made it over there, it had started raining a little. The stadium was totally full and we were the last ones let in and were standing in the back. Once the show started, it started POURING RAIN! We were so glad to be under the cover of the theater so we weren't getting soaked. The rain was really bad for a couple of reasons. The first is that because of the rain, they weren't able to do much of the Indiana Jones show. They were only able to do the first scene, which was really cool, but only about 5 minutes, and the full show is 20. (Luckily, my Dad recorded the whole thing the last time we were here, so we could just watch it at home.. haha!) Also, while we were inside, we started putting on our gear and realized that our strollers were just sitting in the rain with no cover, so Darren ran out to move them to some cover. He pushed them into a big puddle that was ankle deep and got SOAKED! Most of the crowd in the theater just hung out there, waiting for the rain to pass. We stayed for a bit, but then put on our ponchos and braved the rain. I thought some of these poncho pictures were pretty cute! Logan really liked wearing his Lightning McQueen jacket and was VERY excited about his umbrella. Rylee also looked SO adorable in her little Princess raincoat (I found their raincoats and umbrella at Shopko right before we left for $4!)

Most of my family decided to go ride Star Tours, but Darren and I and my mom took the kids to see the Playhouse Disney show. Getting there was pretty tricky - The rain was coming down so hard and there were huge puddles everywhere. We were DRENCHED by the time we got there and we were SO glad it was inside! This show is one of Logan's very favorite things! It has the characters from Mickey's Clubhouse, Tigger and Pooh, Little Einsteins and Handy Manny. He loves to sing and dance along to the music! Rylee wasn't too into this when we went in California, but this time, she LOVED it! She was clapping and waving and dancing. It was really fun for them!

After the show, we wanted to see the Block Party Bash, but it was cancelled because of the rain. That was a bummer because Logan LOVES that parade since it has all of the Pixar characters. He didn't seem to notice too much though because there were so many other fun things to do. It was almost time for our dinner reservations so we headed there next. We ate at The 50s Primetime Cafe. It is a themed restaurant and is supposed to be like eating in a 50s Home. While we were waiting for our table, Rylee was playing with this dog and was SO funny with it! She was giving it hugs and talking to it and petting it. It kept her entertained for quite awhile! Logan was using one of the Coffee Tables as a "Test Track" and was racing around it. We were glad when we got called back to our table because I thought they might end up breaking something!

The restaurant was a lot of fun! At each table, there were black and white TVs and the waitress is supposed to be Mom or your aunt and tells you to "take your hat off" and "keep your elbows off the table" and "clean your plate" and stuff. It is a fun place, but can be annoying at times. Because it was Dean's birthday, he also got a special birthday treat! We continued to take advantage of this for the rest of the week! Logan fell asleep while we were waiting for our table and it was pretty tough to wake him up to eat, but him and Rylee both loved the food and ate lots! They even had cute Mickey Mouse plates!

The rain had stopped while we were eating, but started up again when we went outside. It wasn't nearly as hard, but was still coming down. My family went to the 3D Muppet movie and Darren and I took Logan to meet Woody and Buzz. They had a section of the park called Pixar Place that was all stuff from the Pixar movies and you could meet Woody and Buzz together in their own little building. (You could also usually meet McQueen and Mater, but they weren't out due to the rain, and Mike and Sully but Logan is a little weary of the Monsters...) This has to be one of the highlights of Logan's WHOLE Life! Logan really had fun just waiting in line for the characters - Everything was Toy Story and there were lots of fun places for him to get his picture - Inside Buzz's spaceship box, with the Aliens, with Zurg, in the crate in Sid's room - He LOVED it!!! He was running all over the place and was having so much fun that I think he almost forgot that he could meet Buzz and Woody until we got really close. He was SO excited to meet them! He gave them both big hugs and was all smiles. When we left, we had to just stand and watch them for awhile. Rylee slept the whole time we were in line, but when we got to the front, we woke her up for pictures. We thought she would like to see Buzz and Woody since she knows them and can say "Buzz", "Woody" and "And Beyond"! She was excited to see them from across the room, but once we got close, she was NOT happy about it, as you can see from the pictures!!!

When we got out, it was STILL raining, so we went to walk around the Walt Disney Display. We were going to see the movie about his life, but then found out that the Beauty and the Beast show hadn't been cancelled, (we thought it would because of the rain) so we went and saw it. It was really good and Rylee really loved it and was clapping for them the whole time! I loved it too! After that, we finally were able to ride the Rock-N-Roller Coaster (it had been closed twice!)! That ride was SO Awesome! It was one of my very favorite things! It was in the dark kind of like Space Mountain, only with loops and corkscrews and was so much fun and when it started it went from 0 to 60 in a few seconds and knocked the wind out of me for a second - it was awesome! Then we rode the Tower of Terror again and then went and got a seat for Fantasmic. By then, the rain had pretty much stopped - Hooray!!! We learned lots from our rain experience and were much more prepared the next time!!! For instance, we went and bought extra ponchos to cover our strollers so they wouldn't get so soaked. We also all went and bought or started carrying flip flops with us each day. Having wet shoes and socks is SO gross (we learned the hard way!) so after that, when it rained, we switched to flip-flops and kept our shoes and socks dry. We also started carrying a lot of stuff (cameras, tickets, money, phones) in baggies since my mom's phone got water damage. Logan also used his charm on Aunt Heather for this Mickey Sucker. When we got off the roller coaster, my mom was waiting for us in a gift shop and Logan told Aunt Heather that "a Mickey treat sounds like a good idea", so she bought it for him and he was SO happy about it and showed it off in every picture for most of the night!

Fantasmic was incredible!!! At Hollywood Studios, they have a seperate ampitheater just for Fantasmic, which is different than at Disneyland. The show was incredible and the kids loved all the fireworks, characters and lights. Logan especially liked watching Mickey "battle the dragon"! It was awesome! We loved it.

After Fantasmic, we rushed to the new Toy Story Mania ride. The line was HUGE all day (over an hour long!)and we had Fastpasses that we had gotten earlier, but we couldn't ride until after 8:00. By the time Fantasmic was over, it was almost time for the park to close, so we had to hurry over there. That ride was SO much fun! It is definatley another favorite! You wear 3D glasses and sit in these little carts with a gun and it takes you to a bunch of different screens that look like different carnival games. Your gun shoots different things, depending on the game, and it is like playing a giant video game. It even adjusts the difficulty depending on your skill level. It was so fun and we all loved it!!! I wish we would have been able to go again, but by the time we got off, it was already closed!

The rain put a bit of a damper on our day, but we still had a lot of fun!!! We loved so many things they had here, it was definatley worth braving the rain. Here is the full slide show of our day at Hollywood Studios!