Disney: July 12: Magic Kingdom

The mecca of Disney World has to be the Magic Kingdom.  It was our target destination for day two of the Disney park experience. 

We had every intention of catching the resort's bus earlier than the day prior, but it didn't happen.  In fact, I think we were later!  It worked in our favor though, because the park opening crowds had pushed through and the lines to get on the monorail to get to the kingdom weren't terrible (although they were still long).

And then we arrived!

I approached the day much like women (stereotypically, of course) conduct their shopping trips - walk with no specific item in mind, browse liesurely, and try on everything. 

The order of the day at this point is a little foggy... but here's what I can recall.

Splash Mountain was a perfect place for another Fast Pass.  What we didn't pay attention to, however, was that only one Fast Pass was allowed at a time... so we couldn't get tickets for future ride times on other attractions.  Bummer.  We busied ourselves in Agrabah while waiting our turn for the splash, but not by choice.  We were actually trying to find the Little Mermaid, but she was hiding from us.

It rained in Agrabah and we discovered that our dollar store ponchos (two for) from home were great covers for electronics, but were way too hot to wear for any length of time.  We enjoyed a ride on the magic flying carpets.

And tried to avoid being spit on by camels (like the one in the previous picture) as we went around.

We still had time to spend before our Fast Pass times, so we ventured further and ran into Princess Tiana's Garden.  She wasn't there, but a park person said she would be in the next half hour and we could start the line.  A chance to be first?  Ok!  Well, actually we were about the third family in line, but that's pretty good to see the newest Disney princess (Princess and the Frog). 

It was at this point that I noticed that the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique experience was quite popular.  One little girl was decked out - head to toe Tiana wear, glittered and slicked hai, and makeup!  She looked like one of the pageant girls and I felt my stomach tighten at the thought of my Chi looking so grown before her time (and at such an expense- $189 and up!).  Another family applied their own makeup and tiaras for the photo opportunity.  Then there was my Chi, jean shorts, tee shirt, hair in pig tails, Mickey ears in hand.  Still a child. And I loved seeing her this way - anticipating this special meeting with Tiana and excited about all that Disney was turning out to be.

Back to use our Fast Passes, I made a determination that my camera was accompanying me on the ride.  No more lost photos.

I simply tucked my camera into the poncho and shielded it from the splash at the ride's end. Success!

Leaving Splash Mountain, we stumbled upon a meet-up. Wait.  They weren't on the map or the schedule, were they?

As we were waiting for the opportunity to meet Woody and Jenny from Toy Story, I noticed the park employees roping off parts of the walkways.  A simple inquiry to the attendant (who closed the meet and greet line three guests behind us) said that the 3:00 parade "Celebrate" was coming through.  As it turned out, a VIP section had plenty of space behind it for people to stand and the parade was going to end right there.  How's that for a good spot?

Jiminy Cricket and Pinocchio

Their bad guys...

Mary Poppins!

Princess Belle

We still wanted to find Ariel, so we headed back toward Agrabah, past Pirates of the Carribean. Nope.  PopPop was frustrated, the kids were tired, and so?  I decided to try one last attraction. That makes sense, right?

And then, with the front gate of the kingdom as our goal, I stopped us again for the show about dream power.

The way I see it, you may be aggravated and tired now, but you'd be regretting what you could have experienced later if you just rushed through the park.

Official park areas explored:

•Main Street, U.S.A.® area

•Adventureland® area

•Frontierland® area