Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

Magic Kingdom

We slept in a bit today, which was nice - after all we were up pretty late last night. Everyone slept soundly today, but as soon as we got up, we were ready for more action! We decided to go to the Magic Kingdom again today, mainly because of some special reservations Daddy made for lunch. They were at 2:20, so we filled the in-between time with some fun in Frontierland and Adventureland!

But how to get there? By train of course! First thing we did was climb up the steps to the train station for a ride over to the Frontierland station.

Our first stop in Frontierland was the Country Bear Jamboree, though we had to wait a bit for the next show. We wandered through a gift shop, where the employees all complimented Madison on her beautiful outfit. She was wearing a Minnie Mouse dress, and was even given some pins by the cast members there.

But soon it was time for the show, which was a load of fun as always. Madison laughed at some of the early bears and watched for new ones in all the various spots they'd pop in. She was clapping along with everyone else - today's crowd was an enthusiastic one!

Afterwards, we had a bite to eat at Pecos Bill's, which is right next door. The meal plan gave us way too much food, but we were kind of hungry so we ate inside at an empty table. Daddy got extra toppings for his burger: pickles and tomatoes. Of course, he didn't actually eat those. Madison scarfed those up right away. She loves pickles and tomatoes!

The next thing we did was ride on the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, which is essentially just like the Dumbo ride, only with a much shorter line! This was very exciting to Madison, and we were laughing while we rode - because look at what she was doing:

Where do we learn to throw our hands up in the air like that on a ride? Mommy and Daddy didn't teach her to do that, so perhaps she saw someone else do it. Or maybe it's instinct. Perhaps God knew we would have amusement park rides someday and it is part of our genetic design to throw our hands up in the air when we're going around on rides. Regardless, she had a really good time!

Our next stop was a natural choice, so to speak. She did so well with the Kilimanjaro Safari the other day that we hopped aboard the Jungle Cruise. This was a lot of fun for Madison, especially the backside of water part you see above. She was looking all over, and our guide was hilarious this time around, with an amazing number of jokes to keep us all laughing through it.

But soon after, it was time for us to meet the characters from 100 Acre Wood. That's right, we went back to the Crystal Palace for another character dining experience. There was a little wait, but during the wait Madison could see a show at the base of Cinderella's Castle - she even wagged her finger when she saw Maleficent challenge Mickey and the princesses. But the wait wasn't too long, and we were ushered inside where Madison's smile got really big.

The food was good, but you don't go to this place for the food so much as the characters. Madison met Piglet first, and then Tigger - and soon after that Eeyore. She had them each sign her autograph book, and of course Daddy was snapping pictures. Madison was having a great time with the characters. Forget the rides: this is what was getting the biggest smiles. Soon she met Winnie the Pooh, and all was right with the world! It was funny how insistent she was on kissing each of their noses. Afterwards, each one would act all shy, and Madison would giggle. It was a wonderful meal.

We headed back to Fantasyland after the meal, but were shocked at the wait times for Peter Pan and Dumbo. We just couldn't squeeze them in for this trip. But Madison had a great time riding "It's a Small World" again. We ventured over to Mickey's Toon Town, but Madison actually fell asleep in her stroller on the way over. It's been a long week!

We went in the air conditioned shops and waited it out. Can you believe the line to meet Tinker Bell was over an hour? Unfortunately, we couldn't bring strollers in the line, otherwise that would have been a perfect spot to wait. Still, we looked around underneath a big tent, and decided a little rest for all of us would be a good thing - so we headed over to the castle to make our way back home.

That's when we noticed a cool grotto where in just fifteen minutes, Belle would be reading us all a story! We moved the stroller carefully into the grotto, and Madison woke up gradually, looking around. Where are we? We told her who was coming, so she hopped up on a bench in the front row. She sat next to a row of other girls, all of them about the same age. Madison was getting close to the others, as if they were all lifelong friends! And then Belle came out:

It was a magical experience! Madison enjoyed hearing Belle's version of "Beauty and the Beast," which was told using some volunteers from the audience. It was enjoyable for even the adults, actually. But the real joy, as you probably know, was watching Madison listen very carefully to Belle's story. Remember, she had just met Belle a few days ago at a dinner in Epcot.

After that, it was nearly time to go. But Daddy saw the wait time for the Mad Tea Party was very small, so he and Madison jumped on that ride quickly.

And we did it a second time too! As soon as we hopped off the ride, we excitedly got right back in line and got ready to do it again. Madison really enjoyed it: "Daddy dizzy!" That's right, she was enjoying making Daddy dizzy. But she was enjoying making herself dizzy too. For the record, I didn't spin that cup fast at all - just a little bit! Much later, when we said the word teacups, Madison would still say: "Daddy dizzy!" And she'd also add: "Madison dizzy!"

It was time to say goodbye to the Magic Kingdom - for now. We strolled down Main Street (is there any other way to go down Main Street?), and waved goodbye to the castle for now. It was time to go back to the hotel and get some well-deserved rest.

When we got home, we did rest, but we also had a little more playtime as well. There was a smaller, quieter pool by closer to our rooms. It was still a big pool, but compared to the large one with the forts around it, this one was small. Anyway, we practiced swimming for a bit and then something funny happened: a couple ducks landed in the water right in front of Madison. What a surprise!

After swimming a bit, we went back to the room. What a great room this was! Just for the occasion, Madison brought along her pirate outfit and we took some photos of her dancing on her pirate boat bed.

We went to bed a little early tonight, though there was a bit of yo-hoing. We were a bit tired, so an early night was good - besides, Mommy was doing a lot of packing tonight because tomorrow it was time to go. In the morning, we'll pack up the car and drive over to Hollywood Studios - and then leave from there. One more night in a pirate ship!