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Published: September 19th 2014
The next morning, I woke the boys early and we headed back to the campground to get ready for our first theme park: Magic Kingdom!
Once back at the camper, we collected Mom and Dad and went to wait for the boat ride. The boys loved the boat ride (I think it was one of their favorite rides of the day). We got there early, right as they were opening the gates, so there was a gazillion people waiting. One of the changes in the last 15 years? 9/11. Everyone with a bag had to go through security first. But with the magic bands, it was pretty easy to walk through the entrance after. I wore the boys bands on my right hand and mine on the left - the whole trip I was referred to as "Mom" by the park staff. Haha!
First stop - Pirates of the Caribbean. Dad was obsessed with getting a stroller so he left while Mom and I took the boys. They picked their makeover face and we waited our turn. You have to book these makeovers well ahead of time as they are busy throughout the day. When we finally went in,
I took G to his makeover lady, and Mom went with Emry to his guy. G was renamed "Ben Pillagefish" and was totally made over with quick work - the lady did a good job! Unfortunately, Emry was frightened to death of his pirate makeover artist; I guess the guy kept yelling at him "in character" but even after he apologized and Emry had calmed down, the guy yelled again and that was that. I was worried that Emry would be jealous that G had his pirate makeover, but he was not at all. So, it was a great day and G loved his outfit - complete with makeup, sword, medallion, hook hand, and curved knife (he wanted a straight sword instead...) Dad still was not back yet and it was obvious he went all the way back to the camper... So we took the boys on their first ride: Pirates of the Caribbean. They loved it! When we came out, Dad was waiting and we proceeded to the Tiki Room. I didn't like this when I was a kid but I started to appreciate it more and I love the main song. G hated it though, kept yelling "when
can we leave!?!?!" Emry, on the other hand, got up and danced.
After this, we went to the Jungle Cruise and then Splash Mountain with our fast pass. Both boys loved it! It was a long line though, so we could not go on it again. Then we took the train around the Magic Kingdom and went back to the entrance. We checked on Lucy, got some lunch (burgers and beer!) at Crockett's Tavern, then drove to my hotel room to go for a swim and take a break. We then headed back to the Magic Kingdom to finish out the day. This time, we went through the Cinderella Castle to the Under the Sea ride (very lame). Our next fast pass was at the Seven Dwarfs Mining Train - very fun and one of G's favorites. Then we headed to Tomorrow Land until it was time for our next Fast Pass - we went on the People Mover and then debated on going to Monsters, Inc Laugh factory or Stitch. We chose Monster's Inc, since we though Stitch might be too scary (assuming it was the same thing we used to go on), much to dad's disappointment. And
SafariMickeyMinnie
We had to wait a while to see them - confused as to why they don't have a couple of sets of characters....ugh. Monsters Inc was NOT funny - it was pretty horrible. G liked it ok, but I thought Dad was going to go berserk... Finally it was time for the Buzz Lightyear ride and boy did the boys love that! It was quite fun!
Then we went home for bedtime at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The next morning, Mom and Dad met us for breakfast where we got the boys bagels and we each had biscuits and gravy (round two, silver nomads!). Then we took the bus to Animal Kingdom for the day. It was so, so hot! It was about 9 am and super muggy. Very rough. We stopped at the shop before the entrance and got the boys mickey ear baseball caps (Mickey and Lightening McQueen) and expensive kid sunglasses. Our first ride was Dinosaur, which was shut down for maintenance after we walked ALL the way there... Then we headed back to go on something else. There was not much, since A Bug's Life was being refurbished, so we went to the Safari, where our fast pass was ready. The boys seemed to enjoy it - it is so neat to see all the animals: hippos,
rhinoceros, crocodiles, elephants, giraffes, lions, zebras, monkeys, etc. After this, Dad decided to go back to the camper to make sure Lucy was ok and we continued to wait for the next ride: Kali River Rapids. The boys absolutely loved it! We got completely drenched.
Since it was such a hot day, the line was way too long to go on it again, so we left. With only one stroller, Mom pushed G while I carried Emry. This little bugger gets heavy after a bit. Mom and I were so ready to leave because it was seriously hot. But I noted that the character meet and greet line had reduced significantly and since you wait inside the A/C, why not? We had only been on two rides, so we didn't want a completely wasted day. Actually, Emry was getting very fussy, which shocked me because the whole time all he wanted to was to meet Mickey - that's all he talked about. It was actually about a 20 minute wait, but then the boys got to meet Mickey and Minnie.
While waiting for the bus, an older couple stood behind us and started to chat with Mom. Turns
out they were on their honeymoon. They had been friends for over 50 years and lived in separate states. After their spouses died, they started to talk more and more and finally figured, why don't we just get married and be together. Very sweet. Unfortunately, I noted they were staying at the Wilderness Lodge and not Fort Wilderness, so they needed to get a different bus. But what a sweet story!
Dad made burgers and hot dogs for dinner - we had to put Emry down for a nap because he was being naughty, unsurprisingly as it had been nonstop for two days. That evening, Dad and I took the boys to see the fireworks at the dock. First is the electric parade on the water, which G just hated. Hated! I know it was not my favorite as a kid, but I did like it every now and then. I guess I'd be annoyed too though if I came for fireworks and that is what I saw! But that parade has been going ever since I can remember, so I was a bit nostalgic. We built sand castles as we waited... and waited... Then came the fireworks and
they did not disappoint!!!
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