Disney Day 5-6...

By this day, we were all dragging a bit.  However, it was the first time that it worked out for us to be at the Magic Kingdom to see their opening show.  If you've never done it, I highly suggest it.  I love it, and I'm in my 30s. (We're not getting age specific, are we?)  Anyway, don't click on the video unless you really want to get an idea.  Anthony filmed, and the beginning is so shaky it may make you sick.  Basically, either the "Mayor" or the "Fire Chief"  come out to open the park.  There are songs and dances from the Main Street Dancers, and then a steam train rolls in with the characters.  There's a countdown and fireworks, and the park opens for the day.  In the video, Sam looks like he's asleep, but I promise he was thrilled to see the Fire Chief come out.  He really perked up when the train rolled in.  

After entering the park, we hit the motherload.  On that day, they had the old-fashioned firetruck out front.  Sam has 5 loves:  Firetrucks, dinosaurs, the color purple, Rescuebots, & super heroes.  Firetrucks are at the top of his list.  

Finally got to meet Daisy in the circus tent...

and then caught up with Minnie again.

On to Adventureland to ride the Magic Carpets.  It's amazing to me how popular rides like Dumbo and Aladdin's Carpets are because they're essentially the same thing.  It didn't stop Sam from riding them twice.  

"Hey, Mom.  Can I have one of these fake snakes?" 

"No, Sam.  No, you cannot." 

Finally meeting Jasmine.  We had missed her twice, so when they told me she would be there in 20 minutes, I just stayed there to insure we would be first, while Sam checked out the snakes and spiders.  Yuck.

I tried to get him to tell her he was Lebanese, but he refused.  

We had apps on our iPhone that tell you how long waits are for attractions.  Those were super useful.  For some reason Ariel's line was always pretty long, so when we saw it was reasonable, we headed her way.  

Taking a breather to watch a show.

 We hit up a few more rides, then headed back to the hotel for a rest because we were coming back to see the Electrical Parade and fireworks later that night.

We picked our spot and waited on the parade to begin.  A little coloring passed the time.  

After the parade, we hit up Buzz's ride AGAIN, and we came out, he was posing for pictures.  Couldn't have worked out better.  Sam's a big Buzz fan.  

DAY 6

A successful trip on Thunder Mountain Railroad.

(Yet another spin on Buzz Lightyear)

Took a tour on the railroad.

AND met Woody and Jessie.  They were great--really hammed it up.  

That's Sam's Buzz Jessie has in her hands.  

One last princess.  We can't forget Snow White.  She was the original, after all.  

I think the only person we missed on Sam's list was Tinkerbell.  FYI--the fairies are very popular.  I'd head straight there at park opening if you don't want to wait 45 minutes.  

 

We decided to say good-bye to the Mouse's House later that afternoon and headed back for a swim.  I cannot express how much fun we had, and we really valued the one-on-one with Sam.  He needed it.  However, I was really ready to get back to my baby.  Seriously. 

By noon the next day, I had my baby in my lap and my mother's home-cooking in my belly.  

But we can't wait to go back as a family of four.  

Disney Day 3-4...

I have taken so long to get all this written that I have a ridiculous backlog of pictures and other things.  I'm going to do my best to speed through the rest of our trip.

Our next stop was Animal Kingdom, which was a high priority for the Samster.  He loves animals, and he's obsessed with dinosaurs, so this was a must for us.  As usual, we got there before the park opened, and we lined up outside the gates.  As soon as they opened we headed to Kilimanjaro Safaris.  Early in the morning was a great time to see the animals out and about. It was crazy how close you can get to them.  A giraffe was just a few feet from us at one point.  He LOVED it.

I don't know how, but we convinced him that he needed to ride Expedition Everest--probably the most intense roller coaster in Disney.  Bless his heart, he made it through, but he again hid his eyes the whole time. The second the ride stopped he was yanking on the crossbar trying to get out of his seat.  We asked him if he wanted to ride again. His response--"No way, Jose."

We hit up Dinoland afterwards, and he enjoyed the Boneyard playground for at least an hour.  I guess it just goes to show you; sometimes kids need time to just be kids.  He thought he wanted to try the DINOSAUR ride, but then decided against it once we went through the queue.  Probably for the best because that ride scared the bejeezus out of me the last time I was on it, and I was 28.  (It was still fun, though.)

After strolling around and checking out the animals and grabbing a bite to eat, we decided to head to the Magic Kingdom.  First up, meeting some more princesses.  You would think a boy wouldn't be all that interested, but he really enjoyed it.  He likes girls in pretty dresses.

Cinderella. She was fantastic--took a lot of time with him. 

Getting her autograph

Family pic.  Notice the prince pose. And how much does Anthony look like a stereotypical dad?  

 It also amazes me how on top of it these characters are.  Cinderella must have noticed that Sam already had Sleeping Beauty's autograph from the day before.  When Cindy walked over to Aurora, she said, "This is Sam, who you were telling me about.  I know you got to meet him yesterday."  Aurora didn't miss a beat.

Love this pic.  He had already spotted Rapunzel and was kind of over Beauty.  Too funny.  

Ahhh, Rapunzel.  You and your purple dress know the way to my son's heart.  He told her that purple was his favorite color, which is true.  She was precious.  

The next day we headed to Chef Mickey's for breakfast with the characters.  We hung out with Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, Donald, and Minnie.  Afterwards, we headed back over to the Magic Kingdom.  Obviously, we spent more time there than anywhere else, but there is so much to do!

Minnie was great.  She made us wait to take the picture while she got Sam's hair out of his eyes.  He needed a trim before we left, but I never got around to it.  That happens a lot.  

On to the race cars!

Then the famous teacups...

Guess what color teacup we were in?  

Meeting Princess Tiana

She signed in green, of course. 

Attention parents with children who love Belle.  The only way to see Belle in the Magic Kingdom now is to go to her cottage and see the little play they put on.  She may be at Cinderella's character breakfast, too, but I'm not sure.  Anyway, she was one of the few princesses we were lacking, so off to her cottage we went.  It's pretty cute.  Basically, they ask for volunteers to act out the night that Belle and the Beast fell in love.  They usually pick children, and they asked Sam if he wanted to participate.  He got teased and declined.  At the end, all of the participants get to take a picture with Belle.  I knew this was our only chance, so I asked if he could jump in for a picture.  Belle was very sweet since she knew he was a little teased.  After taking a picture, she knelt down and kissed him.  It was hysterical. 

He promptly wiped it on his shirt.