Disney World 2013 - Day 3

Our third day in Disney was spent at Magic Kingdom.  I'm glad that I listened to my gut and planned for 2 days here.  There is just too much ground to cover in one day with four people that want to see and do everything.

We were granted early access to the park since we had early breakfast reservations at Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh & Friends.  It was actually kind of eerie seeing Main Street as empty as it was.  But, I'm glad we got to see it because I'm sure it made for a rare photo op.  (Side note - how disappointing is the large crane in all the pictures of Cinderella's Castle.  My guess is that they were already putting Christmas lights on it.)

The day started out pretty hazy.  And it rained quite a bit through lunchtime.  So, it was muggy & wet - not a good combination in my opinion.  Says the girl from Columbia, South Carolina - aka the armpit of the south.

First family picture in Magic Kingdom.  Awwwww....  Also, Anna is not smiling.  Imagine that.

This was the view looking back towards the entrance as the gates were opened.  It was like the running of the bulls!

Waiting to be seated at Crystal Palace

This girl right here looooooves to eat.  But, still wouldn't go within 15 feet of the characters.

Caroline said "When is Hee-Hore coming to see me?"

We decided to split the park basically half and half so that we could enjoy our two days here without being rushed to go from one end of the park to the other.  We stuck around Fantasyland & Tomorrowland the first day and we had a full day, for sure!  Our first stop was to walk through Cinderella's Castle (and boy was Caroline AMAZED!) to go meet Rapunzel & Snow White.

Anna was much more interested in seeing the princesses since they were not 8 feet tall and furry.

Snow White!  What did you do?

Thankfully, that lipstick wiped right off.  Also, I sat our backpack right in a rain puddle.  Not my finest moment.

So, this is where it looks like I went off the grid.  I can't believe I didn't take anymore pictures than I did.  I feel like I didn't get any (good pictures) of the girls on the rides.  But, let's be honest, it's hard to just do it all.  Not to mention, it was still raining at this point and I was terrified of ruining my camera.  

At this point, we rode The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Mad Tea Party teacups (that Caroline & Anna LOOOOVED....Daddy, not so much), Dumbo the Flying Elephant a couple of times.  Caroline and I also rode Goofy's BarnStormer - which was actually her first roller coaster. To say she loved it is a huge understatement.  My mini-me has inherited a love for fast rides just like her mommy.

Caroline is like a little mama to Anna.

We took this opportunity to head back to the hotel to eat, rest and change clothes.  That muggy rain put a damper on our morning, but once we were recharged, we were ready to go again.  I might add, this is where Caroline discovered her love for Uncrustables.  "Mommy!  This tastes like PIE!" 

I mean, is she sassy or what?  

Well, you would have thought a nap would have done her good.  NOPE.  She has to have a meltdown everywhere we go.  

This is me in July 1987 (5 years old) and Anna in September 2013 (almost 2 years old).  Is this really the happiest place on earth?

Stop the presses!  Anna is smiling!

The meltdown above was actually her being impatient.  "Ride horse! Ride horse! Ride horse!"  Standing in line is not her strong suit.

This afternoon, we rode It's A Small World, Dumbo (again), The People Mover, Buzz Lighyear's Space Ranger Spin.   I wish I had blogged sooner than now because I feel like my memory is fading about the trip - on paper it looks like we didn't do a whole lot, but I know we did.

Of course, the ride I was probably looking most forward to was It's A Small World.  And, I honestly don't think it's changed a bit since I was there in 1987.  Well, I've been a few times since then, too -  but I really don't think it's changed.   

The Clemson Tiger's sister, perhaps?

Me and my girls

Not a great picture but a funny story behind it.

Anna must have been terrified of the People Mover.  She sat right here next to Wally like this the whole ride with her arm wrapped around his pulling his arm hair for the entire time.  He was so aggravated with the pain, but let her get away with it since apparently it was her coping mechanism.  Ha!

After we rode all of our rides and saw all of our shows, we ate a late dinner at Pinocchio Village Haus before we had to book it down to the Electrical Parade.  But, first let me tell you about dinner.  Oh, my.  If you ever eat there, eat the Caprese flatbread pizza.  It's a must.  One of the best things I ate on our entire trip.  Also, Caroline ate her second Uncrustables of the day.  Sheesh.  

I happened to snap this picture of the castle on our hustle down to the Electrical Parade.  I'm no photographer, but I think this is a pretty awesome picture.  I might blow this up and frame it.

I have to say - as much as I loved those strollers we rented - they sure do suck when you're trying to (1) hurry, (2) weave in and out of a crowd and (3) sneak your way up to the front of the line.  But, we found a good spot to park and that's all that matters.

Oh, look - Anna's not happy.

Overall, I wasn't overly thrilled with the parade.  Both girls were tired.  Anna was being fidgety.  And quite frankly, I was ready to go.  It was just a little too crowded for me and I was dreading the rush of the crowd down to the buses afterwards.  And I couldn't get any good pictures of the parade.  Whaaaa.