We began the morning we breakfast at Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary Resort. I LOVE me some Chef Mickey's.
We ate and ate and ate. The kids were most excited that the buffet had oatmeal and that we let them fill their plate with whatever they'd like to eat. Harris tried a Mickey Mouse waffle, but Babe opted to stick with her very favorite pan-a-cakes. Ben, Granti, and I sampled just about everything.
While we ate, we were visited by some of our very favorite characters.
The Dining Plan totally rocks! :)
Because we had reservations at Chef Mickey's, we were able to park and leave the van in The Contemporary's lot, so after breakfast we simply looked around the lobby, traded a couple of pins, and hopped on the Monorail for a ride to The Magic Kingdom.
Be still, my heart.
The excitement was literally contagious. Ben even got to meet the mayor!
We made a beeline for Cinderella's Castle and Fantasyland and had an absolute blast! We started the morning with a carefully prepared plan, but the crowd was so light that we didn't need it...we just walked up and hopped on, only grabbing FastPasses if the line was longer than 20 minutes.
Everything we rode, with the exception of Snow White's Scary Adventures (the kids let out loud, bloodcurdling screams each time they saw the witch), was a huge hit.
Ben, of course, was stoked for Small World. It was pretty awesome to hear the kids singing along as we sailed through.
My favorite part of the morning was, without a doubt, Mickey's Philharmagic 3D adventure. I sang along with every single song!
Sweet little Emmy could ride just about everything. If Babe got on, so did Emmy.
We even took a family spin on the teacups!
It drizzled slightly right around lunchtime, so we took a break to eat in Tomorrowland, right after Ben, Harris, and I rode Space Mountain (I was so, so proud of my little guy for trying everything!) and Granti, Babe, and Emmy got a little wet waiting to see the White Rabbit.
We spent most of the afternoon enjoying the rides and shows of the future before walking through the gardens.
Much to Harry's dismay, we hit up the princesses next. He spent most of the drive town talking about how he DID NOT want to see the princesses (they're boring, evidently), but they were so personable and friendly and sweet that even my boy was enthralled. These ladies truly made our family feel special (so much so that Ben was moved to tears!) and Cinderella even got Harris to give her a little kiss on the cheek (although he was sooooo embarrassed afterwards). I don't think I'll ever forget the look on Hadley's face as she met and hugged and talked with Aurora, Belle, and Cinderella. At the risk of sounding corny, it was truly magical.
We ended up with an hour or so to kill before our 6:00 dinner reservation, so we headed to Liberty Square for The Hall of Presidents (Ben's choice) and The Haunted Mansion. I wasn't too pumped about the whole presidents thing, but it was really neat to watch it with Harris and hear his presidential knowledge, which pretty much consists of faces on coins and the dollar bill.
For dinner we headed to The Crystal Palace for yet another awesome buffet sprinkled with some visits from the inhabitants of The Hundred Acre Woods.
Hadley even strutted her stuff in the character congo line!
We finished dinner just in time to walk right outside and grab an awesome spot for the castle illumination and fireworks show. It's entirely possible I got a little teary watching Tinkerbell fly down from the top of the castle and set off the fireworks, but it'd be hard to prove seeing as how I was standing behind everyone else. :)
It's safe to say I'm just going to end all of these posts by saying how much I can't wait to go back.
Because I can't.
I totally know what you mean about going back. I worked summer school the first year we went to pay for the trip fully, so that Brian couldn't complain. We've gone back every year since that trip, except one, and haven't had to teach summer school for any of those trips! Brian is just as hooked as I am:)
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