The Magic Kingdom - Part 2

My favorite part of the whole entire trip to Disney World.....

.... when my Minnie Mouse met the real Minnie Mouse!

There are 3 different places to meet "Characters" in the Magic Kingdom. One of the places you can stand in line to meet either 3 of the "Other Characters" like Goofy and Pluto, or you can choose to stand in a line to see 3 of the Princesses.

When we went by the line was 1 hour.

And I just don't think we would have made it.

And our objective was Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

So we went to the Judges Tent where Mickey Mouse was. And we waited in line for 30 minutes. And it was worth every minute. And it was air-conditioned. So that was a big bonus. AND they had a old time Mickey Mouse movie playing on a big screen for the kids to watch. Which was an EXTRA bonus.

And when we were let into the special room where THEY were, my daughter gasped and said... "There she is..... I think she sees me!!! And she started waving to Minnie Mouse and it was all I could do to make her wait her turn.

When it was our turn, she RAN over to Minnie and gave her the BIGGEST hug I've ever seen her give anyone. Ever. Seriously. It was so sweet. And then she turned and gave Mickey a hug too. But then ran right back over to Minnie.

TIP #7 They have this cool thing called Photopass. What they do is they have professional photographers stationed around the parks and in special areas like the characters photography places. Then when they take your pictures they give you a credit sized card to keep and you give it to all the photographers that take you pictures. You can then look at them online when you get home and order them with special graphics or borders and totally customize them. The card is free... but the pics on line are a little pricey. But the best part... is that they will let you stand right beside them and take pictures too!!! Woohoo!

She was just elated when this picture was taken.

And she just lights up every time she sees it.

Amazing.

After lunch, we walked to the "It's a Small World Ride" in the rain, wearing our ponchos.

TIP # 8 The Peter Pan ride is right across from It's a Small World. If I had to do it over, I would have taken a FAST PASS for the Peter Pan ride (an hour wait) and then went across the street and rode It's a Small World (basically a 5 minute wait). When you are done with that ride, it would almost be your FAST PASS time and then you wouldn't have to wait in line for the Peter Pan ride very long. As it was, we did it opposite and didn't get a FAST PASS for Peter Pan and ended up skipping it because the wait was too long.

This was the first of the indoor boat rides and the kids loved it!

We loved it too!

Indoor boat ride = Air conditioned opportunity to rest and put down the backpack

The Race Car Ride was the most popular one with my boys by a long shot.

We rode it twice.

I think they loved the fact that each time they drove they got a "drivers license" which was WAY COOL!

And we were able to get 3 in a car just fine.

And honestly, by the time they are too big to ride 3 to a car, they'll be big enough to drive by themselves and I'm sure they will be just fine with that.

Just fine.

TIP #9 If in your head, you have a specific picture you want of your family or kids, don't wait until the end of the day to take it. Go ahead and make it a priority right off the bat. Because they will be TOO TIRED to mess with it by the time you are ready to leave. And you will be TOO TIRED to figure where the best picture would be to get the castle in the background. And then you will be TOO TIRED to go back and try to get the picture you want. Or so I've been told.

This picture just wasn't the look I was trying to achieve.
But we were worn out and it's the best I've got.

I think you need to be at the other end of the street to
get the optimum pic of the castle.
It looked a lot bigger from here in real life.
But oh so small in the picture.

TIP #10 If you want the hats with the ears, there is a great shop right when you walk in on the right called THE CHAPEAU. (french for hat) They've got every option possible. You can even make your own. So if you have something specific in mind you might want to stop here first because not all the vendors carry all the options (like the Minnie Mouse option)(which was apparently the only one a certain little girl wanted)

TIP #10 Bring along your strong daddy so he can carry you all the way
out to the parking lot when your legs get too tired to walk.