Disney Day 2

Saturday morning was the day we had all been waiting for---we were FINALLY going to the Magic Kingdom!  I am not at ALL a morning person, but even after going to bed after midnight I was up and moving by 5:30 Saturday morning (which really felt like 4:30 to my central time zone body!)  We had to catch the bus from the hotel around 7:00 in order to be in front of the park when it opened.  Yes, I am one of those people and proud of it!  

All decked out in her "my first trip to Disney" shirt!  Big thanks to my friend Jennifer for making these for Kyndall and Wyatt!

All smiles bright and early!

The bigger the bow, the better the Mom.  That's my motto! :)

Neither of us had been up this early in a very long time

Poppie haulin' it to the bus

Just outside the gates of MK!!!  Kyndall was too busy looking for the castle to worry with a picture, apparently.

First glimpse of the castle!  I am so lame--I actually got teary when she saw it for the first time.  She had waited SO long and I could tell it was everything she imagined just by the look on her face.  

All of the pictures above were taken by the Disney Photo Pass people and I know for sure we took time to get a picture of my sister's family as well as my parents with the grandkids but somehow those didn't show up when they were all linked to my magic band.  I'm still searching for those but in general I was VERY glad I paid the 150-ish bucks for the unlimited photo pass!  I still took plenty of my own, but it was so nice knowing that every time we saw a photographer we could stop and get as many group photos as we wanted and not have to beg a stranger to take it for us.  Plus, you get these super cheesy ones as well.....yay!......

Our first character spotting!  Mary Poppins!  She's my absolute favorite!  I sat down a few months ago and watched the movie with Kyndall and much to my disappointment she did not share my admiration for this lovely lady.  She kept saying the movie was boring and that she couldn't understand their accents.  I think meeting her in person was a different story, though!  She was excited!

You rock, Mary P!

We made a bee line straight to Adventure Land so that we could strategically make our way around the park in the most efficient way possible.  (I had done my research and studied and had a PLAN!)

Very first ride in the MK was the Magic Carpets of Aladin!

Then the Jungle Cruise...

Then we waited for Rafiki the monkey to show up....

Mr. Wyatt wasn't too sure about the monkey....

Next we used one of our fast passes on a favorite of mine---Pirates of the Caribbean

HAD to have the pirate paraphanalia 

Lunch break (Side note--we did the Disney dining plan and I would also highly recommend that!  We didn't even come close to using all of our meal vouchers!)

Candid pictures of people eating are the BEST.

On to Fantasy Land and the Little Mermaid ride

My Dad, the comedian.  I didn't even see this until a week or so later when I was going through all of my pictures.  

Dumbo!

We returned to Ariel's grotto for a fast pass meet and greet with the mermaid herself!

Wyatt did not love Ariel.

But Kyndall did!

I love comparison pictures so we recreated this one from our very first date back in December of 2006!

A LOT has changed in 9 years!

At 1:30 we had a VERY important appointment at the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique inside of the castle.  For as long as she's been dreaming of going to Disney, she's also been dreaming (and begging) to go to the boutique and get the royal treatment.  I can't lie, I was super excited to indulge her in this one of a kind, girly experience!  Yes, it's over priced and yes it's ridiculous that you have to have a reservation months in advance, but it was important to her therefore it was important to me!

Waiting patiently for her appointment to begin.  We chose to bring our own costume.  I bought this one online for $19 rather than paying $69 for the one that comes with the boutique package!!

Finally, it was her turn!

The boys weren't too impressed but were very kind to be patient while waiting

Funny "Kyndall story"....When she came over to put the make up on her, Kyndall politely asked if that make up had already been used on other girls or if it was new and clean.  If you know Kyndall, you will not be surprised by this question as she is SUCH the germophobe!  The ladies got a huge laugh out of it and assured Kyndall that it was brand new just for her!

The final touch is sprinkling pixie dust on her head while telling her that all her wishes will come true.  Then, they turn her around to see herself for the very first time.....

Ta-da!  I love this picture of her reaction to seeing herself as well as all of our faces in the mirror!  

Kyndall's "Fairy God Mother" was FABULOUS and we loved her!!

These may look like repeats and they are all out of order, but these are the photos that came with the photo pass, taken by the professional photographer.

 For the rest of the day, anywhere we went in the park every cast member referred to her as "Princess" and made a big fuss over how beautiful she looked.  Totally worth the small fortune we spent!

In case you didn't know, Kyndall thinks her Uncle Michael hung the moon.  Wyatt got pretty fussy during the hair appointment so Michael had to walk out with him and missed the big reveal.  She couldn't WAIT to go find him and show herself off.  She said "He's not even going to recognize me.....don't tell him who I am!"  It was so sweet!

 The 3:00 parade was my favorite parade of the whole weekend!  Unfortunately, it was HOT!  We all got pretty sunburned while watching it.  Crazy to think that's possible in December!

We thought of you, Joy Greene!! 

It's 90 degrees and we're sweating like pigs and getting ill....but we're having FUN, right?!

It was all better once I bought her a four dollar bottle of juice!

We booked it from the parade to the monorail in order to catch a ride to the Grand Floridian Hotel where we had a very special dinner reservation!!

No, they didn't push me all the way there, but yes I did take advantage of a few minutes of down time and pop a squat while we were waiting for the monorail to show up.  It was only about 4:30 by this time and I was definitely feeling it!

As many times as I've been to Disney, I've never been inside the Grand Floridian. It was beautiful, especially all decorated for Christmas!

Pirate or Princess?  She couldn't decide.

Using her powers to freeze things just like Elsa

Pictures before going into 1900 Park Fare for our special dinner

Dinner was a huge buffet filled with every kind of food and dessert you can imagine.  It was definitely a good choice for everyone!

Typical Kyndall

And THIS is why dinner was extra special!  We dined with Cinderella, Prince Charming, the step sisters and step mother.  Kyndall was SO excited when she saw them!!  Here, the step mother invited her to dance....

Wyatt couldn't decide if he was interested in the characters or not....

 love this one!  Cinderella was so sweet to Kyndall and she ate it up.

Cinderella was kind enough to stop by and visit Wyatt and check out what he was watching on the phone.....

But then he got all embarrassed and shy...It was cute.  I guess he was overcome by her beauty!

Of course, as soon as she walked away he wanted her to come back

Prince Charming was, well.....charming.  He called her Princess and held her hand.  Sweet!

Prince Charming also checked out what Wyatt was watching....

The step sisters were HILARIOUS!  They stayed in character the entire time, saying rude things under their breath, pinching Kyndall's cheeks and making faces at her when she wasn't looking.  

The disgusted look on her face was so funny but went right over Kyndall's head

This picture makes me laugh!  I think it pretty well sums up how we were all feeling after a long day which wasn't even over yet!

And, I think my parents liked the tea!!  Gracious!

After dinner we walked around the hotel and found this REAL gingerbread house!

I was obsessed with this chandelier

After dinner we went back to the Magic Kingdom for more riding and parades

The Grandparents gave in and bought these $15 light up balloons for Kyndall and Wyatt

During the "Wishes" show the castle was lit up in all different colors and then Elsa "froze" it

Then the castle blew up!  Just kidding....

Just a princess, waiting in line for It's a Small World

Kyndall and Wyatt loved this ride and I think by the end of day 2 we had ridden it 3 times

Waiting for the fireworks show

We watched them from right behind the castle at Princess Fairytale Hall

While we were standing outside of Princess Fairytale Hall waiting for the fireworks to begin, Matthew and I started making small talk with one of the cast members who was roping off the area.  He told us he moved from Arizona to go to college and work at Disney because he someday wants to be one of Disney's Imagineers.  He was super nice and very passionate about Disney and his job.  He told us that Princess Fairytale Hall is one of the main areas he's responsible for in the park.  Jokingly, I asked him if he had any connections in getting us in to meet Elsa.  (I had been keeping an eye on the wait times all day and it was several hours long, and no fast passes were available.)  To my surprise, he said YES!  He told us that as soon as the fireworks were over he would get us in to see both Elsa and Anna.  I think I was more excited about this news than Kyndall was!  I guess it never hurts to ask for favors!

Elsa was SO beautiful and by far the sweetest of all the princesses we met that day.  Kyndall was in awe because if you remember, it wasn't that long ago that she was completely obsessed with all things Frozen and even demanded that we call her Elsa the entire summer of 2014.  (I have crafts she made at Vacation Bible School with the name "Elsa Hughes" on them....no lie)  So this moment was a long time coming!

Elsa took her time chatting with Kyndall, complimenting her dress and her snowflake necklace

Definitely the best meet and greet of the day!

And then there was Anna, who was perfect at staying in character!

More of the same, but these are the professional pictures that Disney took....

Of ALL the Frozen toys and trinkets in the gift shop she chose Sven the reindeer.  I tried to talk her into an Elsa Barbie or even an Anna dress but this girl just wanted Sven.

Last view of the castle on the end of day 1....

Watching the electrical parade on our way out.....

We left the park around midnight and caught the bus back to our hotel.  A few were hungry, so we made a stop by the hotel cafeteria for a late night snack.

16 hours inside the Magic Kingdom with very little down time makes you pretty tired!

She decided she wanted to sleep with her crown in and honestly, I didn't have the energy to wash all that hairspray out at midnight so I said go for it.  Little did we know, that hair do would last us a good 4 days!

The princess sleeps!

I finally got to sleep around 1:30 a.m. and my clock was set for 5:30 a.m.......

Day 3 is next!