Parents and Siblings and Cousins, Oh My!,  Travel

Disney World Day Three, Part One – Revisiting the Magic Kingdom

November 2, 2013 /

It takes a full two minutes for each single picture to upload to this blog, because our internet is thaaaaat slooooooow.  (No cable or fiber optic laid on our 5 year old upscale suburban street, we have to rely on old-fashioned phone-line internet, for reasons that passeth understanding in this day and age).  So I only have time to do these picture updates on Saturday mornings.  This is day three of four, so we’re almost done.

So you may recall, day two came to a very early end – like 3pm – since the kids needed a nap and then all the parks closed mega early for Mickey’s Bullcrap Halloween Pay Extra Party.  I was determined to get an early start the next day and have a full, fun, and yet preggo-friendly day that stretched to the four corners of our available time.  We wanted to go to Animal Kingdom, but had one little area in the Magic Kingdom that we needed to investigate first . . .

Hello, Magic Kingdom, nice to see you again.
Hello, Magic Kingdom, nice to see you again.
We started the next day with a little Tomorrowland
We started the next day with a little Tomorrowland

It was the perfect palate cleanser after a grumpy night.  It was just us four, as we made plans to meet the others later.  We parked the strolled and then walked all around Tomorrow land, seeing the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor (pretty cute comedy show performed by animated monsters who somehow interact with the audience), and then riding on the People Mover.  Since it was very similar to the monorail, the most awesome ride of all time, Liam really dug it.

The escalator to the People Mover was a challenge for Liam - because of his height he kept trying to hold the stationary wall, instead of the moving handrail.
The escalator to the People Mover was a challenge for Liam – because of his height he kept trying to hold the stationary wall, instead of the moving handrail.
In the People Mover. Jack approached this ride (a slow tour of Tomorrowland) with his trademark skepticism and willingness to lose his mind at any moment if it got scary. Luckily it never did.
In the People Mover. Jack approached this ride (a slow elevated tour of Tomorrowland) with his trademark skepticism and willingness to lose his mind at any moment if it got scary. Luckily it never did.
For Liam, on the other hand, this ride and the monorail possibly tied for absolute best in his opinion.
For Liam, on the other hand, this ride and the monorail possibly tied for absolute best in his opinion.

The boys observed the race car track of the Grand Prix ride from our vantage point on the People mover, so of course we had to go there next.

 

My Disney experience in a nutshell. Looking past the belly and feet to watch the children ride.
My Disney experience in a nutshell. Looking past the belly and feet to watch the children ride.

Although the Professor and both boys could fit in the car, only one boy could drive.  So – because Disney is awesome and has empowered its employees to make sure folks have a good time – the good folks at the ride allowed them to go around the track twice, once with Jack driving and once with Liam driving.  What they were unable to do, alas, was make Jack let Liam drive, which was a  problem, I’m told.  “Liam was doing it wrong,” he matter-of-factly explained when it was all over.  *Kinda glad I sat this ride out.

All of my attempts at pictures of my racecar drivers in action were too far away, but here's one of the Nascar Greats after exiting the scene of their triumphant victory.
All of my attempts at pictures of my racecar drivers in action were too far away, but here’s one of the Nascar Greats after exiting the scene of their triumphant victory.  In other news, according to the clothing purchasing agents of this country boys can wear striped shirts and plain shorts, or plain shirts and plaid shorts.  I’ve obviously gone with the latter choice on this day.
We sat on a bench outside the Grand Prix and cooled off for a bit.
We sat on a bench outside the Grand Prix and cooled off for a bit.

After this ride, we took them back to the Barnstormer once more, which, you may but probably do not recall, is Liam’s other favorite ride.  It’s a roller coaster for the shorties, and they went on it probably four times.

The very first car at the very top - can you see Liam's tiny face? Oh, it makes my heart leap a bit even now, to see him so precariously perched so high up. But he totally dug it.
The very first car at the very top – can you see Liam’s tiny face? Oh, it makes my heart leap a bit even now, to see him so precariously perched so high up. But he totally dug it.

Because again Disney is awesome and well-run, they have things called Rider Switch Passes that are tailor made for our situation.  Each child must have a parent ride along, these children only have one parent capable of riding, ergo, the parent goes with the first kid, then uses the Rider Switch Pass to jump to the front of the line and take the second kid.  You only have to wait in line once to go twice.

This is Jack's turn on the ride - see The Professor, in green, in the front?
This is Jack’s turn on the ride – see The Professor, in green, in the front?  Jack is next to him.

After the Barnstormer, we met the rest of the family (who’d been on Space Mountain eleventy million times).  My sisters requested that we get Fast Passes for Ariel’s Great Adventure so they could take the boys on it without waiting.  We’d picked the passes up (where my genius husband had a convo in Portuguese with some Brazilians in the Fast Pass line), and then met the girls at a counter-service place for burgers for lunch.  This was our only Disney-bought lunch meal – all the other days we brought PB&J to save bucks for other things.  I have to say it was decent.  Again, they are so organized there – the lines are long but move quickly; the food is mostly fried but they have carrots, apples, and milk for the kids; the seats turn over fast enough that we had somewhere to sit immediately.  At one point a kid waiting in line (not mine) had a tempter tantrum and knocked over a drink while her mother tried to juggle a purse, a stroller, and her and her sister.  Instead of giving the mom the stink-eye and muttering “some people can’t control their kids,” a Disney worker walked up, all smiles, handed the girl some grapes (she was obviously fratchy and hungry, as kids can get very easily at Disney), and had the mess mopped up before the mom could even say “sorry.”  It’s, like, a bastion of support and understanding for the foibles of small children.  I LOVE IT, IS BASICALLY WHAT I’M SAYING, LET’S GO AGAIN.

After lunch we walked to the Ariel ride and let two sisters take the boys  on it, while the rest of us waited outside and chatted.  We got someone to take a quick snap of us outside Gaston’s place, and then parted ways again – they hit some more roller coasters, while our little family headed home for naps before venturing to The Animal Kingdom.

This princess-village area ("New Fantasyland", maybe?) was not quite done, but it's going to be cool once all the construction dudes are outta there.
This princess-village area (“New Fantasyland”, maybe?) was not quite done, but it’s going to be cool once all the construction dudes are outta there.

My children are currently clamoring for muffins, so I’ll go make breakfast now and do up the Animal Kingdom half of the day later on!