As our usual routine we got up nice and early for our big day! It was going to be Britt’s first time doing the parks non-stop from open to close. Since we only do one park day on these visits, we like to have it be a FULL day. We have left and gone back to the room for a nap in the past, but didn’t plan on it this visit. We talked about maybe me taking Britt back to rest and Zach and Kye staying but who wants to tell one kid they have to leave while the other gets to stay? No way!
I like to give the kids each some small Disney Surprises before we head to the park. Typically it’s something they can use that day. This time Zach and I had found stuff at the Disney Store Outlets near Disney when we were visiting for my bday trip!
We have tried SO many different types of water cups for the kids for the parks…these ended up being the best yet!
Since our resort was so close to the parks we didn’t rush to leave like we typically would. Then of course traffic on Disney property was a nightmare due to the race taking place that morning. Usually I have very few negative things to say about Disney but they did not have the traffic route well planned or organized for this event. We aren’t runners so we don’t “get” the whole race appeal. Zach gets extremely aggravated with traffic issues which rubbed off on all of us and we finally had to just take a breather and calm down and be happy and excited for the day ahead. Once we got past the traffic mess it was much easier to be calm and happy!
The kids ate breakfast in the stroller while we waited for the park opening show!
One thing I was very surprised, and disappointed, by was that the park was still decorated for Christmas? The day we visited was Jan 11th. I mean I’m all for leaving our tree up until Jan 1st. But Disney? Until the 11th? I was really surprised and didn’t understand their reasoning for it? Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the Christmas decorations. But I love them at Christmas!
In the far away pic you think “aw the kids look cute!” then you see the close up and realize Britt was crying. Her reason? Who knows. But it was not a good morning with her. I actually divided this post up because of Britt’s mood. The day really was like TWO days. The morning was filled with a lot of crying and a lot of frustration for Zach and I. Then, magically, a switch got flipped and the rest of the day was awesome. At one point I almost cried and I told Zach we shouldn’t have brought her with us. After the trip we talked a lot about theories on what her issues were. This was only her second visit to the park. I think because her first visit was a full year ago and because she was only a couple months past turning 2 during her first visit…that this was almost like a first visit all over for her. And she’s heard about Disney SO MUCH but probably couldn’t fully remember what it was really like. I think it was overwhelming to her. We also made the error of having her first ride be a roller coaster. She rode some on her first visit and loved it so we didn’t hesitate. But I think it scared her and put her in a scared state for the morning. My aggravation turned to guilt the more I thought about it and I’m SO thankful the day turned around for us! We will be MUCH better at preparing her for her next visit!
Robyn and her crew were there the same day as us! It was great running into them throughout the day 🙂 We had different schedules (they were there for multiple park days so they weren’t as rushed as we were ha!) but it was fun seeing them have such a great time!
When we came last year we didn’t get to see a GOOD park opening show. The first morning we did MK we ate at Cinderella’s Castle so we missed the show all together and the second morning we did MK we saw an abbreviated version of the show b/c it was cold and rainy. I was SO PUMPED for Britt to see the full show for the first time. The park opening is my FAVORITE thing at the park. I get tears in my eyes every single time. She LOVED it and it’s something she’s continued to talk about when we’ve been home. I loved her getting to hear one of her favorite songs (Zippadee Do Dah) over the loud speaker and I loved her getting to see some of her favorite characters too!
Fast passes for Elsa and Anna were long gone when we booked our fast pass experiences. I’m SO GLAD they both were part of the opening show. It worked out GREAT because Britt kept saying she saw them and waved to them and it made me feel less guilt about her not getting to actually meet them 😉 Saved that 2 hour wait in line! ha! It is my #1 priority next visit to meet them!
We’ve never done our castle picture this close to the castle before but they opened the park early and the photographers actually weren’t out yet! I LOVE that you can see Walt in the pics, but I hate that you can also see so many other people too!
When we booked our fast passes they were also already out of ones for the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train. We booked fast passes for Belle, Jungle Cruise, and Peter Pan. We then raced directly to Mine Train when the park opened! The wait was still probably close to 20 minutes but it was for sure the lowest wait time of the day. I don’t do roller coasters but I did go through the line with them to check it all out and then just didn’t ride when it came time. Because I don’t ride Kye had to sit with a stranger but he didn’t mind at all and they all had fun. Britt said she loved it but didn’t want to do it again. I’m pretty sure she actually did not like it and that it scared her and set the tone for her being afraid the rest of the morning. We also realized this trip that Britt may be her mama’s child. Since we’ve been home she’s now said she doesn’t want to do any of the “super fast” rides again. Totally fine by me…I’d love to have some one to hang out with when the boys do the coasters!
Such sweet siblings
I def think Britt wasn’t enjoying it haha
Next we headed to Peter Pan. We had fast pass for it because it’s actually the slowest running line of any ride in the park. Random huh? So if you’re looking for a fast pass option…Peter Pan is a good one to pick! I was excited to ride it with Britt because she enjoyed it so much last time. But…it scared her. Like shaking afraid! She was crying and asking to stop! Which totally surprised me! I’m really good about avoiding things that will scare my kids and I really try to prepare them for things so I felt SO GUILTY that she was afraid. Sure enough, she also now says she doesn’t want to ride Peter Pan next time either! She really just was upset through the whole thing and I was so thankful that it’s a short ride.
We went to Dumbo next and she was MUCH happier with that! I guess heights don’t bother her but fast and dark does? Zach said the Mine Train had some dark parts so he thinks the Peter Pan scariness stemmed from that!
The cast member offered to take our picture for me! It’s the first time that has happened and it was SO NICE of them!
Britt DID want to ride The Barnstormer and she still says she likes it and wants to ride it again. I’m telling you this girl is tricky to figure out haha! Since I don’t ride Zach had to ride twice to allow each child a chance. Kye waited with me and we watched Britt and then I took Britt to use the bathroom while the boys went.
When planning for the trip I looked up character meeting wait times. We rarely meet characters but it’s something I’d honestly like to do more of. Several of them have very short waits and the kids LOVE meet and greets. And…I love them too 🙂 I saw that meeting Donald and Goofy was supposed to only be an 8 min wait (it ended up actually being even less) so I asked Zach about doing it. Britt LOVES Donald and Zach agreed to do the meeting since he knew she’d be excited. Goofy was first and his set up was super neat!
But then stinking Donald was surround by these MASSIVE SNAKES. Britt freaked. I know I have always heard that around this age kids start being fearful but all of this afraid stuff came out of NO WHERE for us on this trip! She’s never afraid of anything at home. She watches all the same movies Kye does and some do have “scarier” parts (like Brave!) and she’s never flinched. We’ve never had nightmare issues or her saying she’s afraid of the dark. So it just caught us off guard. She has always been afraid of Santa and of the CFA cow but did awesome last year with the characters at Disney. I ended up having to help her warm up to Donald and I think once she got past the snakes she was happy to see him. Kye was super pumped at least!
I really don’t blame her fear of the snakes…those things are massive!
Our morning was running faster than my touring plan had assumed we’d be going (which is always a good thing!) so we had some time before our fast pass for Belle was ready! We went ahead and rode The Little Mermaid…which Britt loved! She asked about meeting Ariel and I do think that next time maybe when the boys ride Mine Train I can take her to do a meeting with Ariel. Ariel is my favorite so I wouldn’t mind waiting in that line one bit!
Zach wasn’t able to get breakfast that morning so we popped into Gaston’s Tavern and got the most amazingly delicious cinnamon roll! We hadn’t ever really been over to this area and it’s super cool. I know Gaston himself tends to hang out there and I’d LOVE for Zach to meet him someday! I think it’d be hilarious and I’ve heard Gaston is actually one of the best characters to meet in the parks!
When it was time for Belle it was actually the first time EVER that Zach didn’t get asked to play the part of the guard. And neither of our kids was asked to play a part in the play either! Kye wanted to take part so he was some silverware but Britt didn’t want to. At the end she DID want to meet Belle and since meeting her has become a HUGE Belle fan. She says she wants to wear her Belle dress next time to meet her 🙂 I really, really loved Enchanted Tales with Belle. I love that it’s something new and different every time and I love that it’s a character meeting and I love the photo opportunity and I love that they give a bookmark to each child! It’s a “must do” experience for me!
We brought the double stroller for this trip and I don’t regret it, but the kids did not ride as much as they usually do. We did a lot more walking and leaving the stroller parked. Both kids had some blisters from the walking! I will be on the hunt for better walking shoes for them for next visit! We waited for Daddy to bring the stroller up and I loved this view of the castle!
Last visit Phillarmagic was a game changer for Britt. It’s the moment she fell in love with Donald and it’s the experience she enjoyed the most. This time? It was the moment I almost lost it with her. I spent SO MUCH energy that morning trying to make her happy. I focused solely on her. I didn’t get to focus on Kye at all or really enjoy anything myself either. I just wanted her to have fun and be happy and it crushed me when she was so upset for this too. Refused to wear the glasses. Sat in my lap and faced me the whole time and refused to even watch it. Acted scared again about it and just wouldn’t get out of the funk she was in. I knew she remembered this “ride” because she talks about it ALL THE TIME. About how “Donald splashed us” and how “Donald crashed in the wall” so it was just so confusing for me. I didn’t know how to get her out of her funk and felt defeated. If her favorite experience wasn’t going to cheer her up…then it was a day that was doomed. I felt like it would be the first time ever that we didn’t have a fun day at Disney. Zach even told me he’d leave the park with her and let me stay with Kye. I think she does regret not enjoying it more because she does say when we go back she wants to “wear the funny glasses” again. I just really, really hate that she didn’t enjoy it on this visit!
After the Phillarmagic disappointment I needed a win! I was ready to see a HAPPY GIRL!!! We hopped on the carousel and that totally did the trick. We took our time to find Cinderella’s Favorite Horse and Britt got to ride on her. If you’re ever at the park then you can ride Cinderella’s horse too…look for horse 37…it’s the one with the gold ribbon around the tail 🙂
Even though he’s almost 6 he still LOVES the carrousel! I hope it’s something he never stops enjoying. I know he’s ALL into the “big kid” rides now but I want for him to still enjoy the simple, magical, parts of Disney too 🙂
x
This is the first time we didn’t get a picture of the kids trying to get the sword out of the stone! We’ll for sure do it next visit so we’ll still get one of them from this year 🙂 They have random shows on occasion in front of the stone and it was taking place when we finished riding the carrousel so we just skipped it! It was lunch time and pump time for me 🙂 We got all set up and I went to pump while they ate. I eat super fast (don’t all moms?) so I knew I could scarf down real quick when I got back! I’m SO thankful we took this break when we did. I’m not sure if it was the carrousel, or eating lunch, or sitting down for awhile, or the rain we got during the break…whatever it was it totally changed the day around for Britt. I’m SO SO GLAD she got out of her mood and was HAPPY the REST of the day! I’m also glad it was only 11:30 so we still had a TON of day left and we were able to have such a FUN time together!!!
I’m thankful for this “Disney Pro” and how he kept on having a blast from morning till night!
Using my Minnie Cooler that Zach got me on our solo trip 😉
While it was a rough start, I’m SO thankful my sweet girl was able to ENJOY her day!!!
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