Yes…we went skiing for Kye’s 10th birthday (you can read about that trip here and here). But we planned a weekend at Disney anyway and Kye hasn’t gotten to do the whole solo time at Disney World with Zach and I so we figured why not do that as a “Disney Birthday.”
We didn’t really want to make a HUGE deal of his birthday at Disney. Because…we went SKIING. He didn’t need any sort of extra celebration. So we didn’t do any big dining or any major plans.
But we also do have a rental house down there and had the time to hang out so why not give him that quality time with each of us?
On our way down we stopped for a potty break and the girls did some wishlist shopping 😉
We listened to Harry Potter the entire way down and almost finished book three!
Spear did not come with us on this trip. My mama heart had a LOT of guilt about it as we JUST went skiing without him…but an opportunity came up that we couldn’t turn down and it just didn’t make sense to bring Spear along for it. We HAVE decided to bring him with us to Great Wolf Lodge in a few weeks which I am so glad about. Being away from him on this weekend away was hard for me.
Our original plan for the weekend was just a typical weekend at Disney but when plans changed we kinda had to shift things a bit and decided to let the kids stay at school all day then just stop by Target by the rental house to grab groceries (it’s a fancy super target and I LOVE IT).
Tess cracks us up with her use of “the force”
When little sister tries to take the wheel 😉
We got our basic foodstuff for the weekend then headed to the house as quick as we could so we could watch the third Harry Potter movie. Britt and I didn’t quite finish the book but we needed to go ahead and watch the movie anyway. I do wish I had more time to truly READ the book. I think this movie was a little more cheesy than the first two and the ending wasn’t super great – Zach said the book was WAY better!
Saturday morning (March 9th) Zach and Kye got up early and headed to Hollywood Studios. So the girls and I had a SUPER CHILL morning which was SO great. It was nice to just fully relax and hang out!
There is an ADORABLE outdoor playground park area within a couple minute walk of the rental house.
The girls and I did my workout together for the day and then we walked down to the park to play. It was THE most GORGEOUS day. It made me SO pumped to hit the parks as it was PERFECT Disney park weather. March is totally one of my favorite times to visit Disney
We were the only ones at the park and had a blast together playing and just being silly.
Britt wanted me to climb with her and yall I don’t love heights but I mean I couldn’t turn her down so I told her to show me how to be brave.
Bless. She did great climbing up and then completely busted it. Like face down busted it. It was pitiful – her face and mouth were filled with dirt. So I for sure got back down b/c all my bravery was lost! Thankfully she was okay but she was ready to head back!
Our pool had some heating issues (all fixed now!) but the girls wanted to swim anyway…and I knew they quickly would be getting back out…and I was right!
Meanwhile they guys were having a BLAST at Hollywood Studios! They were at the front of the pack when the park opened!
Slinky Dog!
I had an epic experience booking their fastpasses for the day and they just planned to rush to Slinky Dog at opening and it worked out great…be sure to read all of my fastpass tips here!
I love how chill Kye is 🙂
I was able to easily secure them back to back fastpass reservations for the rides Kye loves best: Rock N Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror and Star Tours. They were able to do single rider for Rock N Rollercoaster on top of the fastpass so they got to ride it twice which was the highlight of the day for Kye!
I. Love. This.
They had a great morning and ended it with FREE FOOD 😉 I guess a guest didn’t pick up their order so a cast member offered it to Zach! SCORE!
Kye and Zach got home so we swapped and Kye and I headed to the parks! It’s tricky for Kye and I to find something to do together at Disney because he’s the rollercoaster and thrill ride KING and I’m the HUGE WIMP. We decided to go to Magic Kingdom together and I was really excited about our day!
We parked and rode the parking tram to the entrance. It was SO nice just having my one bookbag and no stroller. Kye talked about how he and Zach didn’t have any bookbags and how easy it was to go through the no-bag line at security and I told him that he better get used to it because women ALWAYS have a BAG!
Happiest. Place.
We had two themes of our day: Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom and taking pics together 🙂
Thank you to everyone who helped in making the decision on my spirit jersey! I LOVED IT. SO comfortable!!!
I struggled to find the perfect pants/leggings for the jersey and LOVE THESE
I also LOVE these shoes – SO comfortable!
I’ve been thinking about my solo time with Kye a LOT and have struggled with what we’d do together. I had a little nugget in my back pocket. Saving it for this very occasion.
Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.
I’ve heard about the game before. I’ve even ventured into the firehouse on Main Street and picked up some card packs on occasion. But I’ve never played and haven’t ever focused on it because I wanted to save it for when Kye and I came solo together.
I KNEW he’d LOVE IT and sure enough…he did!
We went over to the firehouse first thing when we walked into the park so we could pick up cards. I’m not going to go into full details about the game in this post…if you want to know ALL the details about how to play be sure to read my post here!
We picked up our cards and the cast member went through details on how to play the game with us.
The cards are also something people enjoy trading so Kye traded a few of the doubles he had with a cast member!
You can get new card packs every time you visit the park 🙂
Merlin helps to explain how to save the kingdom!
Ready to RULE!
More card trading 🙂
When I visited recently on my solo trip I saw that the Emporium sells special cart sets as well as a carrying case. I knew Kye would LOVE the game and I’m SO glad I made the stop in the shop with him and allowed him to purchase the card pack and storage case. He loved them both and the card pack gave special cards not offered in the free sets!
Since Kye and I didn’t have much to do together at MK, I booked a sit down meal for us for a late lunch. While we waited for our seats he enjoyed going through his new cards and organizing his new case!
I really love The Plaza Restaurant. It’s just gorgeous with great lighting and the food is great too!
Perfect for some mother and son time!
Kye is very, very focused. When he narrows his vision in on something it’s ALL he can think and talk about. I’m somewhat that way and I tend to need to talk through things multiple times. He’s the same so I have a lot of patience about it. But I did kinda kick myself for not waiting until AFTER lunch to pick up the cards…we literally talked about the game non-stop the whole meal 😉
We also chatted it up with people sitting beside us. Who knew ALL about the game by the end of the meal…but who also shared details with me about their Disney wedding. OH MY WORD yall. I totally want Zach and I to do a vow renwal ceremony at Disney for our 25th. I mean that HAS TO HAPPEN. Am I right?!?!
All you can drink milkshakes!
Not embarrassing at all, right? 😉
I got the burger and it was SUPER tasty!
Kye enjoyed his as well!
I envy Kye in that he is really conscious of being finished with food. He doesn’t over indulge, even if it’s treats. We had an all you can drink milkshake and never asked for a single refill and then they brought out his birthday treat and he said he didn’t want any. I wish I had that will power!
I think a big part of Kye not wanting any treats is that he wanted to HURRY to get the game rolling 😉 We stopped for our Cinderella Castle pics before getting started!
He was ALL about his card carrying case and wanted to wear it the entire time areound the park!
When you pick up your cards the cast member also gives you a map. This map lets you know where each of the game portals are located!
I soaked in the sites around the area while Kye played the game. It’s nice because all the portals in most of the areas are close together so I didn’t have to be right there watching him and was able to be close by and felt safe about him completing those parts of his mission!
I love a chance to enjoy the back of the castle 🙂
I loved that Kye loved the game before he even really started playing. Once we started to play there was quite a learning curve – which we didn’t mind either as it made it more fun as we learned and understood more about it!
I found a super great secret spot to watch the Festival of the Fantasy Parade!
I love finding little Hidden Mickeys 🙂
The game is more well organized than I was anticipating – it keeps you in that land for the entire mission which is great. I had expected to be walking around the entire park for each part of each mission!
Cool Mom 😉
After we completed the mission in Fantasyland we had to go back down Main Street for the second mission. Since we had to be there anyway I suggested to Kye for us ot check back in at the firehouse to ask a few questions and gain a better understanding of things. He was also able to trade a few more cards!
Kye was on a HARDCORE MISSION with this game! He was walking at a Zach level pace. Like kid would not slow down! I couldn’t keep up! I loved that he was SO excited and really it came in handy that he has such a great based knowledge of the layout of the park because he knew exactly where he was going 😉
This game was really a perfect blend for Kye and I – he loved the game and I loved that it took us to areas of the park that I don’t frequently get to spend a lot of time in!
If you visit Magic Kingdom now through September be sure to hang out around the flagpole. SUPER random and rare characters are doing meet and greets!
The Adventure land area is the most spreadout but has some really cool portals too!
You know how when you buy a new car you suddenly see that car EVERYWHERE? It’s like everyone suddenly decided to buy that same car?
That’s exactly how it was for us with this game. We’ve been to Magic Kingdom COUNTLESS times at this point but have never played Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom and haven’t even ever heard anyone talk about it.
But now that we’re apprentices? We saw it EVERYWHERE we looked.
It was also fun having people ask us about what we were doing and finding others for Kye to trade cards with.
We took a water break so Kye could do some reorganizing of everything 😉
My favorite area for the missions was Liberty Square / Frontierland. I thought the portals were so well blending in with surroundings and were just really fun!
Kye asked me if I was having fun. He was seriously having THE time of his life yall with this game. And I explained to him that as a mama, seeing him have SO much joy about something brought ME a ton of joy too. I was having a blast. Truly.
It was more walking than we EVER do at the parks on a normal park visit but I loved seeing all the different areas and I was just SO GLAD that we had something to enjoy together that was truly FUN for Kye!
So pro!
Such a fun mother-son day together!
Kye was so sweet too about all the pictures. He asked if I wanted more pics and DUH I ALWAYS want more pics 😉
Since Kye had used his fastpasses for the day that morning with Zach we were only able to book one fastpass at a time that evening. We grabbed one for Buzz and Kye decided it was the only ride he wanted to do – he truly just wanted to keep playing the game!
We got lucky because our cart wasn’t able to rotate during our first game so they let us ride through the exit (neat to see a behind the scenes!) and ride it again!
We had a little bit of freetime before we needed to get settled into a spot for Happily Ever After and Kye didn’t want to hop on People Mover. Or Carousel of Progress. Nope. He wanted to keep going with Sorcers of the Magic Kingdom!
We went to Tomorrowland to pick up some dinner items and then found our spot for Happily Ever After.
I went to Magic Kingdom with the girls and Mrs. Charlotte back in November and Kye regrets not having gone with us that night. He’s never seen Happily Ever After up close.
Zach cannot STAND crowds and the night shows are a big frustration for him so we avoid them or always stay pretty far back to make exiting the park easier.
But Mama? I LIVE for the night shows and the crowds don’t bother me and I like being as close as possible 😉
I found a great spot with the girls and just went back there again with Kye and it worked out great!
This is probably my last ever pretzel pic. Yall. THEY CHANGED THE CHEESE SAUCE.
So. Gross.
At least our coke iccees didn’t disappoint!
Kye hung out in our spot while I went to grab us some snacks during our wait and we met some super sweet girls who offered to keep an eye on Kye for me while I got the snacks. I loved chatting with them when I got back and Kye had filled them in on ALLLL the details about the card game too 😉
We had a full hour of waiting for the show but Kye agreed it’s just a totally different experience when you’re able to see the full projections of the castle up close! It was AMAZING!!!
I know people have a special spot for Wishes and it was WONDERFUL but Happily Ever After is just PHENOMENAL. The young girls with us were seeing it for the first time and they said it lived up to the hype (and trust me, I was giving it MAD HYPE).
I recorded the entire finale and I just want to say YOU. ARE. WELCOME. FRIENDS. You can watch it here! Such a great song that gives me all the feels everytime.
We love you TINK!!!
My new trick for leaving with the masses is to take my time rather than fight the crowds AND to ride the ferry. It’s so much faster to load than the monorail. It doesn’t have a huge incline ramp to stand on while you wait. And you can find a spot to sit as soon as you bored and just hang out comfortably.
Perfect chance to reflect over our favorite cards and to consider some more reorganizing of them in his storage case
We had SUCH a great night. I haven’t seen Kye that excited about something…possibly EVER. And it made my heart SO FULL that he had that excitement over something we shared together.
Kye is at an age where his bond with Zach is just very important to him. And I know the older he gets, the more that relationship will be the one that he values most.
Zach’s dad is Zach’s best friend. He loves his mom…but he golfs weekly with his dad. He goes to lunches with his dad. They just have that father-son thing (just like I know Mrs Charlotte has with her daughters).
I WANT that for Zach and Kye. I want them to have that close bond. And I know that the natural progression of life means that Kye will gain a wife and be less close to his mama. And that’s healthy!
Knowing all of that makes moments and days like these even more special to me. It’s a memory I will always be able to hold onto. Even when he’s long past wanting to play a card game at a theme park, I will have these memories and I will always smile when I think back on this night together.
I’m so thankful we found “our thing” at Disney. For so long Kye hasn’t really been my Disney buddy. He’s usually off with Zach riding the thrill rides! But now we have our card game to look forward to playing together.
He was SO excited and eager to share all the details with Zach and the girls…and I foresee many more Magic Kingdom visits in our future to play Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom!
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