Good evening, night owls! Man, I hope my followers don't think I'm dropping the ball too bad on this. I have been B-U-S-Y! With bookings, peak season, Spring Breakers, and birthday parties, everything all at once. I did not forget about you and as all of you know I need this little outlet to write about Disney (because it's not like I spend at least 1/2 my day talking about it) :).
Where did I leave off? Oh yes, my review of our trip this past January. You read all about what I thought of our accommodations at Disney's Wilderness Lodge Resort. Fantastic! I really wanted to start gearing this blog to help mom's of school-aged kids tackle Walt Disney World. In the past 15 months since I started it, I have leaned more towards writing about what I thought I knew best, which was Walt Disney World in itself. But I had really mainly experienced it as an adult, with one or more adults with me, and being able to do things on my own time and schedule.
Not so much anymore.
I don't care how much you (or I if I booked your reservation for you) plan. You can plan until you're as blue as the genie, you just have to be able to roll with the punches when taking young kids to Walt Disney World. A lot of people will say that it's just for kids. From reading my blog, both you and I know that this is a point that can be argued. There are many many things that are for adults there. But, what the hay...let's take the kids.
Our first full day at Magic Kingdom in January: Day One.
"Let's go! Get up! Time to hit those parks!"
Yea, no. More like "Come on, get out of bed. I will get the kids ready."
"Sit still, let me put your shoes on."
"Don't take your jacket off, it's chilly outside."
"Are you ready yet? We're out the door."
"You have to sit in the stroller if you want to go to Disney World. "
Is it even 9am yet? This is family-fun, right? LOL. Yes, it is. :)
We ended up getting to the Magic Kingdom around 11 am that day. No, we are not morning people and I will tell you I prefer it that way. Because as much as my kids aren't big sleepers (never have been and I fear never will be), I do like getting to the park at an early lunch time so they're not completely postal by the time of the fireworks. They get to run around and ride attractions, have dinner, and take it easy, and they're still up for the night time activities as well.
Although on a side note; I can't tell you the last time before this trip that I stayed at the Magic Kingdom until the very end for the fireworks and I definitely could've planned that better. Perhaps not by getting that spot right in front of Cinderella's Castle and opting more for a position towards the front of Main Street, USA so when they were over we could've just turned around and walked out of the park rather than spending about 20 minutes in the crowd just to get through the turnstiles to the boat transportation.
With adults = don't even notice it.
With two 2 year olds who have been going all day = VERY noticeable.
Let me tell you one other thing that would be one of my biggest tips for this first day at Magic Kingdom. And this very well may be child-specific. If you have a child (or children) who are not fond of the stroller; work out a plan beforehand. We wanted to let the kids walk on their own a bit, but in the past when they got tired they wanted to go in the stroller. This time not only did they not want to ever climb into the stroller, we were using it as a time-out when they weren't behaving! Maybe not such a good idea, but it's a learning process. Really, I don't know that if we hadn't brought it at all they probably would've wanted to sit in it and also... where would I have kept all my stuff?!!
At the end of the day, their faces on the attractions truly are priceless. Prince Charming's Regal Carousel, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and Peter Pan's Flight being their favorites. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love going that time of year because we have the option of taking them on rides that they want to do again two or three times. It's worth it. The whole trip is worth it, and... magical. :)
It's 4:37 in the morning and since I can't sleep for the last two hours I have been reviewing your posts and the comments to them left by your followers. I have to say that except for a few minor typos your information is not only interesting and informative but also inspiring. Even though the majority of the blogs that I surf are for what the guests are saying about the WDW Resort pools, I believe that I can assess this due to the fact that being a WDW Cast Leader and having said this before, your blog should be required reading for WDW Cast Members. Keep up the good work and I look foward to your future posts.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI don't even know what to say besides of course, thank you! It is so nice to know that when I click "post" I am not just putting my entries out into cyber-nowhere, but that people are actually reading it and ENJOY reading it at that. I will do my best to uphold the fun and informative stories I have about travelling to Walt Disney World, and to put a little pixie dust into everyone's day (or EARLY morning). :)
Thank you again!
Jenn Phelps