We were up early and ready to
catch the bus and to get to our 8:20am breakfast reservation. The park
didn't open until 9:00am that day, so we were some of the first to
arrive!
I
think we missed the first bus that day due to running back to grab something
from our room. The kids still look a bit tired and my camera was fuzzy
from the morning fog.
Just in the gate and not so happy about a photo op right then!
Posing
by the fall decorations. I tried to ask other families if I could
take their picture. I think it's a nice act of kindness, since most
families would like a photo of all the members, and also they'll tend to
repay the favor, which is always nice!
Thomas is doing this in almost all our family photos. He was not into picture-taking, except in a few instances.
Then
we walked closer to the castle for some more pictures. The same family
from the pumpkin pics took these photos, too. We probably should've gone off to
the side so that the Walt Disney statue wouldn't be in the middle, but oh well! At least
Thomas is looking this time, even though SJ is pouting!
8:20am
Breakfast at Crystal Palace with Pooh and Friends was a big success!
It was the typical breakfast buffet fare and nothing we would rave
about, but I think it was a great choice for our first morning at
Disney. There were several characters that came to our table to give
autographs and take photos. Pooh was first!
Gotta love the breakfast choices here. Ellie has bacon, strawberries, a cinnamon roll, and Fruit Loops!
Tommy showing off his strawberry!
Next was Tigger. He has some issue with Mr. Steven Joseph right here!
Peek-a-boo with Tommy!
Tigger
signing the girls' autograph book. I'm frustrated that iPhoto won't
let me edit and crop any of these photos, but at least I can load them
now!
The kids and me with Tigger and a cast member at the side...
A happy Steven Joseph with his missing front tooth!
Piglet arrives next, and Tommy is still not interested in visiting.
So just the big kids take a picture with Piglet.
After
breakfast, we rushed over to Space Mountain. It had a short line, and
Tommy and I played in the nearby arcade while the others got to
experience their first big Disney rollercoaster!
Thomas could have stayed in here all day. He loves arcades, and I don't even have to put money in!
We headed over to Fantasyland next, including a ride on the carousel and It's a Small World, one of my favorites (although I think I liked the Disneyland one better).
Then
it was time for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain for
the big kids in Frontierland. They loved those coasters. I think Big
Thunder Mountain may have been most of the kids' favorite ride. Tommy
and I watched from the side and spent some time in a gift store.
We watched the Country Bear Jamboree (wouldn't recommend), and the kids went with Steven into a little shooting range. There was a little street dancing party going on, and Ellie got asked to dance with a cast member. Here are some fun shots...
Then
the girls wanted to ride one of the coasters again, so I took both the
boys
to Pirates of the Caribbean. They were scared and the ride stopped for a
few minutes! Not a good ride to get stuck on! Tommy still talks about not liking the pirate ride. Soon the roller coaster-riders were done, and we headed nearby for some Dole Whip ice cream snacks.
Next
we went back to Fantasyland, and while Tommy was napping, the big kids
and I watched Mickey's Philharmagic (this was one of my favorite shows,
it's 3-D), and then they went on the Dumbo ride. It was getting really
hot, and there was an indoor playground near the Dumbo ride, so we went
in there for a bit and woke Thomas up to play.
We got a
snack for some of the kids at Cosmic Rays in Fantasyland where Steven
Joseph fell asleep at the table, and then headed to the train to ride
around the park and then back to the front to leave. The train wasn't
worth the heat and the time, so I wouldn't recommend it (again, the Disneyland one was better). We loaded the bus to head back to our hotel around 2:00pm.
We figured we had another day at Magic Kingdom and didn't want to overdo
it. Plus it was just starting to rain and the park would be closing
early that night with no firework show.
Here are the
girls by our hotel room. Thankfully it was just a couple minute walk
from the bus stop, because it was a LONG walk to the hotel lobby (10
minutes)! We loved having the MagicBands bracelets to get into our
room without a key.
We had a nice rest and cool down, and then loaded back up again to head out for the ferry ride to Downtown Disney for dinner!
Here's a picture of our building.
The resort included over 60 of these, plus several other larger
buildings with more rooms. The Port Orleans Riverside is one of the largest
resorts with over 2000 rooms!
These
next two photos show the main area with the dining hall/food court, a nicer restaurant, the gift shop, and the lobby. We
never even checked out the arcade, there was so much to do! You can see they offered carriage rides, too.
The ferry would be reopening shortly after the rain, so the kids had fun playing a bean bag game while we waited.
Those bikes would be fun to rent, too!
Mary Clare waiting for the boat.
The ferry ride to Downtown Disney was a bit slow, but it was a fun change from the usual shuttle bus.
I
didn't get any photos at Downtown Disney, but we ate at Wolfgang Puck
Express, which was delicious and one of my favorite meals of the trip
(rotisserie chicken and mashed potatoes)! We went to the Christmas
store, the Lego store, and the huge Disney store, and then caught a bus back to the hotel. We got a good night's sleep that night, for sure! Sunday would be our trip to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Universe for Mass and then Hollywood Studios.
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