Disney World - Day 2

  Sunday was one of the days of our trip that I was most looking forward to.  It was our first day at the Magic Kingdom.  Ashlyn is really the only kid who remembered Disney World well from previous trips.  Last time we went, Dawson and Ella were 3 1/2 years old, Jameson was 1 1/2 years old, and Gracie was just 6 months old.  So, they remembered very little if anything, and they were all too little to ride any of the big rides.  We were all so excited for the older kids to experience most of the rides for the first time.
  Walking up to the Magic Kingdom is always so special and magical.  I always love how they have it decorated for fall.  We did awesome getting 12 people ready and out the door each day, and we were at each park before it opened each day. 

Love this view

The girls dressed alike each day, and the boys dressed alike each day.

Gram bought all the kids sunglasses and these are the ones they picked.  So silly and fun. 

Matching boys

Wearing his silly shades waiting for the park to open

Best sunglasses ever, because you get two totally different looks

Twins again

Ella opted for the Minne Mouse version

Ella had the best view for the opening show

Gracie had to have some shoulders too

Joey looking weird

So much Disney excitement waiting for the park to open

Gracie really has a thing for Mickey Mouse and she got so incredibly excited when he came out. 

Everyone welcoming us to the park

    Before we knew it, the park was open and we got to take a walk up the very famous Main Street USA.  I can never get over how magnificent Cinderella's castle looks in person.     

There is my favorite sights

Getting closer

There she is in all of her glory

There is so much I love about this picture

Mr. Cool

    We didn't really eat breakfast that morning, so we decided to head to Sleep Hollow Refreshments for their famous waffles.  They were so decadent and good and the perfect first breakfast for Disney World.  After we ate, we were more than ready to go tackle some rides.  The kids were all so excited to ride Splash Mountain. 

Waffle time

Only in Disney World do we eat waffles like this for breakfast

Off to ride Splash Mountain

   Splash mountain has always been one of my favorite rides.  Ashlyn loves it just as much as I do.  I was so incredibly excited to take Dawson on it.  I was really hoping he would love it as much as we do.  Jameson barely squeaked by as tall enough to ride, but they said he was good to go  Dawson, Ashlyn and I got seated in the front, and we got absolutely soaked.  Like we just took a shower with our clothes on soaked.  We didn't care because that is the fun of Splash Mountain.  Ella and Dawson absolutely loved the ride.  They immediately asked to ride again.  Poor Jameson was terrified of Splash Mountain.  My sister said he was shaking so bad afterwards, my dad thought he was having a seizure.  He opted to not ride that one again.  Since it was not busy at all, we got to ride again.  (The kids quickly decided this was their favorite ride, so we rode it literally any chance we got.  I can't even count how many times we rode that ride this trip.  Let's just say it was a lot. )

On our boat ready to go

This was the picture from our first ride.  The pictures they take on the rides are absolutely priceless because they do such a good job of capturing you in that moment.  I am just upset my arm is blocking Dawson's face .  Ashlyn's face is priceless.  Joey's head is blocking Ella and Jameson looks terrified. 

Our second ride.  I think this picture does an amazing job capturing how much fun we were having. 

Dawson on Splash Mountain so happy to be going again

Love that face.  He was so happy. 

  After Splash Mountain, we decided to ride some rides that everyone could ride.  We rode the Haunted Mansion and the Little Mermaid.  Gracie loves the Little Mermaid almost as much as Ashlyn did at that age.  I was so excited to take her on that ride and see her face.  She sat absolutely still with a huge smile on her face, pointing to all the characters.  It was beyond priceless. 

Entering the Haunted Mansion

Little Mermaid ride

Riding on the Little Mermaid

The star of the ride

Gracie immediately declared that she wanted to ride again, so Joey took her again while the rest of us went to ride something else

Evil Urusula

Joey and Gracie in front of Gaston's tavern

The Gaston statue is in the background

While they rode Ariel,  Bryan and my Dad took the boys on the motor cars and we rode the People Mover which essentially takes your around Tomorrowland. 

Enjoying the People Mover

Jameson's serious face.  I swear he was having the time of his life. 

Time for a quick picture

   Our first Fast Pass was for Space Mountain.  I had to book our Fast Passes 60 days in advance.  The height requirement for Space Mountain is 44 inches.  I knew Dawson was right around or at 44 inches and I wasn't sure if he would make the cut off or want to ride.  We explained to him that the ride was completely in the dark.  I think he was feeling particularly adventurous after Splash Mountain because he insisted he wanted to ride.  They checked his height and he was good to go.  I thought he would be terrified, but he ended up LOVING it.  He is brave like his sister. 

Crazy ride

You can see in this picture how Joey is holding onto Dawson because we were nervous about him riding. 

   While we rode Space Mountain, the rest of our group rode Buzz Lightyear.  It was much more Jameson's speed and he really, really liked it. 

Great shot of Tomorrowland

Trying their best of keep cool int he Florida heat

   Our next Fast Pass was for the Seven Dwarf Mine Train.  It was Jameson's first time riding.  He was so excited.  It is a very mild roller coaster and perfect for younger kids, yet still entertaining.  Jameson loved it as well as the other kids. 

Here we go up the hill

Love that happy face

Jameson having the time of his life

The wicked witch knocking on Snow White's door

Here we all go

Dawson was so excited to ride in the very front

Look at all those smiles!!!

    Our last Fast Pass of the day was for Splash Mountain.  Everyone was more than excited to ride it again. 

Funny ride picture.  My brother decided to be funny and pretend like he was sleeping. 

My brother and Dad had to keep up with their fantasy football teams.  I kept giving them grief and reminding them we were in Disney World and who cares about football.  However, they take fantasy football very seriously. 

Heading out of the park

Not sure why we both look so disgusted in this picture, but it is a funny picture. 

    We decided to take a break from the park and try a new sit down restaurant.  My brother and dad ate at this restaurant last time for breakfast and just raved about it, so I booked it for dinner.  The neat part is that you get to take a boat from Magic Kingdom to the resort where it is located.  After being in busy Magic Kingdom all day, it was such a nice change of pace to take some time to get away from the crowds and enjoy a nice quiet dinner.  It was honestly perfect and the food was really good. 

Gorgeous picture of the Grand Floridian

The boys are really into their maps

Leaving the dock

The kids loved the boat

Upon landing at the resort, they had a really neat beach with a tether ball.  My brother and Joey immediately decided to challenge each other.  It got very intense.  It was very entertaining to watch. 

   This resort was so peaceful and quiet.  We had some time before our dinner reservation, so we got to relax while the kids played.  They had a great playground that the kids really enjoyed. Again, I didn't get pictures of dinner, but it was really good and hit the spot.  The kids got to play with some hula hoops while some of the adults paid. 

Ella really getting into her hula hoop

They liked the hula hoops

The girls had to give tether ball a try

   After dinner, it was time for a very special party.  For this trip, my parents insisted on going all out and really wanted to take the kids to the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.  We have thought about going in the past, but it is pricey and the kids were so young, so we always decided not to go.  You have to buy special tickets, and you get to trick or treat around the Magic Kingdom while riding rides and watching special fireworks and parades.  Kids are encouraged to wear costumes as well as adults.  I had way too much going on to plan adult costumes, so just the kids dressed up.  Since were were in Disney World where Star Wars has a major presence, we knew the kids had to go with a Star Wars theme.  The kids were so excited to get candy and wear their costumes.  They got so much attention everywhere they went with their costumes.  People really liked how they were all dressed in a  Star Wars theme. 

Our storm trooper and Rey

One was good and one was evil.  They took their roles very seriously. 

All dressed up ready to go

She makes the perfect Princess Leia

This picture accurately depicts the difficulty of getting five kids to cooperate for a picture.  LOL

Success! We got a decent one.  Such an adorable group!

Our little Yoda was too cute

  We got to go through a special entrance, and they handed us special treat bags with candy.  Throughout the park they had treat stations and they gave out so much candy.  I think the kids got more candy there, then they do when they actually go trick or treating. 

This picture may be on of the cutest I have ever seen.  He really thought he was Darth Vader. 

She makes the perfect Rey

The force is strong with this one

Cutest Yoda ever

Our adorable storm trooper.  He has a mask, but they encourage kids not to wear masks. 

Gracie taking her candy bag like a pro

Such a great duo

What an adorable crew!

They saw Alice in Wonderland and had to take a picture

I love the way Ashlyn is posing here

Since lines were shorter, we decided to ride Mine Train again since the kids enjoyed it so well earlier.  I think it was even more fun to ride it with Star Wars characters. 

Time to ride the teacups

Gracie was quickly over her costume, so she chose to take it off

She was so excited to ride the carousel.  You can totally tell she spent a day in Disney World in this picture

My mom bought Gracie this Mickey because she really wanted one

Darth Vader and his silly dad

   They do a neat Halloween parade that we really didn't know about. So we didn't stop and watch it.   We decided to ride Splash Mountain again because there was literally no line since everyone was watching the parade.  We had the best moment ever after we rode.  We pulled into the exit area and the asked us if we wanted to ride again, and we immediately said "yes!", and we were off for a second ride in a row.  Since I was little I have always wanted this to happen, and it finally did! 

The castle at night

Someone partied too hard

She woke up for one last dance

The storm trooper and Rey were engaged in another epic battle

   Magic Kingdom was open until midnight that night.  The kids insisted they wanted to stay out until midnight.  We decided to let them decide when we left for the night.  After riding a bunch of rides and getting a TON of candy, we met back up as a group.  Joey and Bryan decided to take Jameson and Gracie back to the hotel because they were so tired.  The other kids wanted to stay and watch the fireworks.  The fireworks were a special Halloween show and they were incredible.  All I can say is that you have not lived until you have seen a Disney fireworks show.  They are at least 20 minutes long, involve many songs, and are the neatest fireworks I have ever seen.  It was the perfect ending to the best day ever!  I don't think we got back to our room until around 11:30 P.M.  What a long, but great day!

Joey stopped for a picture with a sleeping Graceyn