Day Three - Magic Kingdom

After sleeping in, 8:30 or so, we got off to a late start to the Magic Kingdom, that is, we left the room about 10:20. Big Mistake. We knew from friends that the thing to do was start out early, break for a couple of hours in the afternoon, then return at night. Didn’t happen today.

The boys and Dad gave Mom a diamond pendant to commemorate the trip and her hard work in planning it, as well as her hard work as Mom in general.

We decided to ride the bus to Epcot, then tack the Monorail to The Magic Kingdom. This proved to be the long way. We got off the bus, entered the Monorail station (after getting our bags searched (everyone entering the park), and found the station to go to. We waited and extra train so we could ride in the cockpit with the “pilot.” Alex was very unhappy about riding on the monorail, and rode hugging Mom’s neck the whole way. Ben had a big time. Each boy received a Monorail Co-pilot card at the end. The end of the first leg. We had to change trains before we could continue to the Magic Kingdom.

Today we arrived at the park at nearly 12:00, knowing our lunch reservations were at 1:05. We immediately went to the Liberty [park] and checked in at our restaurant, the Liberty Tree. We had about 30 minutes to kill. Alex was still unhappy, “I’m bored. This isn’t any fun, I want a FAN” (spray bottle with a fan, $17.00 at Disney, $5.00 at Wal Mart), and was showing it by lagging and pouting. We went to the Hall of Presidents, but missed the beginning of the show by about 30 seconds. Too late. We spent the time inside with Alex laying in Dad’s lap and Mom and Ben looking for different presidents (the ones on the money).

We left there and watched the steamboat come in, took some pictures, and went to eat lunch. Very good food. Not very good home made chicken noodle soup. Note: The Liberty Tree Restaurant has VERY small bathrooms, only two stalls. Go before you need to go.

After lunch we rode the steam boat. The boys seemed to enjoy all the shore side sights, and Alex took a bunch of pictures.

After that we made it to the castle. The boys had been asking for it. However, once inside, we discovered the only impressive part was the tiled pictures on the walls. Otherwise, it was just two restaurants. Alex was completely uninterested, “I’m bored. This isn’t any fun, I want a FAN” but Ben liked the mosaic.

We decided to get out of the park and head for a break when we got cut off by the 3:00 parade. The boys were glued to it as we watched from one of the front wings of the castle. Dad took pictures and video.

After the parade Ben wanted to go to the Pirates of the Caribbean. By now it was easily 92 degrees and humid. We wound our way to the back of Frontier Land to discovered the rode was probably not suited to smaller children. Gift Shop. Ben bought a pirate set and Alex a sword. Ben also got autographs and pictures with Captain Hook and a pirate. Alex wasn’t interested in either…only his new sword.

Four o’clock, now, and we were hot, tired, and cranky, and Dad was developing a minor migraine (didn’t drink enough water). We all got Mickey Ears ice cream and cooled off in some shade. The boys then played with their swords while Mom checked out a gift shop. We finally decided to head out. Two monorails and a bus later and we were back at the resort. A change into bathing suits after a break in the room and down to the “heated” pool. It was probably warm enough in March or April, but still a little chilly to Mom and Dad. The boys didn’t noticed and swam. We tried to get to the food court before the fire works, but only mostly made it. Mom and Dad had just gotten their food when they started, so we made a dash for outdoor seating (took the long way by mistake). Oh, we had to go through the gift shop from Sunday night to get into the food court.

Alex had another fit as we tried to head back to the room. We got everyone to bed by 10:00.

All-in-all, a very frustrating day. Lots of heat, lots of walking, and not much adventure. If I were a kid, and had today as my first day at WDW, I’d say, “Forget this, lets got to the playground at McDonald’s.”

Before bed Mom and Dad looked over plans for Hollywood, keeping in mind today’s flop.