Rise and Shine!!!!
We have a Rope Drop to make it to. It was our first Magic Kingdom rope drop of the trip. Clair slept on the couch cushions from the sleeper sofa. She was excited to have the "special" bed. (Yep, we let her believe that.)
Beautyful sunrize shining on the Contempory.
Sun rising over Bay Lake.
Doug, Samantha, and Alden walked over to the Magic Kingdom to check in for their Y.E.S class (Youth Education Series) the class they were taking was titled "How Things Move" We did this class for two reasons. One, Doug is a big nerd and thought a physics class would be good for a soon to be 5 and 7 year old. Two, we got discounted tickets. Note that these discounted tickets have several restrictions as to how and when you use them, but they worked for this trip. (In 2013 Disney drastically changed the discount and it unfortunately is not worth it anymore) To participate in the class you have to buy tickets thought the program, so that means no free dining or other types of vacation offers can be taken advantage of.
For the current Disney YES Program website click HERE
We were among the first to enter the Magic Kingdom. They held hands as they walked down Main Street. All the other people were heading to Cinderella Castle or Crystal Palace, but my kids were on a mission to learn.
Still holding hand... (I think they were inspired by the twins in orange shirts and ear hats).
We stopped by the Mad Hatter's Tea Party to learn about the different kinds of energy. The class was for 5 to 9 year olds. Here they were holding up signs with different energy sources. Alden and Samantha both answered several questions right, Doug learned that we have kids that like to wait for one or two others to miss the question before they chime in. Alden who was the youngest by far, was the only one to explain kinetic energy. Doug and Alden watch some weird YouTube videos.
Now outside of the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, they were instructed to identify as many different types of motion on the ride as they could and then talked about it afterwards.
While the learning was happening, Doug saw this lonely rope dropper heading to the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh after a spin on Peter Pan. It was Clair and myself! Look at the masses of people around me. It is just so hard to manage these crowds at Disney. Clair and I did Peter Pan and the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh at Rope Drop, but to do this later in the day, both rides would have 45 minute waits. THIS IS WHY YOU ROPE DROP!!
Clair and I then headed over to Dumbo!
She enjoyed the one-on-one time with me!
We like to take pictures with this Dumbo Statue after riding it.
The class then showed up at Dumbo where they learned about Pneumatics
They then sat down and talked about all the factors that go into a ride design.
Doug got a picture of Clair and I as we walked through Goofy's Barnstormer line.
And I got one of the kids.
Then a ride on Goofy's Barnstormer to illustrate potential and kinetic energy.
Clair and I made it over to ride this horse.
Next we met the Fairy Godmother
Now "it's a small world".
Over in Torrowland, Push interrupted the class.
Then a spin the the People Mover. They learned how the People mover cars are moved. Lets see if anyone can tell us how it moves or its power source in Comments below!!
We were all reunited at the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, while Doug ran over to get a FastPass for Splash. (Please note, you can no longer get Fast Passes this way in 2014!)
Front row controls the up and down.
Back row controls the tilt of the carpet.
One of our favorite lunch spots: Pinnochio Village Haus. They have windows that over look "it's a small world". There are just a few windows, so eating at 11:00am helps snag one of these. They spent a ton of time waving while eating. This is the one place in the Magic Kingdom that serves pizza at a counter service restaurant.
Doug and the big kids went back over to use their FastPasses on Splash Mountain. Pro-tip remember if you are in a row ahead of a little kid, don't push your hands up (If you are in the last row, you can do this without a problem - like the guy in the last row) because you will block them from being in the picture.
After Splash Mountain they played Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom. The kids had a blast beating villains with their magic cards. It is a great thing to do in the afternoon when lines are starting to get long.
Clair and I caught a little of the Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It Parade.
Then Clair had a "sit down" meeting with Tiana.
Then we ran into Princess Aurora who had just woken up from a nap.
With MY favorite Dog.
Clair and I took a trip around the Magic Kingdom on the Walt Disney World Railroad.
We all met back up in Town Square and found Show White enjoying the shade.
My goofs with this Goof on Main Street.
Then we used a Fastpass to meet Mickey Mouse & Minnie Mouse.
Then we used a Fast Pass to meet the Princesses. Cinderella signed a few cards for friends back home.
Belle had a chat about the kids' favorite books.
Rapunzel was a little too excited to meet my kids! Clair would not look at the camera because she would not take her eyes off her. As we left she asked how she got her hair that long and if she could do that with hers.
We then wandered back to Frontierland to watch the Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade at 3:00pm.
After the Parade we walked back to the Resort and freshened up and got ready for dinner. We were going to celebrate Samantha's birthday tonight with dinner at 1900 Park Fare. Even though Sam's birthday is not until November we decided to give her a special meal because the other two kids would have their actual birthday on this trip.
We walked across the sky walk from Bay Lake Tower over to The Contemporary Resort and hopped on the monorail to head to the Grand Floridan Resort & Spa.
The meal starts with a group picture.
This was just the right restaurant for the birthday of a 7 year old girl. Prince charming was the first to visit.
Lots of great food options at the buffet. Everyone had lots to eat. Clair was still free (because she was under 2 years old)! Pro-tip: Buffets are great with two year olds because they are FREE!
This is the Strawberry Soup. It is not soup as much as liquid candy. I think Doug could eat this all day.
Cinderella stopped by to welcome us to her dinner.
Then the Wicked Step Mother - Lady Tremaine stopped by our table. (Clair declined the photo request, and I can't say that I blame her.)
Next to stop by was Drizella Tremaine. The kids asked her a few questions and her answers were funny. The more you talk to the characters, the more they interact with you. So feel free to think up something funny to ask them and see what they say.
Finally we had Anastasia Tremaine stop by to visit. Alden asked her who the better singer was between her and her sister and she yelled halfway across the room to argue about it with her sister. It was funny and Alden enjoyed being the cause for a fight between sisters. Later she came back to dance with Alden!
Samantha with her birthday cup cake!
After the buffet, there was a Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party going on, so we could not go back to the Magic Kingdom. We were just going to take the boat from the Grand Floridan back to the Magic Kingdom and walk to Bay Lake Tower, but then I got this idea that we should run over to Hollywood Studios. So we wandered to the bus stop and took the bus over to Hollywood Studios.
So we got there and got a picture. Because we don't use Disney buses much, because we rent a car, the kids thought it was awesome riding the bus. It wasn't exactly a popular time to be coming or going to a theme park, we lucked out and the buses were mostly empty.
Got a picture of Alden with a car at Hollywood Studios at his request.
We made it back to Bay Lake Tower and threw on pajamas then walked down to the elevator lobby to watch Hallow Wishes. It is so amazing to watch fire works from you hotel!
Back in the room, we were able to watch the Electrical Water Pageant from our balcony.
Then to was off to bed to get ready for another full day tomorrow.
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