Ockey Family Adventures: Orlando Day 5

Seeing the castle in person truly is magical!!

We had a perfectly magical day at Magic Kingdom today. The park is so huge and even getting to it is an adventure. In order to get into the park, you have to ride a monorail or take a ferry down a manmade waterway. We opted for the ferry, and were inside pretty early. The ferry loads you up and takes you across a beautiful lake to the gates of the park. The boys were amazed at all the coins people had thrown around the dock of ship. As soon as we arrived, we found out that the monorail was broken, so the morning wasn't very busy because it took a lot of people a long time to ferry across. We had the park mostly to ourselves and a few thousand other people until nearly noon.

We enjoyed riding the ferry.

We are here! Magic Kingdom! Mom is so happy!

As soon as we got off the ferry we headed for Thunder Mountain. We weren't sure how Dax and Seth would do on such a fast roller coaster since Dax had shouted, "I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!" on the old white roller coaster at Lagoon for the entire ride. But both of them loved it. Seth is so funny. He leans into the wind and acts like he is conquering the world as he rides. We didn't wait long for Thunder Mountain, and we liked it so much we immediately got on again. The boys really liked using the detonators to blow holes in the mountains as we stood in line. Seth is still saying, "My favorite ride is the roller coaster where you blow the holes."

We love roller coasters in our family!

We spent the morning with the Ferlans since we were sharing a van! It was a ton of fun!

Next we headed over to Pirates of the Caribbean because Splash Mountain was broken. We didn't wait long for Pirates, either. We found that though Thunder Mountain may have been a little better than Disneyland in California, Pirates was clearly worse. None of us liked it very much. First of all, there was only one down hill section compared with three in California. Worse, we got stuck and sat still for at least ten minutes in a pile of boats. When we finally got moving, we decided that once on the Pirates ride was good enough for the day. Seth was excited because in the Pirate Shop, Mom found a hook for him, and even though he'd spent his money, Mom spoiled him and bought it anyway.

Seth loves pirates, especially Captain Hook. I had to buy him the hook!

The crowds were still pretty thin, but we wanted to do a ride for the little guys, so we stopped at Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride. The best part of this ride actually happened while we were standing in line. A mother duck and 6 tiny ducklings only a few days old dashed across the path. We were pretty worried about all the feet that were walking around them, and lots of kids weren't staying back. We got on the ride hoping they'd be fine. We were able to get on our carpets in about 10 minutes. Seth like moving the carpet up and down, but he is really more of a roller coaster lover.

We loved watching these little ducklings, and we worried about them all day!

Everyone rode on the magic carpets!

Grandpa texted us and asked where we were. They had finally made it in to the park after waiting for the ferry for a very long time. We told him we had just finished on Big Thunder and Pirates, and he said he was heading our way. We had grabbed a rider swap for Steph and Grandpa, so after Aladdin, we headed back toward Big Thunder Mountain. All of the kids got to ride with Steph and Grandpa, while Raymond and Bob went looking for Jessie and Woody from Toy Story. Randy decided to go with them and get a signature in the boys' autograph book, and Natalie stayed to wait for the boys. Unfortunately, Bob and Randy never found Jessie or Woody, but they did watch the Muppet show for a few minutes.

They are having a great time!

Everyone had big smiles after this ride.

Next we saw that Haunted Mansion was running. Both this ride and Splash Mountain had been down all day, and we were told that Splash Mountain probably wouldn't open up at all. We decided to hurry to Haunted Mansion because the line builds up really fast when a ride starts up. Dad really likes this ride, so we zipped over to check it out. Mark and Dax really liked all the things to do in this line like reading gravestones and playing the creepy organ. Dax and Seth liked the actual ride and seemed to understand that it was all pretending to be scary for fun. Mark didn't like Haunted Mansion at all, though, and was quite bothered by it.

They are happy waiting in line for Haunted Mansion, but Mark already looks nervous!

After Haunted Mansion, we had just a few minutes before our Fast Passes kicked in, so we walked up through Fantasyland past Rapunzel's Tower and miraculously found a shaded table for lunch. We had sandwiches and chips that Mom had packed around all day in the stroller. We learned to pack two backpacks: one that holds valuables like the camera that you don't let out of your sight, and one that holds your lunch. We left lunches in the stroller all week, and they were never bothered. We wolfed down the food and headed over to the teacups for a quick ride. We had to stand in line for over a half hour just for the Teacups, but the little kids like these rides. When it came time to get in the cups, Mom chose to ride with Seth and Ray because they are little and she didn't want to spin too much. Dad got Abby, Mark, and Dax, and they promised to spin him good. Unfortunately, the little kids spun those teacups as hard as the big kids and everyone walked off the ride a little tipsy.

Mom and Dad really wanted to meet Rapunzel, but her line was really long all day long.
Her tower was beautiful though!

Ready to spin!

Raymond and Seth loved making Mom dizzy!

We had to split up after the Teacups because Mom and Seth were going to Buzz Lightyear's Laser Ride and Dad, Dax, and Mark headed over to Space Mountain with Bob and Abby. The phone told us that Space Mountain was shut down, but we headed over anyway, and we were glad we did. When we walked up they had just reopened, and we went straight in. Later the line was more than two hours long. Unfortunately, Abby, who is Dax's age started to cry about the roller coaster being in the dark. We thought Dax might not like a speeding fast roller coaster in the dark, either. Then, it came time to actually ride and he found out he wouldn't be next to Dad because Space Mountain is a single seater. Abby was still upset, but even as Dax sat in the front car by himself, he had a smile on his face. In fact, he proclaimed it the best ride of the day, "except for all of Dad's screaming."

Meanwhile, Mom and Seth had fun on Buzz Lightyear, but they liked the Toy Story ride the day before better. Mom rode with Alice because Seth really wanted to ride with Grandma. They were lucky and got to go on the People Mover, too, before the big boys got back. The People Mover reminds Mom of her childhood because Grandma always wanted to go on the People Mover when we were little so we could rest our feet. It's a 10 minutes ride through Tomorrowland, and it takes you through some of the rides. We rode through the pitch black and could hear people screaming on Space Mountain, and we also got a peek into the Buzz ride we had just been on.

Mom rode with Grandma, Seth, and Alice on the People Mover.

We had a little while before dinner, and we weren't sure what to do next. We made the decision to stand in a long line for It's a Small World. The boys didn't like it much, so they are normal. Then we hurried over to another character dinner. On the way, we caught the Muppet Show. The Muppets were acting out how the Declaration of Independence came about. We loved how Miss Piggy started as Queen Georgina, and then switched to Georgina Washington because she wanted to be the hero.

Randy wins! Katelyn slept with him in line for It's a Small World.

The kids weren't thrilled with this classic Disney ride.

We love the Muppets, so we were glad we caught the show.

Dinner was a little crazy because Grandpa had gone to go and pick up Tiffany and her kids who had been stranded in Minnesota for a day and a half. So we started eating and they met us there about halfway through. This dinner featured characters from the Hundred Acre Woods. First Piglet visited our table. When he first came up, Seth ran to give him a hug, but the music started and he danced away. He came back later, and soon we saw Eeyore. Eeyore didn't seem nearly as sad as usual, but Dad took an unhappy picture with him. Finally, Winnie the Pooh made it to our table. Silly old Bear! Our boys had so much fun seeing these characters and gave them big hugs every time they approached the table. Seth was most excited, though, when Tigger came. He was moving much more slowly because he took time with everyone. He bounced with every kid, and though they don't talk, he'd steal autograph books, sneak up on unsuspecting kids, and be generally silly. Mark, Dax, and Seth were laughing almost as hard as Mom and Dad. Dax even received the special honor of a birthday cupcake and a card signed by each of the characters.

Mom and Piglet are very pink.

Dad with his favorite Eeyore.

It is so sweet to see your kids so happy to meet the characters!

Winnie the Pooh!

Dax was super excited about his birthday cupcake.

Yummy!

We all enjoyed visiting with Tigger!

We did the Winnie the Pooh ride right after dinner. It was pretty cool, but even better was standing in line. The line had a play area that the boys could have fun in while the adults stayed in line. They played in dripping honey, watched moles pop out of Rabbit's Garden, and went up and down on a seesaw. In the ride we saw all of the characters and laughed at Winnie the Pooh and his honey pot.

We had a lot of fun playing in line for Winnie the Pooh.

Dax loves watermelon, so he was super excited about this drums.

Our next Fast Pass took us to Peter's Pan's Magical Flight. Seth loves pirates right now, and especially Captain Hook and the Tick Tock Croc, so we sent him with Grandpa. We wanted Grandpa to see how much fun Seth was having, since Grandpa spent all the money on this trip. Peter Pan's Magic Flight is always one of Mom and Dad's favorite rides, and they got to ride along with Dax. It was fun to soar over the city and see Captain Hook fight Peter on the mast of the ship. Of course, Captain Hook ended up in the mouth of the Tick Tock Croc, as always.

Here we go--Peter Pan ride!

Seth was so excited because he loves Hook and the Croc!

Mark rode with Aunt Brittany!

Our next move was a mistake. In Disney World, not Disneyland, they have an interactive Beauty and the Beast show. Mom really wanted to do it because Belle is her favorite character. The line said it was a 40 minute wait, but after 40 minutes, we weren't very close to the front. They kept taking so many Fast Pass riders that the real line hardly moved. Since we had another Fast Pass coming up and the Belle show is 20 minutes long, we finally got out of line and went for some refreshments. Friends had suggested that we stop at Gaston's Tavern and try LaFoo's Brew. We weren't super-excited about the drink, but the massive cinammon roll that came with it was pretty good. The other plus was that it was right by our next Fast Pass to the Seven Dwarves' Mine Ride.

We had hoped to see Gaston hanging out by his tavern, but he had already gone home for the night.

The drink was pretty good, but the cinnamon roll was amazing! Mom barely got any because the boys devoured it.
Even Dax, who doesn't like cinnamon rolls.

The Seven Dwarves' Ride is exclusive to DisneyWorld, too. It runs really fast and has several plunges and some serious twists and turns. One of the cool things about it is that it slows down as it goes by Snow White's cottage. So part of it is like Peter Pan's Magic Flight, and part of it is like Thunder Mountain. Dad even proclaimed it the best ride of the day.

The cousins who are 38 inches or taller waiting by the dwarves' cottage.

If you are 8 and older, you can ride with other kids. These guys were pretty stoked about that, and Dax was so sad!

After the Seven Dwarves, it was starting to get dark and Mom hadn't even been on Space Mountain, which is her favorite ride. Dad had picked up a child swap pass for her when he rode with Dax, and she could take 2 guests, so Mark and Daniel went with her since Daniel hadn't been on it either. They had a blast, though they had to wait quite awhile as the line is always long. In the meantime, Dad took Dax and Seth up to Goofy's Barnstormer ride. They loved the mini-roller coaster, but it only lasted about 45 seconds, which was about 60 times shorter than the line. Because the Space Mountain line was so long, they had extra time. Soon the fireworks started, which meant that Dax and Seth were covering their ears and crying. Dad texted Mom and then rushed them into the Little Mermaid ride, which had no wait because everyone was at the fireworks show. Then, because they were still nervous about the fireworks, he sneaked them into the next line over. Both Dax and Seth were furious when they got to the front of the line, and they realized they were going to meet Ariel. Mom showed up just in time and took pictures of them being real stinkers about it. Ariel was really nice, but Seth told her that he had shark teeth, and he refused to smile. We felt bad for Ariel, but the pictures are pretty priceless!

Mom loves Space Mountain. It is her favorite ride! She was glad she got to ride with these sillies!

Seth was a real stinker, but Dax had plopped as far as he could from Ariel, too.

Words cannot express how hilarious it was. Luckily Mark was a good sport.

This was the only princess we got to meet, so Dad wanted a picture, too!

Mom checked the line app on her phone to see what we should do next, and though it was nearly 10 o'clock, Splash Mountain had finally opened up. Mom didn't want to get wet because she thought we'd all get cold, but she was finally persuaded when everyone else started wheedling, Dad being the loudest wheedler. Apparently no one else wanted to get wet either, because the line only took about 10 minutes, which is a miracle for Splash Mountain. It took us longer to walk from Ariel over to Splash Mountain. We kept telling Seth that he'd be going over a waterfall, but he insisted he was excited. The boys don't know anything about Song of the South, Br'er Rabbit, or any of the story, so we were trying to tell them about it as we went along. Finally we came to the waterfall. Everyone loved the plunge and we only got a little splashed. Mark was smart enough to duck, but the rest of us had wet hair and faces. I think we got wetter from the seat than the splash, though!

Randy and Mark had front row seats for Splash Mountain.

Mom and Dad got the wettest, but it was a fun ride!

Magic Kingdom closes at 11 pm, and we had time for only one more ride. Dax wanted to go back to Buzz Lightyear as he'd missed it the first time, but Mom and Seth hadn't been too impressed. Dax was also upset at missing Space Mountain the second time, so Melanie took him on Thunder Mountain one last time while we got lined up for the Jungle Cruise. This isn't the greatest ride in the park, but we like the jokes and the sites anyway. It was quite dark, and we got the second to last boat out. It was a great ride and Mark actually undertstood most of the jokes. It was the perfect end to a perfect day. Just being in DisneyWorld, surrounded by castles, characters, and crowds had been perfectly magical. We didn't even mind the long ride home (ferry to tram to van to hotel.)