A Personal Journey: Vacation @ Disney Magic Kingdom

THE day for Sudha. We left the hotel at 8.30 am and armed with sandwich lunch from Publix Deli, started out for Magic Kingdom.

The journey started with taking the little trolley (and misadventures with stroller folding) to the ticket counters, and then the ferry to MK(Sudha didn't want to go on the monorail). When we entered MK into Main Street, the first thing she saw was Daisy Duck and Pluto. She was so excited and said she wanted to meet Pluto first. So we stood in line in the hot sun and met Pluto then lined up again for Daisy. Chip and Dale came out too, but Daddy didn't want to stay in the sun anylonger and so we couldn't meet them.

We rode the Mad tea party and went in crazy circles. Alice in Wonderland and the White Rabbit were near the ride, but their "time" was up and Sudha couldn't meet them. I had just told her the story of Alice in Wonderland a couple of days back and she was disappointed when I told her that they had to leave for "snacks". We then took a break for lunch nearby and it was a HUGE task getting the already tired Sudha to eat anything.

After lunch, we headed out to meet the princesses. Cinderella, Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) and Aurora(Sleeping Beauty) were awesome !!! Sudha's face was THIS bright when she saw them. She was so shy, but talked to them when they asked her anything. It was sooooooo worth it to see Sudha smile with delight as she hugged the Princesses. We also met the fairies, and then Mickey and Minnie.

We did Winnie the Pooh ride, Mickey's Philarmagic and Peter Pan's flight before catching the last bit of the afternoon parade. Another short break in Liberty Tree Tavern followed, where Brinda enjoyed their Mac & Cheese. Sudha wanted to meet Jasmine and Aladdin, so we went to Agrabah but their time was up too and she had a meltdown. Poor girl kept asking about Jasmine and Pochahontas and Mulan (both of whom don't appear in MK). But nothing that an icecream couldn't help :)

My plan was to go back to the hotel for a short break and return for the wishes fireworks, but Guru didn't want to and so we just took it easy on the Jungle Cruise and walking around with more icecreams (Aloha Isle was so yummy!!) until she fell asleep in the stroller. We had the brilliant idea of resting in the room where you exit after meeting the Princesses and the fairies. There were benches and it was cool, a perfect spot.

We tried to get seated dinner, but it was too late to get reservations. So we had a little snack at the Main Street Bakery where Sudha had another meltdown after she woke up still half asleep. She was hungry and refused to eat anything. Finally, she ate some popcorn and stopped crying in time to watch the Fireworks. She watched it for 5 minutes and then asked to leave.

We returned to our hotel room at 10.30pm, totally tired out. But what a fun day. The best part - we parents didn't lose our cool !! And that with a cranky and over-tired toddler was a huge deal.

Excited to be on the tram from the parking lot

The ticket counter where she freaked out on seeing the monorail (passing above us in the pic)

Boarding on the Ferry instead

Ready to get off the ferry and into MK. She'd seen Cinderella's castle from the distance and couldn't wait.

She really was more excited than the pics show :)

The mad tea party ride

Dumbo

Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride

Watching the afternoon parade

Characters in the Parade stopped and spoke to her and commented on her lovely dress and matching hat :)

Waiting for the Wishes fireworks to start

Sudha was super cranky and didn't want to see the fireworks after the initial 5 minutes, so we left and watched the rest from the ferry. Leaving early also let us get out without having to wade through the masses leaving.

Meeting Pluto and Daisy Duck - the first characters we saw on entering MK. Sudha was super excited about Pluto.

Meeting the Princesses - Cinderella, Belle (Beauty) and Aurora (Sleeping Beauty). I was surprised at how wonderful they were! No wonder the kids love meeting them. They all asked Sudha's name, and commented on the dress she was wearing (she was wearing a 'Princess and the Frog' gown).

Cinderella asked Sudha if her fairy godmother gave her the dress. Sudha said yes, and Cinderella asked if her Fairy Godmother said Bibbidy, Boppidy, Boo when she gave her the dress. Sudha giggled and said no and that she got the dress during Christmas.

Belle asked Sudha something about her dress and said that she got lots of pretty dresses and books at her castle. Sudha told Belle that she loved books and has a lot of books too.

Sleeping Beauty asked Sudha if she went around kissing frogs like Princess Tiana did (because of the dress she was wearing). Sudha said "yes, if I like the frog". lol. Brinda was walking in and out, and Sleeping Beauty tried to get Brinda to come nearer, and asked Sudha if Brinda was her sister. When Sudha said yes, she asked if Sudha kissed Brinda a lot :)

Meeting the Fairies - Rosetta, Tinkerbell and Terence. The wait was 45-60min! They let in only one family at a time so it took a long time. I'd heard that they spend a lot of time with each kid, but I felt that they were a little too quick, but Sudha wasn't exactly chatty to feel bad, so it was all good. And oh - I have a feeling that Sudha thought that Terence was Peter Pan :)