We left 'our' castle just as the park was opening and headed to ‘Tinker Bell’s Treasures.’ I’d read that each morning a child is allowed to wake-up Tinker Bell after her night of peaceful slumber. When we entered the store one of the cast members told us that unfortunately we were a little late and that Tinker Bell had already been wakened for the day. Another member gently commented that he thought Tinker Bell had fallen asleep again so R could have an opportunity to wake her too. They placed a stool beside Tinker Bell’s box, handed R a special wand and asked her to tap the box while saying, ‘Wake up Tinker Bell’ 3 times. Sure enough, upon the 3rd tap bells rang out (like those Disney books on tape I used to read, asking me to turn the page) and right before our eyes, the lights ran up the wall and Tinker Bell was once again ready to meet her public for the day! A fun experience and once again, a memory maker. R was given an official certificate stating that she had officially woken Tinker Bell on December 14, 2005.
When we left the store the crowds were still small so we decided to ride like crazy! We enjoyed the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Cinderella's Golden Carrousel, Mickey's PhilharMagic, Peter Pan's Flight and Magic Carpets of Aladdin...all before 10am! (A note to others who may arrive at the MK early - I've been told that Mickey himself rides the very first ride of Dumbo each morning! Had I known that we would have gone there but we have to leave something for next time don't we?)
Before leaving the MK for the day we visited the ‘The Country Bear's Jamboree.’ They were all decked out for the season wearing their Christmas finery and singing Christmas tunes. A fun change.
Deciding it was time to visit Disney-MGM Studios, we hopped on the Walt Disney World Railroad and made our way to the front gates of the park. A monorail and bus ride later we were at the studios! This was R's favourite park last time because it offered many characters as well as it was the home of 'Playhouse Disney.' She was really excited to be there. Ready to be an everyday girl again she traded in her formal attire for shorts and a t-shirt and we were off! First stop was to visit the characters below the Sorcerer's Hat and then off to Playhouse Disney to visit Bear and the Big Blue House. It was a fun to show to watch yet at the same time just a little sad. My little niece is growing up right before my eyes and wasn't quite as taken by the show as last year and chose to happily watch others around her dance to the music rather than dance herself. They grow up so fast!
Making our way to Hollywood Blvd. we found ourselves a (comfy?) piece of road and settled in to watch the 'Hollywood Holly-Day Parade.' The characters danced and rode by in cars decked out for the season.
Supper reservations had been booked at 'Hollywood and Vine' for 4:00 so as soon as the parade was over we made our way to the restaurant. We enjoyed the buffet supper which was part of the 'Fantasmic Dinner Package' which provided us with priority seating later that night for Fantasmic.
From New York Street we made our way back to the front of the park and found our seats for Fantasmic. I was so glad to have taken advantage of the dinner package so as not to worry about finding seats for us. The last time we were here we'd arrived 45 mins. before to the show only to find that all of the seats were taken and we had to stand throughout the 25 min. show. Holding a 5yo for 25 mins. was not my idea of fun. The show is a great display of fireworks and old Disney movies shown on fans of water that are sprayed into the air. Quite a sight! Mickey is the star, fights off many of Disney's worst villains and comes out victorious at the end. It's a great show and just one more way to view fireworks...Disney style!
All in all it was a fun, long, eventful day filled with a boatload of new memories. As you can tell by R's eyes, she was anything but tired when she climbed into bed that night! Here she’s excitedly telling Daddy and Mommy about some of her Disney adventures!
Cute, cute, cute!
ReplyDeleteOk, I don't think you could have packed one more instant of fun into your trip. Good for you guys - looks like you had a blast! And I am a HUGE Disneyland fan. Celebrated my 30th bday there many moons ago. Shhhhh, don't tell anyone. ;-)
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