Tickled Pink and Orange: Magic Kingdom, Afternoon of Day Three

We took the monorail from Epcot over to the Magic Kingdom. This was a really nice day. The crowds seemed to be a little less and we didn't have an agenda. Granted we needed the agenda for the first day, in order to get everything in and make sure we saw it all. We had good weather, but the forecast was always iffy, so on the first day, we made sure to do it all. And we did. On this day, we let Addie Kate pick and choose, and it was fun!

Because we got there midafternoon, the entrance wasn't packed. We were able to take pictures of the beautiful landscaping (albeit with our foreign cousins in them) and the park entrance.

And were able to enjoy the grandeur of walking into the Magic Kingdom, Main Street, and Cinderella's Castle.

As we got closer to the castle, the afternoon show that we had seen the day before was starting. AK had a fit to see it again, even though we told her it was the same show. I guess seeing the same princesses over and over again never gets old to a four year old! We didn't get up close like the day before, but we got Addie where she could see it.

My mom and Tommy headed straight to Tiana's garden. She was the last princess (other than Pocahontas, although she had kind of gotten forgotten by AK, thankfully) that we still needed to meet. We again, got lucky, and were one of the first in line to wait for her to show back up, which meant about a 20 minute wait, which was just fine. I went to try and get reservations for dinner that night, with no success. That is my one biggest tip and something I will not mess up for our next trip (in 18 months!) - get reservations for dinner each night in Magic Kingdom, if you are planning to be there at night. Finding dinner, especially dinner with a seat, is a complete and royal nightmare at night in the Magic Kingdom. Oh well. Our trip had gone so perfectly that it was very hard for me to accept this one flaw!

While we were waiting, look who stopped by to leave notes for Tiana and Naveen:

Yep, Peter Pan himself and he was just the way you expected!

My mom was not going to let him get away without getting AK his autograph. Since this wasn't an official autograph session (or whatever) for him, but since Mimi wasn't giving up, Peter told Addie that if they walked with him he could walk and sign at the same time... so they did!

These were the best pictures we could get with him, but it didn't matter!

Baby boy, again, just hung out and waiting and played so well and so patiently!

This was and still is his favorite thing to do, and it stresses me out. I don't use the shoulder straps on him to give him a little more freedom, but every time he did this, I considered it!

And then they came!

They were my favorite! They were so sweet, and kind, and spent a ton of time with AK and all of us! They were personable and really enjoyed meeting everyone!

You can see in the pictures how much they really loved what they do. And as a mother, that meant a lot to me.

They wanted to meet Drew, so I took him over there. He was ok, but wasn't a huge fan. Naveen asked if Drew had any teeth and Addie Kate told them that he had one. Naveen responded that he was like his friend Ray! (You'd need to watch the movie to understand that - Ray is a firefly with one big ole country tooth, and he's precious - my favorite character in the movie!)

Peter came back to play with Naveen and Tiana and joke about the notes he'd left them. Adorable!

We rounded back to Fantasyland to ride the carousel, and the show was starting again. We got to see it from behind as each character came out. I was worried that some of the "magic" would be lost here, but it wasn't, and Addie Kate loved it, again, for the third time!

And look who waved at her!

Since Addie Kate knows every Disney song, and loves a show and a dance, she proceeded to do that right there, in front of everyone, in that crowd... bless her. One of my favorite moments in WDW. That shows a true, little girl spirit and heart.

Cinderella's fountain was right there too, so we donated some more money for AK to make a wish for everyone. All per her request. I am so thankful that she has such a loving and giving heart.

And some posing in front of the castle:

We finally made it to the carousel, and Drew got to ride it as well! This was his first carousel ride - how special for it to be in Disney World!

Below is the addition of Fantasyland (Belle's castle below, there is a lot more). Although I hate we missed it with this trip, I am so thankful that when we come again, it will have been opened for a year. I am not. a. fan. of visiting things when they first open. I hate the extra people, etc. that come along with that, and I hate being a part of someone/someplace trying to work out kinks. I want that stuff straightened out before I get there!

There we are, barely! I hate we couldn't get a picture of Drew on it!

We asked Addie Kate what she wanted to do next, and she wanted to ride Peter Pan's Flight. Bless her heart, we had to tell her no. The line was just too long, over an hour wait. We offered up the teacups, her next favorite ride, and she jumped on it. Since I knew this would be the last or one of the last rides, I took one for the team and rode it with Tommy and her. I hate those spinning rides, but I couldn't miss my girl on it. It was fun, and I can still hear her sweet laugh in my ear as we rode it together.

Baby boy took another snooze with Mimi:

We then headed to see Mickey's Philharmagic Show. Precious, just precious. My favorite Addie moment of our trip was in that show. It's a 3D movie basically, which she's never seen. (She's been to one at the Georgia Aquarium, but she didn't wear the glasses - I was afraid it'd freak her out!) I'll spare the storyline, but Donald gets himself into a bit of trouble. All sorts of things come flying out at you, and Addie Kate tried to grab many of them. I loved it, I was laughing hysterically at her. She was up and down so much that Mom finally had to hold her in her seat. Finally, Tinkerbelle came flying out at her and AK without prompting or anything, jumped up and said "I caught ya!" Loud as can be and cute as can be! I would cut my arm off if someone could have gotten me a video of it! I tried but it was too dark and it wouldn't work. That moment is as vivid in my mind as the day it happened and was the funniest, cutest, most adorable thing she did on the whole trip!

Tommy and Addie went and rode another ride together, the fast track I think, while Drew slept and Mom and I shopped a bit. We ended up eating a not-so-good dinner at Casey's Starlight Cafe, where I was just thankful to get a table. We then walked around the park and enjoyed the nighttime, but decided to not stay for the parade and head on out. Everyone was absolutely pooped and exhausted.

(The castle was in the background here, but we were having major trouble getting our camera to take decent night shots. That'd be another tip I'd give people. Since everyone has nice DSLR cameras these days, learn how to use them! And yes, I've taken a photography class on ours, but obviously, didn't learn much!)

Oh my precious babies! How much fun I had with you two sweets on this trip! I will remember it forever and ever! It was absolutely perfect and I hope your little hearts were as full as mine! I can't wait to go back!I know Disney is fun at any age, but you, my two, were just wonderful! I can't imagine any trip being better than this one!