After our lunch with friends, we rode a few more rides and hit up a few more areas of Magic Kingdom that we hadn't been to yet. At Addie Kate's and Drew's current ages, and interests, Fantasyland offers the most. But, we like to explore it all, so we spent some time walking around and riding a few other rides.
We found ourselves a place on the curb to chill and watch the Festival of Fantasy Parade a second time. It really is a great parade. The Disney people outdid themselves. That's the awesome thing about Disney, and about going every other year - there's always something new to see and do. We find ourselves always looking forward to the new and the old.
My little parade watchers. This was our hottest day and we were all miserable. Drew still LOVED the parade and waving to all the characters. It was so sweet. That's what Disney is all about for me. We love the rides, but right now this "magic" is some kind of sweet.
After the parade, which Mommy and Daddy stood through, we had to go get on the faithful train for a few trips around the park, while caffeinating. We were tired. Addie Kate passed out. I wanted to. (Especially since I barely ate anything all day. That stomach bug was something else. I kept it for two weeks after we came home too.)
We also stopped to get some ice cream and some treats at some point during this day. Drew dropped half his ice cream as soon as he got it, and one of the janitors saw it, and went inside to get him a new one. I wish I'd gotten his name - but you can imagine the chaos of Drew dropping his ice cream. Good deeds like that need to be reported and praised.
We hung out in Fantasyland again after the parade. I think the family favorite was the Goofy Rollercoaster for this trip. Even though Addie Kate loved riding new, bigger rides, and we loved them with her, this one was just plain fun.
This was inside the play area at Dumbo. They designed an indoor play area for children, like the circus in the movie, to play in while waiting. Well we had not needed to wait at all during our trip, so our kids never got to play there. (Thanks to getting in the parks early!) So, Tommy and I took an air conditioned time out while they played - everyone was happy!
We then made our way to the Beast's castle for dinner at Be Our Guest. This was the reservation I tried hardest to get and looked forward to the most. The new castle, the beast, everything. Well, we were a little disappointed. Maybe it was that we were just not feeling so hot. Or that we were exhausted? Tommy doesn't want to go back, but I want to give it another chance. We'll see. I will say this - the castle was gorgeous. So pretty. They did a beautiful job.
We left just in time for the Main Street Electrical Parade. The kids love this parade - and I do too - and we didn't stay in Magic Kingdom late enough the first night. So we did this night, and I thought Tommy was going to die. He was ready for bed. But we toughed it out, and while walking out to our car, we stopped in a perfect spot to watch the fireworks. It was a great, long, perfect day.
Our room was a good distance from where we had to park, which STUNK. Especially when we often were carrying sleeping children. Here's Drew when we got back:
Bless his sweet heart. He was done.
And last but not least, some Disney blanket art:
(The next morning, these animals and Drew's blanket were up under the covers, and we left them there. Fortunately, for us, this happens quite a bit at Disney, and one phone call, and they were mailed to us. The rest of the world could learn some things from Disney's customer service.)
