Sometimes Wishes Do Come True: Magic Kingdom

The next day we were headed to the crown jewel for kiddos, the Magic Kingdom!  Little buddy was so excited to go see Mickey's castle!  But first, we got a fun surprise at the Village!

     

     

     

     

We got to see Chase from Paw Patrol!

Then it was time to head out to the most magical place on Earth (it may have also been one of the hottest places on Earth today)!

In our WILLPower gear and ready to go!

And here we are!  Someone was excited to see the castle!

     

We started off the day with the Jungle Boat ride!  Little Buddy really enjoyed seeing all the animatronic animals!

Just walking around in awe!

Looking at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  Even though he loved the roller coasters in Cedar Point earlier this summer, Little Buddy was not loving them at Disney World.  We think that the waiting areas and ride areas that took him through tunnels were scaring him.  We got him on a few rides, but not as many as we were expecting!

A quick lunch break before one of the highlights of the day....

The Country Bear Jamboree!

The kids loved this!  A special favorite was the bear that comes down from the ceiling on the swing.

Because our kids are lucky enough to have nerds as parents, we definitely took time to enjoy the Hall of Presidents!

     

But nothing could compare to Little Buddy's love of the castle itself!

A quick ride on the carousel for Little Buddy and Little Sweetie...

...just before Little Buddy decided that he needed a break from the excitement!

     

Thankfully, everybody was awake and excited for Tomorrowland and dinnertime!

And then we rode a magic carpet before calling it a day!

The day was long and hot and the Pirates of the Caribbean Ride was closed (boo) but it was fun.  A little overwhelming, but fun.  Momma and Daddy even got to ride Space Mountain and remind themselves how young they used to be while Mimi and Pop-Pop watched the kids.  Also, we managed to get Little Buddy on Splash Mountain which he mostly enjoyed (again, tunnels seem to be causing some issues) and we took Little Sweetie on a Winnie-the-Poo ride which we immediately regretted (super loud and too many strobe lights for a little one!).  All in all, a great day!

Day One of the Magic Kingdom, done!

Let's see what tomorrow brings, 

LSM

Little Sweetie's Momma

Sometimes Wishes Do Come True: Universal Studios

After quesadillas with Mickey, we headed over to our first theme park, Universal Studios!  We decided to just do a half day here because it didn't seem like it would have as much to hold the kids' interest for a full day.  It was a good decision!  Universal was fun, but definitely more for older kids and adults.  Little Buddy and Little Sweetie did enjoy the Dr. Seuss area and Momma was thrilled to live out her Hogwarts dreams in the Harry Potter areas!

Grabbing a little lunch in Seuss Land and checking the map for our priorities of the day!

The Grinch gave Momma a little sass, but we finally managed to get a picture with him and Sam-I-Am!

Getting to meet the Cat in the Hat and Things 1 & 2!

A quick trip on the Seuss Merry-Go-Round...

...followed by a ride on the train for Little Buddy...

...and a quick nap for Little Sweetie!

Our only other priority at Universal was to go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (mostly for Momma), but we enjoyed our walk through the park (even though it was ridiculously hot!).

Little Buddy was in awe of the triton and the "big face waterfall" we saw on our walk to the Harry Potter area.  I think he could have stood and looked at it all day!

Almost there!

We made it to Hogmeade!

Everything was beautiful to look at, but too old for the kids to enjoy.  However, we were able to get the most important things...

     

...our wands!

Wizard in training!

Then we went to Platform 9 3/4 in order to catch the Hogwarts Express to Diagon Alley!

The highlights of this part of the park were butter beer, an ice cream break for the kids, and the fire-breathing dragon on top of Gringotts!

Finished up the day with a little dinner and dessert at Mimi and Pop-Pop's resort!

Although it was hot, it was a good first day at the parks.  Glad we did a half day first to get the feel for going through the parks.  The real adventure is going to be tomorrow at the Magic Kingdom!

Until then, 

LSM

Little Sweetie's Momma