Orlando Vacation: Installment #2

Disney Day 1: Magic Kingdom

After the Universal Parks we headed to Disney World - Where Dreams Come True! Rob and Judy are Disney Vacation Club members and they got us a really nice condo at the Bay Lake Tower. You can see the Magic Kingdom from the front of the hotel. Our room was on the back side and had a really nice view of the lake. Our first night we went to the top of the tower and watched the Wishes fireworks show that they have every night at the Magic Kingdom. It was a really good show, but also late and we were tired, so we went to bed right after. The next day we hit the Magic Kingdom.

We got into the park early for a character breakfast that Judy had arranged. This meant that we got to take some nice pictures before the park filled up with packs of Brazilians (yes they came to Disney too). We rode Dumbo (Claire's first ride, which she slept through), Pirates of the Caribbean (Claire's second ride, which she slept through), and It's a Small World (Claire's third ride, which she slept through). Are you noticing a trend? We also rode a few rides that Claire did not get to accompany us on - Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and the Haunted Mansion. It was a very long and very enjoyable day. I got my first taste of the Disney Baby Centers - which were SO nice! It was really great not having to go back to the condo or find a bathroom stall every time I needed to pump.

Memorable moments from the Magic Kingdom:

Character Breakfast:
Claire was asleep at the beginning of the breakfast. She slept through Piglet and Tigger, but she woke up to meet Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore. I had to go pump, so I missed her meeting Eeyore. And apparently Piglet came back around and played with Claire for a while too. She LOVED meeting the characters. Her little face lit up and she smiled and reached out to grab their fuzzy noses. It was one of my favorite moments of the whole trip.

Dumbo:
Apparently Dumbo has one of the longest waits as far as rides go at Magic Kingdom. Maybe it is because babies can ride. I am not sure, but we wanted to try to ride it before the park filled up (it was going to be Claire’s first ride). I had to pump, so I told Jared to go on with Claire and the rest of the group and that if I got finished in time I would try to get over there before they got on. It was hard to sit there and pump and think that I might miss getting to ride Dumbo with Claire – not because I especially care about the ride Dumbo, but it was going to be Claire’s first time to ride it. When I was finished I packed my stuff up and raced like a mad-woman across the park. I zigged and zagged between the crazy stroller moms and the packs of Brazilians. (I just want to point out that the reason I keep picking on the Brazilians is because they were so easily identifiable. They wore yellow and green shirts and walked around in enormous groups.) I reached Dumbo and started searching for all of the Wrights and Allens. They were just about to enter the ride. I disregarded every considerate bone in my body and hopped the fence that was separating me from my husband and baby. I had made it just in time. Fortunately nobody made a fuss about me joining them or climbing over the fences. And even though Claire slept through the entire ride it was a lot of fun and I am so glad I was there to enjoy it.