The Magic Kingdom

I haven't posted in a long time, and now our vacation seems like it was five years ago. However, I think I'll keep plugging along since it's good to focus on something happy.

Our first full day in Walt Disney World was devoted to the Magic Kingdom. We rode several attractions like Splash Mountain, Big Thunder and even hit Tom Sawyer's Island. We thought it was hot in the rest of the park, but it was really hot on the island. Of course, Ethan was a big fan of Pirates of the Caribbean. I like this ride too since the air conditioning always feels fantastic. Tanner was always enthused until it actually came time to get on the boat and then he was pretty worried. I'm happy to say that we all survived. We used our snack credits today to get Dole Whips in Adventureland. Those things are good and so refreshing. I loved having those snack credits. It was fun to get a treat everyday and not worry about how much it was costing.

I think we were all happy when lunchtime arrived because that meant we could head indoors (did I mention that it was hot?). We tried out the Columbia Harbor House and I think this ended up being a good choice for everyone. Plus the air conditioning was fantastic!

We took an afternoon break back at our hotel. The monorail made getting back to our room a breeze. Ethan tried out the slide at the Volcano Pool, but since it went through a tunnel he decided it was not for him. He was brave for trying though! Tanner finally got to dig in the "sandbox" at the beach. This was probably the highlight of his vacation. He got so warm that sweat was dripping off of his face. How often have you seen a two year old sweat? He needed to cool off, so my mom came and found us at the swimming pool and he enjoyed a refreshing swim. The Polynesian actually has two pools. The volcano pool is zero entry, has a water slide, waterfall and a section with bubbling jets. The quiet pool is never as crowded and gets really deep at one end. My boys loved that since they could practice their "diving."

Soon it was time to return to the park for our dinner reservation at the Crystal Palace. This is a character dinner with Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore. However, the boys were both so exhausted by this point they were sound asleep in their strollers when we arrived for dinner. We decided to get our first plate (since it's a buffet) and let the boys rest. That meant that some characters came by while they were sleeping. I think everyone enjoyed dinner here pretty well. It's a very busy place, but they have a wide variety of food and the characters are nice for the kids.

We rode a few more rides and then the evening thundershowers rolled in. We took shelter for awhile until they let up a bit and then we decided to go on one last ride. We ran to the Tomorrowland Speedway since the lines were light and the boys always like this. It was definitely one of Tanner's favorite rides, even in the rain. He also liked playing in the race car afterwards.

By now it was closing time and so we went to scout out a spot for the fireworks, called "Wishes." We were able to walk right up to a fairly good location between Tomorrowland and Main Street where people weren't pressing in on us and the boys could stay in the strollers to watch. It worked out nicely.


I had really forgotten how different Walt Disney World and Disneyland are. A lot of the attractions are the same, but their layout is different. I think that makes it fun. I liked thinking about which version I preferred.