Let's Do It Again! - First Family Trip, May 2024 (Updated 2/7 x2 - More MK)

[pkondz]

M had trouble sleeping after the fireworks woke her – she said she was trying to go to sleep but it sounded like there were “volcanoes in her head.”

Pretty descriptive, though.

I was not so lucky.

I hate it when that happens. And for me, (being a shift worker for decades) it happens all too often.

Nothing like a full Disney park day on around three hours of sleep!

Let's go soldier! It's time to Disney!

Whoo-hoo for dropping more than $100 just for lightning lanes!

Nothing like gouging the guests as much as possible.

One tip I gathered from Pixie Dusted Mom was to put sunscreen on the kids as they were getting dressed.

Oh!
Dang.
I wish I'd thought of that back when my kiddoes were little.

We’d pulled the autograph books out this time, so we knew it wasn’t them.

hmmm...
Curiouser and curiouser.

I took this cute picture of M showing off her Rapunzel sundress and ears:

That's when I noticed it was 7:02am.

Drat! I’d missed the 7:00 Genie+ opening!

Uh, oh!
Good thing you were looking for JC and not Tron or some other super-popular headliner. You'd have been out of luck!

I was practically giddy to be back at Magic Kingdom!

What do you mean "practically"??

M was pretty excited as well. She spotted one of the decorated windows and insisted to get out of the stroller for a picture:

M is smart.

Next, we walked up Main Street to get the girls’ first view of Cinderella Castle:

Outside of nature... this is one of the best walks/sights in the world.

I'll fight anyone on this.

We also got some nice family pictures, including this one:

Very nice shot.

While we waited, I kept refreshing our Jungle Cruise lightning lane. I moved it up once to around noon and then got an even better window of 10:20-11:20.

I had no idea you could change that. Now I know!

M spotted Pooh and wanted to go there.

Sure, why not?!

I love this.
I've seen sooooooo many parents who forget that they're there for their kids.

I figured this was the best time to try the honey wall as almost no one had touched it yet that day:

M was very excited for her first official Disney ride:

Yay!!

L, as per her personality, was reserving her judgement about the experience:

Awww.

She was especially concerned when we hit the bouncing in the Tigger portion of the ride - she was NOT a fan.

Oh dear.

The final conclusion on her first ride of the trip? M immediately turned to me once the ride was done and said…

“Let’s do it again!!!”

And a trip report title was born!

Instead, we stopped for everyone’s favorite attraction in Tomorrowland…

The Tomorrowland Speedway:

L started out not too sure about the experience:

But soon started to help me spin the teacup:

I think we're starting to convert her!

Yuss!!

There was a little girl on a horse in front of us. An adult needed to ride with her (she was well under seven – maybe around five?) and her mom was on the ride. Unfortunately, her mom was wearing her baby in a carrier and the ride attendants said she couldn’t stand on the ride wearing the baby.

Then the dad came on with a younger sibling (perhaps a three-year-old?) who was NOT having a good morning. She threw a full-on tantrum and REFUSED to sit on a horse. She was face-down on the carousel screaming.

Fun times.

Oh geez.
Better them than you!

I love carousels, in case it’s not obvious from my big smile:

Love this shot of you.

I ate here with a first-thing-in-morning ADR on each trip from 2013-2016.

Whoa! Now that's dedication!

I’d read before our trip that two of my favorite items at Crystal Palace (Pooh’s puffed French toast and the custom omelet station) were no longer there and I was sad.

Well, poop.

Needless to say, we don’t eat our money's worth at buffets (especially with Disney prices!), but the food was good.

I don't either. At least not anymore. Maybe I never did.
But that doesn't stop me from enjoying them.

M made friends with the little girl at the table next to us:

Awww!

We’d only met two characters in the hour we’d been there and Pooh seemed too far away from our table to bother waiting longer. (Although better than Eeyore, whom I hadn’t even spotted!).

Not exactly a "character" meal, then.

*I’ve done that for years at Disney World buffets – I pay immediately so you can leave anytime instead of waiting around to settle your check. I’m all for saving time!

This is a great idea!

 

[pkondz]

Our picture was pretty funny - M was covering her ears in case of loud noises and poor L HATED the drop and was crying and clutching onto Dad for dear life:

What I find funny is you!
One child freaking out. The other terrified of a possible loud noise... And there's mom. Just happy to be back at Disney, kids be darned!

Our ride on Pirates got a rousing, “let’s do it again!” from M.

Great!

Boy, was I glad to jump past that 40 minute wait with our lightning lane!

And yet people wait 60+ minutes for it. Not me! (And not you, either, apparently. )

L and G had fun while we waited:

Awww.

One of my favorite sections of Jungle Cruise is the elephants:

Thankfully, they had their trunks on today.

We parked the stroller in the Tangled restroom stroller parking area and made our way over to It’s a Small World.

As expected, the girls loved the ride:

I also got a chance to spot my favorite drunken hippo:

I love that guy.

everyone (especially me!) gets grumpy without regular food.

Noted.

And look, they even said goodbye to me as we left!

Nice.

I guess than $35 investment in a Magic Band+ was worth it!

Definitely! Paid for itself, right there!

We made our way to our lunch spot, Columbia Harbor House.

Excellent choice.

I was excited to try the lobster roll:

Love a good lobster roll. And if memory serves, that's a good one.

 

[pkondz]

Next up was the main attraction for M – Rapunzel!

Ya gotta!

M was SO excited to meet Rapunzel. Rapunzel was a joy, as usual, and complimented M on her dress and ears. M and Rapunzel even shared a conversation and although not captured well in the automatic pictures) a dance:

Awww.

Cute shot.

The only downside to the experience was the photo boxes rather than a live Photopass photographer. I have some fantastic photos from past character meets that were only captured because of live photography. It’s a shame they took away the photographers – we got some nice pictures but the experience is not the same.

I've not experienced that, but it really doesn't sound great.

It was time for M to put on her brave face and conquer her first roller coaster of the trip!

Go M!

Despite being excited while waiting in line, M HATED the ride. She kept saying, “why did you make me ride that?!”

Her ride picture is a keeper. She’s still holding on for dear life!

And the conclusion?

Despite the photographic evidence…

“Let’s do it again!”

Great! Good for her!

Thanks to the rider swap we grabbed before our ride, M did have a chance to ride it again with G. Thanks, L, for being too short!

M and L were fading (and frankly, so were the adults in the heat), so G stepped in as the voice of reason and recommended we return to the Poly for a break.

G is smart.

 

[pkondz]

We took the monorail back to the Poly and L and M both settled down for naps. Both girls were out in no time.

I'm not even a little bit surprised.

Despite how sleepy I felt, I was unable to fall asleep. While tossing and turning, I booked our next lightning lane for Haunted Mansion. I also kept pushing our Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh lightning lane forward (I’d booked that after visiting the princesses).

Gee... I can't imagine why you couldn't sleep.

I picked up apple slices and pineapple (a must, I think, when you’re staying at the Poly!)

I've never stayed, but... this just seems logical.

G and I chilled (literally – thanks air conditioning!)

G and I decided the express monorail was likely faster.

Interesting. I would not have thought that.

I took the girls and the stroller this time while G took the bags.

I'm sure you can guess what happened.

You had a nice stroll over to the TTC?

It took about 15 minutes for G to work his way through the bag line. It would’ve taken a minute (or maybe no time at all!) at the Polynesian security stop – so much for saving time!

D'oh!

the good news is we finally figured out what was setting off the sensors!

One of my best time fillers for the kids at restaurants is a “monster factory” game where you can mix and match pieces to make multiple monsters.

The activity’s full title is the “Magnetic Monster Factory.”

ohhhhhh...

Lesson learned – leave your magnetic activities at home, folks!

Nope. My magnetic activities are far too important to leave behind.

“Dad! Dad! Look, Dad! It’s the Magical Kingdom!”

It was so sweet. And she was right! It is a magical kingdom!

Both girls loved the Little Mermaid attraction - and honestly, who wouldn’t?

Indeed!

It was time to dine in Beast’s castle!

Looking forward to hearing about this. Haven't been back since they changed it.

 

[pkondz]

There. Now I'm all caught up.

Tag. You're it!

 

[missjackiemcg]

The only downside to the experience was the photo boxes rather than a live Photopass photographer.

Uuugh, I didn't realize the photo boxes had made their way to Princess Fairytale Hall now, too!! The pictures are just NOT as good. Your family ones are pretty good considering no real photographer. We have gotten some absolutely awful ones with Mickey and Chewbacca that now if I know there are boxes, we don't even bother. I totally agree with you, only a person can capture those extra special moments like an expression or quick hug with a character.

G stepped in as the voice of reason and recommended we return to the Poly for a break

My husband, Rob, is always the voice of reason, too, because he knows I'd just keep pushing through and a break is usually a better idea!

The activity’s full title is the “Magnetic Monster Factory.”

If ever there was a forehead-smacking moment, this was it.

OH NO! But at least you finally figured it out!

I love that M was brave enough to go on Mine Train and that she really enjoyed it!! My son, Jimmy, is just not an adventurous guy. It took him til age 10 to finally go on and enjoy Slinky Dog after Mine Train scarred him LOL I'm hoping when we go back this Christmas, he will finally ride them all with me, now that he's a six foot tall 16 year old!!