DAY FOUR
I think our visit to the Magic Kingdom was the greatest day of our entire trip. I had been so concerned and worried about how Gus would do, and I prayed and prayed, and thankfully, he had an AWESOME time!!
There's something truly magical about experiencing the Magic Kingdom with a toddler. It's a one-of-a-kind experience and something that I will never forget. I had wondered if Gus was too little to enjoy himself, but I honestly think he was at the perfect age. There was so much wonder and awe in his eyes when we first entered the MK.
Maybe it's because we only watch Disney Junior and are so familiar with all of the Disney shows, but Gus was so incredibly excited about being where Mickey Mouse lives. He kept saying, "ma-mauche" over and over and the very first character that we saw was Pluto. We decided not to wait in the gigantic line to see him, but Gus was excited to see him standing just a few yards away.
Getting excited to head to the Magic Kingdom!
Dressed and watching some MMCH before leaving!
The view from getting our bags checked
Family photo
Everything was decorated for Christmas and was just beautiful!
Pluto was off to the right
Family Photo with the castle behind us!
I stopped into the guest assistance area and was able to get us a special card for Gus. It was something that a friend had suggested trying to get, so that Gus wouldn't have to wait in super long lines, and the lines in those areas are quieter. We only used it once, but I'm glad we had it!!
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We started to walk down Main Street USA when I realized that one of my "must-have" souvenirs was a pair of mouse ears that were personalized. They're only available at one shop in the Magic Kingdom, so I checked my map and we backtracked to Le Chapeau (the hat store) and we picked out a pair of ears for Gus.
It was going to be five minutes for them to finish his name, so we headed outside to wait. I read to get this first thing when you arrive at the Magic Kingdom, because as the day progresses, they get more and more hats ordered and the wait to get your hat is longer as the day progresses. I'm so glad we only had a five minute wait!
I love this picture!
Inside Le Chapeau
Heading out to see the parade that popped up while we were inside
We saw all these floats and realized that it was a parade! I grabbed Gus and headed over to get as close as possible and when my boy saw his beloved "ma-mauche" for the first time... it was incredible. He was so stinkin' excited and I couldn't even control my emotions. To see his little face light up with so much affection, love, and sweetness, I just couldn't stop myself from tearing up.
I'm so glad Steve was able to capture that look on Gus's face...
Goofy on the float
So the parade moved past us and down Main Street USA, and we went back to get Gus's hat. Thankfully, it was ready and we were able to grade a few pictures of Gus in his hat.
We got the hat and started down Main Street...
When we got down near the castle, we realized that the parade was still happening, but to our amazement, the characters came down off the floats and danced in the street with the kiddos!! Gus was drawn to Goofy and we danced with Goofy and Woody for a bit. Then we moved over to see the other characters, and Gus was excited to see Donald, Chip and Dale, and of course, Mickey and Minnie. Steve and Gus danced and then there was a ton of confetti that shot out of the floats and all the kids ran to collect mouse-ear confetti!
Gus and all the kids near Goofy
Gus and Daddy jammin' and dancing together!
Gus LOVES Chip & Dale!
Some of the confetti
Waving bye to his friends after the parade was over
He kept wadding up the confetti and throwing it into the air!
After the craziness of the parade, we decided to head to Tomorrowland. I thought the best first-ride for Gus would be the Tomorrowland People Mover. I figured it was slow, didn't have any hills or dips, and was flat. We crossed our fingers that it would go well... it was a 50/50 shot.
Gus flips out at the mall when the little train comes by, so I wasn't sure how he'd do. When we went to the pumpkin farm, he freaked out on the hayride. I just really didn't know how he'd do on anything at WDW.
I love this one!!
The greatest statue in the park!
He did REALLY well on the people mover!! No tears!
Not sure what happened that made Gus start getting antsy and Steve making this face... but it cracked me up!!
We finished our ride and headed to the Lunching Pad for one of my "Must-Try" foods... the sweet cream pretzel. To be honest, it wasn't all that I had hoped it would be. It wasn't terrible, but I prefer a plain pretzel and some cream cheese to dip it into, rather than the cream cheese stuffed inside a pretzel.
He actually let us put the hat on him while he enjoyed part of my pretzel!
:-)
After the people mover, we did a quick bathroom break/diaper change and headed to Fantasy Land. I'm so disappointed that the new section opened the day AFTER we left to come home. So we didn't see the Beast's castle... or any of the other coolness... but we'll be back and will see it again when it's not the newest thing in the park.
We decided to try the Tea Cup ride. I really wasn't sure how it would go over... but again, to our delight, Gus loved it!
We only had a 10 minute wait and Gus was excited to watch it while waiting
He was scared when we started spinning, but he calmed down
He even raised his arms in the air!
We buckled him back in and headed to see Dumbo
The line for Dumbo was 90 minutes. We didn't know that our guest assistance card would allow us to get into the fast pass line... and that would have only been a 5 minute wait. Oh well. I don't know how he would have done on Dumbo anyway
The Barnstormer wasn't running
So we decided to hop on the train and head to Frontier Land for lunch!
LOL
Thank God for the Mickey confetti!! Gus loved the texture of them and kept playing with them to keep himself happy
On the train
Snuggling with Mama on the train!
We got to Frontier Land and we were STARVING! We tried to go to the Liberty Tree restaurant for lunch, as recommended by some friends, but it had a 45 minute wait and we weren't going to wait that long. So instead, we headed to a place right across from the Haunted Mansion. We had a good lunch, I had a tuna sandwich that hit the spot.
After lunch, we headed to It's A Small World and waited in line for about 20 minutes. It was exactly as I remembered it from my childhood!!
Stuck on the ride... totally reminded me of my dad!! We got stuck on IASM when I was a kid and he was miserable listening to the song play again and again!!
After IASM, we headed back to Frontier Land because it was almost nap-time. We decided that we'd catch a parade and give Gus some time to nap... yeah right.
We spent a long time waiting for the parade...
He didn't nap at all
So he enjoyed a popsicle
He loved seeing his friends again!
Donald and Pluto!
After the parade, we headed to Sleepy Hallow Refreshments to get another of my "Must-Have Souvenirs." Awesome steins... so I got two and then got Steve a funnel cake and Gus some milk.
My prine
:-)
Another parade!!
We headed to Adventure Land and we did a bathroom break/diaper change and then I grabbed a Dole Float (another of my "Must-Try Foods") while Steve and Gus did the Swiss Family Robinson Tree house.
Yummmm... pineapple soft serve with pineapple juice!
Gus loved the tree house!
After my snack was finished, we headed to the Jungle Cruise. This was where the guest assistance card came in handy. Instead of waiting in a 90 minute line, we walked right up and got on the next available boat!!
We headed to Pirates of the Caribbean after the Jungle Cruise. We were able to get our wristbands for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party while we were in the back of the park, which was awesome. Gus did really well on Pirates and then we headed toward the front to get dinner at Tony's (we had reservations for 6:20).
This picture says so much... so happy and carefree!
I love this little man!
On the way to Tony's we got our picture taken with the castle all lit up for Christmas!
We arrived at Tony's and noticed that there was a character meet-n-greet right next door and the wait was only 5 minutes!! We decided to head over after dinner!
Deciding what to order...
Tony's was really cute- it's the Italian restaurant from Lady and the Tramp and the food was pretty good. Gus didn't eat any of the Mickey ravioli and ate my spaghetti instead, and thankfully, the manager removed his food from the bill. It was nice to not have to pay for food that he didn't eat!
After dinner, we walked over to the meet-n-greet and while it was more than five minutes, it was awesome. When it was our turn to go in, unlike all the others before us, the person who opened the door wasn't a cast member, it was Mickey Mouse!!! Gus flipped his lid and was so excited!!!
Heading to the back for pictures while holding Mickey's hand!! SO CUTE!!!
Being a little shy
He quickly warmed up... Mickey is his absolute FAVORITE!!
Getting a kiss from Minnie
Playing a game after seeing Mickey
It was so awesome!!!
When we came out, it was time to experience the MVMCP!! There was snow and Christmas music playing... and the way it was all decorated was AWESOME!!
We decided to try and find a place to sit for the big parade (at 8), but at 7:20 it was already super crowded! Fortunately, Steve found us a spot back at Tony's on the porch and we sat in comfy rocking chairs while we people watched and waited for the parade! It went right in front of us and we had a better view than had we stayed on Main Street!
Words cannot even describe how beautiful it was!
Santa coming through the parade!
GORGEOUS!!!
Most people left after the parade, but we headed up toward the castle for the fireworks. They were so amazing!
We stopped at the Emporium gift shop and Gus got himself a big Goofy, and then Steve got a Tigger mug, I got a Mickey cookie cutter, and we also got two ornaments.
We ended up taking the ferry boat back to the hotel because the line for the monorail was SUPER long!!
We got home and it was like 11:30 and we were exhausted!! Gus passed out in the funniest position!
LMAO!!!
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