Magic Kingdom - Day #4

Oh no... day #4, that meant we were more than half way done with our trip.  We spent our 4th day back at the Magic Kingdom. I have to admit, the Magic Kingdom has some definite pluses, but it was probably our least favorite park.  NOW... with that being said, that doesn't mean we did NOT like the Magic Kingdom.  We LOVED IT! However, our family's pecking order did not put Magic Kingdom at the top of this list.  And that's okay, because it was STILL awesome!

Enjoy a few of my favorite photos below, that kind of tell a story about our 4th day on vacation. If you desire to view all 190 photos, you can certainly double click on the photo album below to view all of them.

I love this photo above because it shows how amazing our resort's amenities were. Our resort, literally, had it's OWN personal monorail system running directly through it.  If we desired to get to Epcot, the Magic Kingdom, any of on site resorts, or the Transportation Center, all we had to do was wait on floor 4 (I believe) for the monorail to pick us up.  It was incredible.  Was the monorail noisy?  Did it keep us up?  NOT ONE BIT. I even shot video footage of the monorail, heading our way, as we were waiting on it to pick us up that day.

Lilah and Jax were super excited to be heading back to the Magic Kingdom.

First things first... my cell phone charger kicked the bucket.  NOT the most opportune time for that to happen.  Recall, we FLEW to Orlando, so I did NOT have a rental car to take me to a local Wal-mart to buy a new charger.  NOR would I want to waste my vacation time in search of one.  Disney World ROCKS!!!!!  The customer service desk lead to me to this HANDY DANDY, FREE cell phone, docking station.  It was located in a restaurant, near the Tomorrowland Speedway.  You swipe a credit card, don't worry, they don't charge it, and it releases one of the locker doors.  When the door opens, you are given an array of charging cords to choose from.  My phone, in red, was the first phone to be charging that day! I just thought this system alone, speaks volumes for how high tech Disney World is, in comparison, to any other park out there. Sorry to go on and on about a phone charging station, but now a days, this is critical.  LOL!

Since we were near the Tomorrowland Speedway, we went ahead and waited in the loooong line to ride it.  It's a dud and definitely NOT something to write home about, at least for adults.  I wouldn't waste your time unless you are bringing your small children on it.  They will be thrilled to be in the driver's seat, if they are tall enough.

Our first fast pass was for "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!"

No wait, thanks to our fast pass.  Below: we were about to get on and a tad unsure what to expect.  LOL! This ride was definitely a fun ride.  Sadly, there was NO camera to capture the photo of us as we headed down a very steep track.  I can still hear Darren's laughter in the back of my head.

The photo below is very near and dear to my heart.  It was captured on Walt Disney World's Railroad at Frontierland, ride.  It breaks my heart to see Lilah and her "taggie baby" because she lost this blanket on the last day of our vacation, the last hour, the last park, and even on the last ride we went on. Can you believe we have it narrowed down that WELL? And yet we still could not recover it. This was the ONLY "travesty" that happened our entire trip, and it breaks my heart to know it's gone.

My princess got a boo-boo, but we were prepared to make it feel better with Donald Duck bandaids.  

Look who we got to meet.  Woody and Jessie!!!!

Our second fast pass that day was "Splash Mountain".  

By far, this ride is one of our family's favorite rides in the Magic Kingdom, if not the best.  We glided along a colorful bayou in a hallow log - past delightful singing critters - to a thrilling 5-story splashdown. 

This attraction includes 950,00 gallons of water, 3 dips and a massive 5-story waterfall.  Depending on where you are seated, will determine how wet you'll get. The first time we jet got just a small spray of water on us and the second time we got soaked.

We rode this ride TWICE that day.  Once in the afternoon and once in the evening, hence the different attire. I'm a wimp, okay?  Stop laughing. At least I rode these rides with my family, despite my lack of love for thrill rides.

For lunch, we ate at the Royal Table aka Cinderella's Castle.  It was such a treat that it took TWO of our dining credits per person.  I think, aside from one other night, this meal, although included in our pre-paid meal plan, was over $250. Eeeeeek! I am so glad it was prepaid. All three kids ordered the chicken tender plates and their (3) meals ALONE cost over $90.00. Insane!

I would rate this experience a definite 10 as far as the character aspect is concerned.  The princesses did a fantastic job interacting. These ladies definitely valued their role and didn't just make it a job, unlike a few of the other restaurants (ahem...Akershus). The food was decent, but not really worth the two dining credits. The dessert was impressive to look at and also tasty.  Overall, I rate the food a 7.  Let's face it, we aren't in Disney for the food, we are there for the characters and the ambiance.  

Cinderella made our acquaintance in the majestic Grand Hall, before we ascended up a spiral staircase to the banquet hall above, where we dined in a storybook setting.  We were surrounded by soaring stone archways, majestic medieval flags and spectacular stained-glass windows overlooking Fantasyland. During our time inside the castle, we visited with many of the classic Disney Princesses. 

We delighted in a regal banquet as the Disney Princesses visited us for photos and autographs. You may have already noticed that Jax is NOT present in many of the photos with the princesses.  I think that he was TRULY bashful.  Snow White even said, "You remind me of one of my Dwarfs... Bashful!"  The more she spoke to him, the more bashful he became.  This lunch is where I saw TY smile more than any other point in our entire trip. If you are bringing your son to Disney, don't underestimate his love for the princesses.  OUR FLIRT loved them!!! I'm in trouble when he gets older.

Snow White was VERY persistent on getting Jax to speak to her, so she slowly worked her way over to him and eventually, won him over, UNTIL.... she planted a BIG, FAT, red kiss on his cheeks.  Then he began turning BRIGHT red, himself, and almost was brought to tears when we all laughed and yelled "Awwwwwwwwwwe!" I think Ty was jealous.  LOL!

Ahhhhhh, I finally found Heaven, on Earth, at the Magic Kingdom! STARBUCKS! I hadn't seen a Starbucks in 4 days, since the Charlotte airport.  I was having massive home sickness, until I spotted this gigantic Starbucks, on Main Street. LOL!

After a dip in the pool, we got dressed into some fresh clothes and headed back out, on the town, to the Magic Kingdom! Remember, we don't ruin our vacations with NAPS.  We save that for our Roanoke life.  LOL!

For dinner, we ate at The Crystal Palace.

I honestly can't recall the food, enough, to rank it. That's not necessarily a great sign BUT after a while, all of the buffet food started to look the same to me. What I do recall is that it was very crowded and the service was not excellent.  We had a great server, but she was so "busy" (not sure how, it's a buffet venue) and we rarely saw her when we needed her.  I personally did NOT care for many of the buffet locations.  The food is typically the same, yet the characters are different.  Again, character dining = not so great food.  No characters = excellent food.  You gotta pick your desires.  Our desires were to see smiles on our children's faces. I'd rank the Crystal Palace's character experience a 9/10 and if I had to rate the food, I'd say 6/10.

One of our children actually captured this awesome photo of "Big D" and I!  I LOVE IT and I LOVE him!!!

Our family was able to join Winnie the Pooh and a few of his Pals for a willy, nilly, silly good time! They stopped by for laughs, photos and autographs.

Piglet and Tigger!

Day #4 was a blast, but I just don't have a ton to write about.  It was a "Magical Day" though, I can promise you that.  The kids bought their FAVORITE souvenir that night.  It's called "The String Thing".  I'll blog about it one of these days.  I have just have such a BACK LOG, that I cannot promise when.  These Disney posts take forever 2 hours, ouch, but I refuse to post about our trip, unless I do it the right way.