We decided to go back so soon because we wanted to squeeze in one last trip before Gracen turns 3 this summer (children under 3 do not require a park ticket). We had the chance to go in the off season and we just couldn't pass it up. It was awesome!
I'm going to break up my posts by days and then do another post on our character dinners, so 4 posts all together. There is a lot I want to remember :) Up first...
DAY 1 CHECK IN
We checked into our hotel Pop Century on Tuesday afternoon. The girls and I waited by the pool while Toby unloaded our luggage. We were definitely soaking up the Florida sunshine!
Our room was on the second floor in the 1950's building (closest building to the lobby) and just steps away from the pool. The girls were begging to put on their bathing suits and go swimming so we let them :)
We didn't swim long because it was a little chilly when the sun went down. So after the girls got their fix we walked over to the food court and had some dinner. We had the Disney Dining Plan for our trip (we got it for free whoo!) and it included a quick service, snack and table service per person for each day we were there. For dinner the first night we had pizza bread, salad, drinks and all shared the brownie sundae for dessert. Leighton was in heaven with the size of the sundae :)
After dinner we took the girls to the arcade and let them play a few games before we headed back to the room to prepare four our first day at the parks!
DAY 2 MAGIC KINGDOM
We woke up bright and early and headed to the bus stop (in front of the lobby) for Magic Kingdom. We ended up making it to the park about 9:30 am. We took a few pics outside the park & in front of the castle before heading to Adventureland.
Once in Adventureland we rode Aladdin's Flying Carpets. We basically walked on with no wait. The girls were so excited to ride! Gracen was pretty cranky that morning but once we got on the ride she was in a great mood.
Next, we waited in line (15 minutes) to meet Aladdin & Jasmine. They were great! Both girls were nervous when standing in line but once it was their turn they ran right up and gave them their autograph books & posed for a picture. So sweet.
With their first meet and greet under their belts, they were warming up to everything Disney haha. We headed to ride the Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square and then Pirates of the Caribbean. Both girls were a little weary of these two rides but once they got on they loved them both! Leighton said she remembered the Haunted Mansion from our last trip and said she was happy she decided to ride the Pirates ride (tough decision for her haha). Little Disney pros :)
Leighton wanted to ride something "real fast" so Toby took her on Big Thunder Mountain. She loved it. Loved it! The wait was only about 15 minutes so Gracen and I sat and had a snack while we waited for them to ride. Sweet Gracen was a just a couple of inches short for several rides :( She was bummed at first but then happy with her snack (we used a snack option on some popcorn) :)
After Leighton got her thrill ride in we walked over to Columbia Harbor House for lunch. Toby and I split a quick service (fried shrimp, fries, coleslaw, chocolate cake & a drink) and the girls split a kids meal (chicken nuggets, fried fish, grapes, fries and milk). Toby and I thought the shrimp was yummy and the girls ate every drop of their food.
With full bellies we headed over to Fantasyland and got in line (10 minutes) for It's a Small World. The girls loved it again :)
Next it was time to use our Fast Pass for Ariel's Under the Sea Adventure. Prior to our trip we loaded three fast passes to our itinerary for each park. At Magic Kingdom we chose Ariel, Peter Pan & Winnie the Pooh. We chose our FP based on what lines were longest when we went in June. Ariel was only 15 minutes this day so I wish we would've saved that FP for something with a longer wait. Oh well. The girls LOVED this ride. Toby and I did too. What's not to love about Ariel?
One thing we didn't like this trip is that you are only allowed 3 fast passes per day! Last June we pretty much fast passed everything and avoided long waits! Thankfully Feburary is not a busy time so with our 3 fast passes we still didn't wait long but I think this system would be so frustrating in the summer/more busier months!
Since Ariel's Grotto was next door we hopped in line for that to meet Ariel (about 20 minutes). Ariel is Gracen's favorite princess and both girls we so excited to meet her. Gracen was singing "Ah, ah, ahhhhhhh" the whole time we were in line haha.
Once we got out of meeting Ariel the rain had started. We put the girls in their rain coats and ran over to ride the Teacups and Carousel (we walked on both rides with no wait).
After those rides it was time for our FP for Winnie the Pooh. The girls LOVE this ride. It is pretty cute. There is a little shop connected to the exit of this ride and both girls chose a treat; Leighton got Winnie suckers & Gracen chose sour gummy worms.
Next we ran over to make our FP time for Peter Pan (I think a FP for this ride is an absolute must! The stand by waits on this were 50 minutes the day we were there and we saw them as high as 2.5 hours when we went in June!). It's a great ride and a total DW staple. So fun :) After Peter Pan, Toby and I both used a snack on a hot coffee & tea (for me). It was still raining so a nice warm drink was nice :)
Since we were right beside the Speedway ride in Tomorrowland (15 minute wait) Toby went ahead and took the girls on it while I sat on a bench and drank my tea (can't ride when pregnant). Toby said the girls had the best time & he let Leighton drive and she was out of control lol. We didn't get to ride this back in June because the line was so long so it was fun to let the girls ride something new!
Once they got off the ride the rain started coming down harder so we decided to duck for cover & wait in line inside Fairytale Hall to meet Rapunzel & Snow White. We didn't have a FP for this so we ended up waiting about 45 minutes and Gracen was going a little crazy in line (it was our longest wait by far of the day) but at least we were dry.
The girls wanted to put on their tiaras I brought with me (purchased all the princesses for like $5 at Party City).
After the wait the girls were more than ready to get back on a ride. We decided to walk over to Barnstormer to see what the wait was and when we saw it was 10 minutes the girls were so excited. Gracen was even more excited because she was tall enough to ride this trip! Toby and I got a rider switch pass so he could ride with Leighton and then come back and ride with Gracen (another ride this preggo couldn't get on). Toby said Gracen laughed the whole ride! Yay for Gracen's first roller coaster ;)
Before heading to Tomorrowland we hopped on Dumbo (yay for no waits) and got a quick ride in.
The girls also shared a chocolate covered blue Marshmallow from Big Top Treats. Gracen and I were watching them make candy and a castmember asked if she could make Gracen one in her favorite color, Gracen picked blue of course (true blue Kentucky girl).
Since our dinner reservation was 4 hours away :/ Toby and I decided to split another quick service meal. We shared the half chicken & ribs (came with green beans, mashed potatoes, chocolate cake & a drink) at Cosmic Rays. The chicken was good, the ribs were not...eww! But it was a ton of food and enough for all of us to split! We ate and headed to Tomorrowland to ride Buzz Lightyear (no wait!). This was another ride we had skipped in June due to long wait times and the girls thought it was awesome. Toby even said it was his favorite ride!
When we got off Buzz we noticed a dance party going on with the Incredibles. Gracen thought this was amazing. She ran right out and started dancing in the middle of everyone! It was so freaking adorable. Leighton was slightly freaked out by the Incredibles and chose to do her dancing far off stage haha. Toby went out with Gracen and danced with her. They were having the best time. Such a fun Daddy!
We finally pulled Gray off the dance floor and jumped on the People Mover Carousel (again no wait). Leighton kept telling me it was space mountain haha. It was nice to sit down for more than just a minute.
Toby ran and rode Space Mountain (again no wait what??) and the girls and I rode the People Mover again haha. Leighton really loved this ride. When we got off Leighton found a Baby Sully in the gift shop. She had been looking for one all day and loved it so so much. Gracen couldn't find anything she liked haha.
When Toby got back we rode Buzz again and then went to the Monsters Inc. Laugh Factory. I loved the Laugh Factory. It's an interactive (sit down) show and was so funny! The girls are on a big Monsters Inc. kick right now so they loved it too!
FINALLY it was time for our dinner reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table in the CASTLE. Leighton had been waiting all day for this! The girls threw on their Cinderella dresses we brought with us & switched to their Cinderella tiaras & we were off to meet Cinderella!!!
I wont' go into too much detail here about the dinner since I will do a whole post about all of our character dinners but let's just say this one didn't disappoint. The girls met Cinderella right when we walked in and then we sat and waited for our table to be ready. It was a great way to end the night!
By the time we left dinner it was time to leave! Due to our late dinner reservation we were actually in the park almost an hour after closing. We took one more shot by the castle and headed back to our hotel. We ended up getting in around 11:30 and we all crashed immediately!
What a FUN & MAGICAL first day :)
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