Magic Kingdom

Having both grown up in Florida, Scott and I have been to Disney World dozens of times. We know that Disney is a fun and exciting family vacation destination. We hear about it all the time - all of our siblings live in Florida and they have taken their children (Amelia and John's cousins) to Disney World a lot, largely because traveling there for a family vacation is so easy when you are in local. So after many years of contemplating the idea of a Disney vacation, we decided that this year would be the year to do it. Laura and John generously invited us to share a long weekend at Disney with their family (they are members of the Disney Vacation Club and have special privileges for vacations at the resort), and we both agreed that sharing this memory with family would be the best experience we could have.

So the Wilsons traveled from Texas to Florida the Friday night at the start of Spring Break, and we all spent Saturday getting acquainted with the beautiful facilities available at Animal Kingdom Lodge (more on that later). Sunday would be our first day to visit the parks, and of course we chose to visit the Magic Kingdom. Laura and John rightly recommended that we get an early start on the day by arriving at the Magic Kingdom in time for the grand opening celebration at 8:00 a.m. Since Sunday was the first day of spring forward for daylight savings time, this meant leaving the resort before sunrise. Below are the kids at the Animal Kingdom Lodge bus stop waiting for our ride to the Magic Kingdom. The time was about 7:05 a.m. (really 6:05 if you forget about the daylight savings time adjustment). Their faces may not show it because of the early hour, but they were all very excited about the day ahead!

After the 15 minute bus ride and short walk to the entrance to the Magic Kingdom, we arrived in time for the grand opening festivities. Luckily the sun was up at this point so we all felt somewhat awake. Mickey Mouse and a dozen other Disney characters rode to the entrance on the train that circles the park to put on a show for the guests waiting to enter. There was singing and dancing and fireworks - so much fun! As the sign shows below - "Let the Memories Begin!".

Awesome photo of the four kids below - John, Amelia, Jack and Henry. I particularly love Jack and Henry's festive t-shirts that they often wear on their visits to Disney World!

This is our walk down Main Street together as we made our way to the first destination - Thunder Mountain Railroad. It has been nearly 20 years since I was in the Magic Kingdom, so walking down Main Street was definitely nostalgic. 

We enjoyed an extremely productive morning riding the rides and visiting many of the park's attractions. Laura and John definitely know "how to do Disney"! They were completely awesome in helping us plan which rides to go on first (before the crowds were unbearable) so that we were most comfortable in enjoying our visit. Within the first two hours we had ridden the Thunder Mountain Railroad (roller coaster) twice, gone on Pirates of the Caribbean, enjoyed the the Jungle Cruise and the Haunted Mansion, and then headed to Tomorrowland.

In Tomorrowland we rode the cars (photos below),

...the Peoplemover, the Astro Rockets, and Scott and Laura enjoyed Space Mountain. After lunch together we visited more attractions. We enjoyed the classic Small World ride...

...took a ride around the park on the train, saw the shows at the Carousel of Progress, the Disney Magic (3-D movie), and the Country Bear Jamboree, and then rode the Thunder Mountain Railroad once last time.

By 3:30 p.m. the lines for the better attractions were crazy-long, so we decided to call it a day and return to the resort for some pool time and family relaxation. A few more shots before leaving the Magic Kingdom.

What a super fun day! Thanks so much to Laura and John for inviting us and for serving as gracious hosts for our first Disney experience!