Magic Kingdom, Day 2

Ella was on a mission for our second day at Magic Kingdom! She had her list of favorites from the day before that she wanted to ride again, and a few things that we hadn't been on the day before. 

 It was the early opening day for Disney hotel guests, so we were at the park bright at early, before 8am. 

Great viewing spot to see Mickey ride in on the train

Steve and Ella heading down Main Street to start the fun

Excited for another great day

First on the agenda was Space Mountain, and they rode it a few times in a row. 

Then we zipped back across the park for two rides on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. 

We went on Pirates of the Caribbean again, and re-rode a few other fun rides from the day before. 

Even though it wasn't one of the 'big rides', Ella really wanted to go on Dumbo because it was on the cover of the Disney book I had been reading before the trip. They let all 3 of us cram into one car and we laughed the whole time because we were squeezed in so tight.

Writing her observations about these circus cars

Steve and Ella riding the Barnstormer - a small roller coaster compared to Space Mountain the Thunder Railroad, but still a goody

On the teacups for our last ride of the day -- just look at that face!!

Magic Kingdom

We spent Wednesday at Magic Kingdom, and it truly was magical! It was really amazing from when I was a kid, but it still pretty incredible and exciting visiting as an adult.  

The pre-opening show

The first ride we went on was The Jungle Cruise, which was almost exactly as I remembered it!

I had a feeling that Ella was going to be way more into the exciting rides vs. the characters or the attraction-type rides, and that was exactly what happened. 

Super excited after their first time on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 

It was still really early with no line yet, so they got in a few rides right away

Playing with the 'haunted books' in the line for the Haunted Mansion (which was another one of her favorites)

On the Aladdin flying carpets, she wanted to ride by herself so Steve andI were on our own in the back!

It's a Small World!

I have great nostalgic memories of the Carousel of Progress. And although Steve and Ella weren't too thrilled for a show in comparison to everything else that Magic Kingdom had to offer, I convinced them it would be a good post-lunch attraction. It was as great as I knew it would be, and they liked it too! 

And then for some really big excitement -- Space Mountain! 

There was a camera that takes a picture inside the ride and Ella's face was so priceless so I had to buy it!

Once they got off the ride, I got a play-by-play of every twist and turn and she could barely contain her excitement, it was awesome. 

The afternoon show at Cinderella's Castle

Tomorrowland Speedway - and check out the driver!

We had dinner at The Crystal Palace for a character dinner to meet Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Eyeore, and Tigger. Ella was pretty funny about all of the characters while we were there - she liked passing them and seeing them from afar, but had no interest in waiting in line to meet them, getting them to sign an autograph, etc. She wanted to spend her time on the rides! So the dinner was perfect because they came right up to the table and she got to meet each of them. 

After dinner we went back to our hotel and still had a few hours of daylight, so we went down to the beach. One of my favorite things about vacation is just creating our adventures as we go, and that's exactly how this night was. We spent an hour or so on the beach, made some new friends, did some shopping at the hotel and just enjoyed a really nice time together. Vacation at its best :) 

Ella wrote in her journal that night before bed -- 

The translation: Tinkerbelle Pixie flown to get the pixie dust and the end. 

We were really fortunate that our balcony faced Magic Kingdom and we were able to hear the show and see the fireworks at night. So every night after Ella went to bed, Steve and I watched the fireworks from our balcony, such a neat way to end each day. 

Epcot

We had just a few days at Disney and wanted to spend our time between Epcot and Magic Kingdom. I figured we should go to Epcot first so that it didn't pale in comparison once Ella had been to Magic Kingdom! 

We got up early on Tuesday morning so that we could be there around 7:30am. The park opened at 8am for an extra hour before it opened to the public, if you were staying in a Disney hotel, so I wanted us there before the early opening. 

I woke up at 6am and there was a little coffee stand in our hotel that I planned to go down and get a cup of coffee for Steve and I before I woke them up. Ella was so excited for the day that she woke up really early and asked if she could come with me. It became our fun little routine each morning to head downstairs together first thing each morning for coffee and hot chocolate. 

We were on the monarail right at 7am and had a beautiful view of the sunrise on the way to Epcot

The park was great, and we were able to go on almost all of the rides we wanted to in the first few hours of the day before it got crowded.

I didn't get too many pictures, especially while we were on the rides, but managed to get a few!

We happened to be there during the HGTV flower and garden show and the landscaping and grounds were absolutely beautiful. 

Making music at Figment's Land of Imagination - I loved Figment when I was a kid, and Ella loved him too! (funny enough she calls him Thin Mint) 

Having fun at the shark exhibits after the Nemo ride

We went back to our hotel for lunch and to spend a few hours at the pool for a midday break. 

Enjoying an ice pop

There was a boat rental at our hotel. Steve and Ella rented a boat and had a great time out on the lake!

We went back to Epcot for the evening, to the World Showcase section. We had a fun dinner at the Germany restaurant, the Biergarten. 

Entertainment during dinner

We saw the princesses from Frozen, and Ella thought the little Frozen house in the Norway land was really neat

Ella was amazed by this pyramid and volcano in the Mexico ride, and wanted me to take a picture

Epcot at night

It was a late night and we stayed almost until the park closed, so it was right to bed when we got back to the hotel, with big plans for Magic Kingdom the next day!