A morning at MK - cause I can’t think of anything witty
Magic Kingdom Little Ones Extra Magic Hour
Friday, Sept. 22, 2007
We awoke bright and early that Friday morning.
It was going to be Bionic SIL & Co.’s last day at WDW,
and we were going to make it count.
WDW had launched this nifty little program for hurricane season called
“Little Ones...Something, Something,”
which, along with having special musical programming at MGM,
also had something called Little Ones Extra Magic Hour at MK.
The name is a bit deceiving,
as all Disney Resort guests were able to attend,
but the focus would be on little ones.
In honor of that, only Fantasyland would be open, for one extra hour.
In addition, characters would be out to play with the kids.
This sounded good to us, and we had waited to visit Fantasyland until this morning.
Apparently, this program will no longer be offered,
as WDW did not announce it for 2008.
But it was a cool idea.
The night before, as we were making our plans,
Mom spoke up and said
"Can we wear our matching blue Mickey shirts again before Bionic SIL and kids leave?
It just looks so neat when we are all matching."
Well, it took a little laundry, but we were all clean and ready to go by the next morning.
Mom had so few requests the whole trip, it was a pleasure to accomodate her on one like that!
As we were waiting for the bus that morning,
Princess K and the Inquisitor were standing there holding hands.
Then they smiled at me and said "Momma, we are best buddies."
Sniff.
This is why we go to WDW people!
It just causes a feeling of happiness and contentedness
that spreads liberally throughout your children.
[Yup, I'm sticking with that theory.]
We arrived there early enough to enter,
and immediately headed straight back for the castle
so we could walk through the tunnel and admire the decorations.
The mural inside the castle is stunning!
I was able also to point out to Bionic SIL
the restaurant that we will probably never eat at due to cost. LOL
It was nice to be there without the huge crowds.
Peter Pan and Wendy were out and about playing hide and seek with some kids.
We also saw Mary Poppins come to ride the carousel with a Make a Wish child.
We thought that was pretty cool.
None of the characters were doing autographs,
as this time frame was for playing only.
I also thought that was pretty cool,
as it gave kids a chance to get up close and personal with the characters
without all the standing in line and pushing and shoving.
We headed straight for Dumbo.
Of course, there was still a wait, but not as long as usual.
I decided to sit out with Babycakes. The rest got in line.
Here are some pics of the experience.
They contain actual family members.
But as they are pretty blurry, you'll have to take my word for it. LOL
Back of Mom's head (right)
Bionic SIL
John
Me getting creative
Personally, and Disney fanatics will probably consider this sacrilege,
I think Dumbo is one of the most over-rated attractions at WDW.
Yeah, I said it.
But, my darlings love it, so I indulge them.
Not to mention John doesn’t mind riding it with them, so it’s all good.
While the kids were in line, Stitch was taking turns riding Dumbo with different kids.
I was hoping one of ours would get this honor, but no such luck.
Next We headed for the Winnie the Pooh ride. I really like this ride.
It is gentle and fun, just like Pooh himself. Sigh.
The honey pot’s motion to match the different themed rooms is just so cool.
Some time around here the park opened.
But it definitely took a while for the crowds to get back here.
Then we made our way to It’s a Small World.
Mom was REALLY looking forward to this.
Why?
Well, it all stems from a set of Disney Read-along LPs we had as children.
I could quote the entire movie of Robin Hood to you, yet I did not see it until I was an adult.
One of the records was It’s a Small World, with narration:
“We now enter the snowy hills of Switzerland, where young children skip and frolic and yodel.”
So, Mom knew the song, and thought that the ride would be her cup of tea.
She was right.
After riding, she said “I think I might go on that again. Maybe twice!” LOL
Once again reinforcing the idea that anything that is historical
(or geographical, in this case)
and animatronic, was ok with Mom.
As DisneyGirl and I were sitting here, trying to account for all our time that morning,
we remembered that at some point in time,
we made a bath room stop back behind Pinocchio Village Haus.
Did I mention we visited many of the WDW bathrooms?
We give this bathroom a thumb’s up, as it was clean, very pretty, and virtually empty.
We have found that a lot of the more out of the way bathrooms are the best.
We then headed to Philharmagic.
This is my favorite of the 3-D movies.
It might be because of the Dessert-type scent that is emitted.
But it’s probably just because it is really cool.
The Agraba scene is one of the few motion simulator type experiences that doesn’t make me dizzy.
We all had a great time at this movie, and vowed to come back again before the trip was over.
We spent a little time in the Philharmagic gift shop.
Then we decided it was time to ride Peter Pan.
I also really enjoy this ride.
The only bad ride I ever had on this was when the Inquisitor was two,
as I had Princess K in the baby sling,
and Inquisitor next to me,
and it kept feeling like he was going to slide out.
They say that when the lights are on you’d be shocked how close to the ground you actually are.
Ok. If you say so.
I still don’t want my two year old to plummet down onto it.
John also had an experience with the Inquisitor on this ride when he was four.
Inquisitor was still a little slow moving from his accident,
and moving side walks were hard for him.
They and DisneyGirl made it into the pirate ship at the last minute,
but the guard in front never came fully down.
It wouldn’t come down even when John pulled on it.
John was REALLY afraid one of them would fall out!
This time the ride was uneventful. Whew.
It was around 10 am at this point,
and we had a 10:30 ADR for Crystal Palace.
So we decided to take a leisurely walk back toward Main Street.
We went the back way around the castle, and saw Cinderella’s fountain.
Having since seen pictures of people “bathing” in the fountains at WDW,
I am not feeling as nostalgic about them.
But at the time I thought they were pretty.
We arrived at Crystal Palace with time to spare,
which was a good thing,
since, as I mentioned in my food report (see my siggie),
and not an original thought to me, but someone else on these Disboards,
the entry way to Crystal Palace much resembles the Atlanta scene.
in Gone With the Wind
where the wounded are lying all over the town square.
It is CHAOS!
So, word to the wise, check in early.
We sat awhile in what was becoming stifling heat, and finally were seated.
You can read all about it in my food report, but here are a few pics for your enjoyment.
DisneyGirl was feeling a bit under the weather that day, so there are not many pics of her, or by her.
Thus the lack of photography for this day.
Next up: The Hicks Meet the Local Royalty
Maybe because it's my last one, I'm just really not ready! I've enjoyed spending the extra time with my other two, as well. I enjoy teaching - I'm just enjoying being a mom more right now.
