This Friday morning was our Magic Kingdom morning. Today also marked our first time using the monorail. We boarded on the monorail promptly at 7:30 a.m. and, yes, I kicked myself when I realized that our first stop was the Grand Floridian.
I sure wish that I wouldn’t have nixed DH’s suggestion the previous day for the photoshoot.
Oh well – live and learn.
Up until now, I really wasn’t feeling a lot of Disney magic, I’ll be honest with you. However, I had big expectations for today – breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table at 8:05 a.m. and Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for The Big at 11:00 a.m. We had already purchased a Cinderella dress for The Big to wear specifically for this day, so she wore it to MK.
Now, we all know that Disney marketers are geniuses, but that morning I got a glimpse of why the Disney brand is so successful. We were greeted no less than probably 100 times that morning with “Good Morning, Princess.” The Big thought she was hot stuff and we (as the parents) got to be reminded every time we heard the phrase that, yes, indeed she is our princess. Yup, sheer genius.
Anyway, since we had such an early ADR, there were probably only about 50 other people that were let in when we were. We didn’t “have the parks to ourselves” but it was close. At least we got some pictures of Cindy’s castle without hoards of people in front of it. In fact, here are a couple for your viewing pleasure:
Breakfast at Cindy’s castle is a pretty hotly debated topic here on The DIS. Some say the food is horrible; some say it’s too expensive; some say that the princesses are rushed; and some say it’s a wonderful experience. Well, chalk us up to those who LOVED the experience. It may be because we got an incredibly great selection of princesses (Cindy (of course), Belle, Aurora, Snow White, and Jasmine), but the food was piping hot, the service was wonderful, and DH and I even got champagne glasses in recognition of our anniversary. I love that the princesses are so “in” character. I accidentally flipped my camera settings, so I only have a few from the breakfast that turned out:
After breakfast, I sent DH off for a FastPass to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and The Big and I rode the Carousel and Dumbo and then we all meandered our way to Frontierland, riding Snow White’s Scary Adventure, Peter Pan, and It’s A Small World on our way. We had a few minutes before our FastPass window opened, so we hopped on Splash Mountain.
Now, I had previously reported The Big’s negative reaction to getting splashed on Kali (at AK), and my thought that her reaction was a complete fluke. Unfortunately, upon hearing that we were getting ready to go on “Splash” Mountain, The Big started whining about not wanting to go on it. Now, in our home, DH and I don’t succumb to The Big’s whining. She knows that her choices are to either converse like the adults or be ignored. Since the standby line for Splash Mountain was only 5 minutes, we got our log before The Big remembered that she doesn’t get anywhere with us by whining. Unfortunately for us (and the others sharing our log), we got hit squarely by a shoot of water out of the, um, chute, and The Big went from whining to crying in seconds. She was totally fine with the drops, but just didn’t want to get wet. So, since we now knew for certain that The Big wasn’t going to enjoy any more water rides, we made it our goal not to subject her to any more of them.
Well, if Splash Mountain was a dud, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was a HUGE hit with The Big. DH was very happy to learn that he was going to have another thrill-seeker in the family. After riding BTMR a second time, we headed to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for The Big’s makeover.
Although we had to wait about 30 minutes past our ADR time, this experience was pure magic. Our two Fairy Godmothers In Training were just angels. They were engaging, sweet, interested, unrushed, witty, fun, and really seemed to love what they were doing. They let The Big pick out her own makeup, crown, and jewels, and, with every decision, they praised The Big for her wonderful taste. One example of the MANY incredible things they said was when they discovered that The Big was wearing
Crocs under her princess dress. They told her that Cinderella wears Crocs every morning before she changes into her glass slippers. Maybe you just had to be there to understand, but I just can’t say enough about how wonderful these young women were. They brought *both* DH and I to tears because of how happy and special they made The Big feel.
After BBB, we headed to Tomorrow Land to check that out. We did Buzz and then ate a few hamburgers at Cosmic Ray’s (can anyone tell me what exactly the hamburgers are made of there – ours were grey and tasteless – YUCK!!!!). After our bleh lunch, we moved onto Toon Town. When The Big saw the Barnstormer, she immediately started jumping up and down with excitement. This ride definitely became her immediate favorite.
Since MK was really starting to fill up by this time, and since I don’t deal well with crowds, I decided that now was the time for us to start making our way toward the exit. We stopped for a few more pictures, and decided that we were done with MK for the day.
. On the boat, the pools were fine during the day, but it got a bit chilly at night with the wind. 
I love this! It's exactly what I've been searching for!
We hope to do this Jan.09 with our two boys.
I can't wait to hear more.
. When I explained the situation and that DH would be right behind me, Faith said fine and to come back when we were all accounted for. Well, I waited. And waited. And waited some more (in my ridiculous Christmas puffy skirt). Oh, I just cannot convey to you all how mortified I was and I *know* that I looked like an idiot. I wasnt keeping track at this point but I think that we didnt make it back upstairs to meet Faith until 3:15 or so (the shoot is only supposed to last 20 minutes, I believe). 
enlighten me as well? Thank you so much for all your time you have put in on your wonderful report so far. 
