No Request was too Extreme: A Post-Deployment Disney Trip *Completed
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amazingact21
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I'm not sure why Alex was so hesitant to let me venture off with Landon alone at Disney. It's not like I don't do that everyday at home. Guess he was just worried about Landon having a meltdown in a strange place.
Or he was afraid I'd get lost.
A very real possibility.
I was starving by the time Alex made it back with Earl that I didn't even notice how cold it was. It was still pretty tasty.
Thanks! The picture of Landon is so old, but I don't have the heart to change it, because I just love it. I tried to get a similar shot of Evie on her first Disney trip, but didn't manage to get it. So Landon remained...
Thank you for joining and reading!
Following here! Just binge-read your trip report, what a great trip so far.Like others have said, thank your husband for his service to our country.
Looking forward to reading more, Marina
Thanks for reading! This was such a special,once in a lifetime trip that I have really enjoyed writing about it and reliving the fun.
Before staying at one of the monorail resorts, I thought they were a bit overpriced. But then I saw Wishes....
I am already dreaming of the day that I can splurge on a theme park view room again.
amazingact21
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February 28th, 2015 Part 1:
My notes say that we all woke up around 6 a.m. this morning. That doesn’t really surprise me. After all, we hadn’t exactly exerted ourselves the day before in Epcot. And when you’re in bed asleep before 10 o’clock on a Disney vacation, you tend to be awake and alert pretty early the next day.
Alex went for a run again while Landon and I got dressed and put together our park bag. Normally, I do that task before I go to sleep, but the fireworks out my window distracted me. I couldn’t think straight after I’d just seen Wishes.
From my bed.
In my pajamas.
I think I could be excused from worrying about extra diapers when one of my Disney dreams was just completed.
I would’ve joined Alex on the workout, but I had my one precious cup of coffee to drink.
Priorities.
Alex got back, showered, changed, decided on what pins to bring with him (this is a pretty big decision, ya’ll. I have to set aside at least 5 minutes for him to do that) and the three of us were out the door and at the monorail station by 7:20am.
Our transportation arrived almost immediately.
Landon insisted on standing and holding onto the rails.
Crazy kid…
The monorail dropped us off at the Magic Kingdom, and we were through bag check by 7:38am.
7:38 a.m.
7:38 a.m!!!
That means it took us a whole 18 minutes to get to the entrance of the park. A grand total of an hour and a half from the time we woke up.
What?!?!
And like I said in my last update, there was no folding up the stroller, climbing on and off a bus, driving and parking and hoofing it through the car lots, etc etc.
It was so magically, amazingly SIMPLE.
We were 18 glorious minutes away from the most magical place on Earth.
I couldn’t stop talking about it to Alex. I just kept repeating the time over and over again, to the point where I could actually see him tune me out.
Not that that’s anything new.
He does that a lot.
Especially right now, when I’m missing Disney pretty bad due to Landon asking to watch the Festival of Fantasy Parade or Wishes during dinner every night.
Anywho, in addition to scoring a last minute O’hana’s dinner for our arrival night, I’d also managed to grab a Crystal Park breakfast set for 10 minutes after park opening. From experience, we knew that 10 minutes would get us into the park before everyone else, so we were pretty excited for it. Crystal Palace is good, but it’s not our absolute favorite restaurant, and we only book it to get those amazing castle shots on Main Street without the crowds.
I cannot wait for Evie to get older so I can book us a Royal Table reservation. Although, right now, Landon is over the moon about the girls. He loves Rapunzel and Belle and always insists on telling me how Ariel has a tail. He’d probably get a big kick out of seeing them at a meal.
Again….I’m having major Disney withdrawals, folks!
The Cast Members made all the guests who had reservations wait in a line to the left side of the train station, and they held us there until about 10 minutes before park opening. Alex and I weren’t 100% sure why they weren’t letting anyone in, but we did hear whispers of the street cleaners still being out and working, so maybe that was why.
While it was a boring wait, Alex and I didn’t care since we did get to go in eventually. Give us an hour or give us ten minutes, we don’t mind just so long as we get something.
It had started to drizzle while we were waiting, so none of the Photopass Photographers were standing on Main Street.
Didn’t faze me, though.
Gotta get those shots!
One of the photographers had pity on us and ventured into the drizzle to take a family shot of us:
I really wanted to get some shots of Landon with the castle in the background. It was kind of a tradition; I want to make a page one day of him growing up in front of the iconic building (and Evie, too, of course) but the rain was pretty chilly and so he needed to get under cover.
I figured maybe if we got creative we could accomplish the goal from the current spot.
And then I remembered what kid I was dealing with…
There was no such thing as keeping a 1 year old Landon still.
I tried to cheat by playing the Jake and the Neverland Pirates theme song above his head.
It worked well enough. I got enough to count.
I was a cruel wife and mom, then, and made the boys step back out on Main Street in order for me to get some shots of the two of them together.
Poor Landon was turning into quite the popsicle by that point, so Alex and I went over to the baby care center and parked our stroller there. The Crystal Palace parking spots were out in the open, and we didn’t feel like throwing a cover over ours when there was several free spots by the center.
Little did we know what parking it in such an out of the way space would mean…
We didn’t have to wait long to be seated once we checked into the restaurant. I can’t speak for other years, but it felt like that last week in February was a down period for the parks. Almost all the the Princess Marathoners were gone, and Spring Break hadn’t started yet so we caught that lull between the craziness.
Which is why we chose to move our dates this past year to that same time.
Oh, how I regret that.
So very much.
But that’s a tale for another report. Returning to a much happier one, Landon got himself settled into a highchair while I ran and got him some food.
At the time, he wasn’t eating a lot for breakfast, but he definitely did that day.
Eggs, tomatoes, grapes, and a pancake. A king’s feast for a one year old!
Since the characters hadn’t gone over so well the day before, Alex and I didn’t put too much emphasis on the Winne the Pooh character interactions. We didn’t even try to get Landon out of his chair to meet with them.
Probably for the best, because this was his reaction to most all of them:
Piglet seemed hopeful.
Eh…maybe?
Just maybe.
Nope.
That was short lived.
So, another character meet and greet mishap. Maybe face characters would be better.
Other than the unreceptive toddler, breakfast went well. We’ve eaten at Crystal Palace so many times before, it’s kind of hard to write an in-depth review of the restaurant. The food was exactly as we expected it to be. Alex’s puffed French Toast was a fluffy sugary treat while my egg frittata was full of fresh veggies and seasoned well.
Crystal Palace is nothing if not reliable. We know precisely what we’re getting when we go, and we’re happy with that. We ate at another breakfast buffet later on this trip, and after being surprisingly disappointed, we appreciate CP for what it is.
But like I said, the most redeeming factor is that opportunity for Main Street pics. Who could put a price on those sort of memorable photographs?
Bellies full, it was time to head back out into the soggy weather and start enjoying the rest of the Magic Kingdom.
Up Next…Don’t Underestimate the Drive of a 1 Year Old in Disney
My notes say that we all woke up around 6 a.m. this morning. That doesn’t really surprise me. After all, we hadn’t exactly exerted ourselves the day before in Epcot. And when you’re in bed asleep before 10 o’clock on a Disney vacation, you tend to be awake and alert pretty early the next day.
Alex went for a run again while Landon and I got dressed and put together our park bag. Normally, I do that task before I go to sleep, but the fireworks out my window distracted me. I couldn’t think straight after I’d just seen Wishes.
From my bed.
In my pajamas.
I think I could be excused from worrying about extra diapers when one of my Disney dreams was just completed.
I would’ve joined Alex on the workout, but I had my one precious cup of coffee to drink.
Priorities.
Alex got back, showered, changed, decided on what pins to bring with him (this is a pretty big decision, ya’ll. I have to set aside at least 5 minutes for him to do that) and the three of us were out the door and at the monorail station by 7:20am.
Our transportation arrived almost immediately.
Landon insisted on standing and holding onto the rails.
Crazy kid…
The monorail dropped us off at the Magic Kingdom, and we were through bag check by 7:38am.
7:38 a.m.
7:38 a.m!!!
That means it took us a whole 18 minutes to get to the entrance of the park. A grand total of an hour and a half from the time we woke up.
What?!?!
And like I said in my last update, there was no folding up the stroller, climbing on and off a bus, driving and parking and hoofing it through the car lots, etc etc.
It was so magically, amazingly SIMPLE.
We were 18 glorious minutes away from the most magical place on Earth.
I couldn’t stop talking about it to Alex. I just kept repeating the time over and over again, to the point where I could actually see him tune me out.
Not that that’s anything new.
He does that a lot.
Especially right now, when I’m missing Disney pretty bad due to Landon asking to watch the Festival of Fantasy Parade or Wishes during dinner every night.
Anywho, in addition to scoring a last minute O’hana’s dinner for our arrival night, I’d also managed to grab a Crystal Park breakfast set for 10 minutes after park opening. From experience, we knew that 10 minutes would get us into the park before everyone else, so we were pretty excited for it. Crystal Palace is good, but it’s not our absolute favorite restaurant, and we only book it to get those amazing castle shots on Main Street without the crowds.
I cannot wait for Evie to get older so I can book us a Royal Table reservation. Although, right now, Landon is over the moon about the girls. He loves Rapunzel and Belle and always insists on telling me how Ariel has a tail. He’d probably get a big kick out of seeing them at a meal.
Again….I’m having major Disney withdrawals, folks!
The Cast Members made all the guests who had reservations wait in a line to the left side of the train station, and they held us there until about 10 minutes before park opening. Alex and I weren’t 100% sure why they weren’t letting anyone in, but we did hear whispers of the street cleaners still being out and working, so maybe that was why.
While it was a boring wait, Alex and I didn’t care since we did get to go in eventually. Give us an hour or give us ten minutes, we don’t mind just so long as we get something.
It had started to drizzle while we were waiting, so none of the Photopass Photographers were standing on Main Street.
Didn’t faze me, though.
Gotta get those shots!
One of the photographers had pity on us and ventured into the drizzle to take a family shot of us:
I really wanted to get some shots of Landon with the castle in the background. It was kind of a tradition; I want to make a page one day of him growing up in front of the iconic building (and Evie, too, of course) but the rain was pretty chilly and so he needed to get under cover.
I figured maybe if we got creative we could accomplish the goal from the current spot.
And then I remembered what kid I was dealing with…
There was no such thing as keeping a 1 year old Landon still.
I tried to cheat by playing the Jake and the Neverland Pirates theme song above his head.
It worked well enough. I got enough to count.
I was a cruel wife and mom, then, and made the boys step back out on Main Street in order for me to get some shots of the two of them together.
Poor Landon was turning into quite the popsicle by that point, so Alex and I went over to the baby care center and parked our stroller there. The Crystal Palace parking spots were out in the open, and we didn’t feel like throwing a cover over ours when there was several free spots by the center.
Little did we know what parking it in such an out of the way space would mean…
We didn’t have to wait long to be seated once we checked into the restaurant. I can’t speak for other years, but it felt like that last week in February was a down period for the parks. Almost all the the Princess Marathoners were gone, and Spring Break hadn’t started yet so we caught that lull between the craziness.
Which is why we chose to move our dates this past year to that same time.
Oh, how I regret that.
So very much.
But that’s a tale for another report. Returning to a much happier one, Landon got himself settled into a highchair while I ran and got him some food.
At the time, he wasn’t eating a lot for breakfast, but he definitely did that day.
Eggs, tomatoes, grapes, and a pancake. A king’s feast for a one year old!
Since the characters hadn’t gone over so well the day before, Alex and I didn’t put too much emphasis on the Winne the Pooh character interactions. We didn’t even try to get Landon out of his chair to meet with them.
Probably for the best, because this was his reaction to most all of them:
Piglet seemed hopeful.
Eh…maybe?
Just maybe.
Nope.
That was short lived.
So, another character meet and greet mishap. Maybe face characters would be better.
Other than the unreceptive toddler, breakfast went well. We’ve eaten at Crystal Palace so many times before, it’s kind of hard to write an in-depth review of the restaurant. The food was exactly as we expected it to be. Alex’s puffed French Toast was a fluffy sugary treat while my egg frittata was full of fresh veggies and seasoned well.
Crystal Palace is nothing if not reliable. We know precisely what we’re getting when we go, and we’re happy with that. We ate at another breakfast buffet later on this trip, and after being surprisingly disappointed, we appreciate CP for what it is.
But like I said, the most redeeming factor is that opportunity for Main Street pics. Who could put a price on those sort of memorable photographs?
Bellies full, it was time to head back out into the soggy weather and start enjoying the rest of the Magic Kingdom.
Up Next…Don’t Underestimate the Drive of a 1 Year Old in Disney
Last edited:
cindianne320
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I think you got some cute shots, despite the cold and rain! I'm glad you had a good breakfast- we tried to get before-park-opening reservations, and they opened the park early, so we canceled. Next time!
rdkeim
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Love your TR's! One of these days I'll splurge and stay in one of the monorail resorts. Even though I no longer travel with little ones, I would love the easy access to the MK. Looks like you had a good start to your day despite the drizzle!
epsmith921
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I've been trying to quote and it's just not working so I give up (100% user error for sure). The 18 minutes to magic kingdom and no stroller folding is precisely why we stay where we stay (MK or Epcot area deluxe). It costs an arm and a leg (and probably some organs illegally sold) but it's pretty worth it in my opinion.
Makes it so much less stressful with kids! So happy to hear your trip was going well!!!
Makes it so much less stressful with kids! So happy to hear your trip was going well!!!
natebenma
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Very cute pictures of Landon on your way to/from Figment.
The character meet & greet was interesting. You never know how kids that young will react. In fact, I'm sure it can change from day to day or meet to meet.
Splitting up seems like it was the right thing to do, even though it was foreign to you. I remember. That's great that Alex brought you dinner, even if it took awhile to get there.
on having such a great view of Wishes from your room!!!
The character meet & greet was interesting. You never know how kids that young will react. In fact, I'm sure it can change from day to day or meet to meet.
Splitting up seems like it was the right thing to do, even though it was foreign to you. I remember. That's great that Alex brought you dinner, even if it took awhile to get there.
on having such a great view of Wishes from your room!!!
natebenma
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18 minutes!!!
That is AWESOME!
After the Beach & Yacht Club, which I am contractually obligated to stay at (not really), the Poly is my dream resort, for so many reasons. The theming, the location, the food. Wishes.
LOVE your Main Street photos! We have our first pre-opening breakfast at MK booked for October. Can't wait!
Glad CP turned out to be as good, or perhaps just a smidge better, than expected.
That is AWESOME!
After the Beach & Yacht Club, which I am contractually obligated to stay at (not really), the Poly is my dream resort, for so many reasons. The theming, the location, the food. Wishes.
LOVE your Main Street photos! We have our first pre-opening breakfast at MK booked for October. Can't wait!
Glad CP turned out to be as good, or perhaps just a smidge better, than expected.
Dugette
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Sounds like someone I know.
Aw, poor guy! Sorry he was so scared of the characters!
Well, it's about time you tried it. 
We've clearly done that a lot. Just like at home. And, agreed, monorail makes it much easier!Haha, that also sounds like someone I know.I might or might not have walked right past our longhouse when we got to the Polynesian.
Amazing! What a view!!!
That's adorable!
I think this one is really cute. Good job being creative!
oceanmarina
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Great update, love the castle pictures of you guys. 
Watching wishes in your pjs - how amazing!
Watching wishes in your pjs - how amazing!
amazingact21
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I think Disney's starting to do that more and more with the higher crowds that seem to be there all the time. They did the same thing to us in February, which is a bit of a letdown, but at least you were able to cancel and save your money.
Thanks! Staying at a monorail resort was a dream come true. I knew I would love it, but I didn't expect to be as blown away as I was. It amazed me how much energy I saved just being able to hop on and off the monorail; no trekking out to the middle of nowhere for my car! I'm really looking forward the day when I can stay at the Beach Club and enjoy Epcot's proximity.
There's two ways to quote here; you can click the +Quote at the bottom of the post next to reply or you can highlight a specific text and right click on your mouse. A prompt should appear with an option to do a +quote. Then, when you scroll down to the reply box at the bottom of the page there should be a button that says Insert Quotes. Hope that helps!
I completely get what you're saying. If we hadn't had to move, Alex and I would have forgone our trip in February and waited an extra year to take Evie on her first birthday. It would have been worth when considering two kids. (Even without the kids...the extra time you get to sleep in would've been worth the cost!)
amazingact21
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Very cute pictures of Landon on your way to/from Figment.
The character meet & greet was interesting. You never know how kids that young will react. In fact, I'm sure it can change from day to day or meet to meet.
Splitting up seems like it was the right thing to do, even though it was foreign to you. I remember. That's great that Alex brought you dinner, even if it took awhile to get there.
Kids really are unpredictable when it comes to the characters. I guess I thought maybe if he saw the one and only Mickey Mouse he'd be okay. I mean, it was Mickey!
18 minutes!!!
That is AWESOME!
After the Beach & Yacht Club, which I am contractually obligated to stay at (not really), the Poly is my dream resort, for so many reasons. The theming, the location, the food. Wishes.
LOVE your Main Street photos! We have our first pre-opening breakfast at MK booked for October. Can't wait!
Glad CP turned out to be as good, or perhaps just a smidge better, than expected.
I was telling Alex the other day that I cannot wait until the kids are a little older and we can stay at the Beach Club. I know it'd be better to splurge on the resort when the children are old enough to really enjoy the pool and can walk to the park themselves, but it's so hard to wait! So, I guess I can see where you're coming from with wanting to try the Poly. Wishes was the best perk of staying there, hands down!
Landon was definitely NOT feeling the characters that morning.
His only thought was "Get away, get away, get away!"
amazingact21
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Sounds like someone I know.
Leave Izzy and Landon alone in a gift shop and no shelf would be safe!
I'm not sure why we've never split up for long periods of time before. At home, we really only go places together on one of the weekend days. Otherwise, we're each doing our own thing. I guess maybe we thought since it was a family vacation, we needed to take the opportunity to spend as much quality time together as possible. I don't know, but I'm sure the being seperated for 6 months played a factor into us splitting up. It was old news by then.
Amazing! What a view!!!
That's adorable!
I think this one is really cute. Good job being creative!
I was blown away by our luck at getting a Wishes view. Of course, that made it twice as hard to check out a few days later.
Great update, love the castle pictures of you guys.
Watching wishes in your pjs - how amazing!
It was a dream come true. Never in a million years did I ever think I could swing a Wishes view room at the Poly. Something I'll never forget.
Like I said, the breakfast itself is just OK, but the empty Main Street is such a sight. The place is so calm and peaceful, completely unlike normal park hours!
amazingact21
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February 28th, 2015 Part 2:
With another Disney breakfast done, it was time for a little Magic Kingdom fun!
It was still raining when we left Crystal Palace, so rather than schlep our stroller out into the weather, we left it where it was at the Baby Care Center. This was no easy decision on our part. Alex and I knew we’d be headed to the backside of the park, and with such an early morning there was no telling whether or not Landon would want to take an early nap.
We could really be shooting ourselves in the foot by not having the stroller handy.
However, the two of us really didn’t want to deal with it. Parking and moving it from one ride attraction area to the next; we just wanted to have the freedom to roam around and go.
So no stroller it was.
My little family made our way to Fantasyland. Where else would we have taken our little 1 year old explorer?
Taking a look around us, I hopped on to the MDE app and switched our upcoming Dumbo Fastpasses for an Ariel meet and greet one. I really wanted to see how Landon did with some face characters, and the park was virtually empty so Alex and I could walk right on to Dumbo.
Speaking of, that was Landon’s first Magic Kingdom ride of the trip.
While not as pretty during the day, the water features are fun to look at while you wait for your turn to start.
I couldn’t see my son, but it looked like Alex was enjoying the attraction:
And not long after I took that shot, Alex shifted to his right a little bit to try and show me Landon’s face.
Apparently, the kid was having a blast! Alex was letting him play with the joystick, and he would break into giggles when he made his vehicle drop down. I can’t be positive, since he’d ridden it a few times before, but I think that particular ride was the start of an ongoing love for Dumbo. We now cannot go into the Magic Kingdom without at least turn on it.
(That being said, there was another attraction that we hit up later that topped even the great Dumbo. So, basically, Alex and I have succeeded in completely brainwashing our little guy’s mind. Parenting milestone!)
Our new Fastpass for Ariel came due after we’d gotten off the ride, so Alex and I made our way over to the grotto.
Landon wanted to walk.
Surprise, surprise.
He followed us all the way to MagicBand scanning kiosk, where there was a moment’s upset that he had nothing to hold up to the Mickey head, but soon got over it when we told him he could walk through the line by himself.
There wasn’t another guest in sight.
We really had the whole of Fantasyland to ourselves.
Thank you, chilly rainy February weather.
So, how’d the face character interaction go?
Meh.
Landon could have cared less.
He just sat in Alex’s lap and stared off into space.
Complete opposite of his first reaction to the mermaid.
Guess he’d gotten aloof in his old age.
(In his defense, he had just experienced an awesome ride and been allowed to walk wherever he pleased. Anything after that kind of toddler nirvana wouldn’t stack up very well.)
There wasn’t anybody waiting in line behind us, but since Landon wasn’t really responding to anything, Alex and I left pretty quickly. I wrote in my notes that entire meet – from scanning our bands to walking back outside – took a whopping 5 minutes.
How ever would we recoup that lost time?
It was pretty incredible how empty the park was that morning. Alex and I hadn’t seen it that dead in a very long time. Certainly not since Landon had been born.
February was beginning to look like a better and better time to plan future trips.
For the next half hour or so, we let Landon wander around my Seven Dwarves Mine Train; he got a kick out of watching the cars drop down and liked to hear the music being piped through. Alex and I had originally gotten Fastpasses for Seven Dwarves, but when I found out my news, I had to change mine. I kept Alex’s, though, and if we were still in the parks later that night he could make use of it.
For me…the ride alluded me once more.
First in August of 2014, then in December, now in February.
And, spoiler alert….I still haven’t ridden it! Three subsequent trips to the MK and still no luck.
I must be the only person who has visited the park 6 times since it’s opening and have yet to experience it.
Kind of ridiculous.
One day, Mine Train.
One day!
Alex and I took Landon for one more spin on Dumbo, then we walked over to the Tomorrowland Speedway. Alex took Landon up to the height check chart, and amazingly enough, he hit the 35 inch mark!
We have no idea why he did it, but when the Cast Member leaned down to inspect the chart, Landon turned and gave her a big hug. The girl was surprised, rightly so, but then she became really happy and starting talking about it to another CM standing by. Landon made her morning, and it surprised the heck out of Alex and me.
The wait time for the speedway was about 20 minutes (apparently that’s where all the guests were) but Alex REALLY wanted to take Landon on it. I could see the hope in his face.
Dad and son racing around the track….
So I told them to go ahead, and I ventured over to Tomorrowland to ride on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. The walk on wait was ten minutes, and I knew since I could control the spin, it would be a safe ride for me to go on.
I got off shortly before Alex and Landon met me over by one of the gift shops. It had been a long, long time since Alex last rode Buzz, and he was feeling a little jealous that I’d gotten to do it. I told him that if we didn’t turn the vehicle round much, I’d go on it again with him and Landon.
A mistake on my part.
Even without the jerking from left to right, two rounds of a moving vehicle had me feeling pretty puny.
I broke off from the boys again to rest near the bathrooms with some water.
(I had foolishly thought when I first found out that I was pregnant that traveling would be a breeze. I had had a wonderful pregnancy my first time; nothing but fatigue and uncomfortableness towards the end. So, the thought of cancelling Disney, even with the little bit of nausea I’d had thus far, never crossed my mind. Boy, did I get a wakeup call.)
Alex and Landon went and did some shopping, and when they met back up with me we were all feeling well enough to walk back into Fantasyland.
We went via Main Street in order to walk through the castle, something we don’t do very often and like to take advantage of every now and again. When we came out the backside, Landon spotted the carousel and made a beeline for it.
That boy loves him a good carousel.
But first!
Alex noticed the sword from the Sword and the Stone was empty, and he wanted Landon to try and pull it out for the first time. It was one of those rites of passages that a kid HAS to give a go at least once in their MK visit.
So, I ushered them up to the podium, and I pulled out my camera and started snapping away.
My two favorite boys…
Aw, look at that, they’re so happy.
These pictures are going to turn out great…
Alex looked up at me, and I saw his huge grin through the viewfinder. He looked so giddy.
So sweet.
Wait!
Was the sword up?!?!
I was so busy taking pictures that I almost completely missed the fact that Landon just pulled the sword out of the stone.
WHAT?!
How awesome!
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, what’re the odds?
I walked up to Alex.
Best trip ever!
A mom and her older teenage daughter stepped up to the stone after us, and we watched as the girl posed for a photo.
The mom told her, in a dead serious voice, “Pull the sword out.”
“Mom, I can’t.”
“That little boy just did, you just gotta pull hard.”
“Ma, I’m serious, the swords not going to come up.”
“Why not?”
“Cuz I’m not the fairest in all the land, Ma! That boy is!”
We all broke into laughter. That poor mom was not understanding the “magic” behind the sword, and the daughter was getting so exasperated trying to fill her in.
Landon was absolutely ecstatic to see the sword come out, but right behind him was the whole reason for his walk over. He was pulling on Alex’s hand like, “C’mon, get a grip, we have a horse to ride!”
No more time to be awestruck over our luck; it was time we get in the five minute standby line.
A mighty steed for a mighty boy.
(And one for the sickly mother.)
What a day so far.
Up Next…DISmeets, Dumbo, and Denial
With another Disney breakfast done, it was time for a little Magic Kingdom fun!
It was still raining when we left Crystal Palace, so rather than schlep our stroller out into the weather, we left it where it was at the Baby Care Center. This was no easy decision on our part. Alex and I knew we’d be headed to the backside of the park, and with such an early morning there was no telling whether or not Landon would want to take an early nap.
We could really be shooting ourselves in the foot by not having the stroller handy.
However, the two of us really didn’t want to deal with it. Parking and moving it from one ride attraction area to the next; we just wanted to have the freedom to roam around and go.
So no stroller it was.
My little family made our way to Fantasyland. Where else would we have taken our little 1 year old explorer?
Taking a look around us, I hopped on to the MDE app and switched our upcoming Dumbo Fastpasses for an Ariel meet and greet one. I really wanted to see how Landon did with some face characters, and the park was virtually empty so Alex and I could walk right on to Dumbo.
Speaking of, that was Landon’s first Magic Kingdom ride of the trip.
While not as pretty during the day, the water features are fun to look at while you wait for your turn to start.
I couldn’t see my son, but it looked like Alex was enjoying the attraction:
And not long after I took that shot, Alex shifted to his right a little bit to try and show me Landon’s face.
Apparently, the kid was having a blast! Alex was letting him play with the joystick, and he would break into giggles when he made his vehicle drop down. I can’t be positive, since he’d ridden it a few times before, but I think that particular ride was the start of an ongoing love for Dumbo. We now cannot go into the Magic Kingdom without at least turn on it.
(That being said, there was another attraction that we hit up later that topped even the great Dumbo. So, basically, Alex and I have succeeded in completely brainwashing our little guy’s mind. Parenting milestone!
)Our new Fastpass for Ariel came due after we’d gotten off the ride, so Alex and I made our way over to the grotto.
Landon wanted to walk.
Surprise, surprise.
He followed us all the way to MagicBand scanning kiosk, where there was a moment’s upset that he had nothing to hold up to the Mickey head, but soon got over it when we told him he could walk through the line by himself.
There wasn’t another guest in sight.
We really had the whole of Fantasyland to ourselves.
Thank you, chilly rainy February weather.
So, how’d the face character interaction go?
Meh.
Landon could have cared less.
He just sat in Alex’s lap and stared off into space.
Complete opposite of his first reaction to the mermaid.
Guess he’d gotten aloof in his old age.
(In his defense, he had just experienced an awesome ride and been allowed to walk wherever he pleased. Anything after that kind of toddler nirvana wouldn’t stack up very well.)
There wasn’t anybody waiting in line behind us, but since Landon wasn’t really responding to anything, Alex and I left pretty quickly. I wrote in my notes that entire meet – from scanning our bands to walking back outside – took a whopping 5 minutes.
How ever would we recoup that lost time?
It was pretty incredible how empty the park was that morning. Alex and I hadn’t seen it that dead in a very long time. Certainly not since Landon had been born.
February was beginning to look like a better and better time to plan future trips.
For the next half hour or so, we let Landon wander around my Seven Dwarves Mine Train; he got a kick out of watching the cars drop down and liked to hear the music being piped through. Alex and I had originally gotten Fastpasses for Seven Dwarves, but when I found out my news, I had to change mine. I kept Alex’s, though, and if we were still in the parks later that night he could make use of it.
For me…the ride alluded me once more.
First in August of 2014, then in December, now in February.
And, spoiler alert….I still haven’t ridden it! Three subsequent trips to the MK and still no luck.
I must be the only person who has visited the park 6 times since it’s opening and have yet to experience it.
Kind of ridiculous.
One day, Mine Train.
One day!
Alex and I took Landon for one more spin on Dumbo, then we walked over to the Tomorrowland Speedway. Alex took Landon up to the height check chart, and amazingly enough, he hit the 35 inch mark!
We have no idea why he did it, but when the Cast Member leaned down to inspect the chart, Landon turned and gave her a big hug. The girl was surprised, rightly so, but then she became really happy and starting talking about it to another CM standing by. Landon made her morning, and it surprised the heck out of Alex and me.
The wait time for the speedway was about 20 minutes (apparently that’s where all the guests were) but Alex REALLY wanted to take Landon on it. I could see the hope in his face.
Dad and son racing around the track….
So I told them to go ahead, and I ventured over to Tomorrowland to ride on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. The walk on wait was ten minutes, and I knew since I could control the spin, it would be a safe ride for me to go on.
I got off shortly before Alex and Landon met me over by one of the gift shops. It had been a long, long time since Alex last rode Buzz, and he was feeling a little jealous that I’d gotten to do it. I told him that if we didn’t turn the vehicle round much, I’d go on it again with him and Landon.
A mistake on my part.
Even without the jerking from left to right, two rounds of a moving vehicle had me feeling pretty puny.
I broke off from the boys again to rest near the bathrooms with some water.
(I had foolishly thought when I first found out that I was pregnant that traveling would be a breeze. I had had a wonderful pregnancy my first time; nothing but fatigue and uncomfortableness towards the end. So, the thought of cancelling Disney, even with the little bit of nausea I’d had thus far, never crossed my mind. Boy, did I get a wakeup call.)
Alex and Landon went and did some shopping, and when they met back up with me we were all feeling well enough to walk back into Fantasyland.
We went via Main Street in order to walk through the castle, something we don’t do very often and like to take advantage of every now and again. When we came out the backside, Landon spotted the carousel and made a beeline for it.
That boy loves him a good carousel.
But first!
Alex noticed the sword from the Sword and the Stone was empty, and he wanted Landon to try and pull it out for the first time. It was one of those rites of passages that a kid HAS to give a go at least once in their MK visit.
So, I ushered them up to the podium, and I pulled out my camera and started snapping away.
My two favorite boys…
Aw, look at that, they’re so happy.
These pictures are going to turn out great…
Alex looked up at me, and I saw his huge grin through the viewfinder. He looked so giddy.
So sweet.
Wait!
Was the sword up?!?!
I was so busy taking pictures that I almost completely missed the fact that Landon just pulled the sword out of the stone.
WHAT?!
How awesome!
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, what’re the odds?
I walked up to Alex.
Best trip ever!
A mom and her older teenage daughter stepped up to the stone after us, and we watched as the girl posed for a photo.
The mom told her, in a dead serious voice, “Pull the sword out.”
“Mom, I can’t.”
“That little boy just did, you just gotta pull hard.”
“Ma, I’m serious, the swords not going to come up.”
“Why not?”
“Cuz I’m not the fairest in all the land, Ma! That boy is!”
We all broke into laughter. That poor mom was not understanding the “magic” behind the sword, and the daughter was getting so exasperated trying to fill her in.
Landon was absolutely ecstatic to see the sword come out, but right behind him was the whole reason for his walk over. He was pulling on Alex’s hand like, “C’mon, get a grip, we have a horse to ride!”
No more time to be awestruck over our luck; it was time we get in the five minute standby line.
A mighty steed for a mighty boy.
(And one for the sickly mother.)
What a day so far.
Up Next…DISmeets, Dumbo, and Denial
Last edited:
vamassey1
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2005
- Messages
- 7,715
I'm loving the empty park! How lucky can you get. Landon sure looks like he's enjoying it. He looks like he owns this place. So sorry you missed the mine train. It's fun for the little bit of time it lasts. Your time will come. It's funny how different each pregnancy can be. I use to wonder if it had to do with the difference in having a boy and a girl. I was way more sick for the girls than my son. I hope it didn't effect too badly on this trip.
Wow what a Magical Moment! Pulling the sword out. My kids would have loved to do this. Someday when you show him the pictures he'll be amazed.
Wow what a Magical Moment! Pulling the sword out. My kids would have loved to do this. Someday when you show him the pictures he'll be amazed.
khertz
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2008
- Messages
- 8,010
I recognize that Lollacup! We got the same one for Paxton, and now Delilah uses it. lol
The unmistakable sound of booms in the sky.
Wishes!
Eek!! I remember this same excitement from our WL stay a few years ago. It's incredible to see the fireworks from the comfort of your resort room with no crowds to battle on the way out of the park after!
LOVE the Main Street photos!! Minus that darn crane, of course. The crane drove DH bananas on our Feb trip. lol
Sorry breakfast did not go great with the characters, but this picture cracked me up!
That's AWESOME!!!! DS would be SOO excited to finally pull the sword from the stone one of these days!!
Dugette
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2009
- Messages
- 5,775
Way to go!(That being said, there was another attraction that we hit up later that topped even the great Dumbo. So, basically, Alex and I have succeeded in completely brainwashing our little guy’s mind. Parenting milestone!
Well, on the bright side, maybe your first ride can be Landon's first ride on it too!
Aw, so sweet.
Wow!!!Aw, look at that, they’re so happy.
These pictures are going to turn out great…
Alex looked up at me, and I saw his huge grin through the viewfinder. He looked so giddy.
So sweet.
Wait!
Was the sword up?!?!
I was so busy taking pictures that I almost completely missed the fact that Landon just pulled the sword out of the stone.
That is amazing! I didn't realize it until you said it - they just looked so happy I was focusing on that! 
Cute picture!
BlvInMagic
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2010
- Messages
- 467
So awesome that Landon and Alex got to pull the Sword out of the stone! I have never seen one person, on any of our trips, ever accomplish this feat. Truly special and magical moment 
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