MSEP...HERE WE COME!
We were full and ready for more rides! Pirates of the Caribbean is always a winner and our boat stopped at my favorite scene! The part with the dog with the keys was the only thing I remembered of this ride growing up and it still remains my favorite.
The kids talked me into County Bear Jamboree.

I can freely admit that I don't like this one. But the kids were gracious about the Hall of Presidents so I felt I must oblige. It wasn't as terrible as I remember it being from our last trip and listening to Michael giggle through the "Blood on the sadle" part made it all worth it!
The castle was lit when we came out and this was our first time seeing the castle in all it's Christmas glory. It.was.amazing!
Michael took the camera up close to the castle and took this next set of pictures. They were so artsy! I love them!
One of my favorites!
We staked out our spots for Main Street Electrical Parade. It has been a good 20 years since I have seen this parade and I was excited to watch it with the kids!
Back to Fantasyland for us, as we missed riding Winnie the Pooh earlier, and I realized we usually pass right over one of the most iconic parts of MK...DUMBO. Elsa and I hopped into an elephant and Michael chose the one behind us:
It was so pretty at night with all the lights!
Riding the Carousel was next up:
Michael found Cinderella's horse:
We rode Winnie the Pooh and as we were exiting the ride I heard what I could only assume were fireworks. That just couldn't be. Wishes wasn't for another hour?!! But there was no doubt as soon as we saw the sky. The kids LOVED seeing wishes from this point of view! We were directly beneath the fireworks and although we couldn't hear the music it was beautiful. But it was just fireworks. Wishes might be my most favorite thing at MK and a trip to WDW is incomplete without Wishes...and we missed it.

Our only other day at MK was also a
MVMCP night so our chance to see it was over. Thankfully I am resilient and didn't die from this travesty!
I pulled myself together and figured a return walk to Tomorrowland was in order! We rode Buzz and Elsa won. She beat us all! She said she just kept turning her car in a circle and kept the button pressed down. So there you have it. The secret to winning is just not caring at all!
We had ridden Space Mountain earlier and I knew in my heart after riding it that it needed to be added to my list of un-ridables. I had my second back surgery in 2009 (discetomy and fusion) and knew a few of the WDW rides would be out. My Neurosurgeon banned me from the tea-cups, Thunder Mountain, and Dinosaur. Roller coasters with shoulder restraints are fine, but somehow I thought Space Mountain would be A-OK. I was wrong. It was too bumpy and too jarring. So I waited in the gift shop while Michael and Elsa rode. There's that independence again!
Surprisingly the kids wanted to ride the Speedway. They LOVED it! Elsa and I rode together and she was excited to do it all, that is until she realized she couldn't really reach the pedal. Try as she might we couldn't go faster than a snails pace with her controlling it all.

So I took over the pedal and we "sped" along and enjoyed the ride.
We rode Buzz one more time, and the kids talked me into Speedway again. I then realized it was 1 am and the park was closing. Holy cow! Where did the day go? We moseyed-on-over to Main Street and did a little bit of post card shopping.

We bought treats at the Main Street Bakery (yum) and walked out of the Magic Kingdom gates at 1:40 am.
It was a HUGE day and I accomplished another thing on my Disney Bucket List:
Going one full day with out losing my patience with the kids while in the parks. I did it!

I didn't raise my voice, or get irritated, or snap at Michael or Elsa. It was a great accomplishment to add to this wonderful 1st day!
Next Up:
HAPPY FACES!