I mentioned earlier that our original plans got changed and I had to cancel our reservation for lunch at Be Our Guest. I did luck out and was able to secure an 11 am reservation at a new-to-us restaurant, The Plaza. I knew very little about it other than the awesome ice cream dessert they have there. I didn’t tell the kids the plan, but simply told them to set aside $8 each of their money b/c they would for sure want to spend it on this special treat 🙂
We finished up with all our pirate fun just in time for our reservation. On our walk over we saw Mary Poppins out and about with two of her penguins! I really wish I would have asked Zach about stopping but he’s not big on character meeting lines and I didn’t want to push it so I didn’t! I’m not sure how often she’s out like that especially with the penguins? I know I’ve never seen them before, not even in photos!
Can’t beat the view while we waited for a table!
Right away we knew The Plaza is our kinda place! It’s VERY small with lots of natural light and just a very relaxed feel. I loved the vibe!
The kids being old enough to enjoy the activities on their placemats made the wait no biggie!
So thankful for quality time with G-Mama! I hope my son takes me to Disney with his family too 😉
Haha making fun of Mr Rusty 😉
We packed the kids lunch and they didn’t mind that the kids ate what we had packed for them. Zach got a burger with BBQ on it and loved it! Mrs. Charlotte and I both got sandwiches which were fantastic! The prices weren’t bad at all and it’s def a place I wouldn’t mind visiting again in the future!
When Zach and I visited Beaches and Cream we saw The Kitchen Sink and knew we’d like to go back someday as a family to share it! At The Plaza they have a mini-version of the kitchen sink but it’s in Mickey’s pants! It was like $15 for not as much ice-cream as I’d thought it have but we did get to keep the pants 😉 And it was PLENTY for our crew to enjoy! The kids got to pick which flavor they wanted as well as toppings!
When we walked up to get our table I mentioned it was Kye’s birthday and they told me they didn’t do anything for birthdays. I was a little disappointed because I thought everywhere did something birthday related at Disney! Then the Mayor of Magic Kingdom came in for a visit to the restaurant! He was adorable!!! He wished a big happy birthday to another girl in the room and gave her family a special fast pass for any ride in the park. I’m not sure how they got chosen for that? Def worth looking into! He knew the girl by name so it must have been something they signed up for or something prior to being seated! Or maybe they just had a cast member come up to them during the meal or something? Anyway it was a neat experience!
After lunch we headed back out and I LOVED walking out the doors and being greeted by both fabulous weather and an incredible view! It was just an energy that we all felt when walking down Main Street. Music was playing and you could just feel the magic! Usually at that time of day we aren’t near the castle so it was a nice change from our normal pace 🙂
Time for Britt’s fav…PhilharMagic!
There was a pretty long wait for the carousel (hello level 8 crowds!) but I didn’t mind the chance to really look at some of the details we usually miss!
Even with the crowd we still were able to get Cinderella’s horse!
Such a typical us moment…Kye and I smiling for the picture and Britt being Britt ha!
After the carousel we split up. Kye has now convinced Britt to despise Country Bear Jamboree so we skipped it this trip. Tess WILL love it though! The boys went to tackle Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain while the girls enjoyed The Enchanted Tiki Room!
The tricky thing about splitting up is timing everything. Tiki Room is pretty quick so we also had a bathroom break. But we knew the boys would still be awhile! I wasn’t sure if we should get in line for Aladdin’s Carpets or if we had time for another activity. Zach did GREAT keeping his phone handy so we could communicate! I checked out the Disney App and saw a character meeting not too far from us that was also close to where the boys were so I asked Britt and she was all about it! We headed over to meet Woody and Jesse! Britt hadn’t ever met them before 🙂
It was announced that Jesse would be leaving at 2 for the DAY. I knew we’d miss the cut off and let Britt know that we could either leave line or that we could wait and she’d only meet Woody. She was cool with just meeting Woody so we stuck it out. And y’all. We got SO LUCKY. We were the LAST people who got to meet Jesse for the day as well as the last people before Woody took an extended break! I think this was the most excited Britt got the whole day. She kept talking about how lucky we were to meet Jesse!
I do have to give a link to a flashback…I haven’t met Woody and Jesse since Kye’s first Disney visit and it was THE magical moment of the trip remember? I have a feeling Tess will be very similar as Woody is her FAV 🙂
Zach took this video of their ride on Splash Mountain
The whole time we were separated Britt kept saying “I saw Daddy!” I mean I’m sure she didn’t really see him every time but when we were walking to get in line for Woody and Jesse she said she saw him going down the mountain of Splash Mountain. That’s some crazy timing if she really did see him! When she said “I see Daddy!” while we were in line for the character meetings I didn’t even believe her at first since she’d said it so many times already haha But there they were! They got DRENCHED on Splash Mountain! Kye was HILARIOUS and kept saying “I SMELL LIKE A WET DOG”
Next they went and got in line for Big Thunder Mountain while we finished up with Woody and Jesse! We finished and went over to get in line for Magic Carpets of Aladdin. I know it’s not a “must do” ride for most people. It’s basically just Dumbo. But it’s MY ride with Kye. It’s one that we always ride together and always have fun riding so it’s become a favorite for me. While we were in line Zach was texted me telling me how CRAZY long the wait was for Big Thunder. I told him I hated not to ride Aladdin with Kye but that I understood. It was Kye’s special birthday at MK and if he wanted to wait and ride Thunder rather than get to ride Aladdin I was cool with it 🙂
We kept in good contact and we let a TON of people in front of us in line and they were able to meet us prior to us loading on the ride! Whew! I was SO glad it worked out as selfishly I’d have been disappointed not to ride with Kye 🙂
I have to stop here and give Britt some props! Girl was AMAZING. We stood in line quite awhile for Woody and Jesse as well as again for Aladdin and she NEVER complained. She was a pure joy and made the wait FUN!
With our issues regarding switching days I was able to still get decent fast passes. Britt, Mrs. Charlotte and I had one to meet Cinderella and Rapunzel at park opening. Then I got us all one for Jungle Cruise. I also got the guys one for Space Mountain later in the day and got us all one for Peter Pan that night. Not too bad! What is AWESOME is that I was able to make my itinerary with touring plans and IT suggested what fast passes for me to get and even what times to secure them 🙂
We LOVE Jungle Cruise! It’s become a good ride for a fast pass because the lines have started getting LENGTHY! The last two times we’ve been the posted wait time was 45-60 min!
We are always on the hunt for hidden mickeys and I was super excited about the LEGIT one I found on the pathway from Adventureland to the Castle 🙂 DO you see it???
Our first stop in Tomorrowland was for a snack! We decided to skip out on our usual orange ice cream treat since we had the massive ice cream at lunch. I’m SO glad we got the cream cheese filled pretzels. I just heard this week that they are no longer selling them. BOOHOO. I hope they bring them back at some point and I guess it opens us up to try something new next visit!
I know not everyone loves Monsters Inc Laugh Factory but it’s a family favorite for us. We all LOVE IT. The kids crack up the entire time…as do the adults. The show has actually gotten funnier in my opinion. This time Zach was chosen to be Randal (the bad guy) and he did awesome. He has been chosen before to be “That Guy” which was amazing 🙂
Buzz!
Zach loves to get the highest score 🙂 I recently found out if you get the high score you can request a special pin? I plan to do it next time!
We have several photo traditions at MK. We always get pics wearing the 3d glasses at PhilarMagic and we always get our “we just defeated you” pic with Zurg. We were shocked that they have now made the bars closer together so you can’t get in the cage with Zurg! I mean I get why they did it so I’m def not complaining, it was just a surprise!
Leading up to our trip Disney didn’t have Incredibles Dance Party listed so I let the kids know it may not be going on anymore. Touring Plans still showed it happening so I hoped for the best and sure enough it was going on! Yay! There is a bathroom behind where they dance so we took a potty break (it’s also where you will find people smoking which I always report to a cast member haha) and then got our boogie on! We got two videos of them dancing: video 1 and video 2! Freeze dancing is my fav 🙂
I had to include this picture because it’s SO classic G-Mama. I always tell people that my kids are probably safer when they stay with her than when I have them at home with me! She is all about some safety and is the truest of true helicopter grandmothers 😉 The kids dancing in the crowd made her nervous haha She always makes sure her babies are SAFE!
I love this!
Walking to Tomorrowland Speedway I caught this moment. So sweet! I know it’ll come too soon where Kye won’t want to hold hands with his daddy (he will, however, be forced to forever hold his mama’s hand #dealwithit)
Tomorrowland Speedway is one of Britt’s favorites! Having two kids and three adults worked out pretty well for the most part. Zach doesn’t love Dumbo or Aladdin’s carpets so Mrs. Char and I enjoyed those with the kids. Zach also likes to ride Buzz solo so he can focus on his game so that worked out too 😉 It was sweet because the kids both always wanted to ride everything with G-Mama! She was the most popular person on the trip for sure 🙂 I love that they have the close relationship with her and I was all about her spending that quality time with them. It’s why we asked her to come!!!
Britt wanted to ride with G-Mama for Tomorrowland Speedway which I was totally fine with sitting out. My foot needed a rest and I didn’t mind not having the motion sickness from the jerky ride either 😉
Haha this video Zach took 😉 Mr. Control Freak has a hard time not being the one behind the wheel especially since Kye is a more slow and steady cautious type driver 😉
The boys used their fast pass for Space Mountain and the girls headed to wait in line for Mickey. I was hoping to meet Merida but her line was way too long. Character meeting lines are THE WORST and I didn’t want to risk the boys finishing up before we were done. Zach really, really hates lines and I felt like by us girls going ahead and waiting in the longer lines of the day it helped the day flow more smoothly. We cut the wait times down BIG TIME for both Aladdin and meeting Mickey which are two that I know Zach wouldn’t love to wait a long time for 😉
Space Mountain is Kye’s fav!
While I wanted to get in line for Mickey, I also wanted to ENJOY the walk there. Why hurry up just to wait? Earlier in the day we had to let a lot of people in front of us for Aladdin! We took our time and enjoyed the walk. We stopped and got some pics and even watched some of a show (which I’m glad Britt got to see as it’s no longer running…”Dream Along with Mickey” has been running since 2006!)
I wanted a pic of Britt holding the balloons but the cast member needed to keep them tight b/c the wind. Britt was still happy as could be though!
As one last surprise for Kye’s birthday I wanted to meet the talking Mickey. Neither of my kids even knew he existed and I had heard he’ll sing “Happy Birthday” so I’m ALL about it! Even with taking our time we still needed to let people in front of us to wait for the boys 🙂
The moment she saw Mickey speak for the first time!
SO AWESOME!!!
Here’s a video of their interaction with Mickey!
I really loved how the whole area was set up. They really encouraged us to take our time with Mickey! I thought it was very smart how the cast member took the kids autograph books prior to them meeting Mickey. That way they were ONLY focused on interacting rather than worrying about getting signatures. The kids are at ages where they really do like to get the signatures (we have a scrapbook they make with the signatures and photos from the character meetings) but I do feel it takes away from the interactions. I think from now on when we meet characters I’m going to hold their books for them (or have Zach do it so I can take pics ha!) and let the character know we have the books for after they interact? I think it’ll help the kids enjoy the moment more!
Originally we had a fast pass for the parade (which they actually just did away with so I guess we’ll never have that experience ha!) but I lost it when we switched everything. We found a good spot SUPER early (so unlike us!) but that way we could eat our dinner. I think it was a smart plan as it made waiting for the parade easier since we were all eating!
Over picture taking 😉
Kye may have been over the photos but Britt was ALL ABOUT THEM. I know I bragged on her earlier but this was my FAVORITE Disney day with Britt yet! I think having Mrs Charlotte there helped her attitude some but I also think the magical age of 4 has been a blessing to Britt (and the rest of us too haha). I’m not suggesting to wait until your child is 4 for their first visit, but for Britt she enjoyed the park the most at this age than she has in the past. She was so much more positive about everything, easier going, and just FUN. I feel like we really bond at Disney…it’s “our place” 😉
I love my big girl!!!
Britt wanted to show Kye the balloons 🙂
Aunt Katie did good on this birthday gift for Britt!
What better way to pass the time than a little Main Street USA Dance Show?
I LOVE the electrical parade! When we take Tess for her first visit we will have to let her stay up late one night and go to it. I’ve heard rumors that they may be moving it to Paris and bringing a new parade to WDW. Electrical Parade is my childhood y’all!
Usually we stay in the same spot on Main Street to watch the fireworks then head out. This time however we saw the earlier showing of the parade and planned to hit up Fantasyland after the fireworks. That meant we got to move CLOSER to the castle for the Celebrate the Magic and Wishes shows! I don’t love big crowds but man being that close was SO COOL. I think I loved it the most out of our group 🙂 I mean hello “Let It Go”? AMAZING!
Wishes!!!
Last visit we didn’t ride Peter Pan because the visit prior to that Britt FREAKED OUT about it. I was able to get a fast pass at 8:00 for it so we went straight there after the fireworks show! It felt so weird to still be riding rides when we usually head for the exit 🙂
The other thing I saved for the end of the day was Enchanted Tales With Belle. Here is where Touring Plans failed us. It let me put it on my itinerary for 8:30 but it was straight up CLOSED when we got there. I felt SO BAD because Britt LOVES Belle. She had brought her Belle dress to wear and we’d given her an Itty Bitty Belle that morning that she’d been carrying around all day!
I am SO proud of her. She didn’t shed a SINGLE tear about it. We promised her that next visit Belle will be top priority and she was totally and completely cool about it. Y’all. THAT is some straight up Disney magic right there!!!
As if Britt’s awesome reaction wasn’t enough…ZACH suggested we hop on IT’S A SMALL WORLD. I mean am I in some alternate universe or something?!?! Who is this man??!?!
Another one of our classic MK pics is attempting to pull the sword from the stone. We weren’t able to take the pics earlier in the day due to a show going on at the stone (which sidenote but I’d like to see someday) so we went by there to snap the pics before leaving!
Added bonus for the night…we got to see the water parade!!! Zach and I saw it on a solo visit we had and it’s one of those fun things I wanted the kids to get to see at some point. It was a GREAT way to end an AMAZING day! I’m SO thankful we switched up our days as the weather was BEAUTIFUL and the heavy crowds didn’t affect us at all! We had an awesome time and Kye had a fantastic birthday celebration (he’s already decided that for his 8th birthday he wants to come back!)
I loved getting some pics of my sweetie back home! Now we are counting down and starting the prep work for HER first visit!!!! SO EXCITED!!!
CASHED 🙂
We knew while there that the crowds were heavier than the level 4 and we weren’t surprised to see the next day that they were an EIGHT!
Zach posted a pic on IG before I even did 🙂 I love that HE loves Disney. He may not love it as much as I do but pretty close 😉
