Day 3
At 7:52AM and we were walking through the Magic Kingdom front gate bag check after catching a Uber ride to the Contemporary Hotel parking lot, which was in walking distance to the front gate of the Magic Kingdom. (We were becoming Disney professionals learning the tricks.) What a fun and busy 3rd day, we had!
8:30AM - We had a much anticipated Beast castle breakfast reservation. It was good, nothing amazing. I would definitely choose the main princess castle meal over this one.
8:55AM (before the gates even opened to the general public,) we were first in line at Fairytale Garden to meet Cinderella and Elena. I had no idea who Elena was before this trip and definitely didn't know she was considered one of the main top 12 Disney princesses!
The three biggest tips I could ever offer for Disney Wold is (1) get to the park 15 minutes before it opens - you will get more accomplished in first 2 hours in the early morning at every park, than you will for the following 5 hours! (2) Book character breakfasts for 45-60 minutes before the park opens. For example, we had Beast castle breakfast reservations at 8:30 and the park didn't open that day to the general public until 9AM. So we got into the park a whole hour earlier and then had time to eat breakfast and get to the first attraction before they even allowed everyone in! It makes for the absolute best day! (3) Utilize and plan out Fast Passes to start around 11AM or after. Before that time, you don't need them! But at that exact point, you will be thrilled to have them as it's getting hot and lines are finally getting really long!
9:15: We were first in line to meet Merida from Brave. She was the princess that I was the most excited to meet. I love her outgoing and strong personality.
9:30AM: Tea cups. Delaney insisted on a pink one, just like Addie had been photographed in so many years ago. Since it had just opened, we got to see Alice and Wonderland there too!
(Delaney age 4 years on left & Addison age 2 years and 10 months on right.)
After that After that, we rode Aladdin Magic Carpet, watched the Tiki show, rode the entire train ride all around all of Magic Kingdom and then started using our Fast Passes for the Jungle Cruise. Yet again, Delaney was obsessed asking, "Is this what Addie saw then she rode this ride?"
11:40AM, we happened to stumble upon the Friendship Fare Show in front of the big castle with all the princess, on our way across the park to use the rest of our Fast Passes starting with the Peter Pan Magic Carpet Ride.
Then, it was starting to get hot, so we paused for a fun frozen lemonade break and outfit change before we had our Fast Pass to meet Ariel in her grotto!
We had been going straight through for nearly 6 hours and on a whim, I asked Delaney if she wanted to do a roller coaster and surprisingly she was up for it so we headed for the Barnstormer - we waited in by far our longest line for 30 min, which was turly hot but she was SO excited!!! She did so great and at the end! Afterwards she kept saying "I loved it!" This was a true example and memory, of how much she had really emotionally grown in just the last few months.
Although we had done absolutely everything we had set our mind on, we weren't quite ready to leave so we rode the Ariel Story ride again, which had been one of our very favorites. I will always remember that Delaney was in absolute best mood! And yet again, she said it was her favorite.
It was hot but we asked her if there was anything else she wants to do, before we left and she said "Let's go shopping!" So, shopping we did! Earrings to remember her trip. She also got dusted with special Fairy dust.
We said goodby and walked about to monorail at 2:50 and she passed out quickly and slept till 5:30PM, while Yaya and I relaxed outside celebrating our hugely successful 3 day trip to Disney World.
We fed the wild turkeys and headed for a yummy Italian dinner.
Then it was a relaxing evening in the hotel room with no alarm to set for the morning. Yay!
Such a perfect day!
Fun memories from today:
1) Playing tic-tac-toe at the Italian Resturaunt and her getting very competitive and telling me where I couldn't mark! I'm seeing how, at 4, she really understands games and now makes up her own rules that benefit her.
2) Delaney's very first roller coaster ride.
3) How obsessed she was with wanting to do exactly what Carter and Addie had done when they came to Disney World over 5 years prior.
4) Delaney was so into "trying new things" this trip. Spaghetti with meat sauce, even.
Overall, 4 was a great time for Disney World for Delaney. The only downside is probably just lack of endurance and definite need for a stroller. This wasn't too much of an issue for us since it was everything just on Delaney's time. Even though our lightweight umbrella stroller was perfect, there were many parts that strollers were not allowed, times when she was tired and hot and so I carried her, mainly standing in lines. The fact that she is still fairly light and petite made it not too big of a deal.
Do I think she will remember this trip in 5 or 10 year? No, but I don't think she would have at 6 or 7 years old, either. I think it's the joy and memories and the way she felt now, the new experiences she had and the pure love for meeting all the Disney Princesses and characters that I am certain would have been not as exciting by 7 and 8 years old. I think having the hundreds of amazing pictures are what she will always "remember," similar to myself.
The night before we left San Antonio for Disney World, I had some regrets not bringing Carter and Addie along. They are such amazing kids and are at such great ages but while we were there, I felt very confident in several different occasions and knew it was the best decision for everyone that we made this trip all about Delaney and her interests. There were so many times in the 3 full days that I imagined what our schedule would have been like with all 3 there at the same time and it would have been fun yet very chaotic. Plus, Delaney was a perfectly behaved angel the entire time, being the only child. Watching all the multiple meltdowns around me while at the Disney parks, made me happy it was a simple and easy trip with Delaney and my mom.
Overall, now that we three are on the plane in the final few moments of landing back to the real world life in San Antonio, I reflect back and feel like this trip was so perfect, simple and easy and one of the only times that the entire world has ever revolved around Delaney. Being a 3rd child, with 2 very active and involved older siblings, her schedule has always revolved around theirs. This trip was a special gift to her to show her how special of a little girl she is to all of us and how she deserves not just to be the tag along little sister.
