Day Three: Magic Kingdom

Up bright and early to start the day. To get to Magic Kingdom, you have to park and take the monorail, which adds a bit of time.

But we were ready for the opening of the park. We hoofed it down Main Street, USA, which looks a bit like an idealized version of a Vermont village, such as Woodstock. Which is to say I always ask myself why people don't build like that anymore. It's so much more attractive than strip malls and subdivisions. Of course, the entire world can't look like that, but that look is so much more attractive that I've got to think there would be people who would pay a premium to live and shop and work somewhere with that aesthetic.

M took the little guy to ride on Dumbo, while I took the older kids to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We went a second time when M&L arrived, then went on Splash Mountain. L was a little scared by these rides but not so scared he didn't want to try them with some reassurances.

There was a young girl in front of us at BTM Railroad who was crying and saying she didn't want to go again. Her parents said, "We can't go back now. This is the only way out."

"No, it's not. Just down there."

"Nope, that's against the rules."

Her mother said, "Last time you liked it. You were saying 'wheee!'"

"I was screaming."

So, with that in mind, we let Liam opt out of riding it a second time. N had been much this way last time, but two years added a lot to his confidence and he wanted to ride just as much as E and I.

We did Pirates of the Carribean, the cheesy Jungle Cruise, and the train ride, and then headed back to the condo for rest/nap time. Again, I wasn't sure I was ready, but it was a good choice. We were refreshed in the evening while other parents had kids who'd zonked out or were melting down.

In the evening, we went on Space Mountain, Stitch's Great Escape, Buzz Lightyear, the Haunted Mansion, and a few others. L didn't go on the first two. The line for Space Mountain never really died down, but we got Fast Passes, which cut us to the front. We go back to MK on Friday and I hope to go to SM one more time.

We tried to go on BTM Railroad again at the end, but they were having some technical difficulties, so we just headed home. Main Street and Cinderella's Castle looked very impressive with their lighting and ornamentation, but I felt the seasonal equivalent of jet lag, looking at all this Christmas stuff in sub-tropical Florida, three weeks before Thanksgiving.

Because of the crowds leaving the park, we took the ferry across the lagoon instead of the monorail. The kids were all very good today, but it's good to be home and have them down for the night.