The Magic Kingdom

Monday found us on the ferry across the lake to the gates of the Magic Kingdom, the original Walt Disney world, complete with Mickey Mouse and all of his friends.

 (Park the golf cart, walk to the boat dock)

 (Waiting in line for the ferry)

(On the ferry watching all the scenery and people)

This was the logical choice of parks, since we only had time (and funds!) for one while we were here, and it was all about the KT, don't ya know! Sadly, we were there on the first day of the Thanksgiving week holiday, so we weren't the only ones there.  Not by a long shot. The park was PACKED!  Whew!

Molly was meeting us there, so we kept in touch with her by phone until she could find us.  We got in line for a ride first thing, the Snow White one.  I guess we should have paid more attention to the name of the ride, as it was a bit scary for KT.  The ride was called "Snow White's Scary Adventure".  She was sitting in between her mom and dad, so she did okay, but I think it was a bit dark for a almost 2 year old.

After they bought KT some new Disney sunglasses, we went to the Winnie the Pooh ride. I wish Molly had been there in time to fill us in on the rapid entry deal that Disney has now, because we got in the "stand by" line, only to spend the next hour wrapping around a long wait for this ride.  They do have some kid-friendly things along the way to keep the kids busy, but this was torturous. Poor KT was getting more and more tired, and was actually asleep before we got on the ride. If you go, please KEEP YOUR TICKET and pay attention to the rapid ride process.  I don't think its a fair way to treat people, but its what they are doing, so I guess its the best way to go.

We got to see Mickey, Minnie and the entire crew dance at the Dream Along With Mickey dance at Cinderella's Castle.  KT was mesmerized!!

After this ride, Molly took the crew into the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, while I kept KT (sleeping soundly) out in a nice shady and breezy area so she could nap.  I really enjoyed this, watching people is one of my favorite things to do.  Wow, there were some real sites too (some good and some scary!) Disney attracts people from all over the globe.  It was interesting to hear all of the languages and dialects as people passed by.  The crew had a great time on the Laugh Floor, and I heard that John got picked to be Sully.  Wish I had seen that! Did anyone get a picture?

Then we were off to find some lunch.  KT was awake by then, ready for some more adventure. Following our guide, Molly, we found our way to the Tortuga Tavern for some Mexican fare. Delicious -- we were hungry!
Then, if my memory serves, Molly went and got us some quick-pass tickets for the Jungle ride, which we couldn't get on until a bit later, so we went to see the Country Bear Jamboree, which I think KT liked, after she got over the shock of seeing bears sing!
It was raining when we got out of this presentation, so we ducked in to do some shopping until it let up.  When we came out, we got to catch the parade, KT really enjoyed seeing all of her favorite princesses!  She was so cute, watching her face was worth every cent!

Over to the Jungle Ride last (for us) which was my favorite of the day.  Natives, snakes, jungle explorers, zebras (wezbas in KT speak), elephants, alligators, water falls, the works! It was a cool way to end our park experience.

At this point, John and I had had enough...my dogs were barking and John's were too.  We opted to head back to the ferry while the rest of the crew stayed a bit longer.  John and I stopped and got a reservation at the Settlement for the buffet dinner later that night, and headed back to the campsite for some R&R.
I'm going to have to finish this day on another post!  I'm exhausted from just reading about this day...  stay tuned!