Disney Vacation Day 0: Travel & Magic Kingdom

Okay, I know it's been a while.  And so much has happened since I last wrote and I most definitely owe you some updates.  But before I get there (sometime next week), I am going to start fresh right now and tell you what's going on right this very minute because...

WE ARE IN DISNEY WORLD!!!!

That's right, the princess is back in her castle and I brought Alli & Ryan along with me.  Alli got to experience her first airplane ride.  I wish I could see the world through those eyes where everything is thrilling.  She couldn't stop talking about how awesome it was that the ground looked like a patchwork quilt and that we were sailing through clouds.

Oh, and Mikey got his wings.

So we arrived in Orlando around lunch time after dropping Riley off in Little Rock with my parents.  I miss that sweet baby girl desperately, but she is getting some grandparent time, and I am not having to lug her and all of her stuff across the Magic Kingdom to wait in line for two hours.  It's really working out best for everyone.

But I digress.  Have I mentioned how much I love this castle?  Despite the fact that one of the bigger letdowns of my life was walking through it to realize it was pretty much just a giftshop sixteen years ago, I still love it.

After a walk around and a quick lunch, we used a Fast Pass+ and hopped on Space Mountain.  It was all fun and games...

...until the ride broke down midway thorough, the lights came on, and Space Mountain was revealed to be not quite so pretty.  Needless to say - what a buzzkill that our first ride in Disney ended in a mechanical issue.

But we soldiered on and used the Fast Pass from Space Mountain to go on the Buzz Lightyear ride.  Essentially, you ride in a cart and shoot a lazer at targets to help Buzz Lightyear defeat the evil Emperor Zurg.

Alli and I didn't do half bad, but Ryan of course dominated all by himself.

After the Buzz Lightyear ride, we headed for Fantasyland to see Arial's ride called Under the Sea.  Then we met Ariel in her grotto and my little tomboy absolutely adored her.  Like got all shy and sweet and wanted to go back after we left.  And Ariel got to be the first signature in Alli's autograph book - so much fun.

 Ryan gave the ol' Sword in the Stone a try, and I am sorry to report he is not the king of England.

We did the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor which Alli thoroughly enjoyed, and then we waited in line for an hour for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.  It was so much fun!  Disney is meticulous about every last detail, so even waiting in the queue line was enjoyable with spinning barrels of jewels and fountains that changed colors when you touched them.  Alli was so entertained that she only asked me "How much longer?" a dozen times.  Progress, people.  And Ryan made a buddy on his ride...

After the mine train, we decided it was time to head back to the resort for our dinner reservation at Chef Mickey's, which is in our hotel.  Alli was not keen on leaving, but we reminded her that we still have all day tomorrow set aside for Magic Kingdom, so she agreed.  She was glad she did, because dinner at Chef Mickey's means a ton of character autographs!  The restaurant is buffet-style dining, but the major Mickey characters all actually stop at your table individually to interact with you.

We'd been up since 4:30AM between flying, driving, and Disney, so we were worn out after dinner and decided to head up to the room for some rest.  But Disney wasn't done with us yet - we actually watched the Kiss Goodnight fireworks show from our balcony.

What an amazing way to end Day 0 in the Happiest Place on Earth!