@WaltDisneyWorld – The Magic Kingdom – #DisneySMMoms

My first trip to Walt Disney World was in April, 2012. I knew the Magic Kingdom was for kids so I did not bother to visit that park. And my son had been there with my parents when he was 5, so we really had no reason to go, and doesn’t that make things easier when you have 3 other huge parks to cover with more age appropriate things to see?

My next trip to Walt Disney World was in December, 2012. We had no choice but to go to the Magic Kingdom as our trip was centered around the opening of New Fantasyland. I began to see I may have made an error in my rush to judgement regarding the age appropriateness of this park. After the opening night event we came back for more…

It is important that adults admit when they are wrong. I was wrong. We squeezed in a few adventures in the Magic Kingdom in December and it turns out it only left me wanting more. For example, how silly is Tom Sawyer Island with its rickety bridge and silly mines? Not silly at all.  I love it! The scary dark mines are terrific fun, I went back on my most recent trip this May! The rickety old bridge is a barrel bridge and also a ton of fun, my son and I can’t walk on it and rattle it enough! It seems daddy Mitch has gotten over himself and woken up to the fact that everything is fun for all ages, everywhere at Walt Disney World!

During our most recent trip to WDW, of all the parks, we spent the most time at the Magic Kingdom. Since our last trip I had developed a bucket list of must do items at the Magic Kingdom and we actually closed the park at 1:30 a.m. on one of these visits. Yes, that was my best day ever on this trip!

This trip we spent a lot of time with my “blog wife” Linda nd her daughter from NYCSingleMom.com. This is important information as I began to face some fears. My last trip I braved the Barnstormer (I thought a ride for 3 foot tall children and above would be safe for me, I barely made it!). I asked Linda if I could get through Splash Mountain alive. My spouse could only tell me I would never survive the 5 story drop. Linda on the other hand, as a good blog wife should, allayed all my fears and told me it was OK, she had done it, and she doesn’t like scary rides. She sat next to me and kept me calm the whole time. And I did it! I felt just like my son after our last trip when he started to face his fears on Space Mountain! And yes, if you didn’t figure it out, I am a big baby! Although you can see in the picture, my brave spouse sitting behind us, doesn’t have on such a brave face!

The next fear I faced was on Dumbo’s ride! Just kidding. I had read so much about the doubling of the capacity of the ride and the indoor playground, to relieve the stress of the wait time for the kids, that I had to see for myself. I never made it on during the December trip and I was determined to do every ride in this park during this visit! I let my son steer us high into the cloud, and I reminded him at Disney I am a kid again, my goal is to enjoy every minute of these wonderful experiences!

One show that I could not miss, because I had read about it prior, was the Country Bear Jamboree. What was the hubbub about, that it was old and outdated? It was not open on our last trip so I made everyone join me and we headed in. Silly bears? No decades old raciness from last century! What a great show for the parents to enjoy some old fashioned, racy humor! The kids don’t get it and just think it is a cute show with talking and singing bears. The adults loved this one!

At this point a break was necessary, my son and I split a turkey leg. I thought about it on my last trip but I had to ease into it gradually, turns out my son and I made a delicious lunch out of it!

We went on It’s a Small World again. I went on in December and could not place it, but later remembered the only other time I had been on it was when it premiered at the New York’s World Fair in 1964. That’s nostalgia for you. I would be very happy to sit on the ride many more times, I will always have those magical memories! We also went on Peter Pan again, I had forgotten that you fly around on top of the scenery, but again I am facing my fears all the time these days! We also went into the Haunted Mansion again, and it was close to midnight! How scary! Well, not very, I do think they could do more with that ride. Of course at that point we were very happy just to be sitting down and resting!

I could go to the Monster, Inc. Laugh Floor show every day. It is hysterical! We tried to sit where they would pick us out of the crowd to make fun of us, but alas, maybe next time. Having the comedians behind stage interacting with the audience is brilliant. We also went on the outdated Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress, my bucket list this trip included going on every single ride that I had not been on, my son wanted to stay on and keep watching the pet dog in the various scenes! He is easy to please! And the Speedway, I am glad I don’t have to let my son drive me around for real for many more years!

And last, but not least, Mickey’s PhilharMagic. I thought the park closed at 1 am, but that’s when this show started. The 3D was excellent, but I will have to go back when I am more awake to fully appreciate the show. And this is where I took my favorite picture of the entire trip, titled, “The Adults Win!” Poor kids, they were exhausted and the parents wanted to play all night!

We were exhausted and walked out of the Magic Kingdom at 1:30 a.m. I was so happy. I did not know if I had the strength to get back to our hotel, but I didn’t care! We were in the Magic Kingdom till 1:30 a.m.!

 

Disclosure: I attended this event as a guest of Walt Disney World. I paid a conference fee and received free park tickets, some lodging and some meals. All opinions are always 100% honest and my own. I was not required to write this post as part of my conference attendance.