Day 1

We drove into the parking lot just as MGM was opening the gates. The plan was to head straight to Midway Mania as soon as Collin got his ticket. Mak and I already had our Annual passes, but Collin still needed to buy his. That means that our APs will expire in March, and Collin's won't expire until next Sept. Hmmmm...got me thinking. Next September, Clara Beth will be 3, which means we will have to start buying her tickets. And Mak's and my passes would have expired, so we would also have to pay for tickets for us for a trip that time of year. BUT, if Collin and I went ALONE, we would only need to buy my ticket. GREATLY reducing the price of the overall trip. That's right, y'all. I've already got a short, adults only trip planned (in my head) for next September. We'll see if it actually happens.

So, anyway, back to this trip. We did head straight to Midway Mania. First, though, I have to comment on the crowds. They were not there. I am not kidding, THIS is the time of year to go. We did not wait in lines. I thought I had seen the parks empty before, but I have NEVER seen Disney like this. Zero wait times were posted. It was FABULOUS! Trust me, if you are considering planning a Disney trip, it's worth it to take the kids out of school for a few days and go in September. I am convinced that you can do more in 2 days this time of year than you could do in a whole week in the summer.

This ride ROCKS!!!! We all loved it!
After riding the toy story ride, we headed to one of CB's favorites, Little Mermaid. My girl loves Ariel. Then it was over to Playhouse Disney, another favorite. Notice the lack of people in this next pic.

They both loved it as always, although I'm sad to report that Mak seems to be outgrowing Playhouse Disney. He got a little bored with it. He's growing up.

From there, we headed to the resort to see if our room was ready. It was only 10:30, so we didn't expect it to be, but we were wrong! We found our room, unpacked, and headed to the boat bound for the Magic Kingdom. The boat was our favorite thing about Wilderness Lodge. It was relaxing, fairly quick, the kids loved it, and we didn't have to fold up the strollers to get on.


Trying to catch the first glimpses of Cinderella's castle

One of Miss Priss's favorite things about Disney? The cups with Mickey on them. She loves them. Although she wishes Minnie was included.
Teacups!

Indy Cars...Mak LOVES bumping the person in front of him. RULE-BREAKER!!! And he's the one who's always trying to take the "rule-breakers" to jail. Here he is bumping me and CB.

Little loves with my favorite girl

Mak kind of turned into a wienie this trip. I'm not saying that in a mean way, just stating the facts. Rides that he used to love, he refused to ride this time because he was too scared. We waited to ride Goofy's Barnstormer, and when it was our turn he backed out. This used to be one of his Favorites! Oh, well. While he and I were in line for Barnstormer, Collin and CB explored Minnie's house. This is where she wants to live when she grows up. It's pink and purple. What could possibly be better?
From there we boarded the train, and Mak asked if he could be the guest conductor. If you are going to Disney soon, ask to do this! Mak has done it before, and he loves it every time. This was the best, though, because the real conductors let him stand in the back with them for the entire ride. He LOVED this, and we loved watching him.

Yelling "All Aboard!"

Telling Daddy what the tracks look like.
I love that sweet face so much!
I love my whole family SO MUCH!!!
Not sure if you can see it, But that is the Pirates of the Caribbean ride sign. It says Wait Time 0 Minutes! Unbelievable!

Jungle Cruise. We saw this face the entire trip. She was AMAZED. I think just over age 2 is my FAVORITE Disney age.
Mickey ice-cream bar!
Our cool chick kept these glasses on all the time. Even inside. She loved wearing them. everyone thought it was hilarious.
We went back to the hotel to grab some supper and get to bed early. We knew it was a long shot because we didn't have reservations, but we asked if there was any possibility of us eating at Whispering Canyon Cafe, one of the restaurants in the lobby of our resort. We have eaten here before, and we love it. It's such a fun atmosphere, and the food's good too. Surprisingly, they said it would be a 20 minute wait. Even more surprisingly, our pager went off after about 45 seconds. We were seated and the fun began!

Collin knew to drink his drink REALLY fast so they would bring him one in a HUGE glass. Mak and CB thought this was hilarious.

When you ask for ketchup here, your waitress makes you stand in your chair and together you yell "WE NEED KETCHUP!" Then the whole restaurant brings you bottles of ketchup. You will then return the favor by bringing ketchup to the next person who yells for it. SO FUN!
Stick pony races. Notice the sunglasses are still on.
Taking ketchup to another kid
Our waitress. Mak's first crush of the trip. There were many.
The first day was a huge success. The surprise went just as I had hoped it would, and we got 2 parks done instead of just the 1 I had planned on . We were all asleep by 8:00, ready to tackle the BIG one the next day...TEST TRACK. Do you think he did this ride that he's been anticipating for nine months or did he chicken out?