Walt Disney World! - Day Five! - Magic Kingdom!!!!!!!

Thursday morning arrived...me and three males :)!  We were up at 7:15 ready to start the day!  My dad and Scotty left pretty much as soon as they woke up as they had a flight to catch home later that day.  Tate and I went down to the lounge for breakfast then ventured out to catch the launch to...

THE MAGIC KINGDOM!!

View of Cinderella's castle from the launch!

The day had finally arrived!  We were going to spend the day at the Magic Kingdom!  I had waited what seemed like forever for this day to arrive :).  I'm such a princess at heart.  Gail and Marcus had set up an appointment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Cinderella's Castle for Kayla to be transformed into the princess of her dreams.  We also had an appointment for the boys to be transformed into knights. 

We walked through the gates and Tate was just thrilled.  He kept dancing around saying "There's Disneyworld!  There's Disneyworld!"  He completely equates the Cinderella Castle with Disneyworld. He didn't quite comprehend that all the parks together comprise Disneyworld.  This place, this magic place with the castle, is his Disneyworld.  Mine too sweet boy, mine too.

Looking back down on Main Street

We weren't due for our appointment at the boutique until 9:10am, so since we were early we scampered off to ride Prince Charming's Regal Carousel. 

We went back to the castle and our cousins had arrived.  We went inside to wait our turn to be transformed.

I'm disheartened to admit that this experience was far from my best parenting in a long, long time.  I had told Tate he would get to dress up as a knight and that he would probably get some gel in his hair to be a proper knight.  He had already told me he didn't want anything in his hair.

Did I listen to my child?

No.  Of course not.

I wanted him to do it.  I thought it would be so much fun.  I just *knew* it would be soooo festive.

He hated every single last minute of it. 

I was furious.

And the more furious I got, the more I knew I was being absolutely ridiculous.

I tried cajoling him to get the gel.

I tried laughing about the sparkles.

I told the poor hairdresser "Just do it, he doesn't have a choice!"

He slunk down further and further into the chair.

I threatened to take him back to the hotel if he didn't start participating and behaving appropriately.  Mind you he didn't scream or run away or anything.  He was just so sad.

And I was absolutely horrible about it.

The hairdresser said it happened all the time. I said "Try just the sparkles.  Tate you have to have the sparkles.  The other little boy had them in his hair.  With the gel."

She put the sparkles in his hair.  Other parents were watching me behave like a buffoon, yet I was still so irritated.  But in my irritation I knew I was being absolutely ridiculous.  I knew that most of my frustration was my desire to have a little girl to dress up like a princess, and I have this most perfect little boy who looks just a like a prince who could do this...FOR ME.  And he wouldn't.

What a huge weight on his little shoulders.  

Once he was allowed down off the chair, he cheered up a bit.  We looked over, and his cousin, Korey was just as similarly unimpressed with the shenanigans as well.   But his parents were seething that he wasn't having fun.  Oh no...that was just me.  I took Tate aside and said we could go to the bathroom and shake some of the sparkles out, but not too many!  He brightened up, and off we went to locate a potty, while Kayla finished her princess transformation.  In the bathroom he shook off more than I would have liked;  I gave one stern "Leave the rest in," and moved on.  I asked him why he didn't want to do the gel;  he said "I just didn't want anything in my hair."  I again asked why and he said he didn't know why.  

Sweet boy.

I owed my boy a huge apology which I gave him immediately.  And explained that Mommy sometimes has other ideas, and they're not always good.  That I loved him no matter what and that sometimes Mommy just can't let go of what she thinks is a good idea.  I told him he was a very handsome knight, and that Korey was waiting to play swords with him while we waited for Kayla.  He immediately brightened up and we went back to waiting for Kayla.  He was my happy guy again.

I hope I never forget these 10 minutes in which I lost sight of the fact that my child has a mind of his own and rightfully so, that he is in charge of his body, and that my expectations and desires are not the only ones to be considered when interacting with another human being, especially this human being I'm being allowed to raise and supposed nurture.  Nurture with love, kindness and compassion.

Getting his knight's cape!

Already Korey is not pleased.

Seriously?

So very unhappy

Please don't make me do this.

I cannot believe I brought this level
of sadness to my sweet child over
sparkles in his hair!

His hairdresser was so sweet, trying to
counteract his mother's meanness. 

She is trying so hard to make him smile!

So not impressed. 

Have you ever seen such sad little boys at the Happiest Place on Earth?

Once they were down and out of the chairs their faces quickly changed and they went back to their happy selves!!  

Giving two swords to two little boys was not the smartest idea
at the beginning of a TEN hour day at the Magic Kingdom.
Those swords begged to be swooshed all day long..at each other,
other people,  you name it.  Then guess who had to carry them?
Me and Gail.  A true penance. 

Of course after the grooming there was a photoshoot next door.  The boys rallied and smiled through that! 

Tate and Kayla, I mean Elsa

Our motely crew

A little sun before the photo shoot!

Time for LOTS of photos.  Thankfully, the photographer, unlike Tate's mother knew that boys are not terribly interested in being posed for pictures.  He did the shots of the boys with and without Kayla quickly, then settled in for about a 5-7 minute session with Kayla alone.

The boys are getting bored!!

My Knight in Shining Armour! 

I LOVE this picture!!!

Whew...so glad that's over.  Let's hit each other.

We ventured back outside to meet the Fairy Godmother!!

Signing his autograph book!

Hugs for our sweet boys!

She looks EXACTLY like the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella!!

Gail and I had stayed inside after I took the kids out to stand in line with Marcus as we were looking through the pics to order our prints.  When I made it back outside they were just talking to the Fairy Godmother and she was just a delight!  She squealed when she saw me "Are you this sweet boy's mom?  He's been looking for you, you know!  And poof there you are!!"  She told Tate "See I told you your mommy was coming right back!"  :)  She seemed to ask him where he lived/where his home was and my Tate said "Home is where you're loved."

Melt my heart.

The Fairy Godmother almost swooned in delight.  She gathered my boy up for a big hug and just said that he was the most precious child and that that made her so very happy to hear.

Me too Fairy Godmother.  Me too.

Then it was time for some fun!!!!!  First up...the Mad Tea Party ride!  I rode with the kids and they had an absolute blast!!

Dumbo was next!! Most of the rides, we adults had to ride with our kiddos because they were too young.  But it was so much fun to do so!!!

Then we saw this train!!!!!  My boy was HAPPY!

It was a spray ground, and we didn't want the kids to get very wet in their 'costumes' as we were on our way to have lunch at the castle, but we let them run around a bit!

We took a quick ride around the Magic Kingdom on the Walt Disney World Railroad before we headed off to our lunch with Cinderella and her friends at the castle!!

With lots of pomp and circumstance we were led into the entryway to meet our hostess, Cinderella.  I think the 3 of us adults were more googly eyed than the kiddos :)

My little knight wanted a photo
of this knight! 

Tate wanted a picture of the knights' armor as well!

 We made our way upstairs to the great dining hall and ordered our food and were visited by all of Cinderella's friends while we ate overlooking the Magic Kingdom!

Hugs all around!

Aurora is Kayla's favorite princess!

This was our first time to meet Princess Jasmine!!!

My yummy dessert...the clock struck midnight!

After a very long lunch we headed out to enjoy as many rides as we could!  The day was gorgeous; it was warm, but bright, just a few puffy clouds in the sky and the sun beckoning us to enjoy ourselves!  

And we did!

First up:  It's A Small World!

This has to be my most favorite ride of all time.  It's the one ride I remember riding as a little girl when I came with my parents, so it's the most nostalgic for me, and I have waited since the day Tate was born to share this ride, song and experience with him.

It's A Small World with my sweet boy!  He loved it!

Look at that smile!!

We were off to 100-Aker Wood to ride The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh!  It was a sweet ride, but the best part was all the activities while you waited in line!

They had a blast!!  Next up was the Barnstormer!  It was much like a small roller coaster, so I wasn't thrilled when I realized this, and I was worried Tate wouldn't like it.  I could not have been more wrong!  He absolutely loved it.  All 3 kids asked to ride again, but we said no as this had been our longest wait with us waiting outside in the heat for almost 25 minutes.  Plus the next wait was about 40 minutes.  But this ride and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train are the two rides Tate asked to consistently ride again the rest of the day and on Friday.

We used our fast pass for the Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid.  I wasn't terribly impressed as it was a ride it was recommended we get a fast pass for, but it was cute.

Then we were off to ride the newest ride in Fantasyland...The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.  It was so very much fun...a lot more adventurous and many more huge dips than the Barnstormer.  I had my eyes closed...ALOT!  But it was so much fun, and so very much fun to see Tate absolutely have a blast!  As soon as we came off the kids were asking to ride again!

By now we were getting exhausted...the combination of the heat, running around, being at the park so early was starting to catch up to us.  We opted to have a quick dinner at Pinocchio Village Haus and head back to our resorts afterwards.  On the way we had a few photo ops!

All knights have to try to get the sword out of the stone!

As Tate and I walked to the WDW train to go ride back to the front of the Magic Kingdom we ran into Pooh and Tigger!

I had one happy little boy on my hands.  We made our way to the train and rode happily to the front gate! 

Happy silly face!

Ten hours later at 6:30pm Tate and I left the Magic Kingdom satiated with happiness, joy, fun, giggles, laughter, excitement, exhaustion and most of all love.  It had been an absolutely magical day!