July 11, 2022

 What an awesome day!! Today we enjoyed Magic Kingdom to the fullest. We stayed up late to purchase Genie+ and got up early to select our first lightning late and we bought the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Individual Lightning Lane for $10 each. 

Our goal was to leave at 7:45 to head to the park and we caravanned our way over. We got through parking with ease and got our spot. we decided to take the ferry over from the transportation center to Magic Kingdom. There were a decent number of people and we had to wait in a short line to get through. Once we were through the plan was to head to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, but we got separated from the McDougalls and Alts and when we arrived to the area we noticed Splash Mountain had a low wait so we switched to that line.

When we got off the ride we met up with them at Prince Charming’s Caroussel.  Laura and family hadn’t been on the Little Mermaid ride so we headed that way next! It was fun to do rides as a group, but we also split up and certain groups went on rides. Space Mountain was an example of this. We got our lightning lane for this, but due to ride restrictions Rocky and Peyton could not go on it so AJ and I took the kids to the PeopleMover. This was Teddy, Thea, AJ, Riley and Liz’s first time on Space Mountain. Riley, Thea and Teddy LOVED IT and wanted to go again. Teddy and Riley got to go again because we switched kids and AJ and I used our lightning lane to ride with them. They had a nice misting spray in Tomorrowland and Rocky saw Buzz Lightyear. 

We all gathered again by Dumbo before heading to Ray’s Starlight Cafe for lunch. They switched up the menu a bit- Thom got the new BBQ chicken sandwich and I got a burger. The kids enjoyed chicken strip kids meals. After lunch people had different appointments so we kind of split and some of us went to the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean while others rode different rides or met princesses. We were lucky to catch a parade and the kids loved watching the characters. Wendy came over to Peyton and Teddy and talked for a minute and a character on stilts came over and waved to them too. Teddy got a high five from Doc! Rocky sat on Thom’s shoulders and wasn’t sure what to think about the whole thing! The parade floats were beautiful and had so many moving pieces. We then went to our Big Thunder Mountain Railroad lightning lane. This was Rocky’s first roller coaster! He LOVED it! He got so comfortable he even wanted to put his little hands up. After relaxing in the AC for the Hall of Presidents and PhilharMagic we met up for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train reservation. The PhilharMagic show added Coco and it was so fun to watch the boys try to reach for the different 3D items. I feel like we did a nice job sticking to the AC and trying to keep the kids cool as best as we could. 

Everyone loved Seven Dwarfs Mine Train—it is such a smooth ride. Their hands went in the air and they screamed and laughed. We got a quick photo outside the castle and then headed to dinner at Tony’s. I didn’t know Tony’s existed before, but it was a good meal! It is Lady and the Tramp themed and has Italian food. The boys laid down on the booth, rested and played on the phone while we waited for food. We enjoyed garlic bread, spaghetti and meatballs and chicken parmesan. We had been promising the boys ice cream, and luckily their meal came with gelato for an option for a side so they enjoyed their vanilla gelato with chocolate syrup and sprinkles. Thom and I enjoyed a beer and glass of wine for dessert. 

We had thought that we would have to leave after dinner because we thought they were reaching the end of their energy, but dinner recharged everyone. Mickey and Minnie were right next door so we waited in a line to meet them. I think this was the highlight of my day. Watching the kids, Rocky in particular, meet Mickey and Minnie was so fun. They just started allowing character hugs again and seeing Rocky give Mickey a hug made me so happy. It felt like we had some quality dedicated time with them. It was so nice. 

We made a lightning lane reservation for the Buzz Lightyear ride before doing SplashMountain again with the McDougalls. Thom earned so many points on the Buzz ride. Rocky and Teddy liked controlling the spin of the seat. 

Splash Mountain with the group was fun- they will soon be changing that ride to Princess and the Frog so we tried to soak in the last ride of Brer Rabbit. The McDougalls had a Big Thunder Mountain lightning lane so we joined them for one more roller coaster ride! We snuck in “It’s a Small World” and tried to meet the Alts for fireworks. Rocky and Teddy seemed to fight over who could sit by Riley and Thea for most of the day. Unfortunately, there were so many people that we couldn’t get to them and they forced us to the end of Main Street by the entrance of the park. After one firework song Thom and I looked at each other and knew we needed to start leaving or we would be stuck in some crazy traffic. 

We jumped on a monorail as the fireworks were still going and watched from the monorail. We met a nice couple from Mississippi whose brother owns a BBQ restaurant in Des Moines. There was very little traffic on the way back and the boys fell asleep with the top down in the back seat. 

It was an absolutely wonderful day! The kids were all troopers and some wonderful memories were made with cousins.