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If you missed Part Two.. Click Here!
Last year we did the awesome Chef Mickey’s character breakfast in the Contemporary Resort and I highly recommend it. It’s the perfect place to meet Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, and Donald Duck and get all those photo memories out of the way. TIP: Book reservations for 7:15 AM so you can be one of the first ones seated. You can enjoy an hour long experience and then go directly to the Magic Kingdom on the monorail. If you are not staying at the Contemporary, just show them your reservation confirmation so you can park there.
This year we decided to try the character lunch at The Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom. Again, reservations are necessary. We saw lots of tired families trying to get a table and there was a very long wait. I made reservations on-line for 11:45 AM. There is a large buffet with lots of food choices for adults and kids. And you get to meet Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore! Piglet even helped us with our check-in. He was so cute. And Annabel loved him the best because he’s pink, of course.
Then, we were off to Adventureland! I really thought the kiddies would love Pirates of the Caribbean, so we were a little bummed out when they just wanted to skip it entirely. Bean LOVED the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. It’s a giant tree house with LOTS of steps. It was a little steep for Annabel, but she was fine to enjoy a popsicle in the shade.
Then we FastPassed the Jungle Cruise and went on the Magic Carpets of Aladdin ride. It’s very similar to the Dumbo Flying Elephant ride in Fantasyland, but I loved that our family of four could ride together on one “carpet.”
That is Bean with the super cute Mickey Mouse bucket hat. TIP: Bring a bucket style hat for the kids AND you. I forgot my straw hat and I wish I had it. It gives your head instant shade. And SPF 50 is also a must.
Then we used our FastPass for the Jungle Cruise. We enjoyed the Jungle Cruise so much that we forget to take some photos! It’s a very relaxing, shady ride and it’s a great break from all the action in the park. The kids loved visiting the different continents and seeing all the cool animals. The tour guides must be trained in comedy because the corny one-liner jokes just keep on coming. But it was fun.
Then we “cruised” to the front of the park to get a good spot for the 3 PM Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade. TIP: Head over at 2:15 PM to get a spot for the 3 PM parade. There are only a few shady areas along the parade route near the entrance. We managed to get a spot by a tree so I could park the kids in the strollers. Daddy left to get drinks and lollipops. The time moved quickly as everyone else started to pile in and look for a spot to sit. We were so glad we were near some shade so we could enjoy the fun.
The parade is great for the kiddies to see their favorite Disney characters all at once. Daniel loved Peter Pan, Captain Hook, and Lilo and Stitch and Annabel loved Cinderella, Princess Tiana, and Belle, her favorite.
Final note: I planned to take Annabel to Storytime with Belle at the Fairytale Garden behind Cinderella’s Castle, but it has now changed to Storytime with Rapunzel from Tangled. Annabel has not seen the movie Tangled yet, so it was okay that we opted out of the ENORMOUS waiting line. The line was at least 2 hours long, so definitely make a plan to have someone wait in line while everyone else grabs lunch. We did get a little sneak peek look at Rapunzel (and Flynn Ryder!) when we walked by. It definitely looks neat and worth the wait.
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