Disney World - Magic Kingdom

Our last full day in Florida was spent at the Magic Kingdom.

 As usual we were there bright and early.

 And so was everybody else.

 Our time in Animal Kingdom fooled us. Because the Magic Kingdom was bustling.

Cast members come out every morning to open the gates and they sing a little song. It was really cute, and wow, were we ever packed in like sardines to see it. And this wasn't even the busy season!

 We left the present day . . . and entered.

 Main Street, USA.

 First stop - Swiss Family Robinson tree house.

SFR is my most favorite Disney movie of all time.
As a kid, not only did I deep identify with Francis, but it inspired me to some day ride an ostrich or a zebra - I'll take either one, really - and I have yet to achieve that.

 After our Swiss fix we rode Aladdin's Magic Carpets . . .

 . . . and did the Jungle Cruise, which is hilarious.

Elin observed that these crocs looked a lot different than the ones in Animal Kingdom.

 And then Svea was cajoled into a dance. She wasn't really into it and allowed herself to be led around by the nice Disney man.

 Viggo, however, was having a fabulous time! Can you find him?

 Elin was a surprisingly good pirate and much more aggressive with her sword than the pirates bargained for.

 She had pirate lessons from the one and only, Jack Sparrow.

She passed the class!
Our daughter is now a pirate.

We're so proud.

 Viggo and Svea were also made pirates as well (:

 Whoa! While waiting in line for Goofy's Barnstormer ride, Viggo risks his life on the Wheel of Peril.

 It's a good thing Goofy had plenty of medical supplies available in case of injury.

No trip to Disney is complete without taking a spin on the teacups!

 Tom Sawyer's Island was a fun little adventure.

 Checking the map.

 Did Tom and Huck stow a ride on this?

 The photo from Splash Mountain. That was a very wet ride, especially since it kept resetting. We spent 15 minutes on a 10 minute ride, and I think at least 14 1/2 minutes was spent with me being stuck under a waterfall. Which the kids thought was hilarious, and they keep telling people this was their favorite part of Disney. What?!

 Nate treated us to strawberry icees while we settled in to watch the parade. We had been moving constantly in the hot weather, and we all needed a break. God bless the parade.

 It's a new parade, and only one word can describe it: lavish.

 Not one square inch of any float was lacking in color, flowers, sparkles, or flames.

 Of course we barely got a glimpse of Anna and Elsa the first time they went past us. On a rotating float. They were the only princesses the girls really wanted to see, and The Disney Powers That Be put them on a float that rotates so only half of the parade route gets to actually see them and wave to them. I'm sorry, but massive fail, Disney.

 Ulf, my favorite Tangled thug, was there too.

 And Rapunzel, with her frying pan.

Crazy, right? These costumes remind me of the wacky get-ups worn at the Olympic opening ceremonies in Albertville, France in 1992.

I'm sure you are thinking the same thing.

 At least they put Ariel in easy view!

 Peter Pan. Rainbows and skulls. How charming.

 A fire-breathing dragon from Sleeping Beauty.

 This guy was rigged up inside the dragon and got to push a button to have fire come out of the dragon's mouth. What a fun job!

 There was plenty of dancing and singing.

 Mickey and Minnie (:

 The girls loved it. Except the part where they didn't see the Frozen sisters.

Missing Elsa and Anna sprung Nate into heroic intent. He was determined that the girls would see them. So we ran across the park to find another spot in the route to try and catch a glimpse. We waited with bated breath once we found a spot at least a quarter mile from where we saw the Frozen float the first time. As Elsa and Anna approached us . . . they slowly rotated away from us. Again. (!!) Nate continued to run with the girls to find another spot but to no avail. I squeezed into the crowd at another spot and hastily took this picture. Well, whatever.

Massive fail, Disney. For heaven's sakes don't put the most popular princesses of all time on a rotating float.

Egypt in It's A Small World.
This was Elin's favorite ride. I did this ride twice with her. FYI, we walked right on it around 8 pm. There was no line at all. It was just us, and a bunch of Japanese tourists that thought Elin was cute. So if you're going to Disney, consider waiting until evening to do this ride. Because we waited for a bit the first time.

In case you haven't ever noticed, It's A Small World is the only ride at Disney that doesn't have a Disney character tied into it. Which begs the question, where did all these small people come from?

 Dumbo.

 Elin got lots of compliments on her special Elsa t-shirt (:

While on the Dumbo ride, I couldn't help but notice the massive storm clouds that were quickly overtaking all the blue sky.

 And then it POURED.

 Nate packed all our rain jackets in his Duluth Pack.
And then the zipper busted.
But it was worth it. Right, honey?

 Tomorrowland was pretty much shut down. We had been next in line for Mickey's Speedway but then it closed. Risk of electrocution by lightning or something . . .

 Flooded Magic Kingdom.

 A cast member unclogging the drain.

 Look at those clouds! It continued to rain off and on for the rest of the evening.
The good news was, a lot of people left.
Not everyone was blessed with a husband who had a broken backpack full of rain jackets.

 Viggo tries to pull out the Sword in the Stone.

I think there should be more things to appeal to boys at Disney. The girls have princesses everywhere. And what does Viggo get? A stone, stuck in a rock. Where was King Arthur?? He was missing, and that would have been such fun. Disney should resurrect The Sword in the Stone and do something with it.

 In an effort to hope to find Elsa and Anna, we found Sleeping Beauty and Snow White instead.
The girls were a little disappointed but polite (we had received a tip that Anna and Elsa were hiding somewhere, went to find them, only to hear they had just left.  Just missing them seemed to be the day's theme). Viggo was such a good sport, might I add. He was very supportive of the Quest For Elsa and Anna and tagged along good-naturedly, never complaining. Bless his heart! You are such a sweetheart, Viggo!

Nate also deserves a medal. He is a little creeped out by the Disney princess ladies, and here he spends significant time trying to find them so the girls can meet them. What a nice guy.

 Snow White was very sweet, even though all Elin talked about was Elsa. And all Svea talked about was Olaf. And all Snow White talked about was the Seven Dwarfs. As far as conversations go, this one wasn't very productive.

 And then thankfully the rain let up just enough for some fireworks!

 They reopened the Mickey's track and this manic drove me around.

 And then just like that, we were back on the plane and flying home.

If only it was really that easy! I made things difficult by losing my ID somewhere in the Magic Kingdom. And Viggo lost his favorite hat, and he and Nate had to go back to Disney the next morning to get it. But there was one more glorious hotel continental breakfast that involved Nutella, so at least something was going right.

Home sweet home! We had fun, but nothing beats Minnesota. Uff da!