Day Two: The Magic Kingdom

On Wednesday Morning, Mad Dog headed off to his meetings while the kids and I headed off to The Magic Kingdom with Sean and Tiffany. We took the shuttle to MK and arrived shortly after the park opened. On Main Street we purchased the kids Mouse Ears with their names embroidered on the back and Lex meet his first  Disney Character - Pluto. Sean had purchased autograph books for each of the kids, to collect all the characters they met. Lex of course was not sure about standing with Pluto, so Aunt Tiffany helped out. I have been to Disney 2 other times in my life. The first when I was about 11 years old and the second when I was in college at the age of 21. Each time has been very different than the last. The newest thing I noticed this time was the amount of Disney Photographers they have posted around the park, all armed with the Disney PhotoPass card. This card allows the photographer to take your photos and scan the bar code, allowing you to access your photos on line - which you can purchase at a completely outrageous rate. The biggest issue I have with this practice is that the photographers are not very good. All the photos that were taken for us were terrible and I found mine to be framed and composed better. 


We made our way through Toon Town and over to Fantasy Land, where Lex rode several rides and saw Mickey's PhilharMagic, which he loved once Simba came on the screen. Loki joined us on Small World and was amazed by all the moving parts. Lex found it hard to leave the rides once he was on them, but when he was done with something he was "All dun!" From there we made our way to Columbia Harbor House where we ate lunch. 


A part of being in Disney with Lex was seeing my brother Sean dealing with him. Sean doesn't have children yet, and after a week with Lex and Loki he might be rethinking the whole thing. Sean seems to be a firm believer in the "bribe". Because of this Lex was up to his ears in cookies, lollipops and cars. Sean and Tiffany don't get to see the kids often, so going overboard when the they do is very easy.  


Though we had not planned to take breaks and travel back to the hotel, we did. Loki was able to nap in the stroller, but with Lex it wasn't possible. Before heading back I bought Lex a balloon which I promised him. Now, I know it's Disney and everything is "INSANE" there when it comes to cost, but when I walked up to a balloon vendor, and said I'll take the green one - and said "how much?" I had a little shock when he came back with $10.00. While walking back down Main Street, Sean ran in and out of shops as we waited by the train station. Tiffany holding Lex's balloon when not 10 minutes after we purchased it, it hit her sunglasses, which put a small hole in it. A near by vendor told her she should go change it with one of the balloon vendors, which they were kind enough to do. 


We headed back and planned to return for the fireworks that evening. We tried to settle down for naps, but Lex was not having it. I took him down to the boardwalk and had some pizza with him which we ate while watching to ducks. I was second guessing my plan to return for the fireworks that evening. Lex had gone to the 4th of July ones in Worcester with Mad Dog and wasn't crazy about the idea of them. The thought of traveling all the way back only to have it blow up in my face was a little worrisome. 

We returned to the MK around 6:30ish, giving us about hour and half until the fireworks. Lex flew on the Magic Carpets with Tiffany and Sean while Loki and I walked though Adventure Land. Earlier Pirates of the Caribbean had been closed, making us miss it. When Loki and I walked by there was only a 5 minute wait. We ran back to the others and caught them just as they were getting of the Carpets, we ran back and jumped on Pirates. Lex sat with Tiffany and Sean, and Loki watched from my lap. It didn't seem to bother either of them, thought it is now a lot darker than I remember as a kid. After Pirates we shopped a little and thought about the Haunted Mansion, but Sean wasn't ready to deal with Lex and that one. We returned to Main Street, where Sean bought Lex a glow necklace, and a bubble gun, that Lex used to entertain every child on Main Street. At one point he had ten kids chasing bubbles to pop and he loved every minute of it. When the fireworks started Lex lasted about 2 minutes and then explained to us all that it was "All dun!". 

Both kids fell asleep on the ride home on the shuttle. Tiffany carried Loki I had Lex, and Sean had the stroller. Mad Dog was in the room when we got back and helped me with the kids, while Sean and Tiffany headed for Downtown Disney. Mad Dog went to Jellyrolls with the other managers shortly after leaving me with a sleeping Lex and a wide wake Loki. This allowed me a little alone time to take a shower and have some quiet TV time before drifting off to sleep. I work up when Mad Dog crawled into bed and we updated each other about our busy day, with Lex snoring softly between us. 


Later that night Tiffany would be up sick, while Sean struggled with sleep due to Mad Dog's snoring. I believe Sean said he was grateful for his Ipod and the soundtrack that managed to block-out all Mad Dog's rumbles. I was just grateful for sleep.