A normal entry day at Magic
Kingdom, so up just early enough to get ready and catch the 8am
bus. There was enough room on the bus for everyone at the Beach
Club stop, but the bus was full (with many people standing) after we
stopped at the Boardwalk. They really should not share one bus
with three deluxe resorts! Boardwalk seems to always have a ton
of people waiting for any particular bus.
Arrived at the Magic Kingdom in plenty of time. It was busy, but
not as busy as Early Entry has been. Also, don’t just head for
any empty turnstiles, because they were only opening about half of them
on each side before 9am. They let us through at about 8:30 or so
to wait in front of the train station for an opening show (started
around 8:50a) It was cute with a train load of characters
arriving to welcome everyone to the Magic Kingdom. Then the
characters were inside for autographs and pictures.
 Today we headed for
Tomorrowland first. Almost everyone headed to Space Mountain and
immediately the line was very long. I grabbed Fast Passes and
then we walked on Buzz Lightyear twice in a row and then did Astro
Orbiter and Transit Authority. We had wanted to do Carousel of
Progress, but it was going to open later, and we never made it
back. We still had quite some time before our Fast Pass time, so
we headed to Fantasyland to see Ariel. We got in line and ate a
breakfast snack while waiting. The girls gave her an Ariel CM
Appreciation Card and she just LOVED it! :-) She made a big
deal, and the girls were all smiles. It was lots of fun.
 Then it was off to
Toon Town. We almost walked on Goofy’s Barnstormer coaster, the
line was very short. As we got on the ride we saw Snow White
leading all seven dwarves through Toon Town. Missed that photo
Op! :-) Off to walk through Minnie and then Mickey’s houses
after the Barnstormer and then we took the back path to Tomorrowland
since we were well into our Fast Pass window for Space Mountain.
They measured Maddy at the entrance and she just made it (She was SO
excited!). (I thought this ride was shorter, but has a current
height restriction of 44”) The standby line was HUGE, and I’m
glad we didn’t wait in that line for a few reasons, but when we were
getting on the ride the CM there remeasured Maddy and said she was too
short. :-( She was very upset, but actually did pretty good
(a few tears and big sad face, but at least no temper tantrum – either
girl rarely has those anyway, thank goodness!) Brinn hadn’t
wanted to ride anyway, so I ended up waiting with both girls while
Kristen rode. While waiting I asked to talk to a manager that
happened to be waiting in the unloading area. I expressed our
disappointment in being told my one CM that its OK to ride, and by
another that she is too short. What if we HAD waited in that 60
minute + line? I’d have been much more upset! I want her to
be safe of course, but they need to be consistent, or measure them at
the front of the park and give them a colored wristband or
something. Then no surprises or disappointment later. He
was very understanding, and even gave us special fast passes for Splash
Mountain and Big Thunder Railroad. THAT was an unexpected
bonus! And Maddy got a special certificate so that next time she
can ride Space Mountain with no wait. She liked that and all
seemed better. :-)
 So we headed for
Frontierland and enjoyed Splash Mountain and then Big Thunder.
The Fast Passes were well appreciated with some mighty big lines!
It was time for some lunch, so we headed to the Pinochio Haus for
lunch. We had never eaten here and it was very crowded, but we
found a table upstairs.
After lunch it was looking like a storm was moving in, and we wanted to
head back for a break. Kristen headed for the front of the park,
and I stopped off for a Dole Whip. Since this was our last MK
day, I had to get one now! :-) They girls opted for Ice Cream
bars instead.
I had Brinn with me, and just as we left the Dole Whip stand it started
to rain. It was pouring just as we reached Main Street, so we
ducked under cover of the shops and sidewalk. Made our way fairly
slowly to the front of the park trying to stay undercover or walking
through the stores. Waited out the cloudburst for about 10 – 15
minutes, and then meet up with Kristen in the Train Station. We
walked out and caught our bus just as another cloudburst got
started. The bus showed up before we even got to the stop, and
was almost empty heading back.
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It was time for a
nap before the babysitter, Vivian, from the Fairy Godmother’s showed up
at around 5:45pm. Tonight was ‘Date Night’ – Kristen and I were
going to the Yachtsman Steakhouse for dinner and then off to do
whatever with just the two of us. Vivian was a wonderful
‘Grandma’ type baby sitter. 
She was super friendly and the kids were instantly at
ease with her. She had brought a bag of toys for them all to play
with. She also said it was no problem to make Mac and Cheese for
them for dinner. With some microwave popcorn for later. We
left our cell phone number and off we went – feeling very comfortable
with leaving the kids with Vivian.
We were taken right
in that the Yachtsman Steakhouse and had a wonderful waiter;
Bill. He was very thorough and gave some great suggestions while
going over the menu. I decided on a NY Strip and Kristen had the
Filet. I also got a barbecue shrimp appetizer that was wonderful.
Kristen’s fillet was a bit over cooked but Bill corrected that mistake
in less than two minutes. 
Both our meals were wonderful, and for dessert we shared
the dessert sampler for two. There wasn’t a bad choice on
there! They were all delicious!
Since we had just
seen Illuminations the night before, we walked around to the
International Gateway just as the fireworks ended. We circled
around along the boardwalk, but decided to skip the nightclubs.
It was nice just casually strolling around the lake. It was
a very nice and relaxing evening! When we got back to the room
the kids were all in bed, but still wake. 
They had had a
great time with Vivian, and after she left we got them all settled and
off to sleep. Tomorrow is Disney Studios so time to get some
sleep!