Our first morning in the Magic Kingdom we were so lucky that the park had "extra magic hours" - where they open an hour early for resort guests, so we were able to get there for the early opening at 8, and get in several rides before the lines got long.
The Teacups had to be first! I think this is my favorite picture from our trip because it shows how happy and joyful Mattie was almost the whole time.
Next up was Dumbo. I was surprised by how much Mattie loved the rides. Every time one finished, she would immediately say, I want to do it again! We hit almost all of the rides, and did all of the ones in Fantasy Land 2-3 times over our three days in the park. Her favorite ride was the Haunted Mansion, which I almost didn't let her go on because I thought she might be too scared.
After hitting a few rides, we went and got in line to start the princess meeting expedition. It was a lot of work meeting all those princesses! I mistakenly thought they would all be in one spot, but they are spread out all throughout the park, at different times. You have to be very strategic about planning your meet and greets! But you can see how excited she was, clutching her autograph book.
We first met Cinderella again, and then Rapunzel. Mattie insisted on bringing her doll to show her.
Next we found Snow White. . . .
. . . and then Aurora. Those princesses were all SO sweet. They get right down with the girls, and hug them and talk to them quietly like they are the only little girl in the world.
The food at Disney was FAB. We were on the meal plan, which made it so fun and gluttonous. Every meal, we just picked a place and all ordered what we wanted. Did I mention EVERY MEAL came with desert?
After some more rides and naptime (and a wardrobe change), we went back to the park and had a FastPass for seeing the princesses again. We had missed Belle in the morning, and Mattie had really wanted to meet her of course. I loved the way she touched all of their dresses so longingly while she chatted with them.
Mimi was a trooper and waited in line for Tiana while we caught a show in front of the castle.
Right as we got up for her picture, it started raining, hard. We spent quite a bit of time huddled under a store awning before finally breaking down and buying ponchos, after which it stopped raining. No worries, we DID pack our ponchos, and thought we had taken them out of the backpack because no way was it going to rain that afternoon. And of course, they were in the backpack the whole time. And of course it immediately stopped raining within one minute of us getting those ponchos on and walking out. But we had some nice bonding and tip-swapping with some other parents under that awning.
We had a fun dinner at the Plaza on Main Street that evening, and caught most of the parade. I had seriously underestimated how crowded it would be for the parade, so Mattie watched it on my back leaning through several rows of crowd. But it was still enjoyable for her, and we found a perfect viewing spot for the fireworks finale. It was a magical first day!
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