Disney World Day 2- Part 2

We got to Magic Kingdom about 3:30 Sunday afternoon and decided to take a rainy picture in front of the castle because- memories. We weren't in the best mood dealing with rain and soggy shoes and a wet stroller, but we were at Disney World and were determined to still have a good time. We had dinner reservations at 4:20, so we had a little time to kill and tried to find a ride that wasn't closed because of the rain and didn't have a long wait and that was close to our dinner restaurant.

We ended up on the carousel. Nathan wasn't too thrilled about riding it, but everyone else was. Katherine loved it. I think it ended up being her favorite ride. Anytime we passed by it during our trip, she would point and say, "horsey"

The rain had mostly stopped by the time we were riding it too, so that was great. we took off our ponchos and enjoyed the fun.

I let Nathan choose where he wanted to eat dinner at Disney World for his birthday, and he chose Be Our Guest specifically because it's the only place at Disney World where you can meet the Beast. And ever since the Enchanted Tales with Belle show during our last trip to Disney he's loved the Beast and really all of Beauty and the Beast. We ate at Be Our Guest for lunch during our last vacation and were unimpressed. It was crowded and chaotic, and not relaxing or enjoyable at all for us, but things are very different at dinner, and it's a sit down meal instead of ordering at kiosks, and it ended up being wonderful!

I love my Birthday Boy and had such a great day celebrating him!

Nathan requested to sit in the West Wing of the restaurant that was dark, gloomy and stormy. And it had a magic portrait on the wall that transformed during a particularly loud boom of thunder. It was funny once when we heard people ask the waitress if it was storming outside because they heard thunder. Our waitress reassured them that the weather was fine, there were just sound effects in the dining room.

Nathan ordered steak for dinner. He's turned into a big time carnivore and ate steak at every chance he was offered it during our whole trip.

Samuel and Elisabeth preferred Mrs. Potts' Mac and Cheese and they were both big fans. Mrs. Potts must be a good cook :). The adults' food was delicious too. The filet was great!

The best part of dinner though is always dessert. I was so excited about the dessert trio we all got. The kids got a white chocolate chip cup that they painted with edible icing, and some grey stuff, a cake ball and a cookie.

Nathan got an extra portion of grey stuff for his birthday along with a card from Belle and the Beast. He's so proud of that card. The waitress told him that Belle signed for the Beast since he has such bad handwriting, and now Nathan always brags that he's the only one with the Beast's signature (since he doesn't sign autographs).

I was a huge fan of the grey stuff (the rest of dessert was delicious too- we got a white chocolate chip cup filled with it, a macaroon, and a chocolate truffle, but I think the grey stuff was the best thing I ate during our whole vacation. I'm dying to find a recipe to recreate it. It's like a mousse but lighter with an oreo flavor, but so smooth and creamy. Yum!

The girls wore their Belle dresses for dinner. And after dinner, we headed to the Beast's study to meet him.

Katherine blew him kisses, and Nathan showed him the birthday card he got from Belle and everyone gave hugs and smiles.

After dinner, we decided to head next door to meet Belle at Enchanted Tales with Belle. This was my very favorite attraction from our last trip to Disney, and everyone was excited about it. I had warned Nathan that he probably wouldn't be chosen as the Beast again so he wouldn't be too disappointed, but I guess he has an iconic roar, because the cast member handed that red cape right too him for the second time. Elisabeth was cast as Philippe, Samuel got to be a dinner plate (which he was pumped about- I love him!), and Katherine was a pepper shaker.

Elisabeth took her role so seriously. She put that horse face right in front of hers the whole time.

Nathan let out a perfect roar when it was his turn.

And was just as star struck as last time when he danced with Belle.

All the kids took pictures with Belle at the end of the show, and brought home bookmarks to remember meeting her. It's such a special character greet/show. A favorite for sure for everyone.

We stayed in Fantasyland after Enchanted Tales with Belle and rode some fun rides. Under the Sea is one of my favorites. I rode it with both my girls next to me. Ariel has always been one of my favorite princesses. I love sharing the magic with my sweet daughters.

After the ride we walked past the character greet for Ariel and saw that it had a 35 minute wait, so we decided to pass on it for then, but the cast member at the entrance commented on the adorable toddler with us, and we visited with her for a minute. She asked if we were getting in line to meet Ariel, and I told her that we were going to try back later when the line was shorter, and she so very graciously told us we could go in the fast pass line. I think Disney refers to that as Pixie Dust, when a cast member does something unexpected to make your day more magical. We were so grateful, because Ariel was amazing. She was my favorite character we met during the trip. She was so sweet, and funny and never rushed our kids when they were talking to her.

The cast member told the kids to ask Ariel about her dingle hopper, so they did and they laughed about her fork for the whole vacation.

After our time with Ariel, we stopped and rode Dumbo. Elisabeth had to ride with Daddy- just like every ride. Matt's a pretty big Dumbo fan. It's one of most iconic Disney rides, so we always have to ride it.

Elisabeth really liked meeting characters during our trip, and meeting Rapunzel was a must do for her (even though practically everything was a "must do" for her, ha!), but since Rapunzel and Tiana had a short wait we headed there next.

The princesses at the character greets were all great. I like that they talk (characters wearing masks don't talk- and there are a lot of those).

I think Elisabeth was a little star struck. My favorite part was after we finished talking to Rapunzel and were heading to meet Tiana, Elisabeth ran back over to Rapunzel, and told her how much she loved her songs. I just loved that little exchange at the end. I think for a little bit the magic took over, and Elisabeth felt like she was talking to the real Rapunzel.

We met Tiana too because she was at the same greet as Rapunzel, even though none of us have seen The Princess and the Frog. I rented it for Elisabeth before we came to Disney, and she fell asleep watching it, so the rest of us didn't even try, ha! But princesses are always fun to meet, even if we didn't know her story.

It was about 8:15 when we finished meeting the princesses, and we decided we needed to find a spot to watch the fireworks. We claimed our spot, and then took turns taking kids to the bathroom and buying popcorn for the show. Elisabeth asked for a balloon during our whole trip to Disney World last time, and we always told her no. So this time, when she asked again, we let her get one, and she was thrilled. Right after she got it, she said "I don't want this day to ever end." Me either, Sister. That $8 balloon was worth everything to hear her voice her joy from the most magical day.

Katherine fell asleep before the Fireworks started. But she had fun playing with her light up wand and eating popcorn before they started.

I can't say enough wonderful things about how much  I loved the fireworks at Magic Kingdom. They introduced a new show- Happily Ever After since our last visit, and I was excited to see it. I've always loved the Magic Kingdom fireworks, but honestly I was a little underwhelmed during our last trip. I think their Wishes show was outdated. I remember they had a little pre show where they showed projections from Disney movies on the castle. The technology was really cool, and Matt and I both said they we liked that little show better than the actual fireworks.

Well this show did not disappoint. They combined the projections on the castle, which technologically was amazing with classic Disney music and amazing fireworks. Oh, and some magic with Tinkerbell flying across Magic Kingdom. They were SO SO SO amazing. It was my very favorite part of our entire magical vacation. I adored getting to hold my sweet, sleepy girl and see the awe struck expressions on my kids' faces.

At one point during the show, they showed the scene from Up with the house and balloons. Up is Samuel's favorite movie, and Matt and I both caught his surprised, awe struck face and beaming smile when he saw it. I think I'll remember that magical smile forever. We rarely see huge emotion from him (especially huge smiles), and I soaked it up. They also had a part in the show where they showed all the parent/child tender moments from the movies, and I just lost it, and started crying. I was overwhelmed with emotion to be experiencing such precious, amazing moments with the people I love the most. The show kept mentioning finding your Happily Ever After, and all I kept thinking was- I'm living my happily ever after, and I wouldn't change a thing. I'm so grateful for the greatest husband and the sweetest kids. They are the best Happily Ever After I could have ever imagined.  Man, Disney World is MAGICAL. I'll never figure out how they can create such magical, emotional moments, but I love it!

I've rewatched the fireworks show on YouTube a few times since we got back. I can't get over how much I loved it or how much better it was watching it in person, ha!

We headed straight for the buses after the show with some #DisneyTired kids.

I hope they had the sweetest dreams that night after the most magical day. We fit so much into one 14 hour period. It was hard to believe Jedi Training and all our Hollywood Studios fun were even on the same day. It felt like we crammed a week's worth of fun into one day. We couldn't wait to do it again the next day!