DISNEY WORLD, DAY FOUR - MAGIC KINGDOM

The fourth day of our trip was spent at Magic Kingdom and our top priority that day was to take a picture to give Senestraro Family Orthodontics. We wouldn't have been on a Disney trip if it wasn't for them, so we'd packed our six SFO shirts in our luggage and made sure they were included in our clothing layers for the day. Cinderella's Castle is the classic Disney park symbol, so we made a beeline for a photographer in that area, shed our hoodies, and lined up. Look at those six happy people at Disney World with beautiful smiles from #BracesOnFaces! Oh, wait ... well, just imagine all those straight-ish teeth under those masks. 

I spy a little more castle in the background. 

All six Ws and the whole castle. We should have chosen a photographer on the other side of that gigantic light pole, but, as my mom used to say, should haves don't count. The main goal was to get picture proof that SFO's Disney trip winners took their trip. Done!

That task finished, we took off for some roller coaster adventures. Quick group shot as we headed to Tomorrowland's Space Mountain. 

Then some pictures from the group ride, plus one taken later in the day of me and Silas.

Next up was Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. I knew I wanted a picture of all of our wrists sporting MagicBands at some point in the week, so we struck the pose while waiting in line.

Confession: One MagicBand was proof that my frugal self who likes to stick to a plan can blow money unnecessarily just to satisfy a relatively unimportant desire. We'd intentionally saved way more money than we'd need for this trip so that we could just relax and not worry about pinching pennies. I'm still a frugal person who values responsible spending, though. One W's MagicBand disappeared at Hollywood Studios the previous day. No irresponsibility was involved and it wasn't a practical problem because the park replaced it with a card that does all the same things. 

However, I still hadn't taken the group wrist picture. Ridiculous, perhaps, but I really wanted that picture. Back at our room that night, I zipped down to Ink & Paint, the resort store, and bought a replacement one just so we could have it for a picture. No name on the back, as the store ones aren't personalized, but it worked for my purpose. A totally unnecessary MagicBand for one single picture. 

Anyway, moving on to the ride pictures. The kids had seen some funny poses from other people over the course of the week, so I think the last one is Silas acting like he's clinging to Tim from fear. Usually the little Ws spent most of their roller coaster time trying to figure out where the cameras were so they could strike a pose. 

Our final group ride of the day was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, so off we went in that direction. We'd never heard of Texas John Slaughter before, we so were amused by this sign we passed along the way because one of Silas' co-workers and the youth pastor of some little Ws is named John Slaughter.

Parade time!

We don't get any pictures from our Big Thunder ride, but we noticed Splash Mountain appeared to be open next to it. I'd noticed a lack of available water rides online as we planned our trip and we'd been told at a closed ride entrance at Animal Kingdom that all water rides were shut down because this time of year is when annual repairs take place. Imagine our surprise when Splash Mountain was up and running. Score! Half the fam didn't think temps in the high 50s and low 60s were warm enough for a water ride, so they split off. The other half thought we should make the most of our park time and got right in line. 

I don't think Silas or Devon ever went, but Naomi was able to talk Tim into going with her during a family split later in the day. Twice. In a row!

Parade time!

The next character sighting was Jack Sparrow.

Pirates of the Caribbean was next for my half of the fam. I know the other Ws also went, but we don't have any pictures of them.

With some time to kill before lunch, we all ended up in the same part of Adventureland and did a little scramble of Ws. Tyler asked me to go on The Magic Carpets of Aladdin with him, then later recruited sibs to join him for two more rounds. One of the simplest rides of the week, but also one of his favorites because he had control over how high we went. 

Some of us did Enchanted Tiki Room and Swiss Family Treehouse, then the little Ws hung out together while Tim and I went off to do other things for a little while before lunch.

Parade time!

Parade time!

This was the second of two days we had lunch reservations, this time at Liberty Tree Tavern. Again, the food was tasty. What I liked best as a family of six on our fourth day of travel, third in a park, was that the meals are served family style and it's all you can eat. There's only one meal option, so all you have to do is sit down and choose a drink. No thinking. Just eating. The meal is Thanksgiving-ish with three different types of meat, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, and rolls, followed by a perfectly divine toffee cake, which seemed more like a giant cookie, with ice cream and chocolate sauce on top. 

Our post-lunch split had Tim and Naomi, Devon and Tyler, and me and Silas paired off. We've already seen the Splash Mountain pictures from Tim and Naomi. Devon and Tyler took a picture of themselves in line for Peter Pan's Flight.

A shot in front of Cinderella's Castle. 

And a character sighting of Eeyore, Piglet, and Rabbit. 

We all did the Haunted Mansion at some point in the day, but somehow Silas and I didn't get a picture. 

Tyler had told me at some point in the day that he thought we should recreate the MagicBand wrist picture from the morning in front of the castle. I loved the idea, as my shot could have been taken in our driveway and his proved we were at Disney World. Unfortunately, no Ws have learned to levitate, making a vertical version of my horizontal pose impossible. Next best option? Ask a stranger to take a picture of our wrists lined up in front of the castle as our family regrouped just before dark. Perfect!

Naomi spotted a mass character sighting as our day wrapped up and decided to record it. It's hard to see, but Daisy, Pluto, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and a bunch of dancers were on the balcony.

We'd already taken a castle picture earlier for SFO, but we headed to Main Street for a night view right before we left the park. 

As I mentioned in my first trip post, only two friends knew of our trip way in advance. One was Tammy. I felt like a bunch of joy got sucked out of anticipating this trip because of the secrecy involved in not wanting to upset people I care about who would be bothered by the timing. She's one whose life is far more impacted by C19 risks than mine, but she's also one who is a complete Disney fanatic and who knows I'm not one who makes decisions flippantly. So I told her early on. 

She'd already given me a bunch of expert advice when we announced the prize last summer, but I wanted any tips she had for me now that we were actually going. And I really wanted some drama-free excitement from a non-W. And by wanted, I mean needed. Desperately. She came through, as I knew she would. In the midst of our chats about the trip, she mentioned a particular puzzle she's wanted and asked us to keep an eye out for it. Devon found it and was quickly promoted to her favorite W. Ha! It was cool to find something that would make her happy after she'd helped me be happy. 

Three parks down, one to go!

*****

Here are links for all the posts about our Disney trip.  

Day One - Portland to Orlando

Day Two - Animal Kingdom

Day Three - Hollywood Studios

Day Four - Magic Kingdom

Day Five - Epcot

Day Six - Orlando to Portland

The trip was a prize from our orthodontist's office, Senestraro Family Orthodontics, as our name was drawn from all the established patients who referred new patients to their office in 2019. We've loved that office for over three years now and highly recommend them to anyone within driving distance of their three offices in Sherwood, Wilsonville, and Woodstock. Initial travel information was provided by Kristy and all travel arrangements, as well as really helpful daily tour plans for us to use as suggested launch points for our days, were provided by Tanya, both from Incredible Memories Travel. I'll definitely use their services if we ever get to travel again and recommend them to anyone who'd like someone else to do all the background work for their next vacation.