The definition of Magic

We saved the best for last. We arrived at the gates of Magic Kingdom 30 minutes before opening, and we were able to walk right in! Y’all, if you haven’t been to Magic Kingdom while it is decorated for Christmas, add this to your travel bucket-list. Even though our toddler’s face was covered by a mask, you could still see the complete wonder in her eyes and hear her awed “Wowwwws” and “Mommy Look.” It was beyond the magic I was hoping for.  

While the other parks still seemed busy even with the 30% attendance cap, Magic Kingdom felt empty. To be honest, I loved this. Pandemic aside, I don’t like massive crowds. They stress me out, and I was already thinking about the joy of being able to walk at our own pace without dodging other family groups and not having to wait in line for 4 hours.

Our group leisured down Main Street taking in the sights and reveling in all of the Disney magic. Still before “opening,” we took pictures in front of the castle and made our way to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train to get in line. There were some rides that had opened early, so while everyone waited in our first line of the day, my SIL and I took the babies to wait elsewhere. Unfortunately, she had to evacuate to Main Street to recover from a blowout (#iykyk), so it was just me and my girls.

Prince Charming’s Carousel

On our way to the Mine Train ride, we passed the carousel. Not just any carousel, but Prince Charming’s Carousel. To my horse-obsessed toddler, this was the ultimate and we could not wait. I put baby in the Ergo and got in line for the carousel. This is joke – we were the first ones on!

I was a little nervous as I had to sit in one of the stationary carriages since I was wearing the baby. You are welcome to stand next to your child as long as you don’t have another one strapped to you. Makes sense. Thankfully, all of the horses were equipped with safety belts which made me feel a little better about letting her ride by herself. She walked almost one complete loop in complete wonderment of all of the beautifully painted animals before selecting a gorgeous prancing white horse. Once the carousel started, I could tell she was nervous to be up there by herself with the horse moving, and she was holding on TIGHT. By the first rotation around, she relaxed and I could see the smile through her mask. It’s one of my favorite memories looking up at her on her horse being so brave and having so much fun!

This was one of the highlights of our trip, and she was so excited to tell Daddy when he finished the Mine Train ride. By the time I ran through the rider switch for the Mine Train, the line at the Carousel had hit more than a 30 minute wait. If you are looking for a perfect start to your day at Magic Kingdom, my pick is unconventional, but ride the carousel.

Lines, Rides, Walk, Repeat

We spent the rest of the morning knocking off rides, analyzing wait times on the Disney Experience App, and just taking everything in. Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain Railroad took more than 2 hours collectively, but they are 2 of my absolute favorites, and I can’t go to Magic Kingdom without riding Splash Mountain. It was tough with the babies who were waiting with the husbands, but thankfully, the wait area was right next to the parade route! While I waited in line with my SIL, the babies were able to see the Princess Parade and a Santa Parade. Thank you Disney for this current sporadic parade plan. It’s a life saver for those with squirmy babies and toddlers.

It was also so fun to come off of my favorite ride and see my toddler come running at me to tell me about all of the princesses she saw – and Santa of course!

After lunch in Frontier Land, we did one last ride before going to take a mid-day break at the hotel. As it turns out, this was THE ride. My toddler is STILL talking about this ride 2 months after our Disney vacation. That is how impactful it was. The ride – The Little Mermaid. Do not underestimate this floating pink clam ride. It is precious and glides you through The Little Mermaid in such wonderful color and imagination like one long, immersive music video. You even go “under water.” It is the absolute cutest and we rode it 3 more times over the course of the day.

No Nap, No Problem

I talk more about our hotel in another post, but I am a big proponent for the mid-day break if you have little ones. We didn’t do this with the other parks, but that is primarily because they were smaller (Animal Kingdom) or they were only open half-days (Epcot). This was crucial for our last successful day at Disney, or we would have 100% encountered a meltdown from all kiddos (and also likely the adults…). Our kiddos didn’t nap, but being able to lay down on the hotel couch, snack, watch cartoons and decompress was a close equivalent.

After a 2 hour reset, we were back at Magic Kingdom by 4pm and determined to explore the other side of the park – Tomorrowland, etc. One of the downsides of being with a large group is deferring your personal plan in favor of the group plan. This was actually a great exercise for my normal Type A / Itinerary-driven self. As everyone knows, time flys at Disney, and our evening was no exception. We found ourselves finally arriving at Dumbo (one of the rides we absolutely had to do) around 6pm which turned out to be perfect. With the sun setting, Dumbo was completely lit up and pure magic. Our toddler was beside herself with excitement and there was NO LINE. Apparently during “normal world times,” there is a playground within the queue where they give you a beeper so your kids can go play instead of waiting in line. This is genius – though I was thrilled to have no line!

We talked about Dumbo all the way to our last ride, It’s a Small World, but of course had to stop for one more round of Ariel. I can’t say we saved the best for last, but maybe the most iconic for last? We barely made it onto the ride with the 45 min wait as the park neared close, and the husbands still haven’t forgiven us for forcing them on this ride. I will say that the kiddos loved this ride. There’s the song, of course, but there is also so much detail in all of the stories and dancing dolls. Both of my girl’s eyes were wide the whole time trying to take everything in.

Wrapping up the best day

We were hustling to get out of the park to make our 8:45pm dinner reservation at Wolfgang’s in Disney Springs. Our only stop was to quickly admire the lit up castle, and then again at the gates where Mickey, Minnie, and friends were standing, singing and waving at everyone leaving the park. Due to the lack of crowds, our toddler was able to be right at the front and get personal waves and hellos from her favorites. Truly magical. She was SO tired, and seconds from passing out in the gift-shop umbrella stroller, but perked right up and couldn’t believe her favorites were right there singing carols to her! I couldn’t have planned or imagined a better end to our day at Magic Kingdom.

To make our dinner reservation, we did some logistical planning on the fly, and decided it would be fastest to catch a bus to one of the hotels that was walkable to Disney Springs instead of taking the bus to our hotel then jumping on the connection. Toss up on if this was a good idea, but we were all hungry and tired with little brain power left.

After sprinting (literally) to Wolfgang Puck Bar&Grill, we made our reservation by about 2 minutes. As a mother of a toddler and a baby walking into a nice restaurant as the last reservation, I was actually dreading the experience. As someone who cares very much about being a bother to restaurants (why do I feel this way?), I was convinced that our giant party of 11 with too many kids would definitely rub this restaurant the wrong way. I could not have been more wrong.

In another post, I talked about one of my other favorite restaurants at Disney Springs, but this is definitely a tie for the No.1 spot due to the food and the service. Despite our army of children, our server could not have been more friendly, helpful, or refreshing. They cleared spots around the table so that we could pull 2 of the strollers up since 3 of the kiddos were passed out, and treated us as if we were the first and only guests of the evening. I could not have been more grateful. The kiddos were also well behaved throughout the late evening – for this I was also grateful.

Aside from the incredible service, even once all children woke up HUNGRY, the food was delicious. Truly delicious. Everything we had was perfectly cooked, and so tasty. Our group lingered, enjoying our last evening together, and we were not rushed. It was a perfect way to end our magical trip, and I will definitely be back. We walked out of Wolfgang’s around 11pm, full, tired, and happy.

I mentioned it before, but my toddler still talks about this trip – 2 months later. I know there is an argument for “Well, they’re too young to remember,” but I will.