The Photographer's Wife Parenting, Disney, Travel, Reviews & Other Randomness
Welcome to our May 2014 Walt Disney World Trip Report! Click here to start reading from Day 1!
Friday
Today was the day of the 24 hour Rock Your Disney Side event at Magic Kingdom and Brett planned on being there the entire day. He woke up 4am to get ready and was standing outside waiting with a few other people to cross over from the Contemporary to the Magic Kingdom while it was still dark out.
Us? Not so much.
I woke up at about 8:30am and then Trent woke up at about 10am. It’s crazy to think that by the time Trent woke up, Brett had already been inside Magic Kingdom for over 4 hours!
Our plan was to be lazy, play by the pool, then meet Brett at Magic Kingdom later on in the day. I had thought we would make the 3:30 pm parade and even had Fastpasses for it, but it was just so hot out that we decided a littler later than that was a good idea.
Before I get into our day, here is a little of Brett’s day.
He was one of the first people through the “turnstiles†and watched the Opening Show.
He was shocked at how many people ran to get in line for the special event merchandise. He said that people were literally running to get there, but when he was strolling around later in the day, everything was still available for sale and nothing had sold out. All the craziness for nothing?
Of course, photographers were far more interested in something that can only happen on this very day…capturing a sunrise over Cinderella Castle! They were all lined up in the same vicinity to capture the unique event.
But I can’t blame them….it was gorgeous. Brett got some amazing photos of the castle throughout the day.
He then decided it was time for breakfast, and without me or Trent to think about or sway his decision, what do you think he got?
A Dole Whip Float, of course! Breakfast of (Disney) champions.
He then took advantage of being solo and wandered around doing whatever his heart desired. He got a locker to store some of his stuff, rode whatever ride he came across, watched the Festival of Fantasy parade twice, and took photos of things/places that he doesn’t normally get with us tagging along. Here’s a bunch of photos from his day.
Have you ever noticed that if you stand in the perfect spot, the crown sits on top of Cinderella’s head in the fountain behind the castle?
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train! Have you ridden it yet? I didn’t get to this trip…I was pregnant 
Everyone’s favorite bathroom area in WDW. I prefer less crowded locations, but it sure is pretty.
Doesn’t this next photo look like it could be an official Disney photo? I think it should be!
I am amazed at how Brett gets such great photos while on rides…especially Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. He perfectly captures the castle in the distance. Me? All of my photos would be blurry beyond recognition. I’ll stick to accounting.
Brett did something we haven’t done in many years…he ventured over to Tom Sawyer Island!
He also enjoyed lunch at a place we’ve never eaten at before…the Diamond Horseshoe.
He had not one, but TWO chances to watch the Festival of Fantasy Parade! The characters are so colorful and animated during this parade…Disney did a fantastic job.
Brett’s favorite part is Maleficent…of course, it’s a fire-breathing dragon!
One thing Brett had a chance to do was sit back and watch character interactions. His favorite was watching Gaston, but others proved hilarious too.
The train conductor noticed Brett taking photos, so he let out all the steam as he pulled away from the station!
A few people were dressed in costume….do you recognize these two from Up?
There were also some famous people in attendance. These people are from the Disney Channel, but I have no idea who they are because I’m not 12 I guess.
Brett even got to see Space Mountain with the lights turned on!
It was a very eventful day for him!!!
But ok, now back to us…
We ate some breakfast in the room, then headed to the pool. Trent was ready.
It was beautiful out, but very hot.
We started out in the main pool and then we transferred over to the splash area…one of Trent’s most favorite things ever.
I played with Trent for a bit and then let him run around on his own while I sat off to the side.
Other kids would come by for a little bit and he would interact with them, then they would leave and he would have the place to himself. I think he was happy either way.
After a while, there were a few other kids there and he got bumped into and he fell backwards. When I picked him up, I took the opportunity to end our splash time and head back to the room to change. He was NOT HAPPY about this and I hope that he doesn’t associate him getting hurt with “the fun coming to an end†but picking him up from something is one of the ways we can get him to leave somewhere. The other is bribing, but you can’t bribe this kid away from a splash area.
We changed then headed over to the Contempo Café for lunch. A cheeseburger and fries for me and chicken nuggets, grapes and chocolate milk for Trent. He did pretty well and ate a few chicken nuggets, some fries and all the grapes. He even sat in stroller the entire time without trying to escape.
We then headed back to the room and took a nap, then woke up and got ready to go meet Brett at Magic Kingdom.
Have I told you before how convenient staying at the Contemporary is? I’m sure plenty of times, including once already in this trip report. But seriously, so convenient. I just wish it wasn’t so darn expensive!
I hopped onto the monorail without needing to fold a stroller or anything. We arrived at MK around 5:30pm. Brett was going on 12 hours at the park…I seriously don’t know he was doing it.
We had a Fastpass for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, one of Trent’s favorite rides, so we headed right to Tomorrowland.
Then we had a Fastpass for the Tomorrowland Speedway….Trent’s very first ride at meeting a height requirement!! We were so excited for him!
He got his driver’s license and held onto to it tightly as we walked through the line. I think he was excited, even though I’m sure he had no idea what was going on. I couldn’t stop smiling because I was so excited for him.
Trent rode with Brett and I rode by myself in front of them so I could turn around and take photos. I was probably holding up the line, but I didn’t care…I was watching my son drive a car with his dad for the first time! Too bad I couldn’t see much of Trent over the steering wheel, other than his trademark Mickey hat!
Daddy teaching son the basics.
Son looking at Daddy like he’s crazy.
After our driving adventure, we stopped for a treat at Gaston’s Tavern…LeFou’s Brew!
We headed towards Fantasyland and saw no line for the Carousel, so we jumped right on. Although Trent has ridden the carousel numerous times, he flipped out when we tried to put him on a horse. We tried 2 different sized horses, but he wasn’t having any of it, so we sat in the chairs, which definitely are not as fun.
We continued our walk towards Frontierland.
“Mooooooommm, I hate the stroller! I want to get out and ruuuuuuunnnnnn!”
We stood on the Splash Mountain bridge while Brett took photos. Every time a boat would drop and the people would scream, Trent would jump up in his stroller and scream too. He had quite a few people around him laughing, including us.
It was about time for dinner, so we went to check out the taco place in front of Pirates of the Caribbean, but it was so crowded, so we headed back to Columbia Harbour House, where Brett and I both got the chicken fingers/fish and French fries and shared with Trent. Throughout the trip, we also gave Trent plenty of snacks…applesauce pouches, fruit snacks, goldfish, grapes, apple slices…so while we didn’t always buy him his own full kid’s meal, we always split food with him and gave him his own snacks too. In fact, Trent got to enjoy his snacks in some of the best spots…
Of course, another benefit of the 24 hour event is the chance to get both sunrise AND sunset photos in the same day. Sunset certainly didn’t disappoint either.
As we finished dinner, it was time to find a spot for Wishes. Brett had a spot in mind, so we headed there only to find another photographer that he knew set up there!
Trent watched Up on the iPad while waiting. He didn’t seem interested in the fireworks either. I didn’t mind as long as he wasn’t fussing.
After the fireworks, we braved the crowds to head over towards Tomorrowland. I will be glad when the new hub construction is finished…getting anywhere after fireworks is an absolute nightmare…especially with a stroller.
The line for the Peoplemover was the longest we’d ever seen, so we took a detour to the Incredibles Dance Party. Trent danced for a few seconds, then ran up to a guy and hit his butt thinking it was Brett…he quickly got embarrassed and no longer wanted to dance or have fun, so we headed over to stand in line for Peoplemover. While the line was going pretty fast, so many people were cutting in line because they didn’t realize how far back the line started…or they knew and ignored it anyway.
After the Peoplemover, we grabbed some yummy ice cream and let Trent play with the bubble blower we bought at Epcot.
Since we had Fastpasses for The Main Street Electrical parade in a few days, I decided not to stick around for that and left Brett to walk back to the hotel. After all, he had another several hours left in Magic Kingdom! And to think, he doesn’t even drink coffee!
I got back to the Contemporary around 11pm, where Trent and I got ready for bed and relaxed with some cartoons. Brett met up with some other photographer friends and even got to ride the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train before it officially opened the next week! Here are some more photos of the rest of his day at MK.
Do you ever stop to look at all the details?
Early morning dance party!
One of Brett’s last photos before leaving the park.
Brett didn’t stay too much past 6am, since he had already gotten some great sunrise photos the prior morning, so he walked back to the hotel and got in around 7am, where he promptly took a shower and went right to sleep.
You may also enjoy:
Disney Dream Cruise Trip Report
Trent’s First Walt Disney World Trip Report
Disney Trip Countdown Craft
