The McKinleys' WDW 4th-and-a-Half Anniversary - Day 3

**Main Street Jim** · 09-07-2014, 06:18 PM

Day #3 for us would be Tuesday at Magic Kingdom - Character day

We started off by arriving early enough to see the Welcome show, which Kyla (my wife) had not seen. After the Welcome show, we stopped in at City Hall to do some pin-trading. When we came out of City Hall, I was *shocked* to see not one, not *two*....but *THREE* Main Street vehicles out on the street waiting for guests - including *my* Fire Truck*! We even stopped in to the "new" Main Street Bakery....nt happy with the "new" selections.

We then headed over to Tomorrowland to visit with some old CM friends. We walked on to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, and every CM except one was all old friends. Next, we hit up Space Mountain; by then, it was about 9:45am - and Space was a *total walk-on*. I mean *completely empty* queue. After visiting with some more CM friends at Tomorrowland Speedway, it was about time for our breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table.

We had brought a laminated photo/cutout of our four-year-old niece who was originally supposed to make the trip (along with her mom - Kyla's sister - and dad). Cinderella - and all of the characters that we encountered - were more than gracious enough to have their picture taken with "Valarie".

Breakfast was...well....*ehhh* as far as the food goes, but, to see not only Cinderella, but, Jasmine, Ariel, Aurora, and Snow White, all in one place, it was *totally* worth it.

After breakfast, we headed toward what was the old Fairytale Garden and "visited" with Merida. I had my sketchbook with me, and that morning while waiting for the welcome show, I had drawn up Merida and Tiana sketches. The princesses at breakfast all signed their "portraits", and other characters throughout the day did the same. They were all *very impressed* with my skills.

Following Merida, it was back over to the Speedway to ride. We then found (mermaid) Ariel, and visited Gaston's Tavern (but didn't try anything there). The decor was pretty amazing, though, and we've heard that LeFou's Brew is comparable to ButterBeer over at "that other park".

As we were heading toward Liberty Square to see Tiana, we encountered the Tremaines - you know....Anastasia, Drizella, and the "evil stepmother" from Cinderella. They put on quite the show for us, including adding "Valarie" to "their" photos. :P Next, it was off to "N'awlins" for Tiana, who was just absolutely stunning. Then...more princesses to meet, as it was off to Princess Fairytale Hall - Cinderella, Rapunzel, Anna, and Elsa. We've heard the "horror stories" about the standby wait times here, but, by this time it was about 12-1:00 in the afternoon - and the wait time was only 45 minutes for Anna and Elsa.

Since we were in Fantasyland, we *walked on* to it's a small world, then we headed back to the room at Coronado Springs for a break before dinner that evening at California Grill.

Dinner was simply *awesome*. If you have never eaten at the Grill - which is on the 15th floor of the Contemporary Resort - you can't beat the view of the Magic Kingdom from 150 feet up. And, if you time it right, you can dine during Wishes. Or, if you finish your dinner early, just show your receipt to the CG check-in desk on the 2nd floor, and they'll take you up to the top deck to view the fireworks. We actually got to view Illuminations at one end of the building, the Electrical Water Pageant on Seven Seas Lagoon, and then Wishes all from the restaurant.

What a *fantastic* end to the evening.