Day 3--a Simply Magical Day...

By Thursday morning, the kids and I were starving! In all of the excitement we had not been eating well and it had caught up with us. My kiddos are big breakfast food lovers so I called reservations and snagged a last minute reservation at 'Ohana Best Friends Polynesian Character Breakfast . Wooohooooo! I had been trying for weeks to get a reservation there so it was definitely my lucky day. Even luckier for me, 'Ohana is at our resort so we quickly got dressed and headed to the Great Ceremonial House for what turned out to be the best breakfast ever! J was NOT thrilled about the "pink girl necklace" they placed around his neck when we arrived. He humored me for a few photos and then the lei ended up in the floor. :-)
Lilo, Stitch, Mickey Mouse and Pluto were on the job today. About half way through our meal the characters asked all the children to join them in the "Best Friends Parade". It was so sweet to see J take MG by the hand and lead her around the restaurant (bottom right photo). He took his role of big brother very seriously making sure she held his hand the entire time. Apparently in all of the parade excitement, Pluto needed to take a little rest. He chose J as his "chair". Little man tried with ALL of his might to push Pluto off but, as he later described, "it was no use". :-) He thought the "Pluto smash" was ABSOLUTELY HYSTERICAL! He's still talking about it.

As for MG, she wanted NOTHING to do with any character in costume. She stared them down and would scream at the top of her lungs if they came too close for her comfort. I love the progression of these photos...

OK, Mickey...YOU ARE IN MY PERSONAL SPACE...GET AWAY FROM ME...
OK, that's better. Now stay right there. Don't move. I just want to look at you from here...HEY! What are YOU laughing at?
Oh, your leaving already? Bye-Bye Mickey! Bye-Byyyyyeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!
After breakfast, we headed back to Magic Kingdom only to find the perfect seats for the first Castle Courtyard Performance. Didn't I tell you it was my lucky day?
After riding all of their favorite rides, we stopped at Donald's Boat House for a little playtime. Every time I look at these photos I think "You might be a redneck if...
you strip your daughter down to her onesie and let her play in the water at Magic Kingdom". Thankfully I had packed a change of clothes for both of them anticipating that they would play here but had forgotten her swim suit.
Oh well, they had a BLAST trying to catch the water and no one said a word about her attire (or the fact she had on a soggy diaper). Ewww!Daddy joined us about the time J and MG were soaking wet. You should have seen the look on his face. He thought I had lost my mind. He didn't know I had packed a change of clothes for them. HA! After I explained what in the world we were doing, we made a pit stop to change their clothes and the boys headed off to ride go carts. J had been DYING to ride but couldn't because he could not ride alone and there was only room for two. Daddy to the rescue...He was on the verge of whiplash by the time they made it around the track but J had a blast. Next up, SPACE MOUNTAIN! Daddy talked to the guy at the gate and he convinced him J would love it. HA! I knew better but I was hoping J would prove me wrong. The girls rode Tomorrowland Transit Authority (AKA the train--the BORING train) while the boys waited for Space Mountain. We must of rode TTA 50 times this week. J couldn't get enough of it last time and MG followed right in his footsteps. For me, the most thrilling part of TTA is a great view of the castle...
As for Space Mountain, J was on the verge of tears when they finally found us. Daddy said he was TERRIFIED! He was in such shock when it was over he started to tear up. The SM cast member said, "What's wrong little man? Are you sad that it's already over?" Daddy said he laughed at him and said, "No, I don't think that's the problem." Just for kicks and giggles, we asked J several times if he wanted to ride it again. "NO WAY! I NEVER WANT TO RIDE SPACE MOUNTAIN AGAIN!" I didn't get a picture of his face afterward because he was too upset but now I wish I had taken one. Our day came to an abrupt halt and we headed back to the resort for a nap.

While Daddy attended the conference Gala dinner, we went back to Magic Kingdom in time to see the lighting of the castle and the parade...again. I wish you all could have heard MG yell "the castle is glowing! the castle is GLOWING MOMMY!" Like it was the first time she had ever seen it.
While everyone else at Magic Kingdom waited for the fireworks, we headed off to meet the characters and ride a few rides. This photo captures the five seconds of the entire trip MG spent near a character without a meltdown. She shook their hands and quickly ran away.