We're Going to Disney World Part 3: The magic of the Magic Kingdom

6:30 a.m. Nicholas plays alarm clock and wakes us all up. I was hoping the kids would get a little more sleep but they're at Disney World and I would expect them to be excited. Heck, I'm excited! I had a wonderful night's sleep last night, probably the best in a week, and I feel awake and ready to hit the Magic Kingdom today!

9:20 a.m. We've breakfasted in our room and are just getting off the bus to the Magic Kingdom. It's another bright, sunny day and I'm already warm in my jacket. I would have liked to get going a little earlier this morning but we do have a long day ahead of us: we have reservations to eat lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table at 2:00 p.m. and then will close the park down with the Spectromagic Parade at 7:00 p.m. and the Wishes Nighttime Spectacular fireworks at 8:00 p.m. And in between we will ride, ride, ride!!

We take our time soaking in the magical sights and sounds around us. The park is decorated for Christmas and Michael is excited when he spots a "hidden Mickey" on one of the lamp posts on Main Street. There are plenty of Photo Pass photographers so of course we have to have our picture taken in front of the castle.

Victoria is a typical princess-obsessed 6-year-old and we have all been anxiously waiting to see her reaction to this giant castle. We are not disappointed. In fact, we are all oohing and ahhing right along with her. It has been 25 years or so since I've been to the Magic Kingdom and I'd forgotten the amount of detail that you see as you walk through the castle to Fantasyland, from mosaics of scenes from Sleeping Beauty to hidden cartoon mice from Cinderella.

Our first stop is the Dumbo ride. Almost every book I read said to go to Dumbo first as it tends to get crowded later in the day. Right now the wait isn't too long, only 15 minutes. When we get up to the front of the line we see some people with large cameras. Turns out, because we are such a large party, they want to film us having fun on the ride, for use internally. Perhaps we'll be on a Disney Vacation DVD or some other promotion. (Keep your eyes open for us and let us know if you see us!!!) And we do have fun too - up and down, around and around. The kids have fun doing the operating for once.

10:15 a.m.: Our next stop is The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Mom and Dad take the kids in their honeypot and Jeff and I and Jon and Janet all follow along in ours. It's a very cute and colorful ride, especially if you're a Winnie the Pooh fan.

10:30 a.m.: There's no line at the Mad Tea Party ride, one of my favorites, so we go on this next. Michael, Jeff and my dad ride in one teacup (the slow teacup because Michael doesn't want to spin fast), while Victoria, Nicholas, Jon, and I ride in the "fast" teacup because we want to spin around as fast as we can. And we do! The kids help Jon and I turn the center wheel and pretty soon we're going so fast the outside world is a complete blur. When the ride is done, both kids exclaim that "that was awesome!!" Michael, on the other hand, doesn't feel so good. Even though he was on the slow teacup it was still too much spinning for him.

We next enter Mickey's Toontown Fair. Victoria is especially excited to be here because she will get to meet the fairies at the Toontown Hall of Fame. Our group disbands in small groups as Michael needs a potty break, Nicholas wants to buy some mouse ears, and Victoria needs a snack.

11:00 a.m.: When Nicholas is sufficiently "mouse-eared", we go through Mickey and Minnie's Country House, which are both decorated for Christmas. Then we go through Mickey's garden to the Judge's Tent so we can meet Mickey and Minnie and get their autographs. This is the boys' first real character greeting and they are excited. Nicholas even gets a kiss from Minnie!

When we find our group, we learn that Victoria is in line to see the fairies, which has a fairly long wait of 45 minutes. Nicholas, to my surprise, wants to wait in a shorter line to meet the princesses, so I take him to the Toontown Hall of Fame. Michael isn't interested in either the princesses or the fairies but does want to linger in the gift shop just outside of the Judge's Tent (one thing about Disney: they're not stupid. There's a gift shop after almost every ride, just waiting to snag the souvenir money out of all the young kids!) so Jeff takes him there.

Nicholas and I are only in line for about 5 minutes when we see Victoria in the fairy line. Nicholas decides that he wants to see the fairies with Victoria instead of the princesses, so we head over to their line. And wait. And wait. And wait. Finally we are next. Inside are three fairies: Tinkerbell and two others that I do not recognize (hey, I've got boys, why should I?). Nicholas is pretty shy with Tinkerbell and the next fairy, but by the time we get to the third fairy he is his charming, silly self. Victoria, meanwhile, is having all the fairies sign her fairy purse. I can tell she is just awed by this experience.

12:30 p.m.: We regroup again and discover that in our absence, Michael got his mouse ears and went on Goofy's Barnstormer roller coaster two times! The line is short so we all decide to go on this ride. It is indeed a great introductory to roller coasters for young children. All three love it. I'm sure that there will be no problems with them going on Space Mountain later in the day.

We just have enough time to make a round trip on the Walt DisneyWorld Railroad before we have to get ready for our lunch at the castle. It is a good resting opportunity and it cools us off too as it is getting quite warm. I take the time to look at some notes I had printed out about the best place to see the evening parade and fireworks. This is my Achilles heel for it's the only thing I haven't researched to the nines. One tip says to watch the fireworks from the very front of the park so that when they're over you can just leave through the gates and beat the throng of people out of the park. However, I'm not sure what the view will be from that area. Another tip says that you can see the fireworks AND parade well if you're by the circle hub of pathways that are just in front of the castle. At the end of the train ride I'm still not sure what the best course of action will be for us.

2:00 p.m.: Victoria has changed into her princess dress and we've checked in for our reservation. Now we're waiting in line to meet Cinderella. This is the moment Janet, Mom, and I have been waiting for ever since we called 180 days ago to make our reservations. We knew that Victoria would be over the top about going inside the castle and meeting Cinderella, but I wasn't so sure about the boys. I now have hope for Nicholas though, since he was so interested in the fairies in Toontown.

Victoria is hard to read sometimes but I can tell that she really enjoys meeting Cinderella. She even smiles when she has her picture taken with her. The boys enjoy seeing the knight's armor that is in the entryway of the castle.

Are we having fun yet?

2:45 p.m. We are now waiting to be called into the restaurant. Our group is running out of steam since we are hungry and tired. Finally we hear our name called and make our way up the winding staircase to the top of the castle. When we are seated the boys are given prince swords and Victoria is given a magic wand, which are all instant hits. Soon come the drinks and appetizers and while we wait for our meals, the princesses begin to arrive.

First comes Princess Aurora, or Sleeping Beauty. When she makes her way to our table, she talks with each child while she signs autographs and then poses for pictures. Our food arrives shortly after. The other princesses, Jasmine (Aladdin), Ariel (Little Mermaid), and Belle (Beauty and the Beast) visit throughout the meal. We are pleased with the time each princess takes at our table. They are not hurried, nor do they seem surprised by the antics of Nicholas, who smiles with his mouth full of food for one of the pictures. In fact, Belle is a little sassy with him and puts him in his place! He of course loves every minute of it.

After we finish lunch and are working on desserts, there is an announcement that there will be a wishing ceremony in a few minutes. Our waiter comes by and passes out a blue, plastic wishing star for all three kids. A loud voice booms out over the speakers instructing the children to make their wishes. Nicholas screws his eyes shut as hard as he can and with all the concentration he can muster shouts out, "I wish for a tiger!!!" What?! All of us adults look at each other in confusion. Where did this come from? You never know with this child.

4:15 p.m. After being the last family left in the restaurant we emerge with bellies full and momentum restored. We have a little over two hours before we have to find a spot for the parade. The kids and Jon and Jeff want to go on Space Mountain but we all decide that we need to do something a little less momentous first so our food can settle. There is no wait for Mickey's Philharmagic show in Fantasyland, a 12-minute 3-D cartoon shown on a 150-foot screen, so we grab our 3-D glasses and enter the theater. The show does not disappoint. I was initially hesitant because I'd read where there are some parts that could be scary and Michael gets spooked easily, but he shut his eyes and held my hand during these parts and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the show, as we all did.

Next we head over to Tomorrowland in search of Space Mountain. On the way the kids spot Peter Pan and so we stop so they can get get his autograph. Did you know that Peter Pan really IS light in his loafers?

Janet decides to join us on Space Mountain so we leave the strollers and backpacks outside the ride and enter the attraction. The height limit for this ride is 44 inches. At last measure at home Nicholas was just barely that. I hope that he can ride with us or I am going to have a very disappointed 5-year-old on my hands. Our luck holds - he passes and can ride!!

Speaking of luck, we have been lucky today as there really have been no long waits for any of the rides. In fact, the longest waits have been for the character meet and greets. Space Mountain is no different. We walk all the way through the ride and wait only five minutes or so before we are loaded into our rockets.

The last time I rode this ride I was about 15 so I don't really remember much about it, other than the very long wait (those were the days before Fastpass!). So the darkness of the ride catches me by surprise. I hope that the kids aren't scared. As we speed through one dark tunnel after another I scream and screech like a teenager. The ride is filled with a lot of twists and turns and I wonder how Janet and Michael, the two in our group with the prevalence towards motion sickness, are doing.

Even before we disembark from our rockets I hear Nicholas and Victoria shouting their catch phrase of the trip: "That was awesome!!!". Michael looks a little pale but he is smiling. Janet, on the other hand, looks a little green and is not doing so well. She decides to sit out the next ride, the Astro Orbiter. Mom also decides to sit this one out and go see the Carousel of Progress by herself.

It is now dusk. We have to take an elevator to the boarding area of the Astro Orbiter, and when we get off the elevator we can see that the castle is illuminated. It is a wonderful view. Michael and Victoria want to ride with Grandpa so Nicholas rides with Jeff and I ride with my brother. Our ride is somewhat reminiscent of the last time we rode 15 years ago except for the fact that we are now a whole lot bigger, and back then we rode it with our grandfather, who is no longer with us. I can feel him in spirit though as we fly through the sky.

6:00 p.m.: We have time for just one more ride, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, a ride in which you get to shoot at targets and score points. The evil Zurg even shows up, which delighted my boys. We have the Toy Story Mania Wii game at home and this ride has similar qualities to the game; however, I'm really excited to go to Hollywood Studios tomorrow and ride Toy Storia Mania, which is supposed to be more like the Wii game.

Upon exiting from the ride we see that Buzz Lightyear himself is signing autographs. The kids wait in line while I run back to Janet (who is still recovering from Space Mountain) and get the kids' autograph books. Because of his space suit Buzz is unable to actually sign the books; instead he stamps the books, which the kids think is the coolest thing.

6:30 p.m. OK, now it's the moment of truth. We have to decide where we want to view the parade and fireworks. All eyes are on me and I, for once, don't have a ready answer. The kids want ice cream and we're all tired. I review our options as we walk toward the castle from Tomorrowland. When we see the castle we stop in our tracks. It is covered with white, sparkly christmas lights from top to bottom (even all the spires) and is morphing from dark blue to purple. It is breathtaking. Of course Mom, Janet, and I all stop to take pictures. Then we spot a PhotoPass photographer taking pictures of families with the castle in the background and have to have some taken of our group too.

As we approach Main Street I realize that we should have had Janet and Mom staking out our spot along the street while we finished up in Tomorrowland. The crowd along the parade route is 4 people deep and there are no spots available. I silently curse myself for not figuring this out earlier. The natives are getting restless so Mom, Janet, and I send the men with the kids in search of ice cream and then go search for a spot.

We find one just to the left of the castle along Main Street. We would get a spectacular view of the fireworks here and would most likely be able to see the parade here too, but would not have our fast exit out of the park. I'm undecided. I need to see what the view from City Hall at the entrance of the park is, so Mom and I leave Janet to guard the spot and head towards City Hall at breakneck speed.

It is less crowded at City Hall and there are some spots left on the street but the view of the castle is marred by the Christmas decorations hung on wires across the street. It boils down to great view or fast exit. In the end, fast exit with tired children wins so we gather our brood and secure our spot in front of City Hall. We have a few minutes before the parade starts and Victoria decides she wants a balloon, so Jon goes in search of a balloon for her. He returns with three light-up Mickey Mouse helium balloons, one for each kid. They are over the moon for these balloons (as they should be at $15 a pop, no pun intended).

7:00 p.m.: The streetlights dim, we take our spot, and the Spectromagic parade begins. Leading the parade is Tinkerbell riding in a brightly lit float. Next comes a choo-choo train covered in lights. We look closely and see that Goofy is driving the train and Mickey and Minnie are on it too! Following are more Disney characters in lights: Alice in Wonderland on her magic mushroom, Cinderella in her pumpkin carriage, and Peter Pan, to name a few.  I look up at Nicholas who is sitting on Jeff's shoulders. He is grinning from ear to ear, as are Victoria and Michael. Aahh, the magic of Disney!!!

7:45 p.m.: In between the parade and the fireworks Mom and I take turns trying to find the best spot to view them. Our spot isn't so bad but there's a flagpole smack dab in the middle of our view. In the upper level of City Hall the decorations don't mar the view quite so much but there really isn't an open spot. And so we stick with the same spot we were in for the parade.

8:00 p.m.: "Ladies and gentlemen, Disney World is proud to present the Wishes fireworks!" The castle morphs from pink to white to yellow, then blue, purple, and violet. A collective murmur is heard from the crowd as the castle begins to twinkle and then the fireworks begin. Jiminy Cricket is our guide as classic Disney music, including "When you wish upon a star," accompanies the colorful (and loud) pyrotechnics. Wishes is billed as " the biggest, brightest fireworks extravaganza in Magic Kingdom theme park history," but I think it is the biggest and best fireworks show I've ever seen.

Tears come to my eyes at the finale when my mom says, "I feel like I'm eight years old again watching the Mickey Mouse Club," in reference to the classic showing of fireworks at the beginning of the show. What wonderful magic this trip is for everyone young and old(er)!

As the last of the applause fades into the night, we pack the kids into the strollers, grab our backpacks and balloons, and make a beeline out of the park to our bus.

8:30 p.m. We are on the bus headed back to the hotel. Even though this is a wonderful thing I feel regretful that we didn't choose to see the fireworks from our first spot, which would have given us a better view. Oh well, there's always next time!