Once Upon a Family / April 2018 / Day 3 Magic Kingdom & Disney Springs (A Very Rainy Day)

[NatsyNoo]

We woke up at 6.30am ready for a fun day at Typhoon Lagoon before our family photoshoot this afternoon – or that was the plan anyway. Mother Nature had other plans. We looked at the radar pictures for today and were definitely going to have some storms today, so we decided to shuffle some plans around and go to Magic Kingdom instead.

IMG_8017 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

We got the bus at 8.15am, and watched the Welcome Show again, before heading straight to the Mine Train and Space Mountain (the twins’ favourite rides in Magic Kingdom).

IMG_8020 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

IMG_8018 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

MK_MINETRAIN_20180410_8215913651 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

MK_SPACEMOUNTAINA_20180410_8215922283 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

It was coming up to 10am now so we decided to go and meet the characters in Storybook Circus whilst it would be quiet. We had a great time meeting Goofy, Donald, Minnie and Daisy!

IMG_8041 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

MK_SBCSIDESHOWGOOFINICHAR_20180410_410797438591 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr
MK_SBCSIDESHOWGOOFINICHAR_20180410_410797438572 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr
MK_SBCSIDESHOWDONALDOCHAR_20180410_410796747134 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr
MK_SBCSIDESHOWDONALDOCHAR_20180410_410796747118 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr
MK_SBCSIDESHOWDONALDOCHAR_20180410_410796735092 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr
MK_SBCSIDESHOWDAISYCHAR_20180410_410797150223 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr
MK_SBCSIDESHOWDAISYCHAR_20180410_410797150218 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr
MK_SBCSIDESHOWDAISYCHAR_20180410_410797150213 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr
MK_SBCSIDESHOWDAISYCHAR_20180410_410797150208 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

MK_SBCSIDESHOWMINNIECHAR_20180410_410797296616 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

MK_SBCSIDESHOWMINNIECHAR_20180410_410797296635 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

MK_SBCSIDESHOWMINNIECHAR_20180410_410797296632 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

MK_SBCSIDESHOWMINNIECHAR_20180410_410797296628 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

MK_SBCSIDESHOWMINNIECHAR_20180410_410797296627 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

After these greets, we looked around the shop…and then the heavens opened! We all bought ponchos at $10.01 each, and decided to head over to Buzz to use our Fastpass. Well, not Louise, Dan and Molly as they didn’t fancy spending a day in the rain, poncho or no poncho, so they headed back to the hotel.

20180410_103908 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

The rest of us rode Buzz, were soaked already even with ponchos, and also decided to abandon our backup plan and head back to the hotel.

Once back at the hotel, Matt and I got changed and decided to go and explore at Disney Springs instead. The rest of the family stayed at the resort and spent the day just chilling out.

Matt and I went first to D-Luxe for lunch where we split one QS credit on a Southern Burger with a snack credit side of fries. The burger was very yummy and fantastic value for a snack credit!

IMG_8043 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

IMG_8044 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

IMG_8045 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

After a little wander around the shops, we doubled back on ourselves and went to Blaze Pizza to split another QS credit. We didn’t really know the opportunities here (we do now!) so just ordered a ham & pineapple but we know better for next time! It was very yummy though and I really enjoyed the passion fruit aqua pura drink!

IMG_8055 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

After our second lunch, we went for another wander around the shops. We resisted the Cupcake ATM!

IMG_8048 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

We bought:
An Alex & Ani Jiminy Cricket bracelet - $47.88 including tax
An Ironman Lego keyring - $5.31 including tax
Dumbo & Mickey Disney Tradition - $69.23 including tax
Magical Express washbag from Tag - $31.90 including tax
A 2018 Christmas Decoration - $26.62 including tax
A Toy Story Alien light up necklace - $16 including tax
Stitch PJ Bottoms (for Matt) - $36.99
Polka Dot Spirit Jersey - $59.99
A hoodie for my friend - $54.99

We got the bus back to the resort mid-afternoon after a good rummage around Disney Springs (our first time since the work completed) and got changed ready for the evening ahead. The family had decided to stay local and just have dinner at ESPN. Matt and I wanted to get some park time and had dinner booked at Le Cellier anyway (intended to be a nice thing to do after we were all dressed up for our photo shoot) so went into Epcot for a few hours beforehand. The others clearly had some fun in the Boardwalk photobooth too!

WDWRESORTSANDMORE_PBBDWALK1_20180410_8216198862 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

WDWRESORTSANDMORE_PBBDWALK2_20180410_8216200962 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

WDWRESORTSANDMORE_PBBDWALK2_20180410_8216200964 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

We spent some time in the lounge with the family, before heading off. We had managed to bag a Fastpass for Soarin’ so rode that first (at 6pm), then met Baymax and Joy & Sadness without too much of a wait, visited the Character Spot, looked at Mousegear, got some photos around Spaceship Earth to make the most of the Memory Maker, before heading to Le Cellier for our dinner.

EPCOT_INSIDEOUTCHAR_20180410_410810926162 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

EPCOT_BIGHERO6CHAR_20180410_410810527650 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

EPCOT_CHRCON1_20180410_410812046173 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

EPCOT_CHRCON3_20180411_410811767065 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

20180410_200002 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

I was so happy to get some Orange Bird Magic Shots!

EPCOT_IGFRLOWBRIDGEICON_20180410_410809393484 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

EPCOT_IGFRLOWBRIDGEICON_20180410_410809393483 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

Bubblegum Wall!

PTIR2213 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

More Epcot topiary love!

IMG_8063 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

20180410_200352 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

We found this quite entertaining!

20180410_201145 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

Spaceship Earth by night!

20180410_202436 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

EPCOT_ECENTR2_20180411_410812028703 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

EPCOT_BACKSIDE3_20180411_410813196530 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

At Mousegear, we bought the park exclusive Figment Pop Vinyl ($19.99), Baymax plush and Stitch plush for Molly (total $63.89 including tax), and then a Flower & Garden Dooney tote for my friend Roseanne ($248), Marie pin as a gift for Roseanne as she always treats me on her Disney trips ($14.99) and the 2018 Vinylmation ($16.99) which all came to $279.98.

An expensive day lol.

Whilst waiting for our table at Le Cellier, we found some Disney Ducks!

IMG_8068 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

Dinner at Le Cellier was excellent as usual – I had the mushroom fillet and Matt had the prime rib. We skipped dessert as we were paying OOP for this one and didn’t really fancy anything else. I’m afraid I don’t have the final cost but I think it was about $130.

IMG_8071 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

20180410_212223 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

IMG_8076 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

We headed back to the resort after Le Cellier and were in bed not long after 10pm – the walk back to the Yacht Club is such a lovely one, oh how I miss it!

[KarenG]

What fabulous character photos you got! They look so interactive!

Such a shame about the rain, but hopefully two lunches were a consolation What did you think of the new Springs, if it was the first time you'd been since it was complete?

You look gorgeous in your dress

[sheluk]

Shame about the rain but it sounds like you made the most of the day. Some fab food there too! X

[Mamie Baldwin]

A fab day complete with retail therapy! Can I ask where your Donald top is from please?

[mick]

Shame about the rain but you had a good day

Joan

[Jakey Neverland]

Looks like the rain didn't stop you having a fantastic day, and that giant Stitch I need one.

[Guest]

Cute character photos of you all. I love the purple dress! Where did you buy it please? xx

[collybird]

How gorgeous is your Donald top!? He looks like he approved. Your dress for the evening is so pretty too.

I’m so glad that the others felt they could head back to the resort if they felt like it, it just meant everyone would be happier.

Dinner looks gorgeous!

[margyloveswdw]

Love the Donald top! Despite the rain it sounded like you had a good day.

A rainy day in Disney is still better than a sunny day at work in real life!

[NatsyNoo]

Originally Posted by KarenG

What fabulous character photos you got! They look so interactive!

Such a shame about the rain, but hopefully two lunches were a consolation What did you think of the new Springs, if it was the first time you'd been since it was complete?

You look gorgeous in your dress

See more...

Thank you - yes we did get a good bunch. And some of the best interaction the photographers didn't catch which was a shame! I do love our piccies though!

Haha yes the two lunches went some way to making up for the bad weather. I was just determined not to let it waste one of our precious days! It was our first time since the old Pleasure Island and West Side bit was as complete as it is now. We did really like it but because it's a bit more built up, it feels like there is less space and more people so a lot busier feeling but I did really like it and Blaze and DLuxe are definitely fantastic additions!

Thank you, I love that dress!

Originally Posted by sheluk

Shame about the rain but it sounds like you made the most of the day. Some fab food there too! X

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Thank you, we certainly tried too! It's very difficult to have a bad food day in Disney, huh?!

Originally Posted by Mamie Baldwin

A fab day complete with retail therapy! Can I ask where your Donald top is from please?

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Haha it was a good one in the end!
The Donald top is Lularoe, it's an Irma.

Originally Posted by mick

Shame about the rain but you had a good day

Joan

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Thank you, yes it was a good day in the end!

Originally Posted by Jakey Neverland

Looks like the rain didn't stop you having a fantastic day, and that giant Stitch I need one.

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No we were determined not to let it stop us! Haha giant Stitch is very lovely, he is a reminder of very happy times!

Originally Posted by tinkerbell92

Cute character photos of you all. I love the purple dress! Where did you buy it please? xx

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Thank you! The dress is from LulaRoe, it's an Amelia.

Originally Posted by collybird

How gorgeous is your Donald top!? He looks like he approved. Your dress for the evening is so pretty too.

I’m so glad that the others felt they could head back to the resort if they felt like it, it just meant everyone would be happier.

Dinner looks gorgeous!

See more...

Haha yes Donald always loves it when you wear clothes dedicated to him lol. Thank you.
Yes definitely we were all very comfortable doing what we needed to do to have a good time, and Dad was encouraging of it despite paying for us all to have a big family trip. He wanted us all to have a great holiday irrespective of him paying for it which is lovely. We were very lucky as it meant we could do our ADRs that we would otherwise have missed, KSC and Universal later in the trip, and stay up a bit later and not be constrained by a little Miss Molly too!
Dinner was so yummy! Take me back!