After a fun afternoon in the sun, we took a much needed nap and then geared up for a very big surprise. Ella got dressed and wore her Minnie Mouse ears, but had no idea why she was wearing them. We headed over to Disney’s Swan Resort and had dinner at the Garden Grove, where Pluto and Goofy just happened to join us. We asked her if we were at Disney and she said, “No, Mom. This isn’t Disney, it’s just a restaurant.”
Ella was very excited about Pluto from a distance, but wasn’t sure what she thought about him as he got closer to our table. She let me and daddy take a picture with him, but wouldn’t take one herself OR let Bunny take one. She told us later that she didn’t even like dogs… only Beemer. That quickly changed when Goofy appeared. Not only did she and Bunny have their picture made, but she even gave him a high-five and a big ‘ole kiss on the cheek.
She got really excited when we passed the Magic Kingdom sign and we finally told her we were at Disney. She opted for the monorail, so we saved the Ferry for later. When Cinderella’s castle came into view she started squealing. Once we entered MK that was our first stop.
We didn’t intend to do much riding., we really wanted to walk around, get a feel for the layout with Ella in tow and find a great spot for the evening parade. To our surprise the lines were non-existent and we managed to get a few things under our belt. We rode Cinderella’s Carousel and Dumbo’s Flight before we settled in for the parade.
We had a primo spot right in front of Cinderella’s castle where we enjoyed the SpectroMagic Parade and Wishes fireworks. Ella had a chance to call home and talk with Nana and Garan and tell them all about Disney World. She loved the parade, especially Mickey Mouse, but wasn’t too impressed with the fireworks. That’s a license to turn in early the rest of the week, so Mommy and Daddy were thrilled.
