Apologies for the delay in this series of posts.  While I had all the good intentions to have them done when I last posted, real world got in the way.  No excuses.  And really, I don’t think anyone’s been clamoring for the posts.  LOL.

Our first full day in Disney World was on August 21st.  For our first day, we went to the rope drop ceremony at Magic Kingdom. This was the first time we’ve seen the welcome ceremony.  While we’ve experienced this at each of the other parks, we had never taken the time to be there for the Magic Kingdom itself.  I am not ashamed to admit that when Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy & the rest of the gang were all standing there on the Main St. USA train station, music blaring, fireworks roaring, I cried.  I was filled with so much joy and enthusiasm.  Pure unadulterated happiness.  Just thinking about it now gives me shivers and makes my eyes well up with tears.

Our fist day also brought a few other firsts for Isabelle and I.  Since the last time we had visited, the expansion to Fantasyland had opened.  They were just building the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster.  We had our fist FastPass+ ticket for this ride and boy was it fun!  The wait times for this ride are crazy.  On average the wait was a minimum of 90 minutes (often well over 100-120!).  Thank goodness for FastPass!  The ride itself is short, but the theming is simply marvelous.  While you’re inside the mine, the Dwarfs are all around you working away.

Another first for us was the visit to the Enchanted Forest area of the new Fantasyland, including Gaston’s Tavern for a cup of LeFou’s Brew.  Sooo good!  I had another when we returned to the park later in the week.

Our night came to an end dining at Be Our Guest.  The restaurant is simply amazing.  You enter Beast’s castle and are seated in one of three areas – the Grand Ballroom (where we were seated); the West Wing which is the Beast’s study, including the enchanted rose; the Castle Gallery, Belle’s private library.  The restaurant itself is simply gorgeous.  Our waiter that night was quite fun as well.  He was sarcastic and slightly condescending to the “Prince” and “Princess” that he was serving.  He remained deeply in character throughout our meal, adding to the atmosphere.

The meal itself was delicious and was followed by a serving of The Grey Stuff for each of us.  Quite delicious to say the least.

All in all, a fantastic first day for our trip.  Stay tuned for Day 2! (apologies to everyone for the next week’s worth of posts)