That old Magic Kingdom magic
Our first visit to Disney’s Magic Kingdom was during Spring Break 2009. We had recently had our phone interview to state our case that we believed Mihret belonged with our family (Spoiler alert: they said yes!). We already had the 2009 trip to Disney planned and we figured this would either be a great way to celebrate that our family was going to grow soon. Or we could drown our sorrows in roller coasters and fireworks.
Fortunately, we were able to celebrate. And we’re still celebrating, actually. Because, well, Mihret is just so full of joy and has a deep, deep, deep love for life, it’s kind of contagious. So we wind up celebrating her every day. You might think I’m joking. I promise I’m not.
I mean, if this doesn’t make you want to get up and dance too, you might not have a soul. Just sayin’.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVYNT1cAtu6/
With all that being said, when we began planning this once-in-a-lifetime magical Florida vacation with Indiana Children’s Wish Fund, it only made sense to visit Disney World to celebrate the 10th anniversary of that phone call.
As you should already know, we had an amazing time in Florida. And Disney’s Magic Kingdom did not disappoint.
We met royalty
We met Mickey and Minnie in Animal Kingdom (more of that in another post), but there were a few princesses that we needed to meet – Elana of Avalor and Cinderella, for two very different reasons.
Elana of Avalor
Longtime readers of this blog (thanks for sticking with me!) might remember this. Most of y’all probably don’t know it, though. Mihret’s first name is not Mihret. It’s Elayna. She usually goes by Mihret. Last summer, she wanted everyone to call her Elayna. And sometimes it’s Elayna Mihret – but that’s not very often.
So of course our Princess Elayna Mihret needed to meet Disney’s Elana of Avalar. It was only fitting, right?
It was a royal summit, for sure. And after a few minutes of some serious princess business. It was time for a royal portrait.
Cinderella
Get ready. This is pretty stinkin’ adorable.
Ten years ago, Aly had to meet Cinderella. So we waited in line to meet her and some other princesses. Once it was finally Aly’s turn, we took this photo.
Pretty cute. Right? During this visit, Cinderella and Elana of Avalor shared the same room. As we waited our turn to see Cinderella, Aly asked if she could recreate this photo with Cinderella.
I pulled up the picture on my phone and showed Cinderella the photo and asked if it was possible to recreate this 10 year old photo. She agreed without batting an eye.
“Oh,” I said, as I realized the problem. “You don’t have a bench to sit on. Nevermind.”
“That’s OK,” she insisted. “We’ll just sit on the floor.” And before anyone could say otherwise, plop! She was on the floor, ready to recreate our iconic photo.
I told you. Pretty stinkin’ adorable.
She also shared a few giggles with Mihret before posing for their royal portrait.
Parades and shows and characters
We saw lots of characters throughout the day. Several waved at Mihret specifically. Maybe it’s because she had her own phone to take pics. Maybe it’s because they saw her Genie badge. Or maybe they all knew the same thing our family knows – she’s really a princess. Whatever the reason, she was excited to wave back at them.
The rides
From It’s a Small World to Pirates of the Caribbean and Dumbo, we tried to hit all the rides. We didn’t ride all of them, but we certainly rode most of them.
Magic Kingdom is magical
While we haven’t been to Magic Kingdom that many times (second family trip, first with Mihret), I think we already have some established traditions. Must-rides include the Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan, and It’s a Small World. Oh, and the fireworks are a must-see, too.
It was a day full of memories and wishes and magic. Thank you, Disney, for making this Wish Kid’s wishes come true!
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