Disney Retrospective: First Trip to the Magic Kingdom

This isn’t the most fantastic picture, but it’s Elaina’s very first view of Cinderella’s castle and the moment she stopped asking, “Is this Disney?”

If you know her well, you know that little smile sometimes means more than her big toothy ones.

This mother and daughter were a very cool pair watching the parades at the Magic Kingdom.

Elaina loved the parades, and I think we saw at least one each day. 

Elaina, watching the end of the parade with a little smile, draped in crepe paper ribbons given to her by one of the parade people.

She got a lot of attention from people in the parade—a lot more than her Daddy did, even with his Ray Charles sunglasses!

The parade stopped in front of us and Elaina got to dance in the street with Jessie from Toy Story.  Daddy’s conveniently behind the camera, not being much for dancing in the street.

What's a trip to the Magic Kingdom without a Dumbo ride?  Roughly 32 minutes shorter, I’d guess. 

Elaina loved the Dumbo ride, though—enough to stand in line for 30 minutes.  Therefore, I  loved the Dumbo ride as well.  The only thing wrong with this picture is we didn’t get the Dumbo with the pink hat!  Gasp!  Unthinkable!  We had to try again later, and we miraculously did get one of only two Dumbos with a pink hat, to the great joy of my daughter and my great relief.

Here’s Elaina, politely knocking on Cinderella’s door, just inside the castle.

Cinderella was unavailable, so....

Here’s Elaina being restrained from trespassing on Cinderella’s castle.

Going to dinner after a long day at the Magic Kingdom.  One of the things Elaina loved about staying at The Polynesian was the ever-present leis.  If she wasn’t already wearing hers, someone would give her one. 

She looks kind of somber in some of these.  She’s really not.  She just has a somber expression sometimes.  It’s not that she’s unhappy.