Disney January 2019 Trip Report - Part 2

If you haven't read Part 1, which is about the hotel where we stayed, click here to check it out.

For the second part of our trip report, I wanted to just do a quick Magic Kingdom photo journal. Since we had *just* been at Disney in August, not a lot had changed. Of course, visiting in the 'off-season' like January does mean that more things are closed. On this trip, Peter Pan's Flight, Tomorrowland Speedway and the Walt Disney World Railroad were not operational at Magic Kingdom. Those are three of the fam's favorite rides...but we made the most of it.

I should note that the WDW RR is a long-term closure. In fact, the portion of the track that runs from New Fantasyland to Main Street station has been completely removed to make way for the new Tron ride/attraction. The train itself is parked at Main Street station and budding engineers like HRH are welcome to take a look and ring the bell. I can't tell you how happy this made my kid.

Don't believe me? There's proof on my IG feed: https://bit.ly/2FBUm4e

As in August, HRH wasn't interested in going on any of the bigger thrill rides - Big Thunder Mountain, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train were off his list. And hubby didn't think he was ready for Space Mountain either. On this trip, it was much of the same. There was also a fair amount of convincing that went into the multiple rides on Pirates of the Caribbean. Yet this child isn't afraid of Haunted Mansion, where I still sometimes close my eyes at the tender age of 42.

From a food perspective, we had some great meals and some that were meh. I am not a fan of the Pecos Bill 're-brand' and the kids 'rice bowl' is a sorry excuse for sustenance at $9.00. Also, would it kill you to get some chairs instead of those backless stools? Mama's tired.

For the first night of our trip, and to help hubby carbo-load for his race, I booked dinner at Tony's Town Square. The food and service were delish! Ronan barely ate, but I devoured my ravioli and we all enjoyed the rosemary focaccia bread (egg free!).

Of course, we also ate our weight in Dole Whips, citrus swirls and floats, even when it was so cold we froze our faces off to enjoy the ice cream. It wouldn't be a trip to Disney without our favorite treats.

The morning that hubby was *supposed* to run the half marathon, we had breakfast at The Crystal Palace. This is a character breakfast featuring Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eyore and Piglet. The food was great, the service top notch and HRH enjoyed interacting with the characters. I'm not big on spending more than $100 for breakfast for three people, but it's Disney...I'm paying for the magic.

On the last day of vacation, in an effort to enter the Magic Kingdom ahead of true park opening, we had breakfast at The Plaza restaurant on Main Street USA. The space is small and the menu is limited, but we had a great time. Why? Our server was Chinese, and Ronan got to show off his budding Mandarin skills. There was a family at the table next to us with 4-year-old twins and the Mom and I had a lovely chat about her self-supplied 'Restaurant Survival Kit' that helped her kids stay busy yet remain engaged at the table instead of watching videos on an iPhone. I think it goes without saying that yours truly is now the proud owner of the Farrell Family Restaurant Survival Kit. We took it out for a test drive over the weekend and IT WORKED. Feel free to email me if you'd like more information on what this looks like and how it works.