Another Magical Day in Magic Kingdom

Once again, we are completely exhausted.  There were some pitfalls today, but we still managed to get the most out of our time in Magic Kingdom.  Like I said yesterday, we divided the park in half, and today we focused on Liberty Square, Frontierland and Adventureland, although we did stray a little bit.

Even though we left the hotel at about the same time, there was practically no line at security, which was awesome.  We hoped this would continue throughout the day, but, alas, crowds did pick up over time.  Since there wasn't really a line at the entrance, we were able to get some nice photos of us in front of the train station before heading inside.  We were then able to see the rope drop ceremony, which was a wonderful surprise.  It was a cute little show where Mickey comes out, welcomes everyone and then all the other characters come out to say hello to everyone before scattering for the day.  Of course, the show ended with fireworks.

Once the rope drop was over, we rushed over to Adventureland to ride the Jungle Cruise, as lines are ridiculous, and we didn't have a FastPass for it.  We waited in line for about 20 minutes.  Bryan hadn't been on it before, so all the horrible dad jokes and puns were new to him.  I think that's what makes Jungle Cruise so endearing, it doesn't take itself seriously at all, especially now that Animal Kingdom is open, and people can see real animals.  Although, that was what Walt Disney originally wanted for the Jungle Cruise, real animals, but it just wasn't feasible at the time.

Done with Jungle Cruise, we headed to our first FastPass for the day, Haunted Mansion.  Even though we rode the ride last night before leaving, we still rode it again and enjoyed it just as much as the first time.  The ballroom scene is my absolute favorite.  There's so much to see and take in, I could spend ages in that scene and still not see everything.  I also love Haunted Mansion because it's the only haunted attraction I'll ever do; I hate jump scares.  One guy behind us in line was surprised, as he thought it was an actual haunted house you walk through, like the ones at the beach or at the fair.  Hopefully he wasn't looking to actually be scared.

After riding Haunted Mansion again, we went back to Adventureland to meet Aladdin and Jasmine.  They were so adorable.  The showed up talking about something (I couldn't hear what), and when they went to greet each guest, they always held hands.  It was so cute.  I was determined to stump Aladdin, so I asked him if he'd heard from his father lately.  Right away, his face lit up, and he said, "Kaseem!?  I actually brought him to the palace yesterday, he's around here with Iago, probably near the pirates because he knows they have lots of treasure.  The two of them are actually working at exploring ruins on the outskirts of Agrabah in search of treasure.  Apparently the jewels are bigger than the ones in the Cave of Wonders.  You'll be able to hear Iago, he won't stop talking about the time he got to hold the Hand of Midas."  I have to admit, I was incredibly impressed.  I also don't think Aladdin gets to talk about his dad a lot, so this was his chance to show off some seldom-used knowledge.  Don't worry, though, I have a plan to stump Belle tomorrow.

By the time we finished with Aladdin and Jasmine, it was about 10:45, so we did the logical thing and got ice cream from Aloha Isle.  Rather than get a dole whip, however, I got the Kakamora float, which had coconut dole whip, pineapple juice, blue caracao and a chocolate cake pop.  It was delicious, although it melted really quickly, so I had to rush to eat it.

Having some time to kill, I subjected Bryan to the Enchanted Tiki Room.  Just alking about it right now, I have the song stuck in my head.  I know it's a fairly low key show and is fairly dated, but I wanted to see it because I've heard rumors that Disney might replace it with something else at some point, so I wanted to see it one more time, just in case.  If Disney doesn't get rid of it, oh well, we got to sit in the air conditioning for ten minutes and relax.

With still a little bit of time to kill, we decided to check out the Swiss Family Treehouse.  I'd been to Disney three times before this, and I'd never done this attraction before.  It's pretty much a life size model of the treehouse from The Swiss Family Robinson, which I'd read a children's version of about twenty years ago, but never the real version.  It was pretty cool to walk through and see everything, although I feel like I would have appreciated it more had I brushed up on the book or even the movie.  This wasn't an attraction we planned on visiting, so we didn't watch the movie ahead of time.

After finishing up a the Enchanted Tiki Room and Swiss Family Treehouse, we headed over towards Pirates of the Caribbean to meet Captain Jack Sparrow.  We'd actually gone up there a little bit earlier and asked a cast member where Jack would be. She said, "Sometimes he's over by the stage, sometimes he's in front of the ride, sometimes he's in a little cave between Adventureland and Frontierland.  We can't really keep him in one place."  For some reason, I found this absolutely hilarious.  Now, however, they're trying hard to keep him contained to the stage across from Pirates of the Caribbean.

We had a wonderful time meeting Jack.  He was weary of me because I had on my Aztec gold necklace that I bought for Pirate Weekend at the Renn Faire.  He asked me if I had been in the moonlight yet, and when I said no, he said, "Then you're in for a real surprise later."  To be honest, Jack wasn't entirely thrilled with Bryan, as he didn't like his shirt.  He blamed him for his lack of rum and said, "If I had rum, do you think I'd be here right now?"  I then said, "Jack, what's the best advice for getting a crew in line?"  He said, "Well, I didn't do a very good job because there was a mutiny."  Then, he continued by saying, "There are two best places for a captain, at the top of the ship where you can see everything or the first one on the longboat."  It was great, and he definitely looked and acted the part.  I feel like Jack Sparrow is a difficult character to play, because there's way more when it comes to tiny little movements than you get with some of the other face characters.  I have to admit, however, I am a little disappointed, as I didn't refer to him as "Captain", and he didn't say anything.  Bryan said it's fine, but it bothered me because it's so important to him in the movie that that's what he's focusing on when he has a noose around his neck at the gallows.

At this point, we had a FastPass for Pirates of the Caribbean, but it was down, so Disney gave us a FastPass for pretty much any other ride with a FastPass other than Seven Dwarfs, meeting Mickey and Peter Pan's Flight.  Having had the same problem with Dinosaur and Toy Story Mania, we decided to just keep that FastPass in our back pocket until the ride got up and running again.  Unfortunately, this never happened, but more about that later.

Today there was a lot of down time for us.  Although we were in the park, we spent a lot of time sitting (and yet, we still got in 20,000 steps because we zig zagged across the park in the end).  I wanted to get spring rolls from the entrance to Adventureland.  According to Bryan, the guy in front of us in line asked the cast member how often Tim Tracker came around, and he said whenever there's a new spring roll, he normally shows up.  I got the pepperoni pizza spring roll, while Bryan got one pepperoni and one cheeseburger.  I thought they were delicious and surprisingly filling for something so small.  Bryan said he liked the cheeseburger one better.

With our food in hand, we headed over to Tortuga Tavern, hoping and praying Pirates of the Caribbean would open up again soon.  It was also significantly cooler in there, so we kept getting more food and just relaxing there until it was time to find a spot for the Festival of Fantasy parade.  We purposefully picked today to watch the parade since it starts in Frontierland.  We didn't care about seeing the parade on Main Street or with the castle in the background, we simply wanted a spot that wasn't very crowded and was in the shade.  If that's what you're looking for, outside the Christmas shop in Liberty Square is the perfect spot.  We hung out there for about an hour, eating and relaxing while waiting for the parade to start.

The parade was wonderful and so much fun.  A lot of the face characters in the parade were the same cast members we met yesterday, so that was pretty cool.  I think my favorite part was the Maleficent dragon.  That thing was absolutely huge!  I definitely wasn't expecting it to be a little smaller.  It had this cool steampunk look to it and breathed fire.  Added bonus: it didn't catch on fire (it had done so in the past).  The costumes and floats were absolutely stunning, and it was a lot of fun seeing some characters not available to meet go by (such as Captain Hook, Wendy, Flynn Rider and Prince Phillip).  Our spot was perfect for the parade, and I can't recommend it enough.  We simply sat on the wall right along where the handicap section was until it was time for the parade, and since we were right along the handicap section, there weren't any tall people standing in front of us.

Once the parade was done, we knew to avoid Main Street for a little while, as that was where the parade officially ended, and it was still going on for a while, so we wandered over into Fantasyland to see if the mice from Cinderella were out (as someone mentioned they saw them there on Tuesday).  When we asked a cast member, however, he said it was the Fairy Godmother, Anastasia and Drizella again, who we saw the day before.  Instead, we figured the parade was over (we'd spent a little time just wandering) and saw that Mickey only had a 15 minute wait down on Main Street, so that's where we went.

Of all the Mickeys we met (and we met Mickey in each park), this one was my favorite interaction; we had a lot of wonderful conversations.  It's important to note that this Mickey is dressed like a magician.  I noticed his sorcerer's hat up on a shelf and asked him if that's how he did his magic.  He said he used his magician's top hat, which was on another shelf.  I also asked him about the crystal ball, which said "Leotta Crystal" on the side.  Madam Leotta is the fortune teller in the crystal ball on Haunted Mansion.  I asked him if he got that up at Haunted Mansion.  He said it was scary and asked us if we went.  When we said yes, he asked if we'd picked up any hitchhiking ghosts.  I said yes, but we left them with Donald, which he thought was hilarious.  When we gave him the frame to sign, we were running out of room.  Mickey said he was up for the challenge of finding space and seemed relieved when he found a little bit of room to sing near the top.  This was supposed to be our last character encounter.  The key word there is "supposed".

Done with Mickey, it was time to use our FastPass for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  You'll notice at this point we're just zig zagging across the park with no real plan.  Personally, I like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad more than Space Mountain, but that's just me.  I think the scenery is better (because it actually has some), and it's a much smoother ride.  We were worried because the FastPass line was incredibly long, but they got us on and off the ride in about 20 minutes, which was quite impressive.  I swore there was a ride photo for this, but the photo is off the ride in front of the mountain, not on the actual ride.  It was still a great photo if you ask me.

With Pirates still being down, we decided to head back down to Main Street to get something to eat.  I desperately wanted the mermaid cupcake at the Confectionary, but they don't make it anymore (they rotate through their cupcakes), so that was upsetting.  Instead, we headed up to  Casey's Corner for a bacon mac and cheese hot dog.  I don't know what Disney does to its mac and cheese, but it's absolutely amazing every time I eat it.  Bryan liked the bacon mac and cheese tots from Friar's Nook yesterday better, and I have to agree, but the hot dog was still delicious.  While we ate, the Move It! Shake It! MouseKe Dance It! Dance Party happened on the hub.  They do this twice a day where they bring out about half a dozen brightly colored floats with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, etc. on them, and they play some songs with the words on a screen on the side of the floats.  They ride up Main Street then stop on the hub where kids can dance and sing along to the music.  It was a lot of fun to watch from a distance, and there were some characters, such as Goofy's son, Max, who we were surprised to see.  I didn't even know they had a costume for Max, but I guess they do.

We sat at Casey's Corner for at least half an hour, probably even longer, just eating and relaxing in the shade.  Our feet were killing us.  When I looked at the app, however, I noticed that meeting Daisy and Minnie up in Pete's Silly Sideshow was only half an hour, and they were the only two characters we were missing on our frame.  Since we didn't have anything else really going on (Pirates was still closed), we went up there. 

Now, we'd never met Daisy before, so this was a completely new character to us.  We asked her to tell us our future, and she said there were fireworks in our future, which was adorable until the cast member pointed out that the fireworks started shortly.  I also made the mistake of referring to Donald as Daisy's husband, and she got upset, pointing out that she didn't have a ring.  Oops.

Like Mickey, this was the fourth time we'd met Minnie.  She had a little dog show set up, and I complimented her on how well trained her dogs are.  She laughed when I told her that my dogs don't even sit on command.  When we handed her the frame, we told her that it was going to be a tight fit, but there was a little bit of space near Mickey.  She kissed Mickey's name and then managed to somehow fit her signature right next to him.

After meeting Minnie, we were done with characters.  In a whirlwind of two days, we managed to meet 25 characters and fit all of them on our frame.  I honestly don't know what's more impressive, the fact that we met 25 characters or the fact that all 25 of them fit their signatures on our frame mat.

With Pirates still down, we sat in Pete's Silly Sideshow for a while and watched the children play in the splash pad.  It was adorable to watch them play, and wonderful to just sit down for a little while.  People watching wasn't something we'd spent a lot of time doing in the parks, and Disney is honestly the perfect place to do that.  We were also in no rush to see the fireworks today, as we weren't watching them from Main Street.  I'd heard on Tim Tracker that one of the best places to watch the fireworks from is Fantasyland.  It's important to note you won't see the projections on the castle, but you're surrounded by fireworks.  In all honesty, I loved watching the fireworks from here was better than Main Street.  We watched from the bridge to Gaston's Tavern, looking between Be Our Guest and Gaston's.  It was perfect.  The fireworks were practically on top of us, and there was no one around.  I filmed the beginning and the end, but a lot of it, Bryan and I watched together, enjoying each other's company.  This may sound mushy, but it was so romantic and perfect.  It's probably one of my favorite moments from the entire trip.

Before going to the fireworks, Bryan and I had talked, and we figured even if Pirates of the Caribbean got up and running at this point, they probably wouldn't open it, as it would create a mad rush, and as long as you're in line for a ride by 9 PM, they have to let you ride it.  I'm not going to lie, I was super disappointed, but that's how life is.  We still had our FastPass to use, and we decided to use it on Space Mountain, which is Bryan's favorite ride at Magic Kingdom.  I honestly liked riding it the second time around, since I was prepared for all the jerkiness this time.  I really don't like where the camera is for Space Mountain, it's right after you go through the launch sequence.  I feel there are some much better place with sudden drops and turns that will get a better reaction out of riders, but that's just me.

By the time we finished Space Mountain, the park was closed. We stopped at the Emporium to buy a shirt I wanted, and then we headed back to the hotel for the night.  Overall, with the exception of Pirates of the Caribbean, I'd call Magic Kingdom a success, and we're now three quarters of the way through our trip.

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A Long, Productive Day in Magic Kingdom

Wow, what a day.  With the help of Extra Magic Hours, we managed to see 19 characters and 9 attractions.  Yes, you read those numbers correctly.  Needless to say, we're absolutely exhausted, and our feet our killing us.  When planning for Magic Kingdom, we split the park, and, with the exception of the last ride of the night, we stuck to that plan.  We also aimed to only stand in line for thirty minutes, and we, mostly, kept to that plan as well.

Our day started out in Tomorrowland where we rope dropped Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.  My competitive side came out, and I had to redeem myself for the dismal score I suffered on Toy Story Mania.  My goal was to max out the score at 999,999.  I'm so angry, because I only scored 93,000.  At least I beat Bryan, so that's all that mattered to me.

After finishing up on Buzz Lightyear, we had FastPasses for Space Mountain, but the ride was down.  This was unfortunate, but they gave us a free FastPass to use for whatever we wanted, including Space Mountain, if it got up and running.  We went through a similar experience with Dinosaur and Toy Story Mania, so we decided to just keep an eye on the ride and see when it got up and running again.

Instead, we went to meet Stitch, which I was absolutely over the moon about (no pun intended).  I adore Stitch, he's my favorite Disney character.  Not only did I have a Stitch shirt to wear today, but I also had a Stitch headband.  He was wonderful and hilarious.  One of the families in front of us had a stack of autograph books for him to sign, so he laid down on the floor with his feet up in the air as he signed them.  Once he signed the first one he slid it across the floor to the dad, and the dad kicked it back; Stitch wasn't happy.  Since it was a big group, Stitch decided the best way to take a photo was gather them together while he lounged on the floor in front of them.  When we met him, I kept giving him big hugs.  I forgot to ask him if he'd come home with me.  I'm not entirely sure how my dogs would react to him though, as he can be a little high maintenance.

After meeting Stitch, we went to see Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, which is a comedy show.  This is unlike many shows in Disney, however, as there are actors backstage using motion capture so they can interact with the audience and react to what they say.  We even got to see Mike's little nephew, who was so adorable, I just wanted to take him home (along with Stitch).  It was a lot of fun, and a great place to sit around and relax in some air conditioning.

Done with Tomorrowland for the time being (Space Mountain wasn't running still), we headed towards Fantasyland.  On our way, we ran into Alice.  While I'm not a big Alice in Wonderland fan, we still stopped to talk.  We had a wonderful conversation about proper manners and how to greet people properly.  I asked her what her favorite part of Wonderland is, and she said the flowers, even though they called her a weed, they still sang her a beautiful song.  That was definitely an interesting part of the movie.

From Alice, we kept the character parade going with Ariel, as her wait time wasn't that bad.  It was a very short encounter, but it was a lot of fun.  She was very bubbly (again, no pun intended) and full of personality.  She asked us if we liked bubbles, then drew plenty around her signature on our photo mat.

At this point, Space Mountain was up and running, so we headed down there to go on it.  This was Bryan's favorite ride of the day.  I liked it, but I don't remember it being so jerky and all over the place.  I know it's a roller coaster, but it wasn't smooth and easy going like other roller coasters.  It was a lot of fun though, and it's impressive that all of it is contained in that one building.  It was a little bit of a tight fit on the ride, but not nearly as bad as our next ride: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

I'd heard Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was a tight fit, and I was worried we would have some issues, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected.  This is a new ride for me at Disney World, and I'd heard amazing things about it.  It's definitely a step down in terms of thrills when compared to Space Mountain, but it was still exciting.  You're zipping through the mines as the seven dwarfs head home from work.  You even slow down to see them digging for gems.  That part was absolutely amazing, as everything glittered and sparkled around you.  As a whole, however, we thought the ride was alright.  It was fun, but definitely not worth the three hour wait in the stand-by line.  We waited no more than 15 minutes.  I said I'd wait up to 40 minutes for it, but Bryan said he'd only wait 20.

After Seven Dwarfs Mine train, we stuck around this part of Fantasyland for a while.  There was a forty minute wait to meet Pooh and Tigger, which broke our rule of 30 minutes, but we went for it.  While waiting in line, Bryan made friends with the 2 year old in front of us.  They spent forever giving high fives and fist bumps, then we looked at our markers and picked our favorite colors.  He was so adorable, and you could definitely tell the parents were grateful for the break.

Tigger and Pooh were so much fun.  My favorite part was when we asked them how we should pose.  This has seriously become my favorite thing to ask, because you get some hilarious poses.  Tigger suggested we should pose dramatically, and the results were amazing and hilarious.  When Tigger gave me a hug, I told him he gave me the best hugs.  The photographer called me out on this, as he remembered us from meeting Stitch that morning, who I kept hugging because Stitch is the best, and he said that I told Stitch he gave the best hugs.  Tigger got mad at me, until I pointed out that I said he gave better hugs than Stitch, so then I was in his good graces.

Keeping in the theme, we then bounced over (get it, bounced?) over to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which was our last FastPass that we had scheduled.  This ride is absolutely adorable as you go through the story of Winnie the Pooh.  This included bouncing with Tigger and escaping Heffalumps and Woozles, which are very terrifying creatures.  It was a cute ride, and while we waited in line, we were able to pick up FastPasses at 7:15 for Journey Under the Sea with the Little Mermaid. 

I really wanted to ride more rides, such as It's a Small World, but all the lines were ridiculous, so instead we got something to eat.  I'd been looking forward to the Peter Pan float from Storybook Treats and the loaded tots from Friar's Nook for weeks, and we were in the area, so that's where we went.  The float was delicious and perfect on a hot, sunny day.  It was key lime soft serve with Sprite and a little chocolate feather to look like Peter Pan's hat.  It was adorable.  The loaded tots were bacon mac and cheese, and they were delicious.  There's something about the mac and cheese at Disney World that is absolutely amazing, I can't quite figure out what they do to make it taste significantly better.

As we sat outside Friar's Nook to eat, we saw the Fairy Godmother walk by, so I got super excited; she's not an easy character to get.  I also saw the Evil Stepsisters walk by.  We finished eating and set out to find the stepsisters.  By the time we got in line for them, however, we learned they would be leaving shortly, and it would be the Fairy Godmother who came out, but Anastasia and Drizella would be back at 3:30.  We stayed in line for the Fairy Godmother, who was an alright character, nothing to really write home about, then hung around in the shade nearby for the stepsisters to come back.

I have to say right now, Anastasia and Drizella were by far my favorite character experience of the day.  They are a riot!  First, I handed Drizella my markers and told her she could pick a color.  She wanted green of course.  As soon as Anastasia heard this, she ran over and snatched all the colors except the pinks and purples, causing Drizella to go crazy.  Drizella's throwing a temper tantrum while Anastasia's mocking her, so eventually I have to step in and take back all the green markers to stop the fighting.  As Drizella's signing (using all 3 shades of green of course), Anastasia has the other colors, and she's drawing a face on the side of her hand.  I ask if it's a self portrait, and she says it's her sister, who she proceeds to mock.  Meeting them was an exhausting production.  They definitely take their time with each person and make it a memorable experience.  It was hilarious.

Having finally escaped the stepsisters, we doubled back slightly to meet Merida.  We walked right past her setup before.  While waiting in line, we struck up a conversation with the mom and three year old in front of us.  The three year old, Harper, was absolutely adorable, and I quickly started playing with her.  This eventually culminated with her practically sitting in my lap on the ground, looking at all my Disney photos, while her mom and Bryan talked.  Her mom was so grateful for the break, and Harper seemed to be entertained.

Meeting Merida was wonderful.  She told us she got up early to go see to the sunrise with Angus, but it was too cloudy.  Then, we talked about her little brothers.  Bryan joked that he was the youngest of three boys too, and Merida commented that he must have been the one to come up with all the ridiculous ideas, because her youngest brother, Hubert, is the one who does that.  She also said that her brothers have turned back into bears, but they don't seem to mind because that means they get out of their chores and responsibilities for the day.

At this point, we needed a drink, so we headed up to Gaston's Tavern at the top end of Fantasyland.  Here, we found out the most horrible news: Magic Kingdom is a dry park (the rest of the parks are not).  So, we settled for LeFou's Brew, which was frozen apple juice with toasted marshmallow and fruit flavored foam on top.  We also stuck around because the Gaston character meet and greet was nearby, and he always seemed like fun.

While our meeting with Gaston wasn't anything too spectacular, the girl in front of us is my hero.  She was with two other friends, but she asked for a solo picture with Gaston.  When posing for the picture, she said she was on a journey to find the biggest fool in the land, and her journey was no over.  It wasn't what she said that was so hilarious, but how Gaston reacted.  His face went blank, and you could see the wheels turning as he tried to think of something to say.  She actually stumped him, and it was amazing.  Gaston was an awesome character though, always in character.  Between meet ups, he would turn around and preen in the mirror.  He also kept talking about how our day was getting better now that he was in his presence.  Just like the evil stepsisters, he seemed like a blast to play.

From Gaston, we headed into uncharted territory in Fantasyland to meet Peter Pan.  We were probably the last people he met for the night.  He told us that he was signing in dark green and that when we met Tinkerbell, we were to tell her to sign in light green, it was an order from him.  He was very insistent on this, ask Tinkerbell isn't the best at listening to his order, such as when she told the Lost Boys to shoot Wendy because she was a bird.  He also said that it was partially Wendy's fault, as she shouldn't fly like a bird.

After meeting Peter Pan, we didn't want to stray far, as the Tangled lanterns photos were in the same place, and this is what I wanted to do more than anything.  So, we ate at Pinocchio's Village Haus, where they have decent flatbreads.  It was cool though, because you could see the loading area for It's a Small World, and they had little signs you could hold up with suggestions for people in line to do (sing the alphabet, clap their hands, dance, etc.).  It was super cute.

The Tangled lanterns were amazing.  The line was long and somewhat slow moving, but it was what I wanted to do on this trip more than anything else.  They're in the same place where you meet Peter Pan for right now because they're doing something underneath the actual lanterns, but they're right across the way from each other.  These are definitely some of my favorite pictures from the entire trip; they're absolutely stunning.

We finished with the lanterns just in time to go ride Journey of the Little Mermaid.  It was a cute little ride; very similar to Frozen Ever After or the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh where you're riding through the story as Scuttle tells you how Ariel met Prince Eric.  It was very bright and colorful, but I wouldn't wait an hour in line for it like some people were.  I guess if you have a small child who loves The Little Mermaid, it's perfect.

Now, at this point in our day, this is where I messed up.  The all-knowing internet told me that the fireworks didn't start until 9:15.  The internet lied.  We thought we had an hour until an announcement came on saying we had 10 minutes.  We were all the way back by the Teacups, and we had to get to Main Street, USA, along with everyone else.  It was a production and very stressful, but we eventually got decent spots near the Confectionary at the very end of Main Street.  I had hoped they would dim the lights on Main Street, but they didn't.  We also struggled to see the projections on the castle, but it wasn't the worst place to see the fireworks.

Once the fireworks were over, the line to meet Tinkerbell was only 15 minutes, so we went right there to meet her.  We passed along the message from Peter Pan, she said that she was only trying to protect the Lost Boys, as Wendy flew like a Dodo bird, which she heard are very dangerous, so she thought they were in danger.

By the time we finished with Tinkerbell, the park was pretty much closed for the night.  Luckily, we had Extra Magic Hours, and a plan.  We went back to meet Tiana and Rapunzel, as the wait was supposed to be about 20 minutes (it was probably closer to 15).

Tiana was delightful.  We talked about how Mardi Gras is coming up soon.  She said Lottie is in charge of the decorations for her restaurant.  She has a feeling Lottie is going to want to decorate everything in pink, but she hopes she'll stick to the more traditional Mardi Gras colors.  Tiana was also shocked to hear we'd never been to New Orleans before.  She told us when we visited to make sure we visited her restaurant; all we had to do was follow our noses, and we'd be sure to find her restaurant.

Rapunzel was incredibly hyper.  She was impressed by the number of signatures on our photo mat.  I asked how Flynn was doing, and she said he's getting ready for a talent show at the Snuggly Duckling.  Normally he won't sing, but she can get him to sing (she was quite proud of that).  She taught us how to do the smolder, but I'm afraid I'm not very good at it.  It doesn't matter, because it was still a lot of fun to learn how to do it.

We were going to stop there for the night for characters, but there wasn't any line for Cinderella and Elena of Avalor.  I'm afraid I know absolutely nothing about Elena, so I just let her lead the conversation.  I complimented her on her dress, and she said it's her coronation dress, and she loved it so much, she wears it every day now.  Cinderella was a quick meet and greet.  We told her we met her stepsisters and that they're quite characters.  She was so sweet and said that they've definitely calmed down a little and have gotten better at their singing now; she's heard them in the halls of her castle every once in a while.

After finish up our 19 character whirlwind, we headed over to It's a Small World, which said it had a 20 minute wait, but it was probably closer to 15.  The ride was just as adorable, and annoying, as I remembered.  I was a little disappointed because at some point Disney added in characters from the movies to the ride.  So, Alice would be with the British dolls, Lilo with the Polynesian, Aladdin and Jasmine with the Middle Eastern, etc, but they weren't there.  I guess they removed them, which was a little disappointing to me, but it was still a fun ride, and a wonderful opportunity to sit down.

This was going to be the end of our night, but Haunted Mansion only had a 20 minute wait.  So, we headed over there even though we have 9 AM FastPasses for it on Thursday.  It was a little creepier than I remembered, but it's still fun and perfect if you don't like jump scares.  The ballroom scene is my favorite, and not because there are portraits of Hamilton and Burr that come alive and duel.  I just love the technology and all the dancing ghosts.

I wanted to ride Pirates of the Caribbean, but Bryan was exhausted and done for the night.  As we walked through Liberty Square, we saw the PhotoPass location for Cinderella's slipper.  Like the Tangled lantern, you get to hold the physical slipper.  There was practically no line for it, so it was perfect.  I honestly think I might like these pictures more than the Tangled lanterns.

On our way our the door, we took a few pictures in front of the castle, which was absolutely stunning.  We did a PhotoPass (we didn't do many of those today), and we had some people take some as well.  It was the perfect end to a very long day.

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FastPass Day

Monday was our FastPass day, so I'm writing this a few days after the fact, but I didn't want to jump the gun with my Walt Disney Wednesday post.  I'm glad I checked the countdown on my phone, because I originally thought our FastPass day was Tuesday, so I would have done it a day late.  This wouldn't have been the end of the world, but we might not have gotten everything we wanted when we wanted.

Before the actual FastPass day, Bryan and I spent some time figuring out what we wanted and when.  Silly me, I thought this would be a simple enough activity that would take half hour, forty-five minutes tops.  Yeah, that's definitely not what happened.  When it comes to planning things, I need to be able to move things around, so I got colored sticky notes from the dollar store and arranged them on Bryan's wall in his apartment by date and time.  This gave us the ability to move things around to when we wanted them without erasing or crossing things out.

As I wrote things out and tried to figure out when we wanted to do them, Bryan had a map out on his phone (and another one on my phone), figuring out what attractions were close to each other.  The original plan for our first day in Animal Kingdom involved us zigzagging across the park, which didn't seem like the best use of our time.  This especially bothered Bryan who was determined to find a way to maximize our time.  He was a man on a mission, it was great (but also a little frustrating).  Due to this, we kept moving things around to find a way that got us all the rides we wanted, at times we wanted.  It was a mess.  Thankfully, since we had everything on sticky notes, we were able to move things with ease.  In the end, I was exhausted, cranky, and my legs were killing me.  We had a general idea as to when we wanted to ride each ride.  Of course, the times weren't guaranteed because it would be whenever the FastPasses were available, but we wanted to have a general idea.  We also started talking about some of the quick service food places we wanted to eat.  After about two hours worth of work, we had a plan, and we only changed it up a little bit after that.

Monday rolled around, and my original plan was to get up super early and get to work around 6:45ish so I could do our FastPasses, and then I would just do stuff at school for the next hour until students arrived.  Thankfully, Mother Nature was on my side, and originally we had a two hour delay, but it was changed to a snow day.  This meant I could do our FastPasses from home, which was even better.  Let me start out by saying that FastPass day is incredibly stressful!  It was a whirlwind.  Instead of going day by day, I decided to hit all the big ticket, hard to get FastPasses first, which meant I was jumping from day to day, from park to park like a crazy person.  Then, I went back and got the smaller FastPasses that are much easier to get.  It was insane.  I also kept skipping over one day for some random reason, so I had to go back and fix all of that. 

The one thing that I absolutely hated was the tier system in Hollywood Studios.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with how FastPasses work, at Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot there is a tier system where the most popular rides are considered tier one, while the rest of the FastPass attractions are considered tier two.  When you first reserve FastPasses, you can only reserve one from tier one and two from tier two.  Once you've used all three, you can book more from whatever is left.  With the exception of Star Tours, pretty much all of the rides at Hollywood Studios is tier one, which means you have to choose between Slinky Dog Dash, Toy Story Mania, Alien Swirling Saucers, Tower of Terror or Rock'n'Roller Coaster for tier one, which is an absurd amount for one tier.  Then, there weren't very many attractions we wanted for tier two because I keep reading that FastPasses for shows really isn't necessary.  This leaves a lot that we want to do for Extra Magic Hours, but I'll talk about that in a few weeks when I write about Hollywood Studios.

Overall, Bryan and I are pleased with our FastPass selections.  I'm getting more and more excited about our trip.  We're less than two months from our trip, and everything is starting to fall into place.

Because Christmas is on a Wednesday next week, I won't be doing a Walt Disney Wednesday post.  My goal is to have a post a few days later about planning a vacation in general, but I need Bryan's help for that (he just doesn't know that yet).  So keep an eye out for that post.

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A Closer Look at Magic Kingdom

Ahh Wednesday, before you were simply a day I had to get through to be halfway done with the week.  Now, however, I have the opportunity to discuss some of my exciting Disney plans!  This week, I'm focusing entirely on Magic Kingdom and our plans for the oldest and most classic Disney theme park.

For those of you unfamiliar with Magic Kingdom, it is the oldest of the four Disney theme parks and is home to many of the classic rides and attractions you think of when you think of Disney World.  Opening in 1971, this was the only park in Disney World until Epcot opened 11 years later.  When you first enter the park, a turn of the 20th century street called Main Street, USA full of shops and restaurants leads you to the park's most famous attraction: Cinderella's Castle.  While you can eat in the castle, that's about it.  Most people simply take pictures in front of it and move on.

Magic Kingdom itself is broken up into six different areas: Main Street, USA, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Adventureland, Frontierland and Liberty Square.  Each one is themed differently and has rides, shows and other attractions surrounding that theme.  The fact that the park is broken into five different parts made our job a little easier, as we simply decided to do Tomorrowland and Fantasyland one day, then Adventureland, Frontierland and Liberty Square another day.  We have yet to figure out which day we're doing the fireworks and the parade, although that might be dictated by our FastPasses.  While we're spending two days at each park, Magic Kingdom is the only park we're visiting on back to back days.  We also have no table service reservations for this park, so we'll be doing a lot of snacking and quick service meals (but more about that later).

Magic Kingdom is home to some of my favorite rides in Disney World that I can't wait to ride again.  Let's start with one of my all time favorite rides: Haunted Mansion.  I tend to stay away from things that are overly scary, I don't do jump scares.  When I watch horror movies, I tend to watch them in the middle of the day, with all the lights on, the volume way down low and close captions on.  What I love about Haunted Mansion is that it's more of a fun scary without anything that's overly scary.  Plus, it's a classic that just celebrated its 50th anniversary a few months ago.  I even made a "Beware of Hitchhiking Ghosts" decoration for Halloween this year.  Before, rumor had it that if you asked a cast member at the beginning of the ride of a death certificate, they'd print out one with a funny death on it (similar to the tombstones outside the ride), and you could pick it up after the ride.  Apparently they don't do that anymore, which is a bummer.

Across the park in Tomorrowland, I also love Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.  In this ride, riders get in little cars and go through the galaxy fighting the evil Emperor Zurg and competing against each other to hit the most targets with these little laser guns attached to the front of their car.

Photo courtesy of https://d23.com/this-day/buzz-lightyears-space-ranger-spin-attraction-opens-at-walt-disney-world/

As someone who is incredibly competitive, this is right up my alley.  Additionally, with a few rare exceptions, this is one of the closest things to a game throughout the parks (there's a similar ride in Hollywood Studios and a shooting arcade in Magic Kingdom as well).

Also located in Tomorrowland, I'm looking forward to Space Mountain.  I didn't ride it when I was younger, because I used to have this intense fear of roller coasters.  I still have that "oh crap, what am I thinking?" moment when I ride roller coasters, but I always enjoy them and almost never regret them.  Space Mountain is a blast.  In the complete dark, you're whipped all over the place with lights flashing while you ride in these surprisingly small rocket ships.  It's always a fun ride to go on, even if the tiny little rockets make you feel like you're going to fall out.

Pirates of the Caribbean is another ride I've gone on in the past and can't wait to ride again.  Part of this comes from the fact that they've updated the ride to include Jack Sparrow and Barbosa.  While I'm glad they did that, because there are definitely people who visit the park now who only know the movies and don't know that the movies were inspired by the ride, not the other way around, I'm also a little bummed because I liked the original better.  I'm not going to pass judgement, though, because I haven't actually been on the ride since they updated it.  I'm going to stay optimistic, because I doubt Disney would ruin such a classic ride.

Photo courtesy of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrdQ34PIdoA

Located in Frontierland, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (another one of the "mountain" rides scattered throughout the park) is another fun roller coaster.  This one is an outdoor roller coaster where you're riding on a runaway mine train through a frontier town.  As you zip along the tracks, you're surrounded by the remnants of an abandoned town, including buildings, personal effects and animals.  It's a short but exciting ride that's always a good time.  Its facade, along with Splash Mountain, dominate Frontierland.

Fantasyland is where you find many of the classic, kid-friendly Disney attractions: Dumbo, It's a Small World, etc.  This is also where you'll find the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.  On this ride, which replaced Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, you adventure through the 100 Acre Wood with Pooh, Piglet and all their friends.  It's absolutely adorable as you sit in a "Hunny Pot".  My favorite part of the ride is when you meet Tigger.  There, your pot bounces up and down with him as he explains why Tiggers are the best creatures ever.  It may be a ride more geared towards children, but I love it nonetheless.

Photo courtesy of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s-RZ3cEPbs

There are also two shows I'm looking forward to that I've already seen in Disney World.  The first is Mickey's PhilharMagic.  This was fairly new last time I went to Disney World, and I'm super excited to show it to Bryan.  I know he's going to complain about me using this phrase, but this is my blog, not his, so I don't care, but this is a 4-D attraction.  Although Mickey's name is in the title, it's Donald Duck who is actually the main attraction.  You arrive as guests to hear Mickey conduct an orchestra, but when the curtain rises, all you see is Donald, who hasn't unpacked any of the instruments.  Mickey tells him to do so while simultaneously making the mistake of leaving his sorcerer's hat behind.  Donald takes it upon himself to put on the hat and try to use magic on the instruments.  Chaos ensues.  The show includes 3-D effects, along with scents being pumped into the theater as a medley of Disney songs are played.  It's a lot of fun and definitely much more kid-friendly than Disney's other 4-D show: It's Tough to Be a Bug.

Finally, the last thing I've done in Magic Kingdom that I can't wait to do again is the Enchanted Tiki Room.  I'm especially excited to do it because I've heard some rumors that it might close down, although I haven't heard anything concrete yet.  In this attraction, over 150 animatronic birds, tiki masks, etc. entertain guests with a variety of songs.  For a while, Zazu from Lion King and Iago from Aladdin were also part of the performance, when the ride was advertised as being "under new management".  They have since been removed from the show, and it has reverted back to its original form.

         

The most famous part of the show is the always annoying ear worm "Enchanted Tiki Room", which is the attraction's theme song.  All it takes is for me to think about the song for it to be stuck in head for hours on end.  Still, it's a lot of fun and a great chance to sit down for a little while in the parks if you've been walking around a lot.

Since it will be almost fifteen years since the last time I went to Disney World by the time I go in February, there have been a fw new attractions added to the parks.  The list for Magic Kingdom is fairly small, especially when compared to parks such as Hollywood Studios, which got an entirely new name since I last visited, but there are still some new attractions I want to visit.

First and foremost, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.  Similar to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, this ride takes guests on a whirlwind of a ride on runaway mine machinery.  Unlike Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, however, you're riding underground through the mine that the seven dwarfs work in during the day.  While I've seen brief videos about this ride, I'm trying to see as little as possible because I want to be surprised.  I've heard that the special effects are absolutely amazing, and I can't wait to see them all for myself.  I've also heard that the wait time can be quite extensive and FastPasses difficult to get, so we may have to work a little to get on this ride.

I'm also looking forward to trying out Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid.  Just like Peter Pan's Flight and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, this takes riders through the story of The Little Mermaid in a little purple clamshell.  Just like The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, this looks like an adorable ride, not to mention nostalgic as you travel under the sea.

There are also two new shows I'm excited about seeing in Magic Kingdom.  The first is The Muppets Present...Great Moments in American History.  This is a short little show on the streets of Liberty Square where the Muppets recreate events from early American history.  As a fan of the Muppets, a history grad student and US history teacher, I just have to see this show, no matter how juvenile it may be.  It looks like a lot of fun and an attempt to build up Liberty Square, which is fairly small.

In Tomorrowland, I'm also looking forward to trying out Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor.  This is supposed to be one of the more cutting edge attractions.  Using motion capture, actors behind the scenes portray monsters from the Monsters, Inc. universe as they collect laughs to power the city.  Since it's technically actors, each show is different, and the monsters interact with the audience from up on the screen.  My cousin has highly recommended it, and it sounds like a lot of fun, not to mention a great break from all the walking.

While Bryan has been struggling with getting into the whole "meeting characters" thing (he keeps arguing that they're just people in costume), I'm 100% behind it and even have a list of characters I'm determined to either meet or try to meet in each park.

The most important character is Stitch.  I absolutely love Stitch!  I think Lilo and Stitch is a blast, and I love Stitch and the fact that he simultaneously represents family and complete and utter chaos.  I also adore Lilo, she way more dramatic than I am, which is quite impressive.  From what I've heard, you can find Stitch in Tomorrowland, near his attraction, which is considered a flop and is rarely open.  Even so, I still love Stitch, and I can't wait to meet him.

I'm also really excited to meet Cinderella.  Although my hair is now very dark brown, I am a natural blonde.  When I was little, a neighbor used to call me "Cinderella" because I had blue eyes and blonde, curly hair.  My hair is still curly, and my eyes are still blue-ish, but the blonde hair is long gone.  I know you can meet Cinderella at one of the princess meet-ups in the park.  I'd also like to meet the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella, although I've heard she's a little harder to find.  If I don't meet her, I'll be disappointed, but it won't be the end of the world.  There are plenty of other characters I want to meet.

Keeping in the theme of princess, there are a few princess whose movies have come out since the last time I went to Disney World, and I'd love to meet them.  First of all, Merida.  Bryan has really enjoyed the movie Brave, and Merida is a wonderful character.  As dorky as it sounds, I really want to ask her how her brothers are doing; they're my favorite part of the movie.  I also can't wait to meet Rapunzel and Tiana.  I know you can meet them both in the same line, which is perfect.  I love the personalities of both of them; Rapunzel is so carefree and fun, while Tiana is so determined and dedicated.  I feel that both are wonderful role models.

Jack Sparrow is also a new character you can meet in Adventureland, conveniently near the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  Jack Sparrow is so quirky, and I imagine that he's a wonderful and fun character to play as an actor.  Another character that is probably a blast to play and meet is Peter Pan.  To be honest, I'm not even a big fan of the movie, but I've heard so many fun and crazy things about meeting Peter Pan, that I simply have to meet him myself.  Based on what I've seen, you never know what he's going to say or do, which makes it all even more exciting.  I can get past the fact that I don't really like the movie for that reason alone.

When it comes to Magic Kingdom, and Disney World in general, something else I'm looking forward to is the food.  I'm thoroughly convinced I'm going to gain so much weight while I'm there because there's so much delicious looking food.

Of course I have to try Dole Whip.  Nando's here has it, but I refuse to eat it there because it's a strictly Disney treat in my eyes.  Oh top of Dole Whip, I also want to try the Peter Pan float, it sounds delicious and looks adorable.  It's a key lime pie soft serve mixed with Sprite, and there's a little red feather in it made out of chocolate.  Ever since social media came out, Disney has been trying to make more "photo worthy" snacks that are more visually appealing, and this is definitely an example of that.

Also in Fantasyland, I want to head over to Friar Tuck's and try out the loaded tater tots.  The flavors rotate, so I'm not entirely sure what they'll have there, but they look and sound amazing, so I'll definitely swing by and try those out.

Speaking of rotating food options there's also an eggroll cart in Adventureland that has unique flavors that rotate.  In the past, I've heard of bacon mac and cheese flavor and cheeseburger flavor.  I don't eat cheeseburgers, but the bacon mac and cheese sounds beyond amazing, and I definitely need some of that.  I just hope that's the flavor they have when I visit.  Like I said, it's a lot of snack foods while we're there, which is perfectly fine with me.  We'll also bring our own snacks into the park, but I want to try as much food as humanly possible while we visit.

The last thing I absolutely have my heart set on, probably more so than most of what I've already talked about, are the Tangled Lanterns.  At dusk near the Tangled themed bathrooms in Fantasyland, guests can have their picture taken with the lanterns from Tangled, and the photos are absolutely gorgeous!  I already have a feeling that the pictures are going to be some of my favorite from our entire trip (I hope they live up to my high expectations).  I'm so excited to do them with Bryan and get some beautiful pictures on our trip.

Not surprising, when I asked Bryan what he was excited about for the trip so I could include it in my post, it took ages to pull an answer out of him (don't even get me started on him telling me what he wanted for Christmas, it was awful!).  Magic Kingdom is the only Disney park he's ever visited, so he has a basic idea of what's there, and he's been more recently than me, but it's still been a while for him.  He said that he's looking forward to Space Mountain, it's pretty much the only ride he remembers riding last time he went.  He's also looking forward to the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor.  My cousin really talked it up last time we saw him, and Monster's, Inc. is a fun movie.  Overall, Bryan said that he's most looking forward to exploring the park and really taking it all in.  Since we have two days dedicated to the park, I think we'll definitely have a lot of exploring, not to mention tons of food and rides.  I can't wait!

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