Magic Kingdom Revisited

The skies were promising this day. Perhaps too promising as we decided to leave the ponchos in the car. Giving it further consideration, CB turned back to retrieve them as the rest of us headed for the Monorail. We'd meet up at the stroller rental.

Magic Moment #9 comes to us courtesy of the Monorail.

While my companions were waiting for the monorail I went to find a Cast Member to inquire if anyone was waiting to ride in the front compartment. The attendant said, "You are!" So I jogged back to retrieve my party and share the good news. Unfortunately, only four people can ride in the front compartment. It does not matter how large or small they are. Four. Only four. So MawMaw sat in the compartment behind us.

It never occurred to me that people were allowed to ride in the front compartment and I never would've known to ask if not for the Unofficial Guide! [Love that book! It's sitting beside me right now!]

Here we are going into the Contemporary. This further confirmed my love for the Monorail. When we arrived at the Magic Kingdom, the Monorail driver gave the boys official Monorail licenses.

We met up with CB, got FM#1's chariot, and embarked on our hot/sunny/humid day. But to that we were accustomed. We're from Texas, after all.

Due to the improved weather from the previous day, the crowds had increased a bit, plus this day had Extra Magic Hours.

Our park rotation started in Adventureland again because we wanted to ride Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Pirates. Today we started out with the Magic Carpets of Aladdin.

While waiting in line we noticed that, to go along with the Arabian theme, jewels were embedded in the concrete. Oooh! Aaah! This ride was similar to Dumbo except not only can you make your magic carpet rise and fall, you can make it tilt and pitch. And there's a camel that will spit on you.

Right across from Aladdin are tikis that squirt water. The boys enjoyed a bit of refreshment and then we headed to Pirates! While they were in the Pirates gift shop - again! - trying oh so hard to make their way to the queue, I ran down to Splash Mountain and Big Thunder to get Fast Passes. On my way, Woody and his friends were just wrapping up their parade through Frontierland so I paused for that.

He's the rootin-est tootin-est cowboy in the wild, wild west!

Knowing not everyone would ride both Splash and Big Thunder Mountain, I split our six tickets, 3 and 3, between the two Fast Pass machines and ran back to the Caribbean. We had a longer wait this day because of the crowds, but it wasn't too bad. The people behind us kept trying to squeeze in front of us, but we spread out shoulder to shoulder. Don't mess with Texas.

The boys got another adventure through Pirate land and noticed new and different things this time around. Again, back to the gift shop. CB wanted to surprise the boys at Christmas with a gift from here since they loved it so much. FM#1 got a flag which is hanging in his room. FM#2 got a set of metal jail keys that he uses as part of his various costumes. And FM#3 got a sword set that came with sound effects, a dagger, an eye patch, and a parrot.

We bid farewell to Pirates ("the coolest ride ever") and walked quickly (much to the disapproval of my party) to Splash Mountain where CB and I were the only ones wanting to ride. I donned my rain poncho because I just wasn't in the mood to get wet on such a hot day. Good thing, too, because when we got to the bottom of the Big Drop, a huge sploosh of water kerplunked on me at the bottom of the hill before rounding the corner. (I was sitting on the right side of the log, if anyone is interested.)

From here we trotted next door to Big Thunder Mountain where three of us jumped aboard. We not only used our Fast Passes, but we got a Child Swap so we could Fast Pass it again. On our way out of the ride a lady handed us each a packet and said something about Year of a Million Dreams.

Yes, Magic Moment #10! When we got outside we saw that we had received Year of a Million Dreams trading pins and matching lanyard. Cool! Little did we know when sitting in Pinocchio's Village Haus Restaurant the previous day oohing and aahing over that family's perpetual Fast Pass, that we'd get our own surprise in the Year of a Million Dreams.

Now we'd have to start getting pins.

At this point we had convinced MawMaw that Big Thunder Mountain wasn't a roller coaster and that she should definitely ride it so me and FM#1 took her on it using the Child Swap pass. She wasn't amused. As we zigged zagged along the track I kept looking back at her and she would say, "This IS a roller coaster!" She clearly does not know what a real roller coaster is like for Big Thunder is not one. She survived anyway.

From here we went to a MawMaw favorite - Country Bear Jamboree! She loves these corny bears. We enjoyed the respite, A/C, and goofy show and exited across the breezeway for lunch at Pecos Bill's Cafe. Bill serves up burgers and taco salads, but what is unique about this place is that they have a fixin's bar. You can add the usuals to your burger, but they also have sauteed onions and mushrooms and salsa. Yum.

Magic Moment #11. Upon exiting the restaurant we stepped out onto the sidewalk and the afternoon parade was in full swing. We had a front row seat. What timing! And FM#3 got to see Donald Duck! So many things would come together during this vacation.

As the last float went by we found our stroller amid the sea of blue and pointed ourselves toward the Haunted Mansion, Round Two.

From this picture all you can see is Gracey Mansion. If you look at aerial maps of Disney World...what?

You've never seen Disney from the air?

Wh-, wh-, I just don't understand. Don't you spend inordinate amounts of time looking at the Wonderful World of Disney on www.bing.com/maps? Is it just me?

Well, when you go there - and you will - use the Bird's Eye feature. You'll see that what is in the picture above is only a facade. The actual Haunted Mansion ride takes place in a huge warehouse type building. Does that spoil the magic? Not for me! It's fascinating how they have filled your field of vision with only what is necessary to create the illusion. You are completely convinced that this ride is inside that house! Or at least I was!

After picking up our Ghost Host we threatened the boys with It's a Small World. Mua ha ha! Aren't we fun parents? But their begging and pleading for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin was more than we could bear.

Once in Tomorrowland, CB and the older FM's wanted to try Stitch's Great Escape. My Unofficial Guide strongly recommended to pass up this attraction. When it first came out it was too scary so they toned it down. Now it's apparently just bad. Or 'lame' according to FM#1 and 2. Stitch burps on you at one point and they said it smelled horrible. Not a funny horrible either. Gross, oniony kind of horrible.

So on to Buzz where there was no line! Again, the bad thing about not spending any time standing in the queue is that you miss the little nuances along the way. We did spot a Hidden Mickey and took a picture of it while several people went around us. Can you spot it?

We walked back up Main Street; gazed lovingly at the Crystal Palace where we had enjoyed a yummy breakfast the morning before; peered into the shops; gathered our packages at Package Pick-Up; and headed for the Monorail. Again, we asked to ride up front. This time CB and the boys got the front row seat.

A good end to a good day. But was it the end?

Hint: The Hidden Mickey in the Buzz Lightyear photo is right in the middle. It's not the typical three-circle silhouette; it's the side profile silhouette.

Remember this side silhouette. You'll see it again, Mouseketeers!

Cinder Rindle's Castle

We toured two parks before ever stepping foot in the Magic Kingdom. Can you believe it?

The day started out very gray. And wet. When we got out of the car we immediately put our ponchos on. We were parked only about three rows back in the front lot so we decided to skip the tram and walk to the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC).

Down and around the row of hedges, under the bridge, and up the hill to the Bag Check and ticket turnstiles. By now we were quite skilled at:

1. taking off our fanny packs
2. unzipping them and holding them open to be inspected
3. zipping them back up and putting them back around our waist
4. getting out the tickets while walking to the turnstiles
5. feeding the tickets through the card readers while sending the appropriate person through with their
    matching ticket

I kept all six tickets in my fanny pack. MawMaw's Annual Pass was easy to spot as it was the only paper ticket. All the others were plastic like credit cards. Durable, yes, but they were only distinguishable by the different Disney characters on them. It was very confusing the first couple of days, especially because the tickets didn't have names on them. We didn't commit our characters to memory (because we didn't know we needed to), plus we really didn't think the finger scanners were that accurate. I still don't think they are.

This is the way it works. The first time you use a ticket it's marked as an adult or child, depending on the finger scan, apparently. Every time after that, an adult has to go through with an adult ticket and put their finger on the finger reading thing. Children's fingers aren't scanned. Supposedly the finger scanners are smarter than they appear.

Going through the turnstile and matching up all our adults with cards emblazoned with the Seven Dwarves, Mickey, and Cinderella became a real trick. But leave it to CB to learn that we could get our tickets put on our room cards which have each person's name on them. Keys to the World.

Our first official ride was the Monorail. My favorite. I've always loved the monorail. I think we should use monorails in our own towns. So what better way to start the first day at Magic Kingdom than the monorail? This route took us clockwise along the rail, past the Polynesian and Grand Floridian.

Once we got to the front gate, we boogied down Main Street to the Crystal Palace where we had 8:15am breakfast reservations with Winnie the Pooh and Friends. We only waited for a couple of minutes before we were called in and seated at the first table in the dining area on the left.

Our waitress was great! The minute we sat down she poured coffee and orange juice. I needed the coffee that morning! She told us it would be a good time to visit the buffet as Eeyore and Tigger were in the other dining area and it would be a while before they came over. That was very important information as you certainly wouldn't want to be at the buffet just as Pooh comes to your table!

The breakfast buffet was yummy. I love breakfast buffets. CB kept joking that we were eating Piglet. Bacon and sausage. I highly recommend breakfast with Pooh at the Crystal Palace. It's a great way to start the day.

Soon after we had our food, Eeyore and Tigger came over. As usual, FM#3 was so excited to see them and acted as if they were old friends. I discovered that my little FM#2 was becoming quite skilled at posing for pictures and FM#1 wanted to make sure he got his picture taken with Pooh and Tigger because they truly are old friends.

Before breakfast ended they passed out flags and the kids marched around the restaurant in a Pooh parade. FM#3 wanted to march so his big brother took him around. What a good big brother he has.

I could've stayed at the Crystal Palace another hour, but Fun was waiting and the rain was in a holding pattern. We made a mad dash back to Town Square to get the stroller and found 20-30 people waiting in line to get their strollers! As I queued up, a Cast Member spotted the Length of Stay rental ticket in my hand and ushered me out of line, right to the front, where - viola! - stroller. Love it! We were off, but first spotted these guys from Pinocchio who are apparently seldom seen.

The CM attending these guys told us children had to take off their rain ponchos when they visit with the characters. I'm sure this is to keep the costumes in the best possible condition. Wet children hugging you for 20 minutes can really mat up that fur! We nicely declined a visit since we had just gotten our ponchos back on. However, even though FM#3 was fully ponchoed, the characters graciously acknowledged him.

We spied Gepetto around the corner in front of City Hall, but passed him up, too. Next time I'll pause and at least take pictures.

We then trudged back down Main Street toward the Castle and opted for a clockwise rotation through the park starting with Adventureland. Can you spot the monkey?

We started with a tour of Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. The fauna provided a nice canopy to protect us from the sprinkle. Having just read Swiss Family Robinson, FM#1 was critiquing how wrong Disney's movie version was. He's such a purist. But both boys loved the treehouse and wished they had one in their backyard.

As we ambled over to Jungle Cruise, we noticed that there was hardly anyone in the park. We walked down to the loading area and had only to wait for the next boat to pull up. The rain had served as a deterrent! We had ponchos, so as far as we were concerned - let it rain!

We got a hilarious boat captain. His jokes were corny and we all had a great time. Our rain ponchos were long enough to keep our backsides dry when we sat down in the boat. I had fallen in love with my poncho.

Poncho. That's fun to say.

The rain had slacked up so we stopped at the remote control boats next to Jungle Cruise. And NEXT...

PIRATES!!!

The long anticipated ride! Only a slight wait. As we snaked through the queue, how many times did I hear, "This is so cool!" My scurvy dogs loved it! Since they had already seen the first two movies they could pick out the scenes from the movies that were in the ride. Me, I hadn't seen any of the Pirates movies so I had no idea who Davy Jones was. Of course, now I am well-versed in Pirates.

We spent much (much!) time in the gift shop deciding what to buy. FM#1 got a Jack Sparrow hat. I got Pirates Dice.  Fun game, easy to play. And instead of having our purchases sent back to our room we opted for package pick-up. They send your packages to the front of the park and you pick them up on your way out.

This is what I did to them for spending so much time in the gift shop...

We meandered to Frontierland and got right on Splash Mountain. MawMaw stayed with FM#3 while the rest of us walked - again - right down to the loading area. Although it was no longer raining, I think I kept my poncho on. This was a log ride after all. Somebody was going to get wet and I didn't want it to be me.

Splash Mountain follows the story of Br'er Rabbit. It's a peaceful ride and quite lengthy, too, as you float through to the song, Zip-a-Dee-Do-Da. FM#2 was dreading the big plummet. Around every turn or incline he'd ask, "Is this it?" When it finally approached he was wishing he hadn't gotten on this ride. It scared the bejeepers out of him. My, oh my, it was not a wonderful day! Both boys for some reason had a fear of hitting their head. They had this fear on other rides, too. Needless to say, there was a bit of whimpering from the middle one and a vow to never ride Splash Mountain again.

Next up, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I love this one! I can't remember if we Fast Passed it or not, but MawMaw kept the younger two on this one. I think this ride is my favorite. We ended up riding it three times during our stay.

Then on to Liberty Square and the Hall of Presidents. Thanks to our history co-op, I understood and appreciated this attraction much more this time around. Again, a gift shop visit, where Mom bought me a Mickey snowman for Christmas.

After a little sustenance we rounded the corner to the Haunted Mansion! Another of my favorites. It had just undergone refurbishing so - whew! Glad it was open this time around!

The boys thought the invisible horse was cool and got a kick out of the animated tombstones outside the door. Once inside it was just how I remembered it with the stretching pictures on the wall and everything. The Cast Members working this attraction are very somber as they escort you onto the moving walkway and into your Doombuggy. I love those moving walkways! And I love the detail on this ride. There's so much to look at you can't possibly see everything the first time through. As I ride through I can't help thinking how they do things like make those doors bend and bulge as zombies try to get out. The kids were amazed at all the things on this ride and FM#3 didn't find it the least bit scary.

Our next ride was It's a Small World. The adults were looking forward to it because it would be a nice, slow, cool, relaxing ride. The older boys were NOT looking forward to it and had already convinced themselves that the song playing over and over would drive them nuts.

Fantasyland, Schmantasyland. They tolerated it just fine.

Is FM#2 about to cry? I think that boy needs some lunch. Exiting Small World we noticed a ridiculously long wait for Peter Pan so we grabbed Fast Passes and headed for lunch at Pinocchio's Village Haus.

At this point we hadn't done a lot of eating in the parks. A super late dinner at MGM our first night, breakfast this particular morning, and now lunch. We each ordered a meal and found the servings to be huge. I had the biggest turkey panini and a ton of fries! From this point forward the younger boys would share a kids meal and MawMaw and I would split a meal.

During our lunch, we noticed a family sitting near us had some sort of Disney tag hanging around each of their necks. Upon closer examination, and trying not to stare, we realized it was a Year of a Million Dreams Fast Pass. They had to but show the card and they were permitted into the Fast Pass line of every FP attraction for the day. We were a bit jealous of this fortuitous wish granted to this family and wondered just how they received such a treat.

Right outside of our lunch venue, was Dumbo so we decided to give it a whirl before using our Fast Pass for Peter Pan. The line wasn't long, but the wait was, simply because the ride is not continuous loading. Plus in addition to the visible line, there are four queued up groups waiting - two on each side. Dumbo was fun, even though it's a "kiddie ride". I'm not good with heights so it gave me a head rush which was fun.

From here we did Peter Pan and Snow White. CB really liked Peter Pan because we were flying in a ship. Snow White wasn't as scary as it historically has been. Decades ago it scared my younger sister to death and she screamed through the entire ride. No screamers this time around.

We also decided to Fast Pass Winnie the Pooh so we ventured to Tomorrowland until our Fast Pass window rolled around. We started with the Tomorrowland Speedway. FM#2 has a need for speed and was so excited that he would be able to drive in a car all by himself.

From here we rocketed over to Buzz Lightyear which all would agree was great fun. Yes, even MawMaw.

Me, CB, FM#1 & 2 rode Space Mountain. Walked right on! My recollection of this roller coaster was that it was ultra tame, too tame. My experience this time around was a bit different. It was still tame, but for this 43 year old body, it was rough! I was tossed and jerked around in that roller coaster rocket! I had to brace myself with my legs and expected to have bruises the next day.  It was still fun!

We then backtracked to the Mad Tea Party. Everyone wanted to ride this one - except me. I throw up when I get dizzy. So the Untrustworthy Ones rode together - the older two and CB. I rode with MawMaw and FM#3.

When we sat down in our little teacup, FM#3 put his sweet little hands on the steering wheel and thinking it was a table said, "Let's have a tea pahty." He didn't realize the table made the cup spin until halfway through the ride and even then he gently turned it. Give that boy a smooch!

Winnie the Pooh was sweet. It replaced Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and let me just say that the only thing they did was add Pooh scenes and honey pots to ride in. I do believe the track was the exact same track as Mr. Toad - twisty, turny with doors that open suddenly. This was a very low cost transformation.

Gift shop visit again where FM#3 wanted a lollipop...

...or two or three or eighteen. He got one bunch which had six Pooh-shaped lollipops. In fact, he just finished the last one a couple of weeks ago! The older boys got those huge coiled lollipops and they were gone before bedtime.

We walked back through Fantasyland and rode Cinderella's Carousel and saw Mickey's Philharmonic, another fun Disney 3-D. The boys had some fun while waiting for the next show...

We strolled past Cinder Rindle's Castle, down Main Street. Gazed fondly upon the Crystal Palace, home to our delicious breakfast hours earlier. We located the package pick-up building, got our goodies, and returned the stroller.

With bags in tow and a mist in the air, we opted for the quiet ferry across Seven Seas Lagoon.

Back at Old Key West, I had the concierge put our tickets on our room cards. We played Pirates Dice that night.