I really do love Magic Kingdom... Once I'm there. In fact, the only reason I think Epcot just slightly edges it out for my favorite park is that it's just such a pain to get to and from. I totally get what Walt was trying to do by surrounding the park by a lagoon and having guests arrive by monorail or ferry, but I just think it's a feasible idea when the park is crowded. We probably should have stopped back at our resort and hopped on a bus to Magic Kingdom, but I wasn't thinking. It had been 8 years and I guess I forgot how cranky it made me.
The trip into Magic Kingdom wasn't too bad. Just time consuming. We took the monorail which is usually my preferred method of transportation from the TTC to the main gate. Even though it was late, there was still a fair amount of people coming in probably to see the parade and Wishes. I don't know how it was earlier that day, but the park seemed packed. The touring plans site had it listed as an 8/10 day. I wasn't sure if it was actually crowded or if it was because of everyone starting to line up on Main Street for the parade.
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I wanted to get a picture in front of the castle, but my parents said they wanted to wait until at least Matt was with us. So, we continued to fight the crowds to try to find the easiest way to get to Fantasyland. And this is where my Dad hit me with my Mom's wheelchair for the first time in the back of my heel... Not a pleasant feeling! (We had explained the situation to wheel chair rental station in Magic Kingdom and they were nice enough to offer her a wheelchair for the rest of the evening. Tomorrow we intended on paying for one for the rest of our stay. We just couldn't see the point in paying for a wheelchair for only a few short hours).
Soon enough we made it through Fantasyland. The wait for IASW said 20 minutes, but it looked to be maybe five or ten minutes tops. So we hopped on line. Unfortunately, we did encounter one CM who was a little less than magical. There was another party in front of us with a wheelchair and I guess they had taken it upon themselves to open up the wheelchair gate that lead to the disabled loading area only we didn't see them do it, so we just assumed we were to walk right through and then wait for a CM to give further instructions so we followed them. Well, yea we kind of got yelled at. Not really, but we were told next time to wait for a CM at the gate in a not as nice as it could have been tone. In our case it really had just been an honest mistake.
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I wasn't about to let that ruin one of my favorite rides for me though. We boarded within a few minutes and I began to enjoy my "happiest cruise in the world" for what would probably be my only chance to ride it this trip. I did enjoy it, but I would have enjoyed it even more if it weren't for the group of teens in back of us who spent the entire ride gossiping about people at their school and just generally being annoying and obnoxious. Maybe that lack of sleep was starting to get to me and I was getting a little cranky.
My parents and I were really excited to see our names on the screen at the end of the ride. That was a cute addition that I wasn't expecting. I wish I knew it was going to happen so I could get a picture.
After we got off IASW my Mom wanted to ride Haunted Mansion, so we headed off to Liberty Square. Haunted Mansion was about a 15 minute wait so we got in line. I loved how from the point we entered the stretching room until we boarded the CM kept referring to us as her "carriage party." Leave it to Disney to even theme the way that its CM's refer to guests in wheelchairs. I got a kick out of that. I rode with my Mom and my Dad rode by himself. HM was great as always Madame Leota looked much cooler than I remembered. The detail in that ride is amazing!
After HM it was pretty close to the time Wishes was about to start. So I suggested we start walking towards the front of the park and maybe we could catch some of Wishes while we were leaving. I was getting tired and I really wanted to avoid the post Wishes mass exodus of the park. We weren't too far from HM (probably across from the Riverboat) when my Dad ran into my ankle again with the wheelchair. REALLY hard that time! Like I saw stars... I thought they were going to have to get me a wheelchair. It felt like he literally ripped the skin on my heel down to the bone. It wasn't THAT bad, but I was limping for a good few minutes. And of course my Dad blames me for stopping in front of him when it really was just crowded and I couldn't go anywhere.
We decided to stop in the Christmas shop for a few minutes so I could examine the damage to my leg and my Mom could look around for an ornament to buy. Whenever we are in Disney she tries to bring back an ornament for the tree as a memento from lour trip. Unfortunately, everything we saw was really heavy and we have too many heavy ornaments as it is, so we walked out empty handed.
I was hoping we could sneak out before Wishes because as I mentioned I was tired, my leg hurt, and I was starting to get a little anxious from all the people. (I'm a bit claustrophoic and normally crowds don't bother me too much, but when you factor in all the variables above plus the heat and it being dark, I was done). We had planned two full days in MK so I was hoping to see Wishes then. My parents found a pretty good spot in front of Crystal Palace though 5 minutes before the show started, so they decided we might as well stay. Wishes is a great show and I still did enjoy it. I of course teared up a little. I tried to snap some pics, but they didn't come out the greatest.
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And then the mass exodus started which was exactly what I was trying to avoid. MK was open until 12am that night and Wishes ended at 10:30. At that point I tried to convince my parents that we would be better off trying to push on to midnight and try to get another ride or two in, but NOW they wanted to go back to the resort. So they would have to deal with me if I had a panic attack lol
I at least got them to cut through the stores on Main Street. We stopped and looked a little (just long enough for there to be a pretty heavy crowd out before us already waiting for the monorail and ferry.) By the time we exited the park the monorail line was down past the ramps and wrapping around the corner. The ferry boat line looked packed too. It was pretty much a lose lose situation. I really wanted to just take the bus back to the resort and save my parents from having to listen to me complain and get anxious, but they didn't want me going by myself and I was too tired to argue by that point. We decided to do the ferry which may have been a bad decision, but what are you going to do at that point?
We waited for 2 or 3 ferries until we boarded and then I realized I had made a mistake. It was SO hot and all those bodies pressed together in the ferry... And of course we were stuck right smack dab in the middle of the boat. I admit... I started to panic a little and thankfully a woman about my age a few feet away so me beginning to lose it and offered me a space near by the window. "Panic attack?" she asked, like she could totally sympathize. All I could was nod. Then stick my head out the window for a few minutes to get some air. We talked for a few minutes and I thanked her. Nice to know I wasn't alone. Once we finally started moving we picked up a nice breeze and that helped. Until it was time to get off the boat... Then we had to wait another half hour for the tram. It was the longest line we'd been in all day. It was also my second worst experience leaving MK. (My first was during the 25th anniversary when I was about 12 and I came very close to walking back to the car instead of waiting for a tram because the wait was so soon, which I still get teased about to this day).
By the time we got to the car it was already after midnight anyway. I checked the pedometer on my phone and there was good reason why I was tired and cranky. I'd walked 10.5 miles in one day! Needless to say by the time I got back to our resort, I had NO trouble falling asleep this time.
Next up Hollywood Studios! I don't know if I'll get a chance to update tomorrow or not because it's my birthday, so I'm going out to dinner with my family and then maybe meeting some friends for drinks. I'll definitely try to update on Sat though!
Glad you liked Everest--one of my very favorite rides in all of WDW. Enjoying your TR--following along! 
