I have previously reported on the activities of my wife and I during this recent trip to WDW and while the first two full days we spent in the parks and in related activities went pretty much as we had expected/hoped based on past experience and advance planning, we were in no way expecting the experience of our third full day on property as we headed to the Magic Kingdom. We have come to view MK as the 800 pound gorilla. It is mostly unmanageable or at best requires great patience and often shortcutting your day, particularly if you are an adult without small children. I love the park, certainly some parts more than others but have come to expect the onslaught of the wave of humanity that you experience upon entering the park, a situation which typically exists until it closes. I understand why. It is indeed a special place, it's where the magic is evident as soon as you step through the entry gates and approach town hall and look down Main street. It's all there. All the magic that you imagined when you first planned your first trip to WDW. But even with all of those thoughts and that feeling I feared the elbow to elbow, long lines even with fast pass and the often difficult chore of making your way across the park from one land to the next. On this day however the experience was truly the stuff that dreams were made of.
We left the CBR at 8:35 in order to get there as close to the 9am opening as possible, expecting long lines and preparing to cut it short and at least see a little of Main Street, look into the shops for a moment or so and be gone by noon or thereabouts having lost patience with it all. But on this day the Magic Kingdom was truly magic as we had the smoothest entry ever into the park and went directly to Splash Mountain and walked right on. It took more time to walk the distance to the loading area than we spent waiting to be loaded. It was that smooth and that quick and that was only the beginning. We couldn't believe our luck, figuring it was a fluke. But we truly loved the moment, the experience itself. I have long loved this attraction as I think you get more than your money's worth on this one. The music, the smell, the animatronics, the story line, the comedy within the story line. The time spent in the interior, then the drop and then back into the interior of the attraction for the big finish. We began the day in the MK smiling at both the beauty and joy of Splash Mountain and at our good fortune to get in and ride so quickly. Last year when my wife and I were at MK we spent just over three hours in the park and were discouraged from even attempting to ride this one because of the length of the line. What a difference a year makes.
From there we headed to Haunted Mansion only to learn that they were shutdown due to technical problems and were advised by a CM to get a Fast Pass which we did. Inasmuch as we were "ahead of schedule" we decided to take in some of the stuff we have seldom done since our daughter was small. First up was Small World...yeah, the song and the whole deal. It's still a classic attraction and we literally walked right in and boarded immediately. I confess to enjoying this more than I like to let on. I appreciate the efforts that the Imagineers put into this attraction and how it endures after all these years. We came away smiling and made our way over to Peter Pan's Flight and again walked right in and boarded within 10 minutes or less. We had been on this attraction once when our daughter was quite young although my wife doesn't recall it. I loved the detail of "flying over London at night" and the music, in typical Disney fashion, only serves to enhance the experience. If you're like me you find yourself thinking, "you know I oughta buy that movie or do we still have it on VHS". Disney really knows how to inspire you with that music and even though I'm old enough to know better I still get caught up in the moment. Point of note...I think we still have the movie on VHS. Gotta watch it again one of these days.
Got out of this and made a quick check of Haunted Mansion to find that they were still down. My wife's older sister had expressed a desire to see Carousel of Progress so we made our way over there and found that there was no waiting and got right in.
For those who still love this attraction it was nice to see the "nearly full house" and we were all in agreement that this attraction is classic and should be maintained as it represents a tie to the legacy of Walt and Disney as a whole. While some technology updates have been added to the final sequence, it maintains its connection to the past and holds a special place in the hearts of many including most in our group. I have a question that perhaps some of you can help me with. It seems to me that the late Rex Allen at one time was the voice of this attraction and is now featured in the final sequence as Grandpa. The voice of the current "host" sounds very much like the late Jean Shepard of "Christmas Story" fame. Does anyone know if that's the case or is my memory playing tricks on me? It's great and we emerged from our trip through the COP pretty confident that all should be right with Haunted Mansion by this time, but they were still down. So we headed over to the Country Bears Jamboree which has long been a favorite of my wife and me and the wait was minimal...again..minimal waits...noticing a pattern here. We love this attraction and my wife observed last year that the one bear has eyes which remind her of Merle Haggard...the bear who sings "I got a woman/She's got me/Sometimes we disagree". Judy is not nearly the Merle Haggard fan that I am but she picked up on that and I didn't. I have to agree I see what she means. I told her that it might be the case. Many of the songs used in the show were recorded originally by country music artists who were based in southern California or made records there...Walt was hardly a stranger to country music as the Sons of the Pioneers and Roy Rogers were featured in some of the classic cartoons.
But I digress. We emerged from the Country Bears and went into the adjoining restaraunt for some lunch. I found it sort of ironic that we spent more time in line to get food than we did at any of the attractions and that was truly the case here. The food was fine and was just to tide us over til Hoop Dee Do Revue which we had on tap for the evening.
We ate quickly and headed back to Haunted Mansion which had just opened and we were among the first through the line. We always get a kick out of this attraction for a number of reasons and I love the technology employed throughout the experience. Judy commented that she loves the "singing busts" and that it is her favorite part of the experience. I have to agree that it is pretty special and we both love the dancing in the dining room. The noises, sound effects, the truly "dark comedy" associated with this attraction have helped make it the classic that it is and a must do on our trips to MK.
It was barely noon and we had covered twice as much as we had expected in half the time. And we had E-Ride tickets for that night. Could it get any better. It is the Magic Kingdom afterall.
My wife's oldest sister, the nearly Disney virgin in the group, remembered Pirates of the Caribbean where we headed after Haunted Mansion. Again no line, almost immediate boarding probably no more than a 6 or 7 minute wait from the time we got inside until we boarded.
Inasmuch as none of us really had much desire to head to Fantasyland or to ToonTown we opted to leave the park and get a little afternoon rest before Hoop Dee Doo where we had 5:15 reservations. We walked out of the MK at 1pm with an almost surreal feeling about how much we had done in such a short time. What we hadn't already done we would save for the E-Night experience.
This marked our second time to Hoop Dee Do and we were doing it this time as much for the benefit of the others in our party as much as anything as we had liked it but really wouldn't have mattered if we did it again. It's a good show and is truly a Disney classic. As expected it was a full house and the show was typically good and we saw many of the same faces in the cast and servers that we saw the other time we did this on a trip 3 years ago. The food was quite good and I have to confess to really liking their fried chicken. The ribs were pretty good but I did note that they changed from corn on the cob to corn shelled and served in a bowl. The service was typically good and the legendary strawberry shortcake desert was certainly worth the wait. During the course of the show the rains came and the rain came in sheets, so much so that the wind blew open the doors and CM's had to shut the doors a couple of times. By the time the show was over the rain hadn't let up much but they had to get everyone out of there in order to set up the next show. We had parked at the Contemporary and had taken the boat over and fortunately it was there waiting for us. So we boarded and headed back to the Contemporary which in this case featured a first stop at the Wilderness. The driving rain, even though we all had brought our ponchos, and riding across the water in an open boat provided for an unforgettable, laughable experience. Inasmuch as it was still early and we were soaking wet we headed back to our rooms at the CBR to dry off, warm up and ready ourselves for E-night. Judy and I remarked again at how great it was to be staying on property again and the convenience of going back to the room, something not quite so simple if you are staying somewhere off property. While we were soaked, a little chilled and stuffed to the gills thanks to the meal at Hoop Dee Do we had already had a memorable day.
We got back to the MK as it was beginning to empty and made our way over to the E-Night line to get our bracelets for the 10pm-1am window of opportunity. There truly is something special about this park at night, particularly this time of night when only a handful of people remain, when the maintenance crew is beginning its work. It's an altogether different perspective you get at this time of night and under these special circumstances
One member of our party had expressed some interest in doing Space Mountain. While Judy and I are lukewarm at best about this ride we led the way over there and there proved to be quite a line for this...a line greater than any we had experienced during our visit earlier in the day. We spent about 20 minutes or so in line and it was becoming obvious that something was wrong and suddenly the pa system announced some technical problems with no time estimate on when the situation would be resolved. We opted to exit and go elsewhere. We took in Buzz Lightyear which proved to be a hoot for everyone. We headed over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad which is almost an entirely different ride at night than during the day. Again, I guess it's a perspective issue. We had forgotten how much we could enjoy this ride and while it is hardly a "killer coaster" like the ones you see on those Travel Channel specials, it is nonetheless one which thrills you and has you laughing when you exit....especially when ridden at night. We took another turn on Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion and a couple of other things and left the park a little after midnight. On the way back to the room we all pretty agreed that it had been a magical day at the Magic Kingdom with the irony being that we spent more time in line during the E-Night Experience than we did during the day. That's not a criticism, it's just an observation of how things go sometimes. On this day things went very well indeed and as a whole the vacation was going pretty much according to both plan and hope. This was the first night of what would be three nights of special dinner experiences. Still to come O'Hana's and the Brown Derby/Fantasmic package. Also more time at MGM and all of that will be documented in the next installment.
We left the CBR at 8:35 in order to get there as close to the 9am opening as possible, expecting long lines and preparing to cut it short and at least see a little of Main Street, look into the shops for a moment or so and be gone by noon or thereabouts having lost patience with it all. But on this day the Magic Kingdom was truly magic as we had the smoothest entry ever into the park and went directly to Splash Mountain and walked right on. It took more time to walk the distance to the loading area than we spent waiting to be loaded. It was that smooth and that quick and that was only the beginning. We couldn't believe our luck, figuring it was a fluke. But we truly loved the moment, the experience itself. I have long loved this attraction as I think you get more than your money's worth on this one. The music, the smell, the animatronics, the story line, the comedy within the story line. The time spent in the interior, then the drop and then back into the interior of the attraction for the big finish. We began the day in the MK smiling at both the beauty and joy of Splash Mountain and at our good fortune to get in and ride so quickly. Last year when my wife and I were at MK we spent just over three hours in the park and were discouraged from even attempting to ride this one because of the length of the line. What a difference a year makes.
From there we headed to Haunted Mansion only to learn that they were shutdown due to technical problems and were advised by a CM to get a Fast Pass which we did. Inasmuch as we were "ahead of schedule" we decided to take in some of the stuff we have seldom done since our daughter was small. First up was Small World...yeah, the song and the whole deal. It's still a classic attraction and we literally walked right in and boarded immediately. I confess to enjoying this more than I like to let on. I appreciate the efforts that the Imagineers put into this attraction and how it endures after all these years. We came away smiling and made our way over to Peter Pan's Flight and again walked right in and boarded within 10 minutes or less. We had been on this attraction once when our daughter was quite young although my wife doesn't recall it. I loved the detail of "flying over London at night" and the music, in typical Disney fashion, only serves to enhance the experience. If you're like me you find yourself thinking, "you know I oughta buy that movie or do we still have it on VHS". Disney really knows how to inspire you with that music and even though I'm old enough to know better I still get caught up in the moment. Point of note...I think we still have the movie on VHS. Gotta watch it again one of these days.
Got out of this and made a quick check of Haunted Mansion to find that they were still down. My wife's older sister had expressed a desire to see Carousel of Progress so we made our way over there and found that there was no waiting and got right in.
For those who still love this attraction it was nice to see the "nearly full house" and we were all in agreement that this attraction is classic and should be maintained as it represents a tie to the legacy of Walt and Disney as a whole. While some technology updates have been added to the final sequence, it maintains its connection to the past and holds a special place in the hearts of many including most in our group. I have a question that perhaps some of you can help me with. It seems to me that the late Rex Allen at one time was the voice of this attraction and is now featured in the final sequence as Grandpa. The voice of the current "host" sounds very much like the late Jean Shepard of "Christmas Story" fame. Does anyone know if that's the case or is my memory playing tricks on me? It's great and we emerged from our trip through the COP pretty confident that all should be right with Haunted Mansion by this time, but they were still down. So we headed over to the Country Bears Jamboree which has long been a favorite of my wife and me and the wait was minimal...again..minimal waits...noticing a pattern here. We love this attraction and my wife observed last year that the one bear has eyes which remind her of Merle Haggard...the bear who sings "I got a woman/She's got me/Sometimes we disagree". Judy is not nearly the Merle Haggard fan that I am but she picked up on that and I didn't. I have to agree I see what she means. I told her that it might be the case. Many of the songs used in the show were recorded originally by country music artists who were based in southern California or made records there...Walt was hardly a stranger to country music as the Sons of the Pioneers and Roy Rogers were featured in some of the classic cartoons.
But I digress. We emerged from the Country Bears and went into the adjoining restaraunt for some lunch. I found it sort of ironic that we spent more time in line to get food than we did at any of the attractions and that was truly the case here. The food was fine and was just to tide us over til Hoop Dee Do Revue which we had on tap for the evening.
We ate quickly and headed back to Haunted Mansion which had just opened and we were among the first through the line. We always get a kick out of this attraction for a number of reasons and I love the technology employed throughout the experience. Judy commented that she loves the "singing busts" and that it is her favorite part of the experience. I have to agree that it is pretty special and we both love the dancing in the dining room. The noises, sound effects, the truly "dark comedy" associated with this attraction have helped make it the classic that it is and a must do on our trips to MK.
It was barely noon and we had covered twice as much as we had expected in half the time. And we had E-Ride tickets for that night. Could it get any better. It is the Magic Kingdom afterall.
My wife's oldest sister, the nearly Disney virgin in the group, remembered Pirates of the Caribbean where we headed after Haunted Mansion. Again no line, almost immediate boarding probably no more than a 6 or 7 minute wait from the time we got inside until we boarded.
Inasmuch as none of us really had much desire to head to Fantasyland or to ToonTown we opted to leave the park and get a little afternoon rest before Hoop Dee Doo where we had 5:15 reservations. We walked out of the MK at 1pm with an almost surreal feeling about how much we had done in such a short time. What we hadn't already done we would save for the E-Night experience.
This marked our second time to Hoop Dee Do and we were doing it this time as much for the benefit of the others in our party as much as anything as we had liked it but really wouldn't have mattered if we did it again. It's a good show and is truly a Disney classic. As expected it was a full house and the show was typically good and we saw many of the same faces in the cast and servers that we saw the other time we did this on a trip 3 years ago. The food was quite good and I have to confess to really liking their fried chicken. The ribs were pretty good but I did note that they changed from corn on the cob to corn shelled and served in a bowl. The service was typically good and the legendary strawberry shortcake desert was certainly worth the wait. During the course of the show the rains came and the rain came in sheets, so much so that the wind blew open the doors and CM's had to shut the doors a couple of times. By the time the show was over the rain hadn't let up much but they had to get everyone out of there in order to set up the next show. We had parked at the Contemporary and had taken the boat over and fortunately it was there waiting for us. So we boarded and headed back to the Contemporary which in this case featured a first stop at the Wilderness. The driving rain, even though we all had brought our ponchos, and riding across the water in an open boat provided for an unforgettable, laughable experience. Inasmuch as it was still early and we were soaking wet we headed back to our rooms at the CBR to dry off, warm up and ready ourselves for E-night. Judy and I remarked again at how great it was to be staying on property again and the convenience of going back to the room, something not quite so simple if you are staying somewhere off property. While we were soaked, a little chilled and stuffed to the gills thanks to the meal at Hoop Dee Do we had already had a memorable day.
We got back to the MK as it was beginning to empty and made our way over to the E-Night line to get our bracelets for the 10pm-1am window of opportunity. There truly is something special about this park at night, particularly this time of night when only a handful of people remain, when the maintenance crew is beginning its work. It's an altogether different perspective you get at this time of night and under these special circumstances
One member of our party had expressed some interest in doing Space Mountain. While Judy and I are lukewarm at best about this ride we led the way over there and there proved to be quite a line for this...a line greater than any we had experienced during our visit earlier in the day. We spent about 20 minutes or so in line and it was becoming obvious that something was wrong and suddenly the pa system announced some technical problems with no time estimate on when the situation would be resolved. We opted to exit and go elsewhere. We took in Buzz Lightyear which proved to be a hoot for everyone. We headed over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad which is almost an entirely different ride at night than during the day. Again, I guess it's a perspective issue. We had forgotten how much we could enjoy this ride and while it is hardly a "killer coaster" like the ones you see on those Travel Channel specials, it is nonetheless one which thrills you and has you laughing when you exit....especially when ridden at night. We took another turn on Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion and a couple of other things and left the park a little after midnight. On the way back to the room we all pretty agreed that it had been a magical day at the Magic Kingdom with the irony being that we spent more time in line during the E-Night Experience than we did during the day. That's not a criticism, it's just an observation of how things go sometimes. On this day things went very well indeed and as a whole the vacation was going pretty much according to both plan and hope. This was the first night of what would be three nights of special dinner experiences. Still to come O'Hana's and the Brown Derby/Fantasmic package. Also more time at MGM and all of that will be documented in the next installment.