Magic Kingdom Morning
We were up bright and early, through the security at MK and waiting around 7:45! I have to admit I don't think I've ever done morning EMH because I hate getting up early! But I was excited for this day and I knew we were planning to take a nap anyway, since we were going to the Christmas party later that night. Got to see the best opening show ever!
And then they let us into the park. It was my first time in Disney during Christmas, so as we made our way toward the rides while the lines were low, I tried to take in all of the awesome decorations!
First up was Space Mountain, which was fun as always. We went on the line where you go to the left when you walk in, and for some reason it wasn't quite as exciting as I remember SM being. I wondered if the two different tracks were extremely different or something, so we made a mental note to check it out when we went on SM again later, if we could. While we were in Tomorrowland we also decided to hop on Buzz Lightyear!
My next thought was to head to the Little Mermaid in Fantasyland and get to that before EMH were over. But as we made our way into Fantasyland we saw Peter Pan, and the wait was really short. It's something we pretty much never get to ride because the wait is always too long for what the ride is. DH had actually never been on it! So we did that first. It turns out that DH actually didn't like it all that much. He's much more impressed by the newer rides and doesn't have much appreciation for the classics like I do, but I like it for that reason. I'm glad we got the chance to do it this time around.
And here's why I love EMH!
So beautifully empty
Once Peter Pan was over we did get on the Little Mermaid. I don't know why but I really love this ride. DH likes it too because he loves all the little touches - like going slightly downward to indicate going under the water, and then riding back up a little once Ariel turns human. It is very nicely done, and I feel like every time I ride it I notice something different or new.
By then it was about 8:55, so perfect timing to wait until the opened Frontierland so we could head right for my favorite ride, Splash Mountain! We only waited a few minutes behind the ropes before the CMs let us through, and we slowly made our way to one of my two favorite Mountains. We didn't have to wait at all. It was a little cool for getting wet, but still a lot of fun. And we requested not the front row so we didn't get too wet!
We decided it made sense to go on Big Thunder Mountain while we were in the area, so we did that too. I think Martin had a lot of fun. I enjoy it, though DH much prefers to go on it at night!
We then had a FP+ for Enchanted Tales with Belle. It turns out we didn't really need it because there wasn't much of a wait, but whatever. This was my first time with FP+ and honestly I found it a little frustrating, and longing for the old system. It's much more convenient to get a FP when you know what the wait time is. Now it kind of feels like you're gambling that something will have a long wait. With some rides you know they'll always be long, but especially with the tiered system it's hard. This happened in Epcot too - we had a FP+ for Nemo just because I didn't really know what to pick. But then when we went on it the wait time was only 5 minutes. However, when we went to do Spaceship Earth afterward the wait was 25 minutes.
Anyway, Belle was a lot of fun. There were some really, really young children that were in the show and they were just too adorable.
Next up we also had a FP+ to meet Cinderella and a visiting Princess in Fairy Tale Hall. Her special guest today was Aurora!
By this point it was around 10:45, and though it was early we had early FP+ reservations for the Be Our Guest lunch! We hadn't eaten breakfast since we knew we would be doing an early lunch, so we were actually starving by this time. We checked in and they had a little trouble locating my reservation at first, but then they found it. However, I had done the option where we pre-ordered our food ahead of time, and they had no record of that. So we had to order again, but it wasn't really a big deal. Then we went to sit down. We decided to sit in the Rose Gallery, since I've been twice for dinner and it's never open then. It was very pretty in there!
I had the turkey sandwich and it was really delicious. Unlike others, this was our third time experiencing Be Our Guest (twice for dinner, once for lunch) and I've had a fabulous experience every time.
They also had a really beautiful Christmas tree up in the Ballroom. It was nice but the ornaments were so fun! They were like stained glass ornaments of the characters from Beauty and the Beast. They should sell those, because I would totally buy them!