7 AM Extra Magic Hours? We're in!...NEW 12/27 p. 31

[PlutosRHM55]

EMH and EASTER?! What a great way to start a morning! Totally agree about taking advantage of the mini-fridge, having that quick early morning breakfast really does alleviate having to use a ton of money on breakfast in the parks and DP points (even if it is better in the parks...)

Wow, you were up early! I'm pretty sure if I ever got my parents to go to Disney at Easter we would be those "normal" people going to church in the morning. Maybe it's better we go to church, but... Disney is fun lol Anyways... love the pictures and videos of the opening show! I love Rope Drop at MK by far the best one and so cool how the Easter Bunny was there too for the opening festivities

to going to Tomorrowland (for Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear might I add) and Storybook Circus! It does look very cool over there, a shame it isn't entirely finished and so tiny, but still, looks gorgeous already. I will miss Toontown, but I think this whole new expanded Fantasyland will be just as great I mean, those details with the peanuts and animal footprints... and the signs! It's going to look fantastic!

Can't wait to read more about your Easter morning in MK!

 

[OhMari]

Oh, I can't wait till the new part opens at the MK.
We are booked for next year's convention, and I saw the Sunday before is Easter again-boo, but I think I'll stay a few days after, than a few days before. Let the crowds go down a tad. , but if I stay on grounds I can do those EMH.

 

[RachelNinja]

I would've been so jealous of the bride and groom who walked by! That's really more my style. I'd much rather be with fellow Disney fans than with all the drama back home!

It's so cool how the lights are still on at MK in the morning! That must be such an experience. It was chilly when we got up, and we were probably a little over an hour behind your timing in the mornings. Can't imagine what it'd be like getting up at 5:45am! Haha, I think I at least waited until 6:30!

OMG, there were BUNNIES at the opening! SO SCARY!

It's really so cool that we're "watching" this huge expansion. I'm in awe when people say they were at the opening of MK way back when! This is like, being a small part of Disney history!

 

[wdwgirl03]

EMH and EASTER?! What a great way to start a morning! Totally agree about taking advantage of the mini-fridge, having that quick early morning breakfast really does alleviate having to use a ton of money on breakfast in the parks and DP points (even if it is better in the parks...)

Wow, you were up early! I'm pretty sure if I ever got my parents to go to Disney at Easter we would be those "normal" people going to church in the morning. Maybe it's better we go to church, but... Disney is fun lol Anyways... love the pictures and videos of the opening show! I love Rope Drop at MK by far the best one and so cool how the Easter Bunny was there too for the opening festivities

to going to Tomorrowland (for Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear might I add) and Storybook Circus! It does look very cool over there, a shame it isn't entirely finished and so tiny, but still, looks gorgeous already. I will miss Toontown, but I think this whole new expanded Fantasyland will be just as great I mean, those details with the peanuts and animal footprints... and the signs! It's going to look fantastic!

Can't wait to read more about your Easter morning in MK!

Yeah, we've never done a dining plan so I can't really comment on DP points/credits but it certainly saves us a lot of money. There were a couple times, though, when we got breakfast at the park/resort. You get hungry early when you wake up early! LOL.

I agree about the MK rope drop but it seems the other parks haven't even been doing them anymore which is sad.

It will be amazing when it's done. But sometimes I do miss those older attractions. Oh well.

Oh, I can't wait till the new part opens at the MK.
We are booked for next year's convention, and I saw the Sunday before is Easter again-boo, but I think I'll stay a few days after, than a few days before. Let the crowds go down a tad. , but if I stay on grounds I can do those EMH.

Yeah for another convention trip! Hopefully you can stay at a Disney resort this time-having those EMH sure is great.

I would've been so jealous of the bride and groom who walked by! That's really more my style. I'd much rather be with fellow Disney fans than with all the drama back home!

It's so cool how the lights are still on at MK in the morning! That must be such an experience. It was chilly when we got up, and we were probably a little over an hour behind your timing in the mornings. Can't imagine what it'd be like getting up at 5:45am! Haha, I think I at least waited until 6:30!

OMG, there were BUNNIES at the opening! SO SCARY!

It's really so cool that we're "watching" this huge expansion. I'm in awe when people say they were at the opening of MK way back when! This is like, being a small part of Disney history!

Aww, sorry about the drama. I know you're excited to be married and hey, atleast after the wedding you'll be with Disney people and you will have a great time.

I love those early mornings/EMH and seeing the lights is so fun. It's like you know you have a whole day of excitement to look forward to.

LOL, aww, the bunnies weren't scary, they were cute!

It really is-this is such a big project and the fun part about going so often is getting to see all the progress. I'm really looking forward to seeing the completed project.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Sunday, April 8, 2012 cont'd (part 2)

After getting our first look at the new Storybook Circus, we continued on our way to visit some more of the Fantasyland attractions. Since it was right there, Dad suggested we go on the Mad Tea Party. We both had to smile because of the music. See, when we went to the Disney on Ice show here, there was an Alice in Wonderland part and the music reminded us of the teacups. So it was just sort of funny to hear it again there.

Our next stop was the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. We pretty much walked straight through the queue, but of course I had to touch a few of the games as we passed by. It's sort of hard not to. We got a honey pot to ourselves and were off to visit Pooh and his friends. One of my favorite hidden details of this ride is this:

I love Pooh, but sometimes I do sort of miss Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. All the more reason to go back to Disneyland, I guess.

After Pooh we had to go stop at another classic: Snow White's Scary Adventures. I thought when we were there in October that would be our last ride ever so I was glad when they decided to keep it open a little longer. Since it was going to be our last ride, I needed to stop for a picture.

Part of the reason I did that was because a couple times Dad has talked about those murals and how it's sort of sad that they just destroy them. Kind of like Mickey's house. How can you just knock down something like that? Anyway...when we got to the final scene I had to take one more picture. Good-bye Snow White! Good-bye Prince! Good-bye Dopey!

I know there's the new dwarf ride to look forward to but it's always sad to see those classic attractions close. Atleast we got to ride it one more time.

There was one more ride we wanted to do in Fantasyland before heading over to Frontierland, and of course that would be Peter Pan's Flight. By the time we got over there, it was getting close to 8:00, which was the official park opening so there were a few people waiting to get into Liberty Square and Frontierland. The line at Peter Pan was a little longer (meaning we had to wait maybe five minutes instead of walking right on...LOL). As always we enjoyed the ride. So much fun.

Once we were off, it was just after 8:00 which meant that the whole park was open now. So, just to recap what we accomplished in a little over an hour:

-Space Mountain
-Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
-Dumbo
-The Barnstormer
-Mad Tea Party
-The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
-Snow White's Scary Adventures
-Peter Pan's Flight

Not too bad, huh? Is it any surprise that we love those early early EMH? We probably did more in that one hour than what some people might get to do all day if they got there around noon. Getting up early definitely is worth it when you get to walk right onto pretty much everything!

Now, normally after doing a couple attractions during EMH we head to Frontierland to complete the Triple Mountain Whammy. But, since Thunder Mountain was closed (still depressed about that...) we held off on Splash Mountain for a little bit. As we were entering Liberty Square, we saw that there were a couple CMs standing outside the Haunted Mansion. Turns out it wasn't running so we were going to have to save that for later.

In Frontierland, I noticed that Donald was out greeting guests, and since nobody was there we stopped for a quick picture.

We also wanted to try out the new Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game, so Dad said we should go get some game cards. There are two locations where you can sign up: on Main Street at the fire station or in Liberty Square. We stopped at the one in Liberty Square, which is right near the little Christmas store. It's very similar to the Kim Possible missions at Epcot where you need to give the CM your park ticket. The CM then scans your ticket (it's designed so it can keep track of your game for a couple days so if you don't necessarily want to do it all right away) and then you get a map showing you the locations of all the portals, a key card that is used to unlock the portals, and the most exciting part, a pack of 5 spell cards that you use to defeat the villains trying to take over the Magic Kingdom.

Since it was our first time playing, we needed to be “trained” by Merlin so when we got to the first portal that would be our first step. Merlin basically tells you about the villains and you get to practice using one of your spell cards. Then we were ready to start our mission. Pocohantas needed our help defeating Governor Ratcliffe.

Of course we wanted to help but Splash Mountain was calling our name, so we decided to finish our game a little later. As we were walking over to Splash Mountain, it was still pretty amazing how few people were in that area. Love it!

So once again, we walked straight onto the ride and I even think the CM let us pick whatever row we wanted. Dad took the front row and I sat behind him.

After Splash Mountain, we were also able to do Pirates of the Caribbean and the Jungle Cruise.

Now, the thing about getting up so early is that you get hungry early! So after those rides I suggested we go get something to eat. And what better place to grab something to eat than the Main Street bakery? In all my trips, I honestly think that was the first time I ever went in there. Crazy, right? I ended up getting a breakfast croissant (with ham, egg, and cheese) and Dad got a pastry. We found a table outside to enjoy our food.

Yum!

I really don’t think our morning could have gotten off to a better start. We had already done a bunch of rides and it wasn't even 10:00 yet!

 

[xoktenox]

Wow, I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it, and empty park on Easter! You guys hit the jackpot getting up for EMH!

You're right, even though I'm excited for the new Mine Train ride, it is sad to think they're just going to destroy the old Snow White ride

Oh man, I love getting breakfast from the Main St. Bakery! A yummy cinnamon roll for me and a chocolate crossiant for Chris...my mouth is now watering haha

 

[MHTeacher]

You had an awesome EMH on Easter morning!

It is sad to think about what will happen to those beautiful murals in Snow White. Our planned MK day will be the last day for Snow White. I definitely plan for us to ride one last time!

 

[Caretames1]

Great use of EMH's ! You are so right in that a lot of people would never get to do as much in one day if they arrive later in the day.

We still haven't met that Donald, once we were close but the line closed off and we decided not to stay, but to get ready for the parade.

I think the new game will be a big hit! I really want to do the new Agent P game in Epcot that taking over Kim Possible!

 

[marDgreen88]

Hahah, last ride on Snow White, but REALLY this time.

Seeing the pic from the top of Splash made me happy for SO MANY REASONS.

I've never eaten at the Main Street Bakery either! Well I mean, clearly you have NOW, but still. Yay for accomplishing so much!

 

[brookelizabeth]

While I'm still sure I could never do a 7 AM EMH, it is AWESOME how much you've gotten done!!!!

And first time in Main Street Bakery??? It's a must do on our trips! LOL

 

[wisblue]

The funny thing is that we probably had to wait longer (about 5-10 minutes) to get served in the bakery than we did for any of the 11 rides that we had already done.

I could tell that most of the other people in line were making the bakery their first stop after entering the park while we were taking a break after experiencing most of the park's most popular attractions.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Wow, I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it, and empty park on Easter! You guys hit the jackpot getting up for EMH!

You're right, even though I'm excited for the new Mine Train ride, it is sad to think they're just going to destroy the old Snow White ride

Oh man, I love getting breakfast from the Main St. Bakery! A yummy cinnamon roll for me and a chocolate crossiant for Chris...my mouth is now watering haha

It didn't stay empty all morning but it was pretty quiet for the first couple hours. Even by the time we were leaving it wasn't all that bad. Atleast by our standards.

I will have to go back to the bakery sometime-they had some good looking treats there!

You had an awesome EMH on Easter morning!

It is sad to think about what will happen to those beautiful murals in Snow White. Our planned MK day will be the last day for Snow White. I definitely plan for us to ride one last time!

We sure did.

Great use of EMH's ! You are so right in that a lot of people would never get to do as much in one day if they arrive later in the day.

We still haven't met that Donald, once we were close but the line closed off and we decided not to stay, but to get ready for the parade.

I think the new game will be a big hit! I really want to do the new Agent P game in Epcot that taking over Kim Possible!

Aww, well hopefully on your next trip you can meet Donald. There was nobody in line for him, and we actually saw him later in the trip too.

It will be interesting to see how the KP stuff changes to Agent P. I'll definitely want to try it out next time I go.

Hahah, last ride on Snow White, but REALLY this time.

Seeing the pic from the top of Splash made me happy for SO MANY REASONS.

I've never eaten at the Main Street Bakery either! Well I mean, clearly you have NOW, but still. Yay for accomplishing so much!

Yes, it was sad knowing that it was the real last time. Unless I somehow get to WDW within the next couple weeks, which obviously isn't happening.

Don't you just love that view?

While I'm still sure I could never do a 7 AM EMH, it is AWESOME how much you've gotten done!!!!

And first time in Main Street Bakery??? It's a must do on our trips! LOL

Yeah, you definitely have to be a morning person but it is so worth getting up early. I love walking onto everything!

We have had stuff from the bakery before (a few times my mom has gone to pick up a couple things while we all go ride Space Mountain) but yeah, I don't think I had ever actually been in there.

The funny thing is that we probably had to wait longer (about 5-10 minutes) to get served in the bakery than we did for any of the 11 rides that we had already done.

I could tell that most of the other people in line were making the bakery their first stop after entering the park while we were taking a break after experiencing most of the park's most popular attractions.

Yep, we waited more time for food and for the Easter bunny than we did for any of the rides.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Sunday, April 8, 2012 cont'd (part 3)

After enjoying our yummy treats from the Main Street Bakery, we were ready for some more fun. It was really nice knowing that we had already done basically every major attraction and we could take in a couple of the lesser ones.

I decided that before we start up our Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game again, I wanted to sign up myself. Well, really I just wanted to get my own set of cards. So we headed over to the Fire Station.

Since we had just done the "training" we didn't need to go through it again
so we were all set to go.

Back outside, I noticed lots of women in pastel colored dresses greeting guests and celebrating the holiday. It was like a flashback to the days when they used to have a special Easter parade and these ladies would be a part of it. So of course I had to get a picture!

(PS, here's a picture I found on google from the actual parade)

The girl in the purple dress asked me if I wanted to hold her parasol. Which obviously I did. Don't mind my squinty face though.

Dad asked them if they were going to be in the parade that day. They said they were going to be in a special pre-parade. If the parade had been earlier, I would've wanted to stay because that would've been fun to see. I wish they would bring back the Easter parade!

After getting my picture, we headed back toward Liberty Square to continue our Sorcerer mission.

How can you not love this view?

(so they're basically the same picture but I loved how you could see the reflection in the water).

Back to our mission now. I mentioned how we were going to help Pocahontas save the MK from Governor Ratcliffe. I don't remember too much specifically about the mission but I do think it was pretty cool how the cards worked. Basically, you have to hold out one of your spell cards to battle the villain. Then depending on which card you use, it will throw things at the villain. So, as an example, say I decided to use my Fairy Godmother card.

Her weapon of choice is a pumpkin (hehe), so when I held up that card the villain was assaulted with pumpkins. And if you want to get really fancy, you can use multiple spell cards at once. Apparently, the more you use a spell card, the more powerful it becomes. If you're able to play a lot and get to the harder levels (like some of the hardcore gamers we saw at the portals who would stand there forever trying to figure out which card(s) to use because they had every single one, LOL), that might be kind of interesting. I did try using multiple cards once but for the most part we just stuck with one.

Here's a random picture of Dad at one of the portals.

So, in the end we both defeated the villain and saved the Magic Kingdom. Yeah!

While in Liberty Square we were also able to ride the Haunted Mansion (we learned some interesting things about the attraction on the Keys to the Kingdom tour, so stay tuned...) and the river boat. I figured since we had pretty much done everything else, it would be fun to go on it. I can't even remember the last time we went on the river boat-maybe on our first trip and that might be it.

We climbed to the top level of the boat so we got some pretty nice views of the park.

The white-washed fence on Tom Sawyer Island.

It was very sad seeing BTMRR all boarded off and people out on the tracks.

The whole cruise is about 20 minutes, which is longer than I thought but it was definitely a relaxing ride. One of the things that's so nice about going to WDW so often is that you get to experience some of those overlooked attractions. And because it's been so long since we've been on it, it was almost like experiencing a brand-new attraction.

It had been a very successful morning so we were just about ready to leave. I think we might've gone through Fantasyland to get back toward the hub and Main Street.

haha, you can sort of see Dad in this picture. He was looking for our photopass card, which seemed to have disappeared. Luckily the only pictures we had gotten were the ones with Frontier Donald so it wasn't a huge loss.

And of course I can't leave the Magic Kingdom without stopping in the Emporium. I spotted this adorable vinylmation set, which I may or may not have bought later that afternoon at the Animal Kingdom...

My last goal for the day was to meet the Easter Bunny. He and Mrs. Bunny were greeting guests near City Hall, in the area where you can meet Santa around Christmas. The line was pretty long but since we hadn't really had to wait for anything else, I decided to just get in line. I mean, after all, it was Easter-how could you not want to meet the Easter Bunny? I guess other people had the same feelings because one of the CMs said that all week they had to beg people to come see him but of course on Easter, everyone wanted to meet him. Figures.

While we were in line the trolley show was passing by.

I love how their outfits change with every season/holiday!

The thing that was strange about this line was that for about 20 minutes, it didn't even move. For some reason the Easter bunny didn't come out, even though it said it was supposed to be continuous greeting from park opening until 5:00 or whatever. So in the end, I think we might've waited around 45 minutes before we finally got to meet the bunnies.

Mission accomplished. Now that I've reached the end of our morning at the MK, let's just do another recap of everything we did:

-Space Mountain
-Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
-Dumbo
-The Barnstormer
-Mad Tea Party
-The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
-Snow White's Scary Adventures
-Peter Pan's Flight
-Splash Mountain
-Pirates of the Caribbean
-Jungle Cruise
-Haunted Mansion
-River boat
-Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game

I'd say that we were pretty successful, and we did a majority of those attractions by 10:00 (I think by the time we left it was maybe a little after noon?). Like Dad said, it wasn't even like we were rushing around. It's somewhat amusing that our longest wait of the day was for the Easter bunny.

For lunch we decided to visit one of our favorite places: the Polynesian! Before the trip Dad said something about how it would be fun to go over there some day and eat lunch at Captain Cook's. As you might already know (because I ALWAYS talk about the Poly), our family used to stay there all the time so whenever we can, we like to go back and say hello to one of our favorite resorts. So we hopped on the monorail, just like old times. It's such a great feeling (not to mention nostalgic) getting off at that monorail station and entering the Great Ceremonial House.

Our destination:

I have to say, the restaurant has changed a LOT since we last stayed there!

After ordering our food we went to find a table outside where we could enjoy the beautiful scenery.

AHHH I just miss staying at this place so much! So many memories. Like see that torch in the picture? I said something to Dad about how I didn't think they used to light them during the day. But I remember coming back from the parks at night, seeing those torches lit and thinking it was so cool.

Anyways...for lunch I got a pepperoni flatbread and Dad got a Caesar salad. I had every intention of finally trying a dole whip, but by the time I was done eating I was full. One of these days I'll get one...

When we were done eating we walked around the pool and marina before heading back to the Great Ceremonial House.

Instead of taking the monorail back to the Magic Kingdom and getting a bus from there, we ended up waiting for a DHS bus and walked back to the Boardwalk from there.

up next: An afternoon at the Animal Kingdom!

 

[marDgreen88]

Hahaha, good choice holding the parasol. It kinda matches your outfit anyway! I mean, at least it's purple.

The Sorcerer's game sounds pretty cool! It probably wouldn't be something I'd want to play over and over, but it still looks like it'd be fun to try at least once.

Aw, I love Disney nostalgia. It's a shame that yall can't stay there because it isn't DVC!

 

[dawnbu40]

for being able to do so much before noon.

The castle pics are beautiful

You've never had a Dole Whip?! How is that possible? (personally I'm not a huge fan of them but it is something you mus try once)

Nice update

 

[brookelizabeth]

I love how the Easter Bunny was your longest wait!!

I hear mixed reviews of the Sorcerers game. It seems some people don't like it because, like you said, some people take FOREVER at the portal and then you can see what happens before you get your turn.

Beautiful pictures of the Poly. We have yet to stay there, but WILL someday!

 

[Angies1274]

Wow!! I can't believe how much you got accomplished that morning!! That's great!! Definitely a reason to love those EMH mornings!!!

Beautiful castle pics!!

 

[OhMari]

You sure are doing a lot on Easter.
Remember I thought you were at the Poly on Tuesday evening, because you were posting on Facebook?

Glad Disney is being "green" and at least bringing some Easter things back. I remember being there 2 years ago on Easter, and there was absolutely nothing going on, except for a few egg hunts at various resorts.


Love Main Street Bakery-you can get an ice cream cookie that are the best.

 

[Caretames1]

I would have waited for the Easter Bunnies too! They are so cute.

What! you didn't wear your pastel dress to the park that morning??

I really need to get to a EMH!

 

[jwwi]

It is so worth it to get up early and tour the park. So many rides in such a short time. Then you are able to slow down and enjoy the day without the stress of lines.

What a fun Easter day. And the weather looks so beautiful too.