The first trip of a lifetime trip report day 6

[jothp]

Day 6 Monday 17th August - Magic Kingdom and Downtown Disney part 1

We were up bright and early this morning and arrived at the bus stop about 6.45 all very excited for our first trip to the magic kingdom. The bus arrived about 6.55 and we were soon on our way. By 7.35 we were in the queue waiting to enter the park for our 8.00 breakfast at the Crystal Palace. Not very long later we were allowed in and caught our first glimpse of the castle. It is worth noting here that this is the one day of our trip where the plan I had made before we left worked out perfectly (well until the very end but I'll save that story for later!)



After checking in at Crystal Palace we just had time for a quick photo before we were called in for our table. We really enjoyed our breakfast here - the food was delicious, plentiful and fresh plus our server was very attentive. For us this was the ultimate character meal as Tigger is Hattie's absolute favourite and Eeyore is one of Robyn's favourites too only surpassed by Chip and Dale.









Hattie was delighted that Tigger danced with her and all the characters noticed their t shirts and their pictures in the autograph books.



We had seen all the characters by 8.25 and were easily on our way into the park by 8.45. We walked round into adventure land with just a few other people and were able to ride the carpets of Alladin twice before it was even 9.00. For our first ride it was only us and one other family on the ride. Next up was BTM and we were through our first ride so quickly we went straight round the queue again for a second go. Robyn was selected to carry the card they use to work out how long the queue was - this came to be a bit of a pattern throughout the holiday with her being asked to take it at least 6/7 times on various rides in two weeks. Splash mountain was the next stop but I didn't feel like getting wet and didn't like the look of the drop after Jurassic Park so I sat in the shade and waited. Evie said she enjoyed it but given she seems to be hiding in this shot and didn't want to go on again for the rest of the holiday I'm not convinced.



Next up was a meet with these guys. We waited about 10 minutes for them to arrive but we were 2nd in line when they did.



Feeling very pleased with how much we had already accomplished we went round to Haunted Mansion for our FP+, followed straight away by our 2nd FP of the day at Peter Pan. When we came off we still had about 50 minutes until our FP for 7 dwarfs so we went looking for a few more characters for our collection. We got in the queue for the Tremaines - this one was a bit painful as it was in the glaring sun. We were lucky enough to be the last family to meet with them before they went for a little break.



They were replaced by the Fairy Godmother so we got straight back in the queue to meet her too. She was lovely and made a real fuss of the girls - she also insisted that I got in the photo too.



It was now within our window for 7 dwarfs mine train so off we went - all the girls absolutely loved it and really wanted to do it again - thankfully I had another fastpass for the next week as I didn't like the look of the regular queue.

 

[dixonsontour]

Lots done, crystal palace looks like it was a big hit.

 

[jothp]

Part 2

We were all faring surprisingly well after a long morning but thought that some ice-cream and a drink were in order which we found at storybook treats. Once we had finished we tried to find Peter Pan for a meet but by the time we had found him the queue was closed. I popped to the FP+ kiosk by Philarmagic and the girls sheltered in the shop out of the heat. I came back with an immediate FP for IASW to find the girls had done their first bit of pin trading and were feeling very pleased with themselves. I really enjoyed IASW - there is definitely something to be said for a nice gentle sit down in the AC! When we came out it was only about 15 mins before Peter Pan would be back and we didn't want to miss him this time so Olie took the girls to queue.



Meanwhile I headed back to the FP kiosk to see what else I could get. Jungle Cruise was on the list for today, ideally I wanted a time before the parade. I couldn't get that but did manage to get a time for as soon as the parade had finished. We were all flagging a little now so needed a little more relaxation. We decided on the river cruise but it was really a bit too hot out in the sun for us to enjoy it fully. Needing to cool off after our cruise we went in to country bears - as we walked through the turnstiles the CM warned us that a show had just started so it would be a bit of a wait but we didn't care. There were seats around the outside of the waiting area and it was air conditioned. When we came out of the show we saw that spaces for the parade were beginning to fill up so we went and sat down in the shade a bit further down towards splash mountain and Olie went to a kiosk to fetch some drinks. Unfortunately just a few minutes after we sat down a CM came over and told us that we wouldn't be able to stay there for the parade as the road was too narrow. We were a little disappointed but just thanked him for letting us know and moved over to the other side of the road a bit further down and in the sun. A few minutes later the same CM came over to us again - I was wondering what I had done wrong as I was sure we were standing in one of the places he told us we could go. It turns out he had chosen Robyn to be a deputy sheriff and help stop people walking on the parade route just before the parade was due to start. She got a little badge to wear and had to hold a rope to direct the public (there were lots of CMs with her too). We were really delighted she had been chosen and didn't need anything for her efforts but a few minutes later the same CM was back with a FP ticket for us to use on any ride we wanted. What a fantastic first day we were having.





Robyn was back with us for the beginning of the parade which we all enjoyed. We were in a fantastic spot for a great view but it was a bit too close to the action for great photos. I do love this one though!








We used our FP for Jungle Cruise and then let Robyn choose where we would use our extra FP ticket - she chose 7 dwarfs so we planned to do that as our last ride before leaving the park. This is where things went a bit wrong! The weather was fine as we got in the FP queue and we could have waited at most 5 minutes but by the time we were boarding the ride I got a glimpse outside and all I could see was a wall of rain. Within 10 seconds of getting outside we were soaked.



We walked back to the bus through the pouring rain. It was very strange walking through huge puddles on the ground that were as warm as a bath! The bus was rather chilly!

 

[jothp]

Lots done, crystal palace looks like it was a big hit.

Thanks for reading along, we got so much done on that first day in MK and didn't actually feel to worn out until after the parade - I think it wouldn't have felt so bad if we were stood in the shade.

Crystal Palace was one of our favourite meals of the whole trip and would definitely be on the list if we went again, even if we had to pay OOP.

 

[DisneyDarlingness]

I'm really enjoying your trip report - hopefully we'll see another update soon, when you get the chance!

 

[Tony Bush]

Following along happily

 

[bex7583]

parade pics look brilliant , no idea how we managed to miss every day time parade !!

 

[Jon84]

Great report so far, will be sure to keep up

 

[jothp]

Hi all, sorry to keep you waiting for updates. Life has been rather busy here at work and on top of that DH and myself have both been unwell and we are currently in the midst of looking for schools for DD for next September. This is the last week of school open evenings so from next week I should have a bit more time to get this report finished.

 

[jothp]

Part 3

After a change of clothes all around and a bit of a rest we decided to head out to what is now known as Disney Springs for a bite to eat at WPE and to collect the $200 gift voucher we had got with our booking. We took the car back to the HH car park and hopped in the queue for the boat. It was a lovely relaxing ride. We got off the boat and randomly wandered through Disney Springs blindly hoping to find our destination. Luckily after a while we found a map and started off to our destination with more purpose as by now we were all hungry not having eaten anything but an ice cream since breakfast. We found the food at WPE very enjoyable and would happily eat here again. After dinner the Christmas shop was a must and we bought our souvenir bauble. The next stop was the Disney Store to collect our voucher. There was quite a wait for this as there were a number of people collecting vouchers and one poor woman trying to deal with all the paperwork for it. Whilst I waited Olie and the girls managed to find plenty of souvenirs to spend the voucher on! Luckily I managed to escape with some money left and we then headed back to the boat to OKW and were treated with a view of some of the frozen fireworks just as the boat was leaving the dock. It did seem very magical. We all passed out pretty much as soon as we got back to the villa as this had been a very busy day and was planned to be a nice early night.