Well, after a long drive down, some van repairs, an afternoon hiding from the rainstorms in a movie theater and some time at the beach, I'd say it's time to let the magic begin. And what better place for that, than the Magic Kingdom! (Hey, you think they named it that on purpose? Sure does seem like quite a coincidence if you ask me...)
Since it was a Monday and Bambi's dad is running a home repair business, he had some things to attend to at a job site before we could go to Disney. That extra delay was not going to sit well with the kids. We drove all this way and we - sorry,
they - we anxious to get going. We - sorry,
they - didn't want to hang around the house for an extra few hours and wait. We - sorry,
they - wanted to get to the Magic Kingdom for rope drop so we - sorry,
they - could start finding characters and riding rides.
So Bambi and I and the kids started off for WDW in the rolling rust bucket of doom, planning to meet up with Grandma & Grandpa sometime mid-morning.
Usually our first decision of the day is monorail vs ferry boat. The decision was made for us today, as the line for the monorail was back down the ramp and there was a cast member at the entrance saying the monorail was down and they didn't know how long it would be before it was up and running again. Surprise, surprise.
Down the hill we went, along with a herd of people, to the ferry landing. (Incidently, why do they call it a
boat landing? Boats can't even fly!)
There was a pretty big crowd already waiting, but Disney had buckets of chalk out for the kids to vandalize the sidewalks with. No sooner had Madison started tagging her gang signs, though, did one of the 3 ferries Disney was running pulled up and let off the dozen people that were leaving before park opening. Ummm, folks? The fun is back that-a-way.
We boarded the ship and headed straight for the pilot house to commandeer the vessel (By force if necessary!) and take us straight to the Magic Kingdom. But there was a very nice Cast Member standing there that said we were already going directly to the Magic Kingdom, so we holstered our pistols, stowed our swords and settled for a very cute picture of Bambi and the kids.
Loading that many people took quite a while, but soon we were under way and approaching our destination.
Since they had 3 Ferries running, we had a bit of a wait for one to pull out of the dock and allow us to unload. As bad as it is getting caught up the mass of people exiting the park after fireworks, it's even worse with a mass of people going into the park. It's the same herd mentality (nudge people out of the way, cut off old ladies in wheel chairs, trample small children in your way, etc), but it's amplified by a greater sense of urgency. Now instead of having to be the first to get back to your hotel room to sleep, you have to be the first to get into the park and start complaining about the crowds.
We try to teach our kids to be polite but assertive, and crowds like this are a test of that. You don't need to be rude and trample someone, but at the same time, stand your ground and don't let others do it to you. Even with the crowd, we were through bag check and the turnstiles in just a few minutes. We started our walk up through Main Street and I noticed this guy:
I've seen the double decker bus, the horse drawn trolley, but I don't recall ever seeing this car before. Look at that, we've been here all of 5 minutes and we've already seen something new!
Our travels took us over to Adventureland, where Bambi and the kids rode the magic carpets while I ran ahead to Frontierland to grab FastPasses to Splash Mountain. (Did I mention it was late June? And we were in Florida? And that it was going to be hot? I did? Ok, good. Just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page.)
I got back with the FPs as they were getting off of the ride, so we stood in line to see Jasmine and Aladdin. While we were waiting, I noticed this little guy:
.
He was just hanging out, enjoying the view.
Here's Evan, about to give Aladdin on his patented "break your hand 5's". Aladdin then his rescinded his third wish for Genie's freedom and wished for an ice pack.
Can you see our little lizard friend?
By this time Grandma & Grandpa called to let us know that they had just arrived at the park. I met them, took their tickets and got FPs for Splash as well. We when dared to go on...
Look! Booty!
Hold on a sec while I check my notes. Let's see...I said it was June...I said it was Florida...I said it was hot....Ok, here we are. It's time to cool off! Where?
Splash Mountain of course!
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay. My, oh my what a wonderful day!
Plenty of sunshine heading my way. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!
(What? You'd rather have It's a Small World stuck in your head. Hold on a minute, we'll get there...)
We immediately exited Splash and got more Fast Passes. We then saw that Big Thunder Mountain was a relatively short wait at 20 minutes. Water is good at cooling your off, but so is fast moving air! In line we went!
The ride was so much fun, that Evan wanted to do it again. Madison didn't, so she stayed with Bambi while Evan and I hiked it back up the queue and into the runaway mine train again! Whoo Hooo!
After spinning carpets, pirate adventures, sprinting through a brier patch and two rides in a runaway mine train, it was time to slow this train down for a bit of lunch at Peco's Bill's. I ate fast and let everyone else take their time and relax a bit while I did a FastPass run to Buzz Lightyear, stopping to watch the end of the Dream Along with Mickey show at the castle. By the time I got back, the kids were finishing their last grapes. I was hot again from the Fast Pass run, so I begged and pleaded and bargained with the kids to go on Splash Mountain again. After lengthy negotiations, they finally relented. For your information, a transcript of the heated mediation follows:
Me:
Do you guys want to go on Splash Mountain?
Kids:
YES!
(I'm not one to brag, but I'm pretty sure that if I had be in charge of the NFL labor negations this summer, it wouldn't have come down to the 11th hour.)
The best thing about having a group of 6 on Splash Mountain? Someone in your party always gets a view of the rabbit's butt.
By the time we got off SM this time, Frontierland was really starting to fill up. Wait times for both mountains were over 60 minutes and we were fresh out of Fast Passes. I guess that means it's time to start heading east and take in the new interactive queue at the Haunted Mansion.
The posted wait was about 45 minutes, which really wasn't too bad considering the crowd levels elsewhere. We twisted and turned our way around the chains outside and eventually hit the shaded area, but the heat was starting to take it's toll on the kids. Evan was pleading to be carried, despite us explaining to him that pressing his hot body on our hot bodies would make us both hotter. He was insistent on being carried, so I made him a deal. I'd carry him, but only if I got to stick his face in my sweaty arm pit. His feet must have really hurt, because he agreed.
HM now has a decision in it's queue. Go to the right and head straight into the attraction, or go left into the interactive queue. Duh, left it is!
The first thing you encounter are several more memorials to deceased members of the family. I can assure you that Madison is fully utilizing her drama skills here and is in fact NOT mortally terrified.
I think.
Oh well, moving on....
We all had a good time in the queue, playing the instruments on the organ, plugging the holes in the Sea Captain's tomb, playing with the haunted books in the library, etc. We then had a pleasant ride in our Doom Buggies around Gracie Mansion. I'm sure you're just
dying to hear all about it, but I have other stories to get to...
Sorry, I cracked myself up a bit on that one. I'll just post the standard rocking chair picture that Bambi's Dad has to take with the kids every visit while I try to compose myself again.
As we moved into Fantasyland, I looked up and to the left and saw...nothing. The old chalet that was the skyride terminal has been removed. Rumor has it this area will be new bathrooms.
While waiting for It's A Small World, I snapped a few pictures of Peter Pan's Flight across the way.
And to ensure that you want to come back and keep reading, I'll leave the tale of our adventures in It's A Small World to lead off the next update!
UP NEXT Bambi attempts, multiple times, to get herself out of the boat at any cost.
)
