20th Anniversary Trips: "Saying Goodbye to Muppets" Disney World Edition (An April Trip Report)

[Elizabeth Smith]

I'll be following along now that I've gotten caught up! That secret message that you posted from the ToT queue was so cool! I've never seen that before! And your AK morning was epic! You managed to get so much done in a short amount of time!

 

[erinch]

Great report!

 

[vamassey1]

I'm finally getting caught up on this report and really enjoying it. I'm also jealous it was so uncrowded.

I'm having trouble with the pictures too.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Hi Everyone!!!

I have to admit, I kind of forgot that I didn't finish this trip report!?! Oops! And I wasn't sure I would finish it, as I was super annoyed with my flickr photos not showing up, but in the time I have been gone, it seems like the issue may be resolved?!? I am going to make an attempt to finish this up! Let's see if the photos can work!

Lots have been going on, we went on our San Diego / Disneyland trip, the girls survived band camp and the start of school. Morgan is working on her portfolio to apply to her schools. And we are currently in the thick of competition season for Marching Band. So, just a few items!

If the photos behave, my goal is to finish this trip report and get out San Diego / Disneyland trip started. Are folks intrested in the San Diego portion?


An Afternoon in Magic Kingdom
I left us off leaving Animal kingdom at 9:43, we headed to find the bus to Magic Kingdom. We had to wait till 10:00 for first bus to Magic Kingdom. But thankfully that wasn’t too long of a wait.

A bus showed up right at 10:00, we waited a little bit for more folks and then headed out!

We arrived at Magic Kingdom at 10:16 AM.
Arrived at Magic Kingdom

Thankfully there was no line at security and we got through with no issues.
Past Turnstyles

Lady and the Tramp Statue by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr
We tested out another 50th statue with our magic bands.

As we walked down Main Street we discussed what we wanted to do.
Main Street

We decided we needed snacks first!

Andy waited for egg rolls while I headed to Sunshine Tree Terrace. This has been our go to snack plan these days.

Gwen requested the Egg Sandwich, And then Andy got an order of each egg roll type for Morgan, Andy and I to share, pepperoni egg rolls, cheeseburger egg rolls

Sunshine Tree Terrace Menu
I got Sunshine Tree Terrace stuff. Morgan requested the I lave you float and I wanted the orange float.

We all met up in our secret spot. Where I proceeded to spill some of the orange float on Gwen. not a ton but just enough to be annoying and make a sticky mess!

We wiped it all up and enjoyed our snacks. They were well needed. And I took terrible pictures of our food since I spilled.
The last of the Egg Rolls
What was left of the egg rolls once I realized we took no pictures. The Egg rolls were delish as always! They are pricey but so worth it.


Thankfully, Gwen is a slow eater... Ha. I had a bit of this, it was exactly what you would expect, Bagel, egg and sausage sandwich. nothing special but exactly what Gwen wanted.

After our snacks, we headed to use our first LL!
Our first LL was for Haunted Mansion
Haunted Mansion

It was busy today, so I was glad we had LL.
Haunted Mansion Tombstone

We got into the Stretching Room and it was FULL! We ended up in the middle of the room, which I hate. We usually try and grab the back wall where we know it opens. But any wall is preferred.
Stretching Room

Once let into the loading area, it was FULL of people. It was the worst I had seen it. Thankfully they stopped opening stretching rooms after our room. It took awhile to work it’s self out. Andy got separated from us, because a family cut him off. So we had to do an awkward wait for him.

But we finally got on the ride and of course had a good time.
Ghosts

Ghosts End by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Untitled by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Graves on the way out of HH
Haunted Mansion was great as always.

We had about 20 minutes before our next LL. So, we decided to go ride Small World.
It's a Small World

But once we got over there the posted wait was 20 minutes plus the ride is long, we decided to ride later.

Instead Morgan suggested we take the Rapunzel Pic. Which was actually a really good idea.
Annual Rapunzel Picture

Annual Rapunzel Picture

Untitled
If this is your first time reading one of my trip reports, this has become a tradition to get a photo of the girls in this spot. The left is the very first photo we snapped.

After we got the pictures, we just headed to Pirates, our next LL.
Heading into Pirates
We were a little early for our LL but the wait wasn't too long and the CM just let us go in anyway.

We were ready to ride in about 10 minutes.
Ready to Ride Pirates

Pirates by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Untitled by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr
I think we tried to make dead faces.... We were def unsuccessful...

Pirates Fire Scene by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Dog by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Finding "filler" things to do

After Pirates we had time till our last LL. Our Tiana’s was not till 2:00 and it was just before noon at this point! We really had done alot already!!! I believe I started to get LL for the evening at this point.

We decided to do a few “filler” items. First up was Tiki Room. We got there right as the waterfall / bird show, so we waited half of the show.
Tiki God by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

We all enjoy the Tiki Room, the show and the AC.
Tiki Room by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Next we “forced” the girls to ride the Ferry Boat. Andy and I wanted to do something that was closing. The girls weren’t that excited about it. We walked over and the boat was just pulling in. Perfect timing!
Gwen waiting for the Ferry

Andy and I went to the top of the boat. Morgan said no thanks to that and stayed at the bottom. Gwen once up top decided we were lame adults (or because there was no where to sit) and headed back down to find Morgan.

Tom Sawyer Island
View of Tom Sawyer Island before we left the dock.

Big Thunder Mountain from Ferry Boat
Riding the boat was nice to see Big Thunder Mountain all taken apart.

Ferry Boat "track" by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr
In the very front you could see the track that the boat was on. The Diseny nerd in me found this exciting...

Indian tee pees
I think that was only the 2nd time we rode the boat.

Ferry Boat - Shack by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Haunted Mansion from Ferry Boat
I am glad we got to ride the boat one more time before it closed! It was a nice relaxing ride around. We were off the boat around 12:50 AM.

After our ride, the girls requested a ride with Ariel, so we walked over that way. It was so so hot at this point. So, I suggested we grab some drinks before heading in.

Grabbed waters and soda before heading in at Prince Eric’s Market.

It was about 1:00, when we headed into Little Mermaid Ride.
Untitled by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

It was pretty busy at this point, and the line was outside. But thankfully we didn’t have to wait to long in the sun. The line moved pretty constantly but we did wait awhile. Def the longest we waited in awhile for that ride.
Untitled by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Untitled by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr
We were on the ride at 1:20 AM, so a 20 minute wait, so not that bad.

This ride has become a nostalgic ride, like Small World.
Untitled by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Untitled by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Untitled by Ariella Saucier,
I always say that this scene is where they decided to cut the budget...

After I suggested, we do Philharmagic next. Gwen had said earlier she wanted to do it, so I said this was a good time to do it.
by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Around 1:30 we headed into Philharmagic. We timed this pretty good as well. We didn’t have to wait too long. But there was a lot of people there to see the show! Again it seemed like more than normal.

by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr
Not sure why Morgan is pointing at Gwen but... This is great show but the show is starting to bother my eyes in my old age...

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Finally time for Tianna' Bayou Adventure!

After the show, it was time to finally ride Tiana’s! This was going to be our first time riding the new version. And we were excitied to go! We headed over that way and were walking into the que at 1:59, one minute before our LL time.

Tiana's by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

The wait was LONG!!! And that wait is terrible, in the direct sun. I was glad we had LL.
Heading into Tiana's by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Tiana's Mural by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

We tried to soak in the que items without holding people up too much.
Tiana's Office by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Ingredients by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Tiana Wins Competition by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Morgan snapped a photos of the Gumbo recipe. She wanted to try and make it at home.
Daddy's Gumbo Reciepe by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Tiana's Family Portait by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr
The que is so centamental, I loved it.
Grand Opening by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

And then you get into the Mines Area...
Salt Mines Sign by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

It took about 8 minutes for us to be ready to ride. But again, we did try and soak in the que area as we walked.
Ready to Ride by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Heading up by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Tiana Animatronic by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Watermelons by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Armadillo by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr
The outside area was super cute and the music sounded so much clearer.

The ride was fun. There were points where I didn’t remember where we were on the ride.
Louis by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Frog by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Tiana in Bayou by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

The ride does need more animals in the ride. And there are points in the ride that it feels like they dragged out the story because the track was so long.

Speaking of getting wet, Morgan and I ended up in the front and we got REALLY wet!
by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Lottie! by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

But it is nice. Do I like it more than Splash Mountain…. Meh. I know why it needed to change. But with the whole getting wet thing, I am going to be more ok skipping the ride sometimes.

We checked out the gift shop on our way our. We were hoping to get some of the spices they had when the ride first opened. But sadly they did not have any… Morgan and I were slightly bummed. (spoiler alert we found some in Disneyland in July!)

Thankfully the plan was to head out of the park after riding Tiana’s so it didn’t matter that we were wet. We slowly made our way out of the park.

As we were headed to the buses, a guy asked where we were headed and I thought he was going to just help us find the right gate. But instead he offered us a ride to our room!

Cinderellas Van

Turns out he was a DVC driver and he said he was almost done with this shift. I was afraid he was going to upsell us but he didn’t. We just talked the whole way. He was very nice and it was SUPER nice to have a private ride back to our room!

We were back in our room around 3:00 PM! We had, had a full day already!! But we had plans to rest and head back into the park for some evening fun!

Up next and evening of FUN!

 

[hardcorestitch]

Glad you enjoyed yourself at Magic Kingdom! Haunted Mansion is the awesomest attraction!