JenniBarra
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2002
- Messages
- 415
Monday, February 4
After dressing and showering, we begin our morning with a visit to the food court for some breakfast. We're rather impressed with the number of options and soon find that a lot of the items are so filling that it's better to split entrees, sometimes supplementing with just a piece of toast or a donut.
This morning, we head to the Magic Kingdom as we are scheduled for the 10AM Keys to the Kingdom tour.
On my past two trips, I found myself a bit frustrated that Magic Kingdom is similar to Disneyland...but not completely, which threw me off. This trip, I decide to just go with the flow and find that I'm actually able to instinctively find a lot of things, such as bathrooms. (In the end, I rarely used any guide maps on this trip because I had done so much preliminary reading. I'm also the type who tends to navigate via landmarks and there's always plenty of those in Disney parks. ; ) )
After putting my backpack in a locker and using the restroom, it's about time for the tour to start. Our tour guide, Brad, opens with what he calls the Disney introduction: name, where you're from, and your favorite character. (I now realize that this must be a company wide practice, as I remember my Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour guide at Disneyland doing the same thing.) We learn that we will be "temporary cast members" for the day - that's how we will be able to go backstage - so, first off, we are instructed that we must learn exactly what the keys are (safety, courtesy, show, and efficiency) and that, as a TEAM, Together Everyone Achieves Magic. So we begin by walking down Main Street, thinking about examples of each key, and then stop off to the side of Center Street to discuss our examples. As we are doing this, we are fortunate enough to get a private performance from the Dapper Dans.
This tour will prove to be even more interesting and fun than I expected (and I expected a lot!) I would be writing for days if I tried to document everything I learned, but some highlights included riding on the Jungle Cruise with our tour guide narrating instead of a skipper (talking about aspects like the vegetation, how the animals work, etc.), seeing and learning about the vacuum assisted garbage disposal system, seeing the backs of several show buildings, visiting the parade floats and learning the ins and outs of parades, going into the Utilidors and learning about how CMs navigate through them, finding out about the hidden Mickeys in the Haunted Mansion (in riding the HM, I found that MK's stretch rooms don't go anywhere, unlike Disneyland's elevators, and that the beginning of MK's HM is rather different and has several scenes not found at DL - though DL has a portrait gallery MK does not), learning about the Reedy Creek Improvement District (WDW is its own city really), and visiting a back area of the Jungle Cruise, where we could see what the water looks like without the dye and touch a hippo and elephant. I definitely plan to do more WDW tours in the future, with the three park backstage tour being at the top of my list now! (Over the coming days, we will talk with different guests in the parks who have taken it and spoke very highly of the experience.)
By the time our tour concludes, it's almost time for the Share a Dream Come True parade to start. I'm all geared up to spot the hidden Walts, though it proves challenging! We felt that this was actually a somewhat short parade, but I suppose that's because the emphasis is on the changes of certain floats when they stop.
We originally planned to head back to our room to rest after the parade, but the break refreshes us so we decide to catch some rides.
Our first stop is Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. This is definitely fun! I think we both surprise ourselves in that we got higher scores on our first trip than we expected. (I had always heard that, the first time, you're too busy trying to figure out how to work the laser.) In fact, my score was *higher* than my husband's, who usually always beats me at video games. : )
Next, it's Tomorrowland Transit Authority. This brings up fond memories of the now defunct Disneyland Peoplemover, though TTA *books* in some places!
Now my husband is talking about whether he wants to give Space Mountain another go. On my last trip (his first), he rode in the front, something he usually enjoys, but he *hated* it. He's very big on feeling "secure" when up high, etc. and didn't like how MK's restraint system differs from DL. I need to use the restroom, so we agree to meet in front of SM, to see about giving it another go, only asking for *back* seats. When I meet up with DH, he's talking up the cast member working at the FastPass machines. Seeing that I am back, we start to head to the standby line when the CM calls out to Keith. He pulls some expired FastPasses out of his pocket and initials them, telling us to tell the CM working the FastPass line that he had given them to us. He says that, if it ends up we still don't like the attraction as well, at least we didn't spend a lot of time waiting in line. Needless to say, we thank him profusely. : ) (Here is where I'll repeat something often said by others: talk to CMs. You never know what you'll learn or what they might do for you. : ) )
So we get to the boarding area and ask for back seats. I ride ahead of Keith and he feels much more secure in that he has the back of my seat to grip. I find that I feel like I'm up rather high, so one go 'round is enough for me! (Though I do like some of the visuals found here that aren't seen in DL, like the upside down astronauts at the launch.) When we exit, Keith looks for the FastPass CM (who by now has rotated to the next position, but we still locate him easily) and thanks him again.
Now I want to check out Winnie the Pooh. Of course, it has a bit of a line, which would be more easily endured if it weren't for small, shrieky children. : / We have no choice, though, but to wait as the FastPasses are gone for the day. I know that Pooh is still somewhat controversial, but we did find it to be a cute ride. What I think I like best is that the cars don't just roll through the ride, that you get to "bounce" with Tigger and that, when you reach the flood, you feel like you're bobbing back and forth with the tide.
While in Fantasyland, we decide to check out Snow White, to see how it compares to DL. (Despite my two previous WDW trips, my family didn't spend a whole lot of time in the area, believing some of the attractions to be fairly identical.) It ends up it's actually quite different.
By now, it's nearing closing time, so we decide to loop through Liberty Square, et al. Big Thunder Mountain doesn't have much of a wait, but what an uphill hike! This one also has its own differences. We have time for one more ride, but after a day of so much walking, I decline hubby's asking if we want to do it again.
As we head toward Main Street, some CM trainees are bidding goodbye to guests. Keith decides to be hammy and he feints and dodges with one of them, only the big goof trips on his own feet and tumbles! The CM is so upset, she talks about how she's only been there a week and all, but Keith reassures her that he is fine. (I'm thinking, remember keys one and two!) Once he has consoled her that all is well and we can now all laugh about it, the fireworks begin, so we stay there to watch. (I have gotten spoiled by "Believe" because I find myself wanting after the show is over. I'm genuinely surprised that WDW does not have some of the newer effects that DL uses, though maybe the difference is that MK has fireworks nightly while DL reserves them for peak periods and weekends.)
By the time we get back to Port Orleans, we're ready for dinner! We head back to the food court. Just after we sat down, what looked to be two or three families going together sat nearby. We quietly sat stunned while we saw them split cans of Campbell's condensed soup, while one dad has enough money to spend on a beer and dessert for himself! Now I understand that different people have different things they do to reduce their WDW expenses, but I thought that this was rather cheap - since the kids were eating Campbell's, I'd expected Dad to do the same...
After dinner, we decide to peruse the General Store. I'm in trouble because I spot about a zillion things I want. ; ) Instead, we agree to make a trip out to one of the outlet stores just off property and for what we want that we can't/don't get there, we'll buy at World of Disney and take advantage of the Disney Club discount. (I know that some people don't find the 10% to be all that much, but I appreciate the fact that, at WDW, it applies to $25 worth of purchases, while one must spend $50 or more to get the same discount at DL.) In checking out the 100 Years of Magic merchandise, I'm flabbergasted to find that the sweatshirts listing the highlights of the 100 years have left off both California Adventure and Tokyo DisneySea! Poor DCA gets slighted everywhere...
After dressing and showering, we begin our morning with a visit to the food court for some breakfast. We're rather impressed with the number of options and soon find that a lot of the items are so filling that it's better to split entrees, sometimes supplementing with just a piece of toast or a donut.
This morning, we head to the Magic Kingdom as we are scheduled for the 10AM Keys to the Kingdom tour.
On my past two trips, I found myself a bit frustrated that Magic Kingdom is similar to Disneyland...but not completely, which threw me off. This trip, I decide to just go with the flow and find that I'm actually able to instinctively find a lot of things, such as bathrooms. (In the end, I rarely used any guide maps on this trip because I had done so much preliminary reading. I'm also the type who tends to navigate via landmarks and there's always plenty of those in Disney parks. ; ) )
After putting my backpack in a locker and using the restroom, it's about time for the tour to start. Our tour guide, Brad, opens with what he calls the Disney introduction: name, where you're from, and your favorite character. (I now realize that this must be a company wide practice, as I remember my Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour guide at Disneyland doing the same thing.) We learn that we will be "temporary cast members" for the day - that's how we will be able to go backstage - so, first off, we are instructed that we must learn exactly what the keys are (safety, courtesy, show, and efficiency) and that, as a TEAM, Together Everyone Achieves Magic. So we begin by walking down Main Street, thinking about examples of each key, and then stop off to the side of Center Street to discuss our examples. As we are doing this, we are fortunate enough to get a private performance from the Dapper Dans.
This tour will prove to be even more interesting and fun than I expected (and I expected a lot!) I would be writing for days if I tried to document everything I learned, but some highlights included riding on the Jungle Cruise with our tour guide narrating instead of a skipper (talking about aspects like the vegetation, how the animals work, etc.), seeing and learning about the vacuum assisted garbage disposal system, seeing the backs of several show buildings, visiting the parade floats and learning the ins and outs of parades, going into the Utilidors and learning about how CMs navigate through them, finding out about the hidden Mickeys in the Haunted Mansion (in riding the HM, I found that MK's stretch rooms don't go anywhere, unlike Disneyland's elevators, and that the beginning of MK's HM is rather different and has several scenes not found at DL - though DL has a portrait gallery MK does not), learning about the Reedy Creek Improvement District (WDW is its own city really), and visiting a back area of the Jungle Cruise, where we could see what the water looks like without the dye and touch a hippo and elephant. I definitely plan to do more WDW tours in the future, with the three park backstage tour being at the top of my list now! (Over the coming days, we will talk with different guests in the parks who have taken it and spoke very highly of the experience.)
By the time our tour concludes, it's almost time for the Share a Dream Come True parade to start. I'm all geared up to spot the hidden Walts, though it proves challenging! We felt that this was actually a somewhat short parade, but I suppose that's because the emphasis is on the changes of certain floats when they stop.
We originally planned to head back to our room to rest after the parade, but the break refreshes us so we decide to catch some rides.
Our first stop is Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. This is definitely fun! I think we both surprise ourselves in that we got higher scores on our first trip than we expected. (I had always heard that, the first time, you're too busy trying to figure out how to work the laser.) In fact, my score was *higher* than my husband's, who usually always beats me at video games. : )
Next, it's Tomorrowland Transit Authority. This brings up fond memories of the now defunct Disneyland Peoplemover, though TTA *books* in some places!
Now my husband is talking about whether he wants to give Space Mountain another go. On my last trip (his first), he rode in the front, something he usually enjoys, but he *hated* it. He's very big on feeling "secure" when up high, etc. and didn't like how MK's restraint system differs from DL. I need to use the restroom, so we agree to meet in front of SM, to see about giving it another go, only asking for *back* seats. When I meet up with DH, he's talking up the cast member working at the FastPass machines. Seeing that I am back, we start to head to the standby line when the CM calls out to Keith. He pulls some expired FastPasses out of his pocket and initials them, telling us to tell the CM working the FastPass line that he had given them to us. He says that, if it ends up we still don't like the attraction as well, at least we didn't spend a lot of time waiting in line. Needless to say, we thank him profusely. : ) (Here is where I'll repeat something often said by others: talk to CMs. You never know what you'll learn or what they might do for you. : ) )
So we get to the boarding area and ask for back seats. I ride ahead of Keith and he feels much more secure in that he has the back of my seat to grip. I find that I feel like I'm up rather high, so one go 'round is enough for me! (Though I do like some of the visuals found here that aren't seen in DL, like the upside down astronauts at the launch.) When we exit, Keith looks for the FastPass CM (who by now has rotated to the next position, but we still locate him easily) and thanks him again.
Now I want to check out Winnie the Pooh. Of course, it has a bit of a line, which would be more easily endured if it weren't for small, shrieky children. : / We have no choice, though, but to wait as the FastPasses are gone for the day. I know that Pooh is still somewhat controversial, but we did find it to be a cute ride. What I think I like best is that the cars don't just roll through the ride, that you get to "bounce" with Tigger and that, when you reach the flood, you feel like you're bobbing back and forth with the tide.
While in Fantasyland, we decide to check out Snow White, to see how it compares to DL. (Despite my two previous WDW trips, my family didn't spend a whole lot of time in the area, believing some of the attractions to be fairly identical.) It ends up it's actually quite different.
By now, it's nearing closing time, so we decide to loop through Liberty Square, et al. Big Thunder Mountain doesn't have much of a wait, but what an uphill hike! This one also has its own differences. We have time for one more ride, but after a day of so much walking, I decline hubby's asking if we want to do it again.
As we head toward Main Street, some CM trainees are bidding goodbye to guests. Keith decides to be hammy and he feints and dodges with one of them, only the big goof trips on his own feet and tumbles! The CM is so upset, she talks about how she's only been there a week and all, but Keith reassures her that he is fine. (I'm thinking, remember keys one and two!) Once he has consoled her that all is well and we can now all laugh about it, the fireworks begin, so we stay there to watch. (I have gotten spoiled by "Believe" because I find myself wanting after the show is over. I'm genuinely surprised that WDW does not have some of the newer effects that DL uses, though maybe the difference is that MK has fireworks nightly while DL reserves them for peak periods and weekends.)
By the time we get back to Port Orleans, we're ready for dinner! We head back to the food court. Just after we sat down, what looked to be two or three families going together sat nearby. We quietly sat stunned while we saw them split cans of Campbell's condensed soup, while one dad has enough money to spend on a beer and dessert for himself! Now I understand that different people have different things they do to reduce their WDW expenses, but I thought that this was rather cheap - since the kids were eating Campbell's, I'd expected Dad to do the same...
After dinner, we decide to peruse the General Store. I'm in trouble because I spot about a zillion things I want. ; ) Instead, we agree to make a trip out to one of the outlet stores just off property and for what we want that we can't/don't get there, we'll buy at World of Disney and take advantage of the Disney Club discount. (I know that some people don't find the 10% to be all that much, but I appreciate the fact that, at WDW, it applies to $25 worth of purchases, while one must spend $50 or more to get the same discount at DL.) In checking out the 100 Years of Magic merchandise, I'm flabbergasted to find that the sweatshirts listing the highlights of the 100 years have left off both California Adventure and Tokyo DisneySea! Poor DCA gets slighted everywhere...
