jchurch0409
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2014
Great first day so far!
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"Let's Ride Every Ride in WDW" - The Trip Where Everything Went Right (April 2018)
- Thread starter Greg Lembrich
- Start date
Greg Lembrich
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2018
Chapter 4: The Ultimate Nights of Adventure Tour
The tour was scheduled to start at 4:45 PM, so we checked in around 4:20 near the Dinosaur ride. We picked up our VIP tour lanyards, which had our dinner table assignments, made our drink and dessert orders for later, and met our tour guides, Hannah and Mackenzie. Both Hannah and Mackenzie hit it off with my daughter right away, and made her even more excited for the tour. We also met the tour coordinator and tour assistant, both of whom checked in a few times throughout the night (especially at dinner) but otherwise were not along with us on the tour.
We were offered cold bottles of water while we waited, and there was ample seating in the shade behind the check-in tables. The tour started right on schedule at 4:45 with quick introductions and an overview of what to expect that evening. We then proceeded to Dinosaur, where we entered through the FP line. There was a minor technical issue with Dino (reset after a stop), so the line was backed up a few minutes, which gave us a nice chance to chat with the guides and some of our fellow tour group members. After a few minutes we were escorted into the preshow area and then onto the ride.
Once everyone in the group was finished with Dinosaur we gathered again outside and made our way over to Pandora. One of the tour guides carried a large staff with a blue light/torch at the front of the group to follow, while the other stayed at the back of the group to make sure everyone stayed together and no one got lost. Once we got to Pandora, we took a few minutes to walk around and the guides pointed out some highlights and trivia while allowing a rest room break for those who needed it.
I wish I had taken photos during the tour, but it had been a long day and I was enjoying myself so much that I forgot to do so. My daughter and the other kids on the tour had become fast friends by this point and also were very attached to our guides, who were very sweet to all the young ones, indulging all their questions and building excitement for rides to come.
Navi River Journey was our next ride. We entered as a group through the FP line and were boarding our boats as quickly as it took us to walk through the queue. As I mentioned, this was our first time on both of the Pandora rides, so my daughter and I were extremely excited. As a ride itself, there is not much to NRJ, as it is just a relaxing boat trip with no drops or sharp turns. BUT it is very immersive and visually stunning! The level of detail is really impressive. We got to ride in the same row as the tour guides, and they pointed out a bunch of details to my daughter that we would have missed otherwise.
Next we went to Flight of Passage, where we were again escorted through the FP line and soon getting our video briefing as we waited to get on our banshees. I am tall (6'4") with long legs, and I found the seat pretty uncomfortable and restricting, but was able to ride after a few adjustments. Despite my discomfort, FoP is an amazing ride! It is like a combo of the best of Soarin' and Star Tours, except on steroids. Very cool.
Next we took the short walk over to Satuli Canteen for dinner. Even though the tour promised only a "snack", I had heard that there would be more than enough food to make a full meal, and I was not let down. As I mentioned earlier, I am a big guy and had not had lunch that day, so was pretty hungry by the time we got to our table.
There were 4 tables of 6 people each for the tour, and we were sharing ours with another dad and his 3 sons. There were heaping piles of beef, chicken, fish, and tofu (which went untouched), as well as large servings of salad, potatoes, rice, and various sauces. Everyone ate their fill and there was no danger of running out of anything. I had 2.5 large plates of food myself. The flavors were really good, especially when combining the various offerings together. At our dinner tables we were also given Rivers of Light LED necklaces to wear for the show later.
After dinner, we took a path that seemed lightly used from Pandora to Kilimanjaro Safaris. The whole group went through the FP line and within minutes were boarding our safari vehicle. The sun was just starting to set at this point, which made for a pretty spectacular safari. Lots of animals were out and active. [I'm again kicking myself in hindsight for not taking photos, but I was very much "in the moment" and just enjoying the experience and how in awe my daughter was.]
After the safari we made the walk across the park to EE. FP line again, and within a few minutes we were on and off and regrouping outside the ride.
We were then taken over to our reserved seats at Rivers of Light (through a VIP entrance with no wait, not the regular FP entrance), where our tour coordinator met us again and thanked us for joining the tour. There were opportunities for the kids to get photos and hugs with the tour guides. My daughter loved the VIP aspect of the tour and was very fond of our guides, so leaped at the chance to get a picture with Hannah and Mackenzie (they even let her hold the large blue torch staff).
Next we were shown to our seats for ROL, which were pretty much right in the center, and we could have sat anywhere in the first 3 rows. Could not have asked for a better spot. That being said, at this point it was only around 8:15 and RoL was not going to start until 8:45. Since we had started our day with an 8 AM breakfast and been going non-stop for most of the day, we were both pretty tired. We had seen RoL before (although not from seats that good), and my daughter did indeed want to ride Kali River Rapids again before we left.
So we decided to leave rather than wait for the show. Had we arrived closer to show time, we probably would have stayed to watch, but sitting and waiting for half an hour was just not in the cards for us that night. We took our quick ride on KRR and then exited the park before RoL even started, so were able to get ahead of the crowds on the trams and in the parking lot. A few minutes later we were back at the Red Lion to rest up for our effort to ride every ride at Magic Kingdom the next day.
It was an awesome Day 1! We rode all the rides in HS and at AK at least once, so our quest for all 46 was going great. All went according to my plan; everything went right
Day 1 Stats
Parks visited: HS and AK
Rides: 18 (13 different, with 3 rides on EE, and 2 each on RnRC, ToT, and KRR)
Progress towards goal of riding every ride in WDW: 13/46
Miles walked (according to my FitBit): 12.84
The tour was scheduled to start at 4:45 PM, so we checked in around 4:20 near the Dinosaur ride. We picked up our VIP tour lanyards, which had our dinner table assignments, made our drink and dessert orders for later, and met our tour guides, Hannah and Mackenzie. Both Hannah and Mackenzie hit it off with my daughter right away, and made her even more excited for the tour. We also met the tour coordinator and tour assistant, both of whom checked in a few times throughout the night (especially at dinner) but otherwise were not along with us on the tour.
We were offered cold bottles of water while we waited, and there was ample seating in the shade behind the check-in tables. The tour started right on schedule at 4:45 with quick introductions and an overview of what to expect that evening. We then proceeded to Dinosaur, where we entered through the FP line. There was a minor technical issue with Dino (reset after a stop), so the line was backed up a few minutes, which gave us a nice chance to chat with the guides and some of our fellow tour group members. After a few minutes we were escorted into the preshow area and then onto the ride.
Once everyone in the group was finished with Dinosaur we gathered again outside and made our way over to Pandora. One of the tour guides carried a large staff with a blue light/torch at the front of the group to follow, while the other stayed at the back of the group to make sure everyone stayed together and no one got lost. Once we got to Pandora, we took a few minutes to walk around and the guides pointed out some highlights and trivia while allowing a rest room break for those who needed it.
I wish I had taken photos during the tour, but it had been a long day and I was enjoying myself so much that I forgot to do so. My daughter and the other kids on the tour had become fast friends by this point and also were very attached to our guides, who were very sweet to all the young ones, indulging all their questions and building excitement for rides to come.
Navi River Journey was our next ride. We entered as a group through the FP line and were boarding our boats as quickly as it took us to walk through the queue. As I mentioned, this was our first time on both of the Pandora rides, so my daughter and I were extremely excited. As a ride itself, there is not much to NRJ, as it is just a relaxing boat trip with no drops or sharp turns. BUT it is very immersive and visually stunning! The level of detail is really impressive. We got to ride in the same row as the tour guides, and they pointed out a bunch of details to my daughter that we would have missed otherwise.
Next we went to Flight of Passage, where we were again escorted through the FP line and soon getting our video briefing as we waited to get on our banshees. I am tall (6'4") with long legs, and I found the seat pretty uncomfortable and restricting, but was able to ride after a few adjustments. Despite my discomfort, FoP is an amazing ride! It is like a combo of the best of Soarin' and Star Tours, except on steroids. Very cool.
Next we took the short walk over to Satuli Canteen for dinner. Even though the tour promised only a "snack", I had heard that there would be more than enough food to make a full meal, and I was not let down. As I mentioned earlier, I am a big guy and had not had lunch that day, so was pretty hungry by the time we got to our table.
There were 4 tables of 6 people each for the tour, and we were sharing ours with another dad and his 3 sons. There were heaping piles of beef, chicken, fish, and tofu (which went untouched), as well as large servings of salad, potatoes, rice, and various sauces. Everyone ate their fill and there was no danger of running out of anything. I had 2.5 large plates of food myself. The flavors were really good, especially when combining the various offerings together. At our dinner tables we were also given Rivers of Light LED necklaces to wear for the show later.
After dinner, we took a path that seemed lightly used from Pandora to Kilimanjaro Safaris. The whole group went through the FP line and within minutes were boarding our safari vehicle. The sun was just starting to set at this point, which made for a pretty spectacular safari. Lots of animals were out and active. [I'm again kicking myself in hindsight for not taking photos, but I was very much "in the moment" and just enjoying the experience and how in awe my daughter was.]
After the safari we made the walk across the park to EE. FP line again, and within a few minutes we were on and off and regrouping outside the ride.
We were then taken over to our reserved seats at Rivers of Light (through a VIP entrance with no wait, not the regular FP entrance), where our tour coordinator met us again and thanked us for joining the tour. There were opportunities for the kids to get photos and hugs with the tour guides. My daughter loved the VIP aspect of the tour and was very fond of our guides, so leaped at the chance to get a picture with Hannah and Mackenzie (they even let her hold the large blue torch staff).
Next we were shown to our seats for ROL, which were pretty much right in the center, and we could have sat anywhere in the first 3 rows. Could not have asked for a better spot. That being said, at this point it was only around 8:15 and RoL was not going to start until 8:45. Since we had started our day with an 8 AM breakfast and been going non-stop for most of the day, we were both pretty tired. We had seen RoL before (although not from seats that good), and my daughter did indeed want to ride Kali River Rapids again before we left.
So we decided to leave rather than wait for the show. Had we arrived closer to show time, we probably would have stayed to watch, but sitting and waiting for half an hour was just not in the cards for us that night. We took our quick ride on KRR and then exited the park before RoL even started, so were able to get ahead of the crowds on the trams and in the parking lot. A few minutes later we were back at the Red Lion to rest up for our effort to ride every ride at Magic Kingdom the next day.
It was an awesome Day 1! We rode all the rides in HS and at AK at least once, so our quest for all 46 was going great. All went according to my plan; everything went right
Day 1 Stats
Parks visited: HS and AK
Rides: 18 (13 different, with 3 rides on EE, and 2 each on RnRC, ToT, and KRR)
Progress towards goal of riding every ride in WDW: 13/46
Miles walked (according to my FitBit): 12.84
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Greg Lembrich
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2018
Greg Lembrich
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2018
Thanks! It was the perfect start to our trip.
Wow! What a first day!! All of your research is paying off!!
Seems like you had everything timed perfectly and an awesome plan! Looking forward to hearing about riding every ride at MK the next day!!
Yes, I definitely felt like the preparation was worthwhile. It was very satisfying to have things fall into place just like I planned. Going to try to write up our MK day tomorrow or Friday. Thanks for following along. This is a fun way to relive some great memories.
Thanks! This was the only day we didn't go back to the motel for a rest in the afternoon. We had a lot of adrenaline pumping on the first day with all the thrill rides at HS and AK.
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JAMIESMITH
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2011
What a whirlwind of a day!
Greg Lembrich
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2018
Tuesday 4/10/18
Chapter 5: Early Morning Magic Keeps the Storms at Bay
The forecast for Tuesday was dismal. Heavy showers and thunderstorms were predicted for the whole day, and I feared that this might wipe out our plans to ride every ride at MK. We were booked for EMM and also for the HEA Dessert Party with Plaza Garden viewing. I figured that PP and Pooh would be fine for EMM, but was not so sure about 7DMT, especially if there was lightning in the area. I was also hoping that they wouldn't have to cancel HEA, or that we wouldn't have to get drenched in order to see it.
This was my mindset when we woke up very early on Tuesday morning. Our plan called for us to ride all 24 rides at MK that day (MK usually has 25 rides, but Riverboat is out for a 6+ month refurb), plus do Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, which my daughter loves. We had never done EMM before, and were very excited to try it out, especially because 7DMT is my daughter's favorite ride in all of WDW and she also really likes PP (but I hate waiting in the line, even with the new queue).
The early alarm clock put a bit of a damper on my daughter's excitement. "Why does Early Morning Magic have to be soooo early?", she asked. "Because otherwise they would have to call it something else," I replied. Whether or not she was satisfied with that answer, I don't know, but she got dressed and we were in the rental car and out of the Red Lion before 7 AM.
We arrived at the TTC parking lot a few minutes later. Security advised us to take the ferry because the express monorail was not running yet, but the CM down by the ferry said that the boat wasn't running yet either. Fortunately there was a resort monorail pulling in at that moment, so we just hustled up onto the platform and boarded that. We got to MK at about 7:20, checked in for EMM, and were given our wristbands for the event. Once through the taps, we took a spot behind the 50 or so people in front of us (some for PPO ADRs, others for EMM).
We spent the next 20 minutes in collective prayer that the storms, or at least the heavy rain and lightning, would hold off for an hour or two. The skies looked very gray and ominous though, so there was a general feeling of impending doom (at least for those of us hoping for multiple rides on 7DMT). We were let in right at 7:45, there was still no rain or thunder, and we made our way up Main Street as briskly as possible. Needing to go left and walk around the castle seemed to confound some of the people in front of us, even though that was explained as we checked in, so we actually managed to get back to 7DMT before most of the crowd. We were on the ride at 7:53 AM, in the second row of the first mine car on the second train of the day (the first was boarding as we got to the front of the queue).
After we finished the first ride, we were permitted to just go around the ropes near the exit to get in line again. This was great since we did not have to go all the way back out of 7DMT and come back through the queue. By now, the crowd, such as it was, had arrived. Still, the wait was minimal. We waited only 4 minutes for our second ride, but we requested the front row and waited for that, so did not board the first train we could. We love the first row on most coasters and are usually more than willing to wait a little longer in order to get it. That can sometimes be an issue at 7DMT when it is crowded, but was easily accommodated at EMM.
We started feeling the first raindrops of the day during our second ride, but it was very light. The line was still very short after our second ride, so we decided to go for a 3rd trip through the mines before heading to PP.
We then went over to PP, where the line was also nearly non-existent. We entered through the FP line and there were less than ten folks in front of us. Within a minute or two we were on our boat and off to Neverland. We rode PP three times in a row, each time just getting off our boat, walking a few steps, and then getting right back on. The line wasn't quite short enough for the CMs to allow people to stay on, but there was also no real wait once you walked around to get on again.
After our 3rd ride on PP, we decided to head over to Pooh. We walked past the Carousel, which had opened a little after 8. There was no line, and most horses lacked riders, but we didn't want to spend our EMM time on a ride where the waits would likely be short later in the day.
With most of the EMM crowd at 7DMT or PP (or maybe grabbing an early breakfast), Pooh and his friends were downright lonely, with most cars going by unfilled. We only rode once, but were definitely encouraged by the CM to just stay on and ride again if we wanted.
The rain was still just a light drizzle, and there were no signs of lightning, so we returned to 7DMT for a few more rides. We walked on with no wait, even for the front row of the first car. As we waited for the train ahead of ours to pull away, I asked my daughter whether she still thought it was too early. This is the face I got.
We enjoyed two more quick rides on 7DMT before returning to PP, where we rode two more times as well.
We could have been more aggressive and gotten a few more rides in at 7DMT and/or PP, but 5 times on each was enough for us. One family we rode 7DMT with multiple times later told us at breakfast that they decided to stop after 11 consecutive rides and still had time to do PP and Pooh before EMM ended.
If you are willing to get up early and the price won't break your budget, I highly recommend EMM, especially if you want to ride 7DMT and/or PP multiple times. Standby waits for both can climb to an hour or more during the day, even during lower crowd periods, so being able to just walk on to both for over an hour is really a treat.
At around 8:50, we walked over near Mad Tea Party and were then able to position ourselves just ahead of the RD crowd heading to Tomorrowland, where we did Buzz and Astro Orbiter with no waits. I knew we could probably FP Buzz later, but I wanted to get it out of the way early, and AO is also a good ride to do before the crowds build since (a) there is no FP available and (b) the elevator system they use and the slow loading nature of the ride can really cause lines to back up down on the ground.
Since riding every ride was our goal, we needed to keep in mind that not all rides run all day. In fact, the Main Street Vehicles only run until 10:15 or 10:30 AM on many days, so we had to make sure to ride that early. After AO we went to the Hub and walked up to the driver of the first MSV we saw and asked for a ride to Town Square. He asked, "Are you doing some kind of challenge or something?". I smiled and said, "Yes. How did you know?". He explained that otherwise it would be unusual for two people to be asking for a ride BACK to Town Square so soon after the park opened. But he was otherwise planning to return to the entrance empty, so was more than happy to give us a lift.
By the time we got off our MSV at Town Square the rain was starting to pick up a bit and my daughter was hungry, so we went to breakfast at Pinocchio Village Haus, which was included with our EMM admission. Breakfast at PVH could not have been more pleasant. The food was pretty good, with lots of variety, and all the CMs were really nice. I found the quality to be the same, if not better, than most character breakfasts we have attended.
By the time we finished breakfast, the heavy rains and thunderstorms the forecasters promised had arrived. This required some adjustments to our touring plan, but was far from a disaster. More to come in the next chapter.
Chapter 5: Early Morning Magic Keeps the Storms at Bay
The forecast for Tuesday was dismal. Heavy showers and thunderstorms were predicted for the whole day, and I feared that this might wipe out our plans to ride every ride at MK. We were booked for EMM and also for the HEA Dessert Party with Plaza Garden viewing. I figured that PP and Pooh would be fine for EMM, but was not so sure about 7DMT, especially if there was lightning in the area. I was also hoping that they wouldn't have to cancel HEA, or that we wouldn't have to get drenched in order to see it.
This was my mindset when we woke up very early on Tuesday morning. Our plan called for us to ride all 24 rides at MK that day (MK usually has 25 rides, but Riverboat is out for a 6+ month refurb), plus do Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, which my daughter loves. We had never done EMM before, and were very excited to try it out, especially because 7DMT is my daughter's favorite ride in all of WDW and she also really likes PP (but I hate waiting in the line, even with the new queue).
The early alarm clock put a bit of a damper on my daughter's excitement. "Why does Early Morning Magic have to be soooo early?", she asked. "Because otherwise they would have to call it something else," I replied. Whether or not she was satisfied with that answer, I don't know, but she got dressed and we were in the rental car and out of the Red Lion before 7 AM.
We arrived at the TTC parking lot a few minutes later. Security advised us to take the ferry because the express monorail was not running yet, but the CM down by the ferry said that the boat wasn't running yet either. Fortunately there was a resort monorail pulling in at that moment, so we just hustled up onto the platform and boarded that. We got to MK at about 7:20, checked in for EMM, and were given our wristbands for the event. Once through the taps, we took a spot behind the 50 or so people in front of us (some for PPO ADRs, others for EMM).
We spent the next 20 minutes in collective prayer that the storms, or at least the heavy rain and lightning, would hold off for an hour or two. The skies looked very gray and ominous though, so there was a general feeling of impending doom (at least for those of us hoping for multiple rides on 7DMT). We were let in right at 7:45, there was still no rain or thunder, and we made our way up Main Street as briskly as possible. Needing to go left and walk around the castle seemed to confound some of the people in front of us, even though that was explained as we checked in, so we actually managed to get back to 7DMT before most of the crowd. We were on the ride at 7:53 AM, in the second row of the first mine car on the second train of the day (the first was boarding as we got to the front of the queue).
After we finished the first ride, we were permitted to just go around the ropes near the exit to get in line again. This was great since we did not have to go all the way back out of 7DMT and come back through the queue. By now, the crowd, such as it was, had arrived. Still, the wait was minimal. We waited only 4 minutes for our second ride, but we requested the front row and waited for that, so did not board the first train we could. We love the first row on most coasters and are usually more than willing to wait a little longer in order to get it. That can sometimes be an issue at 7DMT when it is crowded, but was easily accommodated at EMM.
We started feeling the first raindrops of the day during our second ride, but it was very light. The line was still very short after our second ride, so we decided to go for a 3rd trip through the mines before heading to PP.
We then went over to PP, where the line was also nearly non-existent. We entered through the FP line and there were less than ten folks in front of us. Within a minute or two we were on our boat and off to Neverland. We rode PP three times in a row, each time just getting off our boat, walking a few steps, and then getting right back on. The line wasn't quite short enough for the CMs to allow people to stay on, but there was also no real wait once you walked around to get on again.
After our 3rd ride on PP, we decided to head over to Pooh. We walked past the Carousel, which had opened a little after 8. There was no line, and most horses lacked riders, but we didn't want to spend our EMM time on a ride where the waits would likely be short later in the day.
With most of the EMM crowd at 7DMT or PP (or maybe grabbing an early breakfast), Pooh and his friends were downright lonely, with most cars going by unfilled. We only rode once, but were definitely encouraged by the CM to just stay on and ride again if we wanted.
The rain was still just a light drizzle, and there were no signs of lightning, so we returned to 7DMT for a few more rides. We walked on with no wait, even for the front row of the first car. As we waited for the train ahead of ours to pull away, I asked my daughter whether she still thought it was too early. This is the face I got.
We enjoyed two more quick rides on 7DMT before returning to PP, where we rode two more times as well.
We could have been more aggressive and gotten a few more rides in at 7DMT and/or PP, but 5 times on each was enough for us. One family we rode 7DMT with multiple times later told us at breakfast that they decided to stop after 11 consecutive rides and still had time to do PP and Pooh before EMM ended.
If you are willing to get up early and the price won't break your budget, I highly recommend EMM, especially if you want to ride 7DMT and/or PP multiple times. Standby waits for both can climb to an hour or more during the day, even during lower crowd periods, so being able to just walk on to both for over an hour is really a treat.
At around 8:50, we walked over near Mad Tea Party and were then able to position ourselves just ahead of the RD crowd heading to Tomorrowland, where we did Buzz and Astro Orbiter with no waits. I knew we could probably FP Buzz later, but I wanted to get it out of the way early, and AO is also a good ride to do before the crowds build since (a) there is no FP available and (b) the elevator system they use and the slow loading nature of the ride can really cause lines to back up down on the ground.
Since riding every ride was our goal, we needed to keep in mind that not all rides run all day. In fact, the Main Street Vehicles only run until 10:15 or 10:30 AM on many days, so we had to make sure to ride that early. After AO we went to the Hub and walked up to the driver of the first MSV we saw and asked for a ride to Town Square. He asked, "Are you doing some kind of challenge or something?". I smiled and said, "Yes. How did you know?". He explained that otherwise it would be unusual for two people to be asking for a ride BACK to Town Square so soon after the park opened. But he was otherwise planning to return to the entrance empty, so was more than happy to give us a lift.
By the time we got off our MSV at Town Square the rain was starting to pick up a bit and my daughter was hungry, so we went to breakfast at Pinocchio Village Haus, which was included with our EMM admission. Breakfast at PVH could not have been more pleasant. The food was pretty good, with lots of variety, and all the CMs were really nice. I found the quality to be the same, if not better, than most character breakfasts we have attended.
By the time we finished breakfast, the heavy rains and thunderstorms the forecasters promised had arrived. This required some adjustments to our touring plan, but was far from a disaster. More to come in the next chapter.
Last edited:
jchurch0409
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2014
EMM sounds wonderful! I would love to try it sometime in the future!
Greg Lembrich
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2018
It was really fun. We will definitely want to do it again on a future trip. Totally worth both the price and the early wakeup.
Greg Lembrich
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2018
Chapter 6: Then the Rains Washed the Crowds at MK Away
We came out of PVH after breakfast a little after 10 AM, and the downpour had begun. There were also very loud cracks of thunder and visible lightning starting to come into the area. Probably due to the forecast, the park was pretty empty, and many guests that were there started to leave. But we still had 18 more rides to ride and a Laugh Floor to see, so we soldiered on full speed ahead.
We made it down to Haunted Mansion, where the standby wait may as well have been listed as "Come on in, we've been waiting for you". My daughter loves the interactive elements in the HM queue, and also stopping to read the funny epitaphs and tombstones, but I rushed her past all that today, promising we could return on Thursday and take our time when we weren't getting soaked. After visiting the grim grinning ghosts, we exited to find that the storms were still going strong. We were headed in the direction of Frontierland because our first FPs were for BTMRR and Splash, but a CM told us that Frontierland was closed and that all outdoor rides in the park had been shut down until further notice due to the intensity of the storm.
Knowing that our FPs would convert to anytimes, we cut through the covered path by Country Bear Jamboree into Adventureland and headed straight for PotC. With no outdoor rides operating, I feared that there would be a big backup at Pirates, but it wasn't bad. The line moved pretty quickly and we got on our boat in about 15 minutes.
PotC is my favorite ride at WDW (I actually like it even better than the one at DL, which I think is diluted a bit by its length), and my daughter loves it as well. We once went on it 7 times in a row one afternoon when she was 2 years old. She kept yelling "More pirate boat!" whenever we exited, so we would turn around and ride again. She has since discovered other favorites that she prefers, but is still a big fan.
This was my first time riding since they changed the auction scene. The new chicken scene is a bit absurd, but more family friendly than the bride auction. I prefer the prior one for sentimental reasons, but it didn't change my enjoyment of the ride.
After Pirates, we had a choice to make. We could either hunker down in Adventureland and wait out the storm (which showed no signs of letting up) or book it over to Tomorrowland, which has lots of indoor rides and where we had our next FP (Space Mountain). Even though our touring plan would now require some adjustments, we did still have a goal to reach and a schedule to keep, so we rushed over to Tomorrowland as fast as we could, getting positively drenched along the way. As we crossed the Hub, we could see tons of people heading for the exits; no one else was actually heading in any other direction.
Once we got across the bridge, we ducked into Laugh Floor with what seemed like every other person still left in MK. Because the theater is so large, however, we were able to get into the next show without a problem. Even the wait indoors was nice compared to the deluge outside. We could not sit close enough to the front to be candidates for the audience participation gags in the show, but my daughter had a great time. The humor is right in her wheelhouse, especially the back and forth between Mike and Roz. I was just glad to be getting drier.
When we left the Laugh Floor the rains seemed to have, if anything, grown more intense. MDE showed that all outdoor rides were still closed, so I was glad we were in Tomorrowland with some good nearby options. The length and strength of the storm meant that some areas were beginning to flood, and the water was ankle-deep in some spots as we sprinted over to Carousel of Progress. As usual, there was no wait for CoP, and it is always nice to get a little nostalgia (and 20 minutes off your feet). Usually I relish the AC in CoP, but today I was enjoying the roof over our heads even more
After our trip back in time was complete, we were ready for our FP at Space Mountain. Space is my daughter's second favorite ride at MK and the first ride on it of each trip is something she really looks forward to. Given that it was predicted to be a moderate/6 crowd day, I feared that the lines at Space might be long with so much in the park closed due to the storm. Even the FP line could have been backed up if guests chose to use their anytime FPs (converted from other rides) to ride Space. Fortunately for us, it appeared that the rains had either kept most guests away or driven people out of the park early. The FP line was short and moved quickly, and even standby didn't look too long (20-25 minutes, I would guess). Not sure how long it would be until the outdoor rides re-opened, I grabbed us a FP for Under the Sea. I figured we may as well continue to check off the indoor rides in the meantime.
Despite our dampness, we had a great ride on Space Mountain.
The rain was starting to ease a bit after we came back out of Space Mountain, but had not stopped yet, so we made the short walk to PeopleMover and walked right on. My daughter likes to "surf" on moving walkways, especially ones on an incline, so she hung 10 along the way.
From our vantage point on PeopleMover, we could see that the skies were clearing up and CMs were starting to reopen some of the rides in Fantasyland. After we finished our ride, we headed over to Mad Tea Party, which was a walk on.
Then we headed next door to Dumbo, where there were also no lines. My daughter was actually disappointed that this would deprive her of time to play in the waiting area, so the CMs invited her in and told me we could just come back up and ride whenever we were ready (no buzzer necessary). Since it was indoors, I was more than happy to sit for a few minutes and let her climb and slide to her heart's content. Once she was ready, we went out and boarded the ride. Up and away we went.
Next we used the FP for Under the Sea that I had grabbed back at Space Mountain. The rain had mostly stopped by that point, but it was still nice to be indoors and listening to one of the great Disney soundtracks. I snagged us a FP for Jungle Cruise to use later in the afternoon, and then we were getting hungry so decided to take a break for lunch. My daughter wanted pizza, so it was back to PVH for the second time of the day.
At lunch I checked our plans and confirmed that we had gone on 14 different rides so far, plus the Laugh Floor. So we had 10 more rides to go in the afternoon in order to complete our conquest of every ride in Magic Kingdom, and I plotted out our strategy as we ate.
Check out the next chapter to see how we did.
We came out of PVH after breakfast a little after 10 AM, and the downpour had begun. There were also very loud cracks of thunder and visible lightning starting to come into the area. Probably due to the forecast, the park was pretty empty, and many guests that were there started to leave. But we still had 18 more rides to ride and a Laugh Floor to see, so we soldiered on full speed ahead.
We made it down to Haunted Mansion, where the standby wait may as well have been listed as "Come on in, we've been waiting for you". My daughter loves the interactive elements in the HM queue, and also stopping to read the funny epitaphs and tombstones, but I rushed her past all that today, promising we could return on Thursday and take our time when we weren't getting soaked. After visiting the grim grinning ghosts, we exited to find that the storms were still going strong. We were headed in the direction of Frontierland because our first FPs were for BTMRR and Splash, but a CM told us that Frontierland was closed and that all outdoor rides in the park had been shut down until further notice due to the intensity of the storm.
Knowing that our FPs would convert to anytimes, we cut through the covered path by Country Bear Jamboree into Adventureland and headed straight for PotC. With no outdoor rides operating, I feared that there would be a big backup at Pirates, but it wasn't bad. The line moved pretty quickly and we got on our boat in about 15 minutes.
PotC is my favorite ride at WDW (I actually like it even better than the one at DL, which I think is diluted a bit by its length), and my daughter loves it as well. We once went on it 7 times in a row one afternoon when she was 2 years old. She kept yelling "More pirate boat!" whenever we exited, so we would turn around and ride again. She has since discovered other favorites that she prefers, but is still a big fan.
This was my first time riding since they changed the auction scene. The new chicken scene is a bit absurd, but more family friendly than the bride auction. I prefer the prior one for sentimental reasons, but it didn't change my enjoyment of the ride.
After Pirates, we had a choice to make. We could either hunker down in Adventureland and wait out the storm (which showed no signs of letting up) or book it over to Tomorrowland, which has lots of indoor rides and where we had our next FP (Space Mountain). Even though our touring plan would now require some adjustments, we did still have a goal to reach and a schedule to keep, so we rushed over to Tomorrowland as fast as we could, getting positively drenched along the way. As we crossed the Hub, we could see tons of people heading for the exits; no one else was actually heading in any other direction.
Once we got across the bridge, we ducked into Laugh Floor with what seemed like every other person still left in MK. Because the theater is so large, however, we were able to get into the next show without a problem. Even the wait indoors was nice compared to the deluge outside. We could not sit close enough to the front to be candidates for the audience participation gags in the show, but my daughter had a great time. The humor is right in her wheelhouse, especially the back and forth between Mike and Roz. I was just glad to be getting drier.
When we left the Laugh Floor the rains seemed to have, if anything, grown more intense. MDE showed that all outdoor rides were still closed, so I was glad we were in Tomorrowland with some good nearby options. The length and strength of the storm meant that some areas were beginning to flood, and the water was ankle-deep in some spots as we sprinted over to Carousel of Progress. As usual, there was no wait for CoP, and it is always nice to get a little nostalgia (and 20 minutes off your feet). Usually I relish the AC in CoP, but today I was enjoying the roof over our heads even more
After our trip back in time was complete, we were ready for our FP at Space Mountain. Space is my daughter's second favorite ride at MK and the first ride on it of each trip is something she really looks forward to. Given that it was predicted to be a moderate/6 crowd day, I feared that the lines at Space might be long with so much in the park closed due to the storm. Even the FP line could have been backed up if guests chose to use their anytime FPs (converted from other rides) to ride Space. Fortunately for us, it appeared that the rains had either kept most guests away or driven people out of the park early. The FP line was short and moved quickly, and even standby didn't look too long (20-25 minutes, I would guess). Not sure how long it would be until the outdoor rides re-opened, I grabbed us a FP for Under the Sea. I figured we may as well continue to check off the indoor rides in the meantime.
Despite our dampness, we had a great ride on Space Mountain.
The rain was starting to ease a bit after we came back out of Space Mountain, but had not stopped yet, so we made the short walk to PeopleMover and walked right on. My daughter likes to "surf" on moving walkways, especially ones on an incline, so she hung 10 along the way.
From our vantage point on PeopleMover, we could see that the skies were clearing up and CMs were starting to reopen some of the rides in Fantasyland. After we finished our ride, we headed over to Mad Tea Party, which was a walk on.
Then we headed next door to Dumbo, where there were also no lines. My daughter was actually disappointed that this would deprive her of time to play in the waiting area, so the CMs invited her in and told me we could just come back up and ride whenever we were ready (no buzzer necessary). Since it was indoors, I was more than happy to sit for a few minutes and let her climb and slide to her heart's content. Once she was ready, we went out and boarded the ride. Up and away we went.
Next we used the FP for Under the Sea that I had grabbed back at Space Mountain. The rain had mostly stopped by that point, but it was still nice to be indoors and listening to one of the great Disney soundtracks. I snagged us a FP for Jungle Cruise to use later in the afternoon, and then we were getting hungry so decided to take a break for lunch. My daughter wanted pizza, so it was back to PVH for the second time of the day.
At lunch I checked our plans and confirmed that we had gone on 14 different rides so far, plus the Laugh Floor. So we had 10 more rides to go in the afternoon in order to complete our conquest of every ride in Magic Kingdom, and I plotted out our strategy as we ate.
Check out the next chapter to see how we did.
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chunkymonkey
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 27, 2009
Great trip report! I am enjoying the precision planning that you have done on this trip! If I were staying offsite I would also try and do the tours and EMM to take advantage or riding all the bit ticket rides.
Born 2B a Princess
Where's my tiara?!?!
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2007
So fun!
Greg Lembrich
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2018
Chapter 7:Conquering the Kingdom
One of my daughter's favorite parts of dining at PVH is sitting by the windows overlooking Small World and holding up signs asking riders below to do the YMCA or the chicken dance, etc. After spending our lunch watching others on Small World, and seeing that the ride was a walk on, we made that our first stop after lunch.
After Small World, with the rains over and the sun even starting to poke out, we decided to venture over to Frontierland to use our anytime FPs at BTMRR and Splash. We chose to do BTM first, then backtracked for our boat trip to the Briar Patch. We were still wet from the earlier rains, so we had no fear of the big drop.
One of the rides at MK that some guests forget about is the Raft to Tom Sawyer Island. TSI is truly a gem, but I had not been since I was a teenager and am glad that this challenge gave me a reason to return. Obviously, the ride itself is short, but exploring TSI is the fun part. The Raft CMs announced that, due to flooding from the storm, the fort and bridge to the fort were closed. This did not deter us, and my daughter really enjoyed crossing the barrel bridge and meandering through the mine and the cave. I promised her we would make time to come back on Thursday, when everything would be open.
After returning from TSI, we made our way to Adventureland to use the Jungle Cruise FP I grabbed before lunch. We passed a PP photographer on our way past PotC, and I couldn't resist asking him to capture our best pirate faces. Arrr!
We had skipped JC on our last trip, so it had been awhile since I'd heard the corny jokes. Some of them almost seemed fresh, and my daughter laughed uproariously at several points (she's now old enough to get more of the humor). During our cruise I had snagged a FP for Magic Carpets, so we went straight there after JC. There wasn't really a line, so the FP was superfluous, but we still used it so I could immediately book a FP for Tomorrowland Speedway. Moments later we boarded our carpets and up and away we went on our 20th different ride of the day.
Another ride that is sometimes forgotten is the WDW Railroad that runs around the park. While I like the brief portion that runs through Splash Mountain on the leg between Town Square and Frontierland, my favorite leg is the one that goes from Frontierland to Fantasyland around the back of the park. Given that we needed to (a) ride the railroad to complete our goal of riding every ride and (b) get over to Fantasyland to ride Barnstormer followed by Tomorrowland Speedway, we hopped on the railroad at Frontierland station. The train sat at the station for nearly 20 minutes before leaving (this was our longest wait of the day), but then finally started chugging and soon we were disembarking in Fantasyland.
Barnstormer was a walk on. My daughter had not been on since she was 2, so she was surprised at how short and mild it is. Of course, she remembered it being a much bigger ride. Now it seems very tame compared to RnRC, EE, etc. After Barnstormer, we walked around to Tomorrowland Speedway. Speedway is my least favorite ride in WDW. Between the fumes and the jerky nature of the ride, I avoid it if possible. But my daughter was excited since she had only ever been a passenger before and this time she would get to drive. Plus we needed to do it to complete The 46. Fortunately I was able to get a FP, so at least we had a minimal wait for our car. My daughter then quickly learned that "driving" on the Speedway is not all that it's cracked up to be. She was very frustrated by the slow speed of the car, and even moreso by the even slower speed of the car in front of us. She also found it very difficult to steer. I suppressed my joy that her not liking the ride meant I probably won't have to go on it again The upside was that we had now gone on 23 of the 24 rides at MK, so had just one to go.
After passing up the opportunity to ride the Carousel during EMM that morning, we returned to it as our final ride to complete our quest to ride each ride at MK in one day. The wait was minimal (just had to wait for the ride before us to finish), and soon we were climbing aboard our horses. We felt a real sense of accomplishment at meeting our goal despite the extreme weather earlier in the day. There were definitely some daddy-daughter high fives exchanged during this ride.
We had done it! All 24 rides in MK in one day. And we were done before 4:30 in the afternoon. In the end, despite causing us to get very wet and having to adjust our touring plan, the storms actually helped us by turning what was supposed to be a moderate/6 crowd day at MK into a very low/1 or 2 max day. Most rides were walk ons and SD FPs were plentiful for everything except for 7DMT and PP. Interestingly, the posted wait times for both 7DMT and PP were consistently at 60 minutes or more throughout the day (when 7DMT was even running). This made us even more grateful that we had done EMM and that the rains held off until it was over.
We would be attending the HEA Dessert Party later in the evening, but definitely wanted to go back to the motel for a hot shower, change of clothes, and some rest. We stopped for a quick celebratory burger at Cosmic Ray's on the way out, I grabbed a FP I knew my daughter would like for post-fireworks, and then we asked a PP photographer to snap our triumphant picture before making our way down Main Street.
In the next chapter, I'll share our experiences with the HEA Dessert Party and my fireworks photos.
One of my daughter's favorite parts of dining at PVH is sitting by the windows overlooking Small World and holding up signs asking riders below to do the YMCA or the chicken dance, etc. After spending our lunch watching others on Small World, and seeing that the ride was a walk on, we made that our first stop after lunch.
After Small World, with the rains over and the sun even starting to poke out, we decided to venture over to Frontierland to use our anytime FPs at BTMRR and Splash. We chose to do BTM first, then backtracked for our boat trip to the Briar Patch. We were still wet from the earlier rains, so we had no fear of the big drop.
One of the rides at MK that some guests forget about is the Raft to Tom Sawyer Island. TSI is truly a gem, but I had not been since I was a teenager and am glad that this challenge gave me a reason to return. Obviously, the ride itself is short, but exploring TSI is the fun part. The Raft CMs announced that, due to flooding from the storm, the fort and bridge to the fort were closed. This did not deter us, and my daughter really enjoyed crossing the barrel bridge and meandering through the mine and the cave. I promised her we would make time to come back on Thursday, when everything would be open.
After returning from TSI, we made our way to Adventureland to use the Jungle Cruise FP I grabbed before lunch. We passed a PP photographer on our way past PotC, and I couldn't resist asking him to capture our best pirate faces. Arrr!
We had skipped JC on our last trip, so it had been awhile since I'd heard the corny jokes. Some of them almost seemed fresh, and my daughter laughed uproariously at several points (she's now old enough to get more of the humor). During our cruise I had snagged a FP for Magic Carpets, so we went straight there after JC. There wasn't really a line, so the FP was superfluous, but we still used it so I could immediately book a FP for Tomorrowland Speedway. Moments later we boarded our carpets and up and away we went on our 20th different ride of the day.
Another ride that is sometimes forgotten is the WDW Railroad that runs around the park. While I like the brief portion that runs through Splash Mountain on the leg between Town Square and Frontierland, my favorite leg is the one that goes from Frontierland to Fantasyland around the back of the park. Given that we needed to (a) ride the railroad to complete our goal of riding every ride and (b) get over to Fantasyland to ride Barnstormer followed by Tomorrowland Speedway, we hopped on the railroad at Frontierland station. The train sat at the station for nearly 20 minutes before leaving (this was our longest wait of the day), but then finally started chugging and soon we were disembarking in Fantasyland.
Barnstormer was a walk on. My daughter had not been on since she was 2, so she was surprised at how short and mild it is. Of course, she remembered it being a much bigger ride. Now it seems very tame compared to RnRC, EE, etc. After Barnstormer, we walked around to Tomorrowland Speedway. Speedway is my least favorite ride in WDW. Between the fumes and the jerky nature of the ride, I avoid it if possible. But my daughter was excited since she had only ever been a passenger before and this time she would get to drive. Plus we needed to do it to complete The 46. Fortunately I was able to get a FP, so at least we had a minimal wait for our car. My daughter then quickly learned that "driving" on the Speedway is not all that it's cracked up to be. She was very frustrated by the slow speed of the car, and even moreso by the even slower speed of the car in front of us. She also found it very difficult to steer. I suppressed my joy that her not liking the ride meant I probably won't have to go on it again
The upside was that we had now gone on 23 of the 24 rides at MK, so had just one to go.After passing up the opportunity to ride the Carousel during EMM that morning, we returned to it as our final ride to complete our quest to ride each ride at MK in one day. The wait was minimal (just had to wait for the ride before us to finish), and soon we were climbing aboard our horses. We felt a real sense of accomplishment at meeting our goal despite the extreme weather earlier in the day. There were definitely some daddy-daughter high fives exchanged during this ride.
We had done it! All 24 rides in MK in one day. And we were done before 4:30 in the afternoon. In the end, despite causing us to get very wet and having to adjust our touring plan, the storms actually helped us by turning what was supposed to be a moderate/6 crowd day at MK into a very low/1 or 2 max day. Most rides were walk ons and SD FPs were plentiful for everything except for 7DMT and PP. Interestingly, the posted wait times for both 7DMT and PP were consistently at 60 minutes or more throughout the day (when 7DMT was even running). This made us even more grateful that we had done EMM and that the rains held off until it was over.
We would be attending the HEA Dessert Party later in the evening, but definitely wanted to go back to the motel for a hot shower, change of clothes, and some rest. We stopped for a quick celebratory burger at Cosmic Ray's on the way out, I grabbed a FP I knew my daughter would like for post-fireworks, and then we asked a PP photographer to snap our triumphant picture before making our way down Main Street.
In the next chapter, I'll share our experiences with the HEA Dessert Party and my fireworks photos.
Last edited:
Greg Lembrich
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2018
1) Most park tickets are transferable. While the ticket was connected to my wife's MDE account, it was just a matter of switching it to my daughter. I was able to do this online through MDE, but in some cases you may need to call to get it done. In any event, you should be able to transfer tickets between members of your party if you want. There may be some kinds of tickets that cannot be transferred, but I believe that most can.
2) There is no such thing as getting too hung up on logistics for me
I live for this stuff.
Greg Lembrich
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2018
Chapter 8: HEA Dessert Party and Fireworks
After leaving the park, we returned to the Red Lion. My daughter took a hot bath, after which she put on some dry clothes and promptly took a nap. While she slept I took a nice hot shower and then really enjoyed getting into some dry clothes myself. I hopped on the DIS and wrote a review of our EMM experience, handled some work and personal emails, and reviewed our plan of attack for Epcot the next morning. My daughter woke up a little before 7 PM and we quickly got ready and hit the road back to the TTC. Our destination was again MK, and specifically the Happily Ever After Dessert Party with Plaza Garden viewing.
After the torrential rains earlier in the day, the weather was now very pleasant by the time evening rolled around. It was comfortably warm, but not hot, and the high humidity from Monday was now gone from the air. Our trip to MK was smooth, and we were actually a little early for the party, which was scheduled to begin at 7:45. We stopped on our way there to have another photo taken, much fresher and drier than before.
We arrived at Tomorrowland Terrace a little after 7:30 PM and expected to wait until closer to 7:45 to be allowed inside, but we were seated right away. We were among the first seated, but all of the desserts and drinks were ready and available. There was a great variety of dessert offerings, as well as fruits, cheeses, etc. My daughter loved the table where she could decorate her own cupcakes, brownies, cookies, rice krispy treats, etc. She was also excited to be able to make her own sundae, complete with lots of Mickey shaped sprinkles. We pigged out until about 8:15 or so, at which point we were stuffed and wanted to go stake out our spot for the fireworks.
Once we were ready, one of the CMs escorted us down to the Plaza Garden area reserved for HEA Dessert Party guests. Since the show was still 40 minutes from beginning, we had our pick of where to sit. We chose a spot right in the front of the plaza garden basically in the center with minimal obstructions in our view between us and the castle. Within a few minutes other guests starting sitting around us or finding other spots. We had a fabulous view of both the castle projections and the fireworks without even needing to stand. I sat for the whole show, and my daughter alternated between sitting and being on her knees when she wanted to focus on the castle show. I am a notoriously bad photographer, but I think I got some pretty good pictures of the show just using my Android.
It is difficult to capture the magic of the grand finale, and I was too mesmerized at the perfect timing of Tinkerbell's flight to snap a photo of that. But this viewing spot was perfect. I adore HEA and think it is a wonderful show (even better than Wishes, IMO). The interplay between the music, castle projections, and fireworks is amazing! And while it was great to watch the show from the balcony of our suite at BLT back in November, this was truly the best vantage I have ever had. Between the desserts and the great seats for HEA, we were very happy that we booked the party.
After HEA ended, most of the crowd made their way to the exits even though the park would still be open for another hour or so. Despite our long day, I was not eager to fight the multitudes getting out, wait in a huge crowd for the monorail, etc. So I said to my daughter, "Do you want to leave now or do you want to use the FP I booked for us on Space Mountain?". She rolled her eyes, because even at 7 she knew that this was the equivalent of broccoli versus ice cream. So we headed in the opposite direction from most of the crowd and went into Tomorrowland to take a ride through Space.
Before leaving for the day, we FaceTimed my wife. She was on the other side of the globe, so it was already Wednesday morning. My daughter loved telling her about our day, especially with the Castle as a backdrop. After Main Street was largely clear of the exiting masses, we made our way out ourselves. There was still a big crowd waiting for the express monorail, so we went over and took a nearly empty resort monorail (just one extra stop to TTC). Soon we were back at the Red Lion to rest up before an early morning at Epcot the next day.
It was an awesome Day 2! We rode all the rides in MK at least once, so our quest for all 46 was still going great. Despite the bad weather, all ultimately went according to my plan; everything went right
Day 2 Stats
Parks visited: Just MK
Rides: 33 (24 different, with 5 rides each on 7DMT and PP, and 2 rides on Space Mountain)
Progress towards goal of riding every ride in WDW: 37/46
Miles walked (according to my FitBit): 12.79
After leaving the park, we returned to the Red Lion. My daughter took a hot bath, after which she put on some dry clothes and promptly took a nap. While she slept I took a nice hot shower and then really enjoyed getting into some dry clothes myself. I hopped on the DIS and wrote a review of our EMM experience, handled some work and personal emails, and reviewed our plan of attack for Epcot the next morning. My daughter woke up a little before 7 PM and we quickly got ready and hit the road back to the TTC. Our destination was again MK, and specifically the Happily Ever After Dessert Party with Plaza Garden viewing.
After the torrential rains earlier in the day, the weather was now very pleasant by the time evening rolled around. It was comfortably warm, but not hot, and the high humidity from Monday was now gone from the air. Our trip to MK was smooth, and we were actually a little early for the party, which was scheduled to begin at 7:45. We stopped on our way there to have another photo taken, much fresher and drier than before.
We arrived at Tomorrowland Terrace a little after 7:30 PM and expected to wait until closer to 7:45 to be allowed inside, but we were seated right away. We were among the first seated, but all of the desserts and drinks were ready and available. There was a great variety of dessert offerings, as well as fruits, cheeses, etc. My daughter loved the table where she could decorate her own cupcakes, brownies, cookies, rice krispy treats, etc. She was also excited to be able to make her own sundae, complete with lots of Mickey shaped sprinkles. We pigged out until about 8:15 or so, at which point we were stuffed and wanted to go stake out our spot for the fireworks.
Once we were ready, one of the CMs escorted us down to the Plaza Garden area reserved for HEA Dessert Party guests. Since the show was still 40 minutes from beginning, we had our pick of where to sit. We chose a spot right in the front of the plaza garden basically in the center with minimal obstructions in our view between us and the castle. Within a few minutes other guests starting sitting around us or finding other spots. We had a fabulous view of both the castle projections and the fireworks without even needing to stand. I sat for the whole show, and my daughter alternated between sitting and being on her knees when she wanted to focus on the castle show. I am a notoriously bad photographer, but I think I got some pretty good pictures of the show just using my Android.
It is difficult to capture the magic of the grand finale, and I was too mesmerized at the perfect timing of Tinkerbell's flight to snap a photo of that. But this viewing spot was perfect. I adore HEA and think it is a wonderful show (even better than Wishes, IMO). The interplay between the music, castle projections, and fireworks is amazing! And while it was great to watch the show from the balcony of our suite at BLT back in November, this was truly the best vantage I have ever had. Between the desserts and the great seats for HEA, we were very happy that we booked the party.
After HEA ended, most of the crowd made their way to the exits even though the park would still be open for another hour or so. Despite our long day, I was not eager to fight the multitudes getting out, wait in a huge crowd for the monorail, etc. So I said to my daughter, "Do you want to leave now or do you want to use the FP I booked for us on Space Mountain?". She rolled her eyes, because even at 7 she knew that this was the equivalent of broccoli versus ice cream. So we headed in the opposite direction from most of the crowd and went into Tomorrowland to take a ride through Space.
Before leaving for the day, we FaceTimed my wife. She was on the other side of the globe, so it was already Wednesday morning. My daughter loved telling her about our day, especially with the Castle as a backdrop. After Main Street was largely clear of the exiting masses, we made our way out ourselves. There was still a big crowd waiting for the express monorail, so we went over and took a nearly empty resort monorail (just one extra stop to TTC). Soon we were back at the Red Lion to rest up before an early morning at Epcot the next day.
It was an awesome Day 2! We rode all the rides in MK at least once, so our quest for all 46 was still going great. Despite the bad weather, all ultimately went according to my plan; everything went right
Day 2 Stats
Parks visited: Just MK
Rides: 33 (24 different, with 5 rides each on 7DMT and PP, and 2 rides on Space Mountain)
Progress towards goal of riding every ride in WDW: 37/46
Miles walked (according to my FitBit): 12.79
Last edited:
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