Still living the Dream: Day 11 – Magic Kingdom and Princesses
Tuesday 24th May
Back to Magic Kingdom again this morning. We surface around 7.30am, grab some cereal for breakfast, and then out of the room by 8.10am. Rush across to the bus stop, and for a change the MK bus is just arriving…it’s only half full this morning by the time we finish picking up at the Swan and Dolphin, so there is a chance to chat to some of the other passengers on the bus. Nice to just shoot the breeze and compare thoughts on the parks, vacation plans, etc for a change.
Get to MK by around 8.45am and make it inside the park and ready for rope drop. We then split up, and Helen heads to Rapunzel with the kids, while I get FPs for Mickey and the Princesses for later. There are currently allowing them for both at the same time, but apparently this was due to change very soon.
Head off to meet with Helen, and she’s made it inside the first group of the day for Rapunzel. There are about 20 kids colouring in a picture of Rapunzel and Flynn, all standing around a big stone table. This goes on for around 5 mins and keeps everyone occupied until finally Rapunzel and Flynn arrive. Kids back into line, and the meet and greet begins. It takes around 30 mins in total for us to make it to the front of the line, and in the meantime the cast members play pass-the-parcel with a Pascal the Chameleon toy. Emma is all dressed up as Rapunzel, and can’t wait for her meeting, and chats with the characters for a minute or two, and we get some lovely photos. Like most character meetings it seems to be over very quickly, but there is more than enough to keep the children happy and we get some lovely photos.
Amazing attention to detail in the meet and greet area
Next, we head to Winnie the Pooh and spend 20 mins walking through the new interactive queuing area. Lots of neat things, including touch-screen honey! The ride itself is the same, but the extras really enhance the whole experience.
Interactive honey!
The wait time on Small World is finally down to a reasonable 5 mins so we jump on this, and then Haunted Mansion where the wait is around 10 mins. After this I pick up FPs for Splash for later. Next we eat at Columbia Harbour House – tuna sandwich for me, fish for Helen, and chicken for the kids. This is very welcome, particularly being out of the sunshine, and we take 30 mins in the cool air con to recharge the batteries.
We head back toward Splash, but stop mid-way to let Emma meet with Princess Tiana, this is pretty popular and takes us around 30 mins to get through the line. This area is really great, as it’s more relaxed than many of the meet and greet opportunities, and slightly off the beaten track. The lines still build up quickly though!
I take Ryan twice on Splash now, while Helen does the Magic Carpets with Emma.
Finally we decide to call it a day, but stop off to see Mickey (and Minnie) plus the Princesses. The FP system here works pretty well, and is much more welcome than the old system in Toontown, though I can imagine it might be different when crowds are much larger. Still, Emma happy with her Princess count for the day – 5 including Rapunzel, and the latest autograph book is getting full up again.
Back to the BW for a rest, and then to the quiet pool for some swimming and sunbathing. This is very welcome, and I actually get 20 mins to read on the Kindle too, which just adds to the relaxation. I think I even drop off to sleep for 5 mins
Back to the room to shower and get ready to go out for the evening. We decide to head off to Long Horn steakhouse near Premium Outlets. Saw this the other day driving down I-4 and have been to the one on the 192 previously, and decide to give it try. We’re not disappointed, and get our best server of the trip so far – Jason – who also works as a CM at Disney during the day. He really engages with the kids, and stays to chat for a while too. We both get steak with lobster and shrimp, and the food is really well prepared. Helen and the kids then go for chocolate cake for dessert (while I have a black coffee – thank you!), and they proceed to demolish this!
On to Premium Outlets for a look round, and I get a shirt in Gap, while the kids buy Jibbitz for their crocs. Huge number of people around, but no real bargains from what we can see, so we don’t stay long.
It’s around 9.30pm now, so we decide to finish the night with mini golf and head to Fantasia Gardens to play the Garden course. We have a 20 mins wait, but then Helen and I play quite a competitive game…before I come out on top Finally, by around 10.45 we head back to the BW and I sit and write up my trip report while everyone else gets ready for bed. Tomorrow, Epcot…
Day 12 – Epcot and the Studios
Setting the Scene and Index
Tuesday 24th May
Back to Magic Kingdom again this morning. We surface around 7.30am, grab some cereal for breakfast, and then out of the room by 8.10am. Rush across to the bus stop, and for a change the MK bus is just arriving…it’s only half full this morning by the time we finish picking up at the Swan and Dolphin, so there is a chance to chat to some of the other passengers on the bus. Nice to just shoot the breeze and compare thoughts on the parks, vacation plans, etc for a change.
Get to MK by around 8.45am and make it inside the park and ready for rope drop. We then split up, and Helen heads to Rapunzel with the kids, while I get FPs for Mickey and the Princesses for later. There are currently allowing them for both at the same time, but apparently this was due to change very soon.
Head off to meet with Helen, and she’s made it inside the first group of the day for Rapunzel. There are about 20 kids colouring in a picture of Rapunzel and Flynn, all standing around a big stone table. This goes on for around 5 mins and keeps everyone occupied until finally Rapunzel and Flynn arrive. Kids back into line, and the meet and greet begins. It takes around 30 mins in total for us to make it to the front of the line, and in the meantime the cast members play pass-the-parcel with a Pascal the Chameleon toy. Emma is all dressed up as Rapunzel, and can’t wait for her meeting, and chats with the characters for a minute or two, and we get some lovely photos. Like most character meetings it seems to be over very quickly, but there is more than enough to keep the children happy and we get some lovely photos.
Amazing attention to detail in the meet and greet area
Next, we head to Winnie the Pooh and spend 20 mins walking through the new interactive queuing area. Lots of neat things, including touch-screen honey! The ride itself is the same, but the extras really enhance the whole experience.
Interactive honey!
The wait time on Small World is finally down to a reasonable 5 mins so we jump on this, and then Haunted Mansion where the wait is around 10 mins. After this I pick up FPs for Splash for later. Next we eat at Columbia Harbour House – tuna sandwich for me, fish for Helen, and chicken for the kids. This is very welcome, particularly being out of the sunshine, and we take 30 mins in the cool air con to recharge the batteries.
We head back toward Splash, but stop mid-way to let Emma meet with Princess Tiana, this is pretty popular and takes us around 30 mins to get through the line. This area is really great, as it’s more relaxed than many of the meet and greet opportunities, and slightly off the beaten track. The lines still build up quickly though!
I take Ryan twice on Splash now, while Helen does the Magic Carpets with Emma.
Finally we decide to call it a day, but stop off to see Mickey (and Minnie) plus the Princesses. The FP system here works pretty well, and is much more welcome than the old system in Toontown, though I can imagine it might be different when crowds are much larger. Still, Emma happy with her Princess count for the day – 5 including Rapunzel, and the latest autograph book is getting full up again.
Back to the BW for a rest, and then to the quiet pool for some swimming and sunbathing. This is very welcome, and I actually get 20 mins to read on the Kindle too, which just adds to the relaxation. I think I even drop off to sleep for 5 mins
Back to the room to shower and get ready to go out for the evening. We decide to head off to Long Horn steakhouse near Premium Outlets. Saw this the other day driving down I-4 and have been to the one on the 192 previously, and decide to give it try. We’re not disappointed, and get our best server of the trip so far – Jason – who also works as a CM at Disney during the day. He really engages with the kids, and stays to chat for a while too. We both get steak with lobster and shrimp, and the food is really well prepared. Helen and the kids then go for chocolate cake for dessert (while I have a black coffee – thank you!), and they proceed to demolish this!
On to Premium Outlets for a look round, and I get a shirt in Gap, while the kids buy Jibbitz for their crocs. Huge number of people around, but no real bargains from what we can see, so we don’t stay long.
It’s around 9.30pm now, so we decide to finish the night with mini golf and head to Fantasia Gardens to play the Garden course. We have a 20 mins wait, but then Helen and I play quite a competitive game…before I come out on top
Finally, by around 10.45 we head back to the BW and I sit and write up my trip report while everyone else gets ready for bed. Tomorrow, Epcot…Day 12 – Epcot and the Studios
Setting the Scene and Index
