Day 4 – Magic Kingdom
Tuesday 17th May
Our body clocks are still not quite on US time, so we’re making the most of it by heading to MK this morning to see the little ‘show’ before the park opens and get our first look at the castle. We’re up and out by about 7.45am and headed down a virtually deserted 192 towards Disney. The parking lot is pretty deserted still and we are close enough that we can easily walk to the monorail station.
We arrive in plenty time and find a spot in front of the train station to watch the characters arrive and declare the park open. Of course, for anyone who has seen this, you may remember the streamers that are fired at the end of the show – so of course the kids have to scramble for a piece of one of these before we set off ☺
Nearly time!
Streamers!
Once we are through the melee we head down Main St and on towards Space Mountain. On the way we spot Princess Tiana:
Short queue for Space, although Emma isn’t too certain about the dark queue and feels a bit disoriented I think. All four of us ride together which is something of a novelty for a ‘fast’ ride, and though I was a little concerned with Emma’s reaction she says she enjoyed it proceeds to talk about what she thought about the ride for the next 20 mins.
Afterwards went onto speedway where Ryan was given a driving licence card by a CM, then Buzz and the TTA.
We split up and Helen goes with Emma to wait in line for the Rapunzel meet and greet, while I take Ryan on Buzz Lightyear (twice). We go and meet up afterwards but Helen has moved about 20 feet in half an hour, so we decide to call it quits for today.
In-between one or two teeth at the moment
Stopped off in front of the castle to watch the show (more streamers!), then on to the Plaza Restaurant for lunch. Helen had the cheese steak while I got the burger with loads of extra, basic burgers for the kids…plus cookies and a sundae for dessert.
Did Buzz for the final time of the day with FPs from earlier, then Mickey’s Philharmagic to get a break from the heat for 20 mins.
Afterwards we head for Pirates, and then I take Ryan off to Splash Mountain while Helen and Emma stake out a spot for the afternoon parade.
View from the top of Splash Mountain
We get back and Emma has time for a spin on the Magic Carpet ride before the parade starts.
I think the MK afternoon parade is probably my favourite, thanks the level of interaction you get from the various performers, and we manage to get some lovely photos.
By now we are all flagging a bit, and head back to villa via the supermarket. We swim for a couple of hours, making the most of the beautiful afternoon sunshine and having the pool on-tap. I catch up on making some trip report notes, and the kids have an air hockey tournament in the garage.
We head off to Downtown Disney for the evening, and decide to try the Pollo Campero place that has sprung up in place of the old McDonalds. Chicken wraps and some rotisserie chicken for the adults, and hot dogs for the kids. Food is pretty decent quality, and feels relatively healthy, too. The inside of the restaurant area feels a little sterile, but that’s a minor point overall.
After food we head over to DisneyQuest. We still have premium annual passes this trip so we’re going to make the most of the extra features. We wander around for an hour or so and the kids work off their little remaining energy on Mighty Ducks pinball. Hit the road around 9.30pm and are back at the villa and ready for bed soon after 10pm. A very long day..night night!
Day 5 - Animal Kingdom and Fantasmic!
Tuesday 17th May
Our body clocks are still not quite on US time, so we’re making the most of it by heading to MK this morning to see the little ‘show’ before the park opens and get our first look at the castle. We’re up and out by about 7.45am and headed down a virtually deserted 192 towards Disney. The parking lot is pretty deserted still and we are close enough that we can easily walk to the monorail station.
We arrive in plenty time and find a spot in front of the train station to watch the characters arrive and declare the park open. Of course, for anyone who has seen this, you may remember the streamers that are fired at the end of the show – so of course the kids have to scramble for a piece of one of these before we set off ☺
Nearly time!
Streamers!
Once we are through the melee we head down Main St and on towards Space Mountain. On the way we spot Princess Tiana:
Short queue for Space, although Emma isn’t too certain about the dark queue and feels a bit disoriented I think. All four of us ride together which is something of a novelty for a ‘fast’ ride, and though I was a little concerned with Emma’s reaction she says she enjoyed it proceeds to talk about what she thought about the ride for the next 20 mins.
Afterwards went onto speedway where Ryan was given a driving licence card by a CM, then Buzz and the TTA.
We split up and Helen goes with Emma to wait in line for the Rapunzel meet and greet, while I take Ryan on Buzz Lightyear (twice). We go and meet up afterwards but Helen has moved about 20 feet in half an hour, so we decide to call it quits for today.
In-between one or two teeth at the moment
Stopped off in front of the castle to watch the show (more streamers!), then on to the Plaza Restaurant for lunch. Helen had the cheese steak while I got the burger with loads of extra, basic burgers for the kids…plus cookies and a sundae for dessert.
Did Buzz for the final time of the day with FPs from earlier, then Mickey’s Philharmagic to get a break from the heat for 20 mins.
Afterwards we head for Pirates, and then I take Ryan off to Splash Mountain while Helen and Emma stake out a spot for the afternoon parade.
View from the top of Splash Mountain
We get back and Emma has time for a spin on the Magic Carpet ride before the parade starts.
I think the MK afternoon parade is probably my favourite, thanks the level of interaction you get from the various performers, and we manage to get some lovely photos.
By now we are all flagging a bit, and head back to villa via the supermarket. We swim for a couple of hours, making the most of the beautiful afternoon sunshine and having the pool on-tap. I catch up on making some trip report notes, and the kids have an air hockey tournament in the garage.
We head off to Downtown Disney for the evening, and decide to try the Pollo Campero place that has sprung up in place of the old McDonalds. Chicken wraps and some rotisserie chicken for the adults, and hot dogs for the kids. Food is pretty decent quality, and feels relatively healthy, too. The inside of the restaurant area feels a little sterile, but that’s a minor point overall.
After food we head over to DisneyQuest. We still have premium annual passes this trip so we’re going to make the most of the extra features. We wander around for an hour or so and the kids work off their little remaining energy on Mighty Ducks pinball. Hit the road around 9.30pm and are back at the villa and ready for bed soon after 10pm. A very long day..night night!
Day 5 - Animal Kingdom and Fantasmic!
