The ABCs of a Very Merry Christmastime Land and Sea Adventure-R is for: Real Magic on the MK Rides (6/6)

[Steppesister]

R is for: Real Magic on the MK Rides
Dec. 18, 2024​

A light fog wrapped the castle like a warm blanket on a Winter morning. At 7:00, I waved hello to her and in return she whispered back, “Life is good; Seize the day!”

​

There was so much in store as I began my adventures with one of the few occasions that 7DMT happened to be up and running right at RD. Because I do the AM hustle, I was on the 1st train, putting me well ahead of the dilly-dalliers. Steppe's RD Rule #29: Those who dilly wait in excessively long lines…. If they ride at all. As a side note, I was able to snag a Bayou Adventure VQ Gp. 42 right at 7:00 as well while walking (or just shortly before) to the rope.

​

If you want to ride 7DMT without spending enough to buy a Gaston's cinnamon roll or waiting in line for a couple of hours (in an ideal world), best to get there WAY before the park opens and be at the front of the pack. That was stop #1 when the rope dropped.

​

I’d never bothered to notice before, but at the launch site, an ore/tool bucket on a pulley is off to your left. Is this just a disconnected prop with no congruity?

​

Nope! As you go up the lift portion, there it is again, right where it should be above ground, all primed with the next load of whatever the dwarfs might need in their lucrative mine.

​

Peter Pan is the next obvious move for the Rope Drop progression and, after making sure the Dwarves were on track, I took off for Neverland. The new Native American scene is nicely done, and I was happy that all was well with Peter and the kids.

(Yes, you will definitely see this style of dance at a Pow-Wow)​

I left them in the (pixie)dust and booked it to Jungle Cruise next, barely beating out the Main Street folks who were not staying on property. My strategy is to try and finish up with both 7DMT (when it’s running or WtP, if it’s not) and PP, then stand at the next rope by Rapunzel’s Garden so you can do the 2nd RD when everything else opens up.

I was on one of the first couple of boats, and, as I’d already booked my African Safari trip, I was super excited about seeing this Imagineered version of what I might see abroad!

Like this: (BTW, if you're interested in what a REAL safari and East Africa is like, join my African safari TR HERE: <<LINK)

​

More JC Fun...

(Look at the name on the awning: https://junglecruise.fandom.com/wiki/R.V._Laust)
​

L is for: Letters To Santa

​

It was especially great this time around as the Holiday overlay was adding so much fun!! The sight gags on the attraction are everywhere and there are just tons of hidden Easter Eggs and backstory bits to find. I don’t know if it’s just me, but the S.E.A. has a few more nods now than in years past.

​

And Disney never passes up and opportunity to lose a chance at some advertising!

​

And now, for the BEST detail find of trip:

If you zoom in on this one guy here, you’ll notice he’s Asian- Chinese to be exact. Look very carefully at the tag on his collection cage. I used Google Translate, and lo and behold it says “SPIDERS”. This is one of the S.E.A. biologists/adventurers and is almost certainly the one responsible for obtaining the tarantula you find at the loading dock. Has it snapped at you before? Disney does NOTHING by accident or haphazardly. (Zoom and use Google Translate)

(His spider, ready for Christmas!)​

The next part of this ride is quite inspirational to me and the adventurer in me yearns to go to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Perhaps someday you might find another Disney-inspired Steppe trip in the making!

​

Continued in next post...

​

 

[Steppesister]

​

Continued from last post:

I skippered my way over to Pirates for a walk-on ride and by 8:30 I was done with: 7DMT, PP, JC, and Pirates. YO-HO, Baby!

(Me waiting for my last patient to show up for the day)


​

With zero wait for HM, I was on and off by 9:00. Photos are pretty tough to snag here but here are a few mediocre ones to enjoy…

(Peek-a-boo!)


(Did they remove the hidden Mickey?!)




​

By 9:08 I’d done all my must-do’s and was already in slow it on down mode. The lines were slowly building, and I don’t put up with long ones anymore as a general rule. People are rude and my patience is about as strong as a Disney drink, and we all know how I feel about those. It was time for the attractions that others aren’t clamoring quite as much for- like IaSW. Sing it with me now… There's so much that we share, that it's time you're aware, if you stand in long lines, I don’t care…

​

Oops, there it is again: SE Asia… <needs me a visit!>

​

Hey! I was just THERE!! VV

​

As close as I'll ever get to seeing a platypus:

​

I bounced on over to WtP and was on by 9:39. I am ON FIRE!!! It was a blustery ride, but no day is a bad day that ends with a birthday party!!

​

And it was close enough to my half birthday that I thought I should celebrate with a Gaston’s gigantic cinnamon roll! Breakfast (okay, 2nd breakfast, I did have a little more of my yogurt and granola before I left the room) was at 10:00- a perfect time to enjoy a low crowd at Gaston’s AND a table with a view. I can only eat less than half but it sure was tasty!! And sticky! Mmmm!

​

This seems like a sweet spot to leave off, no?

Next time I’ll share what the Imagineers and Tiana have cooked up.

Meanwhile, a very merry un-birthday to yooooooooooooooooouuuuuu….

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

(Me waiting for my last patient to show up for the day)

I am ON FIRE!!!

You really are!
Fabulous day altogether!

 

[Wood Nymph]

A light fog wrapped the castle like a warm blanket on a Winter morning.

We had several foggy mornings during our February trip. The fog messed up our MK morning since the WL boat was not running until later in the morning. It also kept the safari at AK closed until later in the morning.

I skippered my way over to Pirates for a walk-on ride and by 8:30 I was done with: 7DMT, PP, JC, and Pirates. YO-HO, Baby!

You really got a lot done. I'm impressed with what you could accomplish during a very busy time in December.

It is a huge advantage to get there for early opening.

 

[pkondz]

A light fog wrapped the castle like a warm blanket on a Winter morning.

Point of order.
While your prose is top notch...
I'd like to point out that fog is not warm. It's cold. And wet. Blech.
You go stand out in it!

At 7:00, I waved hello to her and in return she whispered back, “Life is good; Seize the day!”

Oh great. Not just a fog, but a haunted fog. Setting for every scary movie ever.
You should've gone straight to HM

Makes for a cool shot, though.

Because I do the AM hustle, I was on the 1st train,

Impressive!

Steppe's RD Rule #29: Those who dilly wait in excessively long lines….

As a side note, I was able to snag a Bayou Adventure VQ Gp. 42 right at 7:00 as well while walking (or just shortly before) to the rope.

Multitasking on the run. Pretty good!

Never noticed all the mining equipment before.

I’d never bothered to notice before, but at the launch site, an ore/tool bucket on a pulley is off to your left. Is this just a disconnected prop with no congruity?

Nope! As you go up the lift portion, there it is again, right where it should be above ground, all primed with the next load of whatever the dwarfs might need in their lucrative mine.

Huh! Never noticed that either. Cool!

One of (if not the) best scenes in all of Disney.

Yes, I'll fight you on this.

I left them in the (pixie)dust and booked it to Jungle Cruise next, barely beating out the Main Street folks who were not staying on property.

You sure are hitting the highlights.

I was on one of the first couple of boats,

More impressive stuff

as I’d already booked my African Safari trip, I was super excited about seeing this Imagineered version of what I might see abroad!

Never thought of that. I bet it made the ride even better.

2 things. All those characters have a back story. (And no, I'm not going to Google... but I have read about them, once upon a time.
And, rhino... wondering if you saw one? Not sure if there are any where you traveled, or how difficult to find even if you were where they were.

Like that one.

I never noticed the company name before. Didn't have to follow your link to get the pun.

I don’t know if it’s just me, but the S.E.A. has a few more nods now than in years past.

Had to Google that, though. Now I know.

And Disney never passes up and opportunity to lose a chance at some advertising!

[][/]

yup.

If you zoom in on this one guy here, you’ll notice he’s Asian- Chinese to be exact. Look very carefully at the tag on his collection cage. I used Google Translate, and lo and behold it says “SPIDERS”.

Huh! No way I would ever have caught that.

The next part of this ride is quite inspirational to me and the adventurer in me yearns to go to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Perhaps someday you might find another Disney-inspired Steppe trip in the making!

by 8:30 I was done with: 7DMT, PP, JC, and Pirates. YO-HO, Baby!

You're really moving!!

(Me waiting for my last patient to show up for the day)

We want's the original redhead back.

This shot in particular is pretty good.

Another nice capture.

(Did they remove the hidden Mickey?!)

I believe I read that there isn't supposed to be one and the plates are deliberately not arranged that way... but staff keep putting it back.

People are rude and my patience is about as strong as a Disney drink,

It was time for the attractions that others aren’t clamoring quite as much for- like IaSW.

What's the opposite of "clamoring"?

Sing it with me now…

No!


Dang it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As close as I'll ever get to seeing a platypus:

Still a little salty about that, are we?

I bounced on over to WtP and was on by 9:39. I am ON FIRE!!!

You really are. Seriously.

I can only eat less than half but it sure was tasty!! And sticky! Mmmm!

I can eat it all... and it really is good. One of the better ones I've had.

Meanwhile, a very merry un-birthday to yooooooooooooooooouuuuuu….

Thanks!

 

[Steppesister]

You really are!
Fabulous day altogether!

I'm just getting started! And I even did more than I shared because I forgot to add in BTMRR. Oops! But I'll stick in with Pt. 2

 

[Steppesister]

We had several foggy mornings during our February trip. The fog messed up our MK morning since the WL boat was not running until later in the morning. It also kept the safari at AK closed until later in the morning.

Foggy mornings are the BEST! I remember staying at AoA once and got up early and the fog over hourglass lake with all the colors and the Skyliner made for an INCREDIBLE scene. Just beautiful!

And, yes, I've also seen fog shut down the ferries too. Really clogs up the monorail too. I guess the Safari would be a hazard to the critters?

You really got a lot done. I'm impressed with what you could accomplish during a very busy time in December.

It is a huge advantage to get there for early opening.

Pays to get up and out for sure. I timed the trip right (but didn't on purpose or know it); just got lucky as it didn't get crazy busy until a few days into the trip- the first few were very tolerable crowds.

 

[Steppesister]

Point of order.
While your prose is top notch...
I'd like to point out that fog is not warm. It's cold. And wet. Blech.
You go stand out in it!

Au contraire, Mon Ami! You've not been to East Asia- plenty of fog and 80 degrees (or more).

Oh great. Not just a fog, but a haunted fog. Setting for every scary movie ever.
You should've gone straight to HM

Nope, there's an order that will keep waits down, and ... HM isn't open during EMH.

Makes for a cool shot, though.

I thought so.

Multitasking on the run. Pretty good!

Huh! Never noticed that either. Cool!

So many cool details there for the finding!

One of (if not the) best scenes in all of Disney.

Yes, I'll fight you on this.

Hmmm.... the casket scene is pretty sweet too.

2 things. All those characters have a back story. (And no, I'm not going to Google... but I have read about them, once upon a time.
And, rhino... wondering if you saw one? Not sure if there are any where you traveled, or how difficult to find even if you were where they were.

I'll have to check out the rest now! So cool!

I will keep you in rapt suspense for a few chapters more on that one.

I never noticed the company name before. Didn't have to follow your link to get the pun.

I'd never noticed it at all before and do wonder if it's a relatively new addition to the ride?

Had to Google that, though. Now I know.

Rest in peace Adventurer's Club.

Huh! No way I would ever have caught that.

I thought it was one of the coolest hidden details I've EVER Found!

You're really moving!!

Vroom, vroom!

We want's the original redhead back.

YES, YES!!

This shot in particular is pretty good.

Thanks!

I believe I read that there isn't supposed to be one and the plates are deliberately not arranged that way... but staff keep putting it back.

I do wonder about things like that. I'm sure that there's an official blueprint for the set up.

What's the opposite of "clamoring"?

LOL!

Dang it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a small world, afterall, It's a small, small wor...

Still a little salty about that, are we?

If those silly Yuppie yappers hadn't walked up and yapped I might have had a fighting chance.

 

[pkondz]

Au contraire, Mon Ami! You've not been to East Asia- plenty of fog and 80 degrees (or more).

I stand corrected. I sit corrected. Imma go lie down now and be corrected there too.

Nope, there's an order that will keep waits down, and ... HM isn't open during EMH.

Picky, picky. HM screams fog.

So many cool details there for the finding!

So I see!

Hmmm.... the casket scene is pretty sweet too.

I said "one of" not "the" best.

I will keep you in rapt suspense for a few chapters more on that one.

I'd never noticed it at all before and do wonder if it's a relatively new addition to the ride?

That, I'm not sure...

A quick Google says it was added only in 2022 in time for Jingle Cruise. So... no... I've not seen it.

Rest in peace Adventurer's Club.

And I never got to visit.

I do wonder about things like that. I'm sure that there's an official blueprint for the set up.

I'm sure there is too.

It's a small world, afterall, It's a small, small wor...

Noooooooooooooooooooooo..........

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

I thought it was one of the coolest hidden details I've EVER Found!

Definitely! If you hadn’t pointed it out I’d never have known about it but now that I do I'll be looking more closely at everything to see what else I’ve missed.