Daysleeper40
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2007
- Messages
- 526
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Friday 13th May 2011
If you have been following this trip report you will know that we had spent the previous day shopping and splashing around at Wet n Wild and I think it is safe to say that we needed that semi-rest day to gear us up for what we had in store for today - our first ever experience of the park they call Magic Kingdom.
I'm wondering if we are the only people EVER to go to Disney (back in 2007) and not go to Magic Kingdom? We had also visited three other Disney Parks on this trip before heading over to Magic Kingdom. Truth be told, I have never been all that bothered about Magic Kingdom - but M definately wanted to go on this trip and as we had 17 nights I figured we could spare the day. I had also heard so much about these Dhole Whip thingies that I just had to have one...
Our Disney experience so far this trip had been good and I'd enjoyed EPCOT way more than I thought I would so I honestly woke up looking forward to finding out what Magic Kingdom had in store. I managed to sleep a bit later but was still up before the alarm had gone off - about 6:40am . We were both up and ready waiting for the 8:10am shuttle which turned up about 10 minutes late. We arrived at EPCOT and queued for bag check for an unecessary amount of time (why does this seem to take so long at Disney?) only to find that the monorail was down for some reason. I wish they'd put some signs to that effect before bag check...
So back to bus stop 15 we went for the replacement bus service - where we just missed a bus... grrr!! Waited 15 minutes for another one to turn up which was annoying but ho hum. We then took FOREVER to get going and then to get to the TTC. Don't ask me why - general Disney slowness / transport curse in action basically. It was also Friday the 13th so I suppose it wasn't that unexpected! We did finally arrive at the TTC though and joined the throng of other people waiting for the MK monorail. We had to wait for a second one to arrive and after all this we arrived at MK at 9.45ish which was obviously quite a bit later than planned!!
First impressions - it looked busy....
But not nearly as busy as EPCOT had looked so I had to congratulate M on his "busy day planning" strategy. He was indeed right that EPCOT would be full of school parties on a Friday.
There was a sea of people on Main Street and it took some effort to battle our way through - we had rides to ride dammit!! First order of business was to be Big Thunder & Splash Mountains - the plan was to FP one and ride the other. These FP plans never seem to pan out for us though as we arrived to a 5 minute wait at Big Thunder....
So we just rode it. Got to be honest - it was a bit disappointing. It is touted as one of the "bigger" rides at Disney and we both found it VERY tame. We didn't expect it to be a thrill seekers dream but it was much slower than expected and the ride seemed a bit disjointed to me. It wasn't terrible - just didn't live up to expectations.
We were hopeful for better things at Splash mountain and I am happy to report that we both enjoyed this ride more. It was another 5-7 minute wait before we were at the front of the queue. We were suprised by this as it had seemed so busy entering the park - where the hell had all the people gone? We were not complaining though! Splash Mountain is I think a great family water ride - you only get mildly wet, the drop isn't too crazy but also not too tame - and the theming has a story to it. We decided to get the ride photo and arranged to pick it up later.
Pirates of the Carribean was up next - we saw Captain Jack outside which I was very excited about but neither of us got a picture. The ride itself was fine. A bit odd. Another Disney-esque ride that I am never fully going to understand I think. I like that they have added the Cp't Jack element - maybe they could add a few more live characters and make it a bit more interactive.
We were both a bit peckish by this point so stopped for lunch. In my exhaustive research of the food on offer at Disney I had gleaned that a lot of people enjoy Columbia Harbour House and in particular the "Lighthouse Sandwich" so this is where we headed. The whole "counter service" thing took an ABSOLUTE AGE again. We were only second in the queue as well - it's not like it was busy. Makes me wonder how the hell anyone ever gets any lunch in high season??! The slowness annoys M a lot more than me and he really didn't understand the concept of counter services. I see how it is supposed to work but the few times we attempted it - it didn't work very well! Maybe we were just unlucky...
Anyhow - we did get our things eventually and toddled off to find a table. We split the sandwhich, coleslaw & chips and then got a diet coke each and M had a chocolate cake.
Chocolate cake was a BIG hit - I tried a bit and it was lush. Worth the wait at the counter for definate. He might look like he is going to be sick in the above photo but that is his sugar hit face ... and this is what he looked like after finishing the cake:
So we had had a pretty successful morning at MK but there was still an awful lot to see.... and over lunch we decided our next stop would be Tomorrowland. We walked through Fantasyland to get there and ran into Tigger and WTP on the way which was fun. Also made M pose for this photo which I really like:
We picked up a FP for Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin and then joined the queue for Space Mountain. It was a longish wait - maybe 25 minutes and it was actually a bit cold in the queue. They have some cool games to play in the queue though which I kept winning so that passed some time! We were on shuttle No. 24 and this was probably my favourite of the mountains. M wasn't so sure but I really enjoyed it - a bit more lively than the other mountains. We were able to use our FP for Buzz straight after this and we had no wait at all which was good. This is far and away the best ride at MK in both of our opinions. Absolutely loved it - although M won again. I'm not sure how he keeps beating me at the shooter games as halfway through I was winning and he looked like this:
but by the end the scores looked like this...
NOOOOO!!!!
Enjoyed this so much and the ride photo was so funny that we had to get it - 10 out of 10 for the Buzz ride. It is class.
We had another frustrating Disney Customer Service experience at this point as M attempted to buy a Bullseye soft toy. For some reason it rang up $1 more than was on the the ticket and the CM spotted it and said he would get the extra $1 removed. I don't think either of us had actually noticed until he said but we figured ok, how long can it take? I can tell you it took a LONG time and three (count them!) CM's to sort out the erronious $1. I would have just paid the $1 had I known how long it would take. We ended up with a highly bouncy and sacharine manager type who kept telling us to "have a magical day!!!!".
Oookkaaay. I will. Once you've let me pay for this soft toy that I have been trying to buy for about 30 minutes. Oh my god - JUST TAKE THE EXTRA $1 - I DON'T CARE ANYMORE.
Sorry. I can deal with the over the top happiness most of the time - but not when you've made a huge deal over $1 and made me wait that long to buy a soft toy. Thankfully it did get sorted in the end and Bullseye made it home with us so it's all good.
I particularly wanted to go to the Haunted Mansion at this point so back to Liberty Square we went - and picked up a FP for Peter Pan on the way as this seemed to be a suprisingly popular ride. We hah a 10 minute wait at the Haunted Mansion but I loved all the theming. I like scary theming - the theming at Tower of Terror is like my dream home.
You seem to go through a very convoluted queuing system to actually get to the Haunted Mansion - I think we went through 3 rooms. The ride itself was fun - I particulalry enjoyed the dancing ghosts and the head swap at the end.
We came out of the Mansion and literally ran straing onto the Riverboat. The running didn't do the blister that was forming on my foot any favours so I had to break out the first aid kit on the deck and applied about 18 plasters hoping that would do the trick. This was a nice calm escape of a ride - although it was absolutley schorching on the top deck. I stayed out in the sun though as you get some lovely views.
It was good - highly recommended as a good use of time. I ended up a bit sweaty betty though so on leaving the boat it was time for something I had been looking forward to for AGES - a pineapple float from Aloha Isle. If you havn't had one - you must:
The queue for these was long but it was worth it. We both had pinapple whip & pineapple juice and have never experienced anything quite so refreshing!
To be continued...
Friday 13th May 2011
If you have been following this trip report you will know that we had spent the previous day shopping and splashing around at Wet n Wild and I think it is safe to say that we needed that semi-rest day to gear us up for what we had in store for today - our first ever experience of the park they call Magic Kingdom.
I'm wondering if we are the only people EVER to go to Disney (back in 2007) and not go to Magic Kingdom? We had also visited three other Disney Parks on this trip before heading over to Magic Kingdom. Truth be told, I have never been all that bothered about Magic Kingdom - but M definately wanted to go on this trip and as we had 17 nights I figured we could spare the day. I had also heard so much about these Dhole Whip thingies that I just had to have one...
Our Disney experience so far this trip had been good and I'd enjoyed EPCOT way more than I thought I would so I honestly woke up looking forward to finding out what Magic Kingdom had in store. I managed to sleep a bit later but was still up before the alarm had gone off - about 6:40am . We were both up and ready waiting for the 8:10am shuttle which turned up about 10 minutes late. We arrived at EPCOT and queued for bag check for an unecessary amount of time (why does this seem to take so long at Disney?) only to find that the monorail was down for some reason. I wish they'd put some signs to that effect before bag check...
So back to bus stop 15 we went for the replacement bus service - where we just missed a bus... grrr!! Waited 15 minutes for another one to turn up which was annoying but ho hum. We then took FOREVER to get going and then to get to the TTC. Don't ask me why - general Disney slowness / transport curse in action basically. It was also Friday the 13th so I suppose it wasn't that unexpected! We did finally arrive at the TTC though and joined the throng of other people waiting for the MK monorail. We had to wait for a second one to arrive and after all this we arrived at MK at 9.45ish which was obviously quite a bit later than planned!!
First impressions - it looked busy....
But not nearly as busy as EPCOT had looked so I had to congratulate M on his "busy day planning" strategy. He was indeed right that EPCOT would be full of school parties on a Friday.
There was a sea of people on Main Street and it took some effort to battle our way through - we had rides to ride dammit!! First order of business was to be Big Thunder & Splash Mountains - the plan was to FP one and ride the other. These FP plans never seem to pan out for us though as we arrived to a 5 minute wait at Big Thunder....
So we just rode it. Got to be honest - it was a bit disappointing. It is touted as one of the "bigger" rides at Disney and we both found it VERY tame. We didn't expect it to be a thrill seekers dream but it was much slower than expected and the ride seemed a bit disjointed to me. It wasn't terrible - just didn't live up to expectations.
We were hopeful for better things at Splash mountain and I am happy to report that we both enjoyed this ride more. It was another 5-7 minute wait before we were at the front of the queue. We were suprised by this as it had seemed so busy entering the park - where the hell had all the people gone? We were not complaining though! Splash Mountain is I think a great family water ride - you only get mildly wet, the drop isn't too crazy but also not too tame - and the theming has a story to it. We decided to get the ride photo and arranged to pick it up later.
Pirates of the Carribean was up next - we saw Captain Jack outside which I was very excited about but neither of us got a picture. The ride itself was fine. A bit odd. Another Disney-esque ride that I am never fully going to understand I think. I like that they have added the Cp't Jack element - maybe they could add a few more live characters and make it a bit more interactive.
We were both a bit peckish by this point so stopped for lunch. In my exhaustive research of the food on offer at Disney I had gleaned that a lot of people enjoy Columbia Harbour House and in particular the "Lighthouse Sandwich" so this is where we headed. The whole "counter service" thing took an ABSOLUTE AGE again. We were only second in the queue as well - it's not like it was busy. Makes me wonder how the hell anyone ever gets any lunch in high season??! The slowness annoys M a lot more than me and he really didn't understand the concept of counter services. I see how it is supposed to work but the few times we attempted it - it didn't work very well! Maybe we were just unlucky...
Anyhow - we did get our things eventually and toddled off to find a table. We split the sandwhich, coleslaw & chips and then got a diet coke each and M had a chocolate cake.
Chocolate cake was a BIG hit - I tried a bit and it was lush. Worth the wait at the counter for definate. He might look like he is going to be sick in the above photo but that is his sugar hit face ... and this is what he looked like after finishing the cake:
So we had had a pretty successful morning at MK but there was still an awful lot to see.... and over lunch we decided our next stop would be Tomorrowland. We walked through Fantasyland to get there and ran into Tigger and WTP on the way which was fun. Also made M pose for this photo which I really like:
We picked up a FP for Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin and then joined the queue for Space Mountain. It was a longish wait - maybe 25 minutes and it was actually a bit cold in the queue. They have some cool games to play in the queue though which I kept winning so that passed some time! We were on shuttle No. 24 and this was probably my favourite of the mountains. M wasn't so sure but I really enjoyed it - a bit more lively than the other mountains. We were able to use our FP for Buzz straight after this and we had no wait at all which was good. This is far and away the best ride at MK in both of our opinions. Absolutely loved it - although M won again. I'm not sure how he keeps beating me at the shooter games as halfway through I was winning and he looked like this:
but by the end the scores looked like this...
NOOOOO!!!!
Enjoyed this so much and the ride photo was so funny that we had to get it - 10 out of 10 for the Buzz ride. It is class.
We had another frustrating Disney Customer Service experience at this point as M attempted to buy a Bullseye soft toy. For some reason it rang up $1 more than was on the the ticket and the CM spotted it and said he would get the extra $1 removed. I don't think either of us had actually noticed until he said but we figured ok, how long can it take? I can tell you it took a LONG time and three (count them!) CM's to sort out the erronious $1. I would have just paid the $1 had I known how long it would take. We ended up with a highly bouncy and sacharine manager type who kept telling us to "have a magical day!!!!".
Oookkaaay. I will. Once you've let me pay for this soft toy that I have been trying to buy for about 30 minutes. Oh my god - JUST TAKE THE EXTRA $1 - I DON'T CARE ANYMORE.
Sorry. I can deal with the over the top happiness most of the time - but not when you've made a huge deal over $1 and made me wait that long to buy a soft toy. Thankfully it did get sorted in the end and Bullseye made it home with us so it's all good.
I particularly wanted to go to the Haunted Mansion at this point so back to Liberty Square we went - and picked up a FP for Peter Pan on the way as this seemed to be a suprisingly popular ride. We hah a 10 minute wait at the Haunted Mansion but I loved all the theming. I like scary theming - the theming at Tower of Terror is like my dream home.
You seem to go through a very convoluted queuing system to actually get to the Haunted Mansion - I think we went through 3 rooms. The ride itself was fun - I particulalry enjoyed the dancing ghosts and the head swap at the end.
We came out of the Mansion and literally ran straing onto the Riverboat. The running didn't do the blister that was forming on my foot any favours so I had to break out the first aid kit on the deck and applied about 18 plasters hoping that would do the trick. This was a nice calm escape of a ride - although it was absolutley schorching on the top deck. I stayed out in the sun though as you get some lovely views.
It was good - highly recommended as a good use of time. I ended up a bit sweaty betty though so on leaving the boat it was time for something I had been looking forward to for AGES - a pineapple float from Aloha Isle. If you havn't had one - you must:
The queue for these was long but it was worth it. We both had pinapple whip & pineapple juice and have never experienced anything quite so refreshing!
To be continued...
