Welcome, Foolish Muggles! IoA/US/MK/SW *July 2013 Trip Report Link*

[natebenma]

Whew, all caught up. Thanks for the chapter links it helped. I cannot wait to hear about your one day at MK, it must've been awesome! Is City Walk kind of like Downtown Disney - food and shops? I have been to Orlando so many times but mostly just to Disney property. The food at the concierge level looked really good, I would like if Disney CL had to go options like granola bars and chips. It looks like there was actually food too - did I see pasta at dinner time? The dessert looked really good too!

Oh, good, I'm glad the links helped!

Yes, City Walk is kind of like Downtown Disney- more of a place for eating and evening entertainment than shopping, though.

The evening offerings at the lounge were more like dinner foods- yes, that was pasta. There were a couple of choices. I found that at the Beach Club concierge, there were more choices of appetizer-type goodies. We only made it to the Portofino lounge for the evening offerings once during our trip.

The start of our MK day is coming up tomorrow.

 

[natebenma]

We walked from the Contemporary Resort parking lot to the Magic Kingdom turnstiles.

We had paper vouchers, so we needed to stop at Guest Relations to turn our vouchers into tickets. We had about 10 minutes to rent a locker before the Opening Show started, so we did that (locker 305) and stowed our backpack (change of clothes, ponchos) away.

We had a pretty bad vantage point for the opening show. As soon as the “ropes” were dropped, we melted into the crowd of people and made our entrance onto Main Street USA.

Warning: The following post contains some serious, hard core touring. People with heart conditions, women who are expecting and anyone with small children should avoid this section of the report.

Do NOT attempt this on vacation!

Those of you who joined in on my previous trip report know that we have a serious Disney commando reputation to uphold:

From 2009, we have “Hey Tara, I’m headed to my 4th park of the day”
Last year’s installments from our two mornings at Magic Kingdom were:
I promise the boys 3 Mountains and an Island by 11 am. Can I deliver?
and my family’s personal favorite: Double Triple Mountain Whammy!


Will we be able to live up to our past personal accomplishments with our one day at MK? Will we make it until dark at the park? And is there any hope of passing along touring expertise to our children?


Of all of my husband’s admirable traits (there are many), his ability to maximize fast passes may be my favorite! His belief that you should not let a minute expire once your new FP window is open, and being able to plan so that we are in the right place at the right time, are great qualities.

As card carrying commandos, we of course discussed our strategy in advance. Peter Pan is usually our first stop when we are doing EMH. Peter Pan- you have to either hit this early, or get a Fast Pass, or both. Do not wait in the stand-by line here!!! The line is hot. The line is boring. The wait time board LIES!!!

Unfortunately, in the past, we have been screwed getting a FP here- we always end up with the maximum 2 hour window when we pull one, shutting us out from further gathering.

But still, the strategy we discussed for this morning was for Mark to pull FP for Peter Pan, the boys and I would walk over to Big Thunder, and meet Mark there, to ride.

When Mark arrived with FP in hand, he informed us that we could pull another FP in 40 minutes!!! Score! He also had a bonus FP for Mickey’s Philharmagic.


We had asked Ben a couple of weeks before our trip, hypothetically, IF we were going to Disney World, what would he like to do most. He said our question was cruel (since we were not going), but he answered anyway- BTM. This is a family favorite. So much fun!

BTM was a walk-on.

Then we travelled next door to Splash- also a walk-on.

When the ride was over, it was almost time to pull another FP- maybe a minute or so to go. So we waited at the machine and pulled a FP for Splash when it was time.

Big Thunder Mountain was still a walk-on, so we rode that again.

Our rollercoaster junkie was getting antsy to ride Space Mountain, so we started to make our way to Tomorrowland.

Along the way, we stopped off at Haunted Mansion. They have new, interactive monuments, activities, etc. in the queue line. I think. We didn’t have time to explore, because we were let right into the stretching room, but here is one of the new pieces.

Here’s a picture of how the Fantasyland construction is coming along- I think this is Belle’s castle?

By the time we made it to Space Mountain, it was time to pull another FP, so we got one to ride Space again. Up to this point, the FPs window time was around 40 minutes. Next one would be available at 11:45, right around lunchtime.

The stand-by line for Space Mountain was probably 15-20 minutes.

The interactive games in line were operating, so the boys tried one of them

After Space Mountain, we rode Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. I don’t know what Ben hit, but his score was pretty decent!

At this point, I will spend a little time explaining that Universal and Disney have finally started to take steps to eliminate “Red Neck Ride Photos”. This is when you are viewing your picture taken by the theme park staff while on a ride, and you snap a picture of the picture instead of paying the ridiculous $12 or $15 or whatever it is to take home this souvenir. I will admit that I always feel guilty when I try to sneak a picture of one of these, but I do it anyway. I noticed at Universal that they are running words across the pictures- “You can view and purchase this photos at blah,blah,blah" I thought this was pretty smart of them, and wondered why Disney hadn’t joined the bandwagon. Well, it seems they have. They don’t have the words quite as quickly or frequently as the ones at Universal, but it certainly makes it harder to get a decent photo.


We were right by another family favorite, the Peoplemover- I love that there is never a wait for this peaceful tour of Tomorrowland. I love the views you get on this ride and the corny narration/soundtrack. Apparently others do too, because there was a furor when some of the script was changed (paging Mr. Morrow, Mr. Tom Morrow) and the original dialogue was restored.

When we were finished with that, Nate decided he wanted to stash his hat at the locker, so he and Mark went to do that, and we made plans to meet back at Pirates of the Caribbean.

On our way to Adventure land, I snapped a couple of pictures of the castle:

When Mark and Nate returned, Mark told me “You can’t go to the front of the park!” “Why not?” Apparently, there were a lot of people coming into the park who needed some serious touring/park assistance, and Mark was afraid that if I went there, I would be trying to give (unsolicited but sorely needed) advice. “You can’t help them”, he said sadly.

The line for Pirates looked pretty long, so we decided to not to ride at this time, and instead head for lunch at Columbia Harbor House.

Next up: I got a pocket, got a pocket full of FP!

 

[AprilRenee]

Awesome! I applaud your touring strategy and FP pick ups! DH and I love to tour the same way. We skip the big rides though so it's not QUITE as important. Buy we aren't as good as you guys with the FP pick ups!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

OMG our DHs are so similiar. My DH (also Marc but w/ a c), it must be the name LOL will also know exactly when it's time to get more FP and know when to get one or not. Too funny.
Although we are not commandos meaning we don't go morning til night,but will get all major rides done before 11:00 am!!! With no long waits. We even accomplished this on Spring break I was amazed.
I loved your picture of the castle with the reflection in the water. I have a similiar picture it looks so peaceful.
We also love riding on the Peoplemover I still call it that too. What's the new name?
Only 9 more days!!!

 

[natebenma]

Awesome! I applaud your touring strategy and FP pick ups! DH and I love to tour the same way. We skip the big rides though so it's not QUITE as important. Buy we aren't as good as you guys with the FP pick ups!

Collecting FP and efficient touring are part of our enjoyment of a day at the Magic Kingdom. We love strategizing. My DH even wonders if he would enjoy going at a less crowded time of year if there is no challenge.

OMG our DHs are so similiar. My DH (also Marc but w/ a c), it must be the name LOL will also know exactly when it's time to get more FP and know when to get one or not. Too funny.
Although we are not commandos meaning we don't go morning til night,but will get all major rides done before 11:00 am!!! With no long waits. We even accomplished this on Spring break I was amazed.
I loved your picture of the castle with the reflection in the water. I have a similiar picture it looks so peaceful.
We also love riding on the Peoplemover I still call it that too. What's the new name?
Only 9 more days!!!

I have a brother Marc. So we have to refer to Mark with a K and marc with a C.

We are usually leaving the MK by 2 or 3 when we are staying on site- we had never been at night before, so making it to dark was one of our goals this year.

Thanks for your comments about my picture- the castle is just so beautiful from so many angles!

Tommorrowland Transit Authority.

How exciting that your trip is so close! In a couple of days, you can start playing the "one week from today" game.

 

[DrMomof3]

Wow Dee! This is definitely not our pace but I wish it were. Give me a few more years to train the kids properly!

Amanda

 

[WsPrincess]

Dee, I wish your DH could teach mine about FP. I have been planning this trip for 5 months and have things laid out but he won't even look at things. He thinks he is just going to go and have a good time. He also thinks waiting in line for an hour for a ride is OK (we live near Cedar Point) but with toddlers that is not going to make for a fun day. I want him to get into the challenge! Maybe after the first day.

 

[dtr_angel]

wow, you are amazing at getting around a Disney park - my hats off to you. I can't believe how many FPs & rides you've managed already. And really, what is the deal with Peter Pan? Why is the standby 70-90 minutes and the FP always gone early in the day?

 

[Missyrose]

Warning: The following post contains some serious, hard core touring. People with heart conditions, women who are expecting and anyone with small children should avoid this section of the report.

Do NOT attempt this on vacation!


Will we be able to live up to our past personal accomplishments with our one day at MK? Will we make it until dark at the park? And is there any hope of passing along touring expertise to our children?


Of all of my husband’s admirable traits (there are many), his ability to maximize fast passes may be my favorite! His belief that you should not let a minute expire once your new FP window is open, and being able to plan so that we are in the right place at the right time, are great qualities.

I think commando touring gets a bad rap. I like to think of it as "touring with purpose."

That purpose being to ride as many freakin' rides as possible!

You guys seem well on your way to accomplishing your goals for the day, can't wait to hear how the rest of the day went.

 

[natebenma]

Wow Dee! This is definitely not our pace but I wish it were. Give me a few more years to train the kids properly!

Amanda

As I say above, this is not for families with small children. But you will have your chance when they get older!

Dee, I wish your DH could teach mine about FP. I have been planning this trip for 5 months and have things laid out but he won't even look at things. He thinks he is just going to go and have a good time. He also thinks waiting in line for an hour for a ride is OK (we live near Cedar Point) but with toddlers that is not going to make for a fun day. I want him to get into the challenge! Maybe after the first day.

I'm glad that we work together at it. Like you said, once you are there, maybe you can turn him into a FP runner.

I swear, I think Mark starts twitching if our FP window comes up and we are not in the process of pulling our next one!

wow, you are amazing at getting around a Disney park - my hats off to you. I can't believe how many FPs & rides you've managed already. And really, what is the deal with Peter Pan? Why is the standby 70-90 minutes and the FP always gone early in the day?

You know my mantra: EARLY, EARLY, EARLY!

It also helps if you know the secret paths BTW- we really like exiting Tomorrowland through the Terrace Noodle Station when we are heading to Main Street- bathrooms there are not crowded, either.

Two words on Peter Pan: Low Capacity - the hourly put through (number of riders) is pathetic! Plus, it is a ride everyone can do. Not fast, not scary, no height requirements. And it is just so darn cute!

I think commando touring gets a bad rap. I like to think of it as "touring with purpose."

That purpose being to ride as many freakin' rides as possible!

You guys seem well on your way to accomplishing your goals for the day, can't wait to hear how the rest of the day went.

A member of our group will voice those very sentiments before the end of the afternoon!

 

[pixarmom]

Hi Dee!

We're back from a couple days out of town and I'm finally catching up on your report! I had to pull everyone over to the computer to see your outstanding photo of the stroller/huge stuffed animal with the equally outstanding caption from a few days ago. Hilarious and appreciated by our entire household!

The MK surprise day is just wonderful. That photo of Nate smiling is priceless - if it made me that happy, I can only imagine how you and Mark must have loved that moment! And well done at MK! We approve - reminds us of the non-rider swap strategy that we will soon need to employ! Our rider swap days are ending soon, so the boys can no longer ride SM without a wait four times in a day (that's two FPs, two rider swaps.)

We all spend a good amount of time talking "strategy" but it's now a bit out of hand - the boys are now setting the goal of being first on each major ride at rope drop. They were two for two at DL last summer and then it just continued. (This is part of the reason we're taking a break from the parks and trying a cruise.) And while Mike is the #1 proponent of a break from the parks, he enjoys some friendly competition and is definitely guilty of running at rope drop - it's definitely not just the boys!

Can't wait to see the rest of the day!

 

[natebenma]

Hi Dee!

We're back from a couple days out of town and I'm finally catching up on your report! I had to pull everyone over to the computer to see your outstanding photo of the stroller/huge stuffed animal with the equally outstanding caption from a few days ago. Hilarious and appreciated by our entire household!

The MK surprise day is just wonderful. That photo of Nate smiling is priceless - if it made me that happy, I can only imagine how you and Mark must have loved that moment! And well done at MK! We approve - reminds us of the non-rider swap strategy that we will soon need to employ! Our rider swap days are ending soon, so the boys can no longer ride SM without a wait four times in a day (that's two FPs, two rider swaps.)

We all spend a good amount of time talking "strategy" but it's now a bit out of hand - the boys are now setting the goal of being first on each major ride at rope drop. They were two for two at DL last summer and then it just continued. (This is part of the reason we're taking a break from the parks and trying a cruise.) And while Mike is the #1 proponent of a break from the parks, he enjoys some friendly competition and is definitely guilty of running at rope drop - it's definitely not just the boys!

Can't wait to see the rest of the day!

Missed you! Glad to have you back here!

I'm pleased your family enjoyed the Sea World photo. Can you imagine how much money went into the purchase or win of those huge stuffed animals?

Our MK day was so much fun! All day long Mark had a smile on his face!

First one to step foot on Castaway Cay???

 

[eandesmom]

Most impressive fast pass planning!



I would expect nothing less. Can't wait to see how the rest of it play out!

 

[natebenma]

Thanks! We were extremely happy with the morning.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Man, I thought I was good at collecting Fastpasses but you guys are the bomb! Is that still a "cool" saying....the bomb? Oh well, I never said I was cool anyway.

 

[jenneth79]

Wow, Dee, you guys look like you have the FP plans down! This will be my first trip to Disney w/ FP, so I'm taking copious notes!

Also, that picture you got of Cinderella Castle from across the water... absolutely gorgeous!

 

[natebenma]

Man, I thought I was good at collecting Fastpasses but you guys are the bomb! Is that still a "cool" saying....the bomb? Oh well, I never said I was cool anyway.

I think it's "Da Bomb", but I'm so lame that I still say lame all the time, so I wouldn't trust my opinion on cool!

Wow, Dee, you guys look like you have the FP plans down! This will be my first trip to Disney w/ FP, so I'm taking copious notes!

Also, that picture you got of Cinderella Castle from across the water... absolutely gorgeous!

We love Fast Pass! The most important thing to remember is that you do NOT need to use the FP within the time printed on the ticket.

Thanks for your kind words about the photo!

 

[LovintheLodge]

We love Fast Pass! The most important thing to remember is that you do NOT need to use the FP within the time printed on the ticket.

We've used the fast pass a lot too, but we need to really become experts like Mark!! Sounds like a great morning at MK.

Kerry

 

[natebenma]

We've used the fast pass a lot too, but we need to really become experts like Mark!! Sounds like a great morning at MK.

Kerry

It was a really great morning! We are so familiar with the park that it is just second nature for us and we automatically know what we should do next.

 

[natebenma]

We arrived at Columbia Harbor House, and I think the time to pull the next FP was in 5-7 minutes. BTM or Jungle Cruise? I suggested Jungle Cruise since we had already been on BTM that day. I reminded Mark that there is a passageway between Frontierland and Adventureland right around the Country Bears show. He gave me his order for lunch and off he went.


This meal was going to be a do-over for me. Last year I made a mistake when I ordered my meal here. I had my heart set on the yummy tuna sandwich, so when I got to the register I said “Lighthouse Sandwich, please”. Only problem is, the Lighthouse is the hummus sandwich, the tuna is the Anchor’s Aweigh. Mark asked me why I didn’t just say tuna sandwich.

I don’t know!

This year I correctly ordered the sandwich I wanted. But I made other mistakes…

As soon as I paid, I realized that I had forgotten to order the apple cobbler that Nate really wanted. So I gave him some money and sent him to another line.

Ben wanted chicken tenders. When I ordered them, the CM at the register asked if I wanted the kid’s meal. I am trying to get Ben to cut back on what he eats, so I said “Yes”. When our food was ready, and Ben saw the kid’s meal, he complained that I had ordered him the wrong thing. Went back to the register and explained my mistake. They charged me the difference between the two meals and when I tried to return the original one, they said they couldn’t take it back. So I ended up with two meals. More food! That backfired on me! Exactly the opposite of what I was trying to do!


By the time all of this order chaos was done and our meals were ready, Mark was back with the FPs.

We carried our meals upstairs. I didn’t take any pictures of the dining area this year, but it is worth seeing for those of you who have not eaten there before, so I will post pictures I took last year:

The atmosphere relaxing and there is a lot of interesting Colonial/Nautical décor to look at.


These are the meals we ordered this year. Sorry some of them are blurry

Fried Shrimp (Mark)

Tuna Sandwich (Me)

Mac and Cheese and Apple Cobbler (Nate)

Chicken and Chicken (Ben)

Last year, when we finished our meal at CHH, we took a picture of the FPs we had gathered that morning, when we realized we had been on all 3 Mountains AND we had FP for all 3 Mountains (all before 11:30 am)- it was a Double Triple Mountain Whammy!


This year, our FP collection looked like this:

I got a pocket, got a pocket full of Fast Pass!

Next up: Awesome Afternoon at MK