May 2018 Trip Report – Magic Kingdom!

Wednesday

Magic Kingdom

Wednesday opened up with clear skies and the promise to be a bit warmer since the cloud cover that kept us cooler yesterday was gone. And the park was pretty crowded, but it would turn out, not really any kind of problem, even with our spur of the moment touring strategy.

First got in and watched the Main Street U.S.A. street performers. Then onto the Hub where we watched a bit of the Castle show, and I got a couple of shots of the hub statues. I got good shots of Pluto, Pinocchio, Dumbo, and Minnie. I wanted to shoot them all but just not enough time. Forget shooting the Partners statue – way too many all over it. Sometimes I get the sense that people would climb all over it – or is that just me?

I did get a couple of cool shots of Cinderella Castle reflected in sunglasses. I’ve seen that shot done before for various things, and some great Disney shots, so I figured why not.

it’s a small world got us started. Since our kids’ ages are spread pretty widely, we had a touring/FP+ strategy that tried to incorporate attractions for our 6 year old and also those of us who wanted to do some of the more headliner attractions. Starting at it’s a small world works pretty well for us because we all like the “old school” or supposedly little kid attractions, and was a great way to start. I’ve probably said this before, but I really enjoy how my kids still like Disney things they’ve supposedly outgrown. We did standby and the line wasn’t bad – maybe 10-15 minutes.

From there we headed to Big Thunder Mountain FP, and 4 of us did that – the 6 year old isn’t quite ready, but she’s so rambunctious that for all I know she’d probably scream with joy the whole time. Probably next time. It was a first ride for our 12 year old, and she loved it. What she noticed, and I bet others do too, is just how much there is to see on that ride, even though you’re moving up and down and through the turns. And the views when you come in and out. I can see why that ride has remained so popular. While we were moving around that area I was able to get some shots looking toward Big Thunder Mountain and Tom Sawyer’s Island, and I think they’ll turn out pretty good.

Next was lunch at Pecos Bill’s. This was our first time back since the menu change, and I have to say I thought it was pretty good. I’m not a sophisticated food critic, so I guess you have to screw up pretty bad for me to think food is terrible, but I got the sense the changes met mixed reviews. Our food was good – we ordered a few things and split stuff, and the fixings bar was still pretty good. The nachos were really good for supposed fast food kind of setting. Still one of my favorite places to eat in the Magic Kingdom. By the way, I love that sitting area that looks like an old southwest town. I always have, and maybe it’s some of the small scale similarities with the Mexico pavilion. Whatever, I love them both.

From there we went Under the Sea. The wait wasn’t too bad, and we passed the time enjoying the queue – I think the Imagineers did a great job with it, just as they have with newer attractions or re-imagined ride queues. They do a good job keeping guests entertained, and they’ve improved getting guests out of the sun. The little ship artifacts and the talking Scuttle character are good features. But I don’t know about y’all, but if I had to listen to Scuttle too many times in a row I’d need a drink afterwards. But the attraction itself was a hit once again with everyone in our group, young and old alike.

I was using the Lines app to monitor probable/posted wait times, and we decided to do Dumbo next. We maybe waited 10 minutes, and it was great. I was in the last car with our 12 year old, and could see everyone else ahead of us. So as we rode, I could see our oldest, all the way down to our youngest, and in a strange way it gave me a view of what all these years look like on a Disney ride. I was happy to have all of them there and experience the joy of a great vacation and watching them have so much fun, but also reflect on how blessed I’ve been to have such a great family. The time has really flown by. And I was determined to soak it in.

Leave it to a timeless attraction like Dumbo to bring out those thoughts. I think of those things from time to time, not just at Disney, but Disney trips certainly evoke more of that, since you and your kids are more likely to act young, whatever that means, as you’re visiting the parks and resorts.

Which brings me to a mini tangent from this tangent – I kept seeing t-shirts that said “Most Expensive Day Ever” usually paired with “Best Day Ever”, with the writing being in the Disney font type. Are the expensive day t-shirts bragging, or complaining, or is it a joke I don’t get? Now, if you have these shirts or like them, don’t be offended, but I don’t understand. Yes, any day at Disney is probably going to be rather expensive, but if you don’t feel it’s worth it, do something else. I feel it’s money and time well spent. So I’d have to side with the best day ever version.

Then we moved on to the PeopleMover, practically no wait. This one’s become a recent favorite of ours. It’s a great way to get off your feet and see parts of Tomorrowland, and also get some great views of the Castle. From there we went to Carousel of Progress, also no wait. I mean, we pretty much walked off PeopleMover and into the Carousel of Progress theater. I understand people wanting to go to Space Mountain or Buzz Lightyear, but I don’t get practically zero crowds. Our kids are as much “today’s generation” when it comes to technology or whatever, but they’re suckers for Carousel of Progress – even the final scene, which I agree could maybe use an update. But at the same time I look at that scene as one of the others, a look back at recent groundbreaking technology, rather than expecting the final scene to bring us totally up to date.

We made our way back to Winnie the Pooh FP, a classic ride for us, because the Winnie the Pooh movie was a favorite of mine as a boy, and all our kids have loved it, and also the attraction. I thought we’d encountered disaster when we stayed longer in the gift shop than usual – there were multiple things getting picked up, looked at, discussed. I thought we were bound for an expensive gift shop encounter, but false alarm! We made it out unscathed.

Next up was FP for Peter Pan’s Flight, a good thing too because there was probably an hour wait for the attraction. I was hoping to get some good photos here, but it wasn’t to be. This ride moves so fast and is so dark, most autofocus systems don’t work well, or at all. So that leaves you with my biggest shortcoming as a photographer – manual focus. So I got in our ship, sat down, got what I hoped was good focus, and shot away. I’d later discover that the shots were just awful – but it was fun to try, and one day I’ll get some good shots in there. The good news is I can tell that the ISO and aperture I picked were good – I think I had too slow a shutter speed, and that, plus my crummy focus skills doomed those shots. But you’re riding Peter Pan’s Flight, and it’s a classic attraction for a reason. Maybe not a must do for everyone at Magic Kingdom, but it’s one I think you need to do often.

It was getting late in the afternoon, so we made our way to Gaston’s Tavern for cinnamon rolls. Splitting one of these is a good option – not too much money and everyone can have a little bit without eating too much. There must have been a great demand for ice water at the counter, because they had an area to the side with ice water and cups already there – just walk in, grab, and go. On this trip we definitely did a better job on not wasting money on food and drinks. We could have saved even more, and probably will try next time, but at least we took advantage where we could.

Enchanted Tales with Belle came next. Standby was less than 15 minutes. And once again, a very well themed queue and holding area. I think the best part of the whole thing is when the mirror transforms into the door, and the animatronics or whatever you call them are very well done. For this time they picked our 6 year old daughter to be the Beast, and later during the story, when Belle and Beast get ready to dance, our daughter’s curtsey got “aaawww’s” from the crowd and Belle. Definitely one of those moments I’ll always remember.

We waited to do Tomorrowland Speedway when it was later in the day – it’s was still pretty hot but not nearly as bad as it would have been had we gone around 3-4 o’clock. I rode with our youngest, so I pressed the gas pedal while she steered. She did surprisingly well, very little of that EXTREMELY jarring side to side you sometimes see. She had a ball and kept saying “I’m driving, I’m driving!” Funny how the smell of the cars running brings back years past – I love this attraction and know someday something will take its place, and I’ll really be disappointed, but I love it as is. At the same time, I can’t help but wonder how the Cast Members don’t pass out from heat stroke or keel over from the engine exhaust fumes.

We headed over to the Laugh Floor for another relatively short wait. This is another one that we enjoy time after time, even if 99% of the jokes are the same, they’re still funny, and the kids really like it. I didn’t think we’d like this franchise, but like many of the other Disney/Pixar movies, etc., they have a way of drawing you in. One of the best parts of this show is when they engage the crowd, and you never know what may happen.

From there, it was time to head to Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner. I was able to sneak in some shots along the way, and if I’d known how long we’d wait for our table, I’d have gone out for a while. I love Liberty Tree Tavern. I love the building, all the rooms – you name it. I love the stairs going up to the restrooms that give that almost vertigo inducing view of the lobby. But man were they running behind seating guests. Thankfully they had the paper and crayons for the kids, but seating was even scarce. I guess we got seated about 25 minutes later than our reservation time. Not sure how common this is – I don’t remember ever having this happen before. But the food was great. The service was very mediocre – not very prompt or attentive, which is unusual for us to experience at any Disney restaurant. I’m going to chalk it up to the guy being busy – it looked like he was working a pretty big section.

After dinner we headed to the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, and if I had to say, this is my least favorite attraction in the Magic Kingdom, next to Stitch’s Great Escape. Maybe unfair, but it’s just never done it for me. But everyone else likes it, so off we went. Thankfully the wait was near zero. Everyone was at the Hub getting ready for the projection show and fireworks.

Which leads me to the next thing – that morning I left my tripod at Animal Kingdom Lodge! So there went my chance to shoot Happily Ever After. But really, that wasn’t a big deal since we had another Magic Kingdom day scheduled, and I could shoot then. And we were all worn out. We’d had a great day, but we were ready to get back to Animal Kingdom Lodge. So we left during Happily Ever After, taking one of the side exit areas Cast Members directed us through. We left by going between Crystal Palace and Casey’s, backstage, then out. It was a neat look backstage, albeit short, and a super fast way of getting out. We beat the crowds out and got back to Animal Kingdom Lodge. And as a bonus, I shot some handheld fireworks long exposures, so a bit bumpy. and also shot some “light trails” in the bus waiting area. One day it would be really neat to setup a tripod out there and get some light trails from the buses. I hope to get to do that someday.

A great overall day, just as you’d expect any time visiting Magic Kingdom.

According to Apple Watch stats, 18,083 steps, 8 miles even. I can believe it.