Our
first full day of Disney started pretty early in the morning on our second day
of actually being in Florida. We got up as early as we could and went to the
food court in our resort for breakfast. My breakfast included a waffle in the
shape of Mickey Mouse, two bacon strips, two sausage links, hash browns, a
biscuit and scrambled eggs. This sounds amazing (which it totally was), but it
was a good thing we had about a half an hour ride on the shuttle bus to Magic
Kingdom because I could hardly walk from how full I felt. Even though it was
only about 9:45 by the time we caught a bus, the bus was almost empty. (If I
ever go again, I would definitely try to leave earlier, but you live and you
learn.) Once we got off the shuttle, we walked through a huge crowd of people
to the front gate, which looked a lot different than I had pictured it. After
waiting in line for some time, we had to tap our superhero bracelets and scan
our fingerprints. Just a heads up: you have to scan the same finger at every
park, so try not to forget…like I did.
We got
into the park and walked through this little tunnel with some really cool
lit-up artwork on the walls. It opened up to Main Street and, since it was
still Christmastime, a circle of giant Christmas trees and towers of Christmas
present figurines. You can’t even imagine how big everything is until you’ve
actually been there. We started to make our way down beautiful Main Street, but
before we could get very far, we were being rushed out of the street and onto
the sidewalks by the Disney park employees. (They were kind of rude, actually,
but I’m sure they have to be for this level of crowd control).
The
parade that came through was really energizing and seemed like something that
people needed as a “pick-me-up” in the middle of the day. The parade and crowd
sort of pushed us toward our destination of Cinderella’s castle. This was the
second time I got a little teary because you see so many pictures of this
iconic building, but the details and shimmer that you can only see in person
make it fantastically beautiful. However, this woman (whom my sister deemed
“pink lady”) was super tall, all decked out in pink, and taking pictures with
her iPad high above her head…right in front of us. This is to be expected in
Disney, of course, but she somehow managed to pop up in every single picture
that we took. It remains a mystery to me, but she’ll always be a part of our
memorabilia now.
We
moved on over the bridge and through the tunnel of the castle, where the walls
were covered in murals that mimicked stained-glass of some of the classic
princess tales. It opened up to a few little stores, one of which we visited
briefly. (I believe it was “Jack and the Beanstalk” themed). The first thing we
decided to do was pursue our “Disneyworld staples” ride list and wait in line
for “It’s a Small World,” which ended up being way faster than we had expected.
While we were waiting in line though, we did see Clinton Kelley from “What Not
to Wear,” but he passed too quickly for me and my sister to say anything.
Anyway, my dad hates rides but offered to come on this one with us. It was so
grand, detailed, and ahead of its time for a classic ride. I expected my dad to
hate it, just because there were so many dolls involved, but he was equally as
impressed as we were. The ride itself was also much longer than I had imagined,
making it more than worth the wait.
We
proceeded to Frontierland, where my sister toppled over a wooden fence by
tripping over a rock. Once she recovered, we took the Frontierland Railroad to
Fantasyland. Sarah and I waited in line for a ride called “The Barnstormer,”
which was like a baby rollercoaster that we chose to be the only somewhat
thrill of the day. My dad waited by the circus-themed fountain things where
kids were playing and passerby were slipping and falling on the wet stone. This
was by far the longest wait of the day with less of a payoff, but the ride
itself was pretty fun. If the line hadn’t been a full ninety minutes and the
ride were thirty seconds longer, it would have been more worthwhile. Since we
were starving, we decided to eat at the next place that we saw and ended up
braving a crowded diner right around the corner in Tomorrowland. It was insane,
but once you received your food, the employees seated you, so we hardly had to
wait at all. The dining room housed a huge animatronic dinosaur/alien that
acted as a keyboardist and lounge singer. I found that pretty entertaining.
They’re not kidding when they say that EVERYTHING in Disney considered an
attraction.
After lunch, we went on the Carousel of
Progress, which is rumored to have been Walt Disney’s favorite ride. It took
place in a rotating theater where there was an animatronic demonstration of a
typical household for each decade. My sister and dad weren’t thrilled, but I
really enjoyed it. (It was also air-conditioned). My sister finally gave into
my begging, so we went back to Fantasyland and rode the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party,
which again had a shorter line than I was expecting. We also ran into Alice and
the White Rabbit while we were over there, so it was definitely worth the
venture back. We then walked through the rest of Fantasyland, passing by
Ariel’s Grotto, Belle’s cottage and coming around to Gaston’s Taverne. At that
point, we were back at Main Street, between the Pinocchio Village Hause and
Peter Pan’s Flight, facing the carousel.
Finally,
we reached Adventureland, which actually might have been my favorite. When you
enter, it looks like you’ve walked into the marketplace in Aladdin, and then
you turn the corner and you’re in Tortuga from the “Pirates” movies! First, we
convinced my dad to accompany us on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride (which
gave him a run for his money with his heart condition. Oops). We were more than
willing to wait the full ninety minutes to get on this legendary ride, but we
walked through the entire line in what felt like ten minutes. The ride itself
was on the shorter side, but every bit of it was over the top amazing-it was
impossible to take everything in! My sister and I waited in a relatively short
line to go on the Flying Carpets, which was totally fun and slightly tricky
with the joysticks. We then did a little shopping in the Agrabah Bazaar, which
felt totally authentic and where we also got to see Aladdin and Jasmine. It’s
official…the most attractive people in America play these princes and
princesses.
We got
to stop for some pineapple floats that were super refreshing as the night
began. My dad wanted to climb the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House, and despite
being in flip flops, I went along with it. I liked it ten times more than I
thought I would. My sister, who hates heights, and my dad, who was tired by the
time he got to the top, liked it less, but I loved seeing all of the details in
the tree house and getting to see all of the buildings lit up at night from
atop a giant tree.
Since
we skipped dinner, we stopped for corn dogs (which my sister temporarily broke
her vegetarianism for) and egg rolls…and yes, we got these from the same stand!
We then got on a gorgeous, white, triple-decker riverboat that gave us a
mini-tour. It was kind of creepily pretty in the dark and I really liked it. We
made a popcorn stop after that before heading into a store to purchase the one
item I had seen that morning that I knew I couldn’t leave without…a Sully
pillowpet. I had it sent to my room so I didn’t have to keep track of it all
night. Another perk of the superhero bracelets. Before we knew it, it was nine
p.m.-time for the Electric Parade. We finally found a spot to watch the parade
(which actually proved to be pretty difficult). I know I just keep saying how
awe-inspiringly gorgeous everything was, but when they shut off all the lights
on Main Street, turn on the artificial snow and sent out these floats and
dancers covered in animated neon lights, it quickly becomes one of the most
amazing sights of the day when you’re not expecting it. The parade lasted for
about fifteen minutes and then the mass of people started walking back towards
Cinderella’s castle. We expected to stand and wait for a while, seeing as the
fireworks weren’t scheduled to start until ten p.m., but we were very
surprised. We stood for about five minutes when a projection show called “Believe
in the Magic” began. They projected montages and arranged clips from almost
every animated Disney movie onto the actual castle! Because we weren’t
expecting this portion at all, it was a seriously pleasant surprise that was, of
course, very well-done. At the end, Tinkerbell came down from the top balcony
of the castle on a sliding wire. It was insane! I’m still not sure how they did
it or any of the details, but I’d love to find out.
This
was the signal of the start of the fireworks show, which I hardly need to tell
you was a beautiful and perfect ending to the day. Getting out of the park
right after the show was one of the biggest challenges of the trip, mostly
because no one was going toward the gates! We were quite literally some fish
swimming upstream. Like, hello? Where are you going? Despite fighting the crowd
to escape, the bus wasn’t all that crowded to get back to the hotel. As soon as
I sat down on the bus, I realized the intense pain in my feet. I guess my adrenaline
and excitement kept the pain at bay. The rest of the night was tame. We picked
up some snacks from the food court, showered, and went to bed. I also didn’t realize
how tired I was until I hit the sheets. Another side effect of Disney vacations.
Anyway, the next installment is about Epcot (and will be on its way muchhhhhh
sooner), so stay tuned!
Peace and love,
Em
