NEVER, Neverland
After a good night’s sleep, we woke up bright and early, excited to begin our fun!
I got up and prepared the park bags. We'd be carrying a backpack that had some snacks, wipes, diapers, etc that we’d keep close by. DW had a bag with some extra snacks and things that we’d leave with the stroller once getting through security. We also had water bottles, for each of us that we could hang from the stroller.
We made it over to the TTC and loaded onto the tram. It seemed like we were a little far back... we were in the Simba section, just past the row of trees. I didn’t realize the TTC was undergoing so much construction that the trams weren’t going all the way in. We hopped on the tram, rolled a few hundred feet towards the TTC and then stopped to get off. It saved us SOME walking.
Ok, I think I’m done with the trams.
We got through security easily and headed to the Ferryboat. It was still only about 8:15 so we were making good time and in good shape. We found a spot under the shade and waited to board the boat. It was a slow process that morning, and it seemed like they were only running 2 of the boats so the crowd had really gathered before the next boat pulled in to load.
I was pushing the stroller toward the boat in what felt like the running of the bulls.
I am mindful of my stroller. I leave room in front of it to keep from clipping heels.
All I’m gonna say is that if you see that open space and care to make it your space, I’m not going to worry about YOUR heels.
I had a lady cut right in front of me just before we made it to the choke point at the gate leading to the boat. She pretty much jumped over R to get in front of my stroller.
And she was carrying a baby. Then she turned around and started yelling for her mom who attempted to do the same thing and squeeze between the gate and the stroller.
I was sure she was going to end up sitting in the stroller.
I won’t lie though. I knew what was happening and saw it coming.
Part of the reason she almost ended up sitting in the stroller is because I sped up to close the gap.
Are we having a Magical Day yet???
The worst part about going to Disney World has always been the other people.
We made it to MK and were off the boat and through the tapstiles with plenty of time. We stopped for the first of many, many restroom breaks at the town square before rounding the corner and seeing the castle!
Here’s where the lack of pictures comes into play. Did anybody take a picture of the castle that morning? Of course not!
But we did get some in the hub. We had time to kill and a show to watch before the rope dropped.
So here is where my first trip planning fail came into play. I didn’t take Early Morning Magic into account.
I also didn’t take the fact that 7DMT was going to be down into account, but I can hardly take the blame for that.
Our plan was to rope drop Peter Pan.
We did.
We also waited 35 minutes.
Not really the start we wanted...
Peter Pan has always been one that we try to hit early in our trip and then not worry about the ridiculous lines. We like it but it is always a one and done type of ride for us.
Turns out not everyone likes it.
R was with me. By the time we passed the Mermaid Lagoon, he was screaming for Mommy.
Good times.
Our original plan was to visit the Hundred Acre Woods next, but we made a judgement call to forego dark rides for a while.
I knew R was going to be close to making height for Barnstormer and B needed a restroom break so I measured him while they took care of that. He was tall enough so we decided to take him on his first rollercoaster ride.
He was either going to love it or we were really going to go all out and traumatize him!
We waited about 10 minutes to board. I’m not really sure why, but when we made it to the load station, I told the CM there were 5 of us. For some reason she sent me and R to a spot in the middle of the train and DW, L and B to the front where they’d have to wait for the next one. We didn’t even all get to ride together.
Sorry for the shaky video. I was trying to hold him, keep an eye on him in case he got scared and still hold my phone. If you get motion sick, you might want to sit it out, but he did say it was fun!
When in Storybook Circus, what else does one do?
Fly with elephants, of course!
Everyone enjoyed Dumbo. We’d only been in the park a little over an hour and the kids had already asked to ride the Tomorrowland Speedway.
It was hot. Did I mention it was mid-July?
90+ degrees every day with a heat index in triple digits?
We tried to be smart about using shade and AC to break up our time in the heat, so I wasn’t crazy about waiting in that line. It was only posted 15 minutes and didn’t look too bad. Might as well get it out of the way...
Thankfully the line did move well. Not a lot of FP coming back through and we were on in just under the posted 15 minutes.
We’d drained our drinks before riding the speedway, so after we got off I headed into Cosmic Rays to make use of the newly installed water fountains with the bottle fill station. I wish they had more of those around, it’s quicker and easier than even asking for a cup... only downside is you can’t get ice from them.
B had requested riding Under The Sea, so we headed back that way. Actually, she wanted to meet Ariel, but we didn’t quite have time for that. Under the Sea ended up having a 15 minute wait. Honestly the longest line I’ve ever waited in for that ride!
I was still nervous about the dark ride aspect after our ride on Peter Pan and was afraid Ursula would freak R out.
Being the world’s best dad and husband that I am, I handed him to DW and said he’s probably going to want to ride with you!
B was going to ride with me and just as she took the first step onto the moving platform to board, everything came to a halt.
It looked like there was something wrong with a clamshell at the unload station and they had maintenance there doing something to it. About 5 minutes later we finally got on.
The kids, R included, ended up enjoying the ride. He liked the colors and music and even the darker part didn’t scare him.
Our morning had gone ok. I’ll admit, it seemed like we were seeing longer lines than we’d expected based on past experience and seeing how low the crowds were “supposed” to be that week. I expected more walk on opportunities during that first hour like we’ve had on past trips, but obviously the early morning magic and 7DMT being closed really inflated everything in Fantasyland.
Since our plan had been to rope drop and then standby whatever we could in Fantasyland that morning, we’d actually gone with later FPs than normal revolving around our lunch ADR and check-in at CBR.
Our first FP was for Space Mountain. L, B and I went to ride first after grabbing a Rider Switch pass.
We started walking into the FP queue. I’m struggling to explain it, but when you enter the line you go down to a low spot and then go up a ramp... well, at the low point, we came to a stop. The FP line was backed up that far. Standby people just kept walking past. People in the FP line started questioning if something got screwed up and we were somehow in the wrong line. We ended up waiting about 20 minutes to ride. But as we’d find out, we were in fact in the FP line. We eventually caught up with those standby people that passed us. All the switchbacks on the left side were full of standby riders and FP was going to the right with none of the switchbacks open.
I love Space Mountain. Or I should say I used to love Space Mountain.
This time, it hurt. I don’t know what it was, but it just felt really rough. I’d usually try to find other FPs later in the week or find a way to ride again if I could, but after this ride, I just didn’t care to.
We went back out to find DW and R hanging out in the shade. She’d gotten him a frozen drink to help cool off and keep him occupied. We quickly learned a valuable lesson about paper straws, frozen drinks, and a toddler.
Just grab a handful of straws.
Frozen drinks seemed to be a little hard on those paper straws and on top of that, he tends to chew straws. I think we went through about 8 of them on that drink alone. In any case, it was hydration, it cooled him off and he was happy.
This is also when he discovered a new hobby. Chasing birds. I think he thought it was the coolest thing ever that birds would land within a few feet of him to pick up popcorn off the ground. And apparently he thought he wanted to catch one.
Thankfully, he didn’t.
But it was entertaining to watch!
As you can see, at this point R was in a pretty good while we were hanging around waiting.
By this time, we were ready to head back toward Main Street.
It was almost lunch time and although I hadn’t received a text yet, we were hoping to be able to check in and unpack before returning to MK in the afternoon.
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Thanks for joining! 
That first night of sleep is now CRUCIAL! 
20190707_094810 by arfix2273, on Flickr 
