cheryllarsen
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2011
Thanks for sharing. I really enjoyed reading this trip report!!
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Will I ever actually get there??? A first-time trip to WDW (3/10 - 3/16 2024)
- Thread starter Keladry84
- Start date
awrites
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2023
Oh yikes, how awful to wait so long for the bus! I'm glad you were able to accomplish so much during your day, though, despite the initial delay. Now that you mention it, it seems like Dinosaur was a lot less bumpy for me than Indiana Jones at DLR, too! I don't remember getting nearly so jostled on Dinosaur as IJ.
Seems like you had a good day overall in the end! I'm glad you enjoyed so many of the rides.
Seems like you had a good day overall in the end! I'm glad you enjoyed so many of the rides.
I'm glad to see other Tamora Pierce fans! The books are definitely worth a re-read while being older. I notice different things than when I was younger.
For the travel delays, I had to keep reminding myself that I would get there, just have patience. But man it was hard!
I really struggled with the decision - it was just so expensive! But then I thought - I haven't been to a professional photographer since my senior pictures, so I could treat it like a photo shoot. It really was kind of like that. And seeing the magic shots materialize was a lot of fun. I just wish they would let it be good for a full year or at least longer than 30 days!
Thank youFirst of many. I'm sure.
Thank you! I am enjoying reading people's replies
This is the first time I've done something like this! (the trip report I mean)I also didn't notice any jostling at all on Dinosaur and was surprised after Indy. I'll be sad if they do re-theme it to Indy as I've seen in rumors.Oh yikes, how awful to wait so long for the bus! I'm glad you were able to accomplish so much during your day, though, despite the initial delay. Now that you mention it, it seems like Dinosaur was a lot less bumpy for me than Indiana Jones at DLR, too! I don't remember getting nearly so jostled on Dinosaur as IJ.
Seems like you had a good day overall in the end! I'm glad you enjoyed so many of the rides.
I was lucky to be able to get to experience so much in AK in just one morning! The only thing left to do in the park that I didn't get done is to see Pandora at night! That was in my original trip plans, but with the shortened length, something had to be left out :/ If I were to go back, the only thing in AK that I probably wouldn't try again is Safaris.
5c Day 3: Animal Kingdom/Epcot
I sleep pretty heavily during my afternoon break. At some point I realize housekeeping is on my floor and near my room. I contemplate whether I should put the do-not-disturb sign on the door so he/she doesn’t walk in during my nap. I am too tired to move, and I leave it as is. It is my first full day here, so I’m guessing they will pass by the room. This turns out to be a correct assumption.
Here is my room on the 3rd floor of building 6. I like how all of the signs here have a violin/fiddle on them. I play fiddle and I like how there is one right outside of my room!
Around 4:30 I wake up and start getting ready to head to Epcot. Epcot is the park that I most wish to see – I love traveling and have been to over 20 countries and am excited at the idea of World Showcase – how accurately will each country be portrayed?
I get to the bus stop. All of the other 3 park buses come and go. I expect Epcot to be next. The 4th bus arrives. It’s for Blizzard Beach. Here comes the next one. Nope. Disney Springs. The 6th bus comes. Internal Riverside bus.
The 7th bus arrives. It’s finally the Epcot bus. Since it’s the middle of the day and very few people are on it, I decide to ask the driver if they have transportation cards. He shakes his head no.
The bus arrives to Epcot and I scan into the park. I see the line for Spaceship Earth is short. I immediately grab a DAS return time and make my way slowly over there, taking in the details of the park. By the time I arrive, my DAS is ready. I get on the ride quickly. I set the language to German, and enjoy the narration while passing through history. I wonder how difficult it would have been to decide which eras and events to include. I notice the history is very heavily western based, leaving out perspectives from eastern countries. The final few minutes in the dark with the sky is peaceful. The ride stops for a couple of minutes in the area and I enjoy the extra time on the ride.
After exiting Spaceship Earth, I grab a DAS for Soarin. I lament losing my DAS advance for both Test Track and Soarin for Monday due to my travel woes. The standy wait is 30 minutes, so I decide to claim my VQ time for Galaxy while waiting. I stop for some Photopass pictures and get some neat magic shots:
I just noticed the frame is a passport
I like this. I was hoping to get the Epcot stamp passport, but was told they were all sold out in the stores until April! :/
I’m not sure who this little guy is, but it’s one of the few pictures I was actually able to successfully carry out the “look surprised” prompt!
I arrive and they convert the VQ to LL for my DAS. The line moves quickly, but I still have difficulty in the line. There is a family with small children right behind me. One of the boys repeatedly crowds me, standing less than 1 inch behind my heels. I finally turn around and ask if they could please give me a little more room. I feel really bad, but the boy does thankfully back off a bit. I also struggle in the pre-show rooms, pushing myself against the wall and having to close my eyes and cover my ears. The queue experience tests my limits of what I can handle.
I get up to the turnstiles to board, and then the ride stops. They send several empty vehicles through without letting anyone on. I am nervous because I don’t know what to expect in the ride, and the wait prolongs the anticipation. I hope I don’t become sick. We finally board. The ride starts and I notice immediately how smooth it is. I actually don’t notice the spinning per se, but feel a lot of pressure. I enjoy the lightshows in the dark.
Overall, I like the ride, but am not sure it would be a must-do for me on future trips. The ride was not so great that it would overcome the difficulties for me from the stress of dealing with the VQ and trouble in the queue.
It’s time for my Soarin DAS. As I walk that way, I notice the club cool. I try Beverley. It is not too bad, but not something I would elect to drink. I try all the others. The only one I actually like is an orange-colored one, and I grab a full sampling cup of it to go. I can’t remember the name of it. It was second from the left, right next to Beverley.
I enter The Land pavilion. It is a chaotic, noisy mess. I beeline for Soarin. Luckily the LL is quiet. As I walk down the line, a family with young children is right behind me. They are talking loudly and are pretty much on my heels. I let them in front of me. They look surprised. It is worth it for me to have the extra space and quiet, but the peace is fleeting. Unfortunately another large family comes up behind me and does the same thing :/ I can't let the whole line go ahead!
We board the ride. At first I absolutely love it, and enjoy flying through the different scenes around the world. Some of them I have been to, others only seen in pictures. About midway through severe nausea hits :/ shoot! I really wanted to love Soarin, but it looks like it will be a one-and-done for me. We get to the final scene. I finally understand what people were talking about when they said the Eiffel Tower is curved!!! Yikes!
After exiting I grab a DAS for Living with the Land. It is a walk on. The boats are relaxing, and I enjoy the scenes. I didn’t expect to like the parts in the garden, but it is neat seeing the labels of the different plants, and then the sections about growing fruits/vegetables vertically. Altogether a peaceful and well-put-together ride.
At some point on the ride I grab a DAS for Remy. It is a 2 hour wait. I exit the ride and while I would like to explore The Land pavilion a bit more, it is much too noisy and chaotic for me to hang around. I exit quickly and decide to look for the different Flower and Garden food booths to grab a bite to eat.
This is when I start to struggle, making a series of not-so-smart decisions and over-extend myself. I tend to do this. I often forget to eat, especially when I am engrossed in something and having fun. I also feel a lot of pressure to pack everything in and keep exploring Epcot due to losing a full day there, and at the same time my unfamiliarity with the park, where things are, and the vast size of Epcot are a bad combination.
I start looking around for the food booths, but I can’t find them. Huh? Aren’t they supposed to be all over Epcot? Before my trip, I located all of them on a map and made notes of where they are, but I’m not sure where that is in relationship to where I am. I look in the app, and don’t see them listed. I remember several that I was interested in being in between the two “halves” of Epcot, so I start to head towards World Showcase from the Land Pavilion.
I enjoy the topiaries as I walk and stop for a picture.
I shortly find my way blocked by walls and a CM directing everyone back the other direction. I just wasted a good 10 minutes walking. I end up in the center of the upper half of Epcot and try walking towards World Showcase again. I reach the water and walk left/right a little ways. I still don’t see any food booths. I ask a CM who is starting to rope off areas for the fireworks. I ask him where the food booths are, specifically the Honey Bistro as I want to try the cauliflower. He says he doesn’t know and points vaguely off towards the right ?????? How can he work in Epcot and not know?
Another topiary, taken at some point during my wandering around.
I’ve now been walking around looking for about 40 minutes. I walk in the direction the CM pointed and end up at Citrus Blossom, way off away from everything else. It is the first food booth I find. There is nothing on the menu I wish to purchase, and I'm pretty sure the Honey Bistro is the complete opposite direction.
I keep wandering around and eventually find it. I get my cauliflower and by this time am so hungry that I barely notice what I am eating but do note that it was delicious. However, I don't the visual presentation is done well.
I go to a booth next door and try the nitro cheesecake. It looks like much more appealing.
Also good, but it disappears even quicker.
It’s now getting close to my DAS for Remy. I’m very tired from walking around trying to find my food, and consider just leaving. By now, I’m starting to realize how large Epcot is. But again, the desire to experience overrides, and I decide to walk down to France, ride Remy, and then retrace my steps and leave Epcot.
I make another mistake - I don’t look at my phone before heading off, as I’ve finally got the lay of the land and know where to head. As I’m meandering down to Remy, I stop for some pictures, but don’t really explore any of the booths. I’m too tired to take much in. It’s starting to get dark.
I get to the France pavilion, and it is a crazy, chaotic mass of people that is hard to navigate. I look around for Remy, going through most of the pavilion, but can’t locate it in the dark among the sea of people. I finally ask a worker taking out trash. He is very kind and walks me over to Remy. I have to backtrack quite a bit as I apparently went right past it, even having apparently taken a picture in the area a few minutes ago.
I am at Remy, and find out the ride is down. Huh?
I finally look at my phone. I have a multi-park MEP. Remy has apparently been down for awhile, and my DAS had turned into the MEP before I had even entered World Showcase. Oops. Next time I should look at my phone first. I could have spared myself a long walk!!
It’s around 8:15 pm. I’m exhausted. I should leave, but I know I’m very far from the park exit. Fireworks are at 9:00 pm. What if I were to walk to the top of world showcase and watch fireworks from there? I could stop at Hanami in Japan to try the frushi, use the MEP on Frozen, and then exit just in time for the fireworks. I think at the time this is a good plan.
I head to Japan, and get my frushi. I decide to eat and walk, again devouring the food, forgetting to take a picture. It is dark. I don’t really get to enjoy it as I am rushing, exhausted, weaving in and out of people and having difficulty processing things due to all of the above. I think I did like it, but later I am sad as I wish I had taken more time to savor it. I consider purchasing it again later during my trip.
It takes me forever to get to Frozen. Epcot is HUGE. There are lot of people at the ride. I ask the CM at the LL turnstile how long the wait is for LL. She says 5 minutes. I am skeptical. I ask her if she is sure. Yep, she is. Um, ok. I scan my MEP.
I enter the building and the room is packed tight with people jammed in to both the standby and LL lines. Within about 30 seconds of me being there, there are another 20-30 people behind me in the LL line. It becomes more packed. I wait another minute or two. In that time the Standby line moves 2x, the lightning lane not even once. All the while, more and more people are crowding in. I have to get out. I can’t do this situation at all. I turn around to try to leave the line but the path is completely blocked. I have to push and shove my way past people so that I can get out. I feel insanely guilty, but there is no way I could have stayed in that environment. As I leave, more and more people are still pouring in from outside.
I go back to the CM who told me the line was only 5 minutes, and ask her if there is any way I can get my MEP back. She looks clueless, just basically says you have to go to guest services, and then turns to her partner and continues her conversation in Norwegian, ignoring me completely. Gee, thanks.
Fireworks should now be starting in about 10 minutes. I continue walking around World Showcase. Just past Mexico, I find a spot behind the walkway that is quiet. There is a place I could stand on a short wall (c. 1.5 feet tall) to watch the fireworks when they start and see over the people at the front next to the water. I do just that, and several other parties join me. It is a good, non-crowded way to see the fireworks.
When they end, I quickly head to exit the park. I weave in and out of people pretty easily and am close to the front of the pack of people leaving the park after the fireworks. I make it to the bus stop. The line for POFQ is short. A bus comes quickly and I get a seat. Yay! Once back at the resort, I crash into bed.
Before sleeping, I briefly look at my phone to scan the pictures from the day. I notice that my MEP from Remy’s isn’t lost – I guess because I never made it to the 2nd turnstile on Frozen! It is still there, AND I notice something I hadn’t seen in the park – it is good for the next day as well! So I now have a multi-park MEP good on almost all of the rides in all 4 parks for the next day. What will I decide to use it on??
I do know I need to be smarter. The last 3 hours in Epcot I did almost nothing besides run around needlessly from place to place. I literally walked the entire circuit of World Showcase, without seeing a single detail or taking anything in. I guess I got the frushi out of it? Ya, definitely need to be a bit smarter in how I choose what to do and where to go. And pause to look at the phone. I could have saved a lot of steps and anguish if I had. Lesson learned (maybe).
Next up in the morning: Magic Kingdom!
I sleep pretty heavily during my afternoon break. At some point I realize housekeeping is on my floor and near my room. I contemplate whether I should put the do-not-disturb sign on the door so he/she doesn’t walk in during my nap. I am too tired to move, and I leave it as is. It is my first full day here, so I’m guessing they will pass by the room. This turns out to be a correct assumption.
Here is my room on the 3rd floor of building 6. I like how all of the signs here have a violin/fiddle on them. I play fiddle and I like how there is one right outside of my room!
Around 4:30 I wake up and start getting ready to head to Epcot. Epcot is the park that I most wish to see – I love traveling and have been to over 20 countries and am excited at the idea of World Showcase – how accurately will each country be portrayed?
I get to the bus stop. All of the other 3 park buses come and go. I expect Epcot to be next. The 4th bus arrives. It’s for Blizzard Beach. Here comes the next one. Nope. Disney Springs. The 6th bus comes. Internal Riverside bus.
The 7th bus arrives. It’s finally the Epcot bus. Since it’s the middle of the day and very few people are on it, I decide to ask the driver if they have transportation cards. He shakes his head no.
The bus arrives to Epcot and I scan into the park. I see the line for Spaceship Earth is short. I immediately grab a DAS return time and make my way slowly over there, taking in the details of the park. By the time I arrive, my DAS is ready. I get on the ride quickly. I set the language to German, and enjoy the narration while passing through history. I wonder how difficult it would have been to decide which eras and events to include. I notice the history is very heavily western based, leaving out perspectives from eastern countries. The final few minutes in the dark with the sky is peaceful. The ride stops for a couple of minutes in the area and I enjoy the extra time on the ride.
After exiting Spaceship Earth, I grab a DAS for Soarin. I lament losing my DAS advance for both Test Track and Soarin for Monday due to my travel woes. The standy wait is 30 minutes, so I decide to claim my VQ time for Galaxy while waiting. I stop for some Photopass pictures and get some neat magic shots:
I just noticed the frame is a passport
I like this. I was hoping to get the Epcot stamp passport, but was told they were all sold out in the stores until April! :/I’m not sure who this little guy is, but it’s one of the few pictures I was actually able to successfully carry out the “look surprised” prompt!
I arrive and they convert the VQ to LL for my DAS. The line moves quickly, but I still have difficulty in the line. There is a family with small children right behind me. One of the boys repeatedly crowds me, standing less than 1 inch behind my heels. I finally turn around and ask if they could please give me a little more room. I feel really bad, but the boy does thankfully back off a bit. I also struggle in the pre-show rooms, pushing myself against the wall and having to close my eyes and cover my ears. The queue experience tests my limits of what I can handle.
I get up to the turnstiles to board, and then the ride stops. They send several empty vehicles through without letting anyone on. I am nervous because I don’t know what to expect in the ride, and the wait prolongs the anticipation. I hope I don’t become sick. We finally board. The ride starts and I notice immediately how smooth it is. I actually don’t notice the spinning per se, but feel a lot of pressure. I enjoy the lightshows in the dark.
Overall, I like the ride, but am not sure it would be a must-do for me on future trips. The ride was not so great that it would overcome the difficulties for me from the stress of dealing with the VQ and trouble in the queue.
It’s time for my Soarin DAS. As I walk that way, I notice the club cool. I try Beverley. It is not too bad, but not something I would elect to drink. I try all the others. The only one I actually like is an orange-colored one, and I grab a full sampling cup of it to go. I can’t remember the name of it. It was second from the left, right next to Beverley.
I enter The Land pavilion. It is a chaotic, noisy mess. I beeline for Soarin. Luckily the LL is quiet. As I walk down the line, a family with young children is right behind me. They are talking loudly and are pretty much on my heels. I let them in front of me. They look surprised. It is worth it for me to have the extra space and quiet, but the peace is fleeting. Unfortunately another large family comes up behind me and does the same thing :/ I can't let the whole line go ahead!
We board the ride. At first I absolutely love it, and enjoy flying through the different scenes around the world. Some of them I have been to, others only seen in pictures. About midway through severe nausea hits :/ shoot! I really wanted to love Soarin, but it looks like it will be a one-and-done for me. We get to the final scene. I finally understand what people were talking about when they said the Eiffel Tower is curved!!! Yikes!
After exiting I grab a DAS for Living with the Land. It is a walk on. The boats are relaxing, and I enjoy the scenes. I didn’t expect to like the parts in the garden, but it is neat seeing the labels of the different plants, and then the sections about growing fruits/vegetables vertically. Altogether a peaceful and well-put-together ride.
At some point on the ride I grab a DAS for Remy. It is a 2 hour wait. I exit the ride and while I would like to explore The Land pavilion a bit more, it is much too noisy and chaotic for me to hang around. I exit quickly and decide to look for the different Flower and Garden food booths to grab a bite to eat.
This is when I start to struggle, making a series of not-so-smart decisions and over-extend myself. I tend to do this. I often forget to eat, especially when I am engrossed in something and having fun. I also feel a lot of pressure to pack everything in and keep exploring Epcot due to losing a full day there, and at the same time my unfamiliarity with the park, where things are, and the vast size of Epcot are a bad combination.
I start looking around for the food booths, but I can’t find them. Huh? Aren’t they supposed to be all over Epcot? Before my trip, I located all of them on a map and made notes of where they are, but I’m not sure where that is in relationship to where I am. I look in the app, and don’t see them listed. I remember several that I was interested in being in between the two “halves” of Epcot, so I start to head towards World Showcase from the Land Pavilion.
I enjoy the topiaries as I walk and stop for a picture.
I shortly find my way blocked by walls and a CM directing everyone back the other direction. I just wasted a good 10 minutes walking. I end up in the center of the upper half of Epcot and try walking towards World Showcase again. I reach the water and walk left/right a little ways. I still don’t see any food booths. I ask a CM who is starting to rope off areas for the fireworks. I ask him where the food booths are, specifically the Honey Bistro as I want to try the cauliflower. He says he doesn’t know and points vaguely off towards the right ?????? How can he work in Epcot and not know?
Another topiary, taken at some point during my wandering around.
I’ve now been walking around looking for about 40 minutes. I walk in the direction the CM pointed and end up at Citrus Blossom, way off away from everything else. It is the first food booth I find. There is nothing on the menu I wish to purchase, and I'm pretty sure the Honey Bistro is the complete opposite direction.
I keep wandering around and eventually find it. I get my cauliflower and by this time am so hungry that I barely notice what I am eating but do note that it was delicious. However, I don't the visual presentation is done well.
I go to a booth next door and try the nitro cheesecake. It looks like much more appealing.
Also good, but it disappears even quicker.
It’s now getting close to my DAS for Remy. I’m very tired from walking around trying to find my food, and consider just leaving. By now, I’m starting to realize how large Epcot is. But again, the desire to experience overrides, and I decide to walk down to France, ride Remy, and then retrace my steps and leave Epcot.
I make another mistake - I don’t look at my phone before heading off, as I’ve finally got the lay of the land and know where to head. As I’m meandering down to Remy, I stop for some pictures, but don’t really explore any of the booths. I’m too tired to take much in. It’s starting to get dark.
I get to the France pavilion, and it is a crazy, chaotic mass of people that is hard to navigate. I look around for Remy, going through most of the pavilion, but can’t locate it in the dark among the sea of people. I finally ask a worker taking out trash. He is very kind and walks me over to Remy. I have to backtrack quite a bit as I apparently went right past it, even having apparently taken a picture in the area a few minutes ago.
I am at Remy, and find out the ride is down. Huh?
I finally look at my phone. I have a multi-park MEP. Remy has apparently been down for awhile, and my DAS had turned into the MEP before I had even entered World Showcase. Oops. Next time I should look at my phone first. I could have spared myself a long walk!!
It’s around 8:15 pm. I’m exhausted. I should leave, but I know I’m very far from the park exit. Fireworks are at 9:00 pm. What if I were to walk to the top of world showcase and watch fireworks from there? I could stop at Hanami in Japan to try the frushi, use the MEP on Frozen, and then exit just in time for the fireworks. I think at the time this is a good plan.
I head to Japan, and get my frushi. I decide to eat and walk, again devouring the food, forgetting to take a picture. It is dark. I don’t really get to enjoy it as I am rushing, exhausted, weaving in and out of people and having difficulty processing things due to all of the above. I think I did like it, but later I am sad as I wish I had taken more time to savor it. I consider purchasing it again later during my trip.
It takes me forever to get to Frozen. Epcot is HUGE. There are lot of people at the ride. I ask the CM at the LL turnstile how long the wait is for LL. She says 5 minutes. I am skeptical. I ask her if she is sure. Yep, she is. Um, ok. I scan my MEP.
I enter the building and the room is packed tight with people jammed in to both the standby and LL lines. Within about 30 seconds of me being there, there are another 20-30 people behind me in the LL line. It becomes more packed. I wait another minute or two. In that time the Standby line moves 2x, the lightning lane not even once. All the while, more and more people are crowding in. I have to get out. I can’t do this situation at all. I turn around to try to leave the line but the path is completely blocked. I have to push and shove my way past people so that I can get out. I feel insanely guilty, but there is no way I could have stayed in that environment. As I leave, more and more people are still pouring in from outside.
I go back to the CM who told me the line was only 5 minutes, and ask her if there is any way I can get my MEP back. She looks clueless, just basically says you have to go to guest services, and then turns to her partner and continues her conversation in Norwegian, ignoring me completely. Gee, thanks.
Fireworks should now be starting in about 10 minutes. I continue walking around World Showcase. Just past Mexico, I find a spot behind the walkway that is quiet. There is a place I could stand on a short wall (c. 1.5 feet tall) to watch the fireworks when they start and see over the people at the front next to the water. I do just that, and several other parties join me. It is a good, non-crowded way to see the fireworks.
When they end, I quickly head to exit the park. I weave in and out of people pretty easily and am close to the front of the pack of people leaving the park after the fireworks. I make it to the bus stop. The line for POFQ is short. A bus comes quickly and I get a seat. Yay! Once back at the resort, I crash into bed.
Before sleeping, I briefly look at my phone to scan the pictures from the day. I notice that my MEP from Remy’s isn’t lost – I guess because I never made it to the 2nd turnstile on Frozen! It is still there, AND I notice something I hadn’t seen in the park – it is good for the next day as well! So I now have a multi-park MEP good on almost all of the rides in all 4 parks for the next day. What will I decide to use it on??
I do know I need to be smarter. The last 3 hours in Epcot I did almost nothing besides run around needlessly from place to place. I literally walked the entire circuit of World Showcase, without seeing a single detail or taking anything in. I guess I got the frushi out of it? Ya, definitely need to be a bit smarter in how I choose what to do and where to go. And pause to look at the phone. I could have saved a lot of steps and anguish if I had. Lesson learned (maybe).
Next up in the morning: Magic Kingdom!
jrmint427
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2013
I'm glad you were right! We had issues with this on our trip, I learned we should have had our dead bolt on while in our room for afternoon rest.
The one next to Beverly was the Bonbon Anglais from Madagascar (tropical fruit flavors). I think I liked that one too.
I also had a hard time finding the food booths we wanted and wished they had them listed in the map in the app. Maybe they were, but I searched in Disney's app and couldn't find them so I googled other maps to try to figure out where to go.
It sounds like a stressful end to the day but I'm glad there was some good news on your MEP!
Betty Rohrer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 19, 2010
Thanks for comments and tips! Seems like we've had some similar experiences. Yikes re the deadbolt! Next time I will make sure that is secured!
It did seem really small inside! What got me is I tried to avoid it by asking the CM and she just seemed pretty clueless about the ride mechanics :/ I did get to ride it later on in the trip though when the crowds were less!
Thanks! I was completely surprised to see the MEP still there later on....I think it's because I never made the 2nd scan in. A similar thing happened later in the trip when I had to ditch on a different LL.
lindseyanne
The Witch of Walpurgis
- Joined
- May 15, 2014
Caught up a joining in! That Frozen queue is just the worst. It's so tight and it just gets so incredibly loud.
It definitely caught me completely off-guard and was unexpected! I can't believe how many people were crammed in there all at once.
6. Day 4: Magic Kingdom
My extra unnecessary miles in Epcot the day before helps me to sleep soundly, and I wake with my alarm shortly before 7:00 am. Today is Magic Kingdom, so I try for a Tron VQ. I am hoping for something mid-morning, but get Group 81. Shoot. I suspect this will get called while I am on my afternoon break :/
Still, I get ready. I am excited for Magic Kingdom – I’ve been to Disneyland once before – how similar or different will the 2 parks be?
I get to the bus stop, and am there less than 5 minutes when the Magic Kingdom bus comes. Wait, what?? It is the first time heading to a park that I didn’t have to wait a long time. Are my transportation woes finally finished???
I enter the park, and grab a DAS for Haunted Mansion. I then put in a mobile order for the Fruit and Nutella Waffle at Sleepy Hollow. For once I have remembered that I need to eat before I feel hungry!
I find some benches near the castle and sit to eat. It is giant, much more so than you can see in a picture. It is good, but I can’t finish. At least I am full!
I then find a photopass photographer nearby, and get my first picture with the castle! No magic shots though :/
It’s time for Haunted Mansion! I head to the ride, wondering how similar/different it will be to the Disneyland version. While in line, I notice the Photopass photographers for the hitchhiking ghosts taking pictures at the ride exit. YES! I will make sure to stop afterwards!
On the ride, I notice small differences, but most of the overall experience is similar. Still, I prefer the Disneyland version. The piano-playing shadow is missing. So are the ghosts flying by on the organ in the Pepper’s Ghost illusions in the ballroom. I do get my ride photo. But I look horrible in the photo. I decide to ride again at a later date so I can get a better picture (sorry, not sharing it here!)
I exit the mansion. The hitchhiking ghost photographer is gone! Sadness :/ I notice the location is located within the ride exit. I will definitely have to come back and ride again!
It’s about 9:30am. I pick up Jungle Cruise for 60 minutes from now. I also have an 11:00am DAS advance for Big Thunder, and one at 11:30 for Peter Pan. I now have about an hour to wait. I figure I will take the time to walk around and explore and get a few Photopass pictures in the meantime. Then ride the 3 rides in quick succession before getting lunch and leaving the park for a break.
First stop: Big Thunder:
This was my favorite ride in Disneyland, and I’m happy to get a photo with the mountain. At the end, I also ask the photographer to get a picture of me with the train in the background. She succeeds, but I look better in this one, so hence sharing the one without the train
I head towards Liberty Square and Adventureland. I see the photographer on the Rivers of America. Yes! I get a shot with Tom Sawyer Island in the background. The photographer starts talking about there being ghosts in the area. I reply that yes, I was just at haunted Mansion, and there were lots of them there. I don’t get it until the next day when looking through my pictures that I was getting a magic shot!!
This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip I debate heading over to the island to explore, but realize the raft doesn’t start until 11:00 am. This doesn’t work with my current timeline. Schade :/
Instead I head into Adventureland. I really want to like this area, but it is very crowded, hot, loud, and feels chaotic :/ I realize I can’t hang out here for very long.
I find the Swiss Family Treehouse and grasp that it will be a good respite from the heat and chaos.
I really enjoy exploring the treehouse and take my time, letting others ahead of me when needed. Such a good, peaceful adventure! I marvel at the intricacy of the design.
It’s now time for Jungle Cruise! I am excited but also curious. I did ride the Jungle Cruise in Disneyland, but didn’t care much for it.
I notice right away that who you get for a skipper makes or breaks the experience. I absolutely LOVE our skipper and get all the jokes (wait, what? I’m usually the last one to understand jokes). I really enjoy the ride and contemplate going again.
When I exit, I find some characters hanging around:
Such fun! I head to Pirates for a DAS that I grabbed while on Jungle Cruise, but see that it went down. I now have a second MEP.
I head to Big Thunder for my DAS advance. The line is long, but the LL goes very quickly and I am on within 10 minutes. I enjoy the ride, but notice small details from the ride in Disneyland are absent, most noticeable the dynamite in the mine on the last hill. What? That was totally the best part. Similar to Haunted Mansion, I appear to prefer the Disneyland version.
Next up, Peter Pan. Again the line goes quickly. This ride is completely new for me, as it was down for refurbishment in DL last summer. I was really looking forward to it, but I find the ride to be somewhat of a let-down. In Universal, I really enjoy ET with the perspective of flying over scenes below and thought Peter Pan would be similar. The scene over London is, but most of the turns are so tight and quick that you lose the magic of floating around. You easily notice the other boats, and don’t really have enough time to enjoy each scene. This might be a one-and-done for me.
I’m now starting to notice that I’m exhausted. I realize I should eat lunch, and then probably leave the park. I decide to mobile order from Casey’s Corner, and get the mini corn dogs. While walking over there, I notice massive crowds near main street. It’s around noon – I’m guessing it’s time for a parade! I try to avoid the crowds as much as possible as right now I need quiet, not chaos. Inside Casey’s I get lucky and find an empty table in a quiet area!! I sit and eat, and then take the time to re-group.
I KNOW I should leave the park after eating. I overextended yesterday, and should not do so again. But I look at the TRON VQ. I’m group 81, and they are just now calling group 60. I estimate it will probably be another 2 hours, so around 2 pm when mine is called. Do I wait? Can I make it another 2 hours in the crowds and the heat? I decide to try.
When I make the decision to stay, I hop in the virtual line for Haunted Mansion – I want to ride again to get a better ride picture, and hopefully catch the hitchhiking ghosts at the exit.
I leave Casey’s and go back to Adventureland to try a I Lava You Float. No pictures because it was messy and is melting fast! It is good and the perfect dessert!
On the way to Haunted Mansion, I find a couple of Photopass photographers.
I am happy to get a magic shot with the Mary Blair overlay for Women’s Month. It reminds me to make sure I ride It’s a Small World sometime during my trip!
Next I discover the 360 degree shot behind the castle!
When I arrive at the Haunted Mansion, the LL is very long with a CM holding a sign for the entrance. I ask for a wait estimate, and she says 15 minutes. I’m not sure I believe it (remember Frozen the night before??), and decide not to risk it. I ask if it is ok if I go in the ride exit for the hitchhiking ghosts Photopass. It’s no problem at all, so I cancel the DAS and go look for the photographers:
I’m in luck, and get the picture I was hoping for!
The photographer also has another Women’s Month overlay for Madame Leota:
*Picture limit* Continued in next post.
My extra unnecessary miles in Epcot the day before helps me to sleep soundly, and I wake with my alarm shortly before 7:00 am. Today is Magic Kingdom, so I try for a Tron VQ. I am hoping for something mid-morning, but get Group 81. Shoot. I suspect this will get called while I am on my afternoon break :/
Still, I get ready. I am excited for Magic Kingdom – I’ve been to Disneyland once before – how similar or different will the 2 parks be?
I get to the bus stop, and am there less than 5 minutes when the Magic Kingdom bus comes. Wait, what?? It is the first time heading to a park that I didn’t have to wait a long time. Are my transportation woes finally finished???
I enter the park, and grab a DAS for Haunted Mansion. I then put in a mobile order for the Fruit and Nutella Waffle at Sleepy Hollow. For once I have remembered that I need to eat before I feel hungry!
I find some benches near the castle and sit to eat. It is giant, much more so than you can see in a picture. It is good, but I can’t finish. At least I am full!
I then find a photopass photographer nearby, and get my first picture with the castle! No magic shots though :/
It’s time for Haunted Mansion! I head to the ride, wondering how similar/different it will be to the Disneyland version. While in line, I notice the Photopass photographers for the hitchhiking ghosts taking pictures at the ride exit. YES! I will make sure to stop afterwards!
On the ride, I notice small differences, but most of the overall experience is similar. Still, I prefer the Disneyland version. The piano-playing shadow is missing. So are the ghosts flying by on the organ in the Pepper’s Ghost illusions in the ballroom. I do get my ride photo. But I look horrible in the photo. I decide to ride again at a later date so I can get a better picture (sorry, not sharing it here!)
I exit the mansion. The hitchhiking ghost photographer is gone! Sadness :/ I notice the location is located within the ride exit. I will definitely have to come back and ride again!
It’s about 9:30am. I pick up Jungle Cruise for 60 minutes from now. I also have an 11:00am DAS advance for Big Thunder, and one at 11:30 for Peter Pan. I now have about an hour to wait. I figure I will take the time to walk around and explore and get a few Photopass pictures in the meantime. Then ride the 3 rides in quick succession before getting lunch and leaving the park for a break.
First stop: Big Thunder:
This was my favorite ride in Disneyland, and I’m happy to get a photo with the mountain. At the end, I also ask the photographer to get a picture of me with the train in the background. She succeeds, but I look better in this one, so hence sharing the one without the train
I head towards Liberty Square and Adventureland. I see the photographer on the Rivers of America. Yes! I get a shot with Tom Sawyer Island in the background. The photographer starts talking about there being ghosts in the area. I reply that yes, I was just at haunted Mansion, and there were lots of them there. I don’t get it until the next day when looking through my pictures that I was getting a magic shot!!
This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip
I debate heading over to the island to explore, but realize the raft doesn’t start until 11:00 am. This doesn’t work with my current timeline. Schade :/Instead I head into Adventureland. I really want to like this area, but it is very crowded, hot, loud, and feels chaotic :/ I realize I can’t hang out here for very long.
I find the Swiss Family Treehouse and grasp that it will be a good respite from the heat and chaos.
I really enjoy exploring the treehouse and take my time, letting others ahead of me when needed. Such a good, peaceful adventure! I marvel at the intricacy of the design.
It’s now time for Jungle Cruise! I am excited but also curious. I did ride the Jungle Cruise in Disneyland, but didn’t care much for it.
I notice right away that who you get for a skipper makes or breaks the experience. I absolutely LOVE our skipper and get all the jokes (wait, what? I’m usually the last one to understand jokes). I really enjoy the ride and contemplate going again.
When I exit, I find some characters hanging around:
Such fun! I head to Pirates for a DAS that I grabbed while on Jungle Cruise, but see that it went down. I now have a second MEP.
I head to Big Thunder for my DAS advance. The line is long, but the LL goes very quickly and I am on within 10 minutes. I enjoy the ride, but notice small details from the ride in Disneyland are absent, most noticeable the dynamite in the mine on the last hill. What? That was totally the best part. Similar to Haunted Mansion, I appear to prefer the Disneyland version.
Next up, Peter Pan. Again the line goes quickly. This ride is completely new for me, as it was down for refurbishment in DL last summer. I was really looking forward to it, but I find the ride to be somewhat of a let-down. In Universal, I really enjoy ET with the perspective of flying over scenes below and thought Peter Pan would be similar. The scene over London is, but most of the turns are so tight and quick that you lose the magic of floating around. You easily notice the other boats, and don’t really have enough time to enjoy each scene. This might be a one-and-done for me.
I’m now starting to notice that I’m exhausted. I realize I should eat lunch, and then probably leave the park. I decide to mobile order from Casey’s Corner, and get the mini corn dogs. While walking over there, I notice massive crowds near main street. It’s around noon – I’m guessing it’s time for a parade! I try to avoid the crowds as much as possible as right now I need quiet, not chaos. Inside Casey’s I get lucky and find an empty table in a quiet area!! I sit and eat, and then take the time to re-group.
I KNOW I should leave the park after eating. I overextended yesterday, and should not do so again. But I look at the TRON VQ. I’m group 81, and they are just now calling group 60. I estimate it will probably be another 2 hours, so around 2 pm when mine is called. Do I wait? Can I make it another 2 hours in the crowds and the heat? I decide to try.
When I make the decision to stay, I hop in the virtual line for Haunted Mansion – I want to ride again to get a better ride picture, and hopefully catch the hitchhiking ghosts at the exit.
I leave Casey’s and go back to Adventureland to try a I Lava You Float. No pictures because it was messy and is melting fast! It is good and the perfect dessert!
On the way to Haunted Mansion, I find a couple of Photopass photographers.
I am happy to get a magic shot with the Mary Blair overlay for Women’s Month. It reminds me to make sure I ride It’s a Small World sometime during my trip!
Next I discover the 360 degree shot behind the castle!
When I arrive at the Haunted Mansion, the LL is very long with a CM holding a sign for the entrance. I ask for a wait estimate, and she says 15 minutes. I’m not sure I believe it (remember Frozen the night before??), and decide not to risk it. I ask if it is ok if I go in the ride exit for the hitchhiking ghosts Photopass. It’s no problem at all, so I cancel the DAS and go look for the photographers:
I’m in luck, and get the picture I was hoping for!
The photographer also has another Women’s Month overlay for Madame Leota:
*Picture limit* Continued in next post.
I decide to head towards Tomorrowland since I am hoping my Tron VQ will be called soon. I want to take the train to the other side of the park, so head to the Frontierland stop. The app says it is only a 10 minute wait. I look at the line. It is long, about the same length of line that I ran into in Disneyland when the app there also said a 10 minute wait, but was really more than 40 minutes. I have a lot of difficulty when the posted wait time and the actual wait don’t match up. In Disneyland it took me more than 3 hours to reset after the experience. I avoid making the same mistake again and head to Tomorrowland on foot instead.
I stop by the castle for some more photos. I find a CM photographer who has the same first name as me! She gives me my first balloon magic shot!!!
She also notices my shirt and says that if I am lucky, I might find Stitch with a meet-and-greet in Tomorrowland. Wait, what? As I am walking that way I check the app and don’t see it listed. Hmmm…I figure I am probably not lucky.
I walk into Tomorrowland and mosey around, taking in the sights. As I go past the Peoplemover, off to my right, I see…..Stitch!! YES! I go over there and the CM tells me the line is closed. NO!
He says Stich will be back at 2:00. I should be there by 1:50 as the line builds up very quickly if I want to see him.
It’s currently 1:30. I think I will go over to Space Mountain to use the MEP from Remy yesterday and then come back.
This will be my first time on Space Mountain. I elected not to ride it in Disneyland as I don’t like rollercoasters when I can’t see where it is going and was terrified. I since watched a Youtube video of Space with the lights on, and realized the track system is not scary at all, so I want to try it.
The line goes quickly. When I see the ride cars and get placed in the very back, I know immediately I will not enjoy the ride. The ride cars look exactly the same as the ones on the Matterhorn in Disneyland. I rode the Matterhorn twice. The first time I was in the very front and loved the ride. The 2nd time, the very last seat, and it was very rough. I was thrown around so much that I was afraid I would break a bone.
My prediction about the back seat is correct. I am thrown around on Space Mountain. It hurts a lot. Sorry no ride picture – I have it, but I am straining trying to brace myself, and the picture looks horrible! This is a one and done for me.
I exit, and head to the Stitch line. It is 1:55 and I am 3rd in line. Stich comes out!!!
I enjoy interacting with Stitch! BTW, Stich slobbers. A lot. He hugged me 3 times, and each time….slobber, slobber, slobber!
I had not expected to see Stitch today, and am glad I wore my Stitch shirt to the park!!!
By the time I am done with my interaction, the CM has closed off the line to see Stitch! I am glad I got there early
I look at the app. Tron VQ is now calling group 80. One more to go! I head over to Tron. While waiting for my group to be called, I get another Photopass picture:
I’ve never actually seen Tron, so I have no idea what the significance of this is….but it’s a nice shot!
Finally, my group is called! I head to the line. At the end of the standby line, I ask the CM where to go for DAS. She explains that the ride is currently down. (wait, wasn’t my group just called???). I ask what my options are. I could either wait, OR come back at any time later today as long as my group has already been called!
I ask: If I head back to my hotel for a break, and come back later in the evening, that is ok??
YEP!
Sweet. I know I will try riding Tron at night.
Now though, I need to leave the park for a break, as I am long overdue and waning quickly. I stop to get a Cream Cheese Pretzel while leaving Tomorrowland and plan to eat it in the hotel.
But then I walk by Buzz and realize I want to get the ride photo. I still have an MEP from Pirates and spontaneously decide to use it. I pass the first scan and enter the building. The line is LONG, it is loud and crowded. Hmmm…I wait a couple of minutes and the line doesn’t move. NOPE. Not going to be able to do this queue. I push past the people built up in line behind me to exit. Sigh. It looks like even with LL access, there are some lines I am not able to do. I continue to exit the park.
On main street, I notice crowds gathering for the 3:00 pm parade. I contemplate staying, but know I really should not. I go further down main street.
It’s now 2:55. I’m almost to the exit. I notice an almost empty area at the head of the main street circle that is fully in the shade. I ask a nearby CM if this is the beginning or end of the parade – it’s the end. Shoot. I shouldn’t wait. I start to head out, and then stop. Why not? I’m here, it’s a good spot, and it should start soon. I go over and sit down. There is only one row of people in front of me on the curb. The cement is cool and it is refreshing. I can see all the way down main street to the castle. I am surprised there are not more people sitting here!
It takes about 20 minutes for the parade to get to my spot. In the meantime, there are many people standing behind me, but I barely notice. I sit and eat my pretzel. It is good!
I enjoy the floats and the characters. My favorite is the Tangled float:
I enjoy watching the acrobatics!
Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Pinocchio, Donald Duck, and other characters from my childhood go by.
Then comes a big mechanical dragon!!!
Neat!
Finally, I see Mickey and Minnie again:
It is the end of the parade. I get up to finally take my long overdue break.
I am glad I am at the end of Main Street, as I leave the park at the head of the crowds. I REALLY need to be back at the hotel to rest. I am glad I stayed for the parade, but I am very much overloaded.
I get back to the hotel easily and find a surprise from housekeeping in my room:
I always travel with a small blanket (the planets glow in the dark!), and my stuffed elephant Ellie. My Dad gave me Ellie in my early tweens, and she has since traveled to over 20 different countries with me! She has also had many names over the years, but the most recent was given by my nieces, and will thus probably stick
It’s time to rest. After setting an alarm, I sink into oblivion.
I stop by the castle for some more photos. I find a CM photographer who has the same first name as me! She gives me my first balloon magic shot!!!
She also notices my shirt and says that if I am lucky, I might find Stitch with a meet-and-greet in Tomorrowland. Wait, what? As I am walking that way I check the app and don’t see it listed. Hmmm…I figure I am probably not lucky.
I walk into Tomorrowland and mosey around, taking in the sights. As I go past the Peoplemover, off to my right, I see…..Stitch!! YES! I go over there and the CM tells me the line is closed. NO!
He says Stich will be back at 2:00. I should be there by 1:50 as the line builds up very quickly if I want to see him.
It’s currently 1:30. I think I will go over to Space Mountain to use the MEP from Remy yesterday and then come back.
This will be my first time on Space Mountain. I elected not to ride it in Disneyland as I don’t like rollercoasters when I can’t see where it is going and was terrified. I since watched a Youtube video of Space with the lights on, and realized the track system is not scary at all, so I want to try it.
The line goes quickly. When I see the ride cars and get placed in the very back, I know immediately I will not enjoy the ride. The ride cars look exactly the same as the ones on the Matterhorn in Disneyland. I rode the Matterhorn twice. The first time I was in the very front and loved the ride. The 2nd time, the very last seat, and it was very rough. I was thrown around so much that I was afraid I would break a bone.
My prediction about the back seat is correct. I am thrown around on Space Mountain. It hurts a lot. Sorry no ride picture – I have it, but I am straining trying to brace myself, and the picture looks horrible! This is a one and done for me.
I exit, and head to the Stitch line. It is 1:55 and I am 3rd in line. Stich comes out!!!
I enjoy interacting with Stitch! BTW, Stich slobbers. A lot. He hugged me 3 times, and each time….slobber, slobber, slobber!
I had not expected to see Stitch today, and am glad I wore my Stitch shirt to the park!!!
By the time I am done with my interaction, the CM has closed off the line to see Stitch! I am glad I got there early
I look at the app. Tron VQ is now calling group 80. One more to go! I head over to Tron. While waiting for my group to be called, I get another Photopass picture:
I’ve never actually seen Tron, so I have no idea what the significance of this is….but it’s a nice shot!
Finally, my group is called! I head to the line. At the end of the standby line, I ask the CM where to go for DAS. She explains that the ride is currently down. (wait, wasn’t my group just called???). I ask what my options are. I could either wait, OR come back at any time later today as long as my group has already been called!
I ask: If I head back to my hotel for a break, and come back later in the evening, that is ok??
YEP!
Sweet. I know I will try riding Tron at night.
Now though, I need to leave the park for a break, as I am long overdue and waning quickly. I stop to get a Cream Cheese Pretzel while leaving Tomorrowland and plan to eat it in the hotel.
But then I walk by Buzz and realize I want to get the ride photo. I still have an MEP from Pirates and spontaneously decide to use it. I pass the first scan and enter the building. The line is LONG, it is loud and crowded. Hmmm…I wait a couple of minutes and the line doesn’t move. NOPE. Not going to be able to do this queue. I push past the people built up in line behind me to exit. Sigh. It looks like even with LL access, there are some lines I am not able to do. I continue to exit the park.
On main street, I notice crowds gathering for the 3:00 pm parade. I contemplate staying, but know I really should not. I go further down main street.
It’s now 2:55. I’m almost to the exit. I notice an almost empty area at the head of the main street circle that is fully in the shade. I ask a nearby CM if this is the beginning or end of the parade – it’s the end. Shoot. I shouldn’t wait. I start to head out, and then stop. Why not? I’m here, it’s a good spot, and it should start soon. I go over and sit down. There is only one row of people in front of me on the curb. The cement is cool and it is refreshing. I can see all the way down main street to the castle. I am surprised there are not more people sitting here!
It takes about 20 minutes for the parade to get to my spot. In the meantime, there are many people standing behind me, but I barely notice. I sit and eat my pretzel. It is good!
I enjoy the floats and the characters. My favorite is the Tangled float:
I enjoy watching the acrobatics!
Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Pinocchio, Donald Duck, and other characters from my childhood go by.
Then comes a big mechanical dragon!!!
Neat!
Finally, I see Mickey and Minnie again:
It is the end of the parade. I get up to finally take my long overdue break.
I am glad I am at the end of Main Street, as I leave the park at the head of the crowds. I REALLY need to be back at the hotel to rest. I am glad I stayed for the parade, but I am very much overloaded.
I get back to the hotel easily and find a surprise from housekeeping in my room:
I always travel with a small blanket (the planets glow in the dark!), and my stuffed elephant Ellie. My Dad gave me Ellie in my early tweens, and she has since traveled to over 20 different countries with me! She has also had many names over the years, but the most recent was given by my nieces, and will thus probably stick
It’s time to rest. After setting an alarm, I sink into oblivion.
awrites
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2023
It's a light disc/identity disc! I forget the nuances myself but have a vague memory of the Tron programs (characters in the Tron game-world) throwing them like frisbees.I’ve never actually seen Tron, so I have no idea what the significance of this is….but it’s a nice shot!
According to the tronfandom wiki: "Identity discs have two primary functions: as weapons and for storing information. Discs have been worn by basics, ISOs, and users. Although a human being is a far more complex entity than a basic program, digitized users, who have only been known to arrive without discs, still appear to need them during prolonged stays on the Grid."I love all the magic shots you got! That's one of my biggest regrets from our trip--we kept running from thing to thing and hardly ever stopped for the PP photographers, and never got any magic shots. I'll try to plan it out better next time!
jrmint427
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2013
What a cool magic shot!
It really does! Is it the same at DL?
The I Lava you Float is my favorite but it does melt fast when it's hot!
How cool! My daughter really wanted to meet Stitch but we never caught him out at MK while we were there.
So cute! We will have to keep walking by that area next time. Did he ever pop up on the app?
Counting Stars
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2022
Really great trip report- sound like your vacay is really improving by leaps and bounds! What a terrific day at the Magic Kingdom, thanks for taking the time to share!
It's a light disc/identity disc! I forget the nuances myself but have a vague memory of the Tron programs (characters in the Tron game-world) throwing them like frisbees.
I love all the magic shots you got! That's one of my biggest regrets from our trip--we kept running from thing to thing and hardly ever stopped for the PP photographers, and never got any magic shots. I'll try to plan it out better next time!
Thank you for the explanation! This is helpful
I was on the fence whether or not to purchase Memorymaker, and by about the 2nd day, realized how much I was enjoying the magic shots so made it a priority. I wish you had gotten more opportunity for yours - but it is also so hard to balance all of the different things to do and the limited time in the park! I was fortunate to be alone, being in a group with multiple people makes all of that even more difficult!
I'm enjoying reading your trip report too, btw. Thanks for commenting on mine!
Thank you very much! I still have 2 more days of my trip to share
At DL a lot of the jokes fell flat for me, and I was impartial to the ride. I was pleasantly surprised with my Skipper at WDW - such a vastly different experience!
From what I read on DIS about Stitch is that he is hit/miss in Tomorrowland and not always in the app. I didn't see him show up later (albeit I stopped looking once I knew from the CM when he would show). He was there around 1:30 pm, and again around 2:00 pm. If you are looking at Carousal of Progress from the People Mover queue, is is way way way off to the right in an almost deserted area next to the building there. Easy to miss unless you know where/when to look.
Thanks! Once I actually got there.....things went pretty smoothly. Part of that is all the info from here on Disboards and the people who have shared previous reports to thank - part of the reason I chose to write my own.
6b: Day 4 Magic Kingdom: Evening
Like the day before, I sleep soundly. Even though I want to get back to the parks quickly, I set my alarm for a 3 hour nap – I know I need the down-time.
Once awake, I head out quickly. The plan is to return to Magic Kingdom. I am lucky and get a bus right away. I ask the bus driver for transportation cards – he has some! Yay!
I head to 7 Dwarves Mine Train. My boarding time arrived during my nap, and so I decide to start here. The lightning lane is stretched out similar to HM earlier in the day. SHOOT! I ask the CM at the end of the line for an estimate – about 15 minutes. I decide to try it – I just got back from a break so my tolerance is higher, plus I don’t think it is likely the LL will ever go down for this ride due to its popularity.
It turns out the CM is correct! The line moves quickly and I don’t have any difficulties (yay!). When boarding, I get the very last car.
In front of me is a woman and her friend who have obviously ridden many times. She is quite large and keeps her hands in the air the whole time, completely obstructing my view and making me have to lean back so they are not directly in my face. Inside the mine they both rock back and forth, make the car tilt extremely far to the left/right. They are singing loudly.
Ummm….ok, I’m glad you’re having a good time, but there are two people behind you who have never ridden before……that due to all of the above can’t actually enjoy the ride. I suspect she will completely block me in the ride photo.
Yep. You can ‘kind-of’ see me behind her arm there in the back. She’s also blocking the random guy sitting next to me (and it was also HIS first time on the ride).
Sigh.
After 7-dwarves, I make my way over to Pooh. I have a LL that is ready to enter.
The queue for Pooh is horrendous. Who on earth decided it was a great idea to let people bang around for who knows how long on what kind of crazy interactive elements going on over there in the standby line??? What?!?!?!
This is a nightmare. Hellish. Torture. All just for a ride.
I consider options. The LL is short, maybe 10-20 people deep. Probably about a 5-10 minute wait. Can I do it?
The line is moving quickly. 5 minutes in. I’m only a few people from the front. 4 groups in front of me. Now 3. Oh please please please just let me on the ride and have this torture stop!
2. 1. I’m on….the ride cart enters the dark portion and the utter chaos behind me slowly fades away.
Thank goodness!
Except…my brain is now scrambled and I am not able to take in or process anything about the ride. I think at one point I realized I should check to see if the cart is bouncing (I remember reading that the main difference between Pooh in DL and at WDW is that the cars bounce). I briefly register that yes in fact they are bouncing, and then my brain goes back to completely zoning out everything around me.
That’s it. That’s all I got out of the ride. The cars bounce.
I exit quickly, and realize I need to go somewhere quiet to re-set and take a break, and decide to walk around back behind 7-dwarves where I see some photopass photographers noted on the map.
I make a friend. I also got the Ariel’s grotto video magic shot but don’t know how to post it here
It’s starting to get dark and fireworks start in half an hour. There is no possibility of me being able to handle crowds on main street, so I avoid going in that direction. I also realize I haven’t eaten any dinner (oops) and should probably get some food. I walk back towards Fantasy Land and look on the app for restaurants that are open. There aren’t many.
I decide to order a kids pizza from Pinocchio Haus, taking my food to go with the thought of walking around until I can find a quiet place without a lot of people and eat it. I don’t have far to go – the tables outside of Pinocchio Haus are all almost completely deserted. I grab a table and also realize I can see the castle here with almost not obstruction!! This seems like a great place to hang out to watch fireworks, and I do just that.
The show is interesting. I can’t see most of the projections because I am viewing the backside of the castle. All of the smaller fireworks are easy to see. Then the larger fireworks start going off behind me. It feels like I’m literally sitting in the middle of the show! NEAT! (Luckily I don’t have difficulty with fireworks so would have otherwise needed to skedaddle once the larger ones starting going off behind me). I keep flipping from watching in-front of/behind me for the duration of the show.
The show ends, and I decide to beeline for TRON, hoping to get there before all of the fireworks crowd. I avoid the crowds by going around 7-dwarves again, past Dumbo/Barnstormer.
I find the CM who can convert the VQ into DAS/LL. He scans my magic band and jokes “Did you know you are 325 minutes past your scan in time?” My brain does NOT take this type of humor well at all. Because there is an implication that I am breaking rules, or not following them, and this puts me into a tail spin. I start stammering:
Iwastherewhenthevqwascalledandtheridebrokedownandtheytoldmeicouldcomebackatanytimeandimnottryingtobreakanyrules….
The CM interrupts me telling me he was only joking. I replied I know but my brain can’t handle rule-breaking or discrepancy well at all!
There is a woman standing next to me who overhears our conversation. She has a slight smile. I think maybe she might have an autistic family member and probably understands WHY that particular joke didn’t compute well with me.
Oh well, I’ve got the LL! I get in line and it progresses quickly. I LOVE the tron queue. I especially like the long narrow hallways with all the LED lights – blue is my favorite color, and I could hang out here for a very long time
I progress to the ride. It is such a weird position to ride in! I also am a little nervous about the ride, as I didn’t watch many ride videos before the trip as I didn’t think I would be able to maneuver the VQ very well. I spend the whole time absolutely scared that there will be a sudden drop that I will then be looking directly at the ground in because of the position of the seats. There isn’t! Whew!
I’d go on TRON again, but probably will skip it until it is no longer in a VQ. Waiting for my group to be called earlier in the day was problematic as it pushed me past my limits of staying in the park in the afternoon. If the VQ stays, I’ll only be able to ride it if I am lucky enough to get a group called at a time I can ride without overextending, OR if they relax the ability to return at a later time.
I realize my nighttime ride was down to luck – But I also wish there was some way I could have known the ride would break down right after it was called, because I could have otherwise left the park earlier for my break!!
Leaving TRON, I see the same Photopass stop from earlier and realize the background is now completely different (Nighttime LED blue lights!!)
I stop and repeat the same photo from before. This photographer also adds in a pose that I didn’t get earlier!
While walking through Tomorrowland, I realize I want to do one more ride: The Astro Orbiter. I rode this at Disneyland and enjoyed it. The positioning of the ride in WDW will make it even better, especially with Tomorrowland all it up at night!
It’s hard to get a good picture, but it’s neat being up here with all the lights!
I disembark and am pretty beat. I would like to ride PeopleMover, the line is short, and hello, Tomorrowland at night! I barely resist, knowing that I’m so tired I wouldn’t even be able to enjoy it.
I start to exit and pass by Buzz. Same thing – would the line be short enough now that I could handle it? I’d be able to get my ride photo that I want!
Despite having an unused MEP in my account from earlier in the day, giving me immediate LL access, I skip them.
There is however ONE more thing I will let myself do before leaving MK for the night: The Lanterns Photopass!
I had walked by the spot earlier in the evening after dark but no photographer was there. I will probably NOT be in MK in the dark again, so despite being on my last bit of strength, this would be my only opportunity.
I find the spot. The photographer is there. It’s 10:15 pm and there is a fairly long line, BUT the area is quiet and there are no crowds. I decide to wait.
The wait is about 20 minutes. There’s a family behind me the whole time. When I get to the front, a woman sitting on the wall says to the family BEHIND me: I’m in the front of the line and waiting for my group. You can go ahead of me. The family steps around me to the front of the line.
Um, hello? Just because you are in front, doesn’t mean you can tell the people behind me to cut in front of me.
I assert my place and step back in front of the family. They are upset – at ME. Meanwhile the woman’s group returns, and she turns to me and says “guess you don’t get to go in front of me after all.”
Like, what? I wasn’t trying to cut you, just keep people from behind me cutting me!
When it’s finally my turn, as I start to pose I get numerous tics in my neck, shoulders and face. It takes about a minute for them to subside, and it takes a lot of effort not to involuntarily drop the lantern I am holding :/ The tics are a result of overextension, tiredness, and then dealing with that nice little exchange in the line. Most of the pictures the photographer takes are pretty bad, but I do manage to get one good picture!
It's a neat magic shot. It’s worth the 20 minute wait, albeit NOT the exchange with the two women in line.
That’s it. I’m done in. Completely and utterly. I beeline out of the park and drop into bed immediately upon returning to POFQ.
Like the day before, I sleep soundly. Even though I want to get back to the parks quickly, I set my alarm for a 3 hour nap – I know I need the down-time.
Once awake, I head out quickly. The plan is to return to Magic Kingdom. I am lucky and get a bus right away. I ask the bus driver for transportation cards – he has some! Yay!
I head to 7 Dwarves Mine Train. My boarding time arrived during my nap, and so I decide to start here. The lightning lane is stretched out similar to HM earlier in the day. SHOOT! I ask the CM at the end of the line for an estimate – about 15 minutes. I decide to try it – I just got back from a break so my tolerance is higher, plus I don’t think it is likely the LL will ever go down for this ride due to its popularity.
It turns out the CM is correct! The line moves quickly and I don’t have any difficulties (yay!). When boarding, I get the very last car.
In front of me is a woman and her friend who have obviously ridden many times. She is quite large and keeps her hands in the air the whole time, completely obstructing my view and making me have to lean back so they are not directly in my face. Inside the mine they both rock back and forth, make the car tilt extremely far to the left/right. They are singing loudly.
Ummm….ok, I’m glad you’re having a good time, but there are two people behind you who have never ridden before……that due to all of the above can’t actually enjoy the ride. I suspect she will completely block me in the ride photo.
Yep. You can ‘kind-of’ see me behind her arm there in the back. She’s also blocking the random guy sitting next to me (and it was also HIS first time on the ride).
Sigh.
After 7-dwarves, I make my way over to Pooh. I have a LL that is ready to enter.
The queue for Pooh is horrendous. Who on earth decided it was a great idea to let people bang around for who knows how long on what kind of crazy interactive elements going on over there in the standby line??? What?!?!?!
This is a nightmare. Hellish. Torture. All just for a ride.
I consider options. The LL is short, maybe 10-20 people deep. Probably about a 5-10 minute wait. Can I do it?
The line is moving quickly. 5 minutes in. I’m only a few people from the front. 4 groups in front of me. Now 3. Oh please please please just let me on the ride and have this torture stop!
2. 1. I’m on….the ride cart enters the dark portion and the utter chaos behind me slowly fades away.
Thank goodness!
Except…my brain is now scrambled and I am not able to take in or process anything about the ride. I think at one point I realized I should check to see if the cart is bouncing (I remember reading that the main difference between Pooh in DL and at WDW is that the cars bounce). I briefly register that yes in fact they are bouncing, and then my brain goes back to completely zoning out everything around me.
That’s it. That’s all I got out of the ride. The cars bounce.
I exit quickly, and realize I need to go somewhere quiet to re-set and take a break, and decide to walk around back behind 7-dwarves where I see some photopass photographers noted on the map.
I make a friend. I also got the Ariel’s grotto video magic shot but don’t know how to post it here
It’s starting to get dark and fireworks start in half an hour. There is no possibility of me being able to handle crowds on main street, so I avoid going in that direction. I also realize I haven’t eaten any dinner (oops) and should probably get some food. I walk back towards Fantasy Land and look on the app for restaurants that are open. There aren’t many.
I decide to order a kids pizza from Pinocchio Haus, taking my food to go with the thought of walking around until I can find a quiet place without a lot of people and eat it. I don’t have far to go – the tables outside of Pinocchio Haus are all almost completely deserted. I grab a table and also realize I can see the castle here with almost not obstruction!! This seems like a great place to hang out to watch fireworks, and I do just that.
The show is interesting. I can’t see most of the projections because I am viewing the backside of the castle. All of the smaller fireworks are easy to see. Then the larger fireworks start going off behind me. It feels like I’m literally sitting in the middle of the show! NEAT! (Luckily I don’t have difficulty with fireworks so would have otherwise needed to skedaddle once the larger ones starting going off behind me). I keep flipping from watching in-front of/behind me for the duration of the show.
The show ends, and I decide to beeline for TRON, hoping to get there before all of the fireworks crowd. I avoid the crowds by going around 7-dwarves again, past Dumbo/Barnstormer.
I find the CM who can convert the VQ into DAS/LL. He scans my magic band and jokes “Did you know you are 325 minutes past your scan in time?” My brain does NOT take this type of humor well at all. Because there is an implication that I am breaking rules, or not following them, and this puts me into a tail spin. I start stammering:
Iwastherewhenthevqwascalledandtheridebrokedownandtheytoldmeicouldcomebackatanytimeandimnottryingtobreakanyrules….
The CM interrupts me telling me he was only joking. I replied I know but my brain can’t handle rule-breaking or discrepancy well at all!
There is a woman standing next to me who overhears our conversation. She has a slight smile. I think maybe she might have an autistic family member and probably understands WHY that particular joke didn’t compute well with me.
Oh well, I’ve got the LL! I get in line and it progresses quickly. I LOVE the tron queue. I especially like the long narrow hallways with all the LED lights – blue is my favorite color, and I could hang out here for a very long time
I progress to the ride. It is such a weird position to ride in! I also am a little nervous about the ride, as I didn’t watch many ride videos before the trip as I didn’t think I would be able to maneuver the VQ very well. I spend the whole time absolutely scared that there will be a sudden drop that I will then be looking directly at the ground in because of the position of the seats. There isn’t! Whew!
I’d go on TRON again, but probably will skip it until it is no longer in a VQ. Waiting for my group to be called earlier in the day was problematic as it pushed me past my limits of staying in the park in the afternoon. If the VQ stays, I’ll only be able to ride it if I am lucky enough to get a group called at a time I can ride without overextending, OR if they relax the ability to return at a later time.
I realize my nighttime ride was down to luck – But I also wish there was some way I could have known the ride would break down right after it was called, because I could have otherwise left the park earlier for my break!!
Leaving TRON, I see the same Photopass stop from earlier and realize the background is now completely different (Nighttime LED blue lights!!)
I stop and repeat the same photo from before. This photographer also adds in a pose that I didn’t get earlier!
While walking through Tomorrowland, I realize I want to do one more ride: The Astro Orbiter. I rode this at Disneyland and enjoyed it. The positioning of the ride in WDW will make it even better, especially with Tomorrowland all it up at night!
It’s hard to get a good picture, but it’s neat being up here with all the lights!
I disembark and am pretty beat. I would like to ride PeopleMover, the line is short, and hello, Tomorrowland at night! I barely resist, knowing that I’m so tired I wouldn’t even be able to enjoy it.
I start to exit and pass by Buzz. Same thing – would the line be short enough now that I could handle it? I’d be able to get my ride photo that I want!
Despite having an unused MEP in my account from earlier in the day, giving me immediate LL access, I skip them.
There is however ONE more thing I will let myself do before leaving MK for the night: The Lanterns Photopass!
I had walked by the spot earlier in the evening after dark but no photographer was there. I will probably NOT be in MK in the dark again, so despite being on my last bit of strength, this would be my only opportunity.
I find the spot. The photographer is there. It’s 10:15 pm and there is a fairly long line, BUT the area is quiet and there are no crowds. I decide to wait.
The wait is about 20 minutes. There’s a family behind me the whole time. When I get to the front, a woman sitting on the wall says to the family BEHIND me: I’m in the front of the line and waiting for my group. You can go ahead of me. The family steps around me to the front of the line.
Um, hello? Just because you are in front, doesn’t mean you can tell the people behind me to cut in front of me.
I assert my place and step back in front of the family. They are upset – at ME. Meanwhile the woman’s group returns, and she turns to me and says “guess you don’t get to go in front of me after all.”
Like, what? I wasn’t trying to cut you, just keep people from behind me cutting me!
When it’s finally my turn, as I start to pose I get numerous tics in my neck, shoulders and face. It takes about a minute for them to subside, and it takes a lot of effort not to involuntarily drop the lantern I am holding :/ The tics are a result of overextension, tiredness, and then dealing with that nice little exchange in the line. Most of the pictures the photographer takes are pretty bad, but I do manage to get one good picture!
It's a neat magic shot. It’s worth the 20 minute wait, albeit NOT the exchange with the two women in line.
That’s it. I’m done in. Completely and utterly. I beeline out of the park and drop into bed immediately upon returning to POFQ.
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Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.
Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
