3 weeks is not enough! Disney & Universal Sept 2016 – Day 2, MK & Grand Floridian

[sha9]

Today was our first MK day. Another hot, humid and sunny day.

I awoke at around 5.40am and just got up. I pottered around checking emails and stuff and had breakfast. MK had changed its hours to 8am opening but Mum didn’t get out of bed until 7ish so no way we were making that. We left around 8.40am and got to bag check at MK by 9am which I thought wasn’t too bad. Of course we were held up at bag check with all the people who take suitcases into the parks. I think it’s the longest I’ve ever waited at bag check. I don’t think it was anything to do with the metal detectors though as it didn’t feel like that took up too much time. Eventually we were through bag check, through the tap stiles and out onto Main St.

[APP]http://www.thedibb.co.uk/postImages/24805/ee69071bdb46dd.jpg[/APP

The original plan for today before the change in hours was a pre-opening breakfast at be Our Guest and lunch at Jungle Cruise Skipper Canteen with no dinner ADR. After the change I decided an early breakfast was a waste (of course we spent that time in the villa anyway!) so cancelled and checked daily for a lunch booking. Finally a few weeks before we left I got one for 10.40am and cancelled the Skipper Canteen. Since we had an early lunch booked now I booked Narcoossee’s for dinner.

A restaurant we didn't eat at.

Our first FP was Splash Mountain and was later in the morning so we headed round to Pirates of the Caribbean which it said was 10 minutes but in reality was walk-on. Marie and I had an unpleasant experience in POTC on our last day 2 years ago when we sat in the front row and got absolutely soaked! We were a bit apprehensive to say the least but we were loaded into rows 5 & 6 so we stayed dry. Just the right pace for Mum although frankly a bit dull for me. We still go on it every time though! Had a we look in the shop afterwards so Mum could find something for one of the many children she always seemed to be buying for. Mainly my nieces but also all my cousins kids. The plans was to get as many Christmas presents as possible!

From Adventureland we wandered through to Frontierland but were still a bit early for our Splash FP. The standby queue said 10 mins so we changed the FP to Haunted Mansion later on and just went stand by. As it turned out it was actually walk on. After watching people come down the big drop Mum said no thanks and found somewhere to wait for us. Again Dad enjoyed this and we didn’t get too wet. Splashy is one of my all time favourites. I think you really get your money’s worth from it with multiple drops and a decent length of ride.

After Splash we continued on through Frontierland. Mum eyed up the riverboat but it’s not something Marie and I have done for years. We’d just missed one so kept walking. It was still some time before our ADR at Be Our Guest but I wasn’t sure if we had time for a ride. We decided to go to Under the Sea to check out the standby queue. On the way I suggested we use the app to pre order our lunch as I’d heard that can speed up the process quite a bit. It was fairly easy and didn’t take long.
When we got to Fantaslyland we had to stop by the Rapunzel toilets. I love the theming of this area!

When we got to Under the Sea there was a 35 minute wait so we didn’t have time. Instead we had a look in Big Top Souvenirs before heading back to BoG for our ADR. Pre ordering definitely made a difference and after checking in we went straight through to pay then chose a table. Lunch was nice and we lingered for a little while enjoying the setting with a cup of tea!

The dining report is here.

After lunch it was time for our 7 Dwarfs Mine Train FP but the ride was down. You could go back any time with your FP so we did a few other attractions until it was back up. Philharmagic is usually a short wait and it’s one of Marie’s favourites so we went there first. Mum and Dad enjoyed it but said they’d preferred It’s Tough to be a Bug.
On to Tomorrowland as we had a FP for Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin. The ride photos of this are hilarious but I’ll be in trouble if I post them! Since we were in the area we took Mum & Dad on Carousel of Progress. Not sure they enjoyed it but me and Marie sang the song for the rest of the day so that didn’t help!

After this my favourite ride – the People Mover. There’s always a point in the day where this is exactly what you need. I’d really like to be able to take a Dole Whip or smoothie on it! Unfortunately there was a bit of a queue! It moved fairly quickly though.

Once we’d finished in Tomorrowland (including a look in the shops) we decided a Dole Whip was required so wandered across to Adventureland. Now that they’ve swapped Sunshine Tree Terrace and Aloha Isle we were able to get a table and sit and enjoy our Dole Whip floats.

It was time then for our Haunted Mansion FP and after that 7DMT was running again so before leaving the park for the day we rode that. We had thought Mum might be ok on it but after seeing it she decided against it. The rest of us went on with about a 5 minute wait and really enjoyed it. I know a lot of people feel this ride is over-hyped but I love it and the only drawback for me is it’s too short.

We headed back to OKW after that to get ready for dinner. Dad fell asleep on the couch while the ladies got showered and changed. Dad takes about 5 seconds to have a shower and ask if the shirt he’s wearing is acceptable!
We headed out to the Grand Floridian and when we got to the security booth gave our name. We were directed on through but not told where to park so I just parked in the guest parking lot. As we walked through the hotel we pointed out to Mum where we’d stayed on out last trip. Loved that night at the Grand Floridian!
Narcoossee’s was lovely and we enjoyed it. We were tired so didn’t hang around after our meal to explore the resort and just headed back to OKW. We stopped at Goods to Go to get drinks in our refillable mugs. We’d been offered substitutions of soup or salad instead of dessert at Narcoossee’s so had some left over desserts from the previous day with our coffee before heading to bed. I think I put the light out about 9ish again after writing up some trip notes.

[waiting4disney]

Another fun day.

[Excitedx4]

Love a magic kingdom day, it doesn't feel like Disney until you've done magic kingdom. One of my favourite ride splash mountain too

[disneytrio]

Another great day, going to have t read your food report later aswell.