It's a bonus trip - Day 10 Magic Kingdom

[BevS97]

We have been taking this relaxing on vacation malarky a bit too seriously, so I’ve decided we need to get up early and get to Magic Kingdom for extra magic hours. I actually set an alarm clock, and with a certain amount of cajoling we all manage to get up and out early. we walked down the stairs (5th floor!) and took the path across to the bus stop. We got there just as the bus pulled up, so we had no time to wait at all. Perfect.

We enter the park and have a quick debate about where to start. There are loads of characters out, but Mary Poppins has no line so we quickly get a photo with her



We decide to start with Splash and Big Thunder, so we walk over towards Adventureland. Peter Pan is there, so we stop and speak to him. He was quite a character and had a lot to say. I took a series of blurry photos as my camera was still set up for the fireworks the previous night. Let’s hope the photopass photographer is better with a camera than I am !

We had to wait quite a while before we were allowed into Adventureland, and while we are waiting I spot a CM wearing a Newcastle badge. I asked her where she was from, and she said Tynemouth which is very close to our home.

Eventually someone notices that the other bridge is open and people are going in. There is nearly a riot but eventually our rope is also dropped and we are allowed in. Everyone races over to Splash Mountain, but it’s down which means the queue for Big Thunder is massive. We decide to get a Fastpass for Splash, and have a ride on Pirates while we are waiting.

Pirates is a walk-on, and I notice there is a tour guide showing a family around. I’ve seen these tour guides on a few mornings, I do wonder how much that costs, they seem to be taken straight onto each of the rides.



Who wants the redhead?



We came out of Pirates, and noticed that the flying carpets had no queue. In fact, there was so little queue that we didn’t even have to wait in the holding area, we just walked up the ramp and were directed straight to a carpet.





When we got off the flying carpets, Molly noticed that Aladdin and Jasmine were signing autographs so we went over to see them. Just as we got there, Aladdin announced that he needed to take Jasmine on a flying carpet, and they went off and rode with a lucky family.



After there ride, they came back and the girls got to meet them. I was watching them ‘work’, and was very impressed with the way they gave each family there full attention and then as soon as they were gone, they immediately moved to the next child as if they had been waiting to see them all along. They were good at making them all feel special.



It was time for our fastpasses, so we walked back around to Splash. I decided I didn’t want to ride, not because I don’t like it, because I do, but I didn’t have a change of clothes and I didn’t fancy spending the rest of the day with wet knickers. Katie and Molly went off to ride , and Phil and I picked up Big Thunder FP and then wandered around looking for a bench. I found a lovely rocking chair in the shop, and considered spending the rest of the day in there, but I didn’t think the kids would find me again (possibly a bonus? ), we ended up in our usual spot, on the wall beneath the railway station.

When the girls came off, Katie was dry but Molly had sat in a puddle. That always annoys me, it’s one thing to get splashed, but just sitting in a puddle doesn’t seem a good enough reason to be damp all day. Molly wanted to go back on, so she and Phil used the other fastpasses and went straight back on. Katie and I just sat and waited. It wasn’t too long before they were back, and this time Molly was drenched. Luckily I had packed a change of clothes for her, so she popped on a dry dress and pants and was good to go.

We were able to use our Big Thunder fastpasses straight away, so we walked right on there, and got straight on with no queuing at all. Compared to our previous day in Magic Kingdom, this was going much better.



After Big Thunder, we get the train around to the new Fantasyland. As we approached the station, there was a train in which I assumed we had missed, but the conductor held the train for us so that we could get on. We are waiting for nothing today.

We got off at Fantasyland and walked along the path to Tomorrowland.

I was in need of a coffee float, so we sent the kids to get Buzz Lightyear FP, and we went to Aunty Gravitys. This was a new discovery last summer, and we have been back a few times since . They do a lovely coffee float, or smoothies. The kids had a coke float, and a Sprite float.

The standby line for Buzz was 65 minutes, and our fastpasses were for 55 minutes after we collected them. I will never understand how the standby lines get so long. Rather than stand for 65 minutes, we had a float, then a ride on the People Mover,





and I had a short snooze in the carousel of progress. I would have stayed awake if I could have taken some photos, but the lady said no photography and I felt like she was staring straight at me, so I had no option but to drift off.

It was now time for our fastpass, and we walked straight onto Buzz Lightyear. I didn’t really play as I was taking photos, but Katie did quite well.





When we came off the ride, we decided to leave the park. It was getting very hot and busy and we’d had a good morning, so we opted to leave while the going was good. We walked out through the shops on Main street I saw a t-shirt that I quite liked, but I thought I would get it at DTD as I can get a discount there. Phil fancies some cufflinks but we cant find any anywhere.

We hopped on a bus, and made our way back to the Boardwalk, on the bus someone was telling us they were at a convention and Pres Clinton was speaking at the Swan tonight. We saw it on the news later that evening, if I’d looked out of the hotel window we might have spotted him driving past.

Molly and Phil went to the quiet pool and had a swim. Katie and I went shopping at the Boardwalk, I was after a book for Phil for an anniversary present, but they didn’t’ have the one I wanted. They did have the Toll House cookie ice cream sandwiches that we absolutely love. They used to sell these in the parks, but they disappeared from the parks a few years ago, I had hoped to get some the previous night with all my snack credits but they were sold out, however, Katie and I were pleased to get one today. After the swim and shop, we went out to the Lake Buena Vista outlets. I still want a pair of converse, and a few other boring things like work trousers. We had a look in Old Navy and came our with a nice bag full of stuff. I would have liked a better look in some of the other stores, but the girls were bored so it was hopeless.

We went to Sweet Tomatoes for our dinner, and we all had the most massive salads, I think we are craving some veggies. Not something I normally say. I ate far too much in Sweet Tomatoes, mostly all good healthy stuff but still an enormous amount and I was stuffed.

We came back to the Boardwalk, and it was still fairly early, so while the girls watched the Disney Channel, I went down to do some laundry. The machines were all free when I got there, so I thought it was going to go swimmingly, however, things didn’t go quite so well with the drying. I put my load into dry and came upstairs to see how everyone was doing. Phil went down to check on the drying and came back with a bag full of wet washing ‘the dryer isn’t working’. We tried to hang it around the room, but there was a lot of washing and not a lot of places to hang, so I took it back down to the laundry room and eventually managed to get it back in a dryer. There were quite a few people trying to get stuff to dry, and the general consensus was that they dryers didn’t work. There are only 2 dryers for all the villas, which is pretty poor compared to Coronado Springs which had about 20. It was getting late by now, and it took ages to dry everything so at 1am I was finally getting to bed with a bag of clean and dry clothes. Not quite the evening I’d intended.

Day 11 - Blizzard Beach

[Guest]

Ahh the washers lovely chatting to you all today!

[madhatter3]

Another fab day, love the girls mickey ears hats.
Shame about the driers.
Apart from that sounds like you had a fab day.

[Ariel's Mum]

What a fab day - apart from the driers

[Col&Ali]

Magic day today Bev

[jocat]

A great day - how lucky were you with all the queues? We're just heading out to MK now, so hope it's the same for us today.

[BriarRose]

A great day with lots done. Shame about the washing.

[disney owl]

Fab day apart from the driers!

[Guest]

Sounds like a fab day was had by all

[Guest]

fab day was had by all