Magic Kingdom: Small worlds, long lines, Tomorrowland rope drop, and Christmas magic
Hey gang! This week we went to Magic Kingdom.
I knew ahead of time that it was going to be busy. There were tapings going on for the Christmas show, and the Christmas decorations just all went up…but sometimes a girl just wants to go to MK on a Sunday morning. The decorations were up, and we were able to get in a little early and got some pictures of Cash in front of the giant tree.
We went when they opened to cut down on line time. I was a little bummed that the morning welcome show was audio-only, because the stage in front of the castle was all set up for the tapings. I definitely want to go back to watch that at least once. We waited in line to get to Tomorrowland instead. There were little groups of people all around the main castle area lined up to get into each part of the park. Promptly at 9, they did a little countdown and let everyone loose! We walked inside, and veered right to go to Buzz Lightyear. We were able to walk right on, due to the fact that most people are headed for Space Mountain at opening, which Cash refuses to ride. (Sigh.)
We walked into Buzz and had no issues at all. It’s a fun little shooting ride that Cash loves. I somehow managed to get a bonus and beat Cash by over 100,000 points. He was super impressed, and it felt great. Mom win, haha. Our photo pass worked great, and recognized us without us having to do anything. I did get about 4 copies of the same photo in my account, for some reason. I can understand two, because it watches my band and Cash’s, but I’m not sure why 4. I’ll have to see if it keeps on doing that. We got the one below, and also a fun animated video with the same picture that had Buzz and the aliens walking along the bottom.
Next, we hopped pretty quickly on the Tomorrowland Speedway. We waited about 15 minutes, then were able to ride. This is easily Cash’s other favorite ride, because they let him drive the go cart. They have the cars straddling a metal track, so you can only go so far (and let me tell you, Cash is a terrible driver, so we bounce back and forth a LOT). We were super happy we rode this early, because when we walked by it later in the day it had an hour wait.
Next, we had fast passes for the Jingle Cruise, so we headed over to Frontierland. We have never ridden this ride before. Normally it’s called the “Jungle Cruise,” but they switch up the decorations and the script for Christmas, and I figured we probably did not want to miss it. This is a ride I’m very glad we got fast passes for, because when we walked out of it, the wait time was at least an hour. We thought it was really fun, but I would not have wanted to wait an hour for it.
The queue was super cute with lots of Christmas touches. My favorite was a caged “tarantula” in a Santa suit. I tried really hard to get a picture of it, but it didn’t come out. It was super funny. The ride is on a tour boat, and you have a skipper who talks the whole time, giving the tour. I’m sure these vary from person to person, but ours was really funny. His speech was full of really cheesy puns that kept Cash and I giggling. The sites aren’t that impressive (this was one of the original rides), especially after taking the Kilimanjaro Safari at Animal Kingdom with real animals. The animals look pretty fake, but the real star of the show is definitely your guide, so it didn’t matter much.
We wandered around after that, as the lines were really starting to get long. We tried the chicken and waffles at Sleepy Hollow in Liberty Square (they were excellent, as was the fruit and Nutella one we had last time we were there). Cash “flossed” in front of a replica of the Liberty Bell. We walked through the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse (so cool).
Then we had fast passes for….”it’s a small world.” This one was my pick, as I feel like it’s a classic, and one that we needed to experience at least once. I think we will keep that count at 1. It started off cute, though of course the song gets stuck in your head after about 2 seconds and you’re ready for them to move on. The concept is fun, but after a few minutes you start to feel kind of creeped out, in that way that old toys (and especially old animatronic technology) can do. Then, after awhile you just get bored. At one point Cash and I worried we’d get stuck (the music never stops, just the ride) and then slowly go for-real crazy. Overall, we definitely had so much fun but mainly because it was a bonding experience over how bad it was. I think a very small child would enjoy the ride, because it’s slow and there is lots of color and movement, but that’s about it. My advice is to try it once, then kinda just move on.
We stopped for lunch at the Friar’s Nook, and it was amazing. I have a feeling we might become regulars. Disclaimer: it’s all super unhealthy. It’s not named after a “fryer” by coincidence. But oh man, it’s delicious. Plus, we shared a dish, so we only got half the calories (haha). We ordered the Bacon Mac and Cheese Tator Tots. That’s not a misprint. The also sell fried Twinkies, which are on my “to try” list. I hear the menu changes here often, but I think the tator tots theme is a normal thing. Either way, it was awesome and worth a visit.
By this time Cash was tired, it was hot, and the lines were stupid long. I had an idea though. We cut back over to Tomorrowland and decided to try out another classic: The Carousel of Progress, whose line is never really very long. It was a perfect plan. This show was an original idea of Walt’s and was recreated from an idea he did at the 1964 World’s Fair. It is a progressive theater show, but instead of the audience moving from stage to stage, they designed moving seats that rotate around a circular stage. If you want to read more about it’s super interesting history you can check out the Wikipedia page here. We walked out humming “There’s A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” and headed over to the Haunted Mansion for our final fast passes for the day.
After that, we were pretty tired. We walked casually back towards the entrance to head for our car. I noticed that it was almost parade time, and asked Cash if he wanted to stay to watch the Festival of Fantasy Parade. He was kind of torn, so we decided to play it by ear. We snagged a quick photo op (no line!) with one of the castle photographers, because the crowds were all lined up on the sides of the street. Then we found a little opening along the sidewalk at the end of the street, and decided to sit and wait for the parade.
Now…that is literally how it went down, I swear. After we’d been waiting for about 30 minutes, someone came through and was maybe? collecting tickets. I get a little bit of a feeling that maybe, perhaps, we accidentally snuck into some sort of paid VIP section. We couldn’t see the parade all the way down the street in front of the castle, but it was a pretty fantastic view. For whatever reason, either because we were on the edge of the section or they were just being nice, we didn’t get kicked out. Either way, Cash is still adding it to that list he’s keeping of all the times I’ve BROKEN THE LAW.
Ahem. Anyways, the parade is amazing and definitely worth a watch. It has every character known to man in it, and they are so festive and on the most amazing floats and it’s just…pure Disney magic. You can watch our recap below to see. The parade is very heavily featured.
And that’s a wrap! One of these days we’ll get to see a night show, but so far it’s been so busy, and we have season passes, so…we like to go home and nap. Until next time!
Visiting Disney World over Christmas? Be sure to check out the gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian!