We are up at 6am to eat breakfast and start our morning routine prior to leaving for the Magic Kingdom. Leaving our room at about 8:30 we walk to the transportation stop and arrived at 9:10 on our Disney Transportation bus to a massive line at security that handles the bus and ferry passengers. We notice the center security line, which services only the monorail passengers, is almost empty so we hightail it over to the center of the park entry and get right into the park.

Passing through a crowded Main Street we head straight for the wildest ride in the wilderness “Thunder Mountain”. We have found that if we get to Thunder and Splash Mountains early they are basically a walk on rides and 2 of the high wait time rides are crossed off our list (there was one time we got to stay on Thunder Mountain for another trip as there was nobody else in line, always ask if possible).

This ride exists at Disneyland, Disney World, Disney Paris and Tokyo Disneyland. We have been fortunate to have been on all but Tokyo Disneyland’s ride and can say all 3 are different and fun in their own rights. The Monument Valley inspired Florida version was allocated more space and is a little longer than the Disneyland version.

After the wild ride we make the short walk over to Splash Mountain. This log ride is themed on the characters, stories, and songs from the 1946 Disney film “Song of the South” and has variations in the story and features at the Disneyland and Disney World attractions. The attraction begins with a peaceful outdoor float that leads to indoor dark ride segments as you follow Brer Rabbit on his adventure, the ride finishes with a 50 foot steep drop into the “briar patch” (note: you will get you wet!) followed by an indoor finale where Brer Rabbit finds there is no place like home. This is another ride, other than “It’s a Small World” that will have the tune going through your mind the rest of the day, so be warned.

It was now getting close to our Fast-Pass time for the next swinging ride, the 7 Dwarf’s Mine Train. This ride took over for the original Snow White attraction, “Snow White’s Scary Adventures”, in 2014. The swaying family roller coaster has mine ore cars that actually rock side to side as you carom through the corners, hills and Audio-Animatronic characters with a mighty “HI HO”. The interactive queue is said to be outstanding but we have always had fast-passes so we can by pass the hour plus standby time for this ride.

After this ride that will have you singing another theme song the rest of the day we had a little time before our fast-passes to Peter Pan so it was off to visit the Little Mermaid on her ride “Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid. This ride is very similar to Disneyland’s version but Disney World got the queue right on this one, very entertaining as you wait in line for the ride.

Now it is time for Peter Pan’s Flight enjoying the flying pirate boats as we sail from London to Never-Never Land.

 

We now are ready for our spirited tour in the Doom Buggies of the Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square. The new interactive queue is very imaginative and fun for kids. Very similar to Disneyland’s version this is a longer ride with a few added surprises along the goulish route. Beware they have room for one more ghost.

We received a disability pass for the 7-Dwarfs Mine Train when we exited the ride earlier and our time has come up, so back we go for another “HI HO” ride on the swinging coaster. The Disabled Pass works just as a fast-pass and lets you skip the hour plus wait in line. You receive a return time, that is as long as the stand-by time, and enter in the fast pass queue line. This is great for individuals with disabilities that have a hard time waiting in the lines but is still sensitive to people waiting in the regular line. The Disabled Pass does not get you on the ride any faster than the stand-by wait time, they have done it right and worked the problems out of the old misused system.

Next it is on to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh were we had again received a wait time for the Disabled Pass. This is another ride here in Disney World that attracts a long standby wait time and should be taken with a fast-pass. This is a slightly different ride than Disneyland so it is well worth the time to visit.

 

 

 

Well after snacking all morning it is finally time for a late lunch. A short walk back to Liberty Square we eat at Columbia Harbor House, a counter service restaurant that serves very good food. We both pick the Battered Fish Pate and sit to enjoy a respite in the cool building. As a tip: use the upstairs dining room after you receive your food as there usually are tables available when downstairs is full.

After filling out stomachs we head over for a swash-buckling time at Pirates of the Caribbean in Adventure Land.  This water based dark ride is another attraction that exists at Disneyland, Disney World, Disney Paris and Tokyo Disneyland. Very fun rides that I can attest are all slightly different at each of the 3 parks we have been able to visit.

Now it’s time for some stand up comedy at Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor. This is a theater experience where Roz, Mike, Marty, Buddy Boil, and others from Monsters Inc and Monster’s University try to fill up the canister with your laughs to help energize Monstropolis. The 400-seat theater has live actor ‘s performing behind a digital screen with audience participation. Just remember who is providing the churros for everyone in the audience. There was one time we saw the show I saw this gentleman about 3 more times during the day. This is a very entertaining attraction and great way to get off your feet for a while.

Next it’s off to our favorite attraction the Carousel of Progress. I was lucky to be able to see this for the first time at the 1964 Worlds Fair when I was 8. Since then it has been a show I must see every time we visit The Magic Kingdom. I was so upset when it left Disneyland. This “Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” is an Animatronic history of life during the 1900’s, 1920’s, 1940’s and the present that has had the most performances of any show. But I have to admit the present has kind of gotten stuck in the 1990’s, so that part of the show needs a refreshing. Still the song is another that will stick with you and my granddaughter still sings it even after visiting the park a year ago.

Next we enjoy another ride removed from Disneyland, The People Mover. This is a nice slow relaxing journey on a raised track through Tomorrow Land.

The last thing to do here at the Magic Kingdom for today is to have hand scooped ice cream from Plaza Ice Cream Parlor on Main Street. They do not have the waffle cones we both love so we end up getting a Sunday in a waffle bowl; good but we miss the waffle cones, please bring them back.

Walking back down Main Street we exit the park and jump on the Monorail to the Grand Floridian Hotel to walk around and check out their meal offerings for our next lunch day at the Magic Kingdom. After perusing the menu’s and exploring the Lobby we catch the boat back to Magic Kingdom and catch our bus to our villa at Saratoga Springs. The buses are a nice way to get from your hotel to the parks and back, as the ride is not longer than 20-30 minutes to the farthest park from our villa and they run every 10-20 minutes depending on the time of day. Sure beats renting a car, driving and paying the parking fees if you are not leaving Disney Property.

Back at the villa at 6PM we ended up walking about 14,000 steps in 5.63 miles and again we are tired. Grabbing some light snacks for dinner we start the nightly routine getting ready for a good nights sleep so we can awake refreshed for our movie adventures at Hollywood Studios.