Despite their being teenagers, the boys say that the Magic Kingdom is still their favorite park, because, as J put it, “it’s the most Disney of the parks in Disney World.” I would have thought they’d have outgrown the kiddie rides, and to some extent they have, but I sense that they still enjoy the magic and spirit of Disney that only the Magic Kingdom has. I agree with that sentiment.
Disneyland is pretty much just a different version of the Magic Kingdom. It’s smaller and much more densely crowded than the Magic Kingdom, it has all of the same iconic rides, but it is also less hot and humid in the summer. I enjoy the rides at the Magic Kingdom, but it’s mostly the sense of being “in Disney” that makes it special.
My focus on Wednesday (8/8) was to do everything that James wanted, taking advantage of the nighttime Extra Magic Hours to squeeze in everything he could want. First thing upon arrival, in Tomorrowland, we rode Buzz Lightyear on standby (when the line was short), the Tomorrowland transit Authority People Mover (outdoor and elevated, but shaded; I got GoPro video), and the Carousel of Progress (which was indoor and air conditioned). We also got a family photo on the Memory Maker. After making some minor rearrangements early in the morning, I had also scheduled FastPass+ reservations for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (the Magic Kingdom’s newest ride), Splash Mountain (always a crowd favorite in the heat and humidity), and Pirates of the Carribbean (also an air conditioned, indoor favorite in the heat and humidity) early in the morning, not only to avoid long lines but also to make room — once the initial three FastPass+’s were used — to add more FastPass+’s later in the day. We also rode the Haunted Mansion right after Seven Dwarfs, while the standby line was relatively short, and we had lunch at the Columbia Harbour House right before Splash Mountain and right after the restaurant opened.
In the afternoon, we rode the Big Thunder Mountain roller coaster using the standby line (which was about 45 minutes), watched the Country Bear Jamboree, watched the Festival of Fantasy Parade (outdoors and hot and humid! I got GoPro video), watched Philharmagic (indoors and air conditioned!), rode the Jungle Cruise (new FastPass+), watched the Enchanted Tiki Room (indoor and air conditioned), and climbed the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse to kill time before dinner. (On the way up, I heard an African American woman say “Whose idea was it to climb all these stairs?”) Before the Jungle Cruise, we tried meeting Gaston near Gaston’s tavern, but the 4 PM line was closed by the time we got there, and we didn’t have time to catch the 5 PM line between the Jungle Cruise and our dinner reservation for 5:55 PM at the Jungle Navigation Company Skipper Canteen in Adventureland. We had light snacks from Gaston’s Tavern and killed a little time in a gift shop before returning to Adventureland for the Jungle Cruise.
BTW, in the men’s room near Rapunzel’s Tower in Fantasyland, I was charmed by the Tangled theming, and I noticed that the walls at the sinks were adorned by cast iron frying pans instead of mirrors. “I have got to get me one of these!"
All in all, though, we had a pretty full afternoon at the Magic Kingdom, well on our way to filling J’s intent to do everything that he was interested in.
At our last visit to the Magic Kingdom a couple of years ago, we ate for the first time at the Jungle Navigation Company LTD Skipper Canteen, a then-new table service restaurant themed on the Jungle Cruise ride with much of the same sense of humor. The food is hearty and flavorful, albeit not of the signature fine dining style (and not of that expense, either).
The only signature dining restaurant in the Magic Kingdom is Cinderella’s Royal Table, which is also character dining. We’ve never eaten there, and I couldn’t get a reservation at Be Our Guest at any time, although we weren’t really eager to eat there, having already done so in the past. However, we did enjoy our previous visit to the Jungle Navigation Co., so I had made dinner reservations here.
When we were shown to our table, our escort said, “Your server will be Frank. Good luck with that. I can’t guarantee anything.” When Frank later inquired if this was our first time, we said no, and he said, “And you survived? Welcome back!” As I said, Jungle Cruise humor.
J and I had a steak (and I had a couple of beers, Blue Moon), W had the sustainable fish, and Hsuan had the steak salad — that kind of fare.
After dinner, we went back to Tomorrowland to watch the Laugh Floor show, pausing on the way for a family photo in front of Cinderella’s Castle. Then we stopped by the Magic Kingdom Fireworks Dessert (pre-show) Party. I always enjoy the Magic Kingdom Fireworks evening show, the best fireworks show of any park in or out of Disney, but I’m always frustrated by less-than-optimal viewing locations. This time, I purchased (weeks ago) reservations for the dessert party, which is held in the Tomorrowland Terrace before the fireworks show and then allows attendees access to a special fireworks viewing area inthe Plaza Garden between the castle and the Tomorrowland Terrace. At $79/person (if I recall correctly), it wasn’t cheap and it wasn’t refundable, but given my past experience, I felt it worth the expense.
I really hate it when a really tall guy stands in front of me and then puts a little kid on his shoulders.
The Happily Ever After fireworks were scheduled for 9:15 PM, and seating began at 7:45 PM. We arrived a bit late, around 8:30 PM. The desserts at the buffet were small but plentiful. Clouds were above, and rainfall was in the area, according to Weatherbug on my iPhone. There was a little drizzle outside, and I was seriously wondering whether the fireworks show would proceed. Just after 9 PM, we put on ponchos and got an escort to the Plaza Garden viewing area, where I staked out a little place to take video. Light rainfall continued, and an announcement of a delay went out. However, at 9:26 PM, the show began, and we all got a great view (despite the light rainfall). I got video. (Oddly, iMovie shows the video starting at 7:26 PM, which isn’t the correct time for either the East Coast or the Pacific Coast. It shows the incorrect time zone for the PSP launch attempts later, too.)
The fireworks would have been a fitting end to our visit to the Magic Kingdom, but J was still on a quest to do everything he was interested in, so we went immediately to ride Buzz Lightyear again (on FastPass+, which I had reserved at dinner). I got over 300000 points, and when I tapped my Magic Band to get our photos, a young woman asked me “How did you do that? I was riding behind you, and I saw your score.” I told her to shoot the targets farther away to get a higher score.
We followed in standby lines with Peter Pan’s Flight (with its remarkable queue), It’s a Small World, and the Tomorrowland Speedway (W and J only, while H (who was in one of her bad moods) and I watched from the stands). Before W and J drove back, one of the cars started burning oil and putting out a lot of smoke, so it was removed from the line by a couple of the girls running the ride.
That was it for J, and on our way out, we stopped in front of Cinderella’s Castle for one last family photo.