I took Kevin and Catie to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom on Friday afternoon. Back in March Jim bought us all 4-Day Dream Passes, which are good for four one day visits to any of the four parks at Walt Disney World. The tickets expire at the end of the month, so we need to use them or lose them.
Any visit to one of Disney's theme parks begins with parking lot rid. After parting with $14.00 you get to drive around a parking lot bigger than anything you've ever seen and then take a ride on the tram. Don't forget what aisle you parked in, either. We parked in Goofy.The Magic Kingdom is different from the other theme parks at Walt Disney World in that the parking lot is not in front of the park; there is a huge man-made lake between your car and Cinderella's Castle. To cross over you either have to swim, take a ferry, or take the monorail. We opted for the monorail.
People were lining up along Main Street, USA for the 3 O'Clock parade when we arrived. I performed in the parades at the Magic Kingdom for five summers and I could not believe how few people there were. Early May is a great time to visit the parks.
We decided to skip the parade and went straight for Tomorrowland. Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin is one of my favorite rides and I wanted to do it first. There was a long line when we got there so instead of waiting we got Fast Pass tickets.
Fast Pass is an option that Disney has for some its rides where you get a ticket to come back and go to the front of the line for a ride at a later scheduled time. While we waited for our window we went on Stitch's Great Escape (the version of Alien Counter that help Disney sell more t-shirts) and the Tomorrowland Transit Authority.
Catie was very excited to finally be tall enough to go on the scary rides.After I got the high score on Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Kevin and Catie wanted go on the Carousel of Progress. The ride broke down while we were riding it. So much for progress.
Kevin and Catie were in need of nourishment, so before heading over to the spinning teacups on the Mad Tea Party I filled them up with chicken nuggets, french fries, and soda as we listened to the smooth sounds of Sonny Eclipse at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe.From there we walked over to Toon Town where we took the Walt Disney World Railroad over to Frontierland. The Frontierland Train Station sits right next to Splash Mountain, so we picked up Fast Pass tickets and went for a walk.
Our first stop was Tom Sawyer's Island. I was pleasantly surprised when Kevin told me it was his favorite place in the park.
Tom Sawyer's Island is more of a playground than an attraction. There is a suspension bridge and a bridge made out of barrels. There are also two caves to explore and a frontier fort.
I re-lived my childhood days and pretended to shoot the trains on Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Kevin, a child of the 21st Century, did the same, but used his cellphone to take pictures of himself doing so.After Tom Sawyer's Island we wandered over to Adventureland where we rode Pirates of the Caribbean and trekked through the Swiss Family Robinson's Treehouse.
We also went on the new Aladdin ride. It was my first time trying it out.
Before we headed back to Splash Mountain, I made Kevin and Catie follow me to the center of the park to take a picture of the castle. They sat on a bench and told me to go on ahead; they'd wait for me there. I had to bribe them with a promise of ice cream to get them to take the picture at the beginning of this post.Splash Mountain was great. That and Buzz Lightyear are my two favorite rides in the park. After that Kevin and Catie took a nap while I watched the Hall of Presidents, then we went on the Haunted Mansion, and finished our day up at the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway.
I let Catie drive.By then the park was gearing up for the fireworks. Instead of watching the fireworks from Main Street, USA, we watched the fireworks from the ferry heading back to the parking lot.
We've got two days left on our passes. I hope to go to Animal Kingdom this weekend. Stay tuned!