It's a brand new day. The sun is shining and we have a full 10 hours of Disney ahead of us. Onto the crown jewel of Walt Disney World: the Magic Kingdom. Since I've been in the airline industry, I've visited Disneyland, Tokyo Disney and Disneyland Paris and now to check another off of my list.
Technically, I've visited Disney World before when I was in first grade, but we'll get back to that story. This time it would be as an adult with much Disney knowledge and experience under my belt. The Magic Kingdom better prepare itself for me, oh and that guy I came with.
I told you I brought my own Disney swag. Mickey, Minnie and Bill Murray
WDW comparison #4 (continued from Downtown Disney): The Magic Pass and Magic Bands. No more flimsy cards that are easily lost and torn. Just tap against the mickey symbol at entrance and you can have your park entrance, fastpass, hotel key and dining plan (if we had one) all in one. Genius, pure genius. Speaking of which...
WDW comparison #5: Fast passes. I remember running to the front of the line for fast passes to World of Color in California Adventure. It was rough. Competition is in my blood, but this is a place of happiness and wonderment, not animosity and pushing. Fast passes generally grant your spot in the longest of lines. Before (and probably still in California), you insert your entry ticket and you get an electronic ticket for a ride of your choice. Different fast pass kiosks for different attractions. Not here.
At WDW you do it online. Three fast passes per day, per park goer. It's kind of relieving to do it all ahead of time and electronically. No more rushing to the different kiosks all over the park. But then again there are only three, but we made do with what we had. Plus, it's free. In Disneyland Paris, it cost 60 Euro a person for Fast Pass access, which is a little silly in comparison.
Magic card, wish I had Goofy
"Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy."
I try to take a picture of this sign every time I enter the Disney park. It reminds me that this is a place of good. A place of fond memories, happy tomorrows and living for today. Plus, it's nice to think that even though the parks differ in many ways, they still have the same spirit. It's a symbol of the possibilities and the Disney promise.
Cinderella's castle, and crane
Speaking of symbols... the castle is a park signature. Disneyland has Sleeping Beauty's castle and Walt Disney World has Cinderella's. Like I said in my last post, it's refurbishment season, which is sad, but even Disney doesn't have the kind of magic to avoid such tasks.
Honestly, I would have spent more time gawking at the beautiful tile work inside the castle and browsing the Main Street shops, but we had bigger fish to fry. Even though the crowds were light compared to the Summer season, there were still long lines and therefore little time to waste.
Very recently the Magic Kingdom had gone through a major renovation. Fantasyland has been revamped to include more character-driven decor, such as the castle and tavern from Beauty and the Beast, a family coaster featuring Snow White's seven dwarfs and a Dumbo themed circus area. This is one of the main motivations for visiting this park now. Really, it's beautifully done.
Beast's castle in the New Fantasyland
New Ride, first time, long line :-/
WDW comparison #6: Interactive queues. Disneyland is older than Disney World and a lot smaller. So it has the charm, but not the space. I don't know if it has to do with the crowds from the east as opposed to the west, but there is a lot more thought put into the queues here than DL. It's amazing the things that they put in the lines to give the kids (and kids at heart) to do while waiting. Maybe I would have a little more patient if I frequented this park instead of DL, but probably not.
Singing water
Spinning barrels of gems
Overall the Seven Dwarfs' Mine Train, the newest ride in Fantasyland, was a cute coaster, but a family coaster. I would say it's somewhere between Dumbo and Splash Mountain in intensity, but very cute overall. I'm glad we got to the queue when we did. I thought waiting in line for an hour was bad. By the time we got off the ride, the queue was 2.5 hours long. EEEEKKK.
Drinking fountain by Gaston's Tavern
Rapunzel's tower
Flying with Dumbo with squinty
WDW Comparison #7: The Haunted Mansion. One of the most varying classic Disney attractions is the Haunted Mansion. It differs from park to park and each one has it's own easter eggs and flavors. Unfortunately, I was not able to visit the Paris and Tokyo and DL mansions due to refurbishment (I'm sensing a pattern here). Anyway, I was very excited to go to this one.
Some back story: I'm a scardey cat, as in terrified of the most simple things, and with some waiting and anticipation the fear only gets worse. I freaked myself out so badly waiting in line for ET at Universal Studios Hollywood that I almost cried by the time I got on the bike. Yes, the waiting is the worst part. I keep thinking to myself, "It's not too late to back out. You can just get out of line right now." and the creepier and darker and the longer I stay in the queue, the more I freak out. For this reason we raced through the 5 minute wait time for the Haunted Mansion (during the day) so I would not have time to bail.
The ride is significantly creepier than the DL version, so I'm glad we went on the ride while it was still light out. Otherwise I might have needed some ice cream to revive me. After we exited the mansion we ran into a man who enlightened us on the differences between the mansions in each park, which was fun to hear. This is the only picture I managed to take since I was holding onto Bryan the whole time.
WDW comparison #8: Liberty Square vs New Orleans Square. Both small, both probably overlooked often, but each with their own flavor. I'm partial to the DL New Orleans because it has such personality and flair. It made Liberty Square seem so bland and stark. But I can see how things kind of fit in with Liberty Square, except for the Haunted Mansion. It seems a little out of place. As opposed to the DL version which is dressed to look like an old Southern plantation with white columns.
Waffle sandwiches from Sleepy Hollow in Liberty Square. YUM!
Lick the Liberty Bell
Big Thunder Mountain
Same height as Bill
Finally! Mickey shaped-ice cream!
No gophers for Pooh
Chewy and Stitch
C3PO and Vader
It's a Small World
WDW comparison #8: Shows and characters. So many characters, so many shows. I guess since you are basically in the middle of nowhere, there is no reason to include everything. As a kid I remember getting my souvenir autograph book and asking each character to sign my book for me. Kids still do that, but there are photographers that electronically link your picture to your WDW account/ card. And there are so many of them. Luckily I'm past that phase and we bipassed all the character meet and greets and shows and headed straight for the rides.
Dinner of Shrimp and fries and seafood mac and cheese from Columbia Harbour House
View of Liberty Square during dinner
Splash Mountain
By the time night fell, I was exhausted. My back hurt and my feet were swollen. We had been in the park for 9 hours straight and I was feeling it. So no fireworks, no Main Street Electrical Parade. Just a quick stroll through the shops on Main Street USA and boat ride home.
The most magical place on Earth
Walking down Main Street USA
View without the crowds
I apologize for the lengthy post, both in pictures and text. This is the park that I can compare to all the others and it was a lot to take in even without the other parks to consider. I wish I had more stamina so we could have powered through more Magic Kingdom, but maybe we'll return another time.
-Akemi-chan
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