During our recent trip to Orlando, we spent our first day in the Magic kingdom. If you have young kids, this park is a must. You could spend a few days in this park trying to taking it all in. But with small kids some of the most popular rides in the park were of no interest to us. This helped us to go through the park easily in one day including a break in the afternoon.
We were staying in the park that day and was able to take advantage of the extra Magic hour in the morning. We did get there really early and took the ferry across from the parking lot to the park. Though it was earlier than normal, there were still a lot of people that were there already. But I realized later in the day that, the few early hours were really a great time to be in the park.
We rushed to Fantasyland ( through the Cindrella's castle )with a view to do the Dumbo ride and the Winnie the Pooh ride before the lines formed.
Obviously, the kids have a knack to way lay the best laid plans and my elder wanted to go on the carousal instead of the Dumbo ride.
To make things worse, the Winnie the Pooh ride broke down. Not a very auspicious start to the holiday. We finally split up, Mother and elder one going on the Carousal and Dad and younger one going on Dumbo. We were hoping that the Carosal ride would be over in enough time for Prahlad to join and be a threesome on Dumbo. Apparently, the carosal broke down for the first time in years and we both finished the ride at the same time. And we were off to Winnie the Pooh ride.
The wait time was around 15 minutes and we decided not to use the Fastpass there. The line was interesting with games and exhibits (like the Rabbit's garden, Winnie's hunny pot collection) to keep the kids entertained. The ride itself was fun (Had the same general story line of the ride in Disney Land California).
There was an interactive wall of 'hunny', where you can pretend as if you have your hand against a cascade of honey moving your hands back and forth on the touch sensitive screen. Interestingly, the screens have the images of Winnie, Piglet and Tigger hidden underneath them. You will need to search for them though.
We then set out to Toontown to meet Mickey. Little did we know that Toontown was under renovation!!! That was something of a surprise to us. We didn't see any mention of this on the websites, nor did the maps that Disney send us mention it. We had some strong feelings of displeasure then and was certain we would send a strongly worded email to Disney. We still haven't done it though.
As we were standing in front of the Tommorowland Speedway as we were planning our next steps,we decided to try out the ride. (It was not on our original list). Both the kids got a driver's license before they got to drive, and that too issued by Mickey himself. I didn't know even a 20-month can get a DL in this world !
It was indeed a fun ride for the children and we decided to do it one more time.
Next it was off to the Mickey's Philharmagic 4D movie. This is one of my favourites. It is a 4D movie which you watch with special glasses. Mickey looks for the instruments in his orchestra and calls on Donald duck to take care of that. He runs after the instruments and flies all over the place and meets Peter pan, Alladin,etc. The bit where you are following Alladin on a magic carpet really feels like you are on a carpet flying over Agrabah.
We were staying in the park that day and was able to take advantage of the extra Magic hour in the morning. We did get there really early and took the ferry across from the parking lot to the park. Though it was earlier than normal, there were still a lot of people that were there already. But I realized later in the day that, the few early hours were really a great time to be in the park.
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| The ferry boat |
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| One of the paintings on the wall of the castle, from the story of Cindrella |
Obviously, the kids have a knack to way lay the best laid plans and my elder wanted to go on the carousal instead of the Dumbo ride.
To make things worse, the Winnie the Pooh ride broke down. Not a very auspicious start to the holiday. We finally split up, Mother and elder one going on the Carousal and Dad and younger one going on Dumbo. We were hoping that the Carosal ride would be over in enough time for Prahlad to join and be a threesome on Dumbo. Apparently, the carosal broke down for the first time in years and we both finished the ride at the same time. And we were off to Winnie the Pooh ride.
The wait time was around 15 minutes and we decided not to use the Fastpass there. The line was interesting with games and exhibits (like the Rabbit's garden, Winnie's hunny pot collection) to keep the kids entertained. The ride itself was fun (Had the same general story line of the ride in Disney Land California).
There was an interactive wall of 'hunny', where you can pretend as if you have your hand against a cascade of honey moving your hands back and forth on the touch sensitive screen. Interestingly, the screens have the images of Winnie, Piglet and Tigger hidden underneath them. You will need to search for them though.
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| My elder son is at Winnie the pooh's door! |
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| They checkout the hunny pots |
We then set out to Toontown to meet Mickey. Little did we know that Toontown was under renovation!!! That was something of a surprise to us. We didn't see any mention of this on the websites, nor did the maps that Disney send us mention it. We had some strong feelings of displeasure then and was certain we would send a strongly worded email to Disney. We still haven't done it though.
As we were standing in front of the Tommorowland Speedway as we were planning our next steps,we decided to try out the ride. (It was not on our original list). Both the kids got a driver's license before they got to drive, and that too issued by Mickey himself. I didn't know even a 20-month can get a DL in this world !
It was indeed a fun ride for the children and we decided to do it one more time.
Next we did the small world boat ride: The line was long, but there were lots of friendly people in line, and we never realised how quickly we got on the boat. It was a nice ride as we got to see the whole world in miniature form.
It was time for an early lunch and we went in to the Pinnochio Village Haus right next to the Small World ride. The decor was nice and pretty. Lots of paintings of Pinnochio all over the place.
Next, it was on to the Peter Pan ride. The lines were so long that we decided to use the fast pass. It worked out quite well. We had enough time to take a break in the afternoon.
We took a bus back to hotel and took a nap. It was really a good thing to do. Took us out of the worst heat of the day and gave the kids enough rest to continue on for the rest of the day.
We got back to the park in time for the Peter Pan ride. It was quite nice, even without knowing much about the actual story. The kids, Tinker bell and Peter Pan take you through the skies of London as you enjoy the scenery & beauty through the eyes of Peter Pan.
Next it was off to the Mickey's Philharmagic 4D movie. This is one of my favourites. It is a 4D movie which you watch with special glasses. Mickey looks for the instruments in his orchestra and calls on Donald duck to take care of that. He runs after the instruments and flies all over the place and meets Peter pan, Alladin,etc. The bit where you are following Alladin on a magic carpet really feels like you are on a carpet flying over Agrabah.
As we were going to Frontierland to continue our plan for the day, we came across the Dream Along with Mickey- stage show right in front of Cinderella's palace.
After a small break for ice cream and a street performance, we went to see the Country Bear Jamboree. It was animatronic show and was OK. We may give it a pass next time, but it could be a good break in the afternoon hours.
Headed of to the Jungle Cruise. Given the long lines took a Fastpass instead and went off to dinner at the Pecos bill tall tale Inn & Cafe. It was American fare that was not that remarkable.
The jungle cruise boat ride was a relaxing ride with a bunch of corney jokes by the host. There were a few animatronic animals but nothing spectacular. It was a nice ride for the afternoon.
We then headed off to main street to stake out a good location to see the parade and the fireworks. We also took a Fastpass to meet Mickey at his temporary lair during the renovation of Toontown. The parade was interesting with a lot of lighted floats and all the usual characters.
We were surprised to see Minnie was also there as we meet with Mickey. Our kids were really excited. Perhaps seeing Mickey at the end of the day was good as the kids were getting used to seeing the characters in their larger than life sizes.
There was a light show before the fireworks where they used Cinderella's castle as a screen. It was really interesting. And the fireworks capped the night.
Watching the fireworks from main street, closer to the gate helped to exit the park quickly. The ferry was still at the dock and it was a quick walk to our car from there.
Overall, it was a great day and the kids really enjoyed it.What more can one ask?!!!!
We were surprised to see Minnie was also there as we meet with Mickey. Our kids were really excited. Perhaps seeing Mickey at the end of the day was good as the kids were getting used to seeing the characters in their larger than life sizes.
There was a light show before the fireworks where they used Cinderella's castle as a screen. It was really interesting. And the fireworks capped the night.
Watching the fireworks from main street, closer to the gate helped to exit the park quickly. The ferry was still at the dock and it was a quick walk to our car from there.
Overall, it was a great day and the kids really enjoyed it.What more can one ask?!!!!
If I were to go back, I would love to do these again:
1. Lazer show & fireworks
2. The Electric parade(night time)
3. Mickey's Philhar magic
4. Peter Pan's flight
1. Lazer show & fireworks
2. The Electric parade(night time)
3. Mickey's Philhar magic
4. Peter Pan's flight
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