Pass the Whip, please

In past years, bus transportation did not route park to park, you had to stop at a resort first. Now, thankfully, that has changed, and just a quick bus ride from Animal Kingdom and we arrived at the Magic Kingdom around 11:45. We had one hour before our lunch reservations so no rush, and maybe we could sneak in one ride before lunch.  Crowds were thick here.  I love this park, and even though Epcot is my favorite Disney park, the Magic Kingdom, as Kelsi says, just feels like the real Disney – she’s right, it really does.  We walked down mainstreet and through Cinderella’s Castle. Lines were long, and a quick glance at the MDE(my Disney experience Wait times) app, showed nothing under 40 minutes and that would push our lunch time.  The cute 4 D show, PhilHarMagic had a reasonable wait time (10 minutes) and a 15 minute show – that would work perfect, plus it would keep us out of the intense Florida summer heat.  I love how everyone in the audience reaches for Donald that is sitting 2 inches from our nose – well, when you have the special glasses on J

We walked across the bridge to the Beauty and the Beast Castle and checked in for lunch and issued the “Rose” pager. Within five (5) minutes, it lit and we walked into the castle where we placed our orders at the kiosk, paid, and set off to find a seat in one of three individually themed dining rooms: a) the ball room  - where the “Be Our Guest” dinner took place and Belle and Beast danced; b) The West Wing (with the Enchanted Rose) C) The Rose Room. 

We opted for the dark and forbidden West Wing, where lightning and thunder echo and flash throughout the room and the illuminated rose with petals falling sits as the centerpiece of the room.

Dennis, Kelsi and I ordered the Croque Monsieur (French for ham and cheese), and Lauryn had Shrimp and Broccoli. I love the atmosphere of this restaurant, probably more than the food – it’s just hmm – a ham and cheese sandwich.  We finished lunch, took some pictures and then exited for our first Fast Pass of the day on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

What fun -  this is a new ride for all of us (it had not opened when I was here last), very well themed, and a smooth roller coaster ride – perfect.  We had a little time before our next FP, so the girls grabbed a quick ride on the Carousel while we waited on a special “scooter” time given to us for “It’s a Small World”.    That song always gets stuck in my head. 

(weird bit of Trivia here on Small World - see Kelsi's name on the screen - this was near the end.  Disney tracks you through a radio frequency on your Magic Band (RIFD technology) and knows where and who you are throughout the park. Some rides will use this to flash a hello or goodbye to you - FUN, but a little strange).

 Next up, across the park to Frontier Land for Splash Mountain.  We kept to the right of the walking paths to avoid the line-up for the 3:00 p.m. parade and were on shortly after entering the line… always an exciting ride.

It was very hot but we were managing to stay relatively cool on rides and in stores or inside queues. What better way to stay cool than hydrate with a yummy Dole Whip Float at Aloha Isle. We ordered three (Kelsi, Lauryn and I) and Dennis opted for the Dole Whip in a cup.  This has to be my favorite Disney snack ever! Time for my favorite ride and of course, I got a FP, for this one – Space – Mountain style!!

Afterwards, we took a slow spin on People Mover and then onto Buzz Lightyear.  Dennis beat us all with a score of 100,000.  I think I scored about 18,000 and Lauryn had 7,000 – truth, I like to spin the car more than shoot the targets J.

Time for Dinner and a short break from the park as we made our way out of the Magic Kingdom and over to the monorail toward the Grand Floridian.  After traversing through the Contemporary and Polynesian resorts we arrived at our destination and took the elevator down to the Grand Floridian Café.  Lauryn sat down, looked at the menu and quickly announced,  “I’ve been eating kids meals for the last 2 days  (her choice, by the way) I’m having steak tonight – the NY Strip”.   She said it tasted great.  I had Mushroom Chicken, Bop – the Pork Chop Dinner, and Kelsi had the Shrimp and Penne Pasta.

We arrived back at the park in time for the night-time Electrical Parade and found a great place to sit along the curb right in front of the Train Station. The lights on the floats were pretty, but this parade seemed lacking somehow, just a few main characters and just missing the punch of “pixie dust” and magical imagination.  

Afterwards, we climbed the stairs to the top of the Train Station to view “Wishes” – the nighttime fireworks.  I had read this is a coveted spot by many repeat Disney lovers, so decided to give it a try.  Apparently, many people know about this little secret because it was fairly crowded, but we did find a place to sit, just had to move around once in a while to see Wishes; good view.

About half way through Wishes,  Kelsi and Lauryn went to visit Ariel in her grotto (it’s a tradition that began almost 13 years ago).

 Kelsi and Lauryn with Ariel

a very young Kelsi with Ariel (2004)

Then onto Thunder Mountain Railroad Rollercoaster (TMRR).  Bop and I met them at the exit of TMRR (after we passed through Adventure Land one more time and split another Dole Whip Float).  Kelsi and Laruyn, wanted to ride Splash Mountain again, but I didn’t want to get wet again, but we would make our way back over there after a ride on Pirates of the Caribbean.  While on Pirates, as we were floating calmly through the ride with all 4 of us in the very front of the boat, we came to the incline and small drop.  We hit some serious speed with our weight in the front of the boat and got soaked!  Ok – so may as well ride Splash with the girls now – I’m already wet.

It is about 11:45 p.m. now and the second Electrical Light Parade was passing through Frontier Land.  Once it finished, we crossed the street to head toward Splash, and sadly it was closed.   We were tired, and wet and Kelsi had developed some type of rash on her legs that was beginning to itch, so the girls initiated the “we’re done – let’s go” about midnight.  Walking toward the exit on Main street, we stopped to have a picture made and of course, had to stop at the Confectionary for a chocolate covered strawberry in honor of Ick (Ick’s favorite memory of DW).

note - Kelsi googled information on her rash and found out it is called a "Disney Rash"  caused by the heat from the pavement and the sun, bursting small blood-vessels near the skin. 

It was a great day and we accomplished everything we had set out to do and more.  Tomorrow, we wave goodbye to Mickey and head for the beach!  It’s been fun – and I have my Disney fix now until time to take the younger ones.