Day One

Friday, May 23
Before falling asleep that night I scheduled a wake-up call at 7 a.m. I was awake staring at the digital clock on the nightstand at least 20 minutes before that, watching the digits slowly climb. 6:58, 6:59… To everyone’s chagrin, Mickey didn’t ring when the clock finally struck 7, but I hopped into the shower anyway, desperately wanting to get to the Magic Kingdom by opening. The phone finally rang while I was rinsing shampoo out of my hair, and my parents realized the clock in the room was about 10 minutes fast. Mickey was not late. We were just expecting him too early.

While everyone else was dressing, I went downstairs and explored the area in the daylight. I love the view from just outside the back door of the Beach Club with the BoardWalk clearly in sight from across the lake and the boats tooting their horns as they pull into the docks. I checked out the amazing pool and saw the outside of Beaches & Cream for the first time.

I met my family at the Beach Club Marketplace as everyone was sitting down for a light breakfast. I almost always skip the morning meal at Disney, saving my appetite for lunch and dinner. After a quick bite, we took a little walk around the facilities, again checking out the pool and the Yacht Club, before boarding the bus for the Magic Kingdom.

We arrived at the park around 8:45, and mom and Elyssa passed the time playing with the hula-hoops scattered around the entrance. A few minutes later, we all turned our attention to the cute opening show. I love the music, and I regularly listen to the “Welcome” track on the official Walt Disney World album. I especially love the part about walking right down the middle of Main Street, U.S.A.

We followed the massive horde into the park when the show ended, and my family rushed ahead, anxious to reach the rides. They don’t quite understand the appeal of Main Street, seeing it as just a funnel to the rest of the park, not an attraction itself. I stopped and listened to the amazing barber shop quartet for a couple minutes, and my dad started hollering at me to stop wasting time and catch up with the rest of the group. No matter how much my family likes Walt Disney World, nobody else truly understands how to appreciate it, how to relax and enjoy the subtle aspects of the parks and resorts. We have ridden the rides dozens of times. I wish someone else in my family realized why it was acceptable to spend 10 minutes on a beautiful Friday morning in the Magic Kingdom playing on Main Street instead of rushing ahead. This is why my two-day October trip exclusively with INTERCOT members was probably the best Disney experience of my life. I was in my favorite place with a couple hundred others who completely understand how I feel.

But I wasn’t going to let anything get me down. Not today. Not on the first day of my wonderful Disney adventure. Not in the Magic Kingdom.

It is our family tradition to start every trip in Fantasyland, a holdover from when we had a small child in tow clamoring to see all the fun Disney character-themed dark rides. Because we started so early, we rode Peter Pan’s Flight, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, “it’s a small world” and Snow White’s Scary Adventures in succession with virtually no wait anywhere. I realize Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride had a lot of support from Disney fans, almost a cult following, but I have never understood the mass aversion to Pooh. It is quite possibly my mom’s second-favorite attraction in the entire park behind Mickey’s PhilharMagic, and it’s definitely my favorite Fantasyland dark ride. The Audio-Animatronics are so modern looking and high-tech, the ride has music and color and neat special effects for a relatively small attraction and the whole thing is just cute. I have read so many posts criticizing the ride. Is that because people hold such a nostalgic connection to Mr. Toad, or am I totally wrong about the quality of its replacement?

Wanting to hit the other popular attractions before they got too crowded, we skipped Mickey’s PhilharMagic until later in the day and doubled back to Adventureland. The bridge connecting the central hub to Adventureland is one of my favorite spots in the park. Somehow, I am always impressed by how the Main Street music subtly changes into jungle music right there. You never seem to hear both themes at the same time.

Our destination was Pirates of the Caribbean, but I noted Jungle Cruise was closed. Anyone know why? I didn’t realize it is down right now. Is it just a basic rehab or something more?

There was no wait for Pirates yet. There never seems to be, even in the middle of the day. We sat in the middle of the boat and enjoyed the ride. We’re so used to seeing Captain Jack Sparrow mixed with all the other classic pirates by now he doesn’t seem out of place. I still think that was an appropriate change. It pleases fans of the movie franchise while still keeping the overall feel of the ride for Disney purists. And that Davy Jones waterfall effect at the beginning is amazing. I just wish the little skull and crossbones near the short drop were still there. Where did he go? Shockingly, Justin did not spend 15 minutes playing with, and asking to buy, the toy guns in the gift shop outside the ride. Maybe he’s finally growing up.

We continued clockwise to Frontierland next. Dad, Justin and I queued up for Splash Mountain. Elyssa would not come despite our best prodding, pleading and bribing. She is absolutely terrified of that final drop — or at least she thinks she is. Last year, after I begged, she rode and loved it. Apparently, she has a short memory.

Splash Mountain is still my favorite attraction in Walt Disney World, and it would take something truly spectacular to change my opinion. I’ve written my feelings for this ride numerous times on the boards. It encompasses all the best aspects of every other classic Disney attraction into one monumentally classic ride. It is an extraordinary dark ride in its own right, with a great storyline, cute Animatronics and a catchy soundtrack. Couple that with the thrill of the last drop — and the underrated second drop that goes down, up, then down again — and you have close to a perfect attraction.

This time, we were zapped by the water cannon coming around the first turn. My dad and I, sitting in the back row, were trying to will us up the hill before another log came zooming down the drop, but it was too late. Water cascaded upon us, and we were drenched. Fortunately, it was approaching 90 degrees outside, and the splashdown was appreciated. We had Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to dry off, anyway.

Elyssa rode with us on this one. My mom passed, claiming it’s too bumpy. The posted wait time was about 20 minutes, but it only took about 15 until we were seated on the train. Justin and Elyssa sat in the second row. Dad and I were right behind. I actually prefer the back of the train, but it was still fun, as always. Big Thunder is my second-favorite attraction in the park.

To save some walking, and to temporarily spell us from the hot sun that was growing even hotter, we hopped the Walt Disney World Railroad to the Mickey’s Toontown Fair station, and took that long narrow path to Tomorrowland. Dad, Justin, Elyssa and I obtained FASTPASSes for Space Mountain, which had a 40-minute wait. Then we queued for Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. I am notoriously bad at this ride, and for most of the game, it seemed my luck had not changed. I never know what I am shooting at, and I can never tell if my laser is connecting. My score slowly climbs 100 points at a time, rarely more. But during one of the last rooms, when you fire at the screen, not actual targets, I hit something worth at least 15 or 20,000 points, leaving me with a reasonable score of around 40,000. I didn’t come close to Justin, who absolutely dominated. My dad had the worst score of his life. He is usually the king of Buzz.

Next, we went to visit Mike Wazowski and the city of Monstropolis in the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. My dad and brother hadn’t seen this show and were excited about it after hearing glowing reviews from my mom, Elyssa and me. Everyone liked it, and we all agree it is a solid addition to the Tomorrowland lineup. My brother submitted a joke about airline peanuts, which was used but drastically changed. It was still credited to him, though. I don’t really know how that works.

We still had time to kill before our FASTPASS return time, so we decided to break for lunch, and then come back for the ride. Columbia Harbour House is our favorite counter service location in all of Disney, so we criss-crossed the park into Liberty Square. My parents and I both went for the Lighthouse Sandwich, which is hummus, tomato and delicious broccoli slaw on awesome thick-sliced whole-grain bread. Justin and Elyssa split an order the eight-piece chicken nuggets and a New England clam chowder. Somebody messed up our order and accidentally gave us a six-piece nuggets. When I went up to exchange the order, the Cast Member gave us a fresh eight-piecer and let us keep the six-piecer, so we had nuggets to spare.

I am very happy to report the new nuggets are just fine. They actually are a smaller version of the strips to which we were all attached. I’m sure Disney is somehow able to charge us more and give us less now, but the quality of the chicken is comparable. They are equally crispy with the same awesome batter. Our meal was amazing, as always. I love Columbia Harbour House and would happily have two or three meals there very trip.

It was time for Space Mountain, but we were disappointed to discover the ride was offline. The Cast Member did not know how long it would be down for but said our FASTPASSes would be valid anytime during the day.