Aurora
06-23-2011, 03:25 PM
Our pack-it-all-in trip, June 4-12, 2011, Part 5, Day 7
It was our last park day, so we decided to spend it at the Magic Kingdom. MK hours were 8 a.m. to midnight, with evening EMH, so it meant we had a total of 19 hours to work with. WOW! We didn’t get up early enough to get there at park opening, but Sis and her 7yo got there at 8:30 a.m. During a week that was jam-packed with people, she said that when they arrived, the park was almost empty. Wouldn’t you know it. My theory was that not many people knew the MK was open at 8 a.m., since it was only posted on the Park Hours insert, not on the Internet, and it was not a scheduled EMH morning.
We met Sis and son at around 10:30 in Tomorrowland and went on Buzz Lightyear. We were thinking of going on the TTA Peoplemover but by then, even that had a line, so we went to Adventureland and rode the Jungle Cruise – the jokes are stale but never old. DH walked over to Splash to get FPs while we got in line for Pirates of the Caribbean, a family favorite. On our last trip in 2008, my 6yo didn’t get to ride because it was closed for refurb, and he is a BIG pirate fan. I was eager to see his reaction this year. He said after the ride that it wasn’t his favorite because it was “too short.” Looks like we may have to go back to Disneyland for the long version. :D Ate lunch at Pinocchio Village Haus.
We rode Snow White’s Scary Adventures for the last time (bittersweet), and by then, Sis’s big kids and her DH met up with us. We then made our way over to Haunted Mansion, another favorite. You had a choice between taking the “scenic” queue to the left or the regular one – after some coaxing from me, we took the scenic queue, and I actually LOVED it. Even with longer waits, it made the time fly. I thought the instrument wall was genius. This and the interactive line at Winnie the Pooh are really great additions. I’m so glad they’re doing something with the queues that had little entertainment before.
For those who remember my earlier post about inaccurate wait times, we thought we might have gotten an inkling of why this was the case while we waited for HM. At the beginning of the queue, DH was given a red card on a lanyard to give to the CM at the end of the queue. It said “This card is used to help us provide you with the most accurate wait time. Please hand the card to a Cast Member at the end of the line. Thank you.” At the end of the queue, DH tried to give it to the CM there. “Not me,” he said. So DH tried to give it to the CM at the stretch room. “Not me,” she said. Once again, he tried to give it to the person loading the Doom Buggies, and again the CM didn’t want it. Okay, so, no accurate wait time from us. We tried!
After this the big kids split up from us again, and our husbands took the little kids on Big Thunder Mountain while we women did a little shopping. We then jogged over to Philharmagic, where Sis’s DH had gotten “free” FPs earlier while getting FPs for Winnie the Pooh. It was a little confusing, because the Philharmagic entrance was blocked by FP machines for Winnie the Pooh, and the standby time said 120 minutes. But there didn’t seem to be a way to get to the standby line? I don’t know if they do this all the time since they put in the interactive queue for Pooh.
Around 5 o’clock, it was time to do Splash Mountain. When we walked up to the FP return, I pointed out the time to Sis. The sign said “Return Time: 2:58.” :confused: She said, “It’s been like that all day.” Since the big kids weren’t with us, we used the FPs for our parents-and-little-kids group. As luck would have it, while we were scooting through the FP line, we spotted the big kids in the long line below. The husbands gave the “oh, too bad for you guys” wave to the kids. I wish I had captured the look on their faces – they were highly offended we would do such a thing.
After that all of us went back to our room at BLT for some R&R and a spaghetti dinner cooked by DH. A couple of the big kids went down to the pool, and the rest of us we just chilled in the room for a few hours. This was the nicest thing about the room at BLT – we really were just a skip away from the MK. Couldn’t beat it.
At around 8:30 we headed back. The big kids split up from us right away (parent cooties, maybe?) for their last “together time,” and I, Sis, hubbies and little kids walked up Main Street. Sis wanted to hop into a shop, so hubbies took little kids to Winnie the Pooh one more time; we planned to meet up right before the fireworks at 10.
Sis and I came out of the shops to the new “Magic, Memories and You” show on Cinderella Castle. What an awesome sight! This really is not to be missed – it’s so much more than projecting guest photos on the castle. At one point the castle actually looks like a cartoon, right before your eyes! Truly amazing! We kept walking and stopped right under where Tinker Bell flies down on her cable and realized we’d have to stay there until she came during the fireworks. More magic! :tink: We finally met hubbies and kids near Pooh while the fireworks were still going on. That area is actually one of my favorite places to watch the fireworks, because they go off all around you. And it’s loud.
We decided to ride Pirates one more time and on the way, climbed the steps to the Swiss Family Treehouse. The crowds were starting to lessen by this time, and when we came out of Pirates, the Electrical Light parade was beginning, so we ran over to Frontierland to watch. I don’t think my nephew and son will forget it. So many characters went right up to them or waved or blew kisses. It was a lovely end to the night for them.
By then it was time to say goodbye to Sis and her family, since they stayed offsite, and my sons and DH were done for the day also. DD and I decided to stay for EMH, and by this time, the park had cleared out. We did Haunted Mansion and Philharmagic again, then went to Main Street to do our last souvenir shopping – so many things I wanted to take home! We made it until 2 a.m. and took the monorail “home” to BLT, tired, but that good kind of Disney World tired.
NEXT: Days 8 and 9, the return home, and a wrap-up.
It was our last park day, so we decided to spend it at the Magic Kingdom. MK hours were 8 a.m. to midnight, with evening EMH, so it meant we had a total of 19 hours to work with. WOW! We didn’t get up early enough to get there at park opening, but Sis and her 7yo got there at 8:30 a.m. During a week that was jam-packed with people, she said that when they arrived, the park was almost empty. Wouldn’t you know it. My theory was that not many people knew the MK was open at 8 a.m., since it was only posted on the Park Hours insert, not on the Internet, and it was not a scheduled EMH morning.
We met Sis and son at around 10:30 in Tomorrowland and went on Buzz Lightyear. We were thinking of going on the TTA Peoplemover but by then, even that had a line, so we went to Adventureland and rode the Jungle Cruise – the jokes are stale but never old. DH walked over to Splash to get FPs while we got in line for Pirates of the Caribbean, a family favorite. On our last trip in 2008, my 6yo didn’t get to ride because it was closed for refurb, and he is a BIG pirate fan. I was eager to see his reaction this year. He said after the ride that it wasn’t his favorite because it was “too short.” Looks like we may have to go back to Disneyland for the long version. :D Ate lunch at Pinocchio Village Haus.
We rode Snow White’s Scary Adventures for the last time (bittersweet), and by then, Sis’s big kids and her DH met up with us. We then made our way over to Haunted Mansion, another favorite. You had a choice between taking the “scenic” queue to the left or the regular one – after some coaxing from me, we took the scenic queue, and I actually LOVED it. Even with longer waits, it made the time fly. I thought the instrument wall was genius. This and the interactive line at Winnie the Pooh are really great additions. I’m so glad they’re doing something with the queues that had little entertainment before.
For those who remember my earlier post about inaccurate wait times, we thought we might have gotten an inkling of why this was the case while we waited for HM. At the beginning of the queue, DH was given a red card on a lanyard to give to the CM at the end of the queue. It said “This card is used to help us provide you with the most accurate wait time. Please hand the card to a Cast Member at the end of the line. Thank you.” At the end of the queue, DH tried to give it to the CM there. “Not me,” he said. So DH tried to give it to the CM at the stretch room. “Not me,” she said. Once again, he tried to give it to the person loading the Doom Buggies, and again the CM didn’t want it. Okay, so, no accurate wait time from us. We tried!
After this the big kids split up from us again, and our husbands took the little kids on Big Thunder Mountain while we women did a little shopping. We then jogged over to Philharmagic, where Sis’s DH had gotten “free” FPs earlier while getting FPs for Winnie the Pooh. It was a little confusing, because the Philharmagic entrance was blocked by FP machines for Winnie the Pooh, and the standby time said 120 minutes. But there didn’t seem to be a way to get to the standby line? I don’t know if they do this all the time since they put in the interactive queue for Pooh.
Around 5 o’clock, it was time to do Splash Mountain. When we walked up to the FP return, I pointed out the time to Sis. The sign said “Return Time: 2:58.” :confused: She said, “It’s been like that all day.” Since the big kids weren’t with us, we used the FPs for our parents-and-little-kids group. As luck would have it, while we were scooting through the FP line, we spotted the big kids in the long line below. The husbands gave the “oh, too bad for you guys” wave to the kids. I wish I had captured the look on their faces – they were highly offended we would do such a thing.
After that all of us went back to our room at BLT for some R&R and a spaghetti dinner cooked by DH. A couple of the big kids went down to the pool, and the rest of us we just chilled in the room for a few hours. This was the nicest thing about the room at BLT – we really were just a skip away from the MK. Couldn’t beat it.
At around 8:30 we headed back. The big kids split up from us right away (parent cooties, maybe?) for their last “together time,” and I, Sis, hubbies and little kids walked up Main Street. Sis wanted to hop into a shop, so hubbies took little kids to Winnie the Pooh one more time; we planned to meet up right before the fireworks at 10.
Sis and I came out of the shops to the new “Magic, Memories and You” show on Cinderella Castle. What an awesome sight! This really is not to be missed – it’s so much more than projecting guest photos on the castle. At one point the castle actually looks like a cartoon, right before your eyes! Truly amazing! We kept walking and stopped right under where Tinker Bell flies down on her cable and realized we’d have to stay there until she came during the fireworks. More magic! :tink: We finally met hubbies and kids near Pooh while the fireworks were still going on. That area is actually one of my favorite places to watch the fireworks, because they go off all around you. And it’s loud.
We decided to ride Pirates one more time and on the way, climbed the steps to the Swiss Family Treehouse. The crowds were starting to lessen by this time, and when we came out of Pirates, the Electrical Light parade was beginning, so we ran over to Frontierland to watch. I don’t think my nephew and son will forget it. So many characters went right up to them or waved or blew kisses. It was a lovely end to the night for them.
By then it was time to say goodbye to Sis and her family, since they stayed offsite, and my sons and DH were done for the day also. DD and I decided to stay for EMH, and by this time, the park had cleared out. We did Haunted Mansion and Philharmagic again, then went to Main Street to do our last souvenir shopping – so many things I wanted to take home! We made it until 2 a.m. and took the monorail “home” to BLT, tired, but that good kind of Disney World tired.
NEXT: Days 8 and 9, the return home, and a wrap-up.