Magic Kingdom - Mar 1-2

We took two days to visit the Magic Kingdom. By the end of the second day, I had seen 10,000 little princesses, 3 little princes (yep, that was pretty close to the actual ratio) and 7,000 double wide mega strollers racing through the crowds as if it was against the law to slow down and be considerate of others. In spite of that, we had a really good time.

Magic Kingdom is the Florida equivalent of Disneyland, so it was fun to compare and contrast the two theme parks. I will never look at Cinderella’s castle in Disneyland and not think about how the one in Florida was so much larger and grander and more like what Cinderella’s castle should look like. And what short shrift Magic Kingdom paid to “It’s a Small World.” They actually shrunk and then hid that amazing façade behind a wall so that it couldn’t be seen in Fantasyland. I am guessing they wanted a more integrated princess castle/old village look.

In spite of that, Fantasyland was my favorite. It was like being in a medieval Bavarian village, without the filth and stink - like in a fairy tale. There are several castles now, including the Beast’s, where the “Be Our Guest” restaurant is. I had made several restaurant reservations before we arrived, including dinner at this restaurant.  It was fantastic; the food was top notch and the dining room was amazing.

Tomorrowland was all asphalt which got pretty hot both days and it was kind of hard to figure out where things were, so we didn’t spend much time there. We spent some of our time in Libertyland, something that Disneyland doesn’t have. It incorporates rides from other lands (e.g., the riverboat ride) and adds a new show on the presidents. And, of course, there are the stores.

The fireworks show was amazing.  Fifteen minutes before the fireworks, there was another program showcasing images displayed on the castle to synchronized music. That was terrific – the lights/images totally changed the look of the castle. The fireworks were plentiful, but not as emotional as I recall the ones at Disneyland being. Several of the fireworks were new and were pretty awesome.

After the fireworks, it is always crazy leaving  Disneyland, and the Magic Kingdom was no different.  A major advantage for staying at the Fort Wilderness campground was that we could take a 10 minute boat ride from the entrance to the Magic Kingdom straight to the campground. Everyone else had to take either the monorail or a tram to the Transportation Center where their cars were parked. Given the number of people camping and how many of those chose that day to visit the Magic Kingdom, we didn’t have a long wait.

Another theme park in the bag.  On to the Epcot Center.



The detail on Cinderella's castle was amazing.



Every angle of the castle was fascinating.  Unfortunately, there was a crane in the way. Both days we were there, the crane carried painters around the turrets to repaint the gold trim.

Loved the topiaries that were spread throughout the park.

 

 

This is Sleeping Beauty's castle.  You can't actually visit it, it is designed to look like it is many miles in the distance, through lots of mountains and rivers. Not sure how big it really is, probably 8 to 10 feet high.

 

Entering Fantasyland. They took a design element from ToonTown - building large walls that are backgrounds to the scene.

 

These buildings reminded me so much of the buildings we saw in southern Germany and Switzerland.



On the "It's a Small World" ride.  See how the background is so much smaller than the exterior of the ride in Disneyland?



 

A view of Liberty Land.

Trying on appropriate headgear.

 

We always ride the carousel and never get tired of it.

Russ tried to escape all the little princesses, but he couldn't get past the first leaf.



The Haunted Mansion was redesigned to fit the Fantasy Land architecture theme. 



Disney did a really great job of keeping you entertained while you waited in line. This hearse had an invisible horse that caused the hearse to move slightly.

 

One of the several parades we saw.  This one is a dance in the streets parade.

One cool thing was inviting the guests to actually go into the street and dance with the characters and parade participants.

 

Russ was very busy taking photos.

 



The riverboat ride took us past Tom Sawyer's island and Thunder Mountain.



Oh so many memories of Chris riding the cars with one of us (usually Russ) when Chris was little (like 3-5 years old). We had passports and went several times a year. The cars were the first thing we hit.



The walkway into Tomorrow Land.



The building on the left reminded me of the "Monsanto House of the Future" (That really dates me) Actually the building was a cafeteria.

And the Dapper Dans were on Main Street!

 

Liberty Land was built to look like a late 1700s city.

A replica of the Liberty Bell, cast from the same mold.

Representing the Liberty Tree - a place where people gathered for protests. Today, they gather for Disney parades.

Russ needed a nap before dinner.

Another afternoon parade.  One thing I noticed was that people weren't having to find a place to sit for the parade two hours early.  There seemed to be lots of good spaces for all.

 

 
 

 


I really liked this steampunk version of Sleeping Beauty's dragon.  He actually spewed out flames.



One of the gargoyles on the bridge to Beast's castle giving us advice on dinner choices at the "Be Our Guest" restaurant.



Everything was fancy at the restaurant. This is the only place in the Magic Kingdom where you can have beer and wine - I tried a flight of wines exclusive to the Magic Kingdom.

The main dining room was the ballroom of the castle.

Through the windows, you could see snow falling.

The host would come through occasionally and hold a reception in a side room (another photo op for the kids).

There were two side dining rooms, each with a theme relevant to the movie. This was the room that had the dying rose.



The inside entrance to the dining rooms.



 

Adventureland had these talking heads that would hold conversations with you.

Yet another musical/dance show in front of the castle showcased Disney romances.

I haven't seen the Electrical Parade in years. It was still just as amazing.

The bugs are my favorite.

I wonder how many kids from the newer generations know who this is.

 

The longest we waited for an event was 25 minutes to see Mickey Mouse in a magic show.  We found out, after all that waiting, that we were actually waiting for a photo opportunity with Mickey - there was no show. The premise of the photo shoot was that Mickey was backstage preparing for his performance and we were invited to meet with him in his dressing room.  The joke was on us!