WDW Trip Report 2015: Tuesday: The One Where We Have Rumblies In Our Tumblies, and Delicious Hallowishes Pt. I

Tuesday: The One Where We Have Rumblies In Our Tumblies, and Delicious Hallowishes Pt. I

Are you ready for the pictures? I hope you’re ready for the pictures.

Our first full Disney day! Fortunately...I was feeling much better!  I’ve never been more relieved! I thought it was maybe a migraine (I rarely get them, but when I do I’m usually sick). I took it sooooo sloooowwwwwly getting ready that morning, so as not to set myself off again, which seemed to do the trick. Soon we were both ready to start our trip for real! There is only one place, to us, to start a trip to Walt Disney World. The heartbeat of a holiday. The main (st) House of Mouse. We were headed for MAGIC KINGDOM!!!


Magic Kingdom is my very favourite park. When I would watch the planning videos as a child (that I would call the hotline and order when my parents weren’t in the room, either that or beg them to call for me, even though they told me a million times that we couldn’t go, because I just wanted to watch the video), everything that I added to my little kid bucket list was in Magic Kingdom. On our last trip we spent two full days there before John reminded me “There are three other parks, you know…”, I was in my element! I was so excited to be going back to my favourite place to attack our latest bucket list (which I just realised, I never shared with you all...Hmmm...Seperate post, I think!).


It was no cooler than the night before (shock, horror) so I was slathered in sun lotion. I HATE sun lotion. If Ambre Solaire shares skyrocketed the first two weeks in October, they have me to thank. Ugh. I did take an appropriately named solution to the sticky skin feeling that I hate though: Lush Fairy Dust dusting powder! As I learned in MCO, you can buy this in America too. It smells like cotton candy and sugary treats, and it contains a healthy dose of lustre dust. This does mean that, if you are as pale as me, you look like some kind of twinkly vampiric extra from Twilight. Unless your in Disney, of course, and then you look like a magical, sparkly fairy being (because, of course, you look wayyy too happy and un-constipated to be in Twilight!). It’s like getting pixie dusted every morning and because you’re sticky, it lasts all day! I am not on commission. It’s just awesome. Anyway...


The bus arrived quickly, we barely had time to check out all the posters in the bus shelter, and soon we were on our way. Our first Disney bus trip! The first time I have been excited to be on public transport since learning to drive over a decade ago! When we walked to OPR the night before I wasn’t really paying attention, and we walked around the lake, so this was my first time really seeing all the other islands of CBR. They were all very pretty, but personally I preferred Jamaica! There’s just something about the blue and yellow and white combo that I love.


When we arrived at MK I was SO excited to see the Mickey pumpkin wreaths on the toll booths. That has been the iconic image of our trip planning for me, I love it. Disney, yet seasonal and oh so cute. I tried to make one as a room decoration, but it went horribly wrong, so it got left at home! One thing I wasn’t expecting on the bus was the “Welcome to MK” fanfare/speech. I nearly cried!


We both had rumblies in our tumblies, so we hurried towards the gates. We actuallly hurried so fast that I didn’t even take a photograph of the MNSSHP sign under the monorail track. When I’m in too much of a hurry to snap pictures, it’s serious. We got through the bag check line, and then went to put our Magic Bands to the ultimate test. They got us into our hotel room, but would they get us into the Kingdom? Or would we join the Blue Light Brigade and have to go and get them fixed? Fortunately they worked first time and we added our fingerprints no problem. Here we go!! I’m sure by now you might have guessed where we were going, but this should give the game away and get you in the mood! I was so happy when they played the instrumental version of it while we were eating!




Yup...We had a breakfast reservation at Crystal Palace! 


As it was our first experience of the bus system we had set off early for our 10:35am reservation. Fortunately we made it to Magic Kingdom with time to spare, and just in time to see the Trolley Show! I loved their Autumn outfits!



Sorry, that’s a terrible picture. There are better ones later on in the trip, I promise.


There’s my castle! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! I may have shed a happy tear or two. It’s just so beautiful!




I can’t believe how pretty MK looks decked out for Autumn/Halloween.






I loved how it looked when we went last time so I wasn’t sure if the colour change would spoil it, but nope, I loved it!! We dawdled in The Emporium and a couple of other shops, mainly because it was SO hot I didn’t know what to do with myself other than seek out the nearest air-conditioning, spotting the new merchandise along the way, and heading into Arribas Bros. Soon John dragged me away from the shiny things to get to our reservation. I have a real case of the “Oooh, shiny!-s”, as Ariel called them later in our trip (spoiler alert. Oops. Too late) so that was no mean feat. But a breakfast buffet with one of my favourite bears was calling. We checked in and got our pager, and just had time to snap a quick castle shot before our table was ready.


Ahhhhh, stunning.

This was our first time at Crystal Palace, what a beautiful place! When we were shown to our table Tigger was already making his way around our section. Now...I don’t know precisely why I put myself through character dining. At anywhere other than Disney, I have a major fear of fur characters/mascots. I HATE them, even if I know the person in the suit, I’m not happy unless they take the headgear off. I just can’t be around them. In Disney, well, all the characters you meet are the real deal obviously, so my irrational fear does not apply!!! I am always still a little on edge though, especially when multiple characters are milling around near me and I can't see where they are at all times. So character dining was quite the experience!

Our server was lovely, I can't find the bill at the moment and I can’t remember his name, but he was from NY. He was very attentive, keeping our glasses filled and nipping over to tell me where the characters were and who was coming next (I think maybe he heard us discussing me not being keen on not knowing if the characters were sneaking up on me!). He was lovely!


Very excited to get his breakfast at last. This is a man who never eats breakfast at home. Holidays are a different matter, however!


This was my view from the table. 

I made my trip to the buffet first.


There was an exclusive Crystal Palace item on our To Eat bucket list: Pooh's Puffed Toast. Let me tell you I was not disappointed! The only thing that made me sad was that I only had room for one plateful (but I was grateful for that plateful...Hum-hum de dum, hum de dum-dum…). John managed a second trip but I was just too full! Though obviously I fulfilled my wifely duty and had a taste of anything that he brought back that I hadn’t already tried! What with being ill the night before (always makes me a bit wary to eat again, “Am I prepared to experience this food in reverse?” kind of thing), and carefully watching what I ate before we left and losing 1/2st, I think my rumbly tumbly had shrunk a bit! This was no good for two weeks on the DDP! Still I really enjoyed what I did eat, it was all delicious. One by one, the characters made their way around to us, by the time we finished eating there was only Piglet keeping us waiting.













As we left I noticed the cute topiaries in the entrance that we’d rushed past on the way in. They are adorable! I had to go around and get a picture of each of them before we went.









And an extra one of Eeyore’s beautifully beribboned butt. 



This will be the last trip when I book so many (expensive!) ADRs on our first full day. We weren’t ready. I in particular wasn’t ready. Early start, 8+hr flight, restless night’s sleep, 5hr time difference, all within 36hrs. I was desperate to get out there and play and stuff my face with Disney treats, but I don’t think we got full value for money out of either of our ADRs today. I don’t mind, we really enjoyed them and that’s what matters, but next time I would book for later in our trip.

We also had a full complement of FP+s booked, so off we went for the first one...

16/04 Magic Kingdom: Day 2!

Magic Kingdom is HUGE. A lot huger than even I expected. And I dreamed that it would be pretty big. So no big surprise that it took us two full days to explore, and even then we didn't do everything (in fact, we didn't find Winnie the Pooh and Dumbo until the day we came home...eep!).

Monday got off to a slightly slower start, as we got to the Disney highway, only to discover that my camera hadn't charged ( = broken). So, about turn, and off we went to find a camera shop, who gave me money for my old camera and didn't rip me off toooo much on a new one, which I love.

So, off we went back to MK. Unfortunately, because I was running the camera on the charge that was on it in the shop, I didn't take many photographs. I am a bit disappointed, because I know that I took photographs in Adventureland and Frontierland, and they have all disappeared. :( I know that I took photographs on The Queue With No Ride (AKA, Swiss Family Robinson Tree House) and that I took some on Pirates of the Caribbean too, but they seem to have disappeared. :'(

Anyway...

When we eventually got to MK, it was lunchtime! Of course, the first photograph EVER on my new camera had to be...

*swoon* It makes my heart happy.

En Route to lunch we were stopped by these guys and gals, The Trolley Bus Singers.

Incidentally, this is what happens when you wait at the front for a parade. Suddenly, your photographs are all elbows and shoulders. :S Before we go back I must learn "Excuse me, we were here first" in Spanish, Japanese and Chinese.

The Trolley Bus.

Beautiful boy. Apparently all of the horses who pull the trolley are geldings, and all are "toilet-trained" for when they are at work.

For lunch, we hit up Main St Bakery. I LOVE Main St Bakery (OK, OK, I know, I love everything about WDW, but I do really love Main St Bakery). Their food was amazing, and they make the biggest sandwiches I have ever seen, which of course we had to try:

The front one is my Turkey & Swiss, and the back is John's Ham & Swiss. Being foolish tourists, we also ordered cookies, and then realised how big the sandwiches were. You can get an idea of the size of the drinks as well, ie, massive.

From Main St we headed past the Crystal Palace restaurant (never did get breakfast with Winnie the Pooh there...*adds to mental list of Things To Do Next Trip*), and into Adventureland. First stop (at John's suggestion, I'm yet to discover why) was The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. This is not a ride, more of an attraction. Well, less of an attraction, and more of a 20min queue with nothing at the end of it. Essentially, you get to "tour" the Swiss Family Robinson's treehouse. Basically this involves queuing around a large treehouse, which is really cute, but really a waste of 20mins. Once you've done it, there's really no need to go back. Though it did have a sweet view of the castle (the only photograph that survived from Adventureland or Frontierland). Yes, we do have a view of the castle from just about every angle.

Next stop, Enchanted Tiki Room. I LOVED the Enchanted Tiki Room. It was SO cute, with the little singing birds, and the walls and pillars move and sing and dance, it's AMAZING. John was...um...less impressed. But, he'd seen it before, which I'm totally assuming was the reason behind that review. :)

After the Tiki Room, we decided to go for Pirates of the Caribbean. Hello, first Disney World queue. However, the queuing area for POTC is really cool (literally and figuratively, Disney aircon is awesome). You queue through dungeons and corridors, and actually feel like you are going wayyyy underground to get onto the little boats. The ride was great, we spotted the newly added Captain Jack, and even saw Pirate Goofy as we were queuing (nope, I didn't get too close).

I took a break outside the Tortuga Tavern to call home. :) The only bad thing about our Disney World trip was that I never got to go with my family, and I saw so many things every day that they would love...Hence having a million photographs!

After a quick rest we headed to The Jungle Cruise. Unfortunately in our boat we had THE rudest family ever...The teenage son obviously wasn't there out of choice and totally ignored the guide all the way around, texting/playing on his phone. Why they chose to sit at the front of the boat I don't know, because they were obviously just using it as a rest stop, when there were people at the back who were actually interested in the ride and would probably have liked to be up front. The ride is cheesy, and the jokes are terrible, but we had an excellent guide and I really enjoyed the ride a lot. I was also immensely impressed that the guide memorised that long a monologue!! She seriously NEVER stopped talking the whole time.

The only ride we missed in Adventureland was Aladdin's Magic Carpets. I would have ridden it, but the queue was enormous, and if I'm going to queue for a ride like that it was going to be Dumbo!

In Frontierland we tried to get a ride on Splash Mountain, but the queue was awful. We decided to try the FastPass machines, and got a ticket to go back a couple of hours later (when, incidentally, SM was broken down, again. We never actually saw it working properly again, so we must've picked a bad two weeks to visit!). We didn't actually do any of the four Mountains (Space, Splash, Big Thunder, Everest)...apparently this means we suck! I say it's just an excuse to go back again. ;) We knew before we set off that Big Thunder Mountain was closed for repairs, because of my super-awesome research, which was a shame because it's one of John's favourite rides. Right next to Splash Mountain is the Frontierland Station, so we took a full loop of the track all around the Magic Kingdom for a rest. That is actually a great idea if you want a sit down, the breeze is lovely!

When we got on the train, we spotted Tigger and Pooh making an appearance on the opposite side of the tracks. Too late to get off the train (plus, I have a morbid fear of people in animal/mascot costumes...go figure!), so we decided to wait and see if they were there when we came back around.

Which they were!

Aren't you impressed by how not-terrified I look?! We had to wait a little while, as Pooh and Tigger had to take a "Honey and Birthday Cake Break" (awwwwww!! Too cute!!), but it couldn't have been more than about 15mins altogether.

Here was where Photopass really came in handy. The photograph above is a PP one, hence the Pooh "autograph". Photopass is a great idea, especially if you are travelling alone or as a couple, and want photographs. 99% of the photographs were excellent quality, and if I'd had $170 I would have paid for them. As I didn't have $170, I used the Firefox method (http://youtu.be/3pYuhYDsikg). However, they would have been worth paying for, especially if we'd had a few more taken. Next time we will be working PP for all it is worth! For a full review of PP click here.

After the meet'n'greet, we went for a snack in Frontierland. There are so many choices, but I tried to always go for stuff that I hadn't had before or couldn't get at home, so we had a corndog (weird...but good) and frozen lemonade, which was delicious. We browsed all of the stands and shops in Frontierland, and met the Sherriff in the Badge Traders. I am obsessed with the badges. I've always collected pin badges (and bookmarks, and keyrings...), and Disney have literally thousands of pin badges, different ones for each park, different ones for each stand and shop. It was AWESOME, and also very sad, because I couldn't afford them all (or the excess baggage to bring them home!!). Next door(ish) we found the Country Bear Jamboree, which is a little disturbing as kids shows go, but still fun.

From Frontierland, we strolled through to Liberty Square. After Fantasyland, I think Liberty Square is my favourite area, though to be honest there is very little there! I guess our visit counted as "off-peak" as the Liberty Square Riverboat was never running.

Liberty Square is based on Williamsburg, and is a very pretty area. It has The Haunted Mansion, The Hall of Presidents, the Liberty Tree, and also a Liberty Bell. Florida is actually the only state with two Liberty Bells, because when a bell was cast for every state to celebrate America's 200th birthday (aww! 200?!) Pennsylvania already had the original in Philadelphia, so WDW asked if it could have the replica, and it was moved to Liberty Square! Liberty Square is also home to the WDW Christmas Shop, which is amazing, and a little wierd in 30+degrees C heat!

First stop was The Hall Of Presidents.

The only other one of this rug is in the Whitehouse. You have to have permission from the Whitehouse to have one, outside of the Whitehouse. It looked very soft and squishy, I was impressed with the quality. And apparently the Eagle's head doesn't face one way or the other in war/peace times (in yo face, West Wing). Prior to 1945, the eagle faced the arrows (they are arrows) in it's left foot, but left-facing things in heraldry are considered dishonourable, so it was changed to face the olive branch. You're welcome for the history lesson. I apologise now, America, but I am always reminded of the smudges you get when a bird flies into patio windows when I see this photograph. It's not a flattering pose, Mr Eagle (though maybe that's where the term "Spreadeagled" comes from? Maybe if any Americans are still speaking to me, they can confirm/deny that for me).

Personally, I enjoyed the Hall of Presidents, though if you're not American, prepare for an abnormally large dose of patriotism. Basically, think of all of the red, white and blue hype you've seen parodied on TV wherever you live. That's about the level, but Disneyfied so a bit more awesome. I'm going to say that the anamatronics looked like who they were supposed to. Based on the money, they seem pretty accurate. Also, I live for the day that Barack Obama sneaks to Disney World and replaces his anamatronic figure and scares the audience witless by getting off stage afterwards. Seriously, he could, that would work. He is the only president to record his figure's own speech.

After The Hall of Presidents, we set off for Haunted Mansion. I should add here, I am a TOTAL scaredy-cat, and I hate anything spooky. I'm not even overly keen on the Haunted Mansion film (which, incidentally, was on TV a couple of days after we rode the ride!), and the scariest thing about that is Eddie Murphy.

We got to try the cool new cemetery queuing area, which is full of interactive gravestones, crypts and tombs. It's more fun than it sounds, promise. If anything, the queue moved a bit too quickly for me, because obviously (for some reason) I had to let the little kids around us play with stuff first, and some of them quite frankly hogged the cool stuff, so I didn't get very long to play. Yes, I am about 4 years old. So sue me.

Supposedly if you stand here long enough, you can figure out who killed whom from reading the inscriptions. I, on the other hand, couldn't be bothered, as there were more exciting things to play with.

The cool musical tomb. There is an eerie bass drone coming from inside the tomb, and when you touch each instrument it joins in and then fades out again when you remove your hand. They're not buttons, it's one piece. You just touch them and they play "Grim Grinning Ghosts".

When you touch the organ keys, a mist of water comes out.

You can hear the Captain singing and blowing bubbles in his "bath". You also occasionally get wet when he sneezes!

Supposedly this was added in because of the film, but it's also for Imagineer Yale Gracey who helped design the ride (I believe).

The bookcase...You push a book in, and another pops out somewhere else.

The Poetess' Tomb. She "writes" in the book and gets stuck on the last word...She died of writer's block!

Madame Leota...I tried to catch her doing her thing, but I missed it. :(

Doesn't look that spooky in the glorious sunlight, does it?

The ghost horse hearse. You can't see, but there are hoofprints under the harness. The hearse was in a John Wayne film.

The Pet Cemetery. You can't really see it, but there is a gravestone in there for Mr Toad, since they closed Mr Toad's Wild Ride.

Liberty Square, from the Haunted Mansion queuing area.

That night we ate at Pinocchio's again (I think!), and stayed for the parades and Wishes. For some reason I have no photographs of that though...Not sure what went on there!

That was the night that it took FOREVER to get out of the park. I was amazed at how busy it was. We thought that the weekend would be hell, and Monday would be nice and relaxed. How wrong we were. Sunday was really quiet at MK, and Monday was madness. It took almost 2.5hrs from castle to car park exit, and when we left the castle we were already TIRED. Later on we figured out that when Main St is packed, you should duck through the shops which, even though they all have individual frontages, they are all open on the inside and you can just walk straight through. MUCH quicker.

15/04 Magic Kingdom!

For me, "Disney World" is the Magic Kingdom. It's the Dumbo ride, and Alice's Tea Cups, and Main St USA, and Cinderella's Castle, and the parades and fireworks, and everything that you see in brochures and the TV adverts. I actually forgot that there were three other Disney parks, until I was reminded on Monday night.

I shouldn't need to say it with these trip reports, but I will, as this one is the first one to contain actual park stuff:

Here Be Spoilers!

I'll try not to blow any major secrets, obviously, but if I found out something interesting about the parks and I can remember it, I will be adding it in at the appropriate moment. Hopefully this will make for a more interesting read than just looking at thousands of my holiday snaps!!

Sunday was always going to be Magic Kingdom Day. Sustenance for Magic Kingdom Day was a mahoosive breakfast at Denny's. Denny's is AWESOME. Their food is huge, they serve it all 24hrs a day, and you get dessert with breakfast (if you're English. If you're American presumably you just get a regular fry-up with pancakes). Win-win all around, I think.

First shot of Disney World!!!!

Yes, I really actually do photograph EVERYTHING...

Disney parking is awesome. Even the people who take your money are awesome (no, I never will get tired of being told to "Have a magical day!"). Disney parking is $14 for cars (no tax or anything, just $14), per day. That includes all parks, so you only pay at the first park of the day. If you visit more than one park, you can re-use the same parking ticket. Also, when we went to the MK once pretty late in the evening (about 7:30pm, close was 11), the guy waved us through without charging us at all. He did say "This one's on me!" but I don't know if it's free for everyone, or if they're allowed to let so many in for free, or if it's free after a certain time, or whatever, but I liked that he did it that way!

Parking for Disney is SO organised. We never once had to queue to get into or out of the car park, which is pretty impressive considering the fact that each park's car park only has one entrance and exit each. From your car, you get on a little golfcart train that takes you to the entrance of the park or, for MK, to the Ticket and Transportation Center. What I didn't know about Magic Kingdom is that you park anywhere within 3 miles away from the actual park. Then when you get to the T&TC, you are still 1.5 miles away from the park entrance. From the T&TC, you can take the ferry across Seven Seas Lagoon (which was built because earth was needed to raise up Magic Kingdom to build the staff area underneath...When you are on Main St. USA you are actually already one story up!), or hop on the Monorail.

For the first trip, we chose the ferry, because of the amazing views you get of the castle as you sail towards the park.

First view of the castle from the T&TC, at the ferry terminal. The badges are the ones we were given when we bought our tickets! I have one that says "1st Visit" and my name (with Mickey faces in the "a"s ♥), and one that says "Happy 5th Anniversary!" which J also had. When you get your tickets, they ask if you are visiting the park for the first time, or to celebrate something special, and you get a badge for whatever it is! All day long people were wishing us a happy anniversary. :) (We decided to bring our anniversary celebrations forward, because then I had an excuse to go to Cinderella's Royal Table :).

Main St Station. Let The Memories Begin!

I LOVE this sign. It's probably (if I have one) my favourite sign in Disney World. You pass under it (and the railway station) as you enter the park.

We had awesome timing, and arrived at MK just as people were starting to pick their spots on Main St for the "Celebrate A Dream Come True" parade (how super appropriate for our trip!). So we decided to wait around a little and watch the parade! Because of how long Blogger takes to upload my mega-huge photographs, I will just put the float piccies up, but there were many other characters dancing in the parade too, Goofy, Pluto, Donald Duck, Chip and Dale, etc.

 Puppies riding crystal carousel unicorns? WDW really IS little girl paradise.

Our first photograph in front of the castle!

If you are going alone (or in a pair) I would definitely recommend the PhotoPass service. Even if you take your own camera, PhotoPass photographers are happy to take your picture. We got a PP card too, so we also have some of the special effect photographs (more about them another day). Basically you get a plastic credit-sized-card, and the photographers scan it when they take your picture. Then when you get home you log onto the website, register your card number, and you can see all of the pictures. Of course, if you actually want to use the photos, there is a price to pay (that price being $169.99...meep), but screen-capping works if you just want small versions.

On the first day, we planned to start at Tomorrowland, and work our way around to Fantasyland. We rode the Tomorrowland People Mover (nice shady ride!), Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin (cool, but more for kids), Stitch's Great Escape (awesome!), Carousel of Progress (cheesy but fun), and Monsters Inc Laugh Floor (awesome!).

Getting my ass kicked on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. No, I was not paying out for ride photographs! You will make do with the redneck "photo of preview screen" versions and be grateful. ;)

We ate lunch at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe. Unfortunately we forgot to go and see Cosmic Ray in his dinner show (check it out if you do go), but we ate looking out over Tomorrowland. I recommend the BBQ pork sandwich and skin-on fries.

I should point out here that I recommend a LOT of BBQ food this trip. That would be because there were only about 3 days that I didn't eat something BBQ'd (though on one of the other days I did have two BBQ'd meals, which I think goes some way to cover the oversight on the other three days). What can I say, I like BBQ, and Americans do BBQ well. Vegetarians need not apply for this trip, food-wise. I don't think we saw a vegetable until Tuesday, and that was just a fleeting glance.

We didn't rush ANYTHING, so we did most of the rides at some stage in our trip. If there was a queue for something, we left it for another day. Really, we only queued for a long time for Soarin' (which is well worth the queue) and Peter Pan's Flight (because it was raining, and we figured we might as well queue!). One thing we noticed is that the parks tend to over-estimate the wait times that you see at the entrance to the ride. Very often one that said 15 minute wait would be five minutes or less. Obviously this might not always be the case! But that's what we found.

I don't really have many photographs of Tomorrowland from that first day, I'm guessing I was saving my camera battery (hah! More on that saga another day) for later on in the evening. I did get a couple of shots from the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover though. TTTAPT is a slow ride, kind of like a mini-monorail that takes you around Tomorrowland and tells you about (and takes you through some of!) the rides. It goes around the Tomorrowland area, and through Space Mountain, you can see people riding Space Mountain pass you by!

I think I have more shots of the castle than anything else!

We also went on Stitch's Great Escape, which is AWESOME though it did hurt my shoulder slightly! Carousel of Progress was fun, the dog is cute and the announcement "Rotation will commence in three minutes" is not one you get in any other theatre! We also went into the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor show, which is amazing. During the queue you can text in jokes to a number given on the TV screens, and then the monsters on screen tell your jokes. Most amazing of all is that the animated monsters actually converse in real-time with the audience! I was amazed! They never picked me to talk to, though. :(

From Tomorrowland we walked up behind the castle, to Fantasyland.

We did ALL the shops, rode on Prince Charming's Regal Carrousel...

Have I mentioned that I LOVE carousel horses?! LOVE.

Queuing area for Mickey's Philharmonic. I love Wheezy! The Philharmonic show was great, but the 3D did make our eyes water a bit! I will tell you know, Disney World 3D RUINS 3D cinema for you pretty much forever, because you will never see anything like it. Also, if you go to Mickey's Philharmonic, I don't want to ruin the show or anything, but have a look at the wall when you go into the shop. You will see the character who ends up at the back of the theatre!

I think on that first night we ate at Pinocchio's Village Haus in Fantasyland. Pinocchio's was one of my favourite places, their Chicken Parmesan was delicious (not so much the iced tea, which was vile!) and the atmosphere is SO cute, all of the chairs and tables are carved wood with little hearts carved into them, it's beautiful.

After dinner we walked through to Liberty Square to watch the Electric Light Parade and the Wishes firework display.

Elliott!! :D

You get a great view of the parades from Liberty Square! Unfortunately (as we confirmed the next day) you don't get so good a view of the Wishes fireworks. You can see all of the fireworks, obviously, but the music and vocals don't make sense if you can't see the front of Cinderella's Castle. All of the fireworks are positioned to look AMAZING from Main St USA.  From the rest of the park, they just look like awesome fireworks.

We wandered around to Main St USA after Wishes to see "The Magic, The Memories, And You", which is a cute show projected onto the Castle, where they turn it into all different things/different looks.

Well, that was our first day at the Magic Kingdom!

That journey back to the car park is a LOT longer on the way home...It took an age to get back to the car, or it felt that way with jet lag and VERY tired feet! Thank goodness Disney are so competent when it comes to parking arrangements!