Florida Trip Day One: A Cold at the Magic Kingdom (Part One)

My brother Jonathan and I had such a great time at Universal Studios last year during the Martin Luther King weekend, I suggested we go to Disney World this year over the Presidents' Day week-long break. I hadn't been there in almost 20 years (I recall making jokes about going down there to help to count hanging chads in the disputed 2000 presidential election) and there have been so many changes and new rides since then. Great idea, but I soon discovered the big difference between

With my brother and Tigger at the Magic Kingdom

Disney and Universal is with the former you need to do a lot more planning than the latter. With Universal, Jonathan got a special deal since we would be staying at one of their resorts. We could get an Express Pass on all of their rides. With Disney, you can only get a Fast Pass for three attractions per day. In addition, reservations are required for almost all of the nicer table-service restaurants. This required downloading the MyDisney app, buying a Magic Band for quicker access, and strategic planning worthy of a military campaign to avoid endless waiting in lines.

After months of conferring and scheduling, the big day of the trip finally arrived and, of course, I had caught a cold. I was sniffling and sneezing on the plane to Orlando, but determined not to let it interfere with my having childish fun. Loaded up on DayQuil and Cold-Eze, I managed to get my ass out of the hotel bed and in my rental car at a decent hour. I had checked undercover tourist.com which as a crowd calendar for the best days to visit each of the four WDW parks. We also bought park-hopper tickets so we could go from one location to another depending on the crowd size. Since it was a school holiday, the mobs were massive, but we picked days for each park that were the least jam-packed. Monday was designated Magic Kingdom Day with the possibility of transferring to Epcot since the two are connected by monorail.


I had my magic band all set, but Jonathan had to pick up his tickets at the gate. So I went ahead to our first Fast Pass: The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. (Helpful WDW Hint #1: Buy your tickets on line and a magic band for another $20. Otherwise you will be standing on line just to get inside. Helpful WDW Hint #2: DO not bring a bag or knapsack into the park, because there is ANOTHER line for security inspection just like at the airport. All you really need is your I-phone to communicate, book rides on the My Disney app, and take pictures. With no bags to be inspected you get in much quicker.)

With Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh was similar to the Cat in the Hat at Universal with picture-book characters popping up on a mild kiddie-level ride. We took the Fast Pass because it was the first one available. Jonathan caught up with me and we went on to Fast Pass #2--the Haunted Mansion (much more spooky fun than I remembered from 2000) and #3 Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (a lot like Men in Black at Universal where you zap aliens but not as much action). Out of fast passes, we decided to stand on the shortest line available--Astro Orbiter, a rocket ride just like Dumbo, Aladdin's Flying Carpets, the Triceratops at Animal Kingdom, Klang and Kling at Universal, etc.

Next was our lunch reservation at the Crystal Palace. They charge you an arm and a leg so you can get your photo taken with the Disney characters which was sort of fun. Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet all stopped by our table. The food was a buffet with a generous variety of offerings, the best being the desserts.

Since we had the Park Hopper option and the Magic Kingdom was open until 11PM that night, we hopped on the monorail to Epcot, planning to return later. The plan was to fit as many rides as possible that we did not have Fast Passes for the next day. It was fun to ride the monorail between parks and our first stop was Spaceship Earth inside the giant globe. I had a vague memory of riding this history diorama back in 2000, but I'm pretty sure Dame Judi Dench was not the narrator as she is today. You sit in little cars and views scenes of man's progress with Dame Judi's gentle tones praising humanity's never-ending search for perfection. All through this optimistic joyride, I kept thinking of climate change and Donald Trump, but I supposed a dystopian view of the future would not be a good selling point for a ride. BTW, I had initially thought to a visit to the Hall of Presidents to view the animatronic Trump would have been a hoot, but we decided to skip that privilege. It would have depressed me and there probably would be MAGA Disney goers cheering the Orange Pig on which would really have upset me. So I made a few jokes about a future attraction called the Hall of Impeachment whose only robots would be Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Trumpy with Nixon at a side table.

Then we had the first of our really long waits for a ride at The Sea with Nemo and Friends. The whole day was rather like a rollercoaster going from the elation of short waits with Fast Passes and three rides in succession and then a 40-minute queue for a so-so trip through a recreation of a cartoon.  The Sea area of Epcot was concluded with Turtle Talk (basically for little kids with the sea turtle from Finding Nemo) and a walk through the Aquarium.

(More on this long first day at Disney World in the next blog).

Day One--WDW Magic Kingdom/Epcot/Magic Kingdom
The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Fast Pass #1)
Haunted Mansion (Fast Pass #2)
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (Fast Pass #3)

With Piglet

Astro Orbiter
Lunch at the Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger
Monorail to Epcot
Spaceship Earth with Dame Judi Dench
The Sea with Nemo and Friends
Aquarium
Turtle Talk
Return to the Magic Kingdom by boat
Fireworks
People Mover
Dinner at the Jungle Navigation Company Skipper
Peter Pan's Flight
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train