Top 10 Must- Do Attractions: Magic Kingdom

 

Whether you’re going to Disney World for the first time or you’re an annual pass holder, these are the rides you must ride when you enter Magic Kingdom (in my personal opinion).

10.     Mad Tea Party (Tea Cups)

9.       Under the Sea- Journey of The Little Mermaid

8.       Jungle Cruise

7.       Astro Orbiter

6.       “it’s a small world”

5.       Splash Mountain

4.       Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

3.      Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin

2.       Space Mountain

1.       Haunted Mansion   

 

-Buzz °o°

Park Tips Tuesday: Wishes! A Magical Gathering of Disney Dreams

Every time I visit Walt Disney World I always make sure I have a night free to watch Wishes! For those of you who do not know,

Wishes! A Magical Gathering of Disney Dreams is the Magic Kingdom’s nightly fireworks spectacular. Now I’m a bit of a Wishes snob, I have seen it at least 100 times in the last year alone; partially because of my job and partially because I truly cannot get enough of it.

Wishes is something that most guests will stay and wait in the park to see, and then when it’s over thousands of people leave at the same time. Now a lot of this will be dependent on whether or not there are Extra Magic Hours that evening, if the Main Street Electrical Parade (MSEP) is performing that night, and what time Celebrate the Magic — the castle projection show — is that particular night.

Most people will watch Wishes from Main Street U.S.A, which is a wonderful location and my personal favorite. However, there are several other locations to watch them from as well. Fantasyland is another fan favorite, you are closer to the fireworks and they’re going off between you! One set is going off on the sides of the castle while those gigantic booming fireworks are taking off from behind New Fantasyland. Now, if you’d rather take advantage of the minimal attraction wait times but would still like to see the fireworks, then head over to Big Thunder Mountain! The queue plays the Wishes soundtrack and there is something pretty awesome about riding a roller coaster while fireworks are going off above your head.

But let’s say you want to watch the MSEP, Wishes, and Celebrate the Magic, all while avoiding the crowds. Well grab a Times Guide from any merchandise shop in the park or at the MK park entrance and guest relations. If you are in the Magic Kingdom on a night when there are two performances of the parade and Celebrate the Magic then it’ll be much easier to avoid the thousands of people you aren’t really wanting to become close neighbors with. On a night that there are two performances of the projection show and parade, there  will be one of each before Wishes and one more performance after.

If you are really wanting to see the fireworks from Main Street then be at Main Street about 5 minutes before the start of Wishes. That’ll be when the first Celebrate the Magic will end, and cast members are going to continue to try to have guests to continue to move as far forward as they can towards the castle. A quick tip: try to avoid going too far forward because then the castle blocks some of the fireworks, and you’re neck is going to be a little sore afterwards. Once Wishes ends, several people are going to head toward the park exit like a giant stampede. Try to head either towards the castle if you are far back or stay in your general vicinity if you have a clear straight on view of the castle, this is the best viewing area for Celebrate the Magic. Once the projection show ends, it is now up to you on where you would like to watch the parade! The parade path heads back through Frontierland, Liberty Square, and Main Street USA. Most people will want to view the parade from Main Street; however, Frontierland and Liberty Square have far fewer people, and there’s a good chance you will get more character interactions, so head that way if you don’t have a preference on where you’d like to see the parade!

Here are a few other tips for y’all!

• The MSEP will be ending its run in Walt Disney World this December, and will be replaced by a new parade in early 2014!
• There will not be multiple presentations of the parade and the projection show every night, make sure you check the times guide when you arrive, or better yet plan ahead on disneyworld.com
• Disney is testing a new fastpass+ reserved seating/area for the MSEP and Wishes! If that is something you may be interested in make arrangements on My Disney Experience or at the magicbands kiosks within the park. These reservations will count as a fastpass for each person in your party, and will follow the same basic rules as any attraction with FP+.

– Woody

 

Do y’all have a favorite location to watch the fireworks or the parade from? Do you make time to see the MSEP or watch Wishes? What do you think of the new FP+ reserved area on Main Street USA?

Talking Mickey Meet and Greet

Meeting our beloved Mickey Mouse at Magic Kingdom in Disney World, just got a lot more magical.  Disney has just brought in some new magic.  Now, at the Town Square Theater, when you meet the boss himself, he’ll have a few new tricks up his sleeve.

Mickey now talks right back to you! Dressed as a magician, he’ll do magic tricks and interact on a whole new level.

Here’s a little video from the Disney Parks Blog that truly captures this new magic in the park.

 

Talking Mickey was originally introduced to the parks in 2011 but was most commonly used for shows and promotions.  Now, talking Mickey can be seen with guests on a daily basis.

Share with us what you think about this new and improved Mickey.

 

Have a Magical Monday!! °o°

-Buzz

 

The Monorail.

*Photo courtesy of mouseplanet.com

Okay, so here’s the low down on the beloved Monorails at Walt Disney World.

Walt Disney World has been using the Monorail System since Magic Kingdom opened in 1971.  What started out as just two lines to and from the Magic Kingdom, has expanded into three lines with transportation to EPCOT in 1982.

The two Magic Kingdom route consist of Express and Resort.  The Express route goes straight to Magic Kingdom without any other stops.  The Resort route stops at the Polynesian Resort, the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, the Contemporary Resort, then on to the Magic Kingdom.  You can catch the EPCOT and Express monorails at the TTC (Transportation and Ticket Center).

The Monorail System follows a concrete beam filled with polystyrene to make the structures lighter.  These beams were shipped in from Washington.  The way the system is laid out, guests can “ride high in the sky” to their destination on property.  Every year, about 50 million Disney Resort guests use the monorails as a mode of transportation while visiting.

Each monorail is identified by the color of the stripe that wraps around each of them.  The colors of the monorails are: Black, Blue, Coral, Gold, Green, Lime, Orange, Peach, Red, Silver, Teal, and Yellow. Sometimes, you may notice that a color isn’t present on the track but in its place is a “decorated” monorail.  To promote new movies, Disney has been known to convert the outsides of certain monorails to look like it is from the new movie.  In 2012, Monorail Red was converted to The Avengers and before that, a monorail was transformed into a promotion for Tron: Legacy.  In March 2013, Monorail Black promoted Iron Man 3 and then in April, Monorail Teal was converted to Monsters University.

One of the most popular phrases on Disney property comes from the prerecorded spiel on the monorail.  “Please stand clear of the doors.  Por favor manténganse alejado de las puertas.” can be heard every time guests have boarded a monorail and are about to leave the station.  This phrase can also be found on T-shirts throughout the resort.  If ever in a situation where everyone around you speaks Spanish, all of us crazy Disney fanatics will be able to tell everyone to “please stand clear of the doors” if need be.

The monorail cars also seem to have a distinct smell to them when you enter them.  To me, they smell like a barn, but that’s just me.  Growing up out in the country, that’s what I associate it with.  Even though the smell isn’t too pleasant, there is this joy and excitement that comes with riding in a Disney monorail.  For me, boarding a monorail means that I’m really close to being back home.  There’s just that extra little magic that fills you up when looking out the window and seeing Cinderella Castle growing closer.

Now, Woody and I are notorious for trying to board an empty car and “monorail surf.”  This means that for the entire ride we stand in the middle of the car and try to stay standing the entire time without holding on to anything.  I must say, we go pretty good at this in the months we have spent at Disney.  We can also recite the entire boarding spiel which always seems to get us crazy looks from normal guests.

Well there ya have it! Some basics on the Monorail System at Disney World.

-Buzz

Always Sunny in Disney

 

Did you know that because there are Disney Theme Parks in North America, Europe, and Asia the sun never really sets on Disney Parks.  Somewhere in the world the sun is always shining at Disney. 

Have a magical day!! °o°