Fri., Jan 4/13

At 9:30, after breakfast,  we left with LNM (Liz, Nick and Marty) and headed for the Magic Kingdom. After a short “Yellow” bus ride from our RV’s location we arrived at the Settlement Depot Boat Launch where we would  take the “Green Flag” Boat to the Magic Kingdom. LNM already had their tickets so they went on while we bought tickets at the at the Whoop-de-Doo Review Dinner Show ticket counter at the Depot.

Here I also added to our “Flat Penny” collection with another “Fort Wilderness” penny before heading down to the boat. Since our roller coaster days are behind us; we planned a day of touring our favourite (easy) rides and exhibits.

After walking down “Main Street” we headed for Tomorrowland. We did not find Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor particularly funny. There were not a lot of laughs from the younger crowd either.

Our next stop, The Carousel of Progress, has changed a little since its introduction at the World’s Fair in the early 60’s – mostly with an adjustment to the last (late 20^th century) tableau. It is always a favourite.

Next we took a ride on the People Mover around Tomorrowland to view the theme changes of the rides and attractions in this area.  There was an unexpected delay in Space Mountain for several minutes before it continued the circuit. We were both happy to not be in here on the roller coaster.

Our next venture brought us towards Frontierland with a stop at the Hall of Presidents on the way. We were interested in seeing how they updated the display with the last series of leaders; since we hadn’t stopped at this attraction since Jimmy Carter was in office.  

Frontierland is our traditional eating spot in the Magic Kingdom (The Land is its counterpart at Epcot). It was almost noon and time for a turkey leg. They are not only cooked to perfection – they are huge. We shared one and a drink for dinner before moving on to our next destination – Adventureland.

The Pirates of the Caribbean - originally (I think) inspired by “Treasure Island”– has received a boost from the newer movie trilogy of the same name. Although we have done this attraction every visit (at least 25 – including Disneyland) this is the first time that I noticed one of the skeletons had a mermaid’s spine and tail. The real attraction of Disney is in the details.

Then we were off around the corner to the Enchanted Tiki Room. Thankfully they have returned the “Birds” to their original script, music and style after a horrible and ill-fated effort (our opinion) to update this attraction several years ago.

The Haunted Mansion was next. This is our favourite ride style – a continuous moving line with a smooth, entertaining ride. I always get a kick out of the tombstone epitaphs as we enter and exit the mansion.

In the same vain, our next stop, “It’s A Small World” is always a treat. Like the “Pirates” we found the entrance and exit of the boats into the water a little rougher than usual. Maybe it’s just “old bones” (although a teen in the seat ahead gasped – “Oh! That Hurt!”)

We missed one of our favourites – Peter Pan’s Flight – as the in-line wait time was well over an hour and the “Fast Pass” return was over 4 hours later.  Instead we slipped into “Mickey’s PhilharMagic” which was a real “3D” treat accompanied with a few special effects (squirts of water).

Continuing on to the “New” Fantasyland where they have replaced Mickey’s house (etc.) with the Beauty and The Beast, Ariel, The Little Mermaid and “Circus” attractions. Passing on The Barnstormer (a roller coaster ride) we chose Under the Sea –Journey of The Little Mermaid.

This turned into a huge wait. It took well over an hour just to get close. Dozens of people ahead of us passed us as they left. I asked one of the cast members if there was a technical problem. The answer was no – it was a “guest” problem. Someone made an unauthorized exit from the ride which stopped it for safety reasons. This would normally cause a delay for a few minutes as everything is checked (again, safety first) and the ride is reset. Unfortunately, the delay caused a “domino effect”.  An impatient guest left during the first delay – causing the cycle to repeat. This happened several times as other guest left making the delay extremely long. Once things settled down the ride progressed normally returning to the quick, continuous movement intended.

We then took the WDW Railroad from Fantasyland. We stayed on the train at the Main Street Station and continued on to Frontierland. It was now time for supper. We each had a burger at “Pecos Bill’s Tall Tale Inn and Café”. 

Then it was out the front door to watch “Disney’s Light Parade” (6 pm show) which was longer than usual and absolutely fantastic. Proportionate to the extra Christmas crowds, the park stays open longer, features more attractions and longer parades.

As the parade finished we just had enough time to proceed to Cinderella’s Castle for the 9 pm light show. Our last light show was 8 years ago. Wow! This one was beyond description. Technology has improved so much that the whole castle was illuminated. The exterior look changed several times from appearing to be made out of red bricks to looking like a jungle and everything imaginable in between.

Aat the end of the show Tinkerbell made her familiar flight from the top of the castle to a landing somewhere in Tomorrowland.

 It was only a 10 minute wait until the evening fireworks began. We moved to the carousel area in the middle of Fantasyland which provided a better view of the fireworks display.  LNM spotted us in the crowd and we watched the remainder of the fireworks together before they headed to “Beauty and the Beast”.

I thought I would be smart and take the WDW train again from Fantasyland avoiding the return rush along Main Street. Ooops! I didn’t realize the train stopped running at 8 pm. We had to walk back to Main Street and on to the Main Street Train Station. We arrived just in time to get a good viewing spot on the top level balcony from which to watch Disney’s Light Parade again (10 pm show).

This is our traditional parade watching spot. We discovered years ago that all the parades start from the large doors at the right of the Fire Station in the Town Square.  Being located at the curb near the Fire Station usually guaranteed a greeting for the kids (Liz and Kat) by all the characters as the parade started. . In later years, we moved up to the top level of the Train Station. Arriving early meant we could usually pull up a chair to the railing and watch in comfort. Best view in the park!

With the extended park hours (until 1 pm) during the holiday season the crush to leave for return transportation was not as heavy as when the park closed shortly after the fireworks or last parade. It was just a short walk from the Station to the launch area for the boat ride back to Fort Wilderness.

As we waited we were treated to the night time Electric Water Pageant.

A flotilla (actually 2 boats, each pulling several barges) display patriotic emblems accompanied by music. 

These then become several creatures of the sea which included a Sea Serpent,

a whale and a tortoise,

to jumping dolphins. This nightly event was supposed to be a 1 night opening extravaganza for the Polynesian Resort when it opened (1971). Happily, it still occurs nightly – over 40 years later.

At this time of night, as we discovered, the regular “Yellow”, “Orange” and “Purple” buses do not run throughout Fort Wilderness. Instead the “Fort Wilderness” or “Wilderness Lodge” buses freelance throughout the park. The first bus that arrived was going in the other direction in the park from where we were located (1600 section). We watched 4 deer grazing a short distance away as we waited for the next bus which took us to our stop.

LNM arrived back at the RV about 10 minutes after we had returned. We were all tired from a busy day. Soon everyone was asleep. Even with the day long, off and on,  light rain - Disney was fun!