There have been many years in the past that I have gone to Walt Disney World in back-to-back years. And there have even been several during which I visited both Disneyland and Disney World in the same year. But on Friday, September 17, 2010, this became the first year that I visited both Disneyland and Walt Disney World twice in the same year. Regardless of the impressive record-breaking, I just went there again to have fun. Of course, this was the part of our road trip that Ashleigh was looking forward to most of all.
I knew that my photo coverage of this visit had to be a bit unique in that I had just taken pictures of all of the rides and such at the Magic Kingdom 10 weeks earlier. My sister Denise had often remarked how much she enjoyed tracking the Disney trip, so I decided to snap a plethora of pictures of animatronics inside the rides. Not just my favorite pirates, this time. So here is an in-depth photo journal from the Catsafterme perspective of our day at the Magic Kingdom.
Unlike my last trip, Ashleigh and I didn’t mess around when it came to getting to the park early. We didn’t have the benefit of it being open until midnight this time and we wanted to see all that we could. We caught our shuttle and arrived at the park at about 8:30am, a full half-hour before it opened. I hadn’t been there this early since my visit in 1993, and like that time, we were able to see the opening ceremonies. I must admit that I felt like a kid as the Mayor of Main Street generated excitement as the singers and dancers bid us a hearty welcome amidst the freshly placed Halloween decor, and the major Disney characters all pulled up in the train. We were pumped for a great day.
The Halloween decor at the front of the park
Ash and I ready for a blast-times-five
Mickey and the Mayor of Main Street gets us pumped for our visit
They let us in a bit before 9am, and the first thing we did was grab the horse-drawn trolley for a ride down Main Street U.S.A. I had done this once at Disneyland, but this was a first for Walt Disney World. The clip-clop of the horse’s feet soothed our souls as we made our way toward the castle, admiring the architecture and inside-references to the Disney Imagineers all over the buildings.
Aboard the horse-drawn streetcar
Hopping off the trolley and stopping for a second by Cinderella’s Castle
Ashleigh and I first swung into Adventureland and grabbed a FastPass for the Jungle Cruise. As I was putting our tickets into the ticket machine to get these, the lady working there almost yelled at me not to waste the FastPass on this ride as there would be no line for a while. I assured her that I knew what I was doing.
We headed into Frontierland and walked right on Splash Mountain. I couldn’t get the worker to take our photo in the boats, but I did snap lots of them on this, my favorite Disney ride. Enjoy.
Entering Frontierland bright and early
Early morning entry to Splash Mountain
Br’er Frog greets the guests of Splash Mountain
Br’er Bear is caught in one of his own traps
Br’er Frog kicks back and enjoys the proceedings
Br’er Bear in trouble again with a bees’ nest
Br’er Fox finally catches Br’er Rabbit. Now what to do with him…
The vultures are ready for Br’er Rabbit, as Br’er fox gets ready to fling him – and us – into the briar patch
All’s well that ends well. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah!
Br’er Fox gets snagged as they try to find Br’er Rabbit
It’s the truth. It’s actual. Everything is satisfactual.
The only difference that I noticed during this ride-thru was how wet we got. Typically as you are traveling past the briar patch, the boats that careen down the falls next to you create a giant splash, which conveniently miss your boat. This time, however, the splash hit us dead on, soaking us first thing in the morning. My hair wasn’t right all day.
Since we couldn’t utilize the late hours, I decided to use the early morning hours to blow through the dark rides in Fantasyland. There was a slight crimp in the plan when Ashleigh decided that she needed breakfast – which is not an easy thing to find in the Magic Kingdom. Finally we were directed to the Main Street Bakery, so we headed that way and Ashleigh got a giant cinnamon roll and some orange juice. Preggos.
After she and I scarfed that down, we went to Fantasyland and took a spin on the three major dark rides: Snow White’s Scary Adventures, Peter Pan’s Flight, and the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The project to add the Disney characters to it’s a small world was underway, so that ride was closed down. It only took about 30 minutes to get through all three rides. Winnie the Pooh was under some major exterior refurbishment and I’ve never seen a more unsightly looking construction area than this one. I also showed Ashleigh the area where the upcoming Little Mermaid ride was being built.
It’s this old bag that makes Snow White’s Scary Adventures scary
The Darling family at the beginning of Peter Pan’s Flight
Peter Pan’s Indian Village
The wonderful thing about Tiggers is Tiggers are wonderful things. Their tops are made out of rubber. Their bottoms are made out of springs.
One of the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
We waited for a few minutes so that Ashleigh could visit Alice and the White Rabbit before departing Fantasyland
Having finished the rides of Fantasyland, we headed back over to Adventureland as if we had just arrived at the park. Having the FastPass for the Jungle Cruise in hand, we walked toward it, making a quick spin through the Swiss Family Treehouse.
One of the fanicer rooms in the Swiss Family Treehouse
We boarded the Jungle Cruise right at 11am. I was thinking that it would be beyond a mere coincidence if we ended up on the Ucyali Lolly boat as I had been on her during my last two visits to the Magic Kingdom. With 15 boats in operation, the odds would have been 3375 to 1. We missed Lolly by just a few people and ended up on the next boat Irrawaddy Irma. But no matter which boats you’re on, the skipper’s jokes are pretty much the same.
All aboard the Irmawaddy Irma and on our Jungle Cruise. Note the gorillas taking over the camp behind us.
A dynamic elephatronic
The most violent of Disney scenes: the mauling of a zebra. If they say they’re not a cheetah, then they’re probably just a lion.
Well, bottoms up fellows. I’m sure you’ll get the point…in the end.
Ashleigh and I then hit the Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management). For some reason, I didn’t take any photos inside this attraction.
Zazu and Iago welcome us to the Enchanted Tiki Room
Now can anyone tell me what ride is left in Adventureland? Yep, that’s right – the always-spectacular Pirates of the Caribbean (ignoring, of course, The Magic Carpets of Aladdin). In concentrating on taking photos, I think I really noticed how very different this ride has become, particularly in the sounds and music, since its early days.
Skeleton in a storm, right before we take our plunge
The pirates dunk town Mayor Carlos if he doesn’t expose the treasure’s whereabouts
The pooped pirate brags that Jack Sparrow will never find his treasure map, but he’s not aware of who’s hiding in the barrel behind him
Old Bill offers to share his rum with some alley cats
My old pals, the prison pirates trying to make their escape
A face in the cannon, outside the Pirates of the Caribbean
Ashleigh and I headed back into Frontierland to hit one more attraction there. Since she was in the family way, we skipped Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This takes us up to noon and if I said any more now, the title of this posting just wouldn’t make sense.
The Magic Kingdom day will continue…
Well done! I’m ready for more Disney!
Denise
November 3rd, 2010