Magic Kingdom Pt. 1 (First Time)

We got over to the Magic Kindom’s parking lot and already my feet hurt. I didn’t change into my sneakers, but in the end, I didn’t bring the right pair of sneakers either, so my feet were doomed to hurt, and they did. After parking we took a tram to the Monorail station to head over to the Magic Kindgom. Odd how they did that, but whatever. I was getting to ride the Monorail for the first time (not my first monorail, but first one at Disney) so I was happy.

We arrived in just a few minutes and off we headed to the gate. The day was beautiful and the weather was nice, just the right temp for me. Sadly, what would have been great skies and lighting for pictures of the castle was hampered by a ginormous crane parked by the castle doing work on it. Boo! I took a photo anywho. And even though there was a ton of people there, everyone was moving around and the lines weren’t that bad.

Our first destination was Space Mountain as it was closed when I was at Disneyland for the mega-upgrade they did in 2005 for the 50th. We arrived to see a posted 30 minute wait, so we ran to the bathrooms really quick. Once we got out, though, the line went to 60 minutes, and then 95 minutes before our very eyes. We decided to come back to the mountain later. Instead, we made our way over to one of my favorite rides from Disneyland, the Haunted Mansion. It was very much like the California version, though the stair room is apparently new. Oh, and I was informed that this room actually stretches up, where as Disneyland’s stretching room is an actual elevator. The rides look nothing alike from the outside, but that’s okay, as they’re both unique mansions. We rode a couple of times on the first nite there, and Haunted Mansion is just one of the best dark rides out there in my opinion.

We headed back to do the Jungle Cruise, which had a bit of an issue once we were getting ready to get in the boat. It was interesting doing this at nite, I haven’t done the Jungle Cruise in the day, but the nite time ride definitely had its own flavor I’d imagine. And our tour guide was really good. I’m glad I finally got to experience the Jungle Cruise, but unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to ride it in the daylight.

Since we’d had one boat experience, why not try another? Matt wanted to eat at some taco place, but it was closed. It was, however, right across from the entrance to Pirates of the Caribbean. I loved this ride at Disneyland, but I’d been told it wasn’t nearly as good in Florida, and I have to agree. Some of the better scenes were missing, as well as the good drop, but Pirates is still a fun ride. And I like the mist curtain and addition of characters from the movies.

After Pirates we had a decent dinner and I got to see some of the Electrical parade. We were going to head to Big Thunder Mountain but weren’t able to at first due to the parade. We did Haunted Mansion again, but I don’t remember if it was now or later on as the park was open to midnite. At some point we made it over, though, and stood in line for a good 90 minutes (way longer than the posted wait time) to ride. Had I known it would take that long, I’d have opted for something else, because I wanted to see Wishes, which we caught the tail end of, off to the left of the castle, so I really didn’t get to see much. Thankfully, I really like Big Thunder Mountain.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad- I remember liking the one at Disneyland, but I don’t remember liking it this much. The ride gets more aggressive as it goes, with great laterals, some nice pops of airtime, and wonderful theming. I like that the lifts are themed, even if the last one wasn’t fully working with the rocks closing in. Big Thunder Mountain is the quintessential mine train ride. It looks great, it rides great, and it’s just so much fun. Thankfully we got fastpasses for later.

We toyed with riding Peter Pan, but the line was outrageous. Walking by "it’s a small world", however, there was no line, so we decided to get it over with. It was just as annoying as the one at Disneyland, but it’s a must ride.

We finally headed over to Tomorrowland in order to get our Space Mountain on. The posted wait time was around 30 minutes. Jill had a drink she’d just gotten, so she sat this one out.

Space Mountain (Alpha)- The line was kind of long, but at least it was inside. Sadly, it was kind of hot inside. Eventually we made our way to the rockets to launch. I was in the very back and ready for a great ride. The ride is tons of fun, from the lighted tunnels to the helices, to the drops, dips, and everything in between. I got some major airtime in the back seat.

Once we finished the miles long trek back to earth from the ride’s exit, we picked up Jill and got back in line again. This time Bill was determined to get on the Alpha side, even though they were only loading Fastpassers for the most part. But Bill was nice and asked the guy assigning people to a side if we could ride on that side, and he obliged.

Space Mountain (Omega)- It’s like a whole different ride after the lift hill! It’s more aggressive, seemed even faster, and had more airtime. I was in the front this time, and got major aggressive airtime. Not what I expected from this ride at all. Space Mountain quickly shot up in my coaster rankings. Especially the Alpha side. That thing was running so great. I wanted more, but not another long line.

We used our fastpasses and did another round on Big Thunder, and maybe even another ride on Space Mountain, I don’t quite remember. What I do remember was being tired, sore, and sleepy, so we headed out of the park as it closed, got on our Monorail, and headed back to the room. Coronado’s rooms were nice, with wooden sliding doors shutting off the bathroom area, comfy beds, and hot showers. The room was smaller than I’d have kind of liked, but we weren’t spending much time in the room anywho. I was off to sleep in no time, not really wanting to get up early the next morning.

Small correction, Clint. Alpha is the left side of the queue. Omega is the right side of the queue (Superior) and the side they use for FastPass. Still my favorite coaster ever. :)

Had a great time with you guys... :)

Love Haunted Mansion - it's an awesome job of casting and theming that make the attraction for me - but I loathe the queue set-up coming out of the elevator rooms.

Omega is the better ride....but SM just so totally ROCKS! Finally did hit my hand on something in there....had to happen eventually. ;)

I love me some Space Mountain. It's a really fun time.

I love Matterhorn at Disneyland more, though.

Except for Gadget's Go Coaster, Barnstormer, and the two at CA, any Disney coaster (in the states, at least) is a sure-fire hit.

Thanks for being there, Bill! You were there with me on Space Mountain's closing day in 2009. It was great to share my first ride since the update with ya!

What a great weekend. Clint, remind me to bring ear plugs next time! ;)

Ensign Smith said:
Except for Gadget's Go Coaster, Barnstormer, and the two at CA, any Disney coaster (in the states, at least) is a sure-fire hit.

Go Coaster is a run of the mill roller skater, but I actually really enjoyed Barnstormer. I liked the theming and the ride was actually fun for what it was.

I would agree that it is cute, and the theming is up Disney-snuff. Other than that, meh.

Well, this seemed like the most approproate place for it, so...

Splash Mountain is ready to re-open...now featuring lap bars...the Disney-philes are NOT a happy bunch right now.

Yeah. That kinda sucks, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

^I'm not even remotely upset about what effect it will have on the RIDE (negligible), but I am concerned about reducing capacity - previously, everyone that wanted to ride could get in and sit down and be ready to go...

I've struck out twice, as both Splash Mountains have been closed during my visit.

Yeah, I doubt it will affect the ride experience, but capacity is another question. It shouldn't be much of a burden. They might just have to use one less loading station so the boat has more time to get "locked" before it clears the end of the platform. They have been testing/training for over a week, so perhaps it is a big deal as far as affecting operations.