The Magic Kingdom, September 17, 2024

Visited The Magic Kingdom September 17 during a trip to celebrate my wife’s 50th. We spent two nights at Port Orleans Riverside because of its water taxi to Disney Springs. I think this is my favorite of the Disney resorts I’ve stayed at and arriving at night was a nice way to ease into the trip. We decided to just have a beer at the pool bar and go to bed at a decent hour.

We chose the 17th because it was a Halloween Party night. Yes it closed at 6 but it was also not busy at all. Realistically we expected to be able to use our Lightning Lane reservations and maybe a few other things. But we ended up having a day unlike any we’ve had before.

We started our day with early hotel entry, hoping to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train first, but the queue wasn’t moving. So, we opted for It’s a Small World with no wait, then Peter Pan's Flight (30-minute wait). After that, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was open with just a 20-minute wait. Before leaving Fantasyland, I wanted to see if The Barnstormer had a wait so I could collect the credit. On the way there we remembered that Under the Sea existed so we rode that (walk-on), then The Barnstormer, then spontaneously rode Dumbo (also no wait)—for the nostalgia. We rode Pooh at some point as well.

By 10:30, we hit our first reservation: Haunted Mansion. While waiting I booked Big Thunder Mountain but missed the confirmation prompt. We got stuck on the ride for a while. Maybe that’s why we look so bored in our photo?

While I missed booking Big Thunder Mountain because of the app confirmation, I got a later reservation once we got off the ride. After a snack (I bought a cheese thing I’d never try again and a banana), we killed time with the Country Bear Jamboree before walking onto Pirates of the Caribbean with our Lightning Lane reservation.

We had time before our lunch reservation at Skipper Canteen so we decided to say goodbye to Tom Sawyer Island. After a hiccup parking the boat we barely made our reservation. Our meal and my cocktail were great but I remember our first visit years ago being a lot more bold with the spice.

Next up was Big Thunder Mountain. With more time before our Tiana’s reservation, we walked back onto Pirates since there was no wait.

Tiana's Bayou Adventure

We scanned our Lightning Lane and strolled past the full queue and ended up waiting about ten minutes. I loved Splash Mountain and I don’t think this is any better or really any worse. It’s just different. I don’t think it will hold the same place in my heart as Splash Mountain did but it will always be a must-ride when visiting.

We squeezed in Magic Carpets of Aladdin and took a breather in Enchanted Tiki Room before walking over to Tron.

Tron Lightcycle Run

The walk to the queue is ridiculous but shows of the outdoor portions of the ride nicely. It’s cool seeing the trains out there and imagine it’s even better at night. Once you get there the outdoor queue is unimaginative and showing signs of rust and filth already. We missed the “digitization” scene but from what I gather you’re supposed to leave the real world and be transported into the digital world. But why was the outside so Tron like? It’s weird. The indoor queue it felt like a temporary haunted house more than an e-ticket Disney attraction. The neon is cool but other than that it’s just a collection of flat imagery. The main station room is large and open and I think it looks great if not for one thing. I know this is a nitpick but they designed all of this symmetry and made the decision for the ramp to be off-center. It feels like the designers wanted one thing, but the capacity requirements and engineering took over.

I was surprised by the ride itself after reading so many negative reviews. My expectations were low. The launch and rest of the ride was pretty good but the storytelling is just on board audio telling you what’s happening and some screens that feel unrelated. Disney is capable of so much more.

At some point in the day I booked Space Mountain but we had some more time to kill so we browsed the gift shop but nothing caught our eye. After our Space Mountain reservation, we rode PeopleMover. It broke down multiple times so during that time I booked Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. This ride kind of sucks and every time I decide to ride it I think maybe I missed something special about it last time but every time I am surprised that it exists in a Disney park. We tried to end with Carousel of Progress, but it was closed, so we called it a day.

The bus took took too long to pick us up and traffic kept us from getting out of the transportation center. I was happy to have a seat. I used to think the Disney transportation was great but it needs a comfort, technology, and capacity upgrade.

That sounds like a great day. I agree with you on the transportation. It suffers from a lot of "people gotta bus" and I'm sure sure most people are okay with that. I've visited enough in recent years that I find myself beaten down by the using the buses. We stayed off site a few years ago and the convenience of a rental car was worth every penny. We've also sprung for an Uber ride more than once. I like the Skyliner but the one time we went to use it at the end of an Epcot day last May, the line was all the way back to Beach Club. We just ran through their lobby and requested a Lyft ride.