WDW 2015 Day 1

I love Disney World. I had plans. Grand plans. And a 5 day pass (Well, a 3 day pass with 2 extra days thrown in). I ended up not going but 3 days and i never got to Animal Kingdom (Still missed that safari, darn it!!!). But, well, that’s what happens when you have family with you on vacation. But I’m not complaining one bit, as I got to spend some great time with parents, siblings, nieces and nephews. Oh, and Friends. And lastly, our Mouse Overlord.

Monday morning my nephew dropped me off on his way to work. i walked over and traded my ticket for a card/ticket. I was going to ride the monorail over, but the boat was going over, which I’ve never done, and the sun was still rising, and it was a beautiful morning for a beautiful ride to the Magic Kingdom in the distance. I really enjoyed it.

I was at the park just after 8am. After a few pix (Yes, and a selfie or 2 by the castle), I headed to the one ride that has escaped me on both coasts. I had a not very needed fast pass, but there was no one in this area of the park, so I excitedly walked right on to…

Splash Mountain: Finally! Every time I’ve been to a Disney park, it’s been closed. But it was lots of fun. It’s a dark ride, a flume, and it’s themed to Song of the South. Now, I know all about the racial undertones that Disney would love you to forget, but in context, I actually enjoyed seeing the movie as a kid with my dad the last time they released it in theaters, and I’ve always wanted to ride this. Now I have. It was worth it.

I had a fast pass for Seven Dwarves Mine Ride, but I was early, so I went to the other mountain near by.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: I still love this. First coaster of the year. I could ride it over and over. It’s a great ride, and so well themed. I can’t say much that hasn’t already been said (and if you need more feel free to look up my last TR on the subject).

I walked over to see what the line for Seven Dwarves was, and it was 70 minutes. I had about 20 minutes before my fast pass, so I went and did Pooh instead. Its fun, but, I mean, it’s another Disney Dark ride (which is still better than most other park’s dark rides). Then it was time to Fast Pass Seven Dwarves.

Seven Dwarves Mine Ride: It looks like it’s been there for a long time. I liked it, and the coaster element was a lot of fun. The drips were cool, the swinging was very well done, and the dark ride parts were all very nice. I’d love to see Disney do a more thrill centric version of this kind of mountain in the future. This, however was definitely needed.

So I went over to ride my favorite ride in Magic Kingdom, found in Tomorrowland…No, not that one, I love Carousel of Progress. Love that ride! Space Mountain was a really long wait and I had a fast pass for later.

So I went back over and did another favorite, Haunted Mansion. I like the new part of the queue, that was not finished on my last visit. Then I walked over and did Ariel’s new ride (One of my favorite Disney movies is Little Mermaid. I loved it as a kid). Then I did the Parade and lunch.

Next it was time for something that I’d missed the last visit, and was unimpressed with, Hall of Presidents. I really thought all of the presidents would interact. They didn’t. Oh well.

No next I went and hopped on a monorail and went over to Epcot for a few hours. Of course, I first rode my favorite ride there, Spaceship Earth. Then I walked around for a bit. Thru the butterfly pavilion set up for the spring event, then watched the Japanese drummers, and then the Chinese acrobats. I wanted to ride Universe of Energy, but it’s wait ws too long. So I rode The Land, since I hadn’t ever ridden. It was neat. Following that I rode the 3 Callabro ride in the Mexican pavilion, and then Mission Space. I can only do that one once per visit.

Then I went back over to Magic Kingdom as Epcot got a little bit crowded. Back at Magic Kingdom, I did finally do Space Mountain. And I may have done Carousel of Progress again. And I did the People Mover and watched the dance party, which was fun. I also did Haunted Mansion again. At nite.

Of course, then I did Big Thunder again at nite, which is always wonderful. and watched the Electrical Parade. Then the magic started. I watched the projector show at Magic Kingdom. Sadly my phone and camera died, so no pictures, but that was amazing! And afterwards I stayed for Wishes. By this point it was 11pm, and I was tired, seeing that i was coming back the next morning. Yeah. I was there all day.

Thunder Mountain doesn't get much love in enthusiast circles, and I guess I understand why. Honestly my entire perspective changed when my kid finally agreed to ride it, and now can't visit the park without it.

I don't get why it doesn't get more love. It has airtime. It's long. It has great theming/charm/atmosphere. It's classic. It has laterals. But many people just don't talk about it, and it's such a fun ride. I mean, what else do most enthusiasts want?

Well, I mean, except cheap tickets to Disney World so they can go ride it ;) (Joking. Kind of. But let's not let a TR turn into an argument folks!)

Big Thunder is great. I think is perhaps one of the best themed coasters around. It is seamlessly integrated into the landscape (it doesn't feel just like a dressed-up coaster), provides a series of unique scenes, and provides one of heck of a great nighttime ride. The Disneyland version is particularly strong with its newly refurbished track. The train really moves fast and smooth through its course now.

My favorite detail of the Magic Kingdom Big Thunder is the party taking place in the upstairs of the saloon that you can only see at night. I love practical shadow effects like that.

I enjoy Big Thunder Mountain Railroad a lot when I'm up front, but it doesn't do much for me these days if I'm anywhere near the back. Maybe Seven Dwarves Mine Train ruined it for me. ;)

Seriously, SDMT is one of my favorite attractions in Florida, period. It's the perfect blend of BTMR and Classic Disney dark rides.