2012 Trip - Day 2 January 24

Got up early and (mostly) rested to start another long day.  My hiking boots had already started to give my some blister issues the day before, so I was very happy to don my Vibram Five Fingers to take on today’s travels. Took the bus from Shades of Green to the Transportation and Ticket Center, which was almost deserted.  The express monorail was down, and instead of waiting in the line to take the resort monorail, I took the ferry (which I actually like better) to the Magic Kingdom.

Early morning ferry to the Magic Kingdom

I arrived just as the opening show was beginning, and saw the characters arrive by train.

Welcome to the Magic Kingdom!

Arrival of Mickey with the Family of the Day

This was the first time I had seen this “show”; the last time I made Rope Drop at the Magic Kingdom was many years ago when they filled Main Street (MS), and literally “dropped the rope” at the hub. I spent only as much time on MS as needed to get to Tomorrowland (TL), and along with about half the people in the park, headed towards Space Mountain.  I was on and off the ride in less than 20 minutes (it’s a LOT rougher than I remember it being – even since last March), and I actually didn’t really WANT to ride it again.  The Astro Orbiters were virtually a walk-on, and having not ridden them in nearly 30 years, I rode.

Astro Orbitors in Tomorrowland

Those rockets are a lot smaller and lower than I remember them being… J After walking right onto Buzz Lightyear …

The evil Zorg on Buzz Lightyear's Spin

I decided it was time to leave TL (at least for a while) and head over to Frontierland to ride my favorite Magic Kingdom attraction, Splash Mountain.

Splash Mountain

You can imagine my dismay when I got there and found out that Splash was closed “due to technical issues” for “an unknown” period of time. I took a Fast Pass (FP), wistfully walked pas Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (under long term refurbishment), and to the raft dock for Tom Sawyer Island (TSI) – another attraction I hadn’t done in 30 years.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - unfortunately closed during this trip

Map of Tom Sawyer Island

There is a lot more to TSI than I remembered, and I spent an enjoyable hour exploring all that it had to offer.  A few lessons I learned: (1) It IS possible to get “lost” in the caves; (2) the barrel bridge was not really designed for people weighing over 250 lbs, and (3) secret tunnels are made for small people.

Lost in the Caves on Tom Sawyer Island

Thr Tom Sawyer Barrel Bridge

Looking back at Frontierland from Tom Sawyer Island

TSI is also a good place to watch the Big Thunder refurb that is going on. 

Refurbishing trackwork on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Speaking of refurbs, the books all listed the Liberty Bell as also being closed, however it seemed to be running all day.

The Liberty Belle from Tom Sawyer Island

While on the Island, I started to hear periodic screaming – a good sign that Splash Mountain was running again. I returned to “shore”, walked over to Splash, and with my FP from earlier, walked passed a 30 min standby line (including a 75 member tour group) and right onto the ride.

The final hill on Splash Mountain

Next on my list was Adventureland (AL), with the Jungle Cruise being my primary objective.  I found that it had a 30 min standby wait, so I took a FP, and used the time to see a few other AL attractions. The Tiki Room was first on my list.

The Enchanted Tiki Room

The "Bird Mobile" in the Tiki Room

The Luau in the Tiki Room

Although many people find this show a taste of Hell on Earth, I have a lot of childhood nostalgia attached to it, and I try to see it on every trip.  I am SO glad they did away with “Under New Management” version and returned to the “original” (although abridged) version. After the show I had my first Dole Whip (a pineapple soft serve dessert), and I have to agree with all of those who love them; it was one of the best treats that I have had at a Disney park.

After my snack I explored the recently-reopened Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.  Having not been through it in 30 years, I really enjoyed it, and looked at it from a different perspective than I did as a 20 year old.

High up in the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse

After coming down from the Treehouse it was time for my Jungle Cruise FP return.  The cruise hasn’t really changed in years, and more than any other attraction it really looked like it needed a bit of freshening up. The guide’s obvious boredom with his job made even his “jokes” seem strained and at times derogatory. I would never want to see the attraction “go away”, I think it’s time to do some “reimagineering” .

Bull elephant seen on the Jungle Cruise

"The guy on the bottom is low man on the totem pole; he hasn't gotten the point yet, but he will soon..."

The sacred bathing pool of the Indian elephants

After the cruise was over, it was time for my 1:00 ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern, so I returned to Liberty Square.  I had never even been in the Tavern before, so I had no idea what to expect.  Even as a New Englander, I was pleasantly surprised at how “authentic” the theming was; I could easily have been in any number of “historic” colonial era taverns.

The Liberty Tree Tavern

Dining room in the Liberty Tree Tavern

I had the bacon cheddar burger and fries; it was cooked perfectly rare, and the size was considerable – so much so that I could barely finish it. Hands down the best burger I’ve had on the property; I would definitely return to the Liberty Tree again on a future trip. Staying in the “colonial” mood, I went next door to the Hall of Presidents, which I had not seen in 20+ years.

The Hall of Presidents in Liberty Square

The show was updated since my last time (Lincoln was the only President who spoke back then) and I enjoyed the changes.

The Hall of Presidents

Washington adresses the audience

Obama adresses the audience

The audio-animatronics are truly amazing, and I believe that every adult who goes to the Magic Kingdom really needs to see this show.  After my dose of patriotism, I took the path around the castle and entered Fantasyland (FL). 

Due to the major expansion scheduled to open between May 2012 and “early 2013”, and compounded by other refurbs going on, FL is pretty much a mess with construction walls, heavy equipment, roped-off area, altered traffic patterns, etc.  Not very good for picture taking either.  It was pretty cool to see the new “Beast’s Castle” sticking up over the top of the construction fence…

Beast's Castle in the new Fantasyland expansion, due to open sometime in 2012

…as well as some hints of both the new circus area and the Little Mermaid rock wall; I think it’s going to be amazing when it’s completed. While in FL, I rode the Adventures of Pooh (I didn’t like it as much as the Disneyland version) and Snow White (probably for the last time), saw Mickey’s PhilharMagic (one of the best 3D films in all of WDW), and rode It’s a Small World (seriously inferior to the Disneyland version).

Snow White's Scary Adventures

The it's a small world loading area; echos of the "palace" that is the exterior of the Disneyland version

Having finished Fantasyland, I backtracked through Liberty Square to ride the Haunted Mansion (walked all the way into the mansion)…

The Haunted Mansion

…into Frontierland and stopped to watch the Country Bear Jamboree (one of my absolute favorites, and in my opinion some of the most imaginative use of audio-animatronics in the park)…

The Country Bear Jamboree

The Bear Band Bears

The Country Bear Jamboree finale

…back through Adventureland to ride Pirates of the Caribbean…

Pirates of the Caribbean

…and back down Main Street to (a) watch the parade, and (b) make it to The Wave at the Contemporary Resort for a 5:45 ADR. After getting hung up in some parade congestion, I took the monorail to the CR for dinner. 

Town Hall on Main Street

Space Mountain from the monorail heading towards the Contemporary Resort

The Grand Concourse at the Contempory Resort

The mural in the Grand Concourse; one of the few remaining works by Mary Blair left in WDW

This was the first time that I ate at The Wave, and although the food was quite good, the whole experience was not one of my better ones of the trip. The restaurant was attractive enough, but kind of cold and uninviting (my feeling toward most of the CR). My waitress was not very friendly, and seemed eager to have me done.  Also, I don’t think the menu does a good job of describing the food.  I started with Seafood Chowder and was expecting a classic white “chowder”; what came out was, by any definition of the word, NOT a chowder, but rather a dark roux gumbo. I love gumbo, and it was quite good, but NOT chowder. For a main course I had the plank steak with ramen; I was expecting sliced beef over a large bed of noodles.  What I got was two large pieces of steak (excellently prepared) on a fairly small portion of noodles. It tasted quite good, but again, not what I was expecting.  I wouldn’t “not” go there again, but in the future I will probably try somewhere else new instead.

The Contemporary Resort after dark

By the time dinner was over it was dark and I wanted to get back to the Magic Kingdom, so I took the walkway (very pleasant) , headed back down mainstreet and back to Tomorrowland.

Entering the Magic Kingdom after dark

Main Street after dark

Entering Tomorrowland after dark

Space Mountain after dark

I went to the Carousel of Progress (an old favorite of mine since the 1964/65 NY Worlds Fair)...

The Carousel of Progress

The "1920s" in the Carousel of Progress

...and was hoping to ride the People Mover as well, but it was now only 15 minutes before the start of “Magic, Memories, and You” and “Wishes”, and I wanted to get a spot to watch.  I found a great location, almost at the hub, but as soon as the show started, the man in front of me hoisted his daughter up on his shoulders, which completely blocked my view. I was able to find a better spot for viewing, but alas, the head just in front of me made picture taking difficult.  I did manage to get a few that were OK, but I was really hoping for better.

Castle projection; part of Magic, Memories, and You

Wishes

Wishes

After the fireworks were done, I walked against the crowd up to the hub and took a few night castle pictures; the one below being my favorite (and one of my favorite from the entire day).

Walt and Mickey

I took a very leisurely stroll down Main Street, taking pictures and looking through shops, and left the park at 9:00.

A final look up Main Street before exiting the Magic Kingdom

 I returned to Shades of Green via ferry and bus.  So how was my day altogether?  I saw 16 attractions (including virtually all of the “major” ones), saw a parade, “Magic Memories and You” and “Wishes”, and had two table service meals, one outside of the park. I think it would have been difficult to have done much more in 11 hours…