Do ya’ll remember that last minute trip the B Family took to the most magical place on Earth in 2017? Quick refresher: the B sold their house way more quickly than expected, and for more than asking price. It just so happened that Fall Room Discounts were released the same day we signed the closing papers, so it seemed like Tinkerbell was calling us home. This opportunity fell into our laps right as we had started our Saving to Disney journey for our 2018 trip. We looked at is as kind of a dry run for our big 2018 trip.
Well, flash forward a few months, and the B’s have put down a deposit for that long discussed 2018 trip! In planning this trip, I realized I never finished blogging about the 2017 trip! Whoops. I blame the clearance season rush and the crazy schedule of the holidays. What better way to prepare for our next trip than to reflect about our last one? Plus, I’ll never pass an opportunity to chat about my beloved Disney World.
Let’s jump right in to the our 2017 WDW Trip, Day 2: The B Family Takes the Magic Kingdom. (Get caught up on Day 1 here, and my review of D-Luxe Burger at Disney Springs here.)
Like many parents of small children, the we were up and at ‘em bright and early, waiting at the bus stop by 7:35.
B Family on the move!
Let me take this moment to address the Disney Transportation system. I am a pretty big supporter of the Disney Transportation system, mostly because I am a huge believer in the Disney bubble. I like not having to think about cars and parking and whatever, and I really like the break it gives Mr.B., since he is the one who really has to deal with cars and parking and whatever. That being said, nothing is perfect. The general wisdom is that buses arrive every twenty minutes or so. This has generally proven to be true on our many trips to WDW. The exception is the Magic Kingdom buses. If you are in a resot that is considered a Magic Kingdom resort, plan on those buses coming every 30 minutes, not every 20. We were down at the bus stop at 7:35, and waited for a MK bus for 30 minutes. In that time, we saw a Disney Springs bus, a Hollywood Studios bus, an Epcot bus, and THREE Animal Kingdom Bus. Luckily, our girls are still small enough that even sitting at the Bus stop is an adventure.
The Little Mermaid B on high alert.
If you haven’t been to WDW in the last few years, you’ll be surprised to hear the opening show/rope drop has changed drastically. We used to all gather at the train stop, watch the train roll in, carrying our favorite characters and the friendly folks of Main Street, USA would welcome us to the most Magical Place on Earth. I remember this from when I was a kid, and on the Little Mermaid B’s first trip, I cried watching her watch the opening show.
When the Railroad was under refurbishment they started doing things a little differently. Instead of waiting for a special show and then a massive crowd bottling into the relatively small entrance to the MK, once you were clear of the security check, you could head straight onto Main Street. There was a short, new show featuring some favorite characters in front the Castle, welcoming folks to the Magic Kingdom. What worked well with this system is that folks could line up at different access points to the different worlds (Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Adventureland, Liberty Square, and Frontierland), and once rope drop hit, you could head to the attractions of your interest.
As much as I liked the efficiency of letting folks onto Main Street, and the extra time to hang out in the actual park, I missed my Main Street USA players. On this morning, Mr.B. popped into the Starbucks to grab us some treats while we waited for rope drop. Then the Sweet Apple exclaimed, “Mama! Cars!” And she was right! Inside several cars were the folks from the opening show, my Main Street Players! The cars stopped at various points along Main Street, and the performers get out and sang the welcoming song. A very nice young man waved at the Sweet Apple right as they sang “I’m walking right down the middle of Main Street USaaaaaa” and darn it if I didn’t cry again. If you’re a sucker for nostalgia, like me, than definitely get to MK by 8:30 and spend a few minutes on Main Street.
With the new opening procedure, you can get into the Magic Kingdom an hour before the park officially opens. So, if you’ve got a 9am rope drop, you have access to Main Street at 8am. While you cannot access rides until official rope drop at 9, you can browse the shops on Main Street, take pictures, and most importantly for the Bs, grab some grub at Starbucks.
We’ve got tons of post on this blog about how to best plan your days at the Magic Kingdom. Your mileage may vary depending on party size, ages of those involved, and how many days you’ve got planned at the Magic Kingdom.
For us, we knew we had two full days, but knowing our children, we figured we would ride some things more than once. Or twice. Or ten times. Ask me how many times this girl insisted on riding Prince Charming’s Carousel.
We had a double stroller, so we planned our touring plan around the stroller parking, as crazy at that sounds. We broke our days into chunks based on where we parked our stroller. Example:
10:30am-1pm: Park stroller at Rapunzel Restrooms/Stroller Spot
10:30-FastPass for Peter Pan’s Flight (FastPass Window 10-11)
10:40-It’s a Small World
11:05-The Haunted Mansion (FastPass window 11-12)
11:30-Lunch at Columbia Harbor House
We would then pick up our stroller and head to next chunk. If you’re looking at the above section and thinking “You only did three attractions in three hours??” I would remind you that we also ate lunch. But yes, our Little Mermaid likes to take every single detail in, and we’ve had enough trips with her to know rushing is not an option. This is a kid who cried when we FastPassed Winnie the Pooh because she didn’t get to spend enough time in the queue looking at things.
Which leads me to my next point. Read all the advice, but remember that you are tailoring this trip for your family. Most people would not recommend FastPassing the Haunted Mansion, but for us it is a must. It is a family favorite, and the line can be a little much depending on the time of day. Plus, at this trip our littles couldn’t do Splash, Space, or Big Thunder Mountain and those three are some of the bet use of FastPass. We had FastPasses to burn.
Don’t shy away from doing the things your kid loves in every variation possible. We met Ariel twice this trip. I have a feeling in 2018 we’ll meet her twice, and then be seeing her for breakfast at the Boardwalk. People always ask what the best age to take kids to WDW is. I say every age is a great age, just be open to their likes and dislikes. A big surprise for us this trip was how much our girls loved Philharmagic. Truthfully, we ducked in there on this first day because the parade got rained out, we had an opening in our schedule, and the wait time was short.
And the B girls LOVED it. We saw it three more times that week. The Sweet Apple called it ‘Donald’s Butt.” “Mama, we go see Donald’s Butt?” The best advice I’ve ever gotten was from Kristin Cooper. “Have a plan, but be ready to change the plan based on where the day takes you.” There is nothing sadder to me than the family rushing from one thing to the next, a giant book open, the mother pleading with her slow moving kids, “We have to get to the Tomorrow Land Speedway by 11am the book says! Move it!” Have a plan, but don’t let your plan become more important than the memories or the magic.
Quick note about the rain. Midday, we got rained on. Hard. We had some ponchos and flip flops packed, in case our shoes and socks became too wet to walk in. Mr. B. insisted on it and I was so thankful for it, because we were drenched. Our clothes dried quick enough, but having those flops to change into was a gamer changer for our poor feet. Normally, I don’t recommend flip flops in the park, but if you’ve got a good quality pair like Sanuks, they’re a good plan B in case of rain.
Mermaid meets mermaid.
After a delicious LeFou’s Brew at Gaston’s Tavern.
Enchanted Tales with Belle. The Little Mermaid B has portrayed a dish and a salt shaker. This next trip, she’s eyeing a larger role.
One of my favorite moments from this trip. The Sweet Apple was so into Belle, she wouldn’t look at the camera. The photographer asked her name, and then all the adults in the room put their hands in the air and called her name. She loved it and I loved the generosity of the other folks helping us get the perfect picture.
Our girls could have spent half the day in the Dumbo play place.
More Carousel. We lived on this carousel ya’ll, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
We left just as the Halloween Party was getting going.
We went to the Magic Kingdom on a day where it hosted Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. Now, we did not have Halloween party tickets. Conventional wisdom is not to go to the MK on party days because it closes to the public at 7, so you lose a few hours. But this works out great for Bs, because we have small kids and we didn’t do naps that day. 7pm was just fine and dandy for us, thank you very much.
If you’ve only got one day at the Magic Kingdom, maybe don’t do a party day. But if you’ve got two or even three days at the Magic Kingdom, then you may benefit from the lighter crowds that accompany a slightly earlier closing.
We were able to score dinner reservations at Be Our Guest at 6:40, which was perfect. (Keep a look out for my separate Be Our Guest review.) Here is the deal with making reservations at table service restaurants on Halloween party days. Your check in time must be before 7pm, when the park officially closes to non party ticket holders. The last reservation time you can claim and still be seated is 6:55pm. I can’t stress this enough. If your reservation is at 7, they won’t seat you. 6:55? You’re golden. I was paranoid about this, so we checked in at 6:30, just to be on the safe side.
When you check in, you’ll receive wrist bands distinguishing that you are not attending the party. Once you’re done with your meal, you can head out of the park at your ease, but that wristband will prevent you from purchasing anything or going on any rides. I know you, dear readers, would never try and scam the system, but the world is crazy place.
We were done eating at 8, and then had our meet and greet with the Beast, so we actually didn’t get to the bus stop until 8:30. If park closing on regular days would have been at 9, by planning our dining reservations accordingly, we didn’t really lose any time at all, plus we reaped the benefit of lower crowds.
Back on the bus to our beloved Coronado Springs for a good night’s sleep. Day 3 had us visiting the Beach Club for breakfast, Disney Springs for some shopping, and ending the night at Maya Grill, Mr. B’s favorite restaurant in all of Walt Disney World.
Check back for Day 3 reports, more restaurant reviews, and even more pictures of me making funny faces.
Have you ever gotten rained at Walt Disney World? What ride have you done 200 times because your kid made you? Do you love the old opening show as much as I do? Tell me all about it in the comments!
Kristen B. is wife to the best Prince around, mama to the spunkiest little princesses, and lover of all things Disney. She started her savings journey three years ago and is now dedicated to making her family’s wishes come true one coupon at a time. She is so excited to take her love of saving to the next level and share her journey with you! Click here to catch up on Kristen’s Savings and join in on your own savings adventure!