Here are some things that I learned today at the Magic Kingdom and some things that I want you to know.
- They can just change operating hours on you whenever they feel like it. Last time I checked, the park opened at 9:00 AM today. When we got there at 7:43 AM, I saw that it opened at 8:00 AM. Sigh! Always check the park hours the night before!
- When the turnstiles aren’t very busy they put everyone through the metal detectors. But hey! I got a sticker for passing. :D
- Nobody goes to Adventureland at opening. We rode Pirates twice with no wait. Once we even had the whole boat to ourselves and there were multiple empty boats in operation.
- Haunted Mansion’s exterior is being renovated. There was a huge brown tent covering most of the exterior today.
- At the end of Haunted Mansion, they put my name and Emily’s name on a tombstone in the final scene. That was a little creepy but fun!
- The bathrooms at Rapunzel’s tower are so nice. Today I noticed that some of the hoofprints around it say Maximus.
- The Little Mermaid seems to have lost its appeal. The queue used to back up and it has been walk on every time we have ridden it.
- The line for Seven Dwarfs was 60 minutes at 9:40 AM. Peter Pan’s Flight was 85 minutes! Craziness! Either ride Peter Pan at opening or get a Fastpass. But even the Fastpass line was long today. We waited about 10 minutes to ride it.
- The Liberty Square Riverboat offers some great views of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It is a fun and leisurely ride around Tom Sawyer Island. I don’t think we have been on it since 2009.
- They moved all of the Finding Dory merchandise in the Emporium. It was in the Mickey/Minnie section but I guess since the movie is now out they put it in the toy section which makes more sense.
- The park was super crowded today and the Experess Monorail was down until 6:00 PM tonight which made for some very packed Ferry rides.
We were at the parks from 8:20 AM – 11:45 AM. Here is what we did:
- Pirates of the Caribbean twice
- Haunted Mansion
- Tangled Restrooms
- Under the Sea
- Peter Pan
- Liberty Square Riverboat
- Big Thunder
- Took some pictures for the blog
- Shopped at the Emporium and bought some gifts for a giveaway this weekend!
Hope you enjoyed the post!
Yup. I learned as a tip at the parks to go to the left! Always go to the left. Work here at home too. Pirates or Advantureland isn’t as busy as Fantasy or other areas 1st thing in the a.m.
Kristen,
I’m going on my 1st trip to WDW in July (family wedding only 2 hrs away from the mouse!) since I was 13..in my 40s now. I have been reading your posts to prepare! Thanks for all the info you provide.
Question for you.. I am lucky I live in CA & have AP to DL. Here as soon as sun goes down the temps drop 20 degrees, so I always have a sweatshirt & blanket for fireworks. Does Fla weather change in evenings, or I’m I going be hot & sticky from open to close? I know about poncho for rain but not evening weather.
Thank you for all the info that you give on your blog. It will be our first time in September going and reading your blog has been so helpful and so many ways.
We love the Rapunzel bathrooms!!!
Is the boat transportation from the hotels up and running again?
Yes, they are!
Kristen–
I love following your blog and reading about your adventures! I think this blog post style has been my favorite: it gives us a chance to see Disney through your eyes. I appreciate your tips–both for saving money and saving time. We’re going to WDW for spring break. It’ll be our 5th trip, so we still have lots to learn, see, and do! Thanks for all you do!
I am enjoying your blog as well. We are AP holders and live in NW Fl. We go as often as possible but not nearly enough! Living vicariously through you until we can make it back ” home”.
Pirates is always our first ride!