Dad’s Taxi Heads Back to Magic Kingdom – Part 6

The weather is still fantastic, so we decide today we’ll do our return trip to The Magic Kingdom and stay later to enjoy the fireworks, as the forecast for next week isn’t looking as good. We have a lazy morning then head for Sweet Tomatoes for a huge lunch. I’ve enthused about Sweet Tomatoes on this forum during our 2012 trip, but if you haven’t heard of it, it is a salad buffet that is so good it even convinced me, a dedicated carnivore, to go back, and back again. It’s scrumptious, especially the soups, some of which contain meat but I especially enjoyed the cauliflower and cheese soup, and the Indian Grain Bread – WOW.

Even Miley-Rose got into the salad:

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And so, having enjoyed the rather good brownies and ice cream for dessert (can’t all be healthy eating can it!) we head East along the 192 to continue the trip to Magic Kingdom. Lydia pipes up from somewhere near the back of the bus “there’s supposed to be a rocket launch at 13.45 from Kennedy”, and within 20 seconds of her announcing this we’re thrilled to see it shooting off into the sky, talk about perfect timing. Everyone Oohs and Aahs and I’m told “You just keep an eye on the road” ! We can’t believe we’ve seen another launch, we have been extremely lucky in that department over the years.

We part with another $17 to park, then tram and monorail to the park entrance where we arrive in time to see what turns out to be the first of three parades today. We set up camp:

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and although we only watched it a few days ago we really enjoy the parade, and I take LOTS of photos, and I’ll warn you in advance that this report is going to spill into a Part B !

The film of the moment is Frozen, and Georgia and Kayleigh have both watched it several times, but when we were here on Sunday I had no idea who these two were:

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However many fruitless searches for the Frozen Princess dresses have enlightened me, so I recognize Elsa and Anna today. The other parade photo I want to share with you is this one:

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Which I thought was a great picture of Arial practising her Uri Geller routine.

We stroll round to Main Street USA and re-take the compulsory photo but this time we recruit a passing technophobe to take one of all of us. We really did pick the wrong person to ask, but after some rotating, cropping and zooming we end up with a presentable photo:

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I’ve hit the picture limit already, so if you’re still awake please read on below.......

We have a ride on Small World, which Miley-Rose sleeps through all the way round, then use our first fast-pass to have a fly on the Peter Pan ride, which was closed last weekend due to a technical fault. We enjoy it but we all agree that without the fast-pass it would be a frustratingly short flight following an 80 minute queue. Next stop is The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, and on the way we pass the Country Bear Jamboree, so this photo is just for you, Macka:

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I’m afraid we didn’t go to watch it though.

After the Magic Carpets we meet Woody and Jessy from Toy Story. We are early for our next fast-pass, which should get us to the front of the queue to meet Mickey, so we take a ride on the train around the park and as we alight at the park entrance we’re taken by surprise as another parade starts – I think this must have been the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate it! Street Party listed on the park schedule. Many of the characters were also in the earlier parade, but there are a few fresh faces:

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And once again we really enjoy it.

Then we cross the square and go to see Mickey, and get a huge shock – Mickey can TALK. We’re completely taken aback by this, we’ve never met a cartoon character who actually speaks, they normally do a brilliant job of conveying everything that needs to be said through gestures, so when Mickey says his customary “Hi There” we are surprised but assume there are some stock phrases in a sound-sampler somewhere, but no, you can hold a conversation with him. And the voice is perfect. I hope it’s done electronically and not through inhaling helium all day! Mickey is absolutely brilliant, there’s no feeling of being rushed through and he happily poses for LOTS of photos and makes you feel very welcome. This really was a highlight for us big kids!

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Then it’s time to use our last fast-passes on Splash Mountain, and little Kayleigh loved it so much she had a second go with big sister Lydia.

It’s beginning to go dark now, so we find a reasonable spot to watch the Electric Parade, and one photo I’m quite pleased with is this one:

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Miley-Rose is fascinated by all the lights and watches every float go by.

After the parade we head back to the front of Cinderella’s Castle to enjoy the fabulous Celebrate the Magic show, which is a brilliant animated show set to music and projected onto the castle (and my description REALLY doesn’t do it justice), and it has been updated somewhat since we last watched it two years ago to feature the big song from Frozen, to our girls’ delight. I suppose if this bunch can do anything well it should be an animated show. Then just a five minute wait for the always impressive fireworks, the Wishes Nighttime Spectacular, kicked off by Tinkerbell’s flight from the top of the tower. I’ve tried to capture fireworks with a camera far too many times, it’s impossible to portray the wow factor, but I still couldn’t resist trying for the last big bang:

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And then, totally exhausted, we join countless thousand other revellers in the mass trek back to the car park, via monorail and tram, and we all agree that the flow of people is so smooth it is exemplary. They do know their stuff, this Disney Bunch.

I’m pleased to be able to report that the next section will feature people relaxing by a warm pool! Thank goodness. [msnsmile]

:D You should 've gone into CBJ Dave. It's on a par with it's a small world.

Really enjoying reading your reports. We are heading to Orlando with our son, DIL and grand daughters in a week or so, so reading this is getting me really excited !

Sue

Great photos Dave. Wish mine looked as good but I'm a bit like the technophobe who took the photo of you all in front of the castle.

Only 22 days before we are over, not that I'm counting.

Enjoyed this report to, love the fact that you take time to add pictures. Firework picture very impressive. One year to go for us, our first visit during easter period we usually go in October or easter. Did xmas once and arrived boxing day once so as to be there for the new year.

Great reports as ever but I now need to go for a lie down - I am exhausted reading them!!!!

Did you get that thunderstorm yesterday? Didn't last long at SD as we must have been on the edge of it but saw some streets were flooded in some areas, and the lightning hit one if those new apartment blocks in Celebration causing a fire and lots of damage. Luckily no one was hurt.

We got caught in that thunderstorm. It was like a river at Magic Kingdom, still drying out my shoes. We don't usually go into Disney but the grandchildren wanted to go yesterday - never again, Magic a Kingdom was manic, we only stayed until lunchtime and gave up.

Andrena

Crikey we didn't hear about that. Certainly witnessed the storm though, thankfully through the windows of Mall at Millennia. the storm started about 10 seconds after we walked into the mall.

City Hall in the City of Ocoee got hit by that storm's lightning. Two days later and two departments are still without phones and Internet access.

The folks who lived in the Celebration apartments have had to move out and no idea how long it will be before they are back. An awful lot of damaged caused to the building and a lot of the occupants lost almost everything. They have only lived there for a few months.

I am loving this trip report!