Day Four - The Magic Kingdom

The Magic Kingdom is traditionally the first park we visit, but we have found with the jet lag it is best to take advantage to the early magic hours.

As the Magic Kingdom didn't open until 9am, we had a bit of a long lie. We were there for the park opening.  Following the suggestion given in a guide book we headed straight to the back of the park.  We got to Thunder Mountain and walked straight on.  We immediately went to check out Splash Mountain and there was only 10 minute wait.  This is a good ride to wake you up.  You don't get soaked on the ride but mist often get a good spray in the face and a wet tee shirt.

Pirates of the Caribbean was our first fast pass of the day.  We were a little delayed in getting there due to a wardrobe malfunction.  A knot that wouldn't come out. Pirates is a funny ride in that it inspired the series of movies (they should have stopped after the first).  Now the ride has been updated to reflect the movies.

We had dome time before our next fast pass so went to look in some shops, but we passed the Bear Jamboree.  It is years since we had seen this (the kids haven't seen it before) and after sitting through it we remembered why.

So back to Splash Mountain, well we had just dried off from our first ride.  That got us all damp again, but it is great fun.

We had booked lunch in probably the most popular restaurant in the park, if not the whole of Disney, Be Our Guest. When we checked in there was someone enquiring about dining, but it was fully booked.  Even with reservation we had a bit of a wait before we got into the Beast's castle.  The ordering system is fully automatic.  This caused a problem as we wanted to used our quick service credits for the meal and snack credits for dessert, so we could try the legendary grey stuff.  We ended up paying for desert.  After ordering you find a table in one of three rooms.  We headed to the West Wing.  This area isn't very big and we were lucky to get a table. The food is brought to your table in a very ornate trolley.  Very impressive, but a little Big Brother.  Once again the food was adequate.  In the West Wing you can see the rose and a picture of the prince which turns in to the beast when there is a peel of thunder. If dinning in this room, be warned that a lot of people come in to take photographs.

After lunch we passed the Aerial ride and the wait time was only 10 minutes, so we joined the queue.

As the rain was about to start we made our way to the  area, as there is a large shop their which the kids wanted to look at and it would give us some shelter. It was obviously a common place for people to grab shelter because at the doors were cast members asking everyone to move right into the shop.  The shower didn't last for very long, however one of the kids started to fell unwell and as we left the shop was sick. We asked a cast member if they could give us any medication. They directed us to the first aid point.

On the way to the first aid point, we crossed the road to the left of the castle (looking from main street). It was all set up for the parade, which had just started.  We paused on a bridge, which gave us a really good view if the parade which crossed an adjacent bridge.  Many characters in the parade waved at us as they passed, as we virtually the only ones watching from the bridge.  The mechanical dragon was especially impressive.

The first aid stop was very efficient and we got some medication, for kids, which did the trick.

Our last fast pass of the day was at the seven dwarf ride, by this point in the day the stand by queue was a wait of 3 hours.  To keep the turn over of riders high odd numbered parties were paired so that no seat was unfilled.  As a party of five we had a one of the party riding with a stranger.  However, in one of the paired rows, one if the riders in front didn't pair up as requested.  We reported this as we wanted to stick together.  The cast member sorted this for us.  But the selfish action of this one rider resulted in 6 empty seats going around the ride.  This only adds to the wait time.

After stopping for some water at Electric Rays cafe.  Top tip - many people carry bottled water, which costs $3 in the park.  However, all the quick service restaurants will give guests cups of iced water for free and you don't have to carry a bottle.  There are also numerous water fountains around the parks.

It was starting to look like it was going to rain, thunder and lightening. The foliage on the taller plants and trees became more animated.  We wanted to eat and go before the rain started.

We had booked dinner in the Crystal Palace at 5pm.  This was a character buffet, with Whinny the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eehaw.  Once again with the buffet the food was alright but nothing to write home about.  There was not a great selection, but we didn't go hungry.

After a number of these buffets, it is clear that it pretty much like eating in a canteen and not at all what I expected for table service. I am so glad we had the dining plan for free as I would be really unhappy having paid so much money for such a poor dining experience.  As each one if these have come in at $250 excluding tip (more about this later) I feel it is poor value for money.  Even the characters don't make up for this feeling.

We headed back to the hotel for a bit of a rest and then a dip in the pool.  It was clear that it had rained quite heavily at the hotel, but for once we had missed it.  We didn't get much of a rest as the kids wanted to roast marshmallows.  So down we went at 7:30pm.  The camp fire was off - due to the weather?  The pool was closed, but the life guards were all there tidying up the pool and its surroundings.  I asked and they do this before opening the pool.  We had a little wait but at last we made it into the pool.  The good thing about this time of night was that the pool was quite and the ground didn't burn your feet.

What happens when "The Man" makes the rules?  In this case Disney is "The Man".  I have complained before in this blog that as far as Disney is concerned when you hit 10 years of age you are considered an adult.  This applies to the cost of entry and all "children's" menus are for under 10.  Tonight, reading the pool rules it stated that "Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult".  Is it me?