Here we are, ready to begin our adventures at The Walt Disney World Parks. Our first park is The Magic Kingdom. We have on our custom tee-shirts for the Walt Disney World parks and are wearing our Magic Bands enabling park entrance, our pre-paid meal plan, the Memory Maker Photo package, and any spending for souvenirs all in those fantastic radio-band Magic Wrist Bands! We boarded the free Disney Transportation bus to take us from the resort to the park.
Mikayla made "Ears" for her siblings and herself. Each asked for a specific theme. Can you guess each one? Fantastic job Mikayla! And we began our day entering this magical place!
Our Memory Maker Photo Package enabled us to have as many pictures taken by the Disney staff in any and all of the parks as we wanted. We can upload them to our computers for 30 days after we leave the resort and they are permanently ours. Also in the package are special things like the short videos adding to the photo experience. In this one, Nick Wilde from Zootopia took our picture!
This is a GREAT family photo of the 13 of us in our special Tees in front of the Mickey garden and Disney Train Station at the entrance to The Magic Kingdom.
Entering the park and starting down Main Street, Eric had read that the Harmony Barber Shop is available for haircuts. The boys were in need of one, so why not have the Disney experience !?!
While Evan and Ethan waited to get their haircuts, we walked down Main Street taking in all of the sights (and probably unconsciously comparing to Disneyland in Anaheim) on our way to Cinderella's Castle (Anaheim has Sleeping Beauty's Castle).
The mosaics at the castle are spectacular!
A short break at The Cinderella Castle ...
One of our definite "must see's" was The Hall of Presidents in Liberty Square. The Grandkids had never seen it before. Enter the pristine Hall of Presidents in the heart of Liberty Square — modeled after Independence Hall in Philadelphia — and we make our way beneath an awe-inspiring grand rotunda. Here we witness a very special display as the curtain rises to reveal each and every United States President, together for the very first time — followed by stirring speeches about the American Dream delivered by Presidents George Washington and Barack Obama. All of the Presidents are spectacular examples of Audio-Animatronics figures.
A favorite of ours is Mickey's PhilharMagic ... where we join Donald Duck on a whirlwind tour of some of the most memorable songs in Disney animation history and we are plunged into a 3D dream world of classic Disney animated musical sequences. Just great to watch and listen to! The animated characters come to life in 3D!
Disney World adds to the fun by taking us back to some of the rides and exhibits that we no longer have in Disneyland. Due to the large property in Florida, they can keep the old attractions and add new ones. As it is said, all of Disneyland and California Adventures could fit into The Magic Kingdom and still have property left over! One of these is The People Mover ... just pure nostalgia!
Prince Eric and Ariel's Castle is the home to Under the Sea -- Journey of The Little Mermaid. The structure is fantastic. The ride is just as fun as it is in our California Adventure Park.
Spinning Tea Cups are fun!
Another throwback that the younger members have no memory of is The Country Bear Jamboree ... oh, how we miss this one! Life is good once again with Teddi Bara, Big Al, Trixie, Liver Lips, The Sunbonnet Trio, Henry and the rest of the gang plus those three on the wall ... Melvin, Buff and Max!
Big Thunder Mountain Roller-Coaster Train Ride is still exciting and thrilling!
And off to Space Mountain!
And while the "Thrill" rides were enjoyed by most, Grandma took Ruby on some of her kind of rides such as The Prince Charming Royal Carousel ...
Having FUN in The Magic Kingdom!
Disney just isn't Disney without a boat ride down It's A Small World!
And with our Magical Magic Wrist Bands, our signals can be picked up and personalized greetings displayed in the rides throughout the parks. We didn't know that happened, so we were taken by surprise at first when displays like the one at the end of It's A Small World appeared before our eyes for each of the cars we were in...
Mikayla, Carrie, Elena, Larry Ruby, & Ed
Shirley, Ethan, Eric & Evan
Evan wanted to drive his Dad around the Magic Kingdom Tomorrowland Speedway ...
These are fun pictures that the Disney Memory Maker Photo crew adds Mickey photo-bombing as Minnie snaps the pictures. We loved having the unlimited pictures taken during our stay at Walt Disney World. This sequence was snapped at the Walt and Mickey statue at the end of Main Street with the Cinderella Castle background.
And this one has Olaf joining Ruby on a very hot day in the park, but still having fun ... we can guarantee that Olaf needed that snow cloud over his head or he would have melted into a puddle very quickly!!!
The Carousel of Progress is another throw-back to the past in Disney history. We always rode it in Disneyland in the early years. I believe it is still the original version with the great time-period settings and clothes. Too bad we don't have the room in Anaheim to keep all of the classics!
Many folks commented on liking our shirts!
Throughout the day we saw many sites in The Magic Kingdom, such as Rapunzel's Tower and many others ...
... and rode many attractions including The Haunted Mansion, The Pirates of the Caribbean, Stich's Great Escape and more ...
Eric did a fantastic job of making our three fast-pass reservations allowed by being guests at the Disney Resorts. Our first pick was the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Ride. It is sort of the jewel of Fantasyland in Florida. The Imagineers did a terrific job in making this a magical ride. With our Memory Maker, the radio waves in our Magic Bands were picked up and we were inserted in this video of the Mine ride. By watching this, you get a feel for what we saw and experienced on this attraction. You'll love this one ... be sure to take a look!
As evening fell, we wandered over to see The Beauty and The Beast Castle. The Be Our Guest Restaurant comes alive as a spectacular dining facility. Of course next door is Gaston's Tavern. Gaston is everywhere from the fountain out front to the large painting over the fireplace. Even the chair in the Tavern is Gaston size!
The evening at The Magic Kingdom was finished off with the fantastic Disney's Electrical Parade. All of the loyal Disneyland attendees wish this parade were still in Disneyland. The parades are wonderful but none still quite can match this original!
On our way down Main Street, we couldn't resist having the night-time illuminated Cinderella Castle family pictures taken ...
And then the finale of the Magic Kingdom Day ... the fireworks spectacular done as no one but the Disney Organization can do them!
There are many things left out of this blog that we did while in The Magic Kingdom, but time was taken to just enjoy the family and all that we did. This gives a little glimpse of our day. It was truly Magical! Many ask what was the best part. That really is an easy one for Grandma and Papaw ... it was the glistening of the eyes, the smiles on the faces, and the laughter and amazement expressed in each Grandchild; and I do believe it was also in each of the parents too!
Most of the pictures are in this blog, but for a full view of all, visit this album link by a click here!
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