World (showcase) Travels

This is our third day at a Disney park and every day I have been selected for a "random" security check, this is starting to get ridiculous, but I'll play along. Find me some hot coffee on this cold day (47 deg) and I'll get over the "random" security check.

We get us some nice hot coffee and the day is starting to warm up, so now our attention turns to our first fast pass, a character greeting with Mickey and friends and then a jump across for a picture with Baymax (he's like the Pilsbury dough boy)

 

Its snack time now and I was promised a croughnut today (donut fried croissant) but we get distracted by the sounds of the Jammitors. The Jammitors are cast members dressed as janitors pounding out music on trash cans, very entertaining.

 

We are not quite done with the distractions, we must make one more stop before my croughnut (or so I'm told), but this stop I don't mind, its Test Track. Of course on our way to Test Track I couldn't help but noticed that security has been following me, after all the "random" security checks I've had these three days, I guess they decided to put a tail on me (notice the guy with the map).

Some super cool pictures after Test Track.

Some where after Test Track we lost security and FINALLY made our way to get the croughnut, a taste of fried goodness!

 

The remainder of our day we spent traveling around the world (showcase); nachos and Three Cabelleros in Mexico, frankfurter in Germany, croissant and eclair in France. We witnessed the Voices of Liberty and American Music machine in America and The Revolution England.

(The Mexican Temple with the Three Cabelleros)

(land of Norway and I guess Trolls)

(China's archway to Epcot)

(The Voice of Liberty)

(Yes I made her do it)

(The Revolution in England)

(Surprise visit by Tigger)

We end our day of travel with some international cuisine from  Canada at La Cellier where we enjoyed delicious steak.

The Band Played all Day

Today was our second day at magic kingdom and was also a day we could sleep late. We had breakfast in room with food we brought and also the gift basket. With such a grueling schedule today we did manage to talk with the mayor.

Feeling a little "snacky", we dropped in at Sleepy Hollow to split a delicious Chicken and waffle sandwich. It was so delicious, that it was devoured before a picture could be taken. Feeling energetic, we adventure towards our first fast pass for the day, but while on the way we came across the Main Street Philharmonic Band, what a treat this was.

More strolling through the park and break at Pecos Bill for off the menu Burrito Bowl and some quiet time. We catch the train at Frontierland and ride it to Main Street, just in tine to catch the band marching down main street.

We stop by the fire station to pick up dome sorcerers cards for the kids. As we are waiting our turn in line we start noticing all the patches and came across this one

Navigating across the street from the fire station to main street thearter, its time for our character meeting with Mickey. This Mickey actually talks and is more interactive than other in park Mickeys.

 

One of the overlooked and longest running tradition at Magic Kingdom is the flag retirement ceremony (I know this because Brenda said so and a cast member confirmed) and we just happened to be in time for it (actually it was planned).

 

We ended our evening with a trip to Fort Wilderness and attended the Hoop Dee Doo Revue in the Pioneer Hall, a diner show served with chicken, ribs and entertainment. As our dinner and entertainment ended we were greeted by a wet cold front that had moved in. As we scrambled for our rain gear and stand in line at the dock for the boat to the hotel. After what seemed like an eternity in the rain our boat finally arrive and we depart for our hotel.

Keys to the Kingdom Tour

Today we receive the keys to the kingdom. Brenda signed us up for the Keys to the Kingdom Tour, a backstage look at Disney World. We get to enter the park an hour before other guests, this is cool, just knowing we are inside the park before anyone else, never mind the fact that for that hour we sat and waited for the tour to start.

We start the tour at Main Street Theater where we are greeted with friendly faces and a tour packet that included a listening device for the tour. Our tour guide, Seth, explained the four keys of the kingdom; safety, courteous, showmanship and efficiency. Unfortunately pictures were not allowed while we were on the tour, event though we were standing on Main Street with no secrets to reveal. Seth explained that on the while on the tour the phrase onstage referred to being in the park and backstage referred to being behind park areas.

The tour began with a stroll down Main Street, Seth explained that credits to various people contributing to Walt Disney’s vision for the park are displayed in the windows of the buildings lining Main Street. We stroll along listening to the tour when we approach the center of Magic Kingdom, at this intersection we parade to Frontierland where we go backstage. Yes we go behind the barriers that say "Cast Members Only". Once backstage we discover that we are in the parade float area and are able to get a peek of some of the parade floats that are stored.

Our tour continued with a private ride on the Jungle Cruise, where more stories and trivia facts are revealed. We ar then marched to the Haunted Mansion where we enter a back entrance, usually reserved for cast members, and magically we appear in the short line waiting to ride while we are fed background information and stories.

It’s now lunch time, and we are all hungry. Lunch is being provided (included in the tour) at the Harbor House, which we pre-ordered at time of tour start. A private section of Harbor House was reserved for the tour as we took our time to soak up the cool air and rest our feet.

After lunch we travel back to Main Street, stopping at the Crystal Palace where we go backstage again, this time into the underground tunnel! Unfortunately pictures were not allowed but I can say that Main Street from the backstage perspective really isn’t that big, but the perception onstage really makes it seem bigger, nice job Disney. The underground area (more than just a tunnel) is where the behind the scenes magic happens. The area has vast holding areas for supplies as well as the usual human resource stuff you would expect. It also has signs pointing cast members to the different areas of the park so when they go onstage they’re in the right location. As we were in the tunnels we did not see any characters but we were able to see other cast members coming and going.

We finished up the tour we were free for the day, it was a lot of walking and we just needed to rest and hydrate. It’s nice without the kids but it’s also sad to not have them here enjoying the fun. We took this time to leisurely explore the park and hop a few rides. When dinner time came, we to Skippers Canteen, a new place Disney is trying, it’s a table service restaurant that does not take reservations, walk-in only. The food was delicious, “chicken tastes like chicken because it is” was the tasty meal I had. Located outside the Jungle Cruise ride, the Skippers Canteen’s wait staff had the same corny jokes as their Jungle Cruise sister.

 Not having the kids with us allowed us the time to slow down and explore and discover. Tortuga restaurant, for instance, looks like a nice spot for food with kids, it’s a sit down quick service with plenty of seating. We also learn about the Pirates Adventures for the kids in Adventureland. Brenda booked us for the Wishes Fireworks Dessert Party, a dessert buffet served from Tomorrowland Terrace. This is by far the best way to watch the fireworks, the location lends a clear view to the show and the dessert buffet and being able sit in air-conditioned comfort is the best way to watch the fireworks.

The extra magic hours allowed us to wait for normal crowd to exit the park then sneak off for a self-indulgent trip to Space Mountain together, rare event only available without kids.

Contemporary Check-in

Today we traveled without kids, what a difference it makes, for my wonderful birthday trip during the year of Disney. We were both so tired that once the plane was in the air, we were asleep. This would not have been possible with the kids. Trips like these give us an opportunity to reflect on how we can improve our future trips with the kids; because they are not with us we actually have time to think and evaluate the process. One thing we both appreciate having is the global entry card which also gets you TSA pre check on flights.

Boarding the magic express we were surrounded by the sounds of parents throwing out phrases to their kids that we normally would, but not today. This day we would not be barking instructions, repeating our child's name three times to get their attention, no we would be sliding past the other parents struggling with bags of luggage and children melting down in hotel lobbies, we would be relaxing in quiet!

Our accommodations were fabulous, a room at the Contemporary. It was a very nice room and came with a gift bag Brenda had waiting was as awesome touch!

Our dinner was also keeping with the theme of a grown up get away with reservations at Narcoossee. An upscale restaurant where kids were scarce, located on the grounds of the Grand Floridian, meant a ride on the monorail to get there. It was odd boarding the monorail without kids fighting for seating or climbing the pole.

The Grand Floridian is a nice hotel and the restaurant, Narcoossee was located on the Bay Lake with a wonderful view. Brenda's timing for dinner reservations allowed to walk to the dock after dinner, just in time to watch the fireworks at Magic Kingdom across the bay.

By the way the food at Narcoossee was delicious, I had the pork rib chop that was prepared with pickled garlic and buttery mashed potatoes.