Eric’s Blog

Up before dawn this morning to drive two hours from Jacksonville to Orlando just to be at The Magic Kingdom when it opened. We got a late start and stopped for food, so we got there an hour after the park opened; no big deal.

This was our third trip to Disney and our daughter, Sarah’s second, so we decided to do things a bit different this time around. We’re not staying in the park, and we took the ferry boat in instead of the monorail. Nothing too special, but the views are remarkably better going in across the lake than on the monorail.

Once in the park, we took the obligatory pictures on Main Street, USA and made our way over to my favorite ride, The Haunted Mansion. Watch out for those hitchhiking ghosts foolish mortals!

Afterwards, we went to fantasyland to try out the new mining roller coaster from the seven dwarves. We stood in line about an hour and got up to the cars just for the ride to break down. We waited a bit to see if they’d fix it quickly, alas, no dice. The my cleared the queue, but we got one fast pass each for our trouble. Because of covid restrictions at the park, fast pass isn’t a thing, but you can earn one this way, and it worked out well for us later in the day.

We looked at the wait times and decided to head to Pirates of the Caribbean next where we met a famous Captain.

We also managed to sneak in a quick ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railway. There was literally no wait on that one and we had just enough time before lunch to make it happen. It was closed the last time we were here, so this was a first for me. Adrianne even rode with us. It was a great coaster.

We had lunch in Liberty Square at the Liberty Tree tavern. It’s all you can eat, family-style food. We had salad and rolls, roast Turkey, roast pork, pot roast, herb dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans, and Mac and cheese, then okey gooey toffee cake for dessert. So good. And it was nice to sit down and get out of the heat for a bit. Also, it was nice to get out of the masks for a bit.

After lunch, we rode the jungle cruise to let things digest, then used our fast passes to skip the 90 minute wait for Splash Mountain. So worth it. This was my favorite ride of the day. They’re going to get rid of Brer Rabbit and the rest of the gang because of cancel culture next summer, I guess they’re changing it to Princess and the Frog now. Such a shame.

We rode the teacups after splash mountain and I’ve never been more grateful than I was today to have someone to look at across from me. We had that thing spinning so fast when it stopped I felt like my eyes were sill spinning in their sockets.

We got on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger shoot out next and defeated the evil Zurg, saw some double- D’s (da-DAYUM!) rode on the Carousel of Progress, and Space Mountain. We rounded out the day on the Carousel, then a bit of shopping as we made our way out of the park. All-in-all, it was a great day!

A few tips for anyone traveling to the park in the near future:

• Get a magic band ahead of time, set it up with an app on your phone and breeze through the gates.
• Keep the Walt Disney app on your phone while in the park. It’s a good map of where things are including wait times for attractions and what is open/closed. You can even order food from your app and pick it up when it’s ready (required for some places).
• Combined, the app and magic band are powerful tools. You can make reservations, get in virtual queues, order food, collect the photos taken around the park, order those photos, and so much more.
• Buy a good pair of sneakers before going into the parks.
• When in a queue for a ride, stay on the sticker until the next one in front of you opens up. Staying on the space between stickers when the party in front of you is in between stickers does not count. Stay on the stickers people.
• Do not try to circumvent the mask rules by any means. Cast members are on super high alert to watch for this. If you violate the rules, they’ll say something. If you keep pushing the issue, say goodbye, you’re gone.
• You will not be able to see everything in one day, plan accordingly and manage your party’s expectations.
• Have fun! It’s the happiest place on earth and there’s nothing worse than seeing families blow up at one another in the park because nerves are frayed. There’s a lot to do, a lot to see, people everywhere, and new requirements for cast members and park guests. Remember you’re there on vacation. Play with the kidders. Enjoy the little things. It’s why you’re there.