FL trip day 5: Magic Kingdom with Aaron

Aaron let me decide what we were going to do during his one day in the Magic Kingdom. His only request was that we make sure we focus on things that aren't available at Disneyland. Fortunately, after my morning alone on Monday, I had a pretty good sense of how to get around the park, and what was different from the park in California. This was lucky, because Jillian and Andrew did their own thing most of the day and Jillian didn't join us until well into the afternoon.

Tip #8: Eat at the restaurants in the park

Disney goes all out with its theming and food. At Jillian's suggestion, Aaron and I booked reservations at Be Our Guest inside Beast's castle for breakfast. It's one of the more popular restaurants, so we were lucky to get in. The food was great and the atmosphere was gorgeous. And I didn't feel guilty for spending the money because I'd saved with PBJs on other days ;) We sat in the West Wing -- very dark and moody, but a lot of fun.

The main ballroom

In the West Wing

Since Aaron requested "different from Disneyland", I took him on the Carousel of Progress. We had the song stuck in our heads for the rest of the day. Haha!

Space Mountain did not break down this time -- hooray! I insisted Aaron sit in the front for his first run. It's extra cool when you don't have heads blocking your view. You really feel like you're hurling through space!

Then we got ice cream and rode the People Mover (Space Mountain then People Mover because my tradition). Aaron stuck out his hand while going past another vehicle, and a teenager gave him a high five. Those are the kind of moments Aaron creates -- making memories!

Double carouselfie!

Couldn't resist a photo with Chip and Dale in Frontierland

I wasn't a fan of Country Bear Jamboree the first time I saw it. It was funnier the second time. There's something about bears singing how sad their lives are that's just silly enough you can't feel sorry for them.

I identified more with "All the guys that turn me on turn me down" more than I'd like to admit.
I sang "Blood on the Saddle" at random times the rest of the trip to make the others laugh.

Tip #9 Waiting on line at Disney World can be fun

When creating and building Disney World, the imagineers took advantage of the extra space in Florida and made sure waiting in line wasn't boring. There are interactive options to entertain little people and big people, like these shadows in the Darling childrens' nursery in the always-long line for Peter Pan. The Seven Dwarves Mine Train, Winnie the Pooh, and Haunted Mansion had great entertainment, too.

We can fly, we can fly, we can flyyyyyyyyy!

It took us a while to figure out why there was filming equipment all over main street and the castle, and why so many patrons were wearing Christmas sweaters. Turns out, we were there the week they filmed the Christmas morning parade and festivities. We never saw any celebrities, but we saw a bit of the parade and heard a lot of cheering.

Other fun things:

• Ferryboat ride to the main gate
• Watched the Welcome Ceremony (the only time I arrived at the park at opening)
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Dance party with Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, and Frozone
• Mad Hatter Teaparty (in tribute to Lindsey since it's her favorite)
• Small World
• Philharmagic
• Saw some of the parade as we walked by
• Pirates of the Caribbean. We purposely sat in the third row where we did not get wet. The people in the front row did, poor souls.

Jillian joined us and we walked through the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse just after dark. For some reason, the attraction wasn't well-lit, so we didn't see much. Oh well.

At the Monster's Inc Laugh Floor, the emcee used the joke I submitted!

Knock Knock.
Who's there?
Canoe.
Canoe who?
Canoe come play with me?

Perhaps not the most hilarious ever, but I was thrilled to be included again. Still my favorite attraction!

Aaron and I rode the Jingle Cruise (the Christmas version of the Jungle Cruise). Afterwards, we took a selfie, and a middle-aged woman came over and asked if we needed help with a photo, to which her husband said, "Five dollars."

I responded, "You mean you want to give us five dollars? Okay!"

He looked at Aaron and said, "She's quick!"

I wasn't sure whether to be pleased that my wit was acknowledged, or annoyed that the husband said it to Aaron and not to me. Or amused that yet another couple assumed Aaron and I are married. Some things never change.

(I realized later that I'd plagiarized The Princess Bride. "You mean you wish to surrender to me?" This made me the happiest of all.)

At Enchanted Tales with Belle, Jillian was chosen to play Madame de la Grande Bouche. She was kind of embarrassed about it, but she was pretty funny with all the tiny children.

Afterwards, we were pleased to discover an unheard of 30 minute wait time for the Seven Dwarves Mine Train. We all thought it odd it is one of the rides that runs out of Fast Passes the most quickly -- it wasn't as exciting as some of the other coasters.

Superheroes on Space Mountain

We happened to find a great location between Cinderella castle and the Beast's castle just in time for the fireworks. It involved us turning from one to the other quite a bit, but it was a lovely view. Lucky!

We also reached the main square just in time for the last few minutes of the Main Street Electrical Parade. It was the only parade I had hoped beforehand we'd get to see, so I was delighted. It was just as magical as I remembered!

Lastly, I bought an enormous waffle cone full of chocolate and cookies and cream ice cream, just in time to pose in front of the lit tree. 

I'll say it again, the Memory Maker is wonderful

Thanks for the memories, bro! I love having you on my adventures. You are a truly excellent traveling companion and I hope you had as much fun as I did!

Day 1: First day at DAK and Studios

Day 2: First day at Epcot

Day 3: First day at Magic Kingdom
Day 4: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Day 6: Typhoon Lagoon and Food and Wine
Day 7: Disneybounding at MK
Day 8: DAK and Studios again
Day 9: Last day at Epcot and MK
Day 10: Characters and hotels

FL trip day 4: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

It's no secret that I'm a fan of the Harry Potter books. I have wanted to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Florida ever since they first announced the concept. I finally, finally had the chance on this trip.

It was absolutely, without a doubt, worth the wait.

Dragon Alley

In the words of JK Rowling:

Harry wished he had about eight more eyes. He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping...

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Tip #6 Start in Diagon Alley

Dragon Alley was Harry's introduction to the wizarding world. I firmly believe every muggle and every wizard-at-heart needs to start there. Plus, it makes a little more sense when you ride the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade (Larissa clued me in to this).

Jillian and Aaron were excited to go, but they weren't quite cry-as-soon-as-you-walk-through-the-wall excited. Guess who was?

Thank you for this video, bro. I love it!

You guys, I cannot adequately describe how cool this place is. The rest of Universal Studios is just ok, but I think they knew that if the Wizarding World wasn't incredibly detailed and accurate the fans would have a fit. As such, it is incredibly detailed and accurate, right down to the stuff sold in stores and restaurants. You can't get the same candy in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes as you can at Honeydukes. In Diagon Alley, there are tons of Quidditch supplies. In Hogsmeade you'll find Hogwarts souvenirs. I absolutely loved it.  

Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes

The park seems to take place during all of the books at once, so Ollivander's and Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes exist together, and characters that otherwise might not interacts are all there. It was kind of comforting. It was both pre-war and post-war at Hogwarts. Rather idyllic and sweet.

Ready to take a trip through Gringotts' caverns

A puppet show telling Beetle the Bard's tale The Fountain of Fair Fortune

My first butterbeer of the day

Tip #7 Get the parkhopper if you want to take the Hogwarts Express

It's smart from a commercial standpoint, and annoying from a tourist standpoint, that Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade are in two different Universal Studios parks, so you have to get the parkhopper pass if you want to go to both in the same day. If you do this, you can take the Hogwarts Express. It's a short ride, but a fun one, and the story is different depending on the direction you come from. As I said, start in Diagon Alley if you've never been before.

Hogsmeade, outside Hogwarts. It looked beautiful, though the snow on the roofs was odd in 80 degree weather.

I think I found my dream job. I love singing in a quartet, and it delights me to no end that the Slytherin is the soprano. Of course she is!

Hogwarts is beautiful

My favorite ride is inside the castle.
Plus, they have references to all of the books and you get to go through all the classrooms and the Gryffindor common room while on line.
So. Much. Detail :D

Lunch at The Three Broomsticks.
This "feast" fed Aaron, Jillian, and I and was delicious.
(I ate a LOT of good food on this trip.)

Geoff and Andrew joined us at lunchtime. Geoff brought Kristen's wand, so we got to do some magic around the park. I had a rough time with wingardium leviosa and seriously questioned whether I'm a muggle after all, but managed the spell in the end.

We went back to Ollivander's so I could watch the wand selection. I had heard they usually pick a child, so I didn't expect it to be me. Then I realized everyone in our group were adults. I started bouncing off the walls, practically shooting "pick me!" out of my eyeballs.

The wand master picked Aaron.

And then Aaron asked if the wand master would do a favor "for my sister" and the wand master agreed.

And my wand choose me.

Ivy with unicorn hair.
Of course I bought it. It chose me!

There is no other word for it. The moment was magical!

Other fun things:

• Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees sang "A Cauldron of Hot Strong Love"
• Flight of the Hippogriff baby roller coaster
• Dragon Challenge roller coasters -- rode the Chinese Fireball (red) and Hungarian Horntail. The Fireball was the better of the two and it's worth it to wait to be in the front row on the outside ;)
• Bought a Hogwarts Christmas tree ornament -- Geoff had a discount for being a season pass holder. Hooray!!
• Wandered into the regular Universal Studios for the Jurassic Park ride

When we returned to Diagon Alley, Aaron and Jillian stood in the middle of the street for a good 10 minutes waiting for the Gringotts dragon to breathe fire. I don't blame them for wanting a photo. The fire only lasted two seconds, so it's good they were prepared.

As you can see, they weren't the only ones waiting

Jillian and Andrew went off before closing to ride the Gringotts ride one last time. While they were away, I spotted this sign:

Obviously, I had to check it out. Aaron, Geoff, and I looked through the forbidden objects (and Deatheater-themed clothing) in Borgin and Burkes until closing and watched a show in the regular park until Andrew and Jillian appeared again.

Aaron and I headed to Disney Springs while the rest met Kristen for dinner somewhere. We ate a Ghirardelli sundae, watched a lip sync contest, danced the "Cupid Shuffle", and browsed a few stores.

Day 1: First day at DAK and Studios

Day 2: First day at Epcot

Day 3: First day at Magic Kingdom
Day 5: Magic Kingdom with Aaron
Day 6: Typhoon Lagoon and Food and Wine
Day 7: Disneybounding at MK
Day 8: DAK and Studios again
Day 9: Last day at Epcot and MK
Day 10: Characters and hotels

FL trip day 3: Magic Kingdom part 1

Jillian and I wore tiaras on our first day at the Magic Kingdom (MK). No one who knew us was surprised. Yes, it was confusing to wear them on a Monday and not a Tuesday, but we were at Disney World -- we made our own rules! Jillian deservedly received a TON of compliments on her homemade Rapunzel tiara. I'm always excited to wear my store-bought Cinderella version... even though Cinderella doesn't wear a tiara ;)

Tip #4: You can carry your own food into the parks

Jillian and I went to a grocery store our first night in town and picked up oatmeal, bananas, supplies for PBJs, apples, granola bars, and several other things so we could save money on breakfast, snacks, and other meals. I also carried a water bottle around. Security guards check your bags before you enter the parks, but unlike at movie theaters, they don't mind if you take your own food inside.

First thing, Jillian took me to the Carousel of Progress. She loves it because it's unique to Disney World, historic, and meets Walt's requirements of attractions being both entertaining and educational. I wasn't prepared for it and was like "What just happened?" Still, the song is catchy, and in getting there Jillian prepared to leave me all alone for a few hours while she ate breakfast with Andrew and a bunch of English characters like Winnie the Pooh and Alice in Wonderland.

So, what does a girl do when alone at Magic Kingdom?
ANYTHING SHE WANTS!

Haha!

Fortunately, MK -- sister-park to Disneyland -- is organized very similarly to Disneyland, so I didn't have much trouble getting around. Since I was already in Tomorrowland, I started there and rode everything I knew Jillian wasn't interested in. Then I moved over to Fantasyland. I experienced:

• The Astro Orbiter. I was Queen of the World.
• Stitch's Great Escape. Jillian was right, it was ridiculously lame.
• Mad Tea Party. I was surprised and delighted they were indoors, and made friends with an attendant who assured me "We're all mad here" and steered me away from the fastest teacup.
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. I waited 40 minutes, the longest of any line that day. Fortunately, there was plenty to do and play with while on line, and I was entertained by the kids and parents around me.
• Prince Charming Carousel. I watched the Sword in the Stone ceremony from my horse, and later with the rest of the crowd. It was fun to see how pleased the preteen boy was, and cheer "All hail, Kevin! Protector of Fantasyland!"

Carouselfies are still a thing, right?

Jillian, Andrew, and Geoff found me and we proceeded to demolish my list:

I bought a Magic Band just for fun. Fortunately, I can use it next time I go to Disney World.
Or maybe loan it to someone else who goes?
I thought it looked pretty next to my FitBit. Thanks to sunscreen, I didn't have any tan lines. Winning!

• Haunted Mansion
• photos at Rapunzel's tower
• Mickey's Philharmonic in 3D
• Monster's Inc Laugh Floor
• *Possibly my very favorite attraction at MK*
• "If you're happy and you know it!"
• Constant references to "That guy."
• My face on the big screen with the caption: "Things catsup is made from cats."
• Space Mountain... broke down just as we reached the front of the line, so they gave us a "move to the front of the line" pass for any ride we wanted
• The People Mover. We went through while Space Mountain was down and got to see what it looks like in the light! (Spoiler: just like any other roller coaster.) Still cool.
• Dumbo's Flying Elephants. A lot of selfies happened here!

• Little Mermaid ride. This was when we started playing Heads Up in lines. 
• Big Thunder Mountain

We arrived at Pirates of the Caribbean just as the sun was going down. We thought it was lucky we all fit in the front row of our boat... and then we got to the first drop and got SOAKED! The water went in a wave and drenched Andrew and Geoff, and Jillian and I were wet through from our shorts to our shoes. The boys went home to change before dinner. Jillian and I wrung out our clothes in a bathroom and toughed it out. We met Kiershta at Space Mountain to use the passes we received when we were kicked out earlier in the day. Then we headed to DAK Lodge for dinner.

According to Kiershta, the way to do the buffett at BOMA is to eat dessert first, and then start with the other stuff. She was right. The dessert was AMAZING! Jillian and I treated Kiershta as a thank you for the free passes into the parks. She was more generous than we expected. She is so nice. It was fun to see her in her home territory.

Tip #5: Stay at the Resort hotels or really close to

Jillian and I stayed at the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Resort. It isn't one of the official Disney resorts, but it's affiliated with them and, as it turned out, less than a block away from Disney Springs. We took advantage of the shuttles to and from the parks, and spent a lot of time at the Springs. If we'd stayed at The Hawaiian or something, we would have been even closer to the parks themselves. Air BnB might have been less expensive, but it was worth the couple of extra bucks for the location.

My brother Aaron flew in that night and met me at our hotel. It was still fairly early, so I changed my pants and shoes (three hours later they were still damp from Pirates) and we headed to Disney Springs to get him some dinner and look around a little before bedtime. We had another big day ahead.

Day 1: First day at DAK and Studios

Day 2: First day at Epcot

Day 4: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Day 5: Magic Kingdom with Aaron

Day 6: Typhoon Lagoon and Food and Wine

Day 7: Disneybounding at MK

Day 8: DAK and Studios again

Day 9: Last day at Epcot and MK

Day 10: Characters and hotels

Memes: Working towards being a better, happier person

FL trip day 2: Epcot day 1

When I came to Disney World as a child, EPCOT was my favorite park. I was pleased to learn it's still great!

 

Tip #3: Get the Memory Maker

Jillian and I decided to spend the $200 to get the Memory Maker photo option. Then we made sure to stop every time we saw an official Disney photographer. We even went out of our way to find a few. By the end of the trip, we had over 600 photos linked to our account. It was easy-peasy to download the ones I wanted in whatever size I wanted. They even added special effects to some. Individual photos are between $15 and $30, so the Memory Maker is a great deal! *end of commercial*

We started off with photos with Mickey, Goofy, and Minnie, then headed over to the Test Track where we designed the ugliest pink monster truck you ever saw. It passes some of the safety checks, though, so not a total loss. Also, the racetrack part is thrilling!

We tried Mission Space, which Jillian had never done. She chose the less-intense version, but I tempted fate with the side that had the intense g-forces. It wasn't as nauseating as I feared. Actually, I was a tad concerned there were only 3 people in my group and 4 positions in the simulation. 

Me: Should we be worried we don't have a fourth person?
Guy 1: Don't worry. I'm highly trained.
Guy 2: In what?

Hahahahahahahahaha!

In fact, I was pretty awesome as the commander AND the pilot, and got my team back in one piece. They were lucky to have me.

Other fun things:

• Living with the Land
• Finding Nemo ride
• photo with Bruce the Shark and the aquarium
• Turtle Talk with Crush -- I highly recommend this, kids or not
• Spaceship Earth twice

Standing in front of Spaceship Earth.
Yep, there's an attraction inside this dealie.

After we got through all the rides we wanted to do, we headed over to the World Showcase. We were there for the last week of the Food and Wine Festival, and I insisted we try to the sweet corn cheesecake in the Mexico kiosk. It tasted just how it sounds, like cornbread married to cheesecake, and it was AMAZING!! If I had the recipe, I'd request it instead of birthday cake next year.

More fun things:

• Three Caballeros ride
• movie about China in their round theater
• baklava at the Morocco kiosk

Jillian and I thought it would be fun to try Agent P's World Showcase Adventure, a Phineas and Ferb-themed treasure hunt. We had no idea it would be awesome. They gave us a phone, we participated in the story, helping Agent P foil Doctor Doofenshmirtz's plans. At one point, we followed the instructions -- standing in front of a diorama -- and the clock lit up, and all of the tiny people became zombies. Yep, we did that. We also did this:

Doctor Doofenshmirtz might as well have said: "Curse you, Jillian and Megan!"

We played our way through Germany and England. The plan was to go back another day and finish all of the other missions, but we ran out of time. You read that right: We ran out of time on a 9 day trip. There's a LOT to do at Walt Disney World!!

Andrew, Geoff, and Kristen found us in England and we ate dinner at San Angels. Jillian said the atmosphere is like the Blue Bayou at Disneyland. She was shocked when I told her I've never been to the Blue Bayou. Someday! San Angels was delicious. Moody and delicious.

We stayed late for the Illuminations fireworks and lights show. We managed to squeeze into a spot with an excellent view. Hooray for friends who know what they're doing!!

Day 1: First day at DAK and Studios

Day 3: First day at Magic Kingdom

Day 4: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Day 5: Magic Kingdom with Aaron

Day 6: Typhoon Lagoon and Food and Wine

Day 7: Disneybounding at MK

Day 8: DAK and Studios again

Day 9: Last day at Epcot and MK

Day 10: Characters and hotels