(Cue, Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger”) It was our last day in the parks and we shuffled in like we meant business. Note to self, next time we visit we should stay at a resort that has direct monorail access such as Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, or Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. It always seems like production to get into Magic Kingdom.
After making our way down Main Street, USA we snapped pictures in front of the famous “Purple Wall” as we made our way to Tomorrowland. My MIL gifted us a Genie+ Lightning Lane Pass for the day and we used that for our first ride of the day, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. It was a carnival-style game, similar to Toy Story Mania in Hollywood Studios. Next door was the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. That was an attraction I enjoyed because of its simplicity and the crowd interaction. Mike Wazowski, from Monsters Inc., was practicing telling jokes and asking the audience members questions. It was engaging for the boys and they left excited, not scared.
Staying right, on the course, we headed toward the Mad Tea Party (spinning teacups)in Fantasyland. While waiting for Brian to get snaps of the Mad Hatter and Cheshire Cat golden statues I realized I hadn’t indulged in any special Disney treats! My MIL and I went to the Cheshire Cafe, across from the teacups, to get Cheshire Cat Tails and a Mad Hatter Unbirthday Tea. The Cheshire Cat Tail was a warm flaky, chocolate-filled pastry drizzled with pastel-colored chocolate. The Mad Hatter Unbirthday Tea was a mango slushy topped with a layer of ginger-green-tea slushy, finished with whipped cream. It was sweet and refreshing.
While leaving the Cheshire Cafe I heard someone say my name. I dramatically turned to my left and said, “yeees?”, surprised to see someone I cheered with from 15 years ago. I couldn’t believe it. What are the odds! Covid? What Covid?! We embraced and shared a moment together. I introduced her to Brian and the boys and she introduced me to her husband and her girls. We took pictures, of course, and then went our separate ways. After the short and sweet ride on the Teacups, we continued on our path to Fantasyland.
On the far end of Fantasyland, you can find the Casey Jr. Splash N Soak attraction. My two-year-old was thrilled to run through the stationary locomotive cars inspired by the Disney classic, Dumbo. The weather was warm and sunny making it ideal to get sprayed with water by the circus animals on board. Parker didn’t want to get wet and instead wanted me to pose for photos while Lincoln and Gma cooled off.
Gma and Papa stayed behind to ride Goofy’s Barnstormer, while Brian, the kids and I moved quickly through the rest of Fantasyland to get to Gaston’s Tavern for a family photo in front of the Gaston water fountain. FUN FACT: Brian and I first took a cheesy photo in front of this water fountain during a Disney trip in 2016 and he had planned for it to be the location to ask for my hand in marriage. A couple years later, we recreated that picture with Parker in tow, and this visit we were able to recreate the photo, again, this time with Lincoln.
We snapped a few pictures and raced back to Tomorrowland for our reservation on Tomorrowland Speedway where the boys hopped in the driver’s seats. Afterward, we took the time to pass through the “Disney Castle” formally known as Cinderella’s Castle. We had been hyping it up all week. Parker was excited to see inside and was inspired by the mosaic storytelling of Cinderella. We exited the castle right in front of the Prince Charming Regal Carrousel. There you can find a replica of The Sword In The Stone. Brian encouraged Link and Park to pull the sword out of the stone without disclosing that it doesn’t actually come out. They gave it their all. As Gma and I scurried about to get a good picture of the boys pulling at the sword, a lady came over and asked if we had been at Hollywood Studios the previous day. Kind of confused, I answered yes. She then mentioned that she’d seen us the day before, at Hollywood Studios, and complimented our family. Her unexpected and kind words put a smile on my face.
A new experience I had at Magic Kingdom was Mickey’s PhilharMagic, a 3D attraction in “the Concert Hall in front of the 150-foot-wide, 180-degree seamless wraparound screen.” The boys sat through the experience and even reached out to grab some of the 3D objects. They seemed to be warming up to the idea of the attractions. Afterward, Parker opted out of riding the carousel and chose to sit in the stroller and work on his sketches. Lincoln experienced pure joy riding the carousel over and over again.He was understandably upset when we left for our lunch reservation at Tony’s Town Square Restaurant located on Main Street, U.S.A., right at the entrance to the park.
If you’re not familiar with the movie Lady and the Tramp, this Italian-fare restaurant is where the iconic canine couple shared their first kiss. Of all the eateries we patronized, Tony’s had THE. BEST. FOOD. I had the kids Grilled Chicken with Roasted Potatoes meal which was delicious! The chicken was surprisingly moist and well seasoned. There were no complaints on lunch that day, even from the boys. *Side note, I often order an appetizer or kids meal when we go out so I can have room to finish what the boys don’t eat of their meals. Brian couldn’t leave until we re-created the famous spaghetti-kissing scene from Lady and the Tramp. I wonder how many times a day servers see people do that.
Another benefit to eating at Tony’s is it gives you a good view of the parades coming down Main Street. During our lunch, we saw two parades come down the street and the Winnie the Pooh characters dancing on the train station platform. I received a special wave from Princess Tiana when the Princess Parade came through, and in typical fashion, jokingly let everyone around me know that she was my cousin.
After lunch, we back tracked down Main Street and turned left this time to hit up Adventureland. While waiting for Gma and Papa to catch up, Brian took pictures of more golden statues which required some help in finding the one celebrating Orange Bird, a character increasing in popularity around the theme park due to its association with Disney’s Dole Whip treat. After riding the classic Pirates of the Caribbean ride we snapped pictures with Jack Sparrow outside of the attraction. We then cut through to Frontierland where Brian did some more pin trading at the Frontierland Trading Post, one of the main spots for buying and swapping pins in Magic Kingdom, while the boys and I searched for a frozen treat.
We made our way back to Fantasyland again stopping to take pictures of the boys in front of Cinderella’s fountain and to ride the carousel a few more times. Brian ventured off to photograph the last of the golden statues. We had a Lightening Lane reservation for “It’s a Small World” but at the last minute we decided to scrap that plan and head back to the front of the park to make sure we got silhouettes of the boys. Parker had one made when we visited in 2018 and it was important to us that we get another one during this visit with both boys. This sounds crazy but we ended up waiting an hour to have it done because the artist had just left for their dinner break when we arrived. We chatted up the cast members that were there to secure our place in line and then we browsed the gift shops on Main Street USA until it was our turn. I got a pretty, frozen, candy decorated slushy for the boys to enjoy since they were such good sports while we waited.
Once we had our silhouettes completed we made a mad dash back to Fantasyland to finally ride the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, something Brian and I had skipped our previous two visits to Disney World. It was our final ride of the night and the fireworks display began right when our ride finished. Sharing the experience with Parker made it more special. We posted up to watch the nighttime show in the back part of Fantasyland which was a lot less crowded than in front of the castle. While Gma and Papa took their turn on the ride, Parker deliriously danced around to the familiar tunes accompanying the fireworks and Lincoln slept in the stroller. It was a magical day to say the least and a great wrap-up to our visit to Magic Kingdom.
Read about our first day in the parks at Animal Kingdom
Read about our second day in the parks at EPCOT
Read about our third day in the parks at Hollywood Studios
L. Bradley 