It took just 10 minutes to drive up to Magic Kingdom from Hollywood Studios, but once we were there, we ran into transportation issue after transportation issue (hence my earlier recommendation to just keep using the resort buses until the very end of your visit, even if you aren't leaving the parks until they close on your last night). First we got stuck on the parking lot tram. Getting there "late" (3:00pm) meant that we were parked pretty far out. Once we waited for, then loaded onto the tram, we had to sit while they waited for it to be filled to capacity. Then it didn't move... The driver failed to inform us of any issue (otherwise we would have just walked rather than waited), but the tram ended up being stuck in neutral, and it took us almost 30 minutes total to finally get up to the monorail/ferry terminals (you can't drive directly to the front gate at Magic Kingdom, unless you're on a resort bus...) The monorails were down (apparently the time of day when they move some off the tracks after the heavy traffic subsides?), so we had to load the ferry. We were nearly the first on, so we made our way to the far end (meaning we'd be the first off), then waited the 20 minutes it took to fill to capacity (apparently trams and ferries don't budge until they're full, whereas the resort buses and monorails are on a schedule and just keep on moving, regardless of how full they are). JUST as it filled and was ready to take off, an issue arose and the staff had to file everyone OFF the ferry (which took about 10 minutes due to the large number of people on board). This now put us at the back of the pack of people, all now heading to the monorails, which were open again (thankfully, otherwise I have no idea how we would have gotten to the front gate). So we waited and waited some more while we all made our way up the ramps and onto the trains. Not sure how many trains it took to get everyone to the park, but it was at least another 30 minutes for us. So, two hours later (5:00), we finally arrived to the bag check line and made it into the park. We had enough time to grab a FastPass for Jungle Cruise (for after dinner) and walk through the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse before our early dinner reservation at The Crystal Palace (which turned out to be another character dinner, with Winnie the Pooh and Friends, and another buffet, which was far tastier than Tusker House, but still nowhere near as good as Coral Reef's menu). The kids enjoyed their meal and meeting the characters, especially Tigger, then we headed out for the Cruise. As soon as we finished that, we grabbed a FastPass for the Haunted Mansion, so we could take Gramma on the kids' favorite ride, then after THAT one, we grabbed our last FastPass for Buzz Lightyear, and trucked on over to Tomorrowland. If we had that to do over again though, we'd have skipped one of those FastPasses and grabbed one for the Wishes Nighttime Spectacular instead. After Buzz, we came out to the square to find it filled to the brim with people, and roped-off sections and closed streets everywhere, and it was impossible to find a place to stand where the kids could see the floats, which was a bummer. Halfway through the parade, we bailed to try and find somewhere to sit (it hurts to stand still on tired legs/feet far more than walking 10 miles does!) We found a wall behind the Christmas ornament store where the adults could sit and the kids could stand to see the floats, but Cora was totally over it by that point, so I took her "shopping" in the ornament store (I'd see the parade the night before anyway, when Jay and I went out after the kids were in bed with Gramma to ride Space Mountain and enjoy a couple kid-free hours in the Magic Kingdom). After the parade, as people dispersed, Jay scored us a table at Sleepy Hollow (a funnel cake restaurant - great place to use our final snack credits!) that overlooked the castle and it's surrounding moat (the same location we had tossed Christopher's Treasure the previous day). It was a great place to view the Celebrate the Magic light show on the castle (worth viewing, we all loved it!), but not as good for the Wishes fireworks afterward (we were told that Fantasyland is actually the best place for viewing them, but since we were planning to leave directly after the fireworks - just like every other person at the Magic Kingdom - we didn't want to walk any further from the park entrance than we already were). So, next time we do this, we'll be sure to get a FastPass for the Wishes show and park ourselves front and center of the castle (better viewing of Tinkerbell's descent down the zipline too!), then plan to just stay put until the crowds thin out! (Our friend Michelle suggested we get the FastPass, but we were ride-driven for FastPasses and didn't heed her warning - lesson learned!)
Maybe we shouldn't have parked in the Villain section of the lot...
We were so glad we had the kids watch Swiss Family Robinson before we went to Disney, so they knew what they were walking through (and recognized the music)!
Jungle Cruise. Paying close attention to our tour guide...
...who happened to use a pun in every single sentence he spoke...
...and Jay made this face after every single pun.
A little nervous to be going behind the waterfall...
The (fake) elephants were her favorite part. Especially the baby elephants.
I couldn't take the kids to Disney and not sit through the Enchanted Tiki Room show! So many memories!! I got teary eyed multiple times each day on this trip, remembering my own experiences, getting sentimental over my favorite (old) movies, and watching the kids take in all the magic for the first time. That feeling, every single day, made the cost and the effort (and even the heat and meltdowns) totally worth it to me. I truly can't wait to go back again!
Zurg. From Toy Story. And from the parking lot...
Floating lanterns on Cinderella's Castle. This show was so pretty, and so varied (they had themes from most of the classics and the new favorites), and I took a lot of photos (but spared you by only posting my favorite shot!)
Wishes Nighttime Spectacular fireworks from the Frontierland side of the castle
She didn't even make it to the front gate before she fell asleep. It was better that way though, since James was awake enough to walk and talk with us, thankfully for the full hour it took us to get on the ferry and to our car (long lines and multiple boats needed to transport the mass exodus of people from the park after the fireworks). Once he was in his pajamas and buckled in though, he passed out before we were out of the parking lot! (And Cora stayed asleep THROUGH the pajama change and buckling, poor kiddo - Disney wears you out in the best way!)
Luckily, Legoland doesn't open until 10:00, so we had every intention of sleeping in (we ended up not getting up until after 9:00!) and being thankful for a short day (they close at 6:00). The drive down to Winter Haven took less than an hour, but us adults were ready to crash as soon as we checked in (and successfully transferred sleeping kids from car to hotel bed!)
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