Every trip to the Magic Kingdom includes a walk to Cinderella’s Castle. Ours was no exception. We spent about 20 minutes here because we had arrived early. We had to wait for “rope drop” when the staff literally drop a barrier rope to open the access to the rides.
Today will definitely be a shorter day than yesterday. The Magic Kingdom is closing early because of a special night time Christmas event. We have been told that the crowds will be smaller. We certainly hope so.
Just like yesterday, we went to the most popular ride first. The sign at Tron Lightcycle Run said it would be a forty five minute wait. The line seemed to move much faster than that. We got to see the cycles go by while we were waiting. It looked like they were going much faster than the 60 mile per hour speed we had heard about. Once we were inside, it was blue light everywhere, just like the movie.
This ride also had a few staging areas along the way. That helped make the wait seem shorter. Getting into the ride is interesting. You have to straddle the cycle, then place your feet into the correct position, and then lean far forward toward the handlebars. Then they put a brace across your back to hold you in. A few larger people had to opt for the regular seats in the back if the brace could not be locked in.
When riding the ride, it seems even faster than what it looked like watching others ride. It was over fairly quickly. Even so, it was worth the wait. The ride was fast and windy with some sharp turns, but the ride was very smooth. Definitely worth the wait.
After Tron Lightcycle Run, we went to Space Mountain. This was a bit of a risk for us because last time we were here an injury from the ride cut our trip short. Back then, the ride had become very bouncy and shaky. We are actually at the park this week because WDW gave us credit for the three days of our pass we did not get to use the last time we were visiting.
We had heard from different sources that they had fixed Space Mountain. Fortunately, the ride was much smoother. Maybe our eyes are older now, but many of the lights that simulated shooting stars are now gone. It was an exceptionally dark, but still fun ride.
We also made a stop at Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. We shot the lights out, but just got an average score.
Our next rides in Fantasy Land were at a much more leisurely pace. We rode on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. We saw Mickey’s PhilharMagic. And finally, we rode Peter Pan’s Flight. Since the last time we were here, they have added a pre-ride area with Tinker Bell (seen as white lights) flitting around the Darling’s home. (In this photo, she is about to escape the drawer and sprinkle pixie dust over the bed.)
A short walk down the road led us to the Haunted Mansion. We saw that the graveyard was expanded since our last visit. We got to see many eerie sights including the dancing ghosts and the ghost who decided to go home with us.
Walt Disney World sets aside a few rides each day that are scheduled for the whole day. You must go online early to sign up for a time slot. We had chosen to go to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure between 11 and 12.
Since we had some extra time to spend before we got to Tiana’s ride, we stopped at the Country Bear Jamboree. It has not changed much over the years. The jokes and puns still make Dad jokes seem funny. It is still a good time hearing some country music and enjoying a comfortable chair in air conditioning while being entertained.
We had a reserved time for the ride between 11 and 12. The wait filled up most of that time. It was the longest wait we have had so far. We were glad to get inside toward the end because it was getting warm in the sun. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is an update of the old Splash Mountain ride. The final plunge is still the highlight of the ride. The rest of the ride has been upgraded with better lighting and better sound. It still has a southern flavor, and is a good refresh of a fun ride.
After Tiana’s, we were close to Adventure Land, so we went to the Pirates of the Caribbean Ride. It is another old stand by ride for us. It is still a fun ride, but was showing its age a little bit.
It was time for lunch. We saw that the Columbia Harbor House was on our way to our next ride so we had a seafood lunch.
Along the way, we stopped at It’s A Small World for a boat ride. We enjoyed riding on the boats again. I still did not find the lens cap from my portable VCR that I lost on this ride in the 1980’s!
After It’s A Small World, we wanted a snack, so we went to Gaston’s Tavern and got a cinnamon roll and some hot chocolate. Then we went to Under the Sea.
If you have seen The Little Mermaid, you have seen the ride. It is an interesting twist to actually ride through the movie and relive the adventure.
We headed back to Tomorrow Land to see the Carousel of Progress. The ride is now over 60 years old. It was first built for the 1964 World’s Fair in New York City. We enjoy seeing it each time we are here to find out how they have updated the ride.
After that we rode on the People Mover. Looks like the idea never caught on for public transportation. It is still a nice place to rest in the shade while seeing some of the other rides from a new perspective.
We still had some time left, so we decided to take another shot at the Buzz Light Year ride. This was when we learned the secret to a high score for this ride. A guy in line with us told us the locations of some of the high scoring spots. We managed to hit some of them and more than doubled our score. It pays to know the secrets to each game that you play.
At this point, we were almost out of time. We chose to make Tron Lightcycle Run our last ride of the day. It was only a short walk away. It was also a much shorter line than earlier in the day.
Since we were more familiar with the ride this time, we got some better pictures.
Here is our selfie at the end of the ride.
Since we had done everything we wanted to do, we left early to go to a Mexican Restaurant we remembered from our last time at Disney.