Sound Bites & Snap Shots

We arrived at Magic Kingdom nearly at opening to take full advantage of our time there and as directed, we spent the day making memories and reliving them.

Flashback to 2009 when we were last here!  The sun was so bright but I wanted to recapture the boys in this exact spot.  They have grown a little.

Disney was decked out for Halloween.  Oh, the warehouses they must have with all of these holiday decorations.

Our schedule for the day was easily viewed on the Disney app. 

We made our way straight toward Splash Mountain for our first fast pass.  On the way, we planned to ride squeeze in a few rides in Adventure Land.  First we stopped at Pirates of the Caribbean.  It was closed for technical difficulties.  Then we tried the Jungle Cruise.  It too was closed for technical difficulties.  Our third stop was Splash Mountain.  Ready for this?  It was also closed.  Disney was not up to its usual snuff. 

We finally ended up at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  The line was practically non-existent so Walker and I walked straight on.  Bill checked the app and discovered that Pirates was finally open so he and Mason opted to do that instead.  Pirates more than met Mason’s satisfaction and they rode twice.  Meanwhile, Walker was really disappointed about Splash Mountain.  He kept asking us to check the app to see if it was open. We learned that since we had fast passes, we would be able to ride Splash any time that day or we could ride a number of other rides instead using the fast pass lane.  That news appeased Walker but did not satisfy him totally.

When we all met up, we went to the Haunted Mansion.  This ride is iconic and even more exciting at Halloween.  No matter how old we get, Bill and I still get giggle when we are told to move our live bodies into the dead center of the room…that has no windows and no doors.

We had lunch at Be Our Guest in Beauty’s castle.   It was packed but because we had a reservation, we did not have to wait to be seated. 

Of course, we went on It’s a Small World.  The folks who rode behind us spent the entire cruise naming and discussing the various nations.  Either they were total Disney trivia buffs or they had a thing about geography, I’m not sure which. 

Next up was Tomorrow’s Speedway or what Bill and I call Autopia as a throwback to our Disneyland days. 

Mason couldn’t wait to drive!

Wasn’t it neat that our 11 year old got to be station at the eleventh spot?

Walker was looking mighty cool as a driver with his arm stretched out and resting on the steering wheel.

Sticking around Tomorrowland, we tried to go on the People Mover but it was down temporarily.  We headed off to Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor.  We waited in the foyer for quite some time laughing at the jokes on the screens overhead until they finally admitted things were not right.  For our troubles, they gave us all a fast pass voucher.  We used it immediately to avoid the line at Buzz Lightyear’s Space Range Spin.  This was a huge hit with Mason back in 2009 and a crowd pleaser for all in 2013. 

We did ride Space Mountain twice—once on each side of the tracks—and thoroughly enjoyed the missions.  We were also able to go on the People Mover after it resumed service.  Then it was time for a treat. 

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly.  We made it back for Monsters Laugh Floor where Mike with one I kept us all in stitches.  He was his teacher’s favorite pupil, after all. 

Splash Mountain finally, finally opened after a six hour closure.  We hauled across the park and got in line.  I was so glad we got to ride because it was really one of Walker’s most anticipated attractions.  We rode both Pirates and Haunted Mansion once again before the sun went down and the park closed. 

We hopped back on the Disney transport and returned to the hotel for dinner in our room.  We were happily exhausted and ready to put up our feet for a while.