I think the alarm went off about 6:15 this morning. I played on my phone a bit before I was brave enough to check my ankle. It wasn’t pretty. Not QUITE as swollen as when I’d gone to bed, but, there was a distinct difference between left and right.
I got ready for the day, mentally evaluating my plans. I had breakfast in the room, a coconut butter breakfast biscuit thing I had brought from home, and headed for the bus stop, probably unwisely choosing the stop at Movies over the one at Music.
If I remember correctly, a bus to the Magic Kingdom was actively loading when I got there. I was able to get a seat, and had a nice conversation with the lady sitting next to me for the majority of the ride. Because it was a bit earlier in the day, the construction impact wasn’t quite as bad, and we arrived at the Magic Kingdom in good time.
Security moved surprisingly quickly, and pretty soon, I was being waved over to the left side of the entrance, which explained why CMs were standing twiddling their thumbs at the right entrance, but there were lines to the left. There were several CMs lined up by where bag check used to be, scanning magic bands for the morning EMH. Then the entrance was open for business. I actually managed to pick a line that wasn’t wicked slow moving!
Once in the park, I took a quick picture of the entrance, and then joined the group in the shade, waiting to be let into the park.
About 7:40 or so, they let us into the park, after reminders to hydrate and take advantage of the air conditioned rides and stores, since it was going to be a hot one. Then, they let us into the park, guiding us directly to the sun, to the various bridges to Tomorrowland. And they held us there until 8 exactly. It got very hot, but...at least the view was good?
When they finally let us deeper into the park, I limped along with the masses to Fantasyland. Unlike the masses, however, Seven Dwarves was not my destination. Been there, done that, all done.
My first stop? Peter Pan’s Flight. I very quickly got an idea of how many people were in this park today, when I ended up waiting about 10 minutes and hiking through multiple queue areas, to ride this at park opening, during morning extra magic hours. This is usually a complete walk on.
Once I’d returned from Neverland, it was off to Buzz Lightyear. There, I walked onto the ride. I THINK I achieved my highest score ever. It was in the 344,000 range. And when I saw the picture, I realized that I might need a nap break today.
Zurg conquered, it was back to Fantasyland, where I decided I had just enough time to get my Under the Sea fix, before waiting for regular park opening. Little Mermaid was a walk on, and had great air conditioning! Oh, and a catchy song that I don’t hate anymore…
From Little Mermaid, I walked toward Liberty Square, until I ran into a wall of people next to Peter Pan and the Tangled bathrooms. Thankfully, I was in the shade, AND the wait was only a couple of minutes, before they dropped the rope, and walked the masses very slowly toward Frontierland.
Frontierland is where I really felt the crowds. Or, really, the lack of crowd control. When the masses split between Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain, I followed the Big Thunder Mountain mass. And then stopped. And waited. And waited. It must have taken 10 minutes just to get to the actual standby entrance once the CMs let us fend for ourselves.
Once inside, they were only utilizing half the queue rope AND one of the 2 loading docks. Needless to say, it was about 9:30 when I made it on a train. I’ve NEVER seen that at park opening. Nor have I ever had time at park opening to actually take pictures while in line.
Once inside, they were only utilizing half the queue rope AND one of the 2 loading docks. Needless to say, it was about 9:30 when I made it on a train. I’ve NEVER seen that at park opening. Nor have I ever had time at park opening to actually take pictures while in line.
By the time I got off Big Thunder Mountain, the line was still extending out past the entrance, and the wait was posted at 35 minutes. Splash Mountain wasn’t any better. Where the heck is the crowd control?!
I limped my way toward Pirates. It showed a 15 minute wait, and I wasn’t really convinced because the line extended almost to the standby wait sign (shocker, right?), but I decided to get in line because the line for Pirates is dark and cool.
I was correct; the wait was absolutely more than 15 minutes. More like 25. And, it should come as no surprise that they were only using one load zone. But hey, it was good air conditioning, and the scene with the removed redhead wasn’t as awkward as I was expecting. Oh, and did you know they now take your picture on Pirates? I didn't either. I got busted staring off into space in the last row. Yeah, it might be almost time for a nap.
By the time I exited Pirates, it was well after 10. Yup...just 2 attractions in over an hour. Can we say bad crowd control?! Since it was late enough for a mid-morning snack, I made my way to Sunshine whatever, home of the not-so-great Citrus Swirl. Also home of the new orange cream float. That’s what I was going for.
That beauty is a swirl soft serve ice cream that tastes just like an orange creamsicle, floating in orange soda. It’s a bit messy, because the orange soda Disney uses (Fanta, I think) is super bubbly, and when it’s mixed with ice cream, it’s really bubbly. But it was worth the initial race to drink some of the soda to get the spillage to stop. The pineapple float (with vanilla) is still my absolute favorite Disney float, but this one is a definite winner.
By the time I’d finished my float, I’d come to the realization that it was time to get off my feet. So, I dragged myself out of the park, against the mobs entering, doing a small amount of shopping on my way.
When I got to the bus stop, I grabbed a spot in line for the bus to Music, remembering how wonderfully short the walk was from there to my room. Ankle? Definitely getting bigger.
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