Being a Kid Again in Disney World, Part 2

Tuesday morning we slept in some before heading back to Magic Kingdom mid-morning. Some of the family had arrived before us, so we met them in Fantasyland and took a couple of rides as a group before some of the kids had fashion appointments to convert them to either princesses or knights. The Disney Philharmagic was a 4D film traveling through several Disney movies and was one of the highlights of the morning.  The main princess of the group also had special lunch plans in the castle, so the rest of us grabbed our own lunches and returned to Fantasyland for more Barnstorming and Dumbo rides.

Ready for Magic Kingdom!

Disney Philharmagic

Carousel   &    Dancing with Eva

Bibbity Bobbity Boutique

Knights, a Princess, and a Mouse

Dumbo!

Once everyone was back together, we went to Tomorrowland for a Buzz Lightyear ride.  Susan and I split off to Adventure and Frontier lands to hit a couple rides on our own. The rest of the family was holding off on this part of the park until Friday, but it being our only shot at Magic Kingdom we wanted to take in as much as we could.

Buzz ride

By mid-afternoon, we regrouped for a family photo with the castle, watched a performance and quick parade, then called it a day. We returned to the house for dinner and to relax a bit before some of the adults went out to the piano bar (Jellyrolls) on the Disney Boardwalk. Susan’s sister was friends with one of the managers and he covered our entry and first round of drinks, while also providing some of the entertainment as one of the pianists. Dueling piano bars are always fun and this was no exception, just maybe a little cleaner/classier than most I’ve been to. The boardwalk area is also fairly new and it was evident. The resort and the boardwalk itself were all very nice.

Family Photo

Max Mouse     &     Castle Show

Wednesday morning, Susan and I slept in a little longer before embarking on our own day of amusement at Universal Islands of Adventure. We had schemed to take our own side-trip to check out the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal beforehand, and with the rest of the family taking the day off from parks Wednesday provided the perfect opportunity.

Since Harry Potter was our focus, we went straight to the Forbidden Journey ride within the castle. It is a mixture of a motion simulator (in from of a big screen), but also has you on a track with some pretty dramatic movements and carries you through rooms with some “live action” scenery as well. The ride was impressive, but did give me a little motion sickness by the end (I blame the dementors). The castle housing the ride was also well put together with plenty of detail to distract you while in line. Luckily, with it being off-season, the lines were very short though.

To relax my stomach, we took it easy by visiting the wand shop for a “wand-matching” demonstration. A child was selected from our small group and had a wand “select” him. This was a fun little show, but I was disappointed they still made the family buy the wand after essentially giving it to the kid…sort of a trap if you ask me. Once wand shopping was complete we relaxed with frozen Butterbeers (a root beer style drink with a butterscotch cream head) in Hogsmeade before I took a ride on the red dragon portion of the Dragon Challenge dueling coasters. We ended our time at the Wizarding world with some light shopping.

 
Jeff & Hogsmeade

Butterbeer and the Hogwarts Express

Jeff about to take on the dragon ride

After getting our HP nerd on, we went to a terrible stunt show (The 8^th Voyage of Sinbad) that was nearby. The acting/dialogue was cheesy and the stunts unimpressive, but at least we got a seat in the shade I guess.  By this point, it was lunch and we happened to be near one of the best theme park restaurants in the world (whatever that means), so dined in style at Mythos. The food was good, particularly for theme park food, and not outrageously priced compared to the convenience foods at the vendor stands.

Toon Town

After lunch our theme park candles were burning low, so we just wandered around the park checking out the different themed areas but didn’t ride any more rides. Completely burnt out, we left the park mid afternoon and returned for a quiet last evening with the family. Our return flight to Utah left early Thursday morning, so it was an early bedtime to conclude our vacation. The trip provided a nice getaway and a chance to spend time with family before the holidays…a good November escape.