Theme park vacations are exhausting, but oh so worth it. This was a very busy day, we were heading to Magic Kingdom and we had to switch hotels again.
We got up early and loaded our bags into the car before driving to the transit and transportation center.
On this morning, we took the ferry over to Magic Kingdom. These girls were still a little sleepy, but ready for their fun day.
We were excited to find some characters greeting us as we entered the park.
We also had to stop in front of the castle for a picture.
Since we didn't have photopass this trip, our only option for a family picture was selfie style.
Due to this style, we quickly discovered that we needed to move closer.
LittleCJC also wanted a picture by herself.
When the rope dropped, we went first to Peter Pan's Flight.
It's probably an unpopular choice, but our next ride was It's a Small World.
This attraction is actually a must do for our family. It's a classic attraction and the kids love it. No, I don't want to wait in a long line for it, but I also don't want to skip it.
At this point we traveled to Adventureland. For those in the know, it's become common knowledge in the past few years that this attraction has some of the slowest load times. This means that the lines here can get really backed up, especially when a pandemic limits the amount of people that can be loaded into each boat.
While here, we decided to also ride Aladdin's Magic Carpets.
I love how the gentleman behind us decided to join our picture.
Deciding to knock out this entire area, our next attraction was Pirates of the Caribbean.
LittleCGC was too cute clinging to her sister when she thought this was going to be scary.
By this point, the crowds had completely caught up with us. Patrick and LittleCJC waited in line for Splash Mountain, and although it was really long, it at least moved pretty good.
They were only seating front and back rows at this time, unless you were a bigger party.
Meanwhile, LittleCGC got to see Tinkerbell. She absolutely loved these cavalcades and it made me sad that there weren't the traditional parades.
We also watched the Country Bear Jamboree while waiting for Patrick and LittleCJC.
Our timing wasn't great and LittleCGC and Patrick met us outside before the show was over.
While LittleCJC and I went back to Splash Mountain, LittleCGC got to watch the Mickey and Minnie cavalcade.
LittleCJC wanted the back row and somehow we ended up being the only ones in our boat.
Before leaving Frontierland, we decided to also ride Thunder Mountain. This time, I waited in the standby line with LittleCJC, while LittleCGC was lucky enough to catch the princess cavalcade.
Here's my little thrill seeker, arms up.
Patrick and LittleCGC also got themselves a snack while they waited.
Again, we quickly swapped riders and Patrick got his turn on Big Thunder Mountain.
Before leaving Frontierland, we had lunch at Peco Bills. LittleCJC loves tacos, so this is always a win for our group.
With no fastpasses, we had no reason to hop all over the park, which was a nice change for us. So, continuing around the park, our next ride was Haunted Mansion. The line was interesting here, because we got to scroll along the river. Again, it seemed really long, but it did move and once you entered the traditional queue, it moved really fast. Unfortunately, this meant that some of the atmosphere was lost, but the ride itself was still great.
These monkeys enjoyed the extended queue for a completely different reason than the pretty water view.
After Haunted Mansion, we made our way back to Fantasyland. We decided it was time to tackle the line at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. We made the mistake of heading to the ride entrance and asking about rider swap. We were instructed to stay together during the outside portion of the ride and when we reached that point again then they would scan our bands. So we followed the line back to find the end. Unfortunately, the line stretched almost entirely around this attraction. So, when we finally stopped, we were across from Tales with Belle. Seeing how long the line was, Patrick ducked into Gaston's Tavern for some snacks.
We quickly finished our snacks well before we made it back around to the original queue entrance. I will say that for the first time, I felt like we were punished a bit for needing rider swap. Honestly, the worst experience was yesterday at Star Tours, where the castmember literally had over 50 people pass us in line while they tried to get us the rider swap pass. I think it was just frustrating when different attractions had different experiences as to when they wanted you to get the pass. For example, if you've already stood in line for 30 minutes and then they don't stop the line or help you get back in line after they've pulled you out it's just uncomfortable, since others in line are clueless as to why you are joining the line here. I guess I shouldn't complain, because without the rider switch program we wouldn't be able to get anything done in these parks. Patrick and LittleCJC stayed in line and I stepped out with LittleCGC. Thankfully, LittleCGC fell asleep while we waited.
I think LittleCJC was missing the fastpasses at this point.
She was rejuvenated when she got off the ride though, and she was ready to ride again with me. With no fastpasses being used, the ride switches did happen faster as hardly anyone else was currently using the fastpass lane.
With LittleCGC still napping, we decided to head over to Space Mountain to knock out the last attraction here at Magic Kingdom with a height requirement.
LittleCJC loves this one, and rode first with Dad.
Of course, LittleCGC woke up while they were on the ride, so we visited with Stitch while we waited.
We also used this time for a bathroom break and some more snacks.
With the last switch in place, I got my turn on Space Mountain.
While Patrick waited with LittleCGC, he got a snack for himself as well.
Sticking with our space theme, we crossed the plaza and rode Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin.
While in line for Buzz, LittleCGC spotted the Astro Orbitor and she wanted to ride it at that moment. She actually got pretty upset, and it took a lot of convincing to get her to wait until we finished Buzz first. So, now that we were done with Buzz, we treated LittleCGC to Astro Orbitor.
We skipped the Tomorrowland Speedway for the moment since the line looked really long and instead stopped at the Mad Tea Party that hardly had any line.
We were getting close to getting this park done, even without fastpasses. Next up, we went to the circus and rode Dumbo.
My girls are always so cute wanting to take advantage of every photo opt. At this time, they had to wait and they did so very patiently which made me so happy.
When they finished their picture, we moved next door to Goofy's Barnstormer. This was LittleCGC's first time and she was a little nervous.
There's one other attraction kind of hidden back here by its self and we walked right on at this time in the evening. That ride is Journey Under the Sea The Little Mermaid.
Thankfully, lines were dying down at this point, and LittleCJC wanted to go back and ride Tomorrowland Speedway so we obliged.
Knowing our day was coming to a close, we made our way to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
LittleCJC wanted to stop for a picture, and at first I was a little hesitant as we were trying to rush, but I'm so thankful she was so insistent, because this photo turned out great.
With big attractions done, we slipped into Mickey's Philharmagic. I guess it has been a while since we had done this one, because LittleCJC said she didn't really remember it so she wanted to do this one.
LittleCGC was a little confused about her glasses.
After the show, the girls wanted to ride the carousel.
The only thing we hadn't done yet was the Tiki Room. We gave LittleCJC the option if she wanted to see that show next or take a second ride on something else, and she voted for the Tiki Room. Again, she said she didn't remember this one and I was excited that she said she enjoyed it.
Since we were here in Adventureland and there wasn't really time for anything else before the park closed, Patrick decided to get some dole whip while the girls and I took one last spin on the flying carpets.
It seemed a little strange that there were no fireworks or anything significant to end our day, but LittleCJC still wanted a picture in front of the castle.
She then promptly crashed in the stroller on the way out of the park.
We had a great day, but unfortunately for Patrick and me it wasn't near over. It always takes a while to get back to your car from Magic Kingdom. Not only did this take a while, but remember we were switching hotels still tonight too. We were hungry, so we also decided to stop at a McDonald's that seemed to take forever. Eventually, we made it to Universal's Endless Summer Dockside resort and checked-in to our new room. Again, this definitely wasn't an ideal situation and I wouldn't suggest this but we made it work.
