I sincerely apologize for the delay in posting. One of my annual obligations is writing the daily Advent devotional for our church and that endeavor has occupied the bulk of my "free" time for the past several weeks. With that task complete, I am now free to resume this narrative and hope to post a multitude of updates fairly quickly.
Previously on Biscuit's Grand Adventure...umm...hold on, I have to go look it up, it's been a while.
Oh yes. Cousins were reunited, conversations delighted, and a bag full of goodness appeared.
When last we left off, we had completed our first day at The World. I had successfully managed to surprise everyone with an un-known park day, a stay at the Wilderness Lodge, and aquatic Asian gift from Epcot.
Before heading to bed that night, I gathered together the various items I would need the next morning. My plan was to rise early and I did not want to wake everyone by banging around and searching for my stack o' stuff. It was going to be our first full day, and the park of choice was the Magic Kingdom.
Readers of my prior musings may recall the affinity I have for Evening Extra Magic Hours, and in particular, for EMH when it is held at the Magic Kingdom. All summer long, this joyous event was held every Sunday evening EXCEPT for the one we were there.
Peachy.
I should have seen this as an omen, but that's getting ahead of myself.
In an effort to appease the disgruntlement of those guests who had specifically planned a Sunday night on property that they might avail themselves of this amenity, (HatTipMe) Disney decided to offer a Sunday Morning EMH as an alternative.
This presented me a challenge.
I have documented well that we are a "Stay up LATE and sleep in" type of family. EMH until 3:00 AM fits us perfectly. An 8:00 AM rope drop, not so much. However, after the success of my solo morning excursion into Epcot on our last trip, I was determined to make it happen, even if I was the only one to go.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the Lodge, Nick and Tammy had breakfast scheduled at Cinderella's Royal Table at 9:00 AM, and were planning to arise early for the requisite costuming and hair session.
Before the trip, I talked to our girls about spending the morning in the park while the N&T crew was at breakfast. I played up the joy of EMH and the high quantity ride ratio one could score on such an occasion. While both girls seemed keen on the idea leading up to the trip, I wasn't sure how they would feel about it now that we were actually setting an alarm clock.
Before heading to bed, I put the question to them one final time, and Tahlia decided she would come with me, while Hailee wanted to stay and sleep in. (First Lady Biscuit was sleeping in regardless.) These arrangements complete, I added an outfit for Tahlia to my own pile, and then hit the proverbial hay.
I can't say that I dreamed a Disney dream, or really any dream at all.
The alarm went off while it was dark (thanks to the heavy curtain) and early. Tahlia and I arouse and did our best to get ready quietly. (A skill which First Lady Biscuit informs me I have yet to master.) Within 20 minutes we were publicly presentable and on our way.
One of the key benefits of being in the room what we were in was its proximity to the boat dock. (I could copy an image from Google Earth and draw in arrows and lines to spell it all out, but that would be taking things to whole new level of nerdishness.)
Leaving our room, we headed right a couple of doors, went left to the stairway, and walked two flights down to the ground floor. From there, we walked straight outside and an immediate left put us on the wooden walkway to the boat dock. There now, that wasn't too complex to describe.
We got from our room to the boat dock in less than 5 min which made me happy.
As we made it to the dock, a boat was already there, but unfortunately it was full, which did not make me happy.
The captain told us only that another boat would be along "soon". Somewhat alarmed by this intelligence, I began to fret about just how long we would be stuck waiting, and whether or not it would cause us to miss rope drop.
With nothing to do but wait, I broke out the camera and took a few shots of the place.
This was my first (and last) attempt at HDR this trip.
A boat soon approached, but it was heading to Fort Wilderness & The Contemporary.
I again set to fretting about this arrival delay and what it would mean for our morning. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity but was in actuality approximately eighteen minutes, another boat pulled in.
This one was the Mermaid I and was Magic Kingdom bound.
Tahlia and I were the first aboard, and there was a fairly substantial crowd of folks behind us. Getting everyone packed in and settled was an exercise of several minutes, but we eventually tooted farewell to The Lodge and started across the bay.
It was a beautiful morning, and Tahlia and I were both excited to get to the park. I had our morning entered into Touring Plans and had a pretty good idea of where we would be heading.
As we pulled up to the dock in front of the Magic Kingdom, the train was just pulling in for the opening ceremony. I was a bit shocked by just how large the crowds were at this point. However, I had been studying the wait times, Touring Plans, and the DIS boards for some time and I fairly certain that I knew where most of those fools, I mean guests, would be heading.
Soon it was time to enter the park and we joined the giant hoard of folks power walking down Main Street.
About the time we were passing the bakery, Tahlia asked if we could ride the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. I told her that this was probably where EVERYONE was going so we would be better off just coming back and using our FP+'s later that day. She wasn't convinced, but I assured I was an expert in these matters. (Having of course never stepped foot in the park since the Fantasyland expansion began.) However, Touring Plans had us starting at Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid, so I told her we would "look at the line and see."
As we go to the hub, my suspicions were confirmed. EVERYONE kept going straight.
Instagram Pic
As we passed through the castle, the entire tunnel was a filled and it became a one-way thoroughfare. The mob continued to the right after we passed through the castle and into the carousel courtyard.
Rounding the corner, we saw the line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Tine had completely filled its queue and was stretching down the sidewalk and around the corner towards Ariel's Grotto. I pointed it out to Tahlia, and she was a bit disappointed, but I assured her she would be even more disappointed if we spent the entire EMH in line for an attraction we already had passes for. (Boy would I turn out to be right about that one on MULTIPLE levels.)
She then noticed The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh and asked if we could ride it. There was literally no one in line so I said sure. In a way it was fitting as this was the first ride of our trip in 2009. We walked right on, rode through, and never saw another person.
After our honey pot adventure, we started towards Ariel's neck of the woods. The line for Seven Dwarfs seemed to stretch on forever. A Cast member was standing at the end of it with a sign showing a 210 minute wait.
Now let's think about that a minute.
Three and a half hours.
During EMH.
WHO DOES THAT?
The line was far shorter later in the day. Of course in the weeks leading up to our trip, I saw the wait for it reach five hours, and the wait for Anna and Elsa reach six.
That strikes me as crazy.
Some research ahead of time would have certainly led to a better use of time. But I'll move on now.
In case I insult somebody.
You know who you are.
While I couldn't quite fathom the logic behind it, having that many people in that confined space for that long of a time opened up the rest of the park. For the next two hours, Tahlia and I would frolic through a nearly deserted Magic Kingdom. We would walk onto virtually every ride we encountered, and have no issues navigating to any place we wanted to go.
When it was done, this morning would become my favorite park experience of our entire trip.
But that's getting ahead of myself.
With a morning before us, fellow park guests keeping themselves out of our way, and the joy of the first full park day still filling our tanks, we headed out to our next adventure.
Next Time on Biscuit's Grand Adventure, Climb Every Mountain Part 1.
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I resemble that:
Glad to have you aboard!
