Hellobee

Since Magic Kingdom is the biggest park with the most rides at Disney World, we decided to go two days to make sure we hit everything Drake wanted to and not feel too rushed. The weather had been forecasted to rain the entire week we were in Florida, but luckily we only got rained out twice — once at the hotel when we wanted to go swimming and our second day at Magic Kingdom. We were so glad we had planned two days for the trip and had done most of our must dos the first day, so when the rain hit we browsed the shops and traded pins to bide the time. It thankfully only last about two hours or so and then all the rides opened again.

Drake hit 40 inches when we arrived at Disney, so there weren’t many things he couldn’t ride and Drake loves rides; the bigger and faster, the happier he is.

This was my list for Magic Kingdom:

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – Mine Train is Disney’s brand new roller coaster that opened this past May. Since its arrival, this has become the must ride attraction at Disney and the lines are outrageous, never going under an hour minimum. Before we left I made the mistake of showing Drake a video of the ride and he was enthralled (I don’t know why as he has never even seen Snow White), so I knew we had to find a way to ride this one. On our first day we couldn’t even get a Fast Pass for it as they were all gone by the time we made it to the park. We passed it several times that day and the line was never ending. On our second day we managed to nab an 8pm slot. Drake was so excited!  That day it rained and all the rides were shut down for some time. I told Mr. Chocolate if ever there was a time to get a chance on Mine Train, it would be to hover by the gates when the rides reopened. Mine Train was our last ride on our last day, and I think it lived up to Drake’s expectations. Truthfully as adults both Mr. Chocolate and I felt the ride was a little lacking in both thrills and length, but there is a part where you enter the Seven Dwarf’s Mines and the animitronics are incredible. I think it really wowed Drake. It was probably the best way to end our vacation for Drake.

Tomorrowland Speedway – Mr. Chocolate took Drake on this as he was old enough to ride but not old enough to drive a car by himself. We watched in the stands and they had a nice time.

The Magic Carpets of Aladdin – Similar to Dumbo, this is a spinning ride on magic carpets.  Drake loves spinners so he enjoyed this one, as did Juliet.  Watch out for the camel that spits water as you fly by!

Dumbo the Flying Elephant – It’s hard to think of Disney and not think of Dumbo. The two sort of go hand in hand. Before we left we asked Drake what did he want to do at Disney first, and he immediately said Dumbo. Dumbo has been revamped recently as part of Disney’s redo of Fantasyland. Not only are there 2 flying Dumbo spinners, but there is also a play area installed inside the line queue. When you make your way up to the kiosk you are given a pager, and you are allowed into a large play area. There are slides, rope bridges, and all kinds of amusements for the little ones while there is seating all around for the adults. The kids scamper and play while you wait and when the buzzer goes off, you stand in another brief line before its your turn. Drake had such a great time in the play area, he didn’t even want to go when it was our turn! We rode Dumbo both days to allow Drake time to play and fly in Dumbo.

Astro Orbiter – A spinning ride in Tomorrowland, I used to love riding this one at night as a kid. Unfortunately it was closed for renovations when we arrived.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – This is one of the newer rides, and I was really excited to try it as I thought it would be so cute to see my kids sitting in hunny pots. Sadly this is one of the few we missed due to longer lines and not enough time.

Peter Pan’s Flight – This ride is a bit of a headscratcher for both Mr Chocolate and me. Neither of us really love this ride (my mother loves it for some reason), but the lines are insanely long all the time. The shortest I saw was 40 minutes, and it was up to 90 minutes at one point. We fast passed this one for my mom since she really enjoys it and wanted to show Drake. It is a neat concept of taking a ship and soaring over London and Neverland as you see some short scenes from the Peter Pan movie. The ride is completely dark save for the glowing lights in the scenes and relatively short. Drake didn’t seem to totally get it, but there must be something special about it for people to wait well over an hour to ride it.

It’s a Small World – Another iconc Disney ride that is almost like a rite of passage.  The lines move quickly for this one no matter how long it looks.  Drake was absolutely taken by this ride so we rode it both days for him enduring the immortal song “Its a small world after all…”

Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse –  A literal tree house in the sky, this place looks like so much fun to climb and explore. We didn’t have time to do so, but I hope next time we find a way since I think all kids would love this… heck even I want to explore it as Disney always does such a great job with their theming and attention to details.

Jungle Cruise – A guided tour through the Amazon jungles filled with animatronic animals — what could be more perfect for Drake? Truthfully I don’t think Drake even realized these animals were any different from the ones he saw on safari. He loved shouting out their names as we sailed past, and the adults enjoyed the corny jokes from the captain.

The Barnstormer – This is considered a baby roller coaster for those who don’t quite make the 40 inch mark. Drake rode this with Mr. Chocolate. Mr. Chocolate said Drake didn’t really care for this one, as he wanted it to be faster. Our boy really likes those big thrill rides it seems!

Drake and Mr Chocolate are waving to me

Walt Disney Railroad – A real working steam train that travels from Main Street to Fantasyland and Frontierland, the Walt Disney Railroad is mostly used for transportation, but it is a beautiful looking train. The ride is nice and relaxing and it’s nice to be able to just sit and enjoy the scenery a little on such hectic fast paced days.  The train is very quick and efficient with loading and unloading, so you never wait long for it to come again.

Splash Mountain – Because he just hit 40 inches, Drake got to ride Splash Mountain which is one of the more iconic rides at Disney as well as one of the “bigger ride” attractions. Splash Mountain is truly a beautiful ride as you journey through the story of Br’er Rabbit’s adventures. The animtronics are so captivating, though the story can be a bit dark at times. Drake was so excited at the idea of this big drop. Truthfully I was worried he was going to be scared, but my kid loves rides — the bigger the better. Drake sat in between Mr. Chocolate and me and was just short enough that when we splashed down, the water flew right over his head and hit us instead!

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin – This is one of my favorite rides at Disney. Before kids, I used to love to compete with Mr. Chocolate to see who got the best score at the end of the rid. I’m not sure how we missed seeing it the first day we were at Magic Kingdom since we were right in Tomorrowland. I vowed we had to ride it on our second day, but between trying to repeat the rides Drake loved (Big Thunder, Its’ a Small World, the carousel, etc.) we never made it over to Tomorrowland again. Next time we go this is first on my list!

Mad Tea Party – Drake first experienced riding a spinning tea cup this summer at one of the many fairs we attended. Since then he has a huge love of them so we rode this one twice. Juliet also loved the ride and giggled as we spun around.

Liberty Square Riverboat – This is a grand looking old time riverboat that sails around Frontierland. I was hoping we could try this and get Drake to be able to sail the boat as I heard some kids are allowed to do, but the ride was being refurbished when we were there.

Mickey’s Philharmonic – A fun 3D movie with effects (wind, water, bubbles, etc.) that follows Donald as he loses Mickey’s sorcerer hat right before the big concert. It’s a cute show and both kids seemed to enjoy it. Drake loved the 3D parts and Juliet was entertained by the extra effects. A bonus is that it’s indoors with AC. It’s also a great one to hit when its rainy.

Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor – Always a fun show good for laughs and air conditioning. Drake had a blast at this one despite not knowing anything about Monsters Inc.

Prince Charming’s Regal Carousel – Drake has an affinity for black horses. On every carousel he has ever ridden, he has always chosen to ride on a black one. Once on board this ride, he ran around looking for a black horse only to discover the entire carousel was only white horses (part of Prince Charming’s fleet). Mr. Chocolate was eventually able to convince him on a horse with a black lead thankfully. Juliet got to ride her first carousel as well and seemed to enjoy it as well.  I was on the look out for the horse with the golden ribbon on its tail, as that is supposedly Cinderella’s own special horse.

Stitch’s Great Escape – I’ll be honest — I don’t really know what this ride is about. Mr. Chocolate took Drake on this and described it as a show but you sit in a circular cone and effects happen around you, and often in the dark. Mr. Chocolate said it can be scary as several kids started to cry on it. Drake seemed ok with, it but wasn’t interested in repeating it either.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – This is probably the best roller coaster in the park for the 40 inch crowd (being that Space Mountain requires a 44 inch minimum). It moves fast and has lots of dips and hills as you roar through the mountainside. Of all the bigger attraction rides I think this is the most thrilling and thus it was Drake’s favorite. On our first day at Magic Kingdom we saw the line was only 40 minutes, so we chanced it and took Drake while my mom took Juliet for a stroller walk. At first the line moved steadily and then for some reason it just halted for what seemed like eons.  The line did have some interesting activities (binoculars, spinning animation machines, etc.) to help alleviate the boredom for little ones, but it was as hot as a mining shaft in there and it was hard to keep Drake in place with the promise of a great ride if he just waited a little bit longer. In the end the line was probably close to an hour, but Drake loved it. The next time we went back to the Magic Kingdom we wisely Fast Passed it and were on the ride within 10 minutes. Drake still talks about the donkeys he saw on the train, and I think for him this was one of the more memorable rides.

Tom Sawyer’s Island – Similar to Rafiki’s Planet Watch in Animal Kingdom, this is a separate small island off of Frontierland that requires a boat to reach.  Once out there kids can explore and there is seating for adults. We didn’t have time to do this as you need to ride over and back as well as play, but I might try next time when the kids are older.

Country Beats Jamboree – This one was very nostalgic for me as I remember seeing this on my first visit to Disney years ago. It’s a nice cute show that gets you inside for a short bit. Drake and Juliet enjoyed the music and the dancing bears.

Casey’s Splash Zone – Part of Fantasyland, this is an area where kids can get wet and beat the heat. There is a row of circus cars with animals in them and water shoots out into the spaces between them from various places including the animals mouths. It’s a fun place to let kids run around and get wet and help cool down.  I think Drake could have played there for hours if we let him.

Under the Sea- Journey of the Little Mermaid –  Another new ride, this one was similar to the Nemo ride in Epcot where you ride in a clam shell and move through the story of the Little Mermaid. The animatronics are a lot of fun and it’s a nice slow ride that everyone can enjoy. We did this one when it was raining outside since it was enclosed.

People Mover  – The People Mover is a slow ride that spans all of Tomorrowland, allowing you a glimpse inside many of their attractions including Space Mountain and the Carousel of Progress. It moves at  nice speed so you can get a good breeze on hot days.  Truthfully I thought Drake would be bored on this ride, but as it happened when he and Mr Chocolate went to try Stitch the line just opened for this ride, so my mom and I took Juliet on it. She actually really enjoyed zipping around and seeing the crowds below.

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These are most of the rides we wanted to ride. Besides the larger rides like Space Mountain and Haunted Mansion, I also decided to exclude Pirates of the Caribbean (I felt the material was a bit dark), the Tiki Room (I heard it can be loud and dark and I waa worried about scaring Juliet), Carousel of Progress & Hall of Presidents (I didn’t think Drake would have the attention span for them).

There are also tons of character spots all over the park, as well as roaming character ones. Drake has always loved Tinkerbell, but got so shy when it was time to meet her!

The one thing we never managed to do either day was the Wishes fireworks show as it started too late, and both kids were always done well before start time.  This is one of a few things I want to try to attempt next time when the kids are a bit older.

It’s hard to do Disney with two little ones, so overall I think we did well in our 2 days and managed to hit most of the things I thought Drake and Juliet would enjoy. Honestly I can’t wait to go back again when Juliet is older to watch the magic unfold in her eyes, as it did with Drake this trip!