MAGIC KINGDOM FALL AND CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS

I really can’t decide which of these holidays I love the most at the parks.  Fall is my favorite time of the year and who doesn’t love the Christmas holiday season?

When we arrived in October the Fall/Halloween decorations were out in full force.  Then on November first  it was magically Christmas! The Christmas decorations grew and grew more every night, right up until we left.

The Magic Kingdom is the theme park most associated with Walt Disney World. Our touring of this main theme park was at our pace.  Which is the pace of a seasoned annual pass holder who has been to the park enough times they have lost track of how many times it has actually been.

Over the years we have experienced “rope drop”, the opening of the park each day.  Even doing the early morning and late evening “Extra Magic Hours” that are reserved for on-site guests and enjoyed them, but not enough these days to make it worth it to us to get up early, eat a hurried breakfast and fight the crowds to get on the transportation system. We do still on occasion stay during the late hours.

Instead we now prefer a leisurely breakfast at the camper, thus avoiding paying for a high dollar one in the park.  Then strolling to the appropriate transportation hub and riding near empty conveyances to the park of choice. 

We also prefer to leave the park before the main crowds do in the evenings.  While we love the fireworks show we generally only remain around for them one night, if that, each visit.  We have found great viewing areas outside the Magic Kingdom to see the actual fireworks, just not what is projected on the castle and of course you can’t hear the background music and story. 

Our planned trip for fall 2017 will include a night to see the new Happily Ever After fireworks show that is replacing Wishes in the spring of 2017. 

Once at the park the main bottleneck of people rushing to get into the park is gone.  By combining our policy of carrying no bags and entering at the annual pass gate it is almost a straight walk in for us rather than the long lines to get in had we gone earlier in the day. I recently read they have instituted an annual pass bag check as well, which will speed up things for folks who do take in bags of all sorts.

On the subject of bags.  When we were first visiting WDW as much younger people we all wore belt bags, carried camera bags or backpacks.  These you either rent a locker for or are constantly having to take them  off to store them in the required bins on rides then dig them out of the bins and put them back on.

Instead I carry my ticket, id and debit card in a well covered pocket with my cell phone in another one. Gary wears cargo pants into which he puts spare camera batteries, battery packs for the cell phones, keys etc.

Periodically we will be asked to empty our pockets and go through a metal detector (maybe it has something to do with Gary’s long hair and beard but it isn’t a problem because we carry so little. 

The freedom of no bags is great.  We feel it is worth paying for a meal or snack to split rather than putting up with the hassle.  It doesn’t work for everyone, but it works extremely well for us.

One request please, if you truly feel you MUST carry a backpack or a purse, watch where you swing that thing.  I cannot tell you how often I have received major hits from people paying no attention to who they conk with those things.  Same goes for scooters and strollers.  People we are in the USA, we drive on the right side of the road here.----rant over

By eating at the camper before we go we then have the luxury of eating a late lunch (which is generally cheaper than supper prices) or early supper, which allows us to once again avoid a crowded line.

More importantly, it also allows us to stop and truly see things along the way.  While we do still take photos and videos of parades such as the Festival of Fantasy Parade.

rides

We get to enjoy the ambiance and take photos of things many people often over look.  There have been volumes of books written about Hidden Mickey’s, the names on the main street windows and such, but it takes slowing down to look for these things as well as at the detail the behind the scenes artists have put into every inch of the parks.

We love this slower pace and have discovered so many “hidden treasures” as we tour the parks now it is almost like visiting the parks for the very first time.

interesting dressed non-cast members

Not to mention all the various little pop up shows that aren’t in any buildings, but are viewed from the street.

One such show is in Liberty Square near the Hall of Presidents.  There a few different versions of the show.  This is just one of the Muppets "Great Moments in History".  Click the hyperlink for the complete show.

One hidden Mickey that many people will most likely never see can only be seen from the air.  As my post “Kudos to Mickey Mouse”, which is yet another Disney World post mentions Disney does a lot toward conserving our environment.  This hidden Mickey is huge, very huge.  It is a solar panel farm that helps provide some of the energy for Walt Disney World and is located just outside the main gates leading to the Transportation Ticket Center parking.

We try to visit the Magic Kingdom on traditionally less busy days.  In the past Mondays and any day that the Magic Kingdom has “extra magic hours”  or a special party like “Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party,”  Or “Mickey’s VeryMagical Christmas Party” are the busy days.  So we check the online calendar for these events and try to go on days that such events are not happening.

We plan ahead of time on what rides we do want to ride in each park and if they are a popular ride, like Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, we try to get fast passes for them before we ever leave the camper.  Sometimes even days ahead.  Although we will skip rides or add rides as the mood hits us, we are still go with the flow type travelers and have no qualms about cancelling a fast pass if we decide not to use one.

We also try to make reservations for any specialty meals like supper at “Be Our Guest” as far ahead of time as we know we will be going to that park that day. 

Both of these cut our wait time down considerably. 

The rest of the time we do stand-by lines if the line is less than 20 minutes.  We do not do long lines, there really is no need to.  If you pay attention you will find many lines in all the parks have peak times and then times where the stand by line is 10 minutes or less.

Want to ride Space Mountain without a fast pass?  Go during a parade or even better during the fireworks.  Lines virtually disappear then.  Also consider single rider lanes.  While riding with your buddy is fun, if you want on certain rides quickly go with the single rider line.

Over the years we have also learned to stay off the main thoroughfares of the parks and look for the path less traveled.  Often that path is only a few feet from the main one, but because it curves away from what the maps show as the main pathways many people do not take them.  Sometimes these paths are a little longer, but due to the lighter foot traffic you will actually get there faster, or find a bench to set down and rest, or a table to eat your meal at.

A prime example of such a path in the Magic Kingdom is the one going off Main Street toward Tomorrowland where you turn by the ice cream shop.  If you turn directly right at the ice cream shop you will be dealing with the people all trying to find a spot at the provided tables to eat their ice cream.  However if you go back one street down a dead end there are tables there as well that are often empty.

To get to Tomorrowland you can also take the main pathway across the bridge near the castle.  That is generally very congested.  However, between the ice cream shop and the bridge streets there is another path going near the gardens.  It is only a few steps away from the one at the ice cream shop and comes out at exactly the same place, near the restrooms at a restaurant that is only open during peak times.  This path is usually not busy at all.

In fact if you go up through the restaurant walkway and through the seating area you will come out at the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor and miss most of the traffic going to Tomorrowland.  

Every park has several less traveled areas that can save you a lot of time and steps.  So study your maps. 

Another time saving hint.  It is the nature of most people to go to their right when entering a park.  If you are getting there with the main crowd, go to your left.  You will find that the crowds are less and therefore the lines are shorter.

We of course have certain rides we really enjoy riding each time, although the herky jerky ones are quickly falling out of favor with us. While others we just don’t feel like our visit is complete unless we ride certain rides.

In the Magic Kingdom the must rides would be Pirates of the Caribbean, People Mover, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin(how is it I always manage to get the one with the non-operative gun?), Haunted Mansion and a few others.

The People Mover (Transit Authority) and Carousel of Progress are our favorites on hot days when we are tired.  Both provide a long cool ride and in the Carousel of Progress it is dark and you can even catch a quick cat nap if you need one.

Then of course there are certain shows we like to see if time allows, as well as the Festival of Fantasy Parade.

For a video of the Festival of Fantasy parade you can view it here.

Unless you arrive late enough in the day that you are near the train station when the 3:00pm parade comes by, at approximately 3:30pm, I recommend that you try to be at the beginning of it near Frontier Land.  The crowds are generally smaller and your wait is much shorter to see the parade.

Not much had changed since our visit in 2014, so we tended to spend more time enjoying the fall decorations.

And then in November the Christmas decorations

Not to mention taking advantage of the new annual pass perk of free photos taken by the Disney photographers.

No matter how many times we go, there is always something new to see and enjoy.  Some of the rides and areas had undergone refurbishments since our last trip. We spent a lot of time pointing out the changes to each other.

Even more had been done by the time we were there in the spring and when we go back in the fall of 2017 Pandora the World of Avatar will be open in the Animal Kingdom.  So that will be a whole new area to explore.

Because I started my review blog, Outside a Dog after I had already read the "Kingdom Keepers: Disney after Dark", book 1 of the series written by Ridley Pearson I haven't yet created a blog post review on it.  You can, however get a brief description of it in the second book review.