Welcoming in the New Year from the Happiest Place on Earth
Well, at least this is what their brochures say.
Watching the ball drop in Times Square on TV to welcome in
’17, I decided that I wasn’t going to watch ’18 come from my TV set.
So in June, I started laying down plans to visit Walt Disney
with plans to welcome in the New Year from the Magic Kingdom.
With the beach portion of my winter break over, I drove over
to Orlando, Fl. We checked in to the Caribbean Beach Resort, and then headed
for downtown Disney or Disney Spring for those new to the lure of Disney.
As always, we had dinner at the Rainforest Café. Then, we
headed over the “The Void” where we went through a VR interactive game. For
those in to VR games or better yet, into Star Wars, this is a must do. The
entire experience takes about 30 minutes. We got to ride a skiff, battle with
Storm Troopers, and finally battle with Dark Vader. Everyone that came away the experience talked
about how cool it was.
Saturday morning, we were off to Animal Kingdom. Disney
opened the new Pandora section during the summer so I wanted to check it out.
Since I had fast passes for Avatar Flight of Passage, we
headed for the stand by line to ride the Na’vi River Journey. In the weeks
leading up to our visit, I was been monitoring the wait time for these rides.
Often, they stretched from 3 to 4 hours or more. So we hit the park soon as the
gates opened, we got in to the ride before the lines began to build
Both rides were neat to experience. To me, the Na’vi River
Journey was much like Small World with a Pandora skin on it. Cool to see, and
something to mark off my bucket list. However, the Avatar Flight of Passage is
really the must do ride. This is another VR type of ride where we experience
what it is like to ride on the back of a Banshee. The closest other ride would
be Soarin but only if you were riding solo and only with single seat. I highly
recommend doing it, but get there early. The standby lines were super long.
After this we did Everest and the Dinosoar Ride. We did
Primeval a couple of times, and the Safari ride. We did it once during the day,
and twice at night. Disney didn’t use to offer nighttime rides. Animal Kingdom
usually closed around 5pm during the winter months. Now, the park stays open until
10 pm. True, the lighting is isn't all that
great, but Disney has some lighting. But best of all, the animals are up and
moving around especially, the lions. I can only remember a few occasions where
I have seen them up during the daytime.
We caught River of Lights show, and then hit a few final
rides before calling it a night a little after 10 pm.
That night, we slept fast and quick because the following
day was New Year’s eve. For a whole year, I had waited on this day and to be in
this place. I didn’t want to waste a second of it.
The Park was to officially open at 7 AM. 6:45, we were walking through the gate. Actually, the sun hadn’t even come up yet. From 7-8,
were the extra magic hours for resort guest.
Once we scanned our bands, we were off riding rides. We were
off and on rides for the next 3 hours or so. From 7 to 11, it was pretty much a
blur. But I do remember getting a text alert that the Magic Kingdom was closed
to new guest. They had reached max capacity around 11:30 AM. I believe it.
We were in Frontier Land and going to the Haunted Mansion
just after the afternoon parade. From where we were to the entrance into the
Haunted Mansion was may be 50 yards. It took us at least 30 minutes to make our
way through the crowd. People were literally standing still. The two way
traffic signs weren't very clear. Plus, throw in a few thousand strollers and
wheel chairs. Movement pretty much grind to a halt.
But this was nothing to what was to come.
By 10:30 pm, they were directing people way from Main Street
and circle in front of the castle. The cast members kept telling us that these
areas had reached capacity.
We managed to wiggle into a space on the left side of the
castle. For anyone with personal space issues or don't like a crowd, this
definitely isn’t the place to be. There was plenty of pushing and shoving. I was packed into a sea of people in all directions.
I saw more than a few people bale and head for less crowded
areas. Personally, I loved it. I stood there fascinated to watch how people reacted
to be in such close quarters.
At 11:50 the fireworks started and went on for about 9
minutes. Then, there was a count down to midnight before a second wave of
fireworks started. These were some of the best fireworks that I have ever seen
in person. At one point, fireworks were going off in a full 360 circle around
the Magic Kingdom.
For a guy who is a big Disney fan, I thought this was an
awesome experience. Everyone should do it at least once.
Once the fireworks were over, the park was still open for
another hour. We hit a few more rides, caught the light show on the castle, and
took a bunch of pictures. A little after 1:30 AM, we strolled out of the Magic
Kingdom gates. From open to close, we had spent more than 18 hours in the park.
We spent another hour getting back to hour hotel room. I finally lay down to
close my eyes and with little effort, I was fast a sleep.
I started taking my oldest daughter to Disney when she was 2
years old. We have been back at least once every year, and some times several
times during the same year. Nearly, every time I came in fresh and rested but left tired and sleep
deprived.
I wouldn’t trade those tired days for nothing. Although, I
will say, it is actually harder now. When my daughters were young, they would
fall a sleep so I could rest during the day at the park. Now, they are all
nearly grown young women who can stay up with the best of them. I am now the
one that needs a nap.
Of course, on the ride back to CLT, I glanced over to see
all 3 of them fast a sleep. It reminded me of so many of our Disney adventures
together.
Once last note, Disney is awesome place to take your kids.
It is also somewhat expensive and tiring, but can you really put a price on the
memories that you make with your kids. The days pass more quicker than you
realize. They will so be grown soon enough and gone out into this big world
that we all live. Before they are gone,
take some time and make a few memories with them. You will never regret it.
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