Monica's Travels and Reviews: MAGIC KINGDOM PART 3: COMING BACK FOR MORE!!

In Part 2 we left off with a tired family that had been at the park since around 8:00am. It was around 2:00pm when we finally got out of the park. This was after we ate at Be Our Guest click on the link for my review of our lunch there. Let me remind you that we were traveling in late may. This is summer in Florida and that means rainy season!!! Usually afternoon thunderstorms can be expected, however, don't be surprised at rain any time of the day or night during summer in Florida.

So we got on the bus to leave the Magic Kingdom. We went back to Coronado Springs Resort and took about a three hour nap. Everyone was in on this nap as we were all pretty tired from our morning adventure.

When we woke up we kind of ready to go back! We got dressed and this time took the car. This way when it was time to go we did not have to wait for 5 buses of people to go before we got on one. Also you may or may not get a seat and with tired children especially small ones standing room only is not fun.

When we arrived it was smooth sailing. Remember we have Fastpasses already set up for when we get in the park. I think it was about 6:30pm when we were waiting for the tram in the parking lot. The sun was still up but it was definitely cooling off at this point.

We took the boat over to the Magic Kingdom as the Monorail was down. It seems to be down at least once every time we go. While on the boat we saw the Monorail car on the track that was not moving. They had it fixed by the time we left that night, but that was hours later.

The boat ride was beautiful as always and when you are heading in or out at off peak times it is never crowded on the boat.

Space everywhere on the boat, I mean Ferry.

View of the Castle from the Ferry.

Picture of the Grand Floridian from the Ferry

This was the Ferry going in the other direction with almost no people on it.

And this one is the entrance, we finally made it back! This time the lights are on!

When we walked in the park, although it was crowded, it was not unmanageable. This is due to the fact that some people were leaving, a few were arriving, and most were on what I call an in the park break just hanging out in the stores on Main Street.

We split up when we got back in the park. Two of us headed to Peter Pan with our Fastpass and the other two went to Space Mountain. Neither of us had much of a wait due to our lovely Fastpasses, I know there are mixed reviews but I think it's really nice to be able to pick the time you want them for. Peter Pan is and always has been a great ride. You fly over London and Neverland on your pirate ship type vessel. It's also one of those rides, like most of those in Fantasyland, have no height restriction. This coupled with the fact that it is older and a slow loader means the line is pretty much always long. Get a Fastpass if you plan to go on this ride. Unless you plan to Fastpass other rides in Fantasyland and you go straight to Peter Pan within the first hour of park opening.

Like I said the other two went to Space Mountain. The classic indoor rollercoaster in the dark. It is a great ride for roller coaster enthusiasts and one of the most popular in Disney World. That being said, I personally have grown out of it. I used to love it. Even though the ride itself is not super fast it is in the dark and this makes for an interesting roller coaster. It's also inside so you can go on it regardless of weather conditions. It is an older roller coaster. This is one of the reasons I have grown to unlove it. The ride is quite jerky. It has just become an unenjoyable experience for me. The other members of my party still think it's awesomeness. So it depends on you!!! I say you must try it at least once.

After we went on our separate rides we met up at the teacups. It is a good place to meet as it and the Tomorrowland Speedway are in that sections where the two lands meet. My son and I were already in the line when my daughter jumped in with us. My husband hates the teacups. He says we spin to fast, but he loves Space Mountain so again it's a personal preference. The Teacups were great as always, or as my son calls them "coffee cups", because we drink more coffee than tea!

Going super fast on the Tea Cups

Then we split up again!! It's a great way to hit up all the rides when you don't see eye to eye on which ones are the most important. Especially since it's really hard to fit in all the rides if, you only have one day at the Magic Kingdom.

This time my daughter and I went to the Storybook Circus area of Fantasyland and my husband and son went to Tomorrowland Speedway. I refuse to get on this ride. It's impossible to drive those cars right!! As a kid I do remember loving it so, thankfully my husband will ride it with the kids.

While they waited in line for the Speedway we first went to check for more Fastpasses. There wasn't much left at this point as it was a little after 8:00pm and it was our fifth Fastpass. We took a Jungle Cruise Fastpass for the four of us at 10pm. The park was open until midnight on this particular day.

Then we headed to Big Top Souvenirs. It just always smells so good that I go in every trip. Inside is more souvenirs than you could imagine. It's fun to just look around. There is also a treat shop in the middle of the store called Big Top Treats. Here we got an absolutely delicious smoothie and a rice krispy treat that looked like Maleficent. I haven't seen the movie yet, but she tasted great.

Chocolate covered Maleficent rice crispy treat

Big Top Souvenirs, Big Top Treats my favorite place to shop!

At this point we still hadn't heard from the boys so we checked out the wait time on Barnstormer. It said 10 minutes so we got in line. This ride is a kiddie coaster. It lasts all of 30-45 seconds and I love it. So do my kids. It's really cute and surprisingly quick around those turns. I'd say the wait was more like 5 minutes and that's good because the ride is soooo short, but totally worth a ten minute wait or less. I also suggest waiting longer than that if you have a child that is 38" (the requirement for this ride) and you are experimenting to see if they like fast rides.

After this ride, we got the call. Where are you guys?! They were off the Tomorrowland Speedway ride and stuck looking at the Cars souvenirs on the cart right outside the ride. So we headed over to distract the boy. It was about 3 minutes from where we were.

Then the rest of the night the four of us stuck together. Our next stop was supposed to be Adventureland, but it was that time of night when the Main Street Electrical Parade was about to start. This means up and down the parade route would be packed and we would be unable to access The Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean from where we were. So an executive decision was made to hang out in Tomorrowland.

While there we checked out the Carousel of Progress. One of my favorite rides that honestly I haven't been on in over ten years easily. It is not exiting or thrilling in anyway. I do find it entertaining as did my husband and daughter, it was both of their first times on the ride. Even my 3 year old was slightly entertained by the dog in the show and the way the room moves. Right before it was over my son did say "ok time to go mommy"!

When we got out it was time for Wishes the nighttime fireworks show. It is an amazing display of fireworks that I love to watch every time I'm in the Magic Kingdom. While it is most magical when looking at it from in front of the castle, I will stop wherever I am and watch it. This time happened to be in Tomorrowland. We sat down right on the floor and watched the fireworks. They were awesome like always. When it was over we headed to Adventureland.

In Adventureland we headed straight for our Jungle Cruise Fastpass as our time was almost up. There was only a 5 minute wait but with the Fastpass we jumped in front of those 20 people. The Jungle Cruise is like a fake safari on the water. It's a really cute and entertaining ride. I wouldn't say it's a must do, however, if you get a chance do it. If the line is over 20 minutes I would say skip it.

Then we headed to Pirates of the Caribbean. This has been one of my favorites since I was 5. An absolute must do for me. My ten year old daughter tried to convince dad to do it again, but it was like 10:30 pm and he was so ready to get out of there before the crowds.

We did convince him to run over and go on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad one more time. This is my other favorite ride in this park.

All together an awesome day in the MK!!!