I Believe It’s Magic, Magic

Today we are headed to the Magic Kingdom. So exciting! Though it’s not my number one favorite park (I’m looking at you, Epcot), there’s still nothing like approaching the train station and seeing that big ole’ Mickey head in flowers saying “Good Mornin’, Folks!”.  That’s subtext. I’m really not sure what he might be saying.

A quick duck through the tunnel and violà! We’re on our way!

Today we’ll be checking out New Fantasyland (again, Disney, more creativity with the names, please!). This project has been years in the making. It has been redrawn and revised all along the way. Originally, the core of this new land was to be all about princesses, then Disney remembered there was such thing as boys. Now the major component is a Runaway Mine Train which is still in the construction phase.

Princesses are still a big deal here and the main gal is Belle. We will be joining her for a very intimate story telling experience, Enchanted Tales With Belle.

When news of this attraction was bubbling up, it seemed absolutely crazy. It was described as a twenty to thirty minute, personal interaction with Belle and friends. How could they possibly keep up with the huge number of guests?  I have to say they’ve done it and executed it brilliantly!

I must confess that I only just recently watched Beauty and The Beast in preparation for this visit. You gotta know what details to look for! The first scene is set in Mauruice’s cottage.

Then something really cool happens with this mirror.

Then we move into the Wardrobe room where the attraction’s premise is explained: you’re supposed to re-enact the story of Beauty and the Beast for Belle on her birthday, and guests are chosen to act out key parts in the play. Pictures aren’t going to do us any good showing how great these animatronics are. Believe me, they are way beyond anything you’ll see in the Tiki Room.

Next we move into the library where we’ll meet Belle herself. Squeal!!!

I have to say that I love what Disney has done here. I guess I’ve been out of the loop with whole princess thing. We didn’t start going to the parks until our kids were teen agers. When Belle swept into that room in her stunning ball gown, and I saw the looks on those kids’ faces I was, well, enchanted.  She met and took pictures with everyone of those children and it was so sweet.

There’s also good news for one of the latest Disney Princesses, Rapunzel. Here’s how the meeting went:

Hey, Blondie, you’re getting your own themed area in New Fantasyland!

Oh How exciting! Is it a meet and greet? No. Is it a ride, a restaurant?

Nope. It’s..a … Bathroom!

This is the elaborately themed Tangled Bathroom area. It’s really gorgeous, with humorous details everywhere. If you’ve never seen the film, you’ll probably wonder why frying pans greet you in the men’s room though.

The Tangled rest area also has charging stations discretely located in these logs. This is not purely altruism on Disney’s part. The new My Disney Experience app drains devices quickly. They don’t want people leaving the parks (and not spending money) to go back to their rooms to charge up.

Breakfast is calling us. One of our favorite things to do in the Magic Kingdom was to take a break about mid-morning at the Main Street Bakery and hork down one of their gigantic, yet light as a cloud Cinnamon Rolls, but recently that tradition has been ripped, ripped away from us. This past year our beloved bakery has been replaced by a …gasp… Starbucks!

I may be overdramatizing a bit, but it’s not just me. There was weeping and gnashing of teeth  of all across the Disneysphere.

Thankfully there is a completely different, but no less decadent choice to be had. We’ll be taking our business over to Liberty Square, that you very much.

Sleepy Hollow Refreshments is a purveryor of funnels cakes, ice cream and more recently, waffle sandwiches. There are several savory choices at lunch that I need to cross of my list, but today it’s breakfast so we’re going for the Nutella and Fruit Waffle.

I just love it when a place does a few things very well. These waffles are made right to order, tender, with a malty flavor. The fruit was fresh and the Nutella; very generous indeed.

Now that we’re fortified we’ll head over to a family favorite, the Haunted Mansion. This seems like a lot of spooky silliness but if you read the storyline behind it, it’s really quite creepy.

They’ve added a bunch of doo-dads to the queue so you’ll forget that you’re waiting in line. There’s a lot of touching going on, so bring your hand sanitizer.

We made our way about cashing in our Fastpass+ bookings, hitting most of the major players with ease.

Our last stop on this side of the Magic Kingdom was the Jungle Cruise. The enjoyment of this experience hinges completely on your “skipper”.

In the past we’ve had hilarious, dry witted skippers and we’ve also had ho hum skippers, but they’ve always been at least giggle worthy. This time we had the WORST SKIPPER EVER!!! He did not make one joke. Not one. No one was even smiling  For us, this was humorous because it was so very bad, but if you’d never been on the Jungle Cruise before this, you probably wouldn’t be back. Let’s face it, without the puns, it’s just a cheesy ride. Exhale. Let’s have a Dole whip. That will make it better.

 

Finding a cool shady area to sit and people watch is just the ticket. This little respite is just what we need to make our way through the rest of the park.

Up Next: “Here, picture this: A rustic hunting lodge, my latest kill roasting on the fire”