Category Archives: It’s a Small World

Day 74- Thanksgiving at Magic Kingdom and Liberty Tree Tavern

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Today is Thanksgiving Day. My giving of thanks started last year at Magic Kingdom. Last Thanksgiving, we had an early brunch at Liberty Tree Tavern and we were going to have a late dinner at The Crystal Palace. As our day went on, we needed a light snack to hold us over, and my nephew was famished again. That does seem to happen with kids, they love to eat! So, we thought that a quick snack at Columbia Harbor House would tide us over, and they do have gluten free choices. We ordered his meal, and as I was waiting for our gluten free meal, I had a moment that would change my life forever.

There were a few minutes that no one was ordering, so the young cast member was nice and asked about my kids and me. She had taken our order and knew it that it usually takes a few minutes to prepare allergy meals. The cast member began to tell me about the college programs; she was so excited, and loved working here at Disney. Then she said, “They even have programs for people your age!” That made me laugh, but it got me to thinking, I would love to work for Disney after being home with my children for all of these wonderful years. After that moment, our journey to Florida began, and here we are…Thanksgiving Day, one year later!

Today, we arrive at the Ticket and Transportation Center and get to park fairly close, in the Zurg parking lot. That is encouraging since it is a holiday afternoon and I expected to parking lot to be nearly full. We arrive at the Monorail and it is busy, but nice. As we travel around the Seven Seas Lagoon, I see how blue the waters are and how pretty the sky looks; it is a most beautiful day. Once we arrive at Magic Kingdom, it is busy, but it is a steady walk to the front entrance. There are plenty of tables open for bag check, be sure to use both sides of the tables since they check the bags on both the left and the right, alternating sides makes the line(s) go faster. It is a nice setup and keeps the line moving at a good pace.

Main Street USA is always beautiful. It is like you step back in time with the beautiful Victorian era buildings. Love it!

We planned weeks ahead of time for our Thanksgiving dinner reservations. We got reservations for Liberty Tree Tavern at 4:30, so we have plenty of time to get there. (Be sure to allow extra time on holidays, since the parks tend to be busier on these days.)

On the way to the ride, we saw one of Santa’s friends!

Our first FastPass+ is for It’s A Small World. This ride is pretty busy today, but only a 40-minute wait if you walk up for the standby line. We see the Small World Cuckoo Clock sounding for 3:15. It is cool to see the trumpeters emerge and play their tune as the doors open on the clock front and sides.

Our next FastPass+ is in about 45 minutes, and we debate whether or not to go as we are walking. If we go on Pirates of the Caribbean we could be late for our Thanksgiving dinner. Instead, since we were close to Liberty Tree Tavern, we thought we might see if we could check in early. If not, we would browse the Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe. Tooti checked with the hostess at Liberty Tree Tavern, they were glad to take us early and we were seated quickly.

This is my favorite place to eat on holidays. It reminds me of Grandma’s home. She was a really fun grandmother-in-law and her home looked very much like this restaurant. I feel like I am at home, even in the middle of Magic Kingdom.

Quickly, our server greets us, and soon the chef is at our table advising us on our gluten free options. He is so pleased to let us know that he has made a very special gluten free stuffing for our turkey dinner. Chef Alfonso shares that he created his own gluten free stuffing recipe just a couple of months ago! He says that it is very good! Chef Alfonso will be one of my favorite chefs; he has a great personality, is enthusiastic, kind, and is courteous and conscientious with food allergies. His newly designed gluten free stuffing is a perfect match to the perfect turkey and gravy.

The Washington Room that we sat in is like walking back in time. There are just a few families in this nice large room, making it a nice, quiet place to enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. Yummy!

After our wonderful meal, we browse Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe on our way to the front of the park. Oh, look! We need a picture in the sleigh out front! What a beautiful Thanksgiving day!

Day 27- Small World and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom

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Today is Saturday and Magic Kingdom is open until 1AM, with extra magic hours until 3AM. The weather is a hot 94 degrees on this October day, so we are waiting until this evening to go to the park. We arrived at the parking gates about 7PM. There were the two lines for parking tonight and they were both backed up and stopped. That means it is going to be busy.

Yep, I have never parked that far out, but the trams were running on a good schedule. Our Monorail was full; everyone was happy and we were in a good crowd of people. As one was pulling away, another was ready to pull in and load up! Nice! As we arrived at Magic Kingdom, I could see the front gate was very busy and full.

As we went into the park, there was a steady flow of people coming in and a steady flow leaving out of the park.

Our first ride is in an hour, so we decided to get a Dole Whip. We sat near The Magic Carpets of Aladdin to enjoy our vanilla pineapple floats. It is a nice place to sit, not too busy, and a quieter spot to relax for a minute.

Getting a dole whip!
Sitting by the Magic Carpets!

We have a FastPass+ for It’s A Small World and the lines are long tonight. I love FastPasses!  Our boat is loaded and we are off. If you look up to the right as your boat takes off, Pinocchio Village Haus restaurant is there and you will see little children waving through the windows overhead, so we wave back and they smile! With it being so busy, we had time as we waited to disembark and began chatting with the family in front of us, and then the family behind us joined it. It was fun, and they were nice! As we exited the boat, the chimes from the Small World clock were going off for the 9PM bells!

With twenty minutes until our next FastPass, we sat on the stone wall near the Prince Charming Regal Carrousel. A lady and her mom sat hear us, and in a few minutes, this little dude walked up. He said that he lost his mom; I listened and the grandma told him not to worry. I jumped up and said, “We can let a cast member know and they will find her [his mom].”  The lady agreed. I turned, and Tooti was already on her way to the cast member that was near Pinocchio Village Haus. The cast member was great! She asked if his mom got lost, and the little boy said, “Yes.” She talked to him for a minute and he was doing well. In just a couple of minutes we heard his name being called and the whole group of us jumped up and pointed his family in the right direction! It was the coolest thing to see the oldest daughter, she was about 9 or 10, and she ran and just wrapped her arms around her now found little brother in the cutest bear hug! Success: child reunited with this family. We could hear his mom yelling for the family and the sister was yelling, “WE FOUND HIM!!!” We were elated; thanks to all of the people that helped! Happy!

Now, it is time for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Tooti asked if we could ride in the front. I love riding in the front, it is not jerky, and it is a smooth ride. At the end of the ride is the Seven Dwarfs’ cottage and you can see Snow White dancing with the Seven Dwarfs around. I love this cottage! Ew! There is the wicked witch at their door. Oh, now we are exiting the Mine Train and the path takes you around to see the other side of the cottage as you exit.

The entrance…
FastPass!
Lights…
The end of the ride!

The park is crowded with the late hours, and we are going to head home. As we get to the transportation center and onto the tram, I can hear the fireworks going off, and could see them through a few spaces between the tram station and the monorail area. But, as we head towards the parking lot, I can get glimpses of the fireworks! Beautiful.

Leaving the park…