January 30, 2025 • 41 mins
This episode of the Foreign Wishes podcast dives deep into the Magic Kingdom, providing listeners with a comprehensive guide to navigating one of Orlando's most iconic theme parks. Hosts Tony Desiere and Lauren Mallard share invaluable tips and strategies for both first-time visitors and seasoned park-goers, highlighting the park's attractions, dining options, and historic features. They discuss the significance of each land within the Magic Kingdom, from the nostalgia of Main Street USA to the adventurous vibes of Adventureland. The hosts also touch upon the importance of planning your visit around popular attractions, offering insights on which rides to prioritize and how to manage wait times effectively. Listeners will find a wealth of information that will enhance their experience at the Magic Kingdom, ensuring they make the most of their magical adventure.
Takeaways:
- Magic Kingdom is a vast park that can easily require two days to explore fully.
- Utilizing the Lightning Lane can significantly enhance your experience at Magic Kingdom.
- Main Street USA is designed to create a nostalgic feeling, evoking Walt Disney's childhood.
- Adventureland features iconic attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean and the Jungle Cruise.
- Planning ahead is essential for popular attractions; consider timing and crowd levels.
- The transition from Main Street to the lands is designed to enhance the magical experience.
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Walt Disney World
- Magic Kingdom
- Adventureland
- Fantasy Land
- Liberty Square
- Frontier Land
- Tomorow Land
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Foreign Wishes podcast.
Thanks for joining us.
I'm Tony Desiri along withLauren Mallard of all the magic Travel.
So this episode is going to beentitled In Depth the Magic Kingdom
and it's going to be a kind ofa multi part series.
We're going to go over thetheme parks at Walt Disney World
(00:20):
and Universal Studios, giveyou a primer for if you haven't been
to the parks in a while oreven if you've been to the parks
a number of times, giving yousome of our strategy tips to navigate
your way around the parks.
And I know for a lot of youout there, you've been to the parks
many times.
So there are some of youhaven't been in a long time.
I know we meet people whohaven't gone in like 10 years and
a lot has changed.
(00:40):
And some of you may need alittle bit of a guide to how to get
the best out of your trip toMagic Kingdom or Epcot or Islands
of Adventure or whatnot.
So this in the next couple ofweeks is going to be our primer series,
an in depth primer series onthe parks.
And today we are going to bestarting off with the creme de la
creme of the theme parks inOrlando, and that is the Magic Kingdom,
(01:00):
which opened in 1971 as acompliment to Disneyland in Anaheim,
California.
Unfortunately, Walt Disney didnot get to see the opening of Walt
Disney World.
But nevertheless, some of thethemes of that park and some of the
ideas behind that parkcertainly resonate within as you
walk through the Magic Kingdom.
So that's what we decided todo today.
Go over all the lands, some ofthe places to eat, the rides, attractions,
(01:23):
the shows, things that youneed and plus some of those strategy
tips that can help younavigate around Magic Kingdom.
Because it can be very busyand it can be very hectic and especially
haven't been in a while.
There are some new things tonavigate through, through.
So we decided to start withthe Magic Kingdom.
How are you, Lauren?
I am good.
How are you, Tony?
Great.
Glad to be back and on trackand getting, getting started once
(01:44):
again with this series becauseI, I meet people all the time that
say, well, I haven't beensince I was a kid, I haven't been
in 10 years or whatnot, wantto take the kids or want to get back
there.
And I thought to myself, youknow, because we go a lot, it's something
we've sort of adjusted ourstrategy and, and now I'm like, well,
let's put together somethingthat gives people an idea of how
(02:05):
to really navigate these parks.
Yeah, I think it's awesomebecause so many times, just Disney
World overall, I have clientsthat will say, hey, I need a lot
of hand holding.
And that's what I'm good at.
I'm good at helping navigatethe parks.
Almost like I'm there with them.
And so having this in depthlook at each one of the parks is
really going to be helpful, Ithink, for somebody that's kind of
new to vacationing at Disney.
(02:26):
All right, so again, just as Isaid earlier, this is a park that's
opened up in 1971.
Very different, obviously withthe changes.
And that's what Walt Disneywanted with this parks always to
change through the climb, the time.
But a lot of stuff stays thesame, right?
Main Street USA stays the same.
It is that, that, that iconicidea of the, of the town Walt Disney
grew up in and giving you thatold feel.
(02:48):
Now the stores have certainly changed.
They used to be a magic shop,they used to be a Photoshop.
There was all sorts ofdifferent types of shops, different
kinds.
And now it's a lot more, youknow, one emporium that kind of encompasses
that area and whatnot.
But there's still that amazingmagic feeling of getting to that.
That entrance.
That's right.
(03:08):
And you know, I was told along time ago, and I'm not sure if
there's truth to this or not,but as you're coming in Main or Magic
Kingdom, Main street isdesigned where it looks like it's
longer when you come in andthen when you exit, it's designed
to where it looks like it's shorter.
Yeah, that forced perspective.
Yes.
And so it's.
Every little bit of Mainstreet was designed with, with so
(03:33):
many things in mind.
And I'll give one little funfact while we're on Main street,
if it's hot or if it's rainingor if it's just crowded.
Did you know that you can walkin the door down at Casey's Corner
and you can walk all the waydown to the other end of Main Street?
It's one of those things to go outside.
It's one of those things.
(03:54):
I know, but I never execute.
Oh, I do it all the time.
You do it all the time.
That's.
It's a great way to do thatbecause you're right, all of it is
sort interconnected all theway down into the main, like oval
of the sort of entrance of the park.
Exactly.
This is the one thing that Istill get a lot of working with people
from around the country,especially people I've worked with
in broadcasting, they're from California.
(04:15):
I've never been to Orlando iswhen I tell them you don't just pull
up and go to the park.
You got to take a boat or experience.
It's incredibly wild.
And for many people who'venever done it or have gone to Disneyland,
where it's right there intown, like you're driving down the
street and there it is, thisis such a different experience to
say, oh no, once you get tothe parking, you, you're not done
(04:37):
yet.
You, you have to pick whichway you want to go to the park, monorail
or boat.
And I think one of the thingsthat I love about that is just knowing
the history of why Walt orthe, or the people at, who were designing
it with Walt at the timebefore his death wanted to say, look,
we, we, we built Disneyland,but we didn't buy enough land around
(04:58):
Disneyland.
And so you go to Disneyland inSouthern California and right across
the street is like a Denny'sor Right.
Different hotels andrestaurants right there in real world
Southern California.
And the idea of just going sofar into Central Florida, so even
much further than where youparked your car.
Yeah, that is, that is the park.
(05:19):
That's the only park that does that.
And it's still really, reallymagical to this.
Like you're actually going onan extended trip to Magic Kingdom.
Yeah, absolutely.
When your clients talk to youabout how many, how much can they
see?
When I was, when I wasyounger, we went to Florida and my
father did one of those tourswhere it's like they, you're gonna
do Magic Kingdom and then SeaWorld and then you can have a free
(05:41):
day and then.
Yeah.
And Magic Kingdom was two days.
Is it still a two day partgiven all of the advancements and
Lightning Lane and all thatother kind of stuff?
Yeah.
So typically what I will tellclients is if they have, if they
have five days to spend in theparks, if they're just doing Walt
Disney World, that's ideal.
Because I do still say thatMagic Kingdom is a two day park regardless
(06:03):
of the age of your kids orregardless if it's just adults, because
there is so much to see and do there.
I tell people that theLightning Lane option there is the
most valuable.
It is the most, the, thepriciest one, but it's the most valuable
because there's the mostattractions there.
You're also going to see themost in regards to shows, nighttime
spectaculars, different thingsthat are going to fill up the day
(06:27):
more than just the attractionsthat are there.
So if the, if you have twodays to spend.
I have a particular way that Ilike to kind of tour it and do those
two so that you're not seeingthe same lands twice if you don't
want.
We were advised again thiswhen I was a little kid.
So this is early 80s.
Like do Adventureland andFantasy Land in Liberty Square and
hang out there one day andthen the next day swing over.
(06:47):
Do you bounce around over thetwo days or do you, do you, do you
say concentrate on getting asmuch of these lands as possible per
day and then.
And switch over?
Yeah.
So I have a couple differentways of doing it.
I have one plan where I'll sayI'll kind of give the highlights
of each land and then on thatsecond day go back and do your favorites
or do the things that youhaven't hit or the other.
(07:07):
Another way that I like to doit is I like to start in Tomorrowland
and do Tomorrowland andFantasyland and Liberty Square and
then do Adventureland andFrontierland on the second day.
And now with Big ThunderMountain being closed, that takes
away a really big attractionobviously in Frontierland.
So that kind of kind of movesthings around a little bit in that
perspective.
But.
But yeah, I mean regardless ofhow you plan to do it, it can definitely
(07:30):
be a two day park.
All right, so when you enterthe park we, we talked about this
is, there's, there's the MainStreet USA Marceline, Missouri.
It's supposed to give you thissort of a tribute to Wal childhood.
And again the stores is a bigemporium store for, for shopping
for souvenirs.
There's Casey's Corner.
There's a beautiful crystalstore, Crystal Arts which I, I like
seeing.
I just kind of like that stuff.
(07:51):
There's a snack shop.
This is the kind of stuff thatagain you'll be seeing a lot of this
on your way out.
You'll probably want to stopon your way out to get the souvenirs
rather than carrying them around.
But it allows you to get up tohave that walk to the castle which
I think people I've alwaysenjoyed get your picture taken.
But then because the way thepark is designed, this is a spoken
(08:12):
wheel design.
So everything sort of extendsout of the center which is the castle.
The big question is which waydo you go?
Yeah, and there are people wholove to go to the right and there
are people who go to the, goto the left.
Now I don't know if it's asbig a deal as like people at Epcot
and they say, which way shouldyou do the world?
I definitely don't think it'sas polarizing.
Right.
Like, if you start in Canada,people will fight you.
(08:33):
No, but I don't think thatthere's a right or wrong way.
If somebody said I go to.
I go to Tomorrowland first, Idon't think.
Hear.
Hear a lot of argument or Icut right through and go to Fantasy
Land first.
I don't think you hear a lotof arguments.
No, that's sort of the designof the spoken wheel is that once
you're there, you can gonorth, you can go, you know, to 11:00,
you can go to 2:00, whatever, which.
Whichever way you want to go.
Yeah.
And, you know, I think anothergood point about Magic Kingdom is
(08:55):
while it does have the mostattractions, it's by far.
I.
I don't know if it's.
I don't guess it's thesmallest park.
I guess Hollywood Studioswould be the smallest park.
But it's not a huge park.
No, it is not.
So if you're on one side ofthe park and need to get to the clear
the other side, then it's nota huge endeavor where it is at Epcot
or Animal Kingdom.
Yeah.
And there is a perspectivebecause every park is sort of designed
(09:18):
to not see the other park.
Yeah.
So the way they've sort ofangled the buildings and the angle
the attractions, I mean,obviously there's some parts where
you can sort of peek over andsee some things, but they weigh.
You're supposed to be enclosedin every area of the park without
really blending it into theother parks, but.
So it feels a little biggerthan it actually is.
You're right.
You can boogie from BigThunderbound Railroad all the way
(09:38):
to Carousel of Progress in arelatively short amount of time if
you're walking straight through.
All right, well, let's go tothe left and let's go to Adventureland
first as people naturally sortof lean to the left as they walk.
So if they're going to that,this is a land where you're going
to see.
You're going to find theJungle Cruise, you're going to find
Pirates of the Caribbean.
You're also going to find Dole Whip.
Yeah.
If you're big on Dole Whip,this is where you're going to find
(10:00):
it.
But you're also going to findrides like Aladdin's, the Aladdin
Carpets, Swiss Family RobinsonTreehouse, if in.
In Tiki and Tiki Room, somepeople say The Tiki Room is more
nostalgic than it is anything else.
Is there.
Do you find any of theseattractions not worth it?
Like, skip this one, move on, get.
(10:20):
Or do it later.
Do it after you've seen a lotof stuff and want to kind of check
some things off your list.
Yeah.
So I am one to skip the tree house.
Obviously.
I don't think I've done the treehouse.
In 20 years, so my kids wantedto do it one time, and we were climbing
and climbing and climbing andclimbing, and it's.
You just.
There's not really a whole lotto see.
And so by the time we got upand came back down, they realized
(10:42):
what it was, and it was justkind of one of those things like,
oh, okay, well, we did that.
We'll never have to do it again.
So that's one that we skip.
We almost always do thecarpets just because Cora's.
She's four, so she's stillgonna enjoy that.
That's still another fillerride that we can do.
We're kind of hit or miss onthe Tiki Room.
I kind of think it's fun to goin there every once in a while, but
(11:03):
it is certainly not an every trip.
Must do.
Absolutely.
And.
And Pirates of the Caribbeanand Jungle Cruise are.
These are.
These are absolute must do attractions.
Yeah.
If you are going for the firsttime, these are the things you want
to see, you should be seeing.
That's right.
Jungle Cruise still stands thetest of time.
Even though all the jokes arecorny and are very predictable, it's
still one of the morefantastic sort of Disney experiences.
(11:26):
The animatronics are old, butyet they still work a little magic
when you're on the Jungle Cruise.
Pirates, I think is.
Has a very interesting historyat Disney World because it wasn't
included in the original plan.
People who were designing itdidn't think people in Florida would
want a Pirates of theCaribbean ride.
They thought that, oh, you getenough of that down here anyway.
(11:48):
Right.
There's the Gasparilla Paradedown in Tampa.
What do you want this for?
But there was a real outcry ofpeople going, wait, I went all the
way to this park and there wasno pirates ride.
And then they put the piratesride in.
So Pirates of the Caribbean.
And that's changed a littlebit, but it's still.
It still holds its.
Its own as one of the classic attractions.
And I.
I don't know if it ruins themagic a little bit, but I watched
(12:10):
a.
Almost one of those Disneyplus shows that, like, how they make
the attractions and they kindof learned how they did the fire.
And I was like, oh, that waspretty basic and it sounded easy.
I wanted a little bit more.
But interesting.
It's.
It's really well designed and,and ton of fun.
This.
I told you when I went toChristmas, I never saw the line outside
(12:32):
the building ever.
And the line was outside thebuilding and we got to go through
the back end and sweep aroundand there were a couple of little
cue items like skeletons andwhatnot that I've never saw before
because the ride, the weightnever took me to that part of the
building.
So Crazy.
So I have a little off topicquestion to ask you.
Yes.
That.
(12:52):
Speaking about pirates.
So I always have wondered, ifyou're in the park after dark and
you were stuck inside a rideby yourself, would it be more scary
to be stuck inside Pirates ofthe Caribbean or Haunted Mansion?
Oh, that's a great question.
I would say Haunted Mansion.
I would say Haunted Mansion.
That was.
But, but I'm with you on bothof them.
(13:14):
You know, there's the reallycreepy aspect to parts of the Pirates
of the Caribbean ride.
Yeah, exactly.
Haunted Mansion is, is stillone of those that even as I've gotten
older, the one guy that's kindof screaming, let me out of here.
Let me out of here.
I'm always like, what's hedoing there?
How long has he been there?
Why?
Why can't.
Why can't he get out?
Why is the Haunted Mansiontrapped him in this ghoulish place?
(13:37):
But.
But again, Adventureland, it'snot big.
It's not big, but it's, it's.
You can quickly check off alot of things in that land, but Dole
Whip is where you're going toget it.
That's right.
The cheeseburger spring rollsare also where you're going to get
that if it's open.
Yeah.
So now we're going to move upto Frontierland.
Now I have to admit, I thinkI've eaten at Pecos Bills once and
that's it.
(13:57):
I.
This is not a place I stop for food.
I usually don't play the other.
Play the entertainment stuff.
I never.
I don't remember doing theshooting gallery when it was up and
running, but it does have BigThunder Mountain Railroad.
It used to have the Splash Mountain.
Now Tiana's Adventure.
And I think Big ThunderMountain Railroad is one of the best
themed roller coasters out there.
I agree.
It's sad that it's gone for awhole year, so.
(14:20):
Because I think it's, it's oneof the rides that just the queue
and going into a gold mine andall of those things.
It's still just got a greatstory behind it.
Yeah.
With, with the loss of BigThunder Mountain this year, there's
a lot, a lot missing fromFrontierland in general.
You still have, you have theredo of the Country Bears, which
(14:43):
we, we don't stop in theCountry Bears anymore.
And we're like you, we don'tgo to Peco Spills.
So there's not as much inFrontierland that's going to draw
us over there.
Now we're going to do Tiana'sBayou Adventure Time and then usually
just jump on the train to getback over to Fantasyland.
But other than that, I can'tthink of anything that I'm really
going to spend a lot of timein Frontierland.
Yeah, exactly.
(15:03):
They used to have a McDonald'sfry cart.
What?
They're years and years.
Oh, you know what?
I think I do remember that a.
Long time ago, but McDonald'shad a deal and they used to just
sell fries.
That was it.
Like a box of french fries.
That's how you used to get alittle stand was right, right there.
So Frontierland has got two.
We've got to show the countryBear Jamborees like Adventureland,
the Tiki Room.
You can go in there, cool off,sort of relax a little bit, take
(15:25):
some time away, get off your feet.
And now we're going to a lambthat is very small and in a blink
of an eye you can miss it.
It's got a ride, it's got ashow, it's got one of the more least
probably used attraction.
But it is Liberty Square.
Yeah.
So with Liberty Square, it'sone of those that sometimes can kind
of get lumped intoFrontierland or Adventureland just
(15:46):
because it's right there.
But you've got the HauntedMansion, which is one of the most
classic rides in all of Magic Kingdom.
So you do not want to missthis area of the park.
You've got a quick servicerestaurant called Columbia Harbor
House that is really.
It's one of those that I thinkis kind of a hidden gem that if you're
looking for something that's alittle more what you would feel like,
(16:06):
sit down.
But also fast casual.
You can go in there, you cansit upstairs, you can look down over
the.
The road that's kind ofleading towards It's a Small World
right there and have a mealthat feels a little bit, a little
bit more substantial.
Than say like a hot dog atCasey's Corner.
And then you have one of themore famous sit down restaurants
(16:28):
in Magic Kingdom, Liberty Tree Tavern.
And I have a quick story aboutthat because we, we ate at Liberty
Tree Tavern 2012.
My daughter was, it was likeher birthday, but it wasn't her birthday.
And it was kind of cool.
We were like gonna eat thereand I.
They had these mugs and on themugs have Mickey, Donald and Goofy
in a kind of a patriotic theme.
(16:48):
And it said Liberty Truetraveling on it.
And I said, oh, these mugs areso great.
They're glass solid.
And I said I'm gonna, I wannaask if they sell these mugs.
And the lady said, yeah, wesell them.
And I went to ask the lady howmuch they were and I don't know if
she made a mistake.
I think she made a mistakebecause she said $5.
These are glass mugs withDisney characters.
(17:10):
I bought four.
Yeah, I said $5.
I was like, I don't think mysoda was $5.
The soda that was in it.
That's the deal of the century.
I, I keep them in my freezerand I break them out for frosted
mug drinks.
And that' I thought it was great.
What?
It was a good meal too.
That's fantastic.
It's a really good meal.
It's probably one of myfavorite spots to eat at if I'm looking
(17:33):
for a sit down meal.
And it's.
The atmosphere is interestingthere because it's obviously set
to be like in early colonial days.
And it's just, it's anexperience that I think is fun for
all ages.
And you brought up the HauntedMansion and again a very iconic ride.
It's the exact replica.
Not now because they'vechanged it up a little bit, but it
used to be an exact replica ofwhat they built at Disneyland.
(17:55):
And this was one of WaltDisney's of his favorite things to
come up with.
Back at Back in Anaheim wasreally had a whole bunch of ideas
on what he wanted the HauntedMansion to be.
New world of weird, all of that.
It's a great history.
If you're a Disney historianand you want to know about Raleigh
Crump and, and how they allcame about it.
I highly recommend diving deepinto the Haunted Mansion.
(18:17):
But it was a balance between ahaunted house, a really scary haunted
house and sort of goofy fun.
Let's laugh and have a good time.
Time.
But that means there's a balance.
There's a balance of beingscary and there's a balance of being
Kind of fun and whimsical.
How do we guide people whohave little kids on what exactly
this Haunted Mansion is?
Yeah.
So a lot of people will shyaway from that when I ask about when
(18:38):
we're, when we're talkingabout Lightning Lanes in particular,
because Haunted Mansion is oneof those that I think is a really
good choice that still fallsinto that tier two or tier three
category.
But I'm actually finding moreand more that families with kids
don't want to go to Haunted Mansion.
And it's surprising to mebecause I think that I always just
drug my kids through there,regardless of how old they were.
(19:00):
Right.
But now I would say it'sprobably still one that is not a
favorite for my kids.
But I always tell people, hey,you're not going.
Nobody's going to jump out andscare you or try to, like, touch
you or anything in there.
It's.
It's literally a slow, darkride that's supposed to be somewhat
fun.
So just give it a try if you can.
(19:20):
Yeah.
And I, I.
It's my favorite attraction inthe park.
I try to ride it twice duringthe day and then at night I try to
catch it twice when I'm there there.
But I do understand becauseagain, the beginning is a little.
There's a guy playing thepiano and you see his justice shadow.
And again, like I mentionedearlier, there's a guy asking to
get out.
And you see the, the candlesand no one's holding the candles.
(19:41):
The hat box ghost is now there.
He can be pretty freaky.
And then it gets verywhimsical and it gets a little bit
more fun.
I do have a tip for people.
I, I don't know if I shouldgive this away, because it's actually
a really good tip.
Some of you know this, butthis is for newbies.
If you are in the stretchingroom and you want to get.
Be the first one out, standunderneath the girl with the umbrella.
Yes, that's where the door is.
(20:02):
That both of them.
So Lori and I did this lasttime because I told her, I said,
stand with the girl.
As soon as we get in, go tothe girl at the door, do with the
umbrella.
And she said, why?
And I said, because that'swhere the door is.
And we were the first coupleout of.
And I don't think I've everbeen the first couple out of that
melee that has.
That has you going.
That's right.
Listen, you gotta save everysecond that you can.
(20:24):
That's right.
So that just.
We were.
Walk to the ride she goes,this is actually cool.
I go, yeah, it's really cool.
We're leading the parade tothe doom buggies.
But they do have a shop,Memento Mori.
You can go there and get yourHaunted Mansion souvenirs.
But like I said, very small.
It does have an attraction.
And that's the hall of Presidents.
Yes.
Another place to relax and sitdown and take a nap.
(20:46):
That's right.
Which is what everybody saysabout the hall of Presidents is where
you can go to get 20 minutesof Z time.
Hey, that's absolutely right.
And you know, I think thatit's one of those.
I don't think we've ever madeour kids sit through it, but because
we're out of the nap phasewith our kids.
But, but yes, it's absolutelya perfect spot for a nap.
(21:07):
It's nice and cool and dark.
So.
Yeah.
Do you think in 2025, theanimatronic aspect of these has not
worn off?
Not worn off.
But it's not as impressive.
Yes, I, I get that for surebecause I can think back to the first
time that I saw it, probablyin the early ninet.
It was really, really cool tosee that because these, these animatronics
(21:30):
looked so lifelike.
And I think we're so used toseeing that now that it's, it's a
little lost.
A little.
It's a wild show becauseyou'll see like when they're introducing
the presidents and likeFranklin Pierce has mentioned, you'll
see like Thomas Jefferson turnhis head and nod and then just.
And then you can watch all ofthe animatronics doing something.
They're like interacting witheach other.
(21:51):
And you're thinking, this is wild.
Yeah.
But as you said, as we'vegotten more and more used to this,
as more and more parks areusing animatronics, as less impressive
as it was, let's say 20, 25,40 years ago.
Yeah.
And.
But still it's, it's again,it's air conditioning.
It's 20 something minutes long.
I also like that we've kept it.
I think I do too.
It's a nice thing that we'vekept a real quick.
(22:12):
One last thing on Liberty Square.
It's also a place where you get.
There's a Christmas tree shop,a Christmas shop that's in there
that's really cool to go visit.
If you even.
No matter what time of yearyou go, you can get some really cool
Christmas.
Don't forget the waffle with.
And the waffle.
Yeah, the Sleepy Hollow.
That's right.
All right, now here we go toFantasy Land.
So we're going to go up rightin the corner.
We're going to go right intoFantasy Land.
(22:33):
Now, there's people.
Some people divide this newFantasy Land, old Fantasy Land, all
of its Fantasy land.
I just call it all FantasyLand because it's basically incorporates
so many of the, you know, thefantasy elements.
But if you were to say, giveme the land that really makes Disney
World.
Disney World.
This is the Fantasy Land.
(22:53):
This is it.
This is the place.
Because this is where if yougrew up watching Wonderful World
of Disney or you had Disneystorybooks when you're a kid, this
is where you're going to.
Or the VHS tapes now, DVD tapes.
This is where you're going tofind the attractions.
This is where you're going tosee Peter Pan.
This is where you used to seeSnow White.
This is where you see Winniethe Pooh.
Now you do with the seven doors.
(23:14):
Mime train, but they used tobe an actual ride.
This is where you're going tosee all those characters.
Dumbo.
This is where you're going tosee them all.
Yes.
This is what's going to reallyfeel like magic when you are walking
through the Magic Kingdom.
No matter what part of FantasyLand you're in, like you mentioned,
some people will argue, a lotof people will argue, actually, that
this is where the bestbathroom is in the Magic Kingdom.
(23:34):
So if you.
If you're coming up past theHaunted Mansion and going into Fantasyland
from there, if you go over toyour left, you'll see kind of a little
twinkling area.
These are the Tangled bathrooms.
This is where the Rapunzelbathrooms are.
They're more themed than anyother bathroom in the park.
And you think we're funny for.
For saying that, but no, ifyou can find the better bathroom
in the park, then it's a good thing.
(23:55):
Yes.
And so you've got that.
And.
And It's a Small World is oneof those that everybody's like, do
we really have to do this?
But yes, it's another classic.
It's what makes Disney Disney.
It's what makes the MagicKingdom the Magic Kingdom.
And then you've got yourcenter of Fantasyland, which is the
carousel.
And I've spent so much time onthe carousel lately, especially with
(24:16):
Korra.
But it's.
It's a land where I think youcan get so much done in a short period
of time.
It's a place that I tellclients to start with their early
entry if they're there forearly Entry because you can knock
out so many things that areclose together in just a short amount
of time.
Exactly.
And Peter Pan is one of those rides.
It's not.
I think it's what, 90 seconds?
(24:38):
Minute.
Two minutes.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, it's.
It's hardly anything at all.
But you'll wait an hour for it.
Absolutely.
It's still.
It's one of those rides thatstill carries true in 20, 25 of people
saying, this is what I got to do.
I want to fly to Neverland, Iwant to get in my boat, and I want
to fly over London.
And I talk about this a lot,not to get totally sentimental on
(24:58):
stuff, but one of the reasonsI'm still a major Disney adult is
so much of my memories of as akid came from parents that like the
parks, and we went to theparks a lot.
And every time I'm on PeterPan, I am reminded.
My brother and I were in aboat and we were flying over the
city of London, and my brotherwent, look, you can see cars moving,
moving.
(25:18):
And it was those little lights.
And I never noticed it.
And then my brother pointed itout when we were like 12.
And now, you see, every time I.
Go on it, I look down and Iremember my brother saying, yeah,
look there.
You can see cars.
It's the little details.
It's those little details.
It's those little details thatreally stand out.
But I always tell people that get.
Get a lightning lane for Peter Pan.
It's a long way.
(25:38):
It's a cool cue.
It's a really great cue.
It's one of the better cuesthat you'll find.
But it's a long wait.
Again, small world World.
It's Winnie the Pooh.
Used to be Mr.
Toads.
Now they've got a whole area,a whole ride dedicated.
I think the Winnie the Poohride, so cute.
It's got a cool little poo shop.
We always.
My wife's a big Winnie thePooh fan, so we always go there.
Seven Dwarves Mine train.
(25:59):
It's not the most thrillingroller coaster, but it is a pretty
fun roller coaster.
It can sway back and forthbecause it's a minecart.
So you're going into the mineswith the dwarves.
It's a good one, too, that Ialways tell people this is a good
starter roller coaster.
If you're not sure if yourkids are going to like roller coasters,
Kids that are as young asthree often are tall enough to ride
this.
And so even if you're.
(26:20):
If you're talking about a Kidthat's eight or nine that's never
been on a roller coaster.
Start them here because thiswill be a good gauge of whether or
not they're going to like someof the bigger ones.
Yeah.
And it's got, it's got.
Again, it's not overlythrilling in terms of the D, you
know, the dips and, and whatnot.
But the swing is kind of cool.
The song is, you know, kind of cool.
It gives you that, that, thatSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs feel.
(26:42):
But now go to Dumbo.
Yeah.
I don't know why they didn'tdo this right away with Dumbo, which
is just give you a queue areain the air conditioning, call you
into the ride.
It used to be wait out in theblazing sun for an hour and a half
to get on a 90 second Dumbo.
Yeah.
And you used to only have oneset of dumbos and now you have two.
So it works a lot better nowso that we don't really see just
(27:03):
tremendously long waits in general.
And then even while you'rewaiting that out, like you said,
there's a really nice indoorlittle playground area that the kids
can run off some steam andthat you can kind of cool off while
you're waiting.
And it's.
And again for, for Disney,Dumbo was.
Is one of those attractionslike the carousel and like the teacups,
which is.
(27:24):
It drives them crazy becauseit's a traditional cue which is stand
around and wait till the rideis over and everybody loads and unloads
and then we start it up again.
And then we wait till it'sover and then we load.
None load.
And Dumbo.
Now it's not like that.
Now you got people going.
They got stuff to do whilethey wait.
There's another one going offwhile another one's going on.
So it's a perfect answer to aride that they probably are like,
(27:47):
we hate these.
Yeah.
Like we don't.
This is, this is carnival.
Like we want to do somethingand get people moving through the
lines, not spending all thattime waiting.
So brilliant idea to get twoDumbo rides and a place to kind of
hang out.
Other than that, in the backend is a lot of smaller kids stuff
that I haven't done in a long time.
There's the barnstorming miniroller coaster.
And that's pretty much it.
(28:07):
It for me.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's it.
There's some characters thatare back there under the big top
we used to see.
I think that they're the samethat it's Donald Daisy, Goofy and
Minnie back there, I think.
Don't quote me on that.
So you've got four charactersthat are back there under the big
top.
You've got enchanted taleswith Bell, with Belle, which kind
of gets lost sometimes, Ithink because it's back there.
(28:28):
By Be Our Guest, you'll findsome other princess meet and greets
in Fantasy Land.
This is where you'll also findthe most popular restaurant in all
of Magic Kingdom, which isCinderella's royal T.
That's right.
And that's going to be foundinside the castle.
That's the.
The priciest meal in all ofWalt Disney World.
And you're going to meet fourto five princesses there, whether
it's for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
(28:50):
You'll also find Be Our Guest,which is another restaurant in the
back of Fantasyland where youcan often meet the beast at dinner.
And then other than that, inFantasyland, there's a couple of
quick service restaurants thatI tend to look over because they're
not any of my favorites.
Yeah.
Pinocchio houses.
We.
We eat the flatbread there.
Yes.
Yeah.
And that's if you can get aseat overlooking.
Looking Small world coming through.
(29:12):
It's kind of cool.
Absolutely.
And wave at everybody.
But.
Yeah.
So that's kind of the overviewof Fantasyland.
Yep, exactly.
I do recommend right atCheshire Cat, the little stand right
outside Winnie the Pooh, whichhas got really.
Some really cool treats.
You can go.
You can get some really cooltreats there.
But there's also, as Imentioned, the teacups.
That's part of the kind offamily Fantasy Land.
If you've been on teacups, anyamusement park in the country, this
(29:33):
is no different.
Except it's themed to theAlice in Wonderland theme.
Right.
And if you are a magic band,plus go around and get the voices
activated person, you can domad chatter.
And Cheshire Cat there.
Oh, yes.
Very cool.
It's a very cool thing.
But then it leads us into Tomorrowland.
Yes.
Now, I got a confession again.
I'm old enough to rememberTomorrowland being the coolest land
to go to because it wasfuturistic and it was kind of fun.
(29:55):
But you and I did a podcast awhile back on our wishes for Disney
World, what we'd like to see.
And one of mine was makeTomorrowland a little more Tomorrow.
Yes, please.
I feel like it's got.
It's a little lacking in theTomorrowlandish part of it.
And a lot of it is becausetechnology goes so fast.
Yeah.
That in a blink of an eye,things you thought would Be cool
to have in the future you'rehaving today or you've discarded
(30:16):
that technology in the past.
Yeah, yeah.
And, but, but again, goingback to my youth, at least Buzz Lightyears
in outer space that used to beif you had wings to talk about how
cool it is to take an airplane somewhere.
Yeah.
So Buzz Lightyear, speaking ofthat attraction, is one that I often
overlook and I overlook it formy clients when I really.
(30:39):
I don't mean to because I knowso many people really do enjoy R.
But it's one of those that,like you said, it feels so primitive
now where they could make itso much better.
I think you can't even beginto put side by side the two act the
sort of the virtual kind ofarcade ish game with Toy Story Mania
(31:02):
and Buzz Lightyear.
This is like a rotarytelephone to your cellular phone
you have in your pocket.
Yes, there are two.
I mean, the technologies are insanely.
Yeah.
Different.
I mean, it's almost feels likeit's 40 years apart.
And what you could do with aride between what Buzz Lightyear
is doing in terms of shootinglittle targets with a light to compare
(31:23):
to what Toy Story Mania isdoing with virtual video.
Right.
Like, it's amazing.
But I think it's a wastedspace with this, with Stitch not
being.
And having any attractionthere at all.
I don't know why we've waitedthis long.
If that ride got shut downyears ago.
Yeah.
And they haven't done anythingwith that.
I kind of wonder what they'redoing in there.
It's like a conspiracy.
(31:43):
It's like, okay, well like,are they using it for something else?
Is that where they're like topsecret missions or what's happening
in there?
But then, you know, thenyou've got Tomorrowland Speedway,
which is another one that'sthe classic load and unload.
And it takes forever.
That takes forever.
Even a 15 minute wait can feellike it's 55 minutes.
Exactly.
And again, when that ride wasin Disneyland, it was the age of
(32:06):
the automobile.
You know, it was kind of.
Kind of cool.
It has no place inTomorrowland whatsoever.
But however, I will say it isone that is, we write it every trip
because my kids think it's fun.
Because where else can theydrive a car?
That's right.
Exactly.
I wish it was a little, Idon't know, more updated to something.
I mean, you and I talked aboutdo something with the.
(32:28):
With the Wreck It Ralph.
Yes.
Oh, that'd be cool.
Like make it.
Make it so that you can seesome Wreck It Ralph's.
Ralph stuff is driving because they.
That was all about racing.
Racing.
Yeah.
Putting in the cars.
But they do have two of themajor attractions that still kind
of hold up to this day and.
Well, not this day because oneof them is relatively new and that
is Space Mountain and Tron.
Yeah.
I think Tron is one of themore fantastic experiences at the
(32:49):
park.
It is.
And you know, and it's.
It's not one that I feel likeit's takes forever because the pre
show really ends up not evenbeing a pre show.
It's just once one littleholding room and then you're off
to the line for the.
For the actual ride vehicle.
And so in that regard, I feellike it's.
It's better than somethinglike Guardians of the Galaxy or Rise
(33:10):
of the Resistance.
If you're thinking about interms of how long it's going to take,
especially if you've gotlittle ones where somebody is waiting
out with the little one andthen waiting for everybody else to
get done.
You can know that this is notgoing to be as long of a ride experience
as some of the other ones.
But it's still going to besuper thrilling.
Yeah.
And this again, this goes back to.
To something that when I wasyounger and the Tron movie came out,
(33:32):
like to see them race in thegame and I thought that was a really
cool thing.
And now here I am in my 50sand they finally bring in some similar
experience.
Yes.
Into a theme park.
Space Mountain is one that'sreally interesting for people.
I.
This is a Space Mountain is aride best described as messing with
your perception.
Yeah.
(33:52):
Because it's dark and you feellike you're going way faster than
you actually are.
Yeah.
If you were to ride this inthe daytime, if they turned the lights
on or they took the roof off,it would not be as intimidating.
But because the lights are outand things are flying around and
you are not feel like you'reout of space.
You go much faster than the 35miles an hour that you actually are
(34:13):
going.
That's right.
That's right.
It would feel much more likeBig Thunder Mountain, which feels
a lot slower sometimes.
Yeah, exactly.
It's one.
It's like one of those mousetrap type of things.
You go up and then you kind ofspin around with some dips.
That's basically all that is.
But it still holds true.
It's.
It's still.
We wrote it just recently onour Christmas trip.
And I still can remember thatfeeling of excitement walking in
(34:34):
the plank and walking up and.
And just gearing up, being.
This is so.
It was so exciting as a kid towrite something like this.
And still holds true.
I'm getting a little old,though, for the seating.
Oh, gosh, me too.
And then, like, when I get outof the vehicle, I just can feel it
in my hips and everywhere else.
So I never want to hold up the line.
Like, I want to hold up the,like, get out.
And then we're going to moveit on.
(34:54):
And I'm like, still.
Hold on.
I'm still.
Yeah, hold on.
Little, little.
Give me some time here.
We talked about a place to goin every single land to relax and
get.
And just get away from everything.
Here's Carousel of Progress,another place to get a nap in for
those of you who don't reallyappreciate the travel through time.
That's right.
That Carousel of Progress canbring to you.
(35:15):
Yes, the travel through.
Not really a long period oftime when.
When they.
When they give you a VRheadset for Grandma and she's playing
a very old Atari 2600 game.
And they call that the future.
It's not really hitting well,but again, it's.
I think it's.
I like.
I like the music, I like thesong, I like the animatronics.
(35:36):
It's one of the.
I'm one of those people thatwill ride it and love it, and my
whole family is like, wake meup when this is over.
Like, tell me when we're atthe Christmas scene.
So funny.
So.
So for food in Tomorrowland,you've got cosmic rays, which is,
again, cosmic rays.
It's not going to be one thatI go to because I've told you before
a million times, I'm alwaysgoing to eat at Casey's Corner.
So cosmic rays is going to beyour more traditional burgers, chicken
(35:57):
sandwiches, things like that.
It's a good spot to just beable to chill in, some air conditioning.
There's also, I think thatthere's a spot where you can get
a milkshake over in tomorrow.
I think so.
Yeah, exactly.
I think there is two.
Yeah.
So that's a couple of thingsthat are over there.
And then, you know, you'rekind of just making your way back
towards Main street after that.
There is the two other ridesthat I want to mention.
(36:17):
The.
The People Mover.
I think it's a must do.
I think the People Mover is amust do.
Oh, absolutely.
I think this is an.
It's a relaxing kind of triphigh above Tomorrowland.
It's really cool.
If you've Never done it.
You know, if you, if you didit maybe years ago, nothing's really
has changed.
It's going to take you intoSpace Mountain.
It's going to take you intosome other places.
It goes indoors, outdoors.
(36:38):
It's really cool.
Listen for the, the kind of,the more famous.
Paging Mr.
Morrow, Mr.
Tom Morrow.
My kids miss it all the timeand I keep telling them to pay attention.
They never do.
But then the other one isMonsters in Gl Floor.
Great for kids.
I'd skip it if I was going asan adult.
It's not necessary same, butit's got a very, a nice little walkway
back into the center spoke.
(36:59):
But like you mentionedearlier, cosmic rays is really the
only eery there.
There's some, there's placesto get popcorn.
But that's really about it foryour Tomorrowland experience.
Experience.
That's right.
And there you go.
There's, there's the Magic Kingdom.
Now, as far as advice isnavigating, as you mentioned earlier,
it, I would, I think theexcitement, if you're going to take
your kids for the first time,there's going to be a lot of excitement
(37:20):
if they kind of know orthey've heard about certain rides.
That's the way I was when Iwas a kid.
Every kid in my elementaryschool was going to Disney World,
coming back and telling me howawesome this was.
And that was.
And this was.
And that was.
But I would try to do a lot ofthat and then check off some things
later on in your trip ifyou're going for, especially if you're
going for a long period oftime because you want to, you definitely
(37:42):
want to get, get on Tron.
You definitely want to doTiana's, you want to get that virtual
queue down.
Yeah.
Ride Haunted Mansion, ridePeter Pan, all of that.
But there are some things thatif you don't do on that trip, don't
worry about it.
You don't walk through Swissand don't worry about it.
Yes, don't worry about it.
And you know, we go back toJungle Cruise being one of those
and that this is a perfectexample of what I tell clients.
(38:04):
Do not stress out if you arenot able to get a lightning lane
for Jungle Cruise.
If the line is over, I say 30to 40 minutes for jungle Cruise.
Don't wait for it.
Because it's one of those thatthe line does not move quickly.
And it's one of those that Ithink that can, can build frustration
pretty quickly.
So there's a few of those thatI'll Kind of give tips on as far
as how long I would wait inline versus not.
(38:26):
But if it's your one trip, youknow what?
Absolutely.
Make sure you have those twodays and see everything you can.
Now, as far as parades, judgethe DAT time you're going as to when
you want to break away fromyour routine to get a good spot in
the parade.
If you are going on.
It's a very, very busy day,you might want to go an hour before
the parade starts and startplanting yourself at a location on
(38:47):
Main street or anywhere alongthe parade route to watch the parade.
If you are going on a lightday and there's two parade showings,
you don't necessarily have todo that.
Yeah, but I have.
I have been pulled away manytimes with an hour before the start
to go.
We're right here.
This is where we're staying.
So I will stay here.
If you want to go somewhere else.
Yes.
You know, and.
(39:08):
And go do that.
I got.
I went to.
I was waiting in line for aMickey Mouse picture with my wife,
and I wanted us to get aMickey Mouse picture.
And my wife broke away fromthat line because she's like, I know
I'm not missing the Christmasparade, and I'm gonna go sit on this
corner.
So you're on.
You're on your own.
Now, I had two choices.
Do I want to be the old guygetting his picture taken with Mickey
(39:28):
by myself, or do I want to getout in line and sit on the car?
I stayed and got my picturetaken with Mickey by myself.
It.
So she said no.
And we got.
We got great seats and great.
A great spot for the parade.
But I also warn people and I.
I tell this story.
So a couple of years ago, mywife and I were at.
I would say two years ago, wewere at a parade, and there were
two young girls sitting righton the curb.
(39:50):
And they were.
Had great seats for theparade, but they decided to leave
to go get a picture in thecenter with.
With the castle.
And people took that spot anddid not give it up.
And the kids came back.
We were sitting there.
No, it's.
It's over.
There's.
There's no court in the landis going to give you those.
That spot back.
That's right.
So don't get up to go selfieor without somebody saving your spot
because people will gobble upthose spots.
(40:11):
Yep.
All right.
And then on your way out ofDisney World, get yourself that souvenir.
Walk through the emporium.
Enjoy your time.
That's right.
And take it.
Do you have a particular wayyou like to go back to the parking
lot or do you.
Do you don't.
Doesn't matter to you.
So, you know, I try to take.
The boat back when sometimes I go.
So, you know, Tony, I don'tknow that I've ever part.
(40:32):
I'm sure when we were kids, wealways would drive down to Disney
World.
Oh, yeah, you have, you stay.
I stay on property.
So I'm always going back tothe bus stop.
Typically.
That's right, the bus stop,wherever we're staying.
But I would say if I were inthe parking lot, I would probably
take the monorail.
Yeah, monorail.
Very good.
All right, so that's gonna doit for a little bit of an in depth
(40:52):
look on the Magic Kingdom.
Next week we'll do Epcotcenter and we will complete all four
parks and the water parks ofWalt Disney World.
So please subscribe to the podcast.
Like it?
Share it with your friends.
You can reach us,lauren@allthemagictravel.com metravel
with tony dmail.com we'd loveto hear from you.
And if you have any tips thatyou'd like to share with us that
we can share with the peoplewho listen to this podcast, we would
(41:14):
love to hear from you.
So again, please subscribe andlike it because it certainly helps
us with the algorithm.
We'll see you next week foranother episode of the Wands and
Wishes podcast.
Foreign Wishes podcast.
Thanks for joining us.
I'm Tony Desiri along withLauren Mallard of all the magic Travel.
So this episode is going to beentitled In Depth the Magic Kingdom
and it's going to be a kind ofa multi part series.
We're going to go over thetheme parks at Walt Disney World
(00:20):
and Universal Studios, giveyou a primer for if you haven't been
to the parks in a while oreven if you've been to the parks
a number of times, giving yousome of our strategy tips to navigate
your way around the parks.
And I know for a lot of youout there, you've been to the parks
many times.
So there are some of youhaven't been in a long time.
I know we meet people whohaven't gone in like 10 years and
a lot has changed.
(00:40):
And some of you may need alittle bit of a guide to how to get
the best out of your trip toMagic Kingdom or Epcot or Islands
of Adventure or whatnot.
So this in the next couple ofweeks is going to be our primer series,
an in depth primer series onthe parks.
And today we are going to bestarting off with the creme de la
creme of the theme parks inOrlando, and that is the Magic Kingdom,
(01:00):
which opened in 1971 as acompliment to Disneyland in Anaheim,
California.
Unfortunately, Walt Disney didnot get to see the opening of Walt
Disney World.
But nevertheless, some of thethemes of that park and some of the
ideas behind that parkcertainly resonate within as you
walk through the Magic Kingdom.
So that's what we decided todo today.
Go over all the lands, some ofthe places to eat, the rides, attractions,
(01:23):
the shows, things that youneed and plus some of those strategy
tips that can help younavigate around Magic Kingdom.
Because it can be very busyand it can be very hectic and especially
haven't been in a while.
There are some new things tonavigate through, through.
So we decided to start withthe Magic Kingdom.
How are you, Lauren?
I am good.
How are you, Tony?
Great.
Glad to be back and on trackand getting, getting started once
(01:44):
again with this series becauseI, I meet people all the time that
say, well, I haven't beensince I was a kid, I haven't been
in 10 years or whatnot, wantto take the kids or want to get back
there.
And I thought to myself, youknow, because we go a lot, it's something
we've sort of adjusted ourstrategy and, and now I'm like, well,
let's put together somethingthat gives people an idea of how
(02:05):
to really navigate these parks.
Yeah, I think it's awesomebecause so many times, just Disney
World overall, I have clientsthat will say, hey, I need a lot
of hand holding.
And that's what I'm good at.
I'm good at helping navigatethe parks.
Almost like I'm there with them.
And so having this in depthlook at each one of the parks is
really going to be helpful, Ithink, for somebody that's kind of
new to vacationing at Disney.
(02:26):
All right, so again, just as Isaid earlier, this is a park that's
opened up in 1971.
Very different, obviously withthe changes.
And that's what Walt Disneywanted with this parks always to
change through the climb, the time.
But a lot of stuff stays thesame, right?
Main Street USA stays the same.
It is that, that, that iconicidea of the, of the town Walt Disney
grew up in and giving you thatold feel.
(02:48):
Now the stores have certainly changed.
They used to be a magic shop,they used to be a Photoshop.
There was all sorts ofdifferent types of shops, different
kinds.
And now it's a lot more, youknow, one emporium that kind of encompasses
that area and whatnot.
But there's still that amazingmagic feeling of getting to that.
That entrance.
That's right.
(03:08):
And you know, I was told along time ago, and I'm not sure if
there's truth to this or not,but as you're coming in Main or Magic
Kingdom, Main street isdesigned where it looks like it's
longer when you come in andthen when you exit, it's designed
to where it looks like it's shorter.
Yeah, that forced perspective.
Yes.
And so it's.
Every little bit of Mainstreet was designed with, with so
(03:33):
many things in mind.
And I'll give one little funfact while we're on Main street,
if it's hot or if it's rainingor if it's just crowded.
Did you know that you can walkin the door down at Casey's Corner
and you can walk all the waydown to the other end of Main Street?
It's one of those things to go outside.
It's one of those things.
(03:54):
I know, but I never execute.
Oh, I do it all the time.
You do it all the time.
That's.
It's a great way to do thatbecause you're right, all of it is
sort interconnected all theway down into the main, like oval
of the sort of entrance of the park.
Exactly.
This is the one thing that Istill get a lot of working with people
from around the country,especially people I've worked with
in broadcasting, they're from California.
(04:15):
I've never been to Orlando iswhen I tell them you don't just pull
up and go to the park.
You got to take a boat or experience.
It's incredibly wild.
And for many people who'venever done it or have gone to Disneyland,
where it's right there intown, like you're driving down the
street and there it is, thisis such a different experience to
say, oh no, once you get tothe parking, you, you're not done
(04:37):
yet.
You, you have to pick whichway you want to go to the park, monorail
or boat.
And I think one of the thingsthat I love about that is just knowing
the history of why Walt orthe, or the people at, who were designing
it with Walt at the timebefore his death wanted to say, look,
we, we, we built Disneyland,but we didn't buy enough land around
(04:58):
Disneyland.
And so you go to Disneyland inSouthern California and right across
the street is like a Denny'sor Right.
Different hotels andrestaurants right there in real world
Southern California.
And the idea of just going sofar into Central Florida, so even
much further than where youparked your car.
Yeah, that is, that is the park.
(05:19):
That's the only park that does that.
And it's still really, reallymagical to this.
Like you're actually going onan extended trip to Magic Kingdom.
Yeah, absolutely.
When your clients talk to youabout how many, how much can they
see?
When I was, when I wasyounger, we went to Florida and my
father did one of those tourswhere it's like they, you're gonna
do Magic Kingdom and then SeaWorld and then you can have a free
(05:41):
day and then.
Yeah.
And Magic Kingdom was two days.
Is it still a two day partgiven all of the advancements and
Lightning Lane and all thatother kind of stuff?
Yeah.
So typically what I will tellclients is if they have, if they
have five days to spend in theparks, if they're just doing Walt
Disney World, that's ideal.
Because I do still say thatMagic Kingdom is a two day park regardless
(06:03):
of the age of your kids orregardless if it's just adults, because
there is so much to see and do there.
I tell people that theLightning Lane option there is the
most valuable.
It is the most, the, thepriciest one, but it's the most valuable
because there's the mostattractions there.
You're also going to see themost in regards to shows, nighttime
spectaculars, different thingsthat are going to fill up the day
(06:27):
more than just the attractionsthat are there.
So if the, if you have twodays to spend.
I have a particular way that Ilike to kind of tour it and do those
two so that you're not seeingthe same lands twice if you don't
want.
We were advised again thiswhen I was a little kid.
So this is early 80s.
Like do Adventureland andFantasy Land in Liberty Square and
hang out there one day andthen the next day swing over.
(06:47):
Do you bounce around over thetwo days or do you, do you, do you
say concentrate on getting asmuch of these lands as possible per
day and then.
And switch over?
Yeah.
So I have a couple differentways of doing it.
I have one plan where I'll sayI'll kind of give the highlights
of each land and then on thatsecond day go back and do your favorites
or do the things that youhaven't hit or the other.
(07:07):
Another way that I like to doit is I like to start in Tomorrowland
and do Tomorrowland andFantasyland and Liberty Square and
then do Adventureland andFrontierland on the second day.
And now with Big ThunderMountain being closed, that takes
away a really big attractionobviously in Frontierland.
So that kind of kind of movesthings around a little bit in that
perspective.
But.
But yeah, I mean regardless ofhow you plan to do it, it can definitely
(07:30):
be a two day park.
All right, so when you enterthe park we, we talked about this
is, there's, there's the MainStreet USA Marceline, Missouri.
It's supposed to give you thissort of a tribute to Wal childhood.
And again the stores is a bigemporium store for, for shopping
for souvenirs.
There's Casey's Corner.
There's a beautiful crystalstore, Crystal Arts which I, I like
seeing.
I just kind of like that stuff.
(07:51):
There's a snack shop.
This is the kind of stuff thatagain you'll be seeing a lot of this
on your way out.
You'll probably want to stopon your way out to get the souvenirs
rather than carrying them around.
But it allows you to get up tohave that walk to the castle which
I think people I've alwaysenjoyed get your picture taken.
But then because the way thepark is designed, this is a spoken
(08:12):
wheel design.
So everything sort of extendsout of the center which is the castle.
The big question is which waydo you go?
Yeah, and there are people wholove to go to the right and there
are people who go to the, goto the left.
Now I don't know if it's asbig a deal as like people at Epcot
and they say, which way shouldyou do the world?
I definitely don't think it'sas polarizing.
Right.
Like, if you start in Canada,people will fight you.
(08:33):
No, but I don't think thatthere's a right or wrong way.
If somebody said I go to.
I go to Tomorrowland first, Idon't think.
Hear.
Hear a lot of argument or Icut right through and go to Fantasy
Land first.
I don't think you hear a lotof arguments.
No, that's sort of the designof the spoken wheel is that once
you're there, you can gonorth, you can go, you know, to 11:00,
you can go to 2:00, whatever, which.
Whichever way you want to go.
Yeah.
And, you know, I think anothergood point about Magic Kingdom is
(08:55):
while it does have the mostattractions, it's by far.
I.
I don't know if it's.
I don't guess it's thesmallest park.
I guess Hollywood Studioswould be the smallest park.
But it's not a huge park.
No, it is not.
So if you're on one side ofthe park and need to get to the clear
the other side, then it's nota huge endeavor where it is at Epcot
or Animal Kingdom.
Yeah.
And there is a perspectivebecause every park is sort of designed
(09:18):
to not see the other park.
Yeah.
So the way they've sort ofangled the buildings and the angle
the attractions, I mean,obviously there's some parts where
you can sort of peek over andsee some things, but they weigh.
You're supposed to be enclosedin every area of the park without
really blending it into theother parks, but.
So it feels a little biggerthan it actually is.
You're right.
You can boogie from BigThunderbound Railroad all the way
(09:38):
to Carousel of Progress in arelatively short amount of time if
you're walking straight through.
All right, well, let's go tothe left and let's go to Adventureland
first as people naturally sortof lean to the left as they walk.
So if they're going to that,this is a land where you're going
to see.
You're going to find theJungle Cruise, you're going to find
Pirates of the Caribbean.
You're also going to find Dole Whip.
Yeah.
If you're big on Dole Whip,this is where you're going to find
(10:00):
it.
But you're also going to findrides like Aladdin's, the Aladdin
Carpets, Swiss Family RobinsonTreehouse, if in.
In Tiki and Tiki Room, somepeople say The Tiki Room is more
nostalgic than it is anything else.
Is there.
Do you find any of theseattractions not worth it?
Like, skip this one, move on, get.
(10:20):
Or do it later.
Do it after you've seen a lotof stuff and want to kind of check
some things off your list.
Yeah.
So I am one to skip the tree house.
Obviously.
I don't think I've done the treehouse.
In 20 years, so my kids wantedto do it one time, and we were climbing
and climbing and climbing andclimbing, and it's.
You just.
There's not really a whole lotto see.
And so by the time we got upand came back down, they realized
(10:42):
what it was, and it was justkind of one of those things like,
oh, okay, well, we did that.
We'll never have to do it again.
So that's one that we skip.
We almost always do thecarpets just because Cora's.
She's four, so she's stillgonna enjoy that.
That's still another fillerride that we can do.
We're kind of hit or miss onthe Tiki Room.
I kind of think it's fun to goin there every once in a while, but
(11:03):
it is certainly not an every trip.
Must do.
Absolutely.
And.
And Pirates of the Caribbeanand Jungle Cruise are.
These are.
These are absolute must do attractions.
Yeah.
If you are going for the firsttime, these are the things you want
to see, you should be seeing.
That's right.
Jungle Cruise still stands thetest of time.
Even though all the jokes arecorny and are very predictable, it's
still one of the morefantastic sort of Disney experiences.
(11:26):
The animatronics are old, butyet they still work a little magic
when you're on the Jungle Cruise.
Pirates, I think is.
Has a very interesting historyat Disney World because it wasn't
included in the original plan.
People who were designing itdidn't think people in Florida would
want a Pirates of theCaribbean ride.
They thought that, oh, you getenough of that down here anyway.
(11:48):
Right.
There's the Gasparilla Paradedown in Tampa.
What do you want this for?
But there was a real outcry ofpeople going, wait, I went all the
way to this park and there wasno pirates ride.
And then they put the piratesride in.
So Pirates of the Caribbean.
And that's changed a littlebit, but it's still.
It still holds its.
Its own as one of the classic attractions.
And I.
I don't know if it ruins themagic a little bit, but I watched
(12:10):
a.
Almost one of those Disneyplus shows that, like, how they make
the attractions and they kindof learned how they did the fire.
And I was like, oh, that waspretty basic and it sounded easy.
I wanted a little bit more.
But interesting.
It's.
It's really well designed and,and ton of fun.
This.
I told you when I went toChristmas, I never saw the line outside
(12:32):
the building ever.
And the line was outside thebuilding and we got to go through
the back end and sweep aroundand there were a couple of little
cue items like skeletons andwhatnot that I've never saw before
because the ride, the weightnever took me to that part of the
building.
So Crazy.
So I have a little off topicquestion to ask you.
Yes.
That.
(12:52):
Speaking about pirates.
So I always have wondered, ifyou're in the park after dark and
you were stuck inside a rideby yourself, would it be more scary
to be stuck inside Pirates ofthe Caribbean or Haunted Mansion?
Oh, that's a great question.
I would say Haunted Mansion.
I would say Haunted Mansion.
That was.
But, but I'm with you on bothof them.
(13:14):
You know, there's the reallycreepy aspect to parts of the Pirates
of the Caribbean ride.
Yeah, exactly.
Haunted Mansion is, is stillone of those that even as I've gotten
older, the one guy that's kindof screaming, let me out of here.
Let me out of here.
I'm always like, what's hedoing there?
How long has he been there?
Why?
Why can't.
Why can't he get out?
Why is the Haunted Mansiontrapped him in this ghoulish place?
(13:37):
But.
But again, Adventureland, it'snot big.
It's not big, but it's, it's.
You can quickly check off alot of things in that land, but Dole
Whip is where you're going toget it.
That's right.
The cheeseburger spring rollsare also where you're going to get
that if it's open.
Yeah.
So now we're going to move upto Frontierland.
Now I have to admit, I thinkI've eaten at Pecos Bills once and
that's it.
(13:57):
I.
This is not a place I stop for food.
I usually don't play the other.
Play the entertainment stuff.
I never.
I don't remember doing theshooting gallery when it was up and
running, but it does have BigThunder Mountain Railroad.
It used to have the Splash Mountain.
Now Tiana's Adventure.
And I think Big ThunderMountain Railroad is one of the best
themed roller coasters out there.
I agree.
It's sad that it's gone for awhole year, so.
(14:20):
Because I think it's, it's oneof the rides that just the queue
and going into a gold mine andall of those things.
It's still just got a greatstory behind it.
Yeah.
With, with the loss of BigThunder Mountain this year, there's
a lot, a lot missing fromFrontierland in general.
You still have, you have theredo of the Country Bears, which
(14:43):
we, we don't stop in theCountry Bears anymore.
And we're like you, we don'tgo to Peco Spills.
So there's not as much inFrontierland that's going to draw
us over there.
Now we're going to do Tiana'sBayou Adventure Time and then usually
just jump on the train to getback over to Fantasyland.
But other than that, I can'tthink of anything that I'm really
going to spend a lot of timein Frontierland.
Yeah, exactly.
(15:03):
They used to have a McDonald'sfry cart.
What?
They're years and years.
Oh, you know what?
I think I do remember that a.
Long time ago, but McDonald'shad a deal and they used to just
sell fries.
That was it.
Like a box of french fries.
That's how you used to get alittle stand was right, right there.
So Frontierland has got two.
We've got to show the countryBear Jamborees like Adventureland,
the Tiki Room.
You can go in there, cool off,sort of relax a little bit, take
(15:25):
some time away, get off your feet.
And now we're going to a lambthat is very small and in a blink
of an eye you can miss it.
It's got a ride, it's got ashow, it's got one of the more least
probably used attraction.
But it is Liberty Square.
Yeah.
So with Liberty Square, it'sone of those that sometimes can kind
of get lumped intoFrontierland or Adventureland just
(15:46):
because it's right there.
But you've got the HauntedMansion, which is one of the most
classic rides in all of Magic Kingdom.
So you do not want to missthis area of the park.
You've got a quick servicerestaurant called Columbia Harbor
House that is really.
It's one of those that I thinkis kind of a hidden gem that if you're
looking for something that's alittle more what you would feel like,
(16:06):
sit down.
But also fast casual.
You can go in there, you cansit upstairs, you can look down over
the.
The road that's kind ofleading towards It's a Small World
right there and have a mealthat feels a little bit, a little
bit more substantial.
Than say like a hot dog atCasey's Corner.
And then you have one of themore famous sit down restaurants
(16:28):
in Magic Kingdom, Liberty Tree Tavern.
And I have a quick story aboutthat because we, we ate at Liberty
Tree Tavern 2012.
My daughter was, it was likeher birthday, but it wasn't her birthday.
And it was kind of cool.
We were like gonna eat thereand I.
They had these mugs and on themugs have Mickey, Donald and Goofy
in a kind of a patriotic theme.
(16:48):
And it said Liberty Truetraveling on it.
And I said, oh, these mugs areso great.
They're glass solid.
And I said I'm gonna, I wannaask if they sell these mugs.
And the lady said, yeah, wesell them.
And I went to ask the lady howmuch they were and I don't know if
she made a mistake.
I think she made a mistakebecause she said $5.
These are glass mugs withDisney characters.
(17:10):
I bought four.
Yeah, I said $5.
I was like, I don't think mysoda was $5.
The soda that was in it.
That's the deal of the century.
I, I keep them in my freezerand I break them out for frosted
mug drinks.
And that' I thought it was great.
What?
It was a good meal too.
That's fantastic.
It's a really good meal.
It's probably one of myfavorite spots to eat at if I'm looking
(17:33):
for a sit down meal.
And it's.
The atmosphere is interestingthere because it's obviously set
to be like in early colonial days.
And it's just, it's anexperience that I think is fun for
all ages.
And you brought up the HauntedMansion and again a very iconic ride.
It's the exact replica.
Not now because they'vechanged it up a little bit, but it
used to be an exact replica ofwhat they built at Disneyland.
(17:55):
And this was one of WaltDisney's of his favorite things to
come up with.
Back at Back in Anaheim wasreally had a whole bunch of ideas
on what he wanted the HauntedMansion to be.
New world of weird, all of that.
It's a great history.
If you're a Disney historianand you want to know about Raleigh
Crump and, and how they allcame about it.
I highly recommend diving deepinto the Haunted Mansion.
(18:17):
But it was a balance between ahaunted house, a really scary haunted
house and sort of goofy fun.
Let's laugh and have a good time.
Time.
But that means there's a balance.
There's a balance of beingscary and there's a balance of being
Kind of fun and whimsical.
How do we guide people whohave little kids on what exactly
this Haunted Mansion is?
Yeah.
So a lot of people will shyaway from that when I ask about when
(18:38):
we're, when we're talkingabout Lightning Lanes in particular,
because Haunted Mansion is oneof those that I think is a really
good choice that still fallsinto that tier two or tier three
category.
But I'm actually finding moreand more that families with kids
don't want to go to Haunted Mansion.
And it's surprising to mebecause I think that I always just
drug my kids through there,regardless of how old they were.
(19:00):
Right.
But now I would say it'sprobably still one that is not a
favorite for my kids.
But I always tell people, hey,you're not going.
Nobody's going to jump out andscare you or try to, like, touch
you or anything in there.
It's.
It's literally a slow, darkride that's supposed to be somewhat
fun.
So just give it a try if you can.
(19:20):
Yeah.
And I, I.
It's my favorite attraction inthe park.
I try to ride it twice duringthe day and then at night I try to
catch it twice when I'm there there.
But I do understand becauseagain, the beginning is a little.
There's a guy playing thepiano and you see his justice shadow.
And again, like I mentionedearlier, there's a guy asking to
get out.
And you see the, the candlesand no one's holding the candles.
(19:41):
The hat box ghost is now there.
He can be pretty freaky.
And then it gets verywhimsical and it gets a little bit
more fun.
I do have a tip for people.
I, I don't know if I shouldgive this away, because it's actually
a really good tip.
Some of you know this, butthis is for newbies.
If you are in the stretchingroom and you want to get.
Be the first one out, standunderneath the girl with the umbrella.
Yes, that's where the door is.
(20:02):
That both of them.
So Lori and I did this lasttime because I told her, I said,
stand with the girl.
As soon as we get in, go tothe girl at the door, do with the
umbrella.
And she said, why?
And I said, because that'swhere the door is.
And we were the first coupleout of.
And I don't think I've everbeen the first couple out of that
melee that has.
That has you going.
That's right.
Listen, you gotta save everysecond that you can.
(20:24):
That's right.
So that just.
We were.
Walk to the ride she goes,this is actually cool.
I go, yeah, it's really cool.
We're leading the parade tothe doom buggies.
But they do have a shop,Memento Mori.
You can go there and get yourHaunted Mansion souvenirs.
But like I said, very small.
It does have an attraction.
And that's the hall of Presidents.
Yes.
Another place to relax and sitdown and take a nap.
(20:46):
That's right.
Which is what everybody saysabout the hall of Presidents is where
you can go to get 20 minutesof Z time.
Hey, that's absolutely right.
And you know, I think thatit's one of those.
I don't think we've ever madeour kids sit through it, but because
we're out of the nap phasewith our kids.
But, but yes, it's absolutelya perfect spot for a nap.
(21:07):
It's nice and cool and dark.
So.
Yeah.
Do you think in 2025, theanimatronic aspect of these has not
worn off?
Not worn off.
But it's not as impressive.
Yes, I, I get that for surebecause I can think back to the first
time that I saw it, probablyin the early ninet.
It was really, really cool tosee that because these, these animatronics
(21:30):
looked so lifelike.
And I think we're so used toseeing that now that it's, it's a
little lost.
A little.
It's a wild show becauseyou'll see like when they're introducing
the presidents and likeFranklin Pierce has mentioned, you'll
see like Thomas Jefferson turnhis head and nod and then just.
And then you can watch all ofthe animatronics doing something.
They're like interacting witheach other.
(21:51):
And you're thinking, this is wild.
Yeah.
But as you said, as we'vegotten more and more used to this,
as more and more parks areusing animatronics, as less impressive
as it was, let's say 20, 25,40 years ago.
Yeah.
And.
But still it's, it's again,it's air conditioning.
It's 20 something minutes long.
I also like that we've kept it.
I think I do too.
It's a nice thing that we'vekept a real quick.
(22:12):
One last thing on Liberty Square.
It's also a place where you get.
There's a Christmas tree shop,a Christmas shop that's in there
that's really cool to go visit.
If you even.
No matter what time of yearyou go, you can get some really cool
Christmas.
Don't forget the waffle with.
And the waffle.
Yeah, the Sleepy Hollow.
That's right.
All right, now here we go toFantasy Land.
So we're going to go up rightin the corner.
We're going to go right intoFantasy Land.
(22:33):
Now, there's people.
Some people divide this newFantasy Land, old Fantasy Land, all
of its Fantasy land.
I just call it all FantasyLand because it's basically incorporates
so many of the, you know, thefantasy elements.
But if you were to say, giveme the land that really makes Disney
World.
Disney World.
This is the Fantasy Land.
(22:53):
This is it.
This is the place.
Because this is where if yougrew up watching Wonderful World
of Disney or you had Disneystorybooks when you're a kid, this
is where you're going to.
Or the VHS tapes now, DVD tapes.
This is where you're going tofind the attractions.
This is where you're going tosee Peter Pan.
This is where you used to seeSnow White.
This is where you see Winniethe Pooh.
Now you do with the seven doors.
(23:14):
Mime train, but they used tobe an actual ride.
This is where you're going tosee all those characters.
Dumbo.
This is where you're going tosee them all.
Yes.
This is what's going to reallyfeel like magic when you are walking
through the Magic Kingdom.
No matter what part of FantasyLand you're in, like you mentioned,
some people will argue, a lotof people will argue, actually, that
this is where the bestbathroom is in the Magic Kingdom.
(23:34):
So if you.
If you're coming up past theHaunted Mansion and going into Fantasyland
from there, if you go over toyour left, you'll see kind of a little
twinkling area.
These are the Tangled bathrooms.
This is where the Rapunzelbathrooms are.
They're more themed than anyother bathroom in the park.
And you think we're funny for.
For saying that, but no, ifyou can find the better bathroom
in the park, then it's a good thing.
(23:55):
Yes.
And so you've got that.
And.
And It's a Small World is oneof those that everybody's like, do
we really have to do this?
But yes, it's another classic.
It's what makes Disney Disney.
It's what makes the MagicKingdom the Magic Kingdom.
And then you've got yourcenter of Fantasyland, which is the
carousel.
And I've spent so much time onthe carousel lately, especially with
(24:16):
Korra.
But it's.
It's a land where I think youcan get so much done in a short period
of time.
It's a place that I tellclients to start with their early
entry if they're there forearly Entry because you can knock
out so many things that areclose together in just a short amount
of time.
Exactly.
And Peter Pan is one of those rides.
It's not.
I think it's what, 90 seconds?
(24:38):
Minute.
Two minutes.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, it's.
It's hardly anything at all.
But you'll wait an hour for it.
Absolutely.
It's still.
It's one of those rides thatstill carries true in 20, 25 of people
saying, this is what I got to do.
I want to fly to Neverland, Iwant to get in my boat, and I want
to fly over London.
And I talk about this a lot,not to get totally sentimental on
(24:58):
stuff, but one of the reasonsI'm still a major Disney adult is
so much of my memories of as akid came from parents that like the
parks, and we went to theparks a lot.
And every time I'm on PeterPan, I am reminded.
My brother and I were in aboat and we were flying over the
city of London, and my brotherwent, look, you can see cars moving,
moving.
(25:18):
And it was those little lights.
And I never noticed it.
And then my brother pointed itout when we were like 12.
And now, you see, every time I.
Go on it, I look down and Iremember my brother saying, yeah,
look there.
You can see cars.
It's the little details.
It's those little details.
It's those little details thatreally stand out.
But I always tell people that get.
Get a lightning lane for Peter Pan.
It's a long way.
(25:38):
It's a cool cue.
It's a really great cue.
It's one of the better cuesthat you'll find.
But it's a long wait.
Again, small world World.
It's Winnie the Pooh.
Used to be Mr.
Toads.
Now they've got a whole area,a whole ride dedicated.
I think the Winnie the Poohride, so cute.
It's got a cool little poo shop.
We always.
My wife's a big Winnie thePooh fan, so we always go there.
Seven Dwarves Mine train.
(25:59):
It's not the most thrillingroller coaster, but it is a pretty
fun roller coaster.
It can sway back and forthbecause it's a minecart.
So you're going into the mineswith the dwarves.
It's a good one, too, that Ialways tell people this is a good
starter roller coaster.
If you're not sure if yourkids are going to like roller coasters,
Kids that are as young asthree often are tall enough to ride
this.
And so even if you're.
(26:20):
If you're talking about a Kidthat's eight or nine that's never
been on a roller coaster.
Start them here because thiswill be a good gauge of whether or
not they're going to like someof the bigger ones.
Yeah.
And it's got, it's got.
Again, it's not overlythrilling in terms of the D, you
know, the dips and, and whatnot.
But the swing is kind of cool.
The song is, you know, kind of cool.
It gives you that, that, thatSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs feel.
(26:42):
But now go to Dumbo.
Yeah.
I don't know why they didn'tdo this right away with Dumbo, which
is just give you a queue areain the air conditioning, call you
into the ride.
It used to be wait out in theblazing sun for an hour and a half
to get on a 90 second Dumbo.
Yeah.
And you used to only have oneset of dumbos and now you have two.
So it works a lot better nowso that we don't really see just
(27:03):
tremendously long waits in general.
And then even while you'rewaiting that out, like you said,
there's a really nice indoorlittle playground area that the kids
can run off some steam andthat you can kind of cool off while
you're waiting.
And it's.
And again for, for Disney,Dumbo was.
Is one of those attractionslike the carousel and like the teacups,
which is.
(27:24):
It drives them crazy becauseit's a traditional cue which is stand
around and wait till the rideis over and everybody loads and unloads
and then we start it up again.
And then we wait till it'sover and then we load.
None load.
And Dumbo.
Now it's not like that.
Now you got people going.
They got stuff to do whilethey wait.
There's another one going offwhile another one's going on.
So it's a perfect answer to aride that they probably are like,
(27:47):
we hate these.
Yeah.
Like we don't.
This is, this is carnival.
Like we want to do somethingand get people moving through the
lines, not spending all thattime waiting.
So brilliant idea to get twoDumbo rides and a place to kind of
hang out.
Other than that, in the backend is a lot of smaller kids stuff
that I haven't done in a long time.
There's the barnstorming miniroller coaster.
And that's pretty much it.
(28:07):
It for me.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's it.
There's some characters thatare back there under the big top
we used to see.
I think that they're the samethat it's Donald Daisy, Goofy and
Minnie back there, I think.
Don't quote me on that.
So you've got four charactersthat are back there under the big
top.
You've got enchanted taleswith Bell, with Belle, which kind
of gets lost sometimes, Ithink because it's back there.
(28:28):
By Be Our Guest, you'll findsome other princess meet and greets
in Fantasy Land.
This is where you'll also findthe most popular restaurant in all
of Magic Kingdom, which isCinderella's royal T.
That's right.
And that's going to be foundinside the castle.
That's the.
The priciest meal in all ofWalt Disney World.
And you're going to meet fourto five princesses there, whether
it's for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
(28:50):
You'll also find Be Our Guest,which is another restaurant in the
back of Fantasyland where youcan often meet the beast at dinner.
And then other than that, inFantasyland, there's a couple of
quick service restaurants thatI tend to look over because they're
not any of my favorites.
Yeah.
Pinocchio houses.
We.
We eat the flatbread there.
Yes.
Yeah.
And that's if you can get aseat overlooking.
Looking Small world coming through.
(29:12):
It's kind of cool.
Absolutely.
And wave at everybody.
But.
Yeah.
So that's kind of the overviewof Fantasyland.
Yep, exactly.
I do recommend right atCheshire Cat, the little stand right
outside Winnie the Pooh, whichhas got really.
Some really cool treats.
You can go.
You can get some really cooltreats there.
But there's also, as Imentioned, the teacups.
That's part of the kind offamily Fantasy Land.
If you've been on teacups, anyamusement park in the country, this
(29:33):
is no different.
Except it's themed to theAlice in Wonderland theme.
Right.
And if you are a magic band,plus go around and get the voices
activated person, you can domad chatter.
And Cheshire Cat there.
Oh, yes.
Very cool.
It's a very cool thing.
But then it leads us into Tomorrowland.
Yes.
Now, I got a confession again.
I'm old enough to rememberTomorrowland being the coolest land
to go to because it wasfuturistic and it was kind of fun.
(29:55):
But you and I did a podcast awhile back on our wishes for Disney
World, what we'd like to see.
And one of mine was makeTomorrowland a little more Tomorrow.
Yes, please.
I feel like it's got.
It's a little lacking in theTomorrowlandish part of it.
And a lot of it is becausetechnology goes so fast.
Yeah.
That in a blink of an eye,things you thought would Be cool
to have in the future you'rehaving today or you've discarded
(30:16):
that technology in the past.
Yeah, yeah.
And, but, but again, goingback to my youth, at least Buzz Lightyears
in outer space that used to beif you had wings to talk about how
cool it is to take an airplane somewhere.
Yeah.
So Buzz Lightyear, speaking ofthat attraction, is one that I often
overlook and I overlook it formy clients when I really.
(30:39):
I don't mean to because I knowso many people really do enjoy R.
But it's one of those that,like you said, it feels so primitive
now where they could make itso much better.
I think you can't even beginto put side by side the two act the
sort of the virtual kind ofarcade ish game with Toy Story Mania
(31:02):
and Buzz Lightyear.
This is like a rotarytelephone to your cellular phone
you have in your pocket.
Yes, there are two.
I mean, the technologies are insanely.
Yeah.
Different.
I mean, it's almost feels likeit's 40 years apart.
And what you could do with aride between what Buzz Lightyear
is doing in terms of shootinglittle targets with a light to compare
(31:23):
to what Toy Story Mania isdoing with virtual video.
Right.
Like, it's amazing.
But I think it's a wastedspace with this, with Stitch not
being.
And having any attractionthere at all.
I don't know why we've waitedthis long.
If that ride got shut downyears ago.
Yeah.
And they haven't done anythingwith that.
I kind of wonder what they'redoing in there.
It's like a conspiracy.
(31:43):
It's like, okay, well like,are they using it for something else?
Is that where they're like topsecret missions or what's happening
in there?
But then, you know, thenyou've got Tomorrowland Speedway,
which is another one that'sthe classic load and unload.
And it takes forever.
That takes forever.
Even a 15 minute wait can feellike it's 55 minutes.
Exactly.
And again, when that ride wasin Disneyland, it was the age of
(32:06):
the automobile.
You know, it was kind of.
Kind of cool.
It has no place inTomorrowland whatsoever.
But however, I will say it isone that is, we write it every trip
because my kids think it's fun.
Because where else can theydrive a car?
That's right.
Exactly.
I wish it was a little, Idon't know, more updated to something.
I mean, you and I talked aboutdo something with the.
(32:28):
With the Wreck It Ralph.
Yes.
Oh, that'd be cool.
Like make it.
Make it so that you can seesome Wreck It Ralph's.
Ralph stuff is driving because they.
That was all about racing.
Racing.
Yeah.
Putting in the cars.
But they do have two of themajor attractions that still kind
of hold up to this day and.
Well, not this day because oneof them is relatively new and that
is Space Mountain and Tron.
Yeah.
I think Tron is one of themore fantastic experiences at the
(32:49):
park.
It is.
And you know, and it's.
It's not one that I feel likeit's takes forever because the pre
show really ends up not evenbeing a pre show.
It's just once one littleholding room and then you're off
to the line for the.
For the actual ride vehicle.
And so in that regard, I feellike it's.
It's better than somethinglike Guardians of the Galaxy or Rise
(33:10):
of the Resistance.
If you're thinking about interms of how long it's going to take,
especially if you've gotlittle ones where somebody is waiting
out with the little one andthen waiting for everybody else to
get done.
You can know that this is notgoing to be as long of a ride experience
as some of the other ones.
But it's still going to besuper thrilling.
Yeah.
And this again, this goes back to.
To something that when I wasyounger and the Tron movie came out,
(33:32):
like to see them race in thegame and I thought that was a really
cool thing.
And now here I am in my 50sand they finally bring in some similar
experience.
Yes.
Into a theme park.
Space Mountain is one that'sreally interesting for people.
I.
This is a Space Mountain is aride best described as messing with
your perception.
Yeah.
(33:52):
Because it's dark and you feellike you're going way faster than
you actually are.
Yeah.
If you were to ride this inthe daytime, if they turned the lights
on or they took the roof off,it would not be as intimidating.
But because the lights are outand things are flying around and
you are not feel like you'reout of space.
You go much faster than the 35miles an hour that you actually are
(34:13):
going.
That's right.
That's right.
It would feel much more likeBig Thunder Mountain, which feels
a lot slower sometimes.
Yeah, exactly.
It's one.
It's like one of those mousetrap type of things.
You go up and then you kind ofspin around with some dips.
That's basically all that is.
But it still holds true.
It's.
It's still.
We wrote it just recently onour Christmas trip.
And I still can remember thatfeeling of excitement walking in
(34:34):
the plank and walking up and.
And just gearing up, being.
This is so.
It was so exciting as a kid towrite something like this.
And still holds true.
I'm getting a little old,though, for the seating.
Oh, gosh, me too.
And then, like, when I get outof the vehicle, I just can feel it
in my hips and everywhere else.
So I never want to hold up the line.
Like, I want to hold up the,like, get out.
And then we're going to moveit on.
(34:54):
And I'm like, still.
Hold on.
I'm still.
Yeah, hold on.
Little, little.
Give me some time here.
We talked about a place to goin every single land to relax and
get.
And just get away from everything.
Here's Carousel of Progress,another place to get a nap in for
those of you who don't reallyappreciate the travel through time.
That's right.
That Carousel of Progress canbring to you.
(35:15):
Yes, the travel through.
Not really a long period oftime when.
When they.
When they give you a VRheadset for Grandma and she's playing
a very old Atari 2600 game.
And they call that the future.
It's not really hitting well,but again, it's.
I think it's.
I like.
I like the music, I like thesong, I like the animatronics.
(35:36):
It's one of the.
I'm one of those people thatwill ride it and love it, and my
whole family is like, wake meup when this is over.
Like, tell me when we're atthe Christmas scene.
So funny.
So.
So for food in Tomorrowland,you've got cosmic rays, which is,
again, cosmic rays.
It's not going to be one thatI go to because I've told you before
a million times, I'm alwaysgoing to eat at Casey's Corner.
So cosmic rays is going to beyour more traditional burgers, chicken
(35:57):
sandwiches, things like that.
It's a good spot to just beable to chill in, some air conditioning.
There's also, I think thatthere's a spot where you can get
a milkshake over in tomorrow.
I think so.
Yeah, exactly.
I think there is two.
Yeah.
So that's a couple of thingsthat are over there.
And then, you know, you'rekind of just making your way back
towards Main street after that.
There is the two other ridesthat I want to mention.
(36:17):
The.
The People Mover.
I think it's a must do.
I think the People Mover is amust do.
Oh, absolutely.
I think this is an.
It's a relaxing kind of triphigh above Tomorrowland.
It's really cool.
If you've Never done it.
You know, if you, if you didit maybe years ago, nothing's really
has changed.
It's going to take you intoSpace Mountain.
It's going to take you intosome other places.
It goes indoors, outdoors.
(36:38):
It's really cool.
Listen for the, the kind of,the more famous.
Paging Mr.
Morrow, Mr.
Tom Morrow.
My kids miss it all the timeand I keep telling them to pay attention.
They never do.
But then the other one isMonsters in Gl Floor.
Great for kids.
I'd skip it if I was going asan adult.
It's not necessary same, butit's got a very, a nice little walkway
back into the center spoke.
(36:59):
But like you mentionedearlier, cosmic rays is really the
only eery there.
There's some, there's placesto get popcorn.
But that's really about it foryour Tomorrowland experience.
Experience.
That's right.
And there you go.
There's, there's the Magic Kingdom.
Now, as far as advice isnavigating, as you mentioned earlier,
it, I would, I think theexcitement, if you're going to take
your kids for the first time,there's going to be a lot of excitement
(37:20):
if they kind of know orthey've heard about certain rides.
That's the way I was when Iwas a kid.
Every kid in my elementaryschool was going to Disney World,
coming back and telling me howawesome this was.
And that was.
And this was.
And that was.
But I would try to do a lot ofthat and then check off some things
later on in your trip ifyou're going for, especially if you're
going for a long period oftime because you want to, you definitely
(37:42):
want to get, get on Tron.
You definitely want to doTiana's, you want to get that virtual
queue down.
Yeah.
Ride Haunted Mansion, ridePeter Pan, all of that.
But there are some things thatif you don't do on that trip, don't
worry about it.
You don't walk through Swissand don't worry about it.
Yes, don't worry about it.
And you know, we go back toJungle Cruise being one of those
and that this is a perfectexample of what I tell clients.
(38:04):
Do not stress out if you arenot able to get a lightning lane
for Jungle Cruise.
If the line is over, I say 30to 40 minutes for jungle Cruise.
Don't wait for it.
Because it's one of those thatthe line does not move quickly.
And it's one of those that Ithink that can, can build frustration
pretty quickly.
So there's a few of those thatI'll Kind of give tips on as far
as how long I would wait inline versus not.
(38:26):
But if it's your one trip, youknow what?
Absolutely.
Make sure you have those twodays and see everything you can.
Now, as far as parades, judgethe DAT time you're going as to when
you want to break away fromyour routine to get a good spot in
the parade.
If you are going on.
It's a very, very busy day,you might want to go an hour before
the parade starts and startplanting yourself at a location on
(38:47):
Main street or anywhere alongthe parade route to watch the parade.
If you are going on a lightday and there's two parade showings,
you don't necessarily have todo that.
Yeah, but I have.
I have been pulled away manytimes with an hour before the start
to go.
We're right here.
This is where we're staying.
So I will stay here.
If you want to go somewhere else.
Yes.
You know, and.
(39:08):
And go do that.
I got.
I went to.
I was waiting in line for aMickey Mouse picture with my wife,
and I wanted us to get aMickey Mouse picture.
And my wife broke away fromthat line because she's like, I know
I'm not missing the Christmasparade, and I'm gonna go sit on this
corner.
So you're on.
You're on your own.
Now, I had two choices.
Do I want to be the old guygetting his picture taken with Mickey
(39:28):
by myself, or do I want to getout in line and sit on the car?
I stayed and got my picturetaken with Mickey by myself.
It.
So she said no.
And we got.
We got great seats and great.
A great spot for the parade.
But I also warn people and I.
I tell this story.
So a couple of years ago, mywife and I were at.
I would say two years ago, wewere at a parade, and there were
two young girls sitting righton the curb.
(39:50):
And they were.
Had great seats for theparade, but they decided to leave
to go get a picture in thecenter with.
With the castle.
And people took that spot anddid not give it up.
And the kids came back.
We were sitting there.
No, it's.
It's over.
There's.
There's no court in the landis going to give you those.
That spot back.
That's right.
So don't get up to go selfieor without somebody saving your spot
because people will gobble upthose spots.
(40:11):
Yep.
All right.
And then on your way out ofDisney World, get yourself that souvenir.
Walk through the emporium.
Enjoy your time.
That's right.
And take it.
Do you have a particular wayyou like to go back to the parking
lot or do you.
Do you don't.
Doesn't matter to you.
So, you know, I try to take.
The boat back when sometimes I go.
So, you know, Tony, I don'tknow that I've ever part.
(40:32):
I'm sure when we were kids, wealways would drive down to Disney
World.
Oh, yeah, you have, you stay.
I stay on property.
So I'm always going back tothe bus stop.
Typically.
That's right, the bus stop,wherever we're staying.
But I would say if I were inthe parking lot, I would probably
take the monorail.
Yeah, monorail.
Very good.
All right, so that's gonna doit for a little bit of an in depth
(40:52):
look on the Magic Kingdom.
Next week we'll do Epcotcenter and we will complete all four
parks and the water parks ofWalt Disney World.
So please subscribe to the podcast.
Like it?
Share it with your friends.
You can reach us,lauren@allthemagictravel.com metravel
with tony dmail.com we'd loveto hear from you.
And if you have any tips thatyou'd like to share with us that
we can share with the peoplewho listen to this podcast, we would
(41:14):
love to hear from you.
So again, please subscribe andlike it because it certainly helps
us with the algorithm.
We'll see you next week foranother episode of the Wands and
Wishes podcast.
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.