Walt Disney World Day 1: Magic Kingdom

Recently I had a job interview in Orlando so for 4 days I headed there.  Since my interview was only half of a day I had some time on my hands.  I had a free ticket to all the parks so why not go to the resort?  As a kid I've always wanted to go to Walt Disney World and I finally got the chance.  So without further adieu, lets start with Magic Kingdom!

Walt Disney World is massive.  You're on Disney property the minute you get off on the 4 and you literally have to drive 5 miles to get to Magic Kingdom's parking lot.  Then you have to get around a lake to get Magic Kingdoms' front gate.  Their parking, not only at Magic Kingdom but the other parks as well, is very easy to get in and out of which is a stark contrast to Disneyland parking.

That pic is not an exaggeration.  It is that far from the TTC where you park you car to Magic Kingdom.  The hotels on property such as The Polynesian and Contemporary litter the shores of the lake.  

As I got to the Gate I noticed something that DLR absolutely needs.

They have them at every park and it's quick and easy and goes right up to the gate.

I got there just as the park was opening so the characters came out to welcome us.

At this point in walking down Main Street I got a chill because at that moment I literally thought I was walking down Disneyland's Main Street.

More about that crane later but the castle is HUGE.  I guess you can say that about all of Magic Kingdom.  It's just a bigger version of Disneyland and in ways in works, including their attractions.  Everything is just bigger.

I always said that my first ride ever at WDW would be TTA/Peoplemover, but it was actually Splash Mountain.  The reason being is the humidity and the heat was crazy, even at 9 in the morning so I wanted to beat the rush.

Splash Mountain is almost the same ride as the one in Disneyland with a few exceptions.  Besides the double seater the drops in Splash at Magic Kingdom are bigger and more noticeable and with a few added scenes.  The other noticeable difference is Disneylands' Splash has more animatronics that move.

Since Thunder Mountain was next to Splash (which to me was absolutely bizarre), I went there.  I was disappointed.  It's a mirror of the one at Disneyland almost to a T with the one difference is I think Magic Kingdoms is better themed.

Heading into Liberty Square all I could think of was how incredible the theme and details in this land were.  It even has a Christmas Shoppe!  Plus, it has my favorite attraction.

That's right, Haunted Mansion.  I was really interested in how this one was since it got a huge upgrade.  About this picture, it's the ONLY one you'll see of me and this was after I asked a HM cast member to take it for me.  Walt Disney World is really missing out on Photopass here.  I see more of the Photopass "picture takers" at Disneyland alone compared to the whole resort in Florida.  There are SOOO many photo spots that are missed  here and I really don't know why that is, but it's a big miss on their part.

Back to Haunted Mansion.  You can choose to either take the graveyard or just head straight into the mansion.

They all had some really cool effects.  I wish Disneyland could have this, but to be honest it's not needed.

The Leota tombstone was creepy and eerie which was perfect for it's purpose.

As for the ride itself, it's honestly my favorite attraction.  Period.  Better than anything else in any other park in Florida or California.  The stretching room effects were great, the ride itself is creepy and funny (the way it should be) and the Hitchhiking Ghosts effect is the best thing I've seen Disney come up with.  I really hope Disneyland gets this and quickly.

Off to the land of Tomorrow where it was time for...

To say that Disneyland needs this is an understatement.  The fact that we don't have it here in California is insulting.  I rode this thing 6 times and it was a walk on every time.  The thing is, it wasn't for lack of guests riding it, it's just that the ride capacity is just that big.

Next up was Space Mountain.  This ride is severely outdated including the queue.  The ride itself is rough and takes some getting used to.  I rode it 3 times and you do get used to the roughness a bit but it still bad.  Disneyland's Space Mountain is far superior to Magic Kingdoms.

Buzz Lightyear at Magic Kingdom has got to be the WORST attraction I've ever experienced.  I'd even say it's even worse than Winnie the Pooh at Disneyland.  You can tell where the cost cutting went when you compare it with Disneylands Buzz Lightyear.  You can't move the guns, you can hardly fire it and you can't even tell if you hit the target or not.  This is one attraction that I am glad to never ride again.

Monster's Inc Laughing Floor was great! The show was very interactive and the jokes were incredibly cheesy but that's ok, it's the whole point of the show.  I wouldn't mind having this in Disneyland.

Stitch's Great Escape was forgettable.  Do it once and that's it.  It's a big WTF attraction that doesn't make much sense.

Tomorrowland Speedway was half the size of Autopia at Disneyland and not at all themed except the queue and the beginning of the attraction.  It was disappointing to say the least because it could be so much better than what it is.

Astro Oribiter was awesome.  I rode it at night and it brought back memories of the rockets above the Peoplemover at Disneyland.  A little on the short side but that's normal for these types of attractions (Dumbo for example).

Carousel of Progress was really cool.  I wish we still had it at Disneyland but I know it would be labeled outdated and changed.  It beats Innoventions though.

One thing I noticed was Tomorrowland Terrace is a big food place but it was closed as it's only seasonal.  What a waste of space and a restaurant as it's way too big of a place to only be used seasonally.

After Tomorrowland I made my way towards Adventureland.  I don't have pictures of it but the area around Pirates of the Caribbean is appropriately themed.  The queue of the actual attraction is amazing and fits the attraction but unfortunately the ride itself is terrible.  It's incredibly short and just plain awful.  You can see that the attraction is rushed and the story makes little sense.

Jungle Cruise was almost like the one at Disneyland with some exceptions like a couple of more scenes.  The boats are extremely quiet so you can actually hear the skipper.  Unfortunately the jokes are really lame.

Afterwards I headed to the Hall of Presidents.  The show was really interesting and it's a real "feel good" attraction.  Obama looked weird, as did W.

Lunch was amusing.  I ate at Pecos Bills and it will be the last time I ate there.  The service was absolutely terrible and the Cast Members seem disinterested in helping anyone.  This lead to a lot of waiting and the people in the kitchen didn't seem to be ready for the "rush" which didn't exist as there was no one at the park.

Aside from the lunch problems it was time for another part of my childhood...

I really miss this attraction!  The show itself is great and something that is sorely missed at Disneyland.

The last part of the park to visit was Fantasyland and this was done on purpose as to not wanting to deal with the crowds there as Disneyland's is unbearable after a certain time.  Fortunately it wasn't that bad but I did have a problem with Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh having FastPass.  It holds up the lines and makes a 20 minute line a 45 minute line.

My thoughts about Fantasyland was it was incredibly bland.  There was something missing there such as the queues having absolutely no theme (except Pooh) and the buildings were hideous.  Hopefully this changes with the Fantasyland getting a complete makeover.

First was Small World.  It was really really weird seeing the clock indoors and it's something I couldn't get over.  I was intrigued to see how the whole "flooded scenes" worked and to be honest  they did.  I have no complaints with this attraction.

Choking the chicken guy is here too!!!

Next was PhilharMagic.

Honestly it's the best 3D show that Disney has and DLR needs this ASAP.  It was incredible! I loved this show and what's not to like?  Put this somewhere in DLR please!

Next I rode Snow White.  The difference between this one and the one in Disneyland is HUGE.  The story is better, the theme is better and you can actually understand what's going on.  Unfortunately it's being torn down which is a huge minus there even with the epic new Snow White attraction coming.

Pooh was up next.  It's a huge upgrade from the same attraction at Disneyland but it'll never be Mr. Toad's which it replaced.  Mr. Toad's is my favorite dark ride and to not have it is disappointing.

I next rode Peter Pan.  They had a lot more scenes and the story was told very well except there is absolutely no dialog whatsoever and that's a huge miss.  I think if they added the dialog that Peter Pan at Disneyland has, it would make a big difference.

...and that was my day at Magic Kingdom.  

Here are the good things to Magic Kingdom.  The walkways are huge and that makes getting too and fro easier.  The spacing between attractions is better so there really is no congestion.  It has Peoplemover, CBJ and Carousel of Progress which I miss at DLR.  Everything is just that much bigger at Magic Kingdom and for the most part, it works and that's great.  Haunted Mansion is one of the best attractions that Disney has to offer and Liberty Square is very well themed and there are spots where you are totally immersed in it where it looks like you're in 1700's America.  

Now to the bad things.  For one, the Cast Member costumes at Magic Kingdom are terrible!  My gosh I could not get over how incredibly cheesy and ugly looking 95% of the Cast Member costumes looked!  Disneyland Cast Members' costumes are better themed and look better than the cheap costumes Magic Kingdom Cast Members wear.  I guess that's why a lot of the Cast Members at Magic Kingdom just threw theme out the window in a lot of cases (ex.  "The ride broke, sorry!").  Plus, they lean up and bend over on things all the time and seem disinterested.  They were sometimes rude but I think that comes with the territory of dealing with the Walt Disney World guest.  

The major difference between Walt Disney World guests and Disneyland guests is that Disneyland is all about the locals, Walt Disney World deals with tourists.  One thing I noticed is that the guests at Walt Disney World were really rude and most of them were Europeans.  They just didn't seem to care for anyone else at the park with them acting like they were the only ones there.  They let their kids climb over anything, ignored instructions and tried to cut anywhere possible (a story about this at Hollywood Studios comes later).  I don't know if this has to do with the "I spend a ton of money to be here so I can do whatever I want" attitude or what but it wasn't needed.

The last thing was the upkeep.  The people that nitpick Disneyland would have their heads explode if they came to Magic Kingdom.  There is peeling paint everywhere, things look worn down, animatronics not working and they don't even try to hide things that should be hidden.  At Disneyland, if there is conduit going to a speaker that's hidden in a tree, they'll paint that conduit to match the tree.  Not Magic Kingdom.  They just didn't even bother trying.  Disneyland nitpicker beware if you come to Magic Kingdom.  You'd spend more time at City Hall complaining than actually enjoying the park.

I loved Magic Kingdom but I think Disneyland is better.  Magic Kingdom does seem to be missing something but I can't put my finger on it.  The park itself is beautiful though with some great things to see and do and I can't wait to get back to the park.

Next up will be a very short look at Hollywood Studios.