HEY MICKEY YOU'RE SO FINE,YOU'RE SO FINE YOU BLOW MY..MONEY. MAY 2019
Day 1:Magic Kingdom, The Plaza, Walmart, POFQ

DAY 1: Magic Kingdom, The Plaza, Walmart and French Quarter

INDEX

Really frustratingly I was wide awake about 12.30am. A certain family members snoring was unbearable. I ended up on the hard floor to get away from it. Around 3am I gave up and started on my food report and making travel day notes. By 5am everyone else was wide awake as well.

We all washed and dressed but Evie was as normal causing issues about her clothing. It’s always the same. She selects something and then changes her mind and kicks off! Nothing new, same every time even though she promises she won’t.

Today we had plans for a morning at the Magic Kingdom. We did this first visit as a family in 2012 but subsequent visits we’ve been elsewhere on our first day so we were really Looking forward to being there first morning. Our plans took a hit a few weeks ago when they moved the opening to earlier at 8am. We had Chef Mickey’s booked so we had to rearrange that for later in the trip as we didn’t want to miss opening at the Magic Kingdom.

We first headed over two a fairly quiet food court to get something to tide us over until a late breakfast around 6.45am and all was quiet.

Kelly had an apple danish which she said was really good.



Both girls went for chocolate croissants which they enjoyed but both wished they had what we had selected.



I had the maple glazed cinnamon roll. This was easily declared the winner in terms of deliciousness! Warm and lovely.



We also brought along our refill cups.

Once at the car I familiarised myself with the controls and everything a little better. It took awhile for me to figure out how to get the Android Auto working for my sat nav via my phone but after a few minutes we were off.

It was a very easy short drive to the Magic Kingdom. Our bands were scanned at the parking booth.( I’m dreading having to pay later in the holiday). We followed the blue line on the road to the disabled parking bays and were really close to the front of the lot which was good.

As soon as we got out of the car we could feel the heat which was nice. There was a fair amount of work going on at the Ticket and a Transportation Centre so we had to navigate a longer way round to the bag check.



Bag check was nice and quick and as always very friendly. We were soon headed to the monorail. We are very much a monorail family as opposed to the Ferry boat. The express monorail didn’t appear to be running today so we took the resort monorail. I got excited as the doors shut to hear my favourite Spanish saying ever “¡Por favor manténgase alejado de las puertas!”. “Please stand clear of the doors!” I love hearing that for the first time! There was only one other person in our compartment but Lily embarrassed us all by doing the sort of dance a 9 year old girl shouldn’t do exclaiming how she couldn’t believe she was here. This was a copy of a lady from the X-Factor a few years ago that me and her found hilarious.



It was pretty busy outside the as yet to be opened entrance. Amazingly our Magic bands all worked first time. It was around 7.30am so we took a few pictures while we waited.



Around 7.45am they let us in. I couldn’t believe how happy I felt walking in after the hard work and planning to get there. I knew then it was all worth it and be doing the same again in the future.

First port of call was to the Town Hall to get a DAS pass for Evie. I’m disappointed to say he kind of huffed and rolled his eyes when we said why we needed it which was disappointing. We didn’t say anything and just left once he issued it. Oh well.

Main Street was fairly busy. Gone are the days of a quiet Main Street. It was nice to see no building work which normally blights our photos. Evie was refusing to do photos. She hates doing photos. Her mother unfortunately loves a photo and shall I say is on the extreme side of photo taking. You just have to get on with it. We managed a few with a Photopass photographer in front of the castle and another couple in front of the Walt and Mickey Partners statue.



Soon enough it was the Welcome show in front of the castle which was nice to see as we haven’t seen it since it moved from the front entrance.



So now onto a brilliant couple of theme park hours. First ride of the holiday honours went to Peter Pan’s Flight. As soon as I scanned my Magic band I went into the MDE app and modified the time of our next ride which was Its A Small World. I managed to move it to 8.20am. We loved Peter Pan. So much better than I remember. I always worry though how much Evie can actually see on the rides though.

Once off Peter Pan we went to SDMT and got a DAS to use later. Right next door we saw there was no queue for Winnie The Pooh. We hadn’t done this since 2012. We were all pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed it.

Off to Its A Small World. I don’t think anyone should visit without riding it no matter how much you hate it. Again as soon as I scanned my Magic Band I altered the time of our next Fastpass which was Dumbo. I got this for 15 minutes time!



We next used the DAS for SDMT. For some reason Evie was really anxious and nervous about this even though she has ridden far worse. She doesn’t like the dark queue I think. Anyway once on we all enjoyed the ride.



Off to Dumbo which Lily was keen to ride as she loved the new film. The girls sat together making a tight squeeze for Me and Kelly in the ride vehicle. Again as soon as I scanned the Magic Band I was able to make another Fastpass. I was able to get Goofy’s Barnstormer for straightaway. The girls love this as it was their first “proper” rollercoaster.



As we got to the ride the CM recommended that we cancel the FP as the ride was walk on. I did so and managed to get Jungle Cruise for 9.45am which surprised me. We managed to ride a The Barnstormer twice. Twice two many as far as I’m concerned



Kelly was feeling the heat as this point so we had a little comfort break before we headed towards Jungle Cruise. The park was surprisingly quite especially since it was a Saturday. I’m guessing that Disney changed the park hours quite late so many might have thought it was 9am opening.

On the way we noticed no real line to see Merida who Lily likes so she went into see her. Evie was refusing to go in so I waited with her. She had a right strop on at this point. I’ve no idea about what but to be honest it doesn’t take a lot.



Evie had a look at some mouse ears on a stall just at the start of adventure land and then decided against getting some as we were “making her get some”, she was in a strange mood.

We pretty much walked onto the first boat on The Jungle Cruise with our fastpasses. The ride itself was its usual self determined by the quality of the skipper of the boat. Ours was pretty average at best and was met with lots of deathly silence when he tried a “joke”.

We done a load in that first two hours which I was really happy about.

We were pretty hungry but had about 20 minutes before our adr for breakfast at The Plaza.





We checked in early about 10.05am but where warned we probably wouldn't be seated until then. It was around 30 minutes later that we were called in(god I hate how Americans say George, over emphasis on every syllable!) It was a little bit of a frustrating wait as the girls were hot and a bit ratty. More annoying when we went in and saw quite a few empty tables.

Much smaller inside than I imagined it would be and bit of a quick service feel to it.

We had a look at the menu. I'd be paying OOP for this as we have 7 ADR’s booked but only 6 DDP credits and this ADR is by far the cheapest.



Evie was still in a bad mood(tired and a headache) so was finding choosing difficult. She got a Bery Blast Smoothie(raspberries, blueberries and strawberries) This was really nice.



To eat she didn't want much and went for a fruit salad which contained guess what? Fruit. It had melon and stuff



Lily had a kids breakfast platter, scrambled egg, breakfast potatoes and sausage, but also nabbed one of my Mickey waffles. She thought it was ok but didn't like the potatoes.



Both Kelly and I went for the All-American Classic Breakfast Platter which consisted of two Mickey Waffles, Scrambled Eggs, Breakfast Potatoes, Sausage, Bacon, and a Buttermilk Biscuit. The pictures will be slightly different that I requested my egg on the side which I gave to Kelly and they also forgot Kellys biscuit which they had to bring later





For me this was just ok. Not that much difference from a quick service bounty platter. The waffle was good and I enjoyed the spice to the breakfast potatoes but the biscuit was really dry.

Service was average at best and we had to get another CM to get our bill as ours was nowhere to be seen.

This cost $63 before tip. Did it fill us up? Yes. Would we go again? Doubtful

We only planned to stay this first day until after breakfast so we could go shopping for supplies so we headed out to the monorail about 11.45am. A very successful first morning.

Once at the car I got directions to Walmart which was showing about 20 minutes. If you’ve read my other reports then you’ll know I hate shopping and I hate Walmart even more. It was the same one on Vineland Road. I always feel uncomfortable there. We didn’t up getting to much, just a few bits and pieces but Evie was really unhappy about being there and was even grumpier about the thought of going to Dollar Tree as well. I wasn’t keen at all about going there either but in the end Kelly didn’t want to bother going as Evie was in such a mood. She was desperate to get to the pool to go swimming.

Once back to the room we soon changed into our swim wear and I took the girls the short distance to the pool. Kelly stayed in the room.

While in the pool I really decided on how much I liked this resort. It had a nice atmosphere and feel to it. I was really happy in my thoughts then. Kelly came over for a bit to see us. The girls were really happy in the pool and used the slide a few times. It was pretty hot but would cloud over every now and then to give us some rest bite from the heat. I was worried about the girls getting burnt so forced them out after an hour or so.



We had a little rest in the room but we wanted to get the boat to Disney Springs fairly early as it was a Saturday and we thought it would be busy. I was really looking forward to the boat but spirts were dampened when we saw a large queue already there. I think we probably waited 35-40 minutes which was frustrating. A couple of boats came but were already full up coming from Riverside. It was pretty annoying to be honest. We eventually got on a boat but were a hot and sweaty from the wait. To be honest I don’t think we’d do the boat again after that.



Dinner was to be at the Polite Pig,

This will be a very mixed review. Echoing my 4Rivers review from 2017. The girls were very hot after the really long wait for the boat from POFQ to Disney Springs so weren’t in the best of moods when we arrived.



I was expecting it to be busy but it wasn’t. Now this is a place I recommend you peruse the menu beforehand before joining the queue, unlike us! It moved quicker than we thought. In hindsight we should have let others pass us but just rushed our order. When I say “we” I mean anyone not “me” as I off course am a pro and new exactly what I was having



Kelly went for the Fried Chicken sandwich which had Sweet and Smoky BBQ, Duke's Mayo, Pickles and Cole Slaw served with Pickle Spear. She thought this just ok and a bit spicy and too saucy for her taste.



It included a drink and she chose a fountain drink(Diet Coke)



Lily for a change(not) went for the kids Mac and cheese with came with carrot sticks and apple juice. Lily is a seasoned mac and cheese connoisseur and considered this to be below par. I believe this was because it wasn’t the processed stuff her palate is accustomed too





Evie went for the Smoked Turkey BLT which had Sweet BBQ Bacon-onion Jam, Cheddar, Lettuce, Tomato and Duke’s Mayo served with a Pickle Spear. She said it was ok but to be honest I think she was tired. I tried this and thought it ok but I’m not a fan of turkey. She had water to drink.



Looking back the sandwiches weren’t the best use of a q/s credit as they didn’t come with sides which mine did.

I went from The Smoker selection, Baby Back Ribs. These are Polite Rub Baby Back Ribs with Layla’s Sweet BBQ Sauce served with Jalapeño Cornbread, Signature Polite Slaw and choice of one Market Side which I chose the bbq waffle fries. I absolutely LOVED these. Really really tasty and a lovely flavour to them. I also grabbed a couple of the sauces they offer(photo fail and description fail) to go with them. I also had a bud light and was disappointed not to be asked for ID!





I loved it but didn’t like being asked to pay a tip for the sever at the time we paid at the beginning. We hadn’t even eaten yet or seen the service!

So it’s clear for us that I love BBQ and the ladies don’t. Heathens.[/B]

Once we had finished we had a look in The World Of Disney. I even treated myself to a Han Solo t shirt that subsequently have seen at least a hundred people wearing the same one.



I had given Kelly the $200 giftcard and she treated herself to a Loungefly Snacks bag. She wouldn’t normally but pleased she used it it for something nice. I was a little annoyed she bought Evie some Mickey Ears as it was supposed to be for her. She also used it to buy Lily a Mickey and Minnie plush teddies which were part of a special offer. I nearly lost my temper with a lady in the queue who was really rude. She was getting annoyed at how long it was taking a lady in a disability scooter to reach the server on her turn to be served.

Once at of there we were pretty tired so decided to get the bus back. We hadn’t gotten the bus from Disney Springs for years so I didn’t know where you go them from! I knew it had moved from its former Marketplace location. I had to look it up and discovered it was behind Planet Hollywood but I wasn’t convinced we were heading the right way. We were as I’m a natural homing pigeon. Frustratingly we saw a bus for Port Orleans driving off so we had a good 20 minute wait. I then had visions of a bus driver shift change and then several mobility scooters to get on. We were all so tired at this point.

After what seemed an age we arrived back at POFQ vowing never to use Disney Transportation again!

We did a pit stop to the food court for some ice cream which we ate outside.



Once back in the room I think I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow around 8.15pm. Party Animal that I am.

Thanks for reading

Great day! you got so much done, even on a Saturday
Shame you weren’t keen on the boat, it’s one of my fave things to do.
I feel your pain with the snoring, I’ve been known to spend the night in the bathroom
You missed a trick at Walmart, should have bought some earplugs while you were there hope you have a better nights sleep tonight

Lovely day 🙂
You can’t beat MK on that first morning, what a feeling. Thanks for posting 🙂

Lovely first day, how many rides did you many to do. I love days like those when everything just goes right. Except the boat unfortunately.
You need to get Kelly the matching “I love you” Star Wars T-shirt that goes with yours

Sounds like you had a very productive morning in MK and got a lot done. I've not fancied the plaza as it doesn't appeal but it's shame it didn't go aswell as it could've. We were in the queue at polite pig last October but decided against it as we got confused with the menu choices and we were all tired that night too, don't think I'd of appreciated having to pay a tip before we'd even eaten either!

Have you considered walking up to Riverside to catch the boat? I've not been to FQ (staying this year) so not sure how long it would take to walk to RS, but maybe an option to increase the chance of getting a seat.

Hopefully you were just unlucky with the Disney transport and they get better from now on?

Kat

Unfortunately I do have ear plugs! I normally love the boat but the wait in the heat with the love bugs was frustrating.

Thanks for reading

The morning couldn’t have gone any better. No way she’d wear it I think we did 6 rides and lily met Merida by 9.55am

I don’t think it’s far. We’ve one more evening where go to Disney springs so we might try again but I think that will depend on time

I know you don’t want anything to dampen your trip but I think you should make a point of writing to complain about the CM at Town Hall once you’re home, his behaviour wasn’t appropriate.

I absolutely love Lily’s shorts. I can get away with kids’ clothes in the teen sizes (I have Evie’s dressed in white haha) but I didn’t pick up those shorts when I saw them in the right size and I regret it now!

It has been a few years since we stayed at Riverside and I had forgotten how busy the boats get, I think I’ve romanticised the idea of them in my head. Next year when we’re at FQ ewe might just take the bus to Disney Springs, especially in the evenings.

Love Evie’s new ears.

What a great day, you managed to do lots in the morning at MK.

Polite pig is something I love too, shame that not everyone enjoyed it.

Great day! Love hearing about 'first days' it always takes me back to that excirement you have at the beginning of your holiday- no feeling like it and it makes all the waiting/ sacrifices/ saving etc totally worth while! Looking forward to the next instalment 😀

fab day we stayed at FQ last year and loved it