*ALL VIEWS ARE MY OWN AND NOT OF THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY, CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY OR YUMMY JOBS*
Hey there, pals!
I thought my sister and I had everything we needed from the grocery store for our holiday in Florida... It turns out that we needed more grocery items! I was an early bird on Day 7 and was up and dressed long before I usually would. So, I said to my sister "do you want me to quickly run to Walmart and grab a few bits and you stay here?". My sister wasn't obliged to the offer and I told her I would message to make sure she knew exactly where I was.
So, off I go to Walmart to milk, more vegan-friendly treats and some Coca Colas - these really help my sister when she needs a kick of sugar and caffeine, as well as saving money by not spending $4 in the parks! I was only away for a maximum of 30mins and I was back at the apartment ready for another day at Disney.
If you read my post last week, you may remember that my sister and I had to swap around our park days. And so, today was our second day at Magic Kingdom. We made it our goal to hit up different rides compared to what we did on our first day at the park. Also, I had received text messages from a couple of my fairy friends who were going to be working at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique that day. I knew that I had to plan in time to go and see them in fairy school once again!!!
As soon as my sister and I arrived in Magic Kingdom, we went into the Emporium gift shop. We needed to send our Mum some pictures of the 50th anniversary spirit jerseys/jumpers that Walt Disney World had in stock. My sister was in charge of those pictures, as she had the better photo quality iPhone! In the meantime, I was in complete awe of the 50th anniversary display in the centre of the gift shop that I had to capture an image of it!
Back outside, there appeared to be more Photopass cast members stood on Main Street USA! Adhering to our own Mother's words, coupled with the overcast weather, my sister and I got some more pictures before a rainstorm came! We even got some pictures at an angle off to the side in Tomorrowland by the purple wall, which were super cool too!
It was time for rides and we decided to do Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. This ride is definitely looking a little worse for wear at the moment, particularly as the guns do not shoot the best. This made it hard to see where your laser is actually pointing and whether you were actually attacking Zurg's target points or not. It seems that becoming a Galactic Hero is more impossible, unless you happen to be involved in ride stoppage and positioned near a high-scoring target. What does make the ride hilarious is the on ride picture! My sister and I look so focussed and the video of the aliens that came with other Photopass package was the cherry on the cake!
My sister and I were in Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin's queue line for so long that the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique was almost closing up for the day. So, my sister and I paced it over to Fantasyland. But, out of nowhere, a white curtain of rain was pouring down all around us and flooding Fantasyland. Two minutes later and with our clothes fully changing colour, we were undercover in the castle. The pathways of Magic Kingdom were completely empty while everyone was waiting for the rain clouds to pass. I felt terrible that my sister didn't have any spare clothes or a coat to put on - she was completely shivering at this point! I already had my waterproof coat on, but my camper shorts had gone from beige to a light brown.
I approached the castle door to ask the Fairy Godmother Apprentice (previously know as Fairy Godmother in Training) if Courtney was currently in the salon area. At first, she didn't know who I was talking about and then she had to ask a coordinator to confirm whether she was or wasn't. It turns out she was in the salon and she quickly came out after finishing a princess transformation. I wanted to hug her but I did warn it I was literally dripping wet LOL 😂 We were just chatting about our visit to Magic Kingdom so far and what we had planned for the last few days that we had left in Florida. It was then the sudden realisation that Courtney and I weren't going to see each other after this before my sister and I flew home. Courtney and I quickly hugged goodbye, but not before the coordinator let my sister and I have a peep inside the salon.
The rain cleared up to a drizzle and people were starting to walk around the Fantasyland paths again. So my sister and I popped over to the chateau end of the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique to catch another close friend, Caitlin. Caitlin was also busy assisting a Royal family at the time, however my sister and I got chatting with a male Fairy Godmother Apprentice. He was a great laugh and after a short period, I saw Caitlin and we immediately hugged each other! I did apologise and say I was soaking wet, but Caitlin didn't mind. Again, we had a quick catch up on how life has been. After a quick picture together, Caitlin went back to her Fairy Godmother Apprentice duties and my sister and I were onto our next space adventure.
As my sister was so patient while I caught up with Courtney and Caitlin, I let her decide what ride in Tomorrowland we were going to do next. She decided to go for Space Mountain and the posted wait time was only 25mins, so we could easily ride that and then find a spot for the Enchantment fireworks.
However, things didn't go according to plan...
I think the whole of Magic Kingdom saw that Space Mountain was on a 25min wait because it seemed like the whole park were queueing for Space Mountain! But some individuals who were actually Lightning Lane were bunching up and blocking the standby line. Once that was cleared up, the entire queue was moving at a significant pace. So much so, that we were in the final switch back before the merge point when disaster happened. The ride went down just as we were about to hit the merge cast member. All of a sudden, all the lights were turned on and the music was switched off. It was the most eerie atmosphere I think I have ever seen. My sister and I still had time for the fireworks, it may be that we had to squeeze in the tape properly. So, we decided to stick it out as it would be a win-win situation either way: the ride would come back up and we'd be the one of the first ones on or we'd get a Lightning Lane due to technical issues.
After another 20mins of waiting, there appeared to be no sign of Space Mountain coming back anytime soon, so the cast members started giving out Lightning Lanes to everyone who was still in the queue. It was a bonus and my sister and I were ecstatic about getting to use the "Fastpass" line one time this trip haha
As my sister and I braced ourselves for the difficulties of getting around the Hub to try and find a place for the fireworks, this time appeared to go a lot smoother. Instead of trying to find a space near the castle, I thought we could try going further down Main Street USA. Sure enough, we ducked under some rope that was lined out and we were within the perimeter of the viewing area where we could both see.
Any Disney firework display is always impressive to look at. Whether it's the fireworks themselves, the music or the projections, Disney knows how to put on a show. But, on the flip side, Enchantment was my least favourite firework show out of the ones that I can remember. For me, some of the scene transitions didn't flow seamlessly from one to another and I didn't have any emotional connection whatsoever. The visuals and music were still stunning nonetheless. If you haven't seen the Enchantment fireworks show, check out the video below from Walt Disney World News Today.
It was time for the most exciting part of the day: using our Lightning Lane!!! My sister and I decided to use it on Tomorrowland Speedway because that wait time did pick up after the fireworks. It was fun having a drive around and actually getting to see the Tron construction from a different angle! I definitely took the mickey by deliberately suddenly stopping! However, it didn't help that I kept catching up with the car in front. So, I stopped for a while to let the car in front gain some distance. Once there was enough daylight between our car and the car front, it was a casual drive back to the station. I was incredibly impressed with myself that I didn't crash into the back of the cars because that's normally a regular occurrence!
Our final ride of the night was on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and this ride is always left until last because that's when the wait time is at it's shortest! We got in just before park close and the posted wait time was 95mins. However, with no Lightning Lane, we only waited 25mins! Plus, my sister and I were in the second row from the back, so we were whipped around the track - personally, my favourite part about the ride! I even managed to get everyone clapping to Heigh Ho as we were going up the lift hill!!! I couldn't think of a better way to end our night 😊
One thing my sister and I hadn't done this trip until now was get some night time pictures on Main Street USA with the castle lit up. Any picture will not do justice as to how pretty the castle is at night time and Disney have done such a wonderful job with the painting/decor for the 50th anniversary.
When my sister and I got back to the apartment, it was straight to bed for the both of us. We had to be up early again for Day 8 for what ended up being my favourite day of the entire trip. And, you'll have to wait until next week to find out why!
Have a magical day!
-Hannah
DISCLAIMER: this blog is my personal experience on the Disney Academic Exchange Program (DAEP) 2019-2020 and may not reflect everyone’s experience. Other programs and future participants on the DAEP may have slight adjustments to their programs that may not be featured in any of my blog posts. That being said, if you do leave any questions, I will try to answer them as best as I possibly can 😊
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