The Magic
Kingdom has had a lot of changes made to it over the past several years
what with all the construction that's been underway in creating New
Fantasyland, an expansion of the existing Fantasyland section of the
park. (There's still construction happening but it's at the front of the
park near Cinderella's castle; the project there is geared towards
adding more walkways so as to alleviate congestion as well as to give
more room to spectators for viewing parades and fireworks.) The final
piece of that effort is the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster
attraction, which we were able to ride even though the official opening
date for it wasn't until May 28. If we're going to be guinea pigs, at
least we were guinea pigs for Disney!
Truth
be told, we weren't sure we were going to be able to ride the Mine
Train. We got in line as soon as we entered the park because we didn't
think FastPasses were available for it - low & behold, after we'd
been in line about 30 minutes, FastPasses became available. (If you
don't know what FastPasses are, please do your own research; the system
is much too complex for me to quickly surmise here!) We quickly grabbed a
pair of them for later in the afternoon. When we returned and entered
the FastPass queue we got turned around because the ride had a
malfunction and had to close. We were told to come back in about an hour
and that our FastPasses would be honored at that time (Jill became
immediately paranoid at this). Sure enough, about an hour and a half
later, the ride re-opened and we were able to get on.
[SIDE NOTE:
While we were waiting for the ride to re-open, we ventured over to
Gaston's Pub to cool off with some of LeFou's Brew. No, it's not an
alcoholic beverage, it's a frozen beverage made from apple juice that's
topped with a passion fruit foam. The result looks kind of like a beer
but of course it tastes nothing like it.
A
lot of people compare LeFou's Brew to Butterbeer which is available at
the Wizarding World of Harry Potter inside Universal Studio's Islands of
Adventure park. Personally, I think Butterbeer is better as I love
butterscotch and that's the primary flavoring behind Butterbeer. That's
not to say LeFou's Brew is bad, though, as it was quite tasty &
refreshing on what was an extremely hot day.
Speaking
of heat, that is my one complaint with how New Fantasyland is arranged.
There are almost no areas where someone can go to get some shade to try
and cool off. There are few trees and what seating areas are available
are either concrete made to resemble stone (meaning that sitting on them
is like baking your tush on hot rocks) or too few & far between to
give fair service to patrons.]
Jill
& I both feel like we've watched this ride come up out of the dirt as we can remember when it wasn't much more than a hole in the
ground. The area around the Mine Train is so intricately decorated that
you truly lose track of the fact you're in a theme park. Disney does an
amazing job of making their experiences immersive and this is another
great example of the kind of work the Imagineers do.
I
almost wish we had been in the standby line instead of the FastPass
queue because there are interactive elements in the standby line to
which the FastPass queue apparently doesn't get access. Even so, I think
we waited in line about 20 minutes, tops, before we were on the
ride.
I'm
a bigger guy and I always have concerns about getting on rides like
this because I have long legs and the lap bars won't conform to my
anatomy. Case in point, I can't ride Space Mountain. I can get in the
car but when the lap bar comes down it hits my knees and won't go any
further. There are a few rides at Universal Studios Orlando I've
hesitated to get on because they, unlike Disney, offer tester seats
outside certain attractions so you don't waste your time waiting in line
for a ride you may not be able to get on. The Mine Train presented a
challenge to me because the lap bar is a U-shaped. The tips of the bar
connect at the floor of the car then the restraint swings forward to
hold you in place. Your knees/legs have to fit into the restraint and I
had a real time forcing mine into the gap. (I had to squeeze my legs
together as tightly as I could then pull down on the bar to get it in
place.) It made for a very uncomfortable ride and the sides of my knees
are sore as a result. I don't know why these ride vehicles can't be made
larger. It boggles my mind that the designers seem to think most people
are 5'6", weigh less than 200 lbs., and have rear-ends that are less
than 18 inches wide.
My
personal issues aside, the ride itself was fun but very short. The
portion where you see the Dwarfs inside the mine seemed especially
quick. By comparison, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Everest are at
least twice as long as the Mine Train, so in terms of bang-for-your-buck
I would say there are better rides out there. Regardless, it was quite
cool to be able to partake in a brand new ride that wasn't even
technically open.
The other big event of our day at the Magic Kingdom was Jill's visit to Princess Fairytale Hall to meet Anna & Elsa, characters from the hugely popular Disney animated film Frozen. Fairytale Hall is another relatively new addition to Fantasyland; the presentation therein is that guests are invited inside to meet any number of Disney princesses (or queens as is the case with Elsa). Anna & Elsa have been residents at Fairytale Hall for a number of months now and you need no further proof of their popularity than to look at the standby line wait times - it's not uncommon to see 300 minutes on the signage outside the attraction. I'm not sure if that means it's a legitimate 5 hour wait or if that's just as big of a number as the sign can display. We wouldn't have to worry about that, though, because we had FastPasses which Jill had booked several months (yes, months - they get snatched up that quickly) in advance.
The experience at Fairytale Hall is definitely geared towards those young at heart and Jill fits that bill. She and I are still kids even though we look grown up, and you need look no further than her reactions to getting to spend time with Anna & Elsa for proof of this.
And yes, she took a selfie with them as well (Anna & Elsa referred to it as an "us-sie")...
No, I didn't get my picture taken with them. Why? By that point in the day I probably smelled like the inside of a gym locker, and if I had gone to meet them I'd have probably spent the whole time pestering Elsa with questions about how she's way more powerful than anyone seems to realize.
We had dinner that evening at Tony's Restaurant, an Italian eatery taken directly out of Lady & the Tramp. I have to share with you that our waitress there (who was an Asian woman named Jing) did something I've never had any other member of the service industry do. I ordered the New York strip and asked that it be cooked medium as I like a warm, pink center on my steaks. A member of the kitchen staff delivered our food and our waitress arrived not long thereafter but before I'd had a chance to cut into the steak. She looked directly at my steak and I could tell by her expression that something was wrong. She said that the steak had been butterflied to speed cooking and that it was more than likely overdone. This was the plate in question.
I am not one to send food back unless there's something clearly wrong. To her credit, she was 100% correct in her statement as the steak was overcooked (not horribly so, mind you, just more than I would've preferred). I allowed her to take it back as she wanted us to have the best experience possible. The second steak she brought out could not have been more perfect.
The meat was tender, succulent, and juicy. The herb butter it was basted with added to the flavor but the beef was still the real star of this show. I haven't had many steaks in my life that could top this one and I have eaten a LOT of steak in my day. It goes without saying, though, that I greatly appreciated our waitress's effort. She is a shining example of what a top quality server should be and I felt privileged to have had her assistance.
We finished off our meal by sharing two deserts, the chef's special cheesecake (the plate was adorned with an image of Lady & the Tramp made from powdered cocoa) and tiramisu.
By this point in the day the weather had started to sour, not only with rain but with thunder & lightning. Instead of trying to wait out the storm to try and get a few more rides in (it was in the area of 9 PM but the Magic Kingdom typically doesn't close until at least 1 AM) we spent some time wandering through the shops along Main Street. Inside the Crystal Arts Shop, we found an example of hidden things there are to do and see around the Magic Kingdom (and all the Disney parks, for that matter) in the form of an artist who was giving a demonstration on glass blowing. In less than 30 minutes, he completed a Frozen-themed vase from nothing more than raw materials right before our very eyes.
The ride back to our hotel that evening was a little sad, truth be told. That's the disappointing thing about vacations, at some point they come to an end. The reality of the matter just hurts a little more when it's a Disney vacation that's ending, I guess. We made the long drive back home the next day.
So much of what makes Disney appealing, to me, is the fine details. The little things that add so much to whatever it is you're being a part of in the moment. When a Make a Wish child is allowed to go to the front of every line. When a waitress goes out of her way to make sure your experience is memorable. When Minnie Mouse leans in to give you a kiss and you can hear a smooch sound come from the character. Okay, I admit that last one's a little creepy but you get the idea. There aren't many other companies that go to the lengths that Disney does to make magical memories for their customers - I, for one, am a huge fan of how they do business and I can't say enough about how amazing this trip was. It was too short, that's for sure, as Jill & I both have said to each other in the days since we returned "When are we going back?"
I don't know but I'd bet it will be sooner than later.
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