My next walk about takes place in the Magic Kingdom. I went over last Thursday, August 30th and it turned out to be the perfect time to visit.
Lately instead of taking the monorail, I have been enjoying a trip from TTC to the Magic Kingdom via Ferry Boat.
The view from the waterway gave me a great look at the Grand Floridian Disney Vacation Club construction going on.
First thing I noticed is that fall has arrived at the Magic Kingdom. Or, more specifically, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party will begin on September 11th and the decorations are already taking shape.
Even thought it was Extra Magic Hour morning for resort guests, I still found the park fairly slow when I arrived at 9am.
Main Street is lined in shades of orange flags and pumpkins.
This is a photopass spot which offers a great view of the Pumpkins and the Castle!
And the Scarecrow folks are back!
There are all kinds of headwear for the season too, like this Mickey Pumpkin Ears:
Pumpkins can be found on the roofs of many Main Street Stores and many are themed, like these:
Can you tell what this is and which store it can be found at?
A must do for me at the Magic Kingdom is the Tomorrowland Transit Authority or TTA which will forever be known to me as the Wed-Way People Mover. I couldn’t believe how empty Tomorrowland was. At 10am there was only a 10 minute standby line for Buzz!
Over to the Fantasyland Expansion and this appears to be where many folks have congregated.
As previously reported, there is a sign at the entrance directly folks who want a Fast Pass for Dumbo to head to Mickey’s Philharmagic!
The Big Top Souvenirs sign now adorns one of the big tops.
The Casey Junior Splash n Soak Station was not too crowded. There was a Cast Member stationed right near the “Rules Sign” to make sure people followed the directions!
….. and I read just today, there is now a large Storybook Circus sign as you enter the area.
The Fantasyland Expansion seems to be moving along quite rapidly. Lots of workers could be seen painting here, installing lights there….. Here is the Little Mermaid Area.
The Seven Drawfs Mine Train.
And the entrance to the new Fantasyland has changed the landscape forever….
The new bathrooms across from Peter Pan are moving right along. This will really be great once they open!
It was nearing lunch time so I headed over to the Columbia Harbour House for my favorite lunch:
Outside a colonial man was signing Happy Birthday to a delighted girl.
Continuing around, the Yankee Trader was in full scrim with a sign that they were still open.
The Liberty Square Market area had lots of festive pumpkins
As I entered Frontierland the Country Bears were taking a break.
But this band was playing right in front (tho not listed in the Times Guide).
Pecos Bill signs looked fresh and clean from their recent refurbishment
The Frontierland Mountains was the other location that was quite crowded.
On my way out through Adventureland, Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Tutorial was entertaining guests.
Then I got to say hello to Princess Tiana as I made my way back to Main Street.
One last task, I had read some folks were getting Magic Dumbo FastPasses when they got Meet Mickey Fastpasses on Main Street. At 12:40 in the afternoon, so did I!
One important note about Service Animal Relief Areas.
In July, Walt Disney World announced that service animal relief areas in the theme parks would be moving from backstage areas to onstage areas for easier access. A week or so ago, the Magic Kingdom made the transition. After exploring the MK last week, AllEars® highly recommends that anyone with a service animal visit City Hall FIRST, before venturing into the park, as these areas are not currently shown on the Guide Map for Guests with Disabilities. Make sure the cast member gives you very specific location information. In addition, since it is a new program, a number of cast members were unaware of the location of the new relief areas. The one land that does not have a service animal relief area is Fantasyland, due to all the construction.
Lastly, I understand that Enchanted Tales with Belle is not only open on a limited basis for Cast Member Previews, but that some Magic Kingdom Guests have been able to experience it as well. If you get to see the new Enchanted Tales with Belle, let me know about your experience!
Til Next Time………
Hope you enjoyed this walk around.
We will be in the MK on the 25th and can’t wait. Thanks for the pictures to get me ready.
I’m glad I’m not the only one that still calls it the Wed-way Peoplemover.
One of my favorite times to visit a Disney park is near Halloween as I love the decoration.
Deb, Thanks for the MK walkaround and new pictures. Made me wish our next trip in Nov.-Dec. would get here sooner. I also love the Anchor’s Away sandwich at Columbia Harbour House. We eat here several times each trip.
Brilliant – many thanks for the preview I am soooo looking forward to being there for the opening on 6th December.
Deb
You,and we, enjoyed a great visit. We are still going 3 times a year from Nova Scotia. Met a couple from Idaho, thanks to a Disney bartender at the Marketplace, who introduced us a few years ago and we became friends. November/December will be our next trip together. There have been a few now. That’s the “magic” you write about at Allears! Your blog brought us to wish we were leaving tomorrow! Thank you so much. John Paul Carnell
the pictures were terrific! I see so much progress since I was there in Aug. i wont be there for Halloween because being there to see the Christmas decorations is on my bucket list so on Nov 30th- i will be able to cross that off the lisr. 83 days to go!
Great pictures! We left on 8/27. I was amazed how fast the Halloween decorations went up! They was no sign if them when we were there. The colonial singing is Michael. We love him! We always try to see him when we are there. He s o pleasant and fun.
Can’t wait for December 6th!!! We will be there for the Fantasyland Grand Opening during our anual early Christmas vacation!
Hi Deb,
I enjoyed this walk through the MK and so many changes since my last visit.Looking forward to more blogs like this one.
Dear Deb,
I will be going for night of joy so i will tell you if they let us inside! I’ll be there the entire day so they might let us in!
I love your walk arounds! Brings back lovely memories of my time there and it makes me feel like I’m right there along with you. Thank you so much.
Great blog. It is great seeing the parks from your perspective.
We will be arriving on 11/1 and these posts make me itch to get back even more! Recently met a local (NJ) young lady who will be “friends with” Belle in the new fantasyland, Can’t wait to see if we can pick her out!
Deb can you get a fastpass to meet all disney characters? If so where at? I did not realize that was possible. Thanks..
DEB: The Main Street Theatre is on your right as you enter the Magic Kingdom. It is next to Tony’s restaurant. Inside you will find 2 areas, one for Mickey and one for Princess(es). You may obtain a FastPass for them a little further down on the right. Just ask a Cast Member if you don’t see the FastPass machine. This is the only place I know of right now, where you can get a FAstPass for characters.
Thanks for the great photos. I’ll be going to Disney on September 22 for a conference and we get to stay at the Grand Floridian! I can’t wait. That is my dream hotel! I’m also excited to see all the decorations for fall. From your photos, I’m not going to be disappointed!
Hi Deb!
Great blog! I think you meant in this sentence “me at” not
“A must do for “meat “”
Thanks for keeping the folks in New Jersey Updated! Can’t wait until your next blog!
Mary
DEB: hehe, you are right, thanks!
This is great news to anyone like me and my family. We have a daughter who is a full time wheelchair user with a service dog. Up until now, the relief areas were a challenge to find. You also felt pressure with a CM standing there waiting. Last year as we were walking into Fantasmic, a woman approached me and introduced herself as a “high ranking CM” She was in street clothes. She asked me how we were being treated because we had the service dog with us. I told her the only problem was finding the relief areas and also a CM that knew where they were. She told me she would bring it up in her morning meeting the next day. Now I don’t know if my conversation actually had something to do with this decision but it’s great to see that Disney does listen. I can’t wait to see what they are like. Hopefully you can post some pictures of them.
Thank you Deb. I needed that tour around the festive, pumpkin decorated Magic Kingdom! I was having a tough day and it made me smile. We go this time of year (Oct) every other year and this is are “off” year, so “excursion” like this are sorely needed!
Thank you Deb. I needed that tour around the festive, pumpkin decorated Magic Kingddom! I was having a tough day and it made me smile. We go this time of year (Oct) every other year and this is are “off” year, so “exursion” like this are sorely needed!
Ahhhhhh that was delightful, just what I needed to feel I was there! Thank you!