My Not-So-24 Hour Day at Magic Kingdom

 

The sunrise at Magic Kingdom is absolutely gorgeous. The Park has that nighttime, light-up charm but feels fresh like a new day.. because it is a new day. It’s worth getting up at 4 a.m. for, especially with a Starbucks on Main Street. However, you won’t catch me there at midnight. It was toooo busy on the 24 hour days in the past and I wasn’t taking any chances this year. We planned to go for the morning and lunch and then hit the road. During these day-long special events, Magic Kingdom is fairly empty from 6-10 a.m. and it’s so nice for early birds like me.

 

Jim as Chewbacca & Nicole as Snow White 6:10ish a.m.

 

I think this 24 hour Disney day was the most successful yet. Tons of Disney lovers, like myself, donned attire inspired by their favorite characters and we never get to do that so it was awesome. Besides Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, this was a day adults could dress up at Disney and, boy, did they. I saw so many adorable older couples walking around at 7 am showing their Disney side to the fullest. One old guy was a Smee and I loved it. I knew I wanted to dress up as Snow White from the moment they announced this “Disney side” business. My embellished DisneyBound attempt, the tutu made it closer to a costume, was put together with pieces I had in my closet. Except the tutu. Long live the tutu. But, really, I’m always down to put on a costume and clearly lots of other “big kids” are too.

 

When this 24 hour day was first announced, a thought popped into my head. I just knew the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train had to be previewing. It was. I got to ride it for the first time as Snow White. It was a glorious moment for this fairytale fangirl. Jim got in the line which was posted at 120 minutes and backed up along the fence that surrounds the attraction passed the Mad Tea Party. A manager walked by and answered “three hours!” to a guest inquiring about the wait. Jim and I knew there was only one thing to be done: a coffee run. So I went to visit the coffee mermaid and get pastries. Jim was texting me updates from the line. “I’m near the main entrance.” “I’m almost to the first covered area.” I couldn’t believe it. Was I actually going to miss it? I was gone for less than 30 minutes or so and Jim was almost inside and ready to board! The line moved so. fast. So I scuttled back over to Fantasyland with my hands full of coffee and treats, accompanied by my friend Jeff who I met up with along the way. I get there and shimmy my way through the line to find Jim (you can imagine how many “I want your coffee” jokes I got on the way in) and we actually had to scarf down our breakfast! It was so far from a three hour wait it’s not even funny. We were so happy! We loved the ride. Ohmigosh, the queue. THE JEWELS. This attraction is adorable and one of my new favorites at Walt Disney World. No spoilers here, though. If you want to see some details watch this quick Seven Dwarfs Mine Train video I made. I’ll have a whole article on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train soon, too.

The thing I was most looking forward to this day was short wait times. We walked on ride after ride. Pure delight. Then a huge thing happened. Jim had never been on our Splash Mountain. Only Disneyland’s and for the first time last year. So when we got off of Big Thunder and its splashy neighbor had a 5 minute wait, I nudged him. It happened, folks! It’s a small miracle. Dreams come true.

Then we took a Citrus Swirl break at the Sunshine Tree Terrace and I danced around like Snow White because Snow White.

 

We went on Adventureland rides (and got the famous Ashley as our Jungle Cruise Skipper!) and then went to Be Our Guest for lunch. I prefer lunch there over dinner and you can read why here. I had the quiche which I joked with Jim and called the hot egg pie because let’s face it.. that’s what it is. It’s delicious, though, and quite filling with the salad that comes with it and a dessert. I delighted in the chocolate creme puff. Get in my life, chocolate creme puff.

 

After lunch we decided to go on one more ride. Jim let me pick and even though we had gone on it twice already I timidly suggested.. Mine Train? Hehehe. Let’s be real, we both wanted to go on it again. So we did. WHAT A FUN DAY. We were nowhere near 24 hours but we didn’t have to be. It’s a neat offering for sure but even if you’re not into going for an entire day, the morning is so worth it and a special event of it’s own. What a beautiful morning. A quiet sunrise on the castle is such a special treat. And friends! So many friends. I saw friends while walking in, friends in the Starbucks line, friends in the Mine Train line, friends in the Peter Pan line, friends walking to the Haunted Mansion.. let me stop but it brought me so much joy to see so many familiar faces and meet new people, too!

Until next time 24 hour day…