Christmas at Disney Day Two

Walt Disney World Day 2 (Saturday 12/22)

Saturday’s at the Magic Kingdom can be a little packed so we’d always planned to hit the other parks on Saturday. The Little One was very disappointed that we weren’t able to ride any of the big rides at EPCOT the last time we were there. Pretty Bird and I aren’t huge EPCOT fans but we did want to get some of the rides this time.

EPCOT – We got there as early as it opened, well 15 minutes before and wanted to rush to get some Fast Passes. The Little One’s first choice was Turtle Talk and the new Finding Nemo ride, neither of which have Fast Pass and Turtle Talk didn’t open for an hour. I got Fast Passes for Soarin’ while the girls got in the Character greeting line. I was able to get back and see the Little One get her picture with Goofy. Unless the line is only three or four people I’d highly recommend you find another way to see the characters. There are many horror stories out there about spending hours to see the characters. There are so many ways that are easier, quicker, and far less stressful.

We had about 45 minutes until our Soarin’ Fast Pass so there was plenty of time to hit the Test Track. The Test Track only had a 10 minute wait at this point and most of that was part of the show. None of us had ever rode Test Track and we were really excited. Man the ride did not disappoint, it was great. It is the fastest ride at Disney World, with a light enough car you can hit close to 70mph (which is really cool with the Goofy pirate ears). We did find an Hidden Mickey as well (HM 3).

After that we hit our Soarin’ times and rode it. Like we figured it was the exact same ride that they have at Disneyland. They did change the Main Street view to include a Christmas Parade instead of a regular parade which we thought was a nice touch. Even if it is the same ride it doesn’t matter, Soarin’ is a great ride.

After Soarin’ we hit the Nemo ride, which was a pretty cool change to the Living Seas. After hanging out a little at the big tanks we were able to get into Turtle Talk with Crush. Both times we’ve tried Turtle Talk before have been at Disneyland and both times were lines over an hour. We don’t do lines that long, ever. This time was close enough to the first show that there was hardly a line. The Little One made a friend and did some pin trading as well, it was cute to see her trade with someone other than a cast member. Turtle Talk is done really well, it is neat how he interacts with the audience. The Little One got to be one of the people who asked him a question. “Yeah the little dudette in the third row, with the pink shell, she has a question”. She asked Crush how many fish are in the sea. He told her it was a great question and then replied “more than 10”. Good times.

Next up was the World Showcase, which is a lot of walking. Pal Mickey did tell us all about every country, well at least a few sentences. We ate lunch at the US pavilion because the Little One wanted a hamburger. Of course when we got there she ordered chicken nuggets but whatever. She did pick out a great Christmas hat, a Princess themed Santa Hat. EPCOT was one for the day. We were able to find one more Hidden Mickey (HM 4). The Little One also won a Year of a Million Dreams prize and it is probably (outside of a week’s vacation or a night in the castle) the best possible prize for her, a pin. She does love pin trading and this would be the only way she could get this pin so she was set. On the way out of the park Pal Mickey told us “Going around the world in one day is tiring Pal, I’m going to take a break”. We agree Mickey.

Now onto the biggest tip to enjoying Disney World, breaks. The parks are busiest between 11am and 3pm and that is usually when it is hot as well. Late night and early are the best time to ride the rides and see the sights so we plan on hitting both of those times. With the park open some 16 hours a day you can’t be there the whole time. Why not avoid the busy times and enjoy the pool? Make sure you can still see the parade or whatever once during your stay but trust me, a break is huge. So we took our break. We had 5pm reservations for Chef Mickey’s and decided to take a break until then.

Chef Mickey’s – I can’t recommend Chef Mickey’s high enough. If you’re going to Disney World this is the place to eat. Maybe not every time you go but at least once you need to eat here. We love the character meals but try to keep them restrained; we want them to be special. This is our fifth vacation to a Disney park but only our third character meal, we want them to remain special. Plus they aren’t cheap. Of the three character meals this one was easily the best. The Little One might have preferred the Princess Breakfast at Disneyland better but this one has all five of the front-line characters, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, and Goofy. The food is great and the service was awesome. The Little One started her autograph book, after much reluctance on our part since we don’t like the autographs but it was her money and her memories. It was a great two hours, man we had a good time. We found another Hidden Mickey (HM 5).

After Mickey’s we should have just sucked up the crowds and went to the Magic Kingdom since it is right there. Nope we decided to try and make it to MGM Studios to hopefully see Fantasmic. That was a mistake. We had the bus driver from hell and it took us almost 90 minutes to get from the Contemporary to MGM Studios. All the way there we were missing turns, hitting curbs, almost killing everyone on the road at Disney World.

MGM-We got there with only 90 minutes left of MGM being opened so we really didn’t do much. We definitely missed being able to see Fantasmic but we were able to ride the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. I’ve never rode it but Pretty Bird has a few times. The Little One was a little scared but she ended up liking it okay. I wasn’t such a fan. Pal Mickey did tell comment a few times, the best being “next time let’s take the stairs, I think I left my stomach on the fifth floor”. We did get over and see the Osborne lights which while being really tacky are impressive.

Looking back we definitely should have gone to the Magic Kingdom, we lost valuable ride time that night. Still a great second day, first full day at Walt Disney World. Most of the rest of our group arrived on Sunday so it was time to have a true Grand Gathering.