"Daisy is a Duck!" -- Day One
There are few things as enjoyable as waking up on Disney property on your first full day of vacation. The whole trip lies before you and to date, it's still "perfect." Today is Magic Kingdom followed by dinner in Disney Springs. As soon as I awaken, I’m excited about the day. Shower and dress, my phone reminds me it’s almost time to make reservations. I had already purchased the Genie+ for us around 3 AM. My first attempt will be to purchase Individual Lightning Lanes (ILLs) for Seven Dwarfs Mine Ride. At 7:00, I refresh, the link becomes active, and I search. I purchase two for approximately 11:15 AM. Now, what should be the next FastPass? I check Jungle Cruise and it’s only at 9:15 AM. I look at Peter Pan and it's at 10:15 AM already so I take that. Now, I need to wait until either 11:00 AM or my first FastPass to secure another. I set my phone, wake my daughter, and head outside.
The morning is gorgeous, bathed in sunshine and singing birds as I walk to the food court. Joggers run past (with full determination on their faces.) Who jogs on vacation? I guess some do. The music around Ole’ Man Island plays as I near the water mill. I humm along. I purchase two refillable mugs and get two coffees and head back. Sophia is getting ready. I’m in my element. I could do this walk every morning. That picturesque walk along the river becomes something I look forward to as soon as I awaken. (I always encounter joggers and I always attempt a “Hi,” but they’re too engrossed.)
We catch the bus, ride into the Magic Kingdom, and make our way through bag check. I’m singled out and have to have my backpack checked. I’m told, if I keep my charging brick in my hand along with my Thermoflask so they can see it, I won’t get sent over next time. OK. We’ll see.
We go to Main Street Bakery and order. I send Sophia to Casey’s to secure seats for us while I wait. There’s a seasonal pumpkin cupcake she gets. As we are sitting, I snap a picture of her with the Main Street crowd in the background. I note: for someone always on the go, I could just sit there all day and listen to Main Street Music and people watch and never get bored. I just love it there especially with my daughter. She “gets it.”
We go to Jungle Cruise first. The line looks short, but it says 55 minutes so we skip it. We go to Pirates instead. It says 45 minutes, but just as we were about to enter, it flips to 20 minutes. It’s actually only 15 minutes and we’re on one of the best themed rides anywhere. We exit, grab an Aloha Isle Dole Whip and start toward Peter Pan. Our FastPass will be ready soon. We’re too early so we watch Mickey’s Philharmagic. They added a scene from Coco, I think. I’m reminded how good that show is. Time for Peter Pan. As soon as I pass the second touchpoint, I begin looking for another FastPass. I snag Haunted Mansion for 11:30.
Peter Pan is as quaint as ever. But you can only ride that once. We have time for Ariel so we meander past Gaston’s statue for some photos. Then the Ariel ride. This gets a bad rap. It’s such a cute ride. I’m not sure why so many dislike it. We exit, ride Seven Dwarfs (better than I remember,) then it’s time for Haunted Mansion. This is a favorite with us. The FastPass line stretched to Terra Haute (pun intended,) but moved quickly. Upon exiting, the skies had opened and it was a torrential downpour. Cast Member urging people to “keep walking” because the exit was getting blocked. We go into Memento Mori’s, buy ponchos, souvenirs, and mobile order from Columbia Harbor House. Lobster rolls for both of us. Because it's raining, we can’t find any seats, just an unaccompanied table. So we stand. A cast member sees we need seats and finds two for us. The lobster rolls were delicious. I’ve seen posts of how scantily they’ve been putting the lobster roll on the bread. Not in our case. Ours was overflowing and delicious. I think Harbor House is the best fast food restaurant in all four parks.
The rain fizzles out. I grabbed a FastPass for Buzz at 12:50 PM. We ride Carousel of Progress (walk on,) People Mover (walk on,) Buzz (FastPass,) Monsters, Inc. (walk on,) snack and make our way to Main Street. We grab a seat and wait for the parade. It’s gruesome hot now. For me, we have to watch the parade on Main Street. Others like Frontierland and I get it. For us, it’s on Main Street, USA. The parade is wonderful as I remember. We shop for a bit before heading back to the room. Need to recharge our human batteries and refresh.
Showered and with evening attire, we take the boat ride to Disney Springs. First stop: World of Disney. You could spend all day there. My daughter picks out some things she likes. We then go to Customer Service because I want to upgrade our tickets to Park Hoppers. They accommodate us. Over to The BOATHOUSE for dinner. This has become our favorite dining destination on property and it does no disappoint. We get an outside, lakeview table. Service was terrific. Food was fantastic. We can see the rain isn’t through with us for tonight, so we cut our day short. (We wanted to shop a lot.) We catch the boat ride back, but en route to Riverside, the Captain informs us there are lightning strikes and he needs to let us off at the next location. (French Quarter.) They order a bus for us to take us to Riverside.
Finally in our room, both exhausted, my daughter streams “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” episodes as we fall asleep. Tomorrow is Hollywood Studios. Today could not have gone much better. When you think of a Disney vacation, this is the type of day you’re envisioning.
