Trip Report 2013 - Day #4 - Magic Kingdom Rope Drop, Animal Kingdom, Yak and Yeti

We have reached the 3rd day at the Disney World Parks on this November 3rd, 2013 morning.  After a short drive from Port Orleans Riverside we arrived at the TTC (Ticket & Transportation Center).

The Magic Kingdom was not the most recommended park today but it was not "unrecommended" and it is where we really wanted to spend our day, so we headed there.   It was a weekend so all the parks would be "busy."  The TTC was prepared for large crowds with all the extended que ropes out.  The advantage of getting to the TTC at 7:45 is walking right past all the ropes!

We hopped on the resort line monorail because it is the first one running in the morning.  Most everyone on the monorail was heading to a early breakfast reservation, but not us we would rather go on rides with short waits then eat. (*Please note that as of September 2014 the monorails don't run this early. You will  need to either take the Ferry across the 7 Seas Lagoon or take a bus from the TTC to the Magic Kingdom Bus area if you drive to the TTC. If you take Disney transportation from your Disney hotel you will arrive at the Magic Kingdom bus terminal automatically.)

Lots of construction going on at the Polynesian Resort.  This was once our favorite parking lot.  

Walking down the ramp from the monorail to the front gate.  

The Tap Styles or Mickey Readers or Touch Points or what ever these new things are called were not open for the day yet, but we were first in line so we got a few pictures with little to no people around.  

The "big" kids by the Mickey Readers waiting to be let in to get our spot on the rope.

A quick picture of our plan for the day.  (And a preview of 11/5/13  if you just can't wait!)

You can see the D, C after Small World.  That is because Doug and Clair will ride that while Sam, Alden, and I go on Space Mountain.  

Today we rope dropped Tinker Bell!  Her line can get long and moves slow.

No wait for Jasmine,  so we stopped to chat.

We arrived at Thunder Mountain and found about a 2 minute wait.  It was Clair's first time on the "Wildest ride in the wilderness."

We then walked onto Splash Mountain.  The reason to do Thunder Mountain first when you are there early is due to the length of the ride.  Splash Mountain is about a 10 minute ride.  Thunder on the other hand is about 2 minute.  So, in theory if you do Splash Mountain first, it gives the line at Thunder Mountain about 8 more minutes to build.

The look on Alden's face about sums up the general reaction of a 6 year old to most things at Walt Disney World.

After Splashing around, we met Woody & Jessie (you can find them at the exit to Splash Mountain).  We then headed to the Barnstormer, Dumbo, a few other Fantasyland rides and lunch.

After lunch and a spin on the TTA (Tommorrowland Transit Authority) Sam and Alden headed to Space Mountain for their first time.  They LOVED it.

Doug and Clair went over to It's a Small World with their FastPass+.

Sam looked a touch nervous.

We then met back up and went on Ariel's Under the Sea Adventure and then took another spin on  Thunder Mountain with Fast pass+.

It was time for a Mickey Bar so we hung out in Town Square and had one.

A picture with the train in the background as we show of our shirts from The Needle and Thread Embroidery Co.  Thanks for the great shirts Lacey!

We are heading back to the TTC to hop to the Animal Kingdom and do a "reverse rope drop."  Alden was a little disappointed to be getting the Pink monorail.

Christmas continues to "show up" around the parks.  They make it really hard not to get into the Christmas mood even if it is just November 3rd.

We hopped on over to the Animal Kingdom.  We will be trying to get to the Safari just as the parade starts.  Animal Kingdom is a great park to do later in the day, because the crowds really thin out after about 3pm or 4pm in the afternoon.  

We grabbed a Fast Pass for Expedition Everest on our way past.  

There was a posted 30 minute wait for Kilimanjaro Safari but we walked on to a truck that was just waiting for passengers.

We enjoyed seeing the elephants. Currently we are missing elephants at our local zoo as they are doing some major remodeling to create an African Safari.  

This is our favorite place for a picture with the Tree of Life.  It is on the walk way between Africa and Asia.

They are ready for their first ride with the yeti.  

They loved it.

Clair and Doug headed over to Triceratop Spin while we were on Everest.

We caught back up with them and walked on to Triceratop Spin as well.

We then spent a few minutes in the Bone Yard (play ground)  It is huge and the kids love it.  The crowds at this point were streaming out of the park.  It was almost crazy to watch knowing that the park was open for another hour.

Alden has a special kind of relationship with this dino.

Fist time on Primeval Whirl.

Clair was too short for this one, so just like all the others she is too short for we collected a Rider Swap ticket.  What this does is allow you to use the Fast Pass line with 3 total people so the kids and I usually get to ride twice.  

As you head to the Dino Institute there is Sue the T-rex.  This is one of 2 copies of Sue.  The real one is located at the Field Museum in Chicago.  The other copy tours the country.  When the land owner that had possession of Sue put her up for auction, Disney and McDonalds partnered to buy her.  Half of the bones were cleaned and processed right here in the Animal Kingdom where you could go and watch the process.  The other half were done in Chicago.  If not for Disney and McDonalds coming together this great dinosaur could have been lost to the highest bidder and never to been seen by the public again.  So, it is always worth stopping to take a look at the LARGEST 

T-rex ever found.  

This was Clair's first spin on Dinosaur.  This ride can be a touch on the scary side.  It is dark and the Dinosaurs are big and loud.  

Next up was time to meet Mickey & Minnie.

We had a dinner reservation at 6:55 that night at Yak & Yeti.  The park closes at 7pm.  Even though the park was closed, they don't kick you out.  It is nice being amongst the last at the restaurant and really the last in the whole theme park, plus we never felt hurried.  The Yak and Yeti was a new one for us.

Doug got the Duck.

I went with Sweet and Sour chicken.  You can see a full review here.

The walk out of the park was neat.  We were all alone, except the occasional cast member saying 'hi' as we walked past.  We stopped to take a few picture in the dark.  There were no photo pass photographers out.  Something about leaving the park after it closes gives you a feeling of accomplishment.  And it was only 7:50pm.

We then got a private tram ride to our car.  

However, our car was at the end of the line so we still had a little walk from the tram.  Not sure we have ever let the kids just run across a Disney Parking Lot before.  

We ended the night back at Port Orleans Riverside with some homework.  It was nice to have an early night, but we did not take a real break.  Our break was the car ride from the TTC to Animal Kingdom!

Disney Speak - Magical Express

When someone says "you can just take the Magical Express" are you wondering what they mean?
Are you worried it involves unicorns and rainbows?
Maybe some sort of wizard?
It is magical but not quite that magical. It is one of the big benefits of staying at a Walt Disney World Resort!

Disney's Magical Express is a bus service that takes you from Orlando International Airport (MCO) to your Walt Disney World Resort.  At the end of your trip it takes you back to the Orlando Airport for your flight home. The magical part is there is no extra fees, because it is included in with your stay at a Walt Disney World Resort.  This allows you to skip renting a car or arranging for a shuttle. Many families use the Disney bus system once on property and rental cars tend to sit in the the parking lots unused.  By Magical Express you have no need to rent a car (usually over $300) and eliminates the need for buying gas or paying for toll roads to and from the airport.

Here are some of the resorts that are NOT able to use Disney's Magical Express: Swan & Dolphin, Shades of Green, Bonnet Creek Resorts, Downtown Disney Hotels, and the Orlando Four Seasons. 

The first step is giving your travel agent your flight information to attach to your account.  You will then receive a packet in the mail from Disney's Magical Express.  In this packet is your vouchers and the bright yellow luggage tags.  You do not really need your vouchers if you have your magic bands.

Magical Express luggage tags

Attach the bright yellow tags to all your checked bags before you check them.  These tags will allow your bags to go straight from the airport to your room.  You will not need to stop at the baggage claim for any bag that has one of these yellow tags on it.  (If your flight arrives after 7pm in Orlando, I advise that you pick up your bags from the baggage claim because it can take up to 3 hours for your bags to arrive at your resort.) If you plan to take the Magical Express, make sure to pack any medications you may need in your CARRY ON LUGGAGE! 

The next step is to fly to Orlando International Airport.  Once you land, make sure you have your Magic Bands on.  In the above picture, you see my kids sporting their bands on the tram from the airport terminal to the main building of the airport.  

When you get off the tram you follow the arrow to the B side of the airport.

More B side singe.

Here we are walking past the baggage claim! 

The Magical Express shows up on lots of signs too.

More signs.

Even more signs.  I can see how someone still gets lost, but all the signs make it easy to find.

We arrived and here is a sign with all the hotels logos on it.

Then they scan your magic band to tell you witch bus to get on, they also direct you to the number of the line you should enter to catch your bus to the resort. 

Lots of rows to get into.

We were in line #2

We have never seen all of these full but at peak season and peak times of days I know it can happen, but the line moves quickly.

Magical Express bus waiting to take us to our resort.

We basically walked on to our bus.  If you have large carry ons you give them to the bus driver to stow under the bus.  When you arrive at your resort the bus driver will get them out for you.  This is the one time you will need to tip.  

After about 10 min of sitting on the bus, we took off and were on our way to the most magical place on Earth.

There is entertainment the whole way to Disney World.  It is about a 30 minute drive.  We stopped at one other resort before our own.  This can vary, depending on the resort that you are staying at.  For some resorts the whole bus is going to the same place.  Now you just have to check in and you can head to one of the Disney Parks.  Our room was not ready so we stored our carry ons with the bell desk and headed to the Magic Kingdom.  When our room was ready we received a text with the room number.  (If you don't get a text by 5:00, go ahead and check with your resort because your room should be ready. Sometimes the texts just don't go through for them.) When we were done at the Magic Kingdom, we headed straight to the room and found all our bags waiting for us!   It can take up to 3 -4 hours for your luggage to make it to your room, so if there is something you will need right after your flight (like swim suits or medications) make sure you have them in a carry on luggage.  If you arrive after 10pm you have to get your luggage from baggage claim.  I personally like to get my own bags if we arrive after 7pm because you may not get your bags tell 11 o'clock and that makes it tricky to put kids in bed.  If you plan on picking your own bags up you just don't put the yellow tags on them and they will show up on the baggage claim like normal.  You just take the bags to the bus and the bus driver will stow them under the bus!

Sadly, the trip has come to a end.  

How do we get back to the airport?  

The Magical Express of course!

Disney's Airline Check-In info

Disney has another luggage trick up its sleeve to help make the airport as simple as possible.  You can check in for your flight out of MCO right at your resort.  You get your boarding passes and check your luggage right at your resort.  The picture above has the airlines that do this currently. (Not all participate in airline check-in at the resort!)

Once they have your bags you are good to go.  When you arrive at the airport you just head through  security and to your gate with your carry ons.  This is a huge benefit of staying on Disney Property.  This makes the airport so much easier and stress free!

Now that our bags are checked, just go to the Magical Express Bus Stop at the time you are assigned.  

You are usually given a time about 3 hours before your flight.  You get a packet on your door the day before that tells you the exact time and also has your vouchers in it. You WILL need these vouchers to give to the bus driver.

Take the packet with you to the bus the driver will look at it to let you on the bus.  

Magical Express makes it very stress free to get to this view!