Our April Walt Disney World Vacation began very early on Monday, April 14, 2014. We had stayed the night previously at the Embassy Suites in Philadelphia, PA where we were able to leave our car and get a shuttle to the airport. Our flight was on Southwest Airlines and the flight departed on-time at 7:00 AM. We arrived early into Orlando International Airport at 9:09 AM and were on the Magical Express shortly thereafter as there was no line (we walked right from the check-in on to a bus).
The Magical Express had driven past the Walt Disney World sign at 10:04 AM. We arrived at Old Key West at 10:21 AM after having made stops at the two Port Orleans resorts. Unfortunately our room was not ready for us and the cast member who checked us in was a bit…odd. I asked for a general estimate of when our room would be ready but wasn’t given one being told it would be between “now and 4 PM which is our check in time”. I have always been given an estimate when staying at other resorts so I don’t understand why this was different. So we checked our carry on baggage with bell services and waited for a bus to Magic Kingdom. It was quite a wait as we didn’t make it to Magic Kingdom until 11:35 AM and the park was extremely crowded! The first thing I did was go to Guest Relations where I purchased a Tables in Wonderland card as we did not do the Disney Dining Plan this time.
Since it was now 11:47 AM, we decided to stay in Town Square as the Festival of Fantasy Parade was beginning at 12:00 PM. But as we walked in to Magic Kingdom I got the text message that our room was ready (which is what I predicted would happen!). We stayed for the parade anyway which really began at Town Square around 12:30 PM. I have to say Disney outdid themselves with this parade. It is amazing! There are such talented people who develop these ideas and then bring them to life. After the parade we went back to Old Key West and got settled in our room. The rooms at Old Key West are great…I especially like having the extra bed instead of a pull-out in the studio.
By 3:17 PM we had made it back to Magic Kingdom. This was after finding out that the quick service location at Old Key West does not honor the Tables in Wonderland card. When I asked why I was given an answer that all places are different. Instead we had lunch at Casey’s Corner and got to catch glimpses of the 3:30 Festival of Fantasy Parade from the table we sat at outside of Casey’s. While at Casey’s I got an email inviting me to have lunch at “Be Our Guest” during our stay with a fast pass which I promptly accepted!
After eating we went back to Fantasyland and went to Storybook Circus and had our pictures taken with Goofy and Donald. As we walked out of the character meet and greet area a cast member asked us to take a survey about the meet and greet which I enjoyed giving feedback for. Our next stop was Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid for which we had a fast pass. We then waited almost an hour to meet Ariel at Ariel’s Grotto. Next up was fast pass for Haunted Mansion which we followed by playing a bit of Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom. It was then on to Peter Pan’s Flight with our fast pass.
We had 7:55 PM Dinner reservations at “Be Our Guest”. After waiting, we were greeted by a hostess who handed me an electric candle to carry as we went to our seats which were in the main ballroom. I had a steak and for dessert we split the “Gray Stuff” which is delicious as it is cookie type dessert covered with gray pudding / icing. We then had our picture taken with Beast who was greeting guests in the study. I can’t wait to dine here again on my birthday!
Since Magic Kingdom was open late we stayed and went back to Storybook Circus where we had our pictures taken with Daisy and Minnie Mouse before browsing at Big Top Souvenirs. We checked out the Princess Hall but the wait was an hour for each princess. So instead it was then off to Adventureland where we went to Tinker Bell’s Magical Nook. The guest fairy with Tink was Rosetta. We then went on Pirates of the Caribbean. By this time we were getting quite tired as we had been up since 3:30 AM to get to the airport. But we couldn’t leave the Magic Kingdom without getting our picture taken with Mickey Mouse in the Town Square Theater. Mickey played his magic trick with us again this visit!
