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140620 Magic Kingdom Train Station Opening Ceremony

Magic Kingdom Opening Ceremony

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One of my favorite parts about visiting any of the Disney parks is the “element of new.” I imagine quite often, most families that have not been to the parks in a while tend to rush in and get to all of their favorite rides as fast as possible before the rest of the crowds. Picture it like the running of the bulls, though with cast members encouraging you not to run.

While getting as much of the park crammed into a day is great, I often find myself looking back on these trips and remembering those times where we took things at a slower pace and took small details in as more enjoyable.

During our recent trip to the Magic Kingdom, our family spent two days at the Magic Kingdom spread out over a week. This allowed us to get our fix the first time, but slow things down a little more for the second visit. There are often so many other shows and always hidden details that the majority of guests never get to experience. One such experience we had never seen was the opening ceremony to the Magic Kingdom, which for us occurred around 8:40 AM for a 9:00 park opening.

We got to the park around 8:00 AM to help ensure we got a spot to see the show. By the time we got thru bag check and the ticket kiosk, the queue area was quite full; however, surprisingly, we were able to get a spot right up against the front wall with Mickey head shaped landscaping around the center, for a perfect spot to see the show. This was quite surprising to us considering there were hundreds of people that were already there and waiting. Perhaps they were there on their first day, more concerned about getting to their favorite rides.

Please find below a full video of the opening ceremony. After the Mayor comes out to greet guests, the rest of his dancers come out to say hello. Shortly thereafter, the Disney World train pulls into the station with the family of the day and a whole bunch of the Disney characters, including Anna and Elsa from Frozen.

There is just this nostalgic feel and place that each Disney experience puts you in when visiting the park. The Magic Kingdom opening ceremony was great, and I was glad our family got to slow our travels down enough to get everything together and share in this experience.

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Source: InACents

140618 Hollywood Studios Sorcerer Hat

Hollywood & Vine Dining Fantasmic Package

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One of the major shows that eluded our family for years at Disney World was Fantasmic. Hollywood Studios nighttime show is located back in a secluded stadium of the park that brings together good versus villains in Mickey Mouse’s dream. Our family has seen it at Disneyland, but never opted to stay in Hollywood Studios late enough to see the show.

So for my father-in-laws 60th birthday celebration, we decided to not only see the show, but also get FastPasses for preferred seating as part of a dining package.

We selected to dine at Hollywood & Vine, since we had never eaten there before. The dining experience is an all-you-can eat buffet with a large selection of dining options. Dinner costs $35.99 for adults; $19.99 for children, and includes your VIP seating voucher for Fantasmic.

Shortly before our dining reservation, my oldest son really wanted to go on the Studio Backlot Tour, which also was going on the last round of departures for the evening. So my wife and I elected to dart the three of us over to the Streets of America while the rest of our party proceeded towards Hollywood & Vine.

We quickly entered the queue and requested to go beyond everyone in the preshow, so we could get directly onto the tram. Long story short, we made it through the entire Studios Backlot Tour, and then ran as fast as we could back to Hollywood & Vine, sometime after the rest of our party already started eating.

While everyone in our party was starving, I, however, for some reason was really not that hungry. So I kindly requested if there was a way for me to not have to pay to eat, but still “buy” my ticket to Fantasmic. Apparently this was new ground for our cast member, as he had to talk with a manager, and getting that accomplished took an extremely long time. So much so, that I eventually forced myself to gorge on the meal I was bound not to purchase but was required to upon walking through the doors of Hollywood & Vine.

The good thing was the food was all VERY good, with a large selection of options, and an excellent dessert bar, which included a chocolate fountain with fresh fruit, a personal favorite.

Following our meal, it was time to make our way towards the stadium for Fantasmic.

Guests with the VIP tickets are directed towards special sections at the center of the stage, while everyone else goes towards the outskirts. In reality, I am not sure if there really is a bad seat in the house, as it appeared every seat could see the entire stage just fine. With no roof overhead, there is not anything that would prevent blocking of the stage, other than maybe the person in front of you.

Like many aspects, I personally enjoy the Disneyland version of Fantasmic compared to that of Hollywood Studios. While the show is still good, some of the special effects tended to mask ever seeing what was happening, in particular the dragon at the end. The Disneyland version also uses several big ships, including a giant pirate ship.

Below is the full video of the Hollywood Studios Fantasmic show. While none of the water screen scenes videoed to well, the camera has trouble focusing on them, the character portions turned out pretty good.

Have you seen both the Disneyland and Disney World versions of Fantasmic? What did you think?

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Source: InACents

Universal High in the Sky

Universal Studios High in the Sky Trolley Train Ride

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This past summer during our family’s adventure to Florida to celebrate my father-in-laws 60th birthday, Disney style, we spent a couple days also exploring the Universal Studios worlds. After visiting both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, our opinion of the parks was mixed.

There were definitely pros and cons to Universal Studios, overall, the cons dominated our overall opinion of the parks. However, there is one aspect of the parks that is undeniably amazing, and that is the themes.

You literally feel like you are engulfed in the worlds of the various themes with the amazing lands.

One of my personal favorites was probably Dr. Suess Landing, because no detail was overlooked. Everything was themed towards the Dr. Suess stories. It was incredible!

I do not recall what I was doing at the time, but my wife elected to take some of our sons onto the High in the Sky Trolley Train Ride. I recalled seeing the first circus tent scene when trying to refill our drink mug, but did not realize the train ride went through the tent.

I was also surprised to learn afterwards that she videoed for us the entire ride. I was so proud!

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Source: InACents

Cover Photo ©Universal