Walt Disney World – First Day Traditions

Well two weeks today Little Miss and I will be spending our last night in our house for four weeks. No doubt I’ll be running around like a headless chicken and she’ll be having her pre-holiday bath and hair wash. We don’t leave until 4pm the next day but I’ll be busy with all the printing out of boarding passes and breaking my heart over taking my cat to my sister’s. Today however, I have a chest infection and a cold/flu virus so I’ve spent all day in bed with a pack of Lemsip Max capsules for company. Little Miss did make me a get well soon card though.

So, to cheer myself up on Twitter I started asking about first day traditions for visiting a Disney park. I know everyone has different things the like to do first, but I was surprised (pleasantly surprised I should add) to find that so many people made Magic Kingdom their first port of call while at Walt Disney World. This is of course the same for us, it’s our first and last park on a trip, and this year on our last day it will also be Dream Along with Mickeys last day so people will need to make sure I don’t chuck myself into the moat when Mickey says “Take the dream with you, wherever you may go” for the last time. But back to the first day, and how I try to make it pan out;

In the Morning
Due to our body clocks being a mess we’re always awake at about 5am, which is perfect for an early start and making a whole day of it. So we aim for rope drop and Welcome Show.. so far we’ve always only caught the end of the Welcome Show by the time we get through bag check, but it still means we get into the park just as it opens. We head straight up Main Street where I’m pretty much crying the whole time. When I hear Little Miss shout “there is Cinderella Castle” my heart melts and I know I’m home. We then head off to Fantasyland and hit up Storybook Circus. Dumbo is ALWAYS our first ride, and then the Barnstormer (a new addition in September). This year I’ll also be picking up red velvet Mickey cake pops for breakfast from Big Top (something we did on our last day in September and they were amazing). Our first character meet is Alice and of course next month it’ll be with the Mad Hatter, two character LM is very into at the moment. After we’ve met them it’s a ride on the teacups and followed by my idea of hell on earth, It’s a Small World. By this time (unless it’s magic hours), Peter Pan should be coming out, so we’ll queue to see him.

It does seem like a crazy couple of hours, but I find it’s the best time to get rides done for the day and keep Little Miss busy until Peter Pan comes out. After his first set I always try to have a FP for Peter Pan’s Flight, which we then follow up with the carousel. That’s a lot of Fantasyland covered. We may pop around to see Tiana before Peter’s second set, or if his queue is capped quickly we’ll get a spot to watch Dream Along with Mickey.

In the Afternoon
A large chunk of the afternoon is taken over by Festival of Fantasy. I usually get myself a passion tea lemonade from Starbucks and settle down at our parade viewing spot a good hour before step off at 3pm. Little Miss can have a snack and she usually likes to have a dance or play while we wait if she hasn’t managed to nap. It’s a good time to rest my feet and just soak up the atmosphere.. but the first time I hear the Festival of Fantasy trumpet fanfare there are ALWAYS tears. There is just something amazing about watching that parade especially for the first time of a trip. Both LM and I know the music off by heart and of course she can see Peter Pan and Wendy together in their unit. I guess that’s when I really feel like I’m home.

After the parade it’s back to see Peter Pan, and possibly another watch of Dream Along before we head somewhere to get dinner. Last time we had a Park Fare booking but this time due to a smaller budget we don’t have many character dining bookings so instead I want to go to Pinocchio’s Village Haus for mac & cheese. It’s always nice to spend a good hour in the air conditioning and the shade especially after Dream Along (which has no shade) and Festival of Fantasy which has a little shade until the parade actually passes. And of course we need fuel to last us until closing!

In the Evening
Time for a visit to Princess Fairytale Hall if I don’t have FP before then. Last year she saw Anna and Elsa, then around to see Cinderella and Rapunzel. Next month I do have FP’s for earlier in the day of Cinderella and Rapunzel but she’ll probably want to go again! We also often do Under the Sea and if by that point we have friends around she will drag them on It’s a Small World and the teacups again. The evening is usually a lot more chilled out. Waiting to watch DEP and of course Wishes from behind the castle. But last September we stayed until closing and no doubt we’ll do it again next month especially as we’re having a pool day on the 10th.

I’m sure regardless of how our first day goes, it’ll be filled with magic and memories. Little Miss will be back in her Wendy dress running around all day just because she feels more at home in Magic Kingdom than she does anywhere else in the world. I guess I should be worried that she knows the place so well, but in fact, I just feel a sense of pride haha.