Day 17: 4th July Rehearsal at Magic Kingdom

Summary: The final days are drawing close and today will be a 4th July celebration and fireworks rehearsal at Magic Kingdom. Missed the morning Virtual Queue for Tianas but managed to catch it in the afternoon. Queue times were not bad today so sped through a lot in the afternoon slowing down towards the evening were opted for some gentler and more chill rides like Carousel of Progress & People Mover. Got ourselves a prime spot for the Fireworks and enjoyed the concert they put on in front of the castle whilst waiting. Great fireworks show and worth the wait. Seven Dwarfs one more time before home.

So up at the usual time to get a virtual queue for the new ride at Magic Kingdom, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and we didn’t get it 😔 It originally allowed me to join but then gave me an error - just must be so many people trying to get a group for it. We still have the afternoon to try and get a group too and this means we can grab an extra hours sleep and take it a little easier this morning.

Today’s alarm songs were to the theme tune of Carousel of Progress and then The Princess and the Frog soundtrack.

Made our way to the park and got in just before midday - decided we didn’t want to risk being on a ride at 1pm when the. Virtual Queue was up so just took it easy in the park and grabbed some Lavender Lemonades outside of Tianas.

Virtual Queue: Completed it mate!

And it paid off, we manage to grab an early group when it opened back up at 1pm! Thank the maker! We do have another try for Tianas on Saturday but didn’t fancy have to wait to the last day to try, just too close for comfort.

Just after we got it a nearby cast member Cara started chatting to us and asked us if we had got the virtual queue. She then asked where we were from. When we said Scotland she said she didn’t guess just in case she offended by saying we were Irish or Welsh. I said that would have been fine as long as it wasn’t English. She then said her dad was from Newcastle. Foot > Mouth. Well I mean Newcastle is the north right they’re almost the same as us anyway. She was really nice and gave us some tips about the virtual queues which we’ll try on Friday & Saturday.

So after that we finally got on our first ride, Seven dwarfs and I finally spotted the witch at the end of the ride!

We headed back over to Adventure Land as our group for Tianas was close and the l kids wanted some ice cream sandwiches - not on the snack list as they aren’t great value for money but they’re iconic so we had to do it at least once.

Jungle Cruise up after that, one we hadn’t been on so far and our skipper Leah was a hoot from start to finish, providing funny commentary and dad jokes left right and centre. Patrick even got picked as a scapegoat and people had to speak to him if they had any complaints with the ride. Didn’t see my hero The Rock however so points off for that! 😛

- Gerry: 7
- Ann: 5
- Patrick: 7.5
- Robert: 7.5
- Grace: 7

So close to Tianas but still had time to jump on to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Managed to get some video footage this time even though Grace was sitting next to me, big W. And as we queues for Big Thunder, our group for Tianas was called.

Goin’ down the Bayou

Although we’ve been on lots of new rides this time around as this was days old it was one we really want to get. And having loved Splash Mountain in its traditional form we had to make sure justice was served! And it was! Right from the queue line there were lots of props and decorations that really leaned into the theme. Still had that Splash Mountain feel as you boarded but quickly made it its own. Animatronics and digital visuals were so smooth and colourful and the ride had told its own little story which was nice and calming until the big drop at the end. Well worth the panic and trouble to ride it and will definitely try again on Saturday.

- Gerry: 8.5
- Ann: 8.5
- Patrick: 9
- Robert: 8.5
- Grace: 8.5

Haunted mansion after that, it’s such a detailed ride that you still notice little things you haven’t seen before. And then to round off Adventure & Frontier Land today we hit Pirates, which is normally our first ride at the park but still a required one for us.

Popped by the First Aid room as Ann had a small bite on her leg and they gave her some cream and cortisone for later. Such a great service and they have amazing iced water too. We debated whether to leave and get freshened up for later or just push on and stay but with traffic it might have take. A few hours to get to the hotel then make our way back so we committed to staying. And since we were going to be in the park until late decided to have a bit of a break and get some food. Another one from our snack shortlist was a sweet and spicy chicken waffle sandwich and also it was served in a mickey waffle instead of the standard griddle iron one (some might say that’s a bonus) it was magic. Ann got a berries and cream funnel cake as she wasn’t too hungry (though the funnel cake was big). And Patrick got cheeseburger spring rolls because he’s just odd (that one was definitely far away from our snack shortlist), but he said they were pretty good 🙃

After some refreshments we jumped on the next ride Peter Pan - always a high queue time on this one but it’s a little dark and dated now, definitely could do with a bit of a refurb as it’s a nice little ride.

- Gerry: 5
- Ann: 2
- Patrick: 3
- Robert: 4.5
- Grace: 5

Swinging around to Tomorrow Land after that and we did Carousel of Progress again just keeping with the chill theme. It looked like it was going to rain so being indoors for a wee while was a good idea. They had started rolling out some of the entertainment they were having for the 4th July as they do a big rehearsal the night before (and the reason why we are here all day). Park was definitely a little busier and could feel the buzz around the park.

Now Ann wasn’t a big fan of Space mountain the other day but the kids convinced her to go in again and I’m with Ann- I remember this being a good ride but it’s so shaky and my back was aching after it - must be a definite sign of getting old and the kids loved it.

Going back to the gentler rides and we all picked our driving partners for Speedway. Me and Grace, Robert and Ann and Patrick on his own up front. We must’ve had a slow car or something because the other two tore away ahead of us! 😛

And then onto People Mover, no so much a ride as a guide around Tomorrow Land but it took you into some rides like Soace Mountain, Buzz Lightyears and gave you some good views of the castle (and it was getting crowded as the people were arrive for the fireworks).

Independence Fireworks

And talking of fireworks and crowds even though it was over an hour off it was already really busy and we decided to grab a good spot before we couldn’t move. They had a concert going on at the main strange and it was loud (that’s my age showing again) but persevered to grab somewhere with a good view not too far away. We did this before but there seemed to be much more of a party atmosphere this time around. And when the fireworks started they were great. Very patriotic too there were even some kids shouting God Bless America behind us!

Now as the fireworks ended there was a mass exodus of the park but since it was us, we decided to do one more ride, Seven Dwarfs! At night it would be a little different and would let everyone leave making it a little easier for getting out the park (or so we thought). Coasters seem a lot faster at night too :)

So grab a few drinks and headed to the exit only to be met with our last queue of the day, for the monorail back to the car park. Decided it might be quicker to take the ferryboat instead and were treated to a little more 4th of July entertainment with a convoy of boats parading the stars and strips across the lake.

Roads were not too bad getting home which was good as everyone was pretty tired - this was the latest night we’ve been out at a park and we’re probably up early tomorrow to start our last day of shopping. As such, only photos from my phone and Photopass tonight soz.

Todays Stats

- Step Count: 18.5k
- Starred Rides: Tianas
- Total steps: 304.7k
- Total miles: 130.2 miles