First trip to Magic Kingdom in 2014

We arrived home from Fourth of July fireworks to a broken air conditioner and a house that was 85 degrees. It was very difficult to sleep, and the next morning when the house temperature climbed, we could not stop sweating! We called the property manager and he responded immediately and had a repair guy at the house within an hour. When renting a villa it is important to be patient - this is a house, not a hotel, and it will have normal house maintenance needs. It is all part of the experience of learning what it would be like to live here.

We have had a calamity getting medicine prescriptions filled . As a result we needed prescriptions (written on federally approved prescription pads, and signed by a federally approved doctor)to be shipped to us overnight. The doctor's office couldn't do overnight but did priority mail during a holiday. To make matters worse, our villa has no mail box, and we didn't know if the owner had all the mail forwarded. But luckily the prescriptions that were needed on July 3 arrived on July 5 and on July 6 we can get them filled. This entire mess has been an unnecessary head-ache!

We start each trip with the Magic Kingdom, and since this was our first full day in a park, that is where we went. It was also our first chance to try the new Fast Pass Plus system and the new Guest Assistance policies.

For Guest Assistance (the line merge card) you are given a paper card with your picture printed on it. When you see a ride you want, you give the card to a cast member and they write on the card a return time that is equal to the time you would have spent in line. You then go about your day and return anytime after the time they placed on the card and you can go in.

We are fortunate where short lines (15-20 minutes) don't bother the boys and we only need the card for rides that have really long waits yet are on our "must do" list.

The fast pass plus system worked perfectly. We went on our three rides. Inbetween we rode rides with short (15 minute) lines. After the first three passes are done you can more... But not with the cell phone ap. It must be done at a kiosk. Each kiosk has a dedicated caste member who unnecessarily presses all the buttons for you. The fast pass system worked so well that we never used the guest assistance card!

A note about the kiosks. The cast members we encountered really looked worn out. One guy appeared to be suffering PTSD. It is worse than a help desk operator job because these cast members are dealing with hot angry computer illiterate guests all day.

In the Magic Kingdom we road Small World. People throw coins into the water all the time. I knew the Lobby for the ride had coins in the water but I didn't realize (until this trip) all the coins all thought the entire ride. The entire bottom is littered with thousands of coins!

We road the Carousel of Progress. On the third stage of the ride the animatronics that plays the lead character didn't work the eyes, which made him look like he was oddly staring off to the right.

This year the Pirates of the Caribbean has new ride vehicles. The vehicles are heavier on the front to cause a bigger splash when going over the falls. We got wet, but nothing too bad.

It came time for fireworks. Disney is performing construction at the hub so they can cram more people into the fireworks viewing area. As a result of the construction the available viewing areas are limited. Before the Electric Parade started we walked down the crowded Main Street looking for a place but it was packed. We were concerned we would keep walking down main street all the way out the train station and end up exiting to the transpiration areas. Instead, the entry hub was fairly empty. And we got an awesome spot looking down Main Street at the castle.


Our first day at the Magic Kingdom was good. Hollywood studios tomorrow!