Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground, Disney World, Orlando, Florida
The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. ~ Psalm 19:8
I’m so tired, I can’t remember what to write. The biggest majority of this fatigue comes from two things. #1 – Reduced sleep time on a regular basis (5 hours verses 7 or 8) and #2 – Walking and standing on asphalt for 14 hours a day. And we’re only ½ way through our week.
Last night we wanted to go to bed early, but it took extra time to get home (1 ½ hours) and then there’s the traffic (which doesn’t stop until around 11pm). Then we apparently have new neighbors because their dog was barking around 11:15.
And then fireworks – very loud fireworks – began at 11:30pm, just as we were finally drifting off.
I’m blaming the NFL for that. There was a “private event” in Magic Kingdom yesterday morning from 7:30-9 (before the park opened) and another one last night after the park closed early, from 8-11:30. So why am I blaming the NFL? Because the next morning (2/6), Google informed me that the Patriots were in WDW today. And if there was no NFL, there’d be no Super Bowl and hence no Patriots whooping it up at a private party at 11:30pm when all we wanted to do was sleep. I think I need another dose of pixie dust, or re-supply my happy pills.
Here’s a bit of information I gleaned from Foder’s Travel Guide for Disney World:
When Walt Disney ordered the purchase of these 27,000 acres (47 square miles of roughly rectangular land), he was righting a wrong he committed in building Disneyland. In acquiring all that land, he ensured that visitors wouldn’t be bothered by motel signs and cheap restaurants that line the streets right next to Disneyland in California. “Here in Florida, we have something special we never enjoyed at Disneyland . . . the blessing of size. There’s enough land here to hold all the ideas and plans we can possibly imagine.”, Walt said in a promotional film shot months before his death.
Only a third of the acreage is truly developed. Another third has been set aside as a permanent reserve for swampland. The major parks are a 10-minute drive from each other with nothing but trees or Disney hotels in between.
Disney World is a separate governmental zone. The resort’s bizarre experiments in building methods (such as fiberglass-and-steel castles) are partly enabled by the fact that Disney negotiated the creation of its own entity, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which can set its own standards.
And I discovered I misspelled queue with que in all my previous posts. Sorry about that.
Magic Kingdom didn’t have early hours today, so we were able to leave just a little bit later. We took the bus to the boat dock and then left on the boat about 8:30, bound for the MK.
Once we got through security, our first stop was Guest Relations to pick up the Park’s schedule. In my attempt to find said window, I was approached by a cast member with his arms outstretched like he was about to give me a big bear hug. I had no idea what was going on, and Blaine was studying his map. The guy says, “Are you a member of the party?” What party? Isn’t it a little early for a party?
It was then that I noticed the Cinderella coach parked right in front of me. I’m definitely not detective material!
He was trying to stop me from reaching the “Royal Wagon”! Turned out, Guest Relations was behind me. 😊
It was warmer today, and there were even more people in this Park, and even more kids. But we expected that because this is the main place to find the characters the kids love – especially the iconic Mickey and Minnie, and don’t forget Cinderella and Snow White. There were a lot of little girls dressed in Belle (Beauty and the Beast) and Snow White costumes. Never saw any Cinderella’s though. And we checked in one of the stores – $50 for a dress to fit a 3-year-old. I guess we weren’t good parents. Maybe that’s why God chose not to bless us with daughters? He knew we’d just deprive them of these simple, short-lived joys. . . .
We’ve also noticed that Disney allows you into the Park before it actually opens, however, you have to stand in a huge congregation of people before they open the gates to the “Lands”. And then, when the gates open, it’s a mad stampede as people try to get to where they want to be. But I will say, no one is pushy or angry. An attitude you’d find in a lot of other places – like Best Buy on Black Friday, or the meat department at Acme during their meat-sale day. (After one attempt, I never did either again!)
The Hall of Presidents is still one of our favorite places to visit in Magic Kingdom! It’s astounding how life-like the animatronics are. And the attention to detail! Everyone is dressed in period clothing and uses words and mannerisms which are unique to them, and even their furniture (if they have any) is from their time period. President Abraham Lincoln is the focal point and does much of the talking, which includes giving his Gettysburg Address. I wanted to include it in today’s post:
President Lincoln delivered the 272-word Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863 on the battlefield near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This was just about the middle of the war. The Battle of Gettysburg was one fo the turning points of the American Civil War. Within the span of five minutes, 82% of the men in one regiment from Minnesota were killed. The number of casualties amounted to almost ten times that of D-Day. Losses were among the war’s heaviest. Of roughly 94,000 Northern troops, casualties numbered about 23,000 (with more than 3,100 killed); of more than 71,000 Southerners, there were about 28,000 casualties (with some 3,900 killed). The South lost many of its men, including generals and colonels, and General Robert E. Lee lost all hope of invading the North. He fought the rest of the war on the defensive.
Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives, that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
After a fun & wonder-filled morning, it was time to find our lunch spot. We had made reservations for the “Be Our Guest” Café in Beauty and the Beast Castle, but we had no idea where that was. We looked on a map, but they don’t list restaurants, so we were stumped.
And then we saw this . . .
. . . protruding above the horizon of trees, checked the map and it was in the right vicinity, so we headed towards it. And there we were! But that wasn’t part of the castle. Turns out, we missed something – Rapunzel’s Tower. We didn’t know until the end of the day, so we have no idea what exactly it was.
We chose this place because research turned up several who suggested eating here “for the ambiance”. I don’t know what we were expecting, but we didn’t get it. And since it was a cafeteria/restaurant place (they call them “Quick Service Restaurants”), our food wasn’t freshly prepared when we ordered it. Mine was barely warm. Blaine’s however, although not as hot as he’d like, was very tasty! And dessert was . . . . oh-my-goodness- good!
And in case you’re wondering, I put long sleeves over my T-shirt.
Nothing specifically of note happened the rest of the day, until we got to Space Mountain.
Remember I told you about the FastPass? Well, we had one for here. It’s a really long walk to get to the boarding platform for the ride, and there were a lot – and I mean a lot – of people in the Standby line. I don’t remember what the wait time was, but it was well over an hour. There was a family heading up the Standby line, and as we passed them, a middle-school-aged boy says, “This line is much shorter!” And they jumped over to the FastPass line.
It was here that we discovered that at some attractions, you have to go through a FastPass check two times. Once when you first enter, and again when the lines divide to go to the boarding area. We passed and went on, they did not. We were really curious what Disney does with line jumpers, but I couldn’t find out anywhere online, and we didn’t hang around to see if there was some secret trap door they dropped them in. Even though we don’t believe they line-jumped maliciously, they still did, so there should be some type of consequence. Disney doesn’t advertise consequences though. It’s the Happiest Place On Earth, remember?
When we visited “The Country Bear Jamboree”, which has remained exactly the same since its opening on October 1, 1971, we were actually a bit surprised that a few changes haven’t been made. In one song, the bears sing about how “Johnny” (or whatever the name was) shouldn’t be whooped, he should be shot instead. I can’t believe no one has put up a stink about this yet in today’s climate. Things like this don’t bother us, but it’s just surprising with everything that people protest nowadays. And speaking of that, how does Disney continue to have Br’er Rabbit stuff here? Where’s the uproar? I realize it has its founding in African folklore, but if anyone else had said and done the things in that story, they’d be tarred and feathered. Okay, I’m stepping down off my soapbox now. 😊
We were still full from lunch, but wanted a snack, so it was time for a Dole Whip! I’d read about Dole Whips and how they’re a ‘must have’ in Disney World. As you can see, the line was huge! And that’s at dinnertime! But Blaine discovered he could place an order from the Disney App they provided and we could just go pick it up! Worked like a charm! And we agree – – a Dole Whip is absolutely a must have! I don’t know why frozen pineapple juice is so good, but it is!! And we only bought one today. ☹
We hung around until time for “Happily Ever After” again, because it was sooo magical yesterday! It still was! Although we were so tired and lower extremities so uncomfortable, we sat on the asphalt until time for the show to start.
I captured a couple of short videos this time.
The cards were part of Alice in Wonderland and were really cool looking!
Then it was time for the long wait to get home. . .
But it was made brighter by two kids who obviously had wonderful parents who bought them Disney stuff. They had bubble-makers and were having a great time using them! There’s no better sound than the laughter of small children! 😊
We opted to walk home from the bus stop again rather than waiting for a connecting bus. We were home before the bus came by. I think I was even asleep before they came by.