Trip Report September 2019: A Magic Kingdom in Transition

Is the Magic Kingdom better than Disneyland? The debate rages on, but as someone who grew up next door to "Walt's park" and has visited both for many years, after this trip and the one prior, my answer may shock some and delight others: As far as the castle parks go, each one has their own unique design, charms, and attractions. Each kingdom has their own strengths and weaknesses. Some attractions are better on one coast compared to the other, some much lesser. Ultimately, they are two different experiences tailored to and targeted for two contrasting guests. You can't escape the impact and artistry of what Walt and his first generation Imagineers accomplished in California, but you also can't discount what Roy and his team accomplished in Florida on their own.

But is the Magic Kingdom headed in a good direction? Now that is a question worth asking- and it's one with a complicated answer.

Starting the day with a little Starbucks stop.

A nice beginning for Grandma 

and a nice little steamer for the little cutie.

The Magic Kingdom was day number four on our plan. When taking younger children to Walt Disney World for the first time, the majority of trip planning experts recommend that the Magic Kingdom day comes after visits to each of the other parks. It's not a bad plan! This way, they enjoy each of the park offerings fresh without the idea that every other one will be the same style as the castle park. Here's what happened to us:

With an arrival inside the park at 8:45am, we were absolutely stunned by how empty the place was! How empty, you ask? After a quick stop for coffee and no line at all at Starbucks, we took two rides (with less than a five minute wait on each) on the Seven Dwarf's Mine Train, then used our Fast Pass for it again. Right in a row. Three rides on arguably the most popular ride in the park. Still don't believe me? It gets better.

Outside the attraction 

and the indoor standby queue. Empty.

How about not one but two rides on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and then a ride on Peter Pan's Flight (with a less than ten minute wait) all by 10:15am. It took longer to walk to the Frontierland side of the park than it did to wait to board a pirate ship for Neverland. And a very peaceful walk it was...

Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention the little Fantasyland Sword in the Stone Ceremony. The kids didn't get picked in the morning. This photo is from later in the trip on the second day.

One my guilty pleasures.

After that flight, we took on It's a Small World (another walk on- without a request from my littlest visitor to do it again) and then split up. The older kids, their parents and I went to Space Mountain, while the littlest guest visited all four princesses in Fairytale Hall, much to her delight. The older group got on and off the mountain's rocket and back to the rest of our party in less than a half hour. 

Riding so many coasters in a row did have a big downside. That now seemed to be all the kids wanted to ride. When given the choice of a ride or show, rides won out every time. (They mostly do with me as well, but for three kids who had never been to a Disney park, they had no comparisons.) Regardless, we were blazing on the attraction completion scale. 

At this rate, to use my son-in-law's language, we were going to "finish the park" (get on all the rides) by our evening dinner reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table. (Anyone remember King Stefan's Banquet Hall? Last time my wife and I ate in the castle that is what it was called.) Since we regrouped in Fantasyland, we decided to stop for a cinnamon roll and a Le Fou's Brew. Both were excellent and well priced using our snack credits. There was only one other family in the tavern. Never did see Gaston, however. That's two trips now. Maybe one day.

As we sat there and planned what was next, it was very strange for me to realize how empty the park still was and how many less attractions there were here than in California. However, that gave us all reason to slow down and take in the scenery. Although there's less significant attractions, this Kingdom is full of places to explore and scenery to take in that you just won't find in the original park.  

Now it's time to say goodbye...

This approach also gave me time to visit an old favorite: Country Bear Jamboree. As much as I enjoy the old bears, I must say Disney management has left it in such a truncated and depressing state that it is time to go. Must be their new strategy: Make the cuts, ignore the maintenance, and then mine the guest surveys until the suits can show the visitors no longer want it and enjoy it. There's no doubt in my mind that Tokyo will soon be the only place to see the bear show. After the Magic Kingdom's 50th anniversary is my bet.

Going, going, almost gone.

Only one theater was running (the other looked permanently closed off), some lesser known songs and now politically incorrect dialogue were cut, replacement fur looked awful, and the sound quality was lacking. The overall show appearance and maintenance was shoddy. Imagineer Marc Davis and his team would be saddened and embarrassed. Walt Disney himself would be angry. What a shame and what an unwise approach to park management!

Perhaps my favorite land in the Florida Kingdom.

This would be a good place to answer the question, "Is the Magic Kingdom headed in a good direction?" My answer: Yes and no. 

Throughout the parks, food quality was consistently excellent. Not just good or acceptable but excellent. From snack locations to Cindy's dinner meet and greet, I can't remember when the Magic Kingdom had such great choices on the menu, all well prepared and with wonderful service. Very, very impressive. (That said, Be Our Guest at lunchtime is a mixed bag in service- if you're doing both castles for a meal, do this one before Cinderella's castle.) 

The Columbia Harbour House remains an excellent choice for those of us who love Liberty Tree Tavern but do not always want to pay the price to eat there. The waffles at Sleepy Hallow - yum! If you're looking for the best value for your money, they are only a snack credit on the Dining Plan. All said, Liberty Square is the place to go for the most variety and bang for your buck when you're in the Kingdom.

A delightful Cinderella.

Dinner with a view only Disney could provide!

On the Disney Dining Plan, it took two table service credits to eat in the castle- and it was worth it on every level. Probably our favorite meal of the week. Beginning with a photo opportunity downstairs with the namesake of the castle, everything was just wonderful. The children were just perfect ladies and gentlemen, just as they were at every waitress service restaurant we ate at. I was so proud of them! 

This is impressive! If you're going to eat in the castle,

know you can skip the Norway one in Epcot without missing anything.

Our staff was attentive but not intrusive. The drinks and first courses were excellent, the steak perfectly cooked, and the desserts heavenly. We were probably seated for 15 minutes before the princesses were introduced and the fireworks started. What an incredible way to see the show! (In a sign of the times, a guest offered to pay the staff for a window seat. He was told $45 would secure the seating of his choice. These days at Disney, you can pay to get what you want if you press hard and long enough.)

In contrast to dining, shopping options at the parks continues to disappoint me. The same merchandise is everywhere, and it is demotivating to spend a dime. I did not purchase a single souvenir for myself from any of the parks- not even my beloved Epcot. Not a solitary item from any shop or stand, and I used to spend well over one hundred dollars each trip. 

I would like to eat at the Crystal Palace again

without having to pay the price of a character meal!

As we spent two days, one and a half actually, in the flagship Disney park in Florida, I will say that some less than impressive occurrences make me doubt its future to be as bright as it once was.

Let's begin with the elephant in the Kingdom, the Tron building. Look, I can't wait to ride the thing! But the location is one which will ruin the beautiful and iconic placement of Space Mountain in the park's skyline from both inside and outside the park. Much like the disastrous Guardians of the Galaxy ride building in Epcot, Tron's big square box shows a lack of care by the suits in its placement and design. There's no other way to say it. Take a look at the photo below. You won't get this view for long. 

What is built after this attraction will tell theme park fans the direction this place is headed.

Soon to be overshadowed by the big box of Tron.

Attraction upkeep and maintenance is next on my list. There were so many broken effects on Big Thunder! The sound quality was terrible on Splash Mountain and It's A Small World. Peter Pan needs an overhaul to bring it into the 21st Century. For such a beloved ride, the version in Florida is easily the lowest quality of them all. 

The only attraction in the Kingdom that seems better than its Anaheim cousin is the Haunted Mansion. The Jungle Cruise stands about even in the competition, but the groundbreaking Pirates of the Caribbean shown here makes me wish the suits would have stuck to their guns and instead given us Western River Expedition. After having just ridden these rides this summer in the original kingdom, Florida has certainly received the cliff notes edition of this classic. 

May I balance out this negativity just a bit to tell you that this park's Tomorrowland remains much more consistent than what's found in California? Just the Peoplemover alone brings it up a step! What a joy to ride this! It's certainly something I do not tire of.

Liberty Square continues in the great tradition of Disneyland's lovely New Orleans Square yet with a style and a feel all its own. However, The Muppets Present… Great Moments in American History- yawn. Not only is the show out of place, it is boring. Bring it with a different story to Disney's Hollywood Studios where it belongs. There's enough characters in The Hall of Presidents without adding fuzzy ones to this elegant section of the park.

The Swiss Family Treehouse is a favorite!

What is the future of this park? Have the suits and Imagineers forgotten its roots and what makes it special and different from the other kingdoms? Is it now just a "greatest hits" version from other castle parks all over the world? I hope not.

Is the soul of the park in danger of being lost? Yes. The Iger / Chapek leadership model seems to prove that they have forgotten what makes this park great. When they lose sight of the creator who designed it for excellence, made it work so well, and yet begin wandering from that purpose and model, things go wrong, leaving the place to be an empty shell of what it was designed for. (Wow! There's a spiritual analogy in there!)

Perhaps the growing hoards of Florida annual pass holders will stand up and fight for their history. It works well in California!

He could do it!

Almost midnight in Tomorrowland.

Boy, this park is beautiful after dark!

Our second day in the Magic Kingdom ended fairly early due to Mickey's Halloween Party. But we were ready. Between both visits, we had seen many attractions several times, and the only ones we did not visit were The Hall of Presidents, Enchanted Tiki Room,  and Tom Sawyer Island. Besides, the kids wanted to go back to Disney's Hollywood Studios, which by now it was clear it was their preferred park. 

I guess that will be my next choice for this trip report! Thanks for reading thus far. Lots more stories to tell.

(Photographs copyright Mark Taft.)

Trip Report September 2019: Animal Kingdom is Just a Zoo?

This trip with these travelers, Disney's Animal Kingdom came in last place when it came to the rankings of the theme parks. Epcot came in third, and surprisingly Magic Kingdom came in second, leaving Disney's Hollywood Studios as the Number One favorite theme park. Your rankings may vary- as did mine, by quite a bit actually. But I'm an old school Imagineering fan where design detail, immersive environments and a wide variety of attractions play an important part of the overall experience.  For this post, I'll begin with Animal Kingdom as we spent the least amount of time there.

Over the decades I have discovered that each trip taken to the same location is different than the ones I have had before. Our touring experiences and the rankings above prove this point once more.

To set up the stats for this trip, let me tell you our group was made up of two boys (8 and 7), one girl (5), their parents- my daughter and her husband (mid-30s) and my wife and I. Other than my daughter, no one else in her family had been to Walt Disney World before- and only her husband had been to Disneyland once. She herself had not been to Florida since 1999. 

Pouring over the map in preparation

for a day of exploration.

We were set to depart knowing that we would probably experience some park closures or being restricted to our rooms at Pop Century due to the coming Hurricane Dorian. The parks were empty, including Animal Kingdom which fell on Day Two.

Unfortunately, this beautiful park was only a zoo

to this crowd.

Due to a very late night before, with the little guys beat, we missed both our 8:30am Kilimanjaro Safari and almost our Expedition Everest Fast Pass times. When it hit 8:00am and we were still in the room, I went on the app and gave up the safari for someone else to have. Wouldn't have mattered. Most everything was a walk on.

Arriving at almost 11, we reversed our initial plan and first walked straight to Everest. Only our littlest tourist couldn't ride, much to her disappointment as she likes to keep up with her brothers. My wife happily sat out with her.  I've long described Everest as "Big Thunder on steroids" and my favorite ride on the property. 

Photopass was put to good use.

The reactions? My oldest daughter declared it a winner; her hubby wasn't thrilled, but the two boys loved it in spite of it putting the fear of God into them... and they immediately wanted to ride again. We stopped in the exit shop nearby to buy each of them an Everest T-shirt to commemorate them braving the mountain, just as I did last year with their cousin. Once again, they spoke up, sharing their desire to do it again. We could have done so easily as the line was up to ten minutes now, but we made a decision to take our youngest traveler on something she was tall enough for: Kali River Rapids.

Her smile says it all.

Being Florida, we expected hot and humid and a larger group of people here, but the crowds were nil, leaving us to walk right through the empty snaking line all the way to the front and into our raft. Kali has a gorgeous queue, perhaps the prettiest in all of the park. Such a waste for a journey less than half the length of what was originally planned. No fire effects, no logging sounds, nothing. Just one big drop after a few spins, and it was over. Even our little adventurer asked if that was it. Kids say the darnedest things!

The Safari was next, and the experience landed with a collective thud. I miss the opening days when drivers from the African continent were present. I miss the days I couldn't see so much chain link fence, and being we rode around noon, we missed seeing most of the animals. An antelope doesn't cut it, but at least the lion was out. Looking back through our photos, none of us had taken one single shot of anything related to the park's centerpiece attraction! Gorilla Falls did not charm the kids either. This visit - our only day in this park- was going downhill quickly. Very, very quickly.

It was time for a new tactic, so I suggested the winning Festival of the Lion King. As we waited, the skies opened and a torrent of rain washed down drenching those under the portions of the line that were uncovered. Due to the direction it fell, we took a lot of water too, but not nearly as much as our neighbors. The kids wanted rides and not shows. Of course, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Disney Parks in Florida are filled with shows to round out the attraction list as these parks remained under built for decades. (Could this be one reason the Magic Kingdom is still the most visited?) The kids reluctantly went in, but once the giant character floats and especially the monkey gymnasts came in, they were infinitely more interested. It was a solid "B" rating, but it came back with a request from the boys to conquer the mountain once again.

Kevin from "Up"

brings the biggest smiles of the day.

We had dinner reservations at Boma in the early evening as our large group was on the Disney Dining Plan, so off to Flame Tree BBQ we went for lunch. Since the park opened in 1998, this place has consistently provided delicious meals of all those on the property without fail visit after visit. No different this time either. 

As we edged so much closer to our last ride time of the day, Flight of Passage, we ran into Kevin as we circled back to Everest for another ride. I made it to the last seat, my favorite. We rounded the bend to Dinosaur while it was raining hard again. In the preshow area, so many people were talking and yelling that we couldn't hear the set up for the jeep ride, and we were right up against the screen. This kind of stuff is irritating, as for most people, I bet Walt Disney World is a once in a lifetime trip. The same kind of discourtesy happens at Disneyland as the regulars tend to speak all the lines of the attractions as if these were sing a long shows. Annoying! But the ride was another average hit with the kids. They wanted Everest again. Are you sensing a pattern here?

The Valley of...

I can't remember much anything specific about this movie.

Finally Pandora! It was a mere 15 minutes to take the boat ride. Good thing, as it was another "meh" rated experience. As for me, I think the environment is beautiful, but the attraction needs a bit of a story, a slightly longer length, a few real Audio-Animatronic Na'vi hunters and a few robotic animals to bring the experience up to where it should have been. Gotta say though,  I love Disney dark rides cruising in a boat.

As our very last attraction, it pleased me that Flight of Passage was an overall home run! The boys loved it. We needed the baby swap option, so some of us rode twice. I discovered my immediate second ride was as thrilling as the first. Boom, it hit me. I had a huge smile on my face. Until Disney Imagineers wow us again, I now have to say Flight of Passage is my new favorite ride on the property.

On our way to the bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner, I asked my daughter and son-in-law what they thought of the park. It was "pretty but really just a zoo". They were glad it was only one day of our trip. They told me they wouldn't even go back next visit if they were short on time.

Another lesson learned: Each guest experiences the Disney theme parks in very different ways. We come with very different tastes and a large variety of expectations. For some like me, this lush giant Adventureland is worth an entire day exploring and stopping to soak in all the details as well as enjoying the rides and shows. For others, if it's not a roller coaster, it's not worth the time. And still for others, if you're under some height restrictions, it could be a very frustrating day where you often feel left out. 
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Next up might be the Magic Kingdom. We'll see. 

(I guess it's time for that next part in my detailed look at the history, creation, and evolution of Disney's Animal Kingdom...Part One of Eight - so far- starts here. It's also full of rare concept art, plenty of information on unbuilt attractions, and trip reports through the years.)

(Photographs copyright Mark Taft.)