Disney World-Things We've Never Done Before...

...or haven't done since we were kids. 

"What time did you say The Magic Kingdom closes tomorrow?" Shannon asked.

"Ten. That's what the website said," I replied.

"Well this," he said, waving the park schedule provided by our resort, "says that it doesn't close until midnight." 

"Really? Are we going to do it then? Are we going to stay until midnight?"

The answer was yes.

After enjoying the opening ceremony, we grabbed coffees on Main Street, then made our way to Tomorrow Land. As we enjoyed our caffeine seated under a tree, Shannon said,

“You know, I’ve never been on the Astro Orbiter. The line is usually too long."

“I’ve never been on it either,” I replied, noticing the almost non-existent line. “The line looks pretty short, we should go on it now.” 

And so began a plan for our fifteen hour day at The Magic Kingdom. We would do things we’ve never done before, or at least haven’t done since we were kids.

Astro Orbiter

The Astro Orbiter was awesome. It goes faster than it looks, and you get amazing views of the park. Perhaps not the best ride for anyone who is afraid of heights however. 

It was so much fun.  

We loved it so much that we book ended our day, riding Astro Orbiter as our first attraction, and then riding it again as our last.  I think it is even cooler at night with all of the lights and colors whirling around.  

It will now be on our must do rotation.

Dumbo the Flying Elephant

I have a confession, until that day, I had never been on Dumbo. 

It is one of the most iconic Disney attractions, but it always seemed like a waste, taking precious time away from something more fun like Haunted Mansion.  Since it was still early in the day, and there wasn’t much of a wait, we decided I needed to ride Dumbo at least once in my life. 

The ride is very cute. 

I would certainly ride it again, but not if there was a particularly long wait. 

Prince Charming Regal Carrousel

The Carrousel is always one of those attractions that we think we will get to at some point in the day, but becomes one of those attractions we could ride, or we could do Splash Mountain one more time… I think we both have been on the Carrousel as youngsters, but we have never been on it as adults. 

I think the best part of riding the Carrousel is watching other people ride the Carrousel. 

The music is also nice. 

The horses go up really high, and then dip down really low. I have no idea how Joey and Ashley from the See Ya Reel Soon Vlog are able to coordinate a kissing picture every time they ride.

Mad Tea Party

We've never done The Mad Tea Party, and since we were on a roll...

Probably the most disappointing of the things we’ve never done before.  I feel like Disney can spice up average/general rides to make them feel special, but the tea cups are still just the tea cups. 

I’m okay with skipping them, though I do regret not riding the Disneyland version at night  under all of the glowing lanterns.

Enchanted Tales with Belle

We’ve never done Enchanted Tales with Belle because there's usually a long wait time, and it seemed more geared to little kids. Being a huge Beauty and The Beast fan, and seeing as Belle is my favorite Princess, I knew I had to do it at least once. 

I hope that the cast members at Enchanted Tales with Belle make a lot of money. They may have the most difficult job at Disney World.  I’m sure they are told how great the job will be because they are acting in a show, then surprise, you are also, mostly, a kid wrangler.

Enchanted Tales with Belle is an interactive show where every child who wants a role can get one.  It takes a lot of coordination on the part of the cast members.  At the end there is a ball where all of the kids get introduced and get to have their picture taken with Belle. Belle is lovely and sweet to everyone, and is able to coax even the shyest child into taking a perfect photo. 

There was one little girl who was with some sort of make a wish organization. She was introduced as Princess Amanda, and went up to meet Belle. You could see how excited and happy she was, and it might have gotten a little dusty for me.  The whole show is super heartwarming. I would definitely do it again.

Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor 

This one was for our friend Len, who was saddened and shocked when we mentioned that we had never seen, and always skip, The Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor.  

I’d always assumed it was more for the kids, but it’s actually, legitimately funny, even for adults. Another one I would gladly do again.  My favorite joke of the show,

“Why should you never let Princess Elsa hold your balloon?”

“Because she’ll just let it go, let it go…”

Main Street Electrical Parade and Fireworks

Another terrible confession, I’ve never seen the fireworks from inside of the park, nor have I ever seen the Main Street Electrical Parade. When I went to Disney when I was younger, we left the parks at dinner time to eat somewhere more affordable. As an adult, we usually leave the park to see the fireworks in a place that isn’t crazy crowded. I begged that just this once, I wanted to see the fireworks from inside the park.

We landed a great viewing spot right up close to the castle, and it was without a doubt, a mass of crowded chaos. 

The electrical parade was fun, perhaps because I am a huge Elliot fan, but it could do with some updating.

The best part of watching the fireworks from inside of the park, is the castle projection show. You can’t really see the projections well from across the lake, and the show is pretty cool.

Despite the crowd, I loved watching the fireworks inside of the park.  

Everything is right on top of you. It feels very amplified, and once again, it got a little dusty. 

Your wishes can come true, I kept thinking as fiery color burst in the air. It was a fantastic experience, but I am also okay with enjoying the show in a more peaceful and relaxing setting like the dock at the Grand Floridian, the Ferrytale Wishes Cruise, or the California Grill.

A lot of people left the park after the fireworks, but we wanted to use every minute we had left to take advantage of the shorter wait times. Despite feeling a touch tired as we were going on hour fifteen, we made it until midnight. I had never been in the park at midnight, so it was another spectacular first to end the day on.