Wednesday December 14th 2016

Today started foggy like yesterday. It took until almost nine before the sun burned through the fog. I spent the morning at the campground and the late afternoon into the evening at the Magic Kingdom.

Cinderella’s castle

My plan was to arrive at the Magic Kingdom in time for the parade. I succeeded in arriving before the parade, but unfortunately too early. The launch from Fort Wilderness to the Magic Kingdom was nowhere in sight, so I took a boat to the Contemporary Hotel then walked to the Magic Kingdom. I easily beat the launch and was more than half an hour before the Parade would start at the back of the park. To kill time while waiting for the parade I went into the Mickey’s PhilharMagic show. When I came out the last units of the parade were visible in the distance.

My first FastPass was in Tomorrow Land about an hour from the end of the PhilharMagic show. While I waited for the FastPass window to open for Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin, I road the People Mover and watched the Carousel of Progress show. I first saw the Carousel of Progress at the New York Worlds Fair in 1965. It impressed my childhood self then and continues to intrigue my adult self. It has been updated over the years. The last scene is supposed to represent the turn of the 21st century. When the show first opened it was set closer to the then current date. I think they have taken enough liberty with the time line that it is consistent with the current time sixteen years into the century. For example, the virtual reality gear they are using is only just becoming a thing this year, but the computer looks like something I had in the 1990s.

After riding Buzz Lightyear, I road the Riverboat around the Rivers of America, saw the Country Bear Jamboree and finished up with a FastPass to the Pirates of the Caribbean. Having a FastPass for these rides was a big help. The standby times for most rides were well over an hour. For the shows, you really don’t need FastPasses.

Cinderella’s Castle draped in lights

Christmas Tree in Town Square

I came to the Magic Kingdom to see the Christmas decorations. There is a big Christmas tree in the Town Square as you enter the park. The street lamps all have wreaths hanging below the lamps and the big centerpiece is the castle wrapped in white lights. In the heavily themed areas the decorations are subtle to non existent as it should be. One down side is that the Country Bear Jamboree no longer has a special Christmas show.