Monday October 30th 2023

I left my RV home just after eight thirty this morning. My destination was Disney’s Magic Kingdom. On Friday I learned that the US Air Force flight demonstration team the Thunderbirds were making a flyby over the Magic Kingdom this morning. The Thunderbirds were in town for an air show over the weekend. Disney took advantage of that to arrange a flyover to celebrate the contribution of the armed forces, veterans and their families.

Getting to Walt Disney World this morning was a challenge. In good conditions, it takes between twenty to thirty minutes to get there. This morning because of traffic and construction it took a little over an hour to get to the Magic Kingdom parking lot. I usually don’t arrive at the parks with the morning rush. It took another half an hour to get into the Magic Kingdom. The wait for the Monorail was long and the alternative ferryboat transportation seemed to be an issue as well.

The flyover was scheduled for 10:30. I had fifteen to twenty minutes to find a place to watch the event. Lots of other people had already stacked out their spots. The crowd on Main Street looked thicker than the crowds for the nightly fireworks. I found a nice spot up on the railroad station front porch. There were three rows of people in front of me at the railing, but I was taller than the folks immediately in front of me. After a few minutes wait the Thunderbirds made there first pass over Cinderella’s castle and straight down Main Street. A couple of minutes later they did a second pass breaking formation into a “bomb burst” pattern over the castle. It was a very impressive demonstration. I’m glad I made the effort to get there.

Wandering around the park after the flyover I found the park very busy. The wait times for the popular rides were very long. I checked out all of the areas of the park and took a Journey with the Little Mermaid, a ride on the riverboat and watched the Carousel of Progress show. Around two in the afternoon I headed home after a pleasant morning in the park. It only took twenty minutes to get home.

Some Birds at Disney