Courtney's Birthday in a Rainy Magic Kingdom

   It's become sort of a tradition to make a trip to Disney for my Birthday! (And Mother Nature has made it a tradition to have it rain every year!) This year we decided to start the day early with breakfast at Kona Cafe over at the Polynesian.  

 
We had done lunch and dinner at Kona but never breakfast, so I was excited to try it. It did not disappoint! Kona Cafe is known for it's Tonga Toast: French Toast stuffed with bananas and covered with sugar! Derek ordered the Tonga Toast and I got the Big Kahuna. Both were delicious.

Tip: You can also get Tonga Toast at the counter service restaurant at the Polynesian!

 It was a great start to our morning and we were both stuffed at the end! We then continued our day at the Magic Kingdom where we were able to get in some rides before the rain started.

Taking a stroll down the river.

We got to meet Anna and Elsa for the first time! (Thanks to FP+)

They loved my bow and the "little green snowman"

We also go to see Aurora!

May 2nd was also the dedication day for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Later in the day my brother, Peter, got to ride the attraction (he worked on the attraction). We caught him on a few of his rides!

Overall, we had a great day in the Magic Kingdom for my Birthday, even with the rain.  A rainy day in Disney is always better then not being there!

The Dapper Dans sang me a Birthday Song!

Festival of Fantasy Parade

Earlier this month Magic Kingdom was given a new afternoon parade!  It's been a while since the afternoon parade saw change which is why it never really fell on our itinerary when we hit the park.  However, that will definitely change now!  The new parade is called Festival of Fantasy and is a beautiful display of creativity and magic.  The parade includes characters from many beloved Disney movies, including Tangled, Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan, Frozen, The Little Mermaid, and Pinocchio!  The parade floats are full of bright colors, flowers, and little Disney touches. You will definitely need to watch it a few times before you see all the detail that went into these floats.  Not only are the giant floats amazing, but the costumes of the performers are incredible.  My favorite section is Tangled which finds Flynn flying high above the crowds! 

Enjoy some pictures of the parade along with some fun facts!

The parade features a cast of over 100!

Characters from over a dozen Disney classics are represented over the nine floats.

The are forty more characters present in animated or sculptural form. Can you spot them all?

The lead float is over 50 feet long!

It takes 27 different fabrics to make 1 Swing Thug costume.

Some costume pieces were designed, sculpted and then grown to size with a 3D printer!

The socks worn by the Lost Boys are custom designs that were knitted to order in Hong Kong

The Jolly Roger sails 28 feet above the parade route

Performers appear on swings, stilts, and pendulums!

Maleficent stretches 53 feet and reaches 26 feet in the air!

The trio of finale floats span 90 feet along the parade route

Mickey's float is the tallest at 32 feet!

Derek and I enjoyed the new parade and cannot wait to catch it again on our next visit to the park! Make sure you stop to watch when you are at the Magic Kingdom! You will not be disappointed. 

It's in the Details #14

In this series, we'll be looking at details that are hidden all around you at the parks. The Imagineers do a great job placing in many hidden gems and things to try that one has to take a moment to notice, or explore. Many of these are obvious and in plain sight, and some are hidden quite well, you just have to know where to look.

    This week, I wanted to share something I really thought was kind of cool, and not well known (at least, from what I could tell). I had planned to post this one last week, having finally taken a difficult shot that had eluded me, but I decided to share about the Tower of Terror instead.

  For everyone that's either ridden Space Mountain, or even the Peoplemover, you've seen the above spaceship floating above you docked in its mooring in Spaceport 75. It's an excellent old school 70's looking spacecraft, with almost a 2001-ish feel; it's very angular and utilitarian. While on the lift hill, it's to either your right or left, depending on the side you boarded, and recognizable with its astronauts working outside. From the Peoplemover, you get your first look at the inside of Space Mountain as you pass under the craft's blue, lit engines. Definitely a sight to see above you after popping out of a dark tunnel. 

  Not very well noticed is a designation on the side of its engine housing:

X-1

  It's definitely not something most folks would see as they rose on the dark lift hill, what with the excitement of the impending ride, the many visual details, and the awesome Station crew in their sunglasses looking on. It's also not the easiest to see within the Peoplemover. It can just be added to list of details people quickly pass by as they travel along. On the old flight board at the entrance to the ride (which has been since updated with its refurb, as I mentioned in It's in the Details #5), you could actually see some flights on which the craft would take in the future.

  Something else not as known is that this spacecraft has a sibling, or most accurately, a successor, considering the years between them. There's another space-themed attraction on Walt Disney World Property, also with its own star spacecraft; this one is heavily promoted, as well. While on board for Mission Space, you are simulating a flight on the new interplanetary craft that goes by the designation, X-2; it's fully known as the X-2 Deep Space Shuttle. I guess spacecraft have to be updated for each particular mission, and NASA has facilities all over to be sure they get their jobs done, even in the future that could be and never was.

Missed my Tower of Terror It's in the Details #13? Check it out here!