Tuesday, April 18, 2017 (Part 3)
After our trip into the Seven Dwarfs mine, it was off to Tomorrowland! We all agreed to take a quick spin on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. I always enjoy this attraction because it’s peaceful and relaxing and it’s fun to just watch the scenes go by.
Once we got off, we still had some time before we could use our last Fastpass for Space Mountain, so we headed over to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin since it was right there and only had a 15-minute posted wait. The line moved fast though and I don’t think it actually took that long. But a crazy thing happened here that just kind of left the three of us shaking our heads. A group of people got in the standby line in front of us but they seemed very confused. They were trying to ask questions to the Cast Member at the ride entrance, but there was obviously some miscommunication and he directed them into the standby line. They continued to seem confused as they moved through, and started saying how they had Fastpasses. So rather than going back out to the entrance and asking the Cast Member again, they just hopped through the railing separating the two lines and cut their way into the FP line. I want to believe that they really had FPs, but it was very rude of them to cut across. The people they cut in front of yelled out at them that it was “not cool,” but the line cutters said they had FPs and just went on their way. The other group looked to us as they went but all of us just kind of exchanged shrugs and unsure looks. But anyway, we got in our ride and I actually managed a decent score! Having a ride vehicle to yourself and under your own control is very beneficial.
(Not looking at the camera, even though I tried to look up and knew it was coming!)
After Buzz, it was time to use our Space Mountain Fastpass so we headed in. There was virtually no line in the Fastpass queue, but it seems our streak of smooth sailing was about to come to an end. Just as we got up to the point where FP merges with standby, the CM directing guests told us to wait and we noticed that the lines in the loading area weren’t moving. Seconds later, an announcement came on saying that there were meteor showers and all flights were temporarily suspended. Bummer. But since we were right up next to the CM, she told us she didn’t think it would be more than 10-15 minutes, so we decided to wait it out for a bit. The lights were turned on and Cast Members started bustling about into backrooms and closed off areas hoping to get the ride back up and running.
Finally after about 20 or so minutes, the lights turned back off and the guests erupted into cheers and applause. Looks like we were going to get our ride after all!
By the time we got off Space Mountain, it was after 8:00. My sister and I exchanged some quick text messages with our Dad who was monitoring the My Disney Experience app back home and offered to try to get us a 4th FP now that our 3 had been used. The messages had been sent a little while earlier though, so because of the delay at Space Mountain, by the time we got them, there really wasn’t much availability left after all. So we decided that the rides we had done were good for us for the evening (after all, it was only my first night – I’d be doing a morning at MK later in the week – and S & E had done a lot of other things earlier since they’d been there since Saturday). So we decided to head back towards Main Street and stake out our viewing spot for Wishes. We had a while to wait, since the show wasn’t until 10:00 that night, but we just found a spot to sit, took in the atmosphere, and got a couple more pictures.
When Wishes began at 10:00, my phone was put away and I did not take any pictures. I just wanted to completely soak in the show – my last ever viewing of Wishes! Excuse me while I relish in the memories of this amazing show. I am excited to see Happily Ever After on my next trip, but a piece of my heart will always miss Wishes.
After Wishes, S & E headed back to Saratoga Springs, but I decided to stay for Once Upon a Time, the castle projection show, which was at 10:45. I moved up into the Hub area so I could be closer to the castle. And fortunately, while there were people in front of me, I ended up with a pretty good view (I am a fairly short person, so getting a good view is challenging sometimes!) I thought the show was cute, but I think I liked Celebrate the Magic a little bit better. I liked the music in the beginning and end of that one.
After Once Upon a Time, it was time to say good night to the Magic Kingdom and head back to the resort. It had been a busy day and the magic had only just begun!
Coming Up: First full day and a lot more pictures!