Since we were in Orlando, naturally we had to go to a mega-theme park. We chose the Magic Kingdom at Disney World.
We parked at the lot and made the long trip to get to the actual park.
We headed for the Dwarves Minecart ride. On the way we saw some people getting married at the park! The bride came in on a horse-drawn carriage. We didn't wait around to catch to bouquet.
When we got to the line for the Minecart, it was a ninety minute wait. We decided to ditch that and go to It's a Small World After All, to the chagrin of Grandpa. We enjoyed the relaxing ride and the needling of the elder.
We hiked past Pinocchio's village and got on the short line for the Haunted Mansion.
We tried to downplay the scariness of the ride for our three-year old. Happily, the decorations along the line helped sell the fun of the place.
The young one rode with me and did enjoy the spooky hi-jinks. He especially like the ghostly birthday party and wanted to blow out the candles on the table.
We continued on to Mickey's Philharmagic, a 4D movie that was back by the Small World ride. It was the first time our young one actually wore the glasses for a 3D movie. He was appropriately amazed.
We then headed back past the Haunted Mansion (we did a lot of backtracking that day) to Tom Sawyer's Island. We had fun exploring the various caves and playgrounds on the island. And getting Grandpa almost lost in one of the caves.
We had a nice view back to the Haunted Mansion with its extra-long line.
The island has a fence for whitewashing just like in the novel. We had to explain the scene to our older kids. They were interested and enjoyed posing for a picture.
After that, Granny and our young one split off to do the under-5 appropriate activities. They visited Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck and rode a bunch of rides in Fantasyland.
The rides in the park do have Fastpass lines, where visitors can sign up earlier in the day to get on more quickly. The older kids, parents, and Grandpa headed over to Big Thunder Mountain, where the regular line was ninety-five minutes long. Our Fastpass line was only thirty minutes (which still felt like a lot). The older kids enjoyed the ride very much.
We explored the park more after the ride. We chose to skip the Splash Mountain ride (also over an hour long wait without a Fastpass). My wife had read about A Pirate's Adventure, an interactive scavenger hunt in Adventureland (where the Pirates of the Caribbean ride is located). We found the building where they gave us an orientation. My daughter used her park access card as our key. She swiped it next to a screen and we were given our first assignment. We picked the proper map out of the selection of five and headed in search of our first clue.
The map helped us search for certain locations where we could hold my daughter's card over a symbol and then the something in the area would activate. We'd get some story and a new clue for another location on the map.
One of the spots had an ingredient we needed to fight a bad guy. The ingredient was snake venom. To our surprise, a basket opened and a snake popped out, spitting water on us! We actually enjoyed some cool water on a hot day.
Other interactive exhibits were cleverly blended into the scenery, so the rest of the park patrons had no idea what we were doing.
Having not got enough refreshing venom spit on us, we stopped for some ice cream at one of the Adventureland shops. I had a pineapple juice with ice cream on top that was luscious. Then we were back on the case, searching out more clues.
After completing one map, we had the option of going on another mission to collect more treasures. The kids were super-enthusiastic so we continued on through three more maps.
One extra-fun bit of interaction was when our card set off a canon. The shot woke up an underwater pirate skeleton, who rose up and told us where to go next.
After completing the fourth map, we unlocked the big prize that finished the game for us. The kids were a little disappointed not to do the extra map. The nice lady at the map building used her park card to override the system and assign us the final map. We took it home as a souvenir when we were done.
At this point, it was almost time for our Fastpass to Space Mountain, the famous roller-coaster in the dark located in Tomorrowland. While in Tomorrowland, we saw Edna from The Incredibles (obviously trying to sell Incredibles 2 which was theaters).
We rode the Peoplemover and then went on to Space Mountain. With our Fastpass, the ninety-minute line was only eight minutes for us.
The kids enjoyed the ride. We thought about seeing a show in Tomorrowland but all the lines were too long. Granny had taken our youngest earlier but hadn't made it quite out of the park. We called her to come back with the car and take us all home. On the way out, we picked up some more cards for the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game, which is much like A Pirate's Adventure. We didn't actually play it but will definitely next time.
We parked at the lot and made the long trip to get to the actual park.
 |
| Walking in from the car |
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| Getting on the ferryboat |
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| Finally almost in the park |
We headed for the Dwarves Minecart ride. On the way we saw some people getting married at the park! The bride came in on a horse-drawn carriage. We didn't wait around to catch to bouquet.
 |
| A wedding! |
 |
| The honeymoon suite? |
When we got to the line for the Minecart, it was a ninety minute wait. We decided to ditch that and go to It's a Small World After All, to the chagrin of Grandpa. We enjoyed the relaxing ride and the needling of the elder.
 |
| Small World entrance |
We hiked past Pinocchio's village and got on the short line for the Haunted Mansion.
 |
| Quaint German-looking area? |
We tried to downplay the scariness of the ride for our three-year old. Happily, the decorations along the line helped sell the fun of the place.
 |
| A tomb for Jacob |
 |
| This organ only plays Toccata and Fugue in D Minor |
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| Exterior of the mansion |
The young one rode with me and did enjoy the spooky hi-jinks. He especially like the ghostly birthday party and wanted to blow out the candles on the table.
We continued on to Mickey's Philharmagic, a 4D movie that was back by the Small World ride. It was the first time our young one actually wore the glasses for a 3D movie. He was appropriately amazed.
 |
| Posters on the way in to the show |
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| Ready to watch |
We then headed back past the Haunted Mansion (we did a lot of backtracking that day) to Tom Sawyer's Island. We had fun exploring the various caves and playgrounds on the island. And getting Grandpa almost lost in one of the caves.
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| Tom Sawyer Island |
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| Walking to the windmill |
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| About to explore a cave |
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| Only one of us came out?!? |
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| Playground up on the hill |
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| Ringing the bell |
We had a nice view back to the Haunted Mansion with its extra-long line.
 |
| Good thing we went earlier! |
The island has a fence for whitewashing just like in the novel. We had to explain the scene to our older kids. They were interested and enjoyed posing for a picture.
 |
| The funnest job ever |
After that, Granny and our young one split off to do the under-5 appropriate activities. They visited Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck and rode a bunch of rides in Fantasyland.
 |
| Cheesy posing with a mouse in the background |
 |
| On a ride |
The rides in the park do have Fastpass lines, where visitors can sign up earlier in the day to get on more quickly. The older kids, parents, and Grandpa headed over to Big Thunder Mountain, where the regular line was ninety-five minutes long. Our Fastpass line was only thirty minutes (which still felt like a lot). The older kids enjoyed the ride very much.
 |
| A tale of two lines |
We explored the park more after the ride. We chose to skip the Splash Mountain ride (also over an hour long wait without a Fastpass). My wife had read about A Pirate's Adventure, an interactive scavenger hunt in Adventureland (where the Pirates of the Caribbean ride is located). We found the building where they gave us an orientation. My daughter used her park access card as our key. She swiped it next to a screen and we were given our first assignment. We picked the proper map out of the selection of five and headed in search of our first clue.
 |
| A Pirate's Adventure HQ |
 |
| Getting a map |
The map helped us search for certain locations where we could hold my daughter's card over a symbol and then the something in the area would activate. We'd get some story and a new clue for another location on the map.
 |
| Finding the right cabinet in one of the shops |
One of the spots had an ingredient we needed to fight a bad guy. The ingredient was snake venom. To our surprise, a basket opened and a snake popped out, spitting water on us! We actually enjoyed some cool water on a hot day.
 |
| The snake spits venom on us! |
 |
| Closeup of the snake |
Other interactive exhibits were cleverly blended into the scenery, so the rest of the park patrons had no idea what we were doing.
 |
| A talking skull |
 |
| A talking statue |
Having not got enough refreshing venom spit on us, we stopped for some ice cream at one of the Adventureland shops. I had a pineapple juice with ice cream on top that was luscious. Then we were back on the case, searching out more clues.
 |
| Yummy! |
After completing one map, we had the option of going on another mission to collect more treasures. The kids were super-enthusiastic so we continued on through three more maps.
 |
| A talking pearl?!? |
 |
| The symbol for the next clue |
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| A really hard-to-spot symbol for another clue |
One extra-fun bit of interaction was when our card set off a canon. The shot woke up an underwater pirate skeleton, who rose up and told us where to go next.
 |
| Canonfire! |
 |
| Dead man does tell a tale |
After completing the fourth map, we unlocked the big prize that finished the game for us. The kids were a little disappointed not to do the extra map. The nice lady at the map building used her park card to override the system and assign us the final map. We took it home as a souvenir when we were done.
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| Our last map |
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| Treasures we brought home (apparently we missed getting one card) |
At this point, it was almost time for our Fastpass to Space Mountain, the famous roller-coaster in the dark located in Tomorrowland. While in Tomorrowland, we saw Edna from The Incredibles (obviously trying to sell Incredibles 2 which was theaters).
 |
| Too hot to walk around in that costume? |
We rode the Peoplemover and then went on to Space Mountain. With our Fastpass, the ninety-minute line was only eight minutes for us.
 |
| With Grandpa on the Peoplemover |
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| Our photo from riding Spacemountain |
The kids enjoyed the ride. We thought about seeing a show in Tomorrowland but all the lines were too long. Granny had taken our youngest earlier but hadn't made it quite out of the park. We called her to come back with the car and take us all home. On the way out, we picked up some more cards for the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game, which is much like A Pirate's Adventure. We didn't actually play it but will definitely next time.
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| A bunch of our cards |
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