Walt Disney World 2025

Part of the music department trip to Orlando was a visit to Walt Disney World and Disney's Hollywood Studios. The first day was just at the Magic Kingdom. From the parking lot, visitors need to take either the monorail or a ferry to the park. I chose the ferry since it was less awkward to put on sun screen (I always try to wait till the last minute).

Disney ferry

At the iconic spot

I made a beeline for the Tron Lightcycle/Run attraction, one of the newest rides in the park. The line was an 80-minute wait but well worth it for an exciting ride that feels like a more elaborate Space Mountain. It's fast and fun, riding on a light cycle with some indoor racing of other teams.

Tron entrance

Riders on the outdoor bit of the track

Cycles waiting for riders

Since Space Mountain was not far away, I road that as well. Interestingly enough, one of the chaperones and his daughter were in line about five to ten minutes behind me on the Tron ride. Then they showed up on the Space Mountain ride line!

On the line to the coaster

Others riding

A bit of Martian tourism

Space Mountain is not as exciting as Tron but they both have an indoor, in the dark experience that is exciting. Space Mountain is still a lot of fun.

Next, I headed over to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, which had another long line. I lost my stalkers there, which was probably good. The line winds around outside, featuring some gem carts and other entertainment. When I was inside, almost at the front, they made the dreaded announcement: "The ride is temporarily closed. We invite you to wait in line if you want or to ask an attendant how to leave the line." As always, they made no promises on how soon the ride would be back on. I stuck it out and they were running again in fifteen minutes, so not too bad. Definitely worth not getting out of line to get back in another hour-plus queue.

Entrance to the mine

The dwarfs' house at the end of the ride

My next ride was the Haunted Mansion, a classic that I enjoy every time I visit. The walk was not too far, passing the famous It's a Small World ride (a classic that I don't enjoy every time I visit).

Walking through Fantasyland

The Haunted Mansion gift shop

The Haunted Mansion and the hearse

The best of five photos I took while on the ride

The mansion is part of the Magic Kingdom's Liberty Square neighborhood. They have a riverboat that visitors can ride but it did not look like it had chairs, so I did not choose to ride it. 

Looks relaxing

I went to Columbia Harbour House for lunch since I had a trip voucher for a meal. The deal was good--an entree with drink and dessert. I ordered shrimp skewers with rice and green beans, lemonade, and Boston Cream Pie (which was actually a cup but still delicious).

Ordering at the Harbour

A delightful meal that actually seemed healthy!

Once done, I decided to ride a gentler ride while I digested. I walked over to Adventureland and rode the classic Pirates of the Caribbean. It's fun with some updates (Jack Sparrow has been added in!).

Pirates of the Caribbean entrance

Much easier to get an in-ride picture

It was time for the afternoon check-in for students and chaperones, so I headed over to the Walt and Mickey statue by Cinderella's castle. A parade was going on, so I got some pictures of amazing floats.

Mechanical dragon

A nice assortment

Minnie and Mickey

The castle by itself

A virtual geocache has visitors take a picture from a certain spot, so I wandered over to get credit.

Proof I was there

My next ride objective was the new Tiana's Bayou Adventure. I had to go back through Liberty Square to Frontierland for the ride.

Copy of the famous bell

Tiana's Bayou Adventure

The ride is a re-theming of Splash Mountain, with the same basic course but all-new decorations. I was in the front seat all by myself, which means I took all the splashes from the front, left, and right.

Me, soaked

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was closed for repairs. I could see new track being craned in!

Flying train track!

Being soaked, I went on the Jungle Cruise ride, figuring I could not get any wetter. It was fun, full of all sorts of bad puns and other horrible jokes that I enjoyed. After that, I decided to ride Tron again, making me walk past the castle again.

Now a pick with Walt and Mickey

Going back to Tomorrowland

Since the show was starting in two minutes, I ducked into the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor for their show. All the monsters are animated but they also interact with the crowd, an amazing feat. It was enjoyable and a chance to be out of the sun for a bit.

Turning laughter into power!

The Tron ride was as excellent as before. After that, I decided to have a lighter dinner since I felt like I was eating a lot more than usual. I tried the black garlic, truffle, and parmesan fries at Starlight Cafe in Tomorrowland. They were unsatisfactory, unfortunately.

Fries and a lemonade

At least there was a show!

I walked out and saw the Tea Cup ride which I did not try. I was bushed so I headed back to Main Street for the evening fireworks and the meet-up to go back to the hotel.

Tea cup ride

Castle lit up at night

Main Street lit up

The combo shot

We had a little trouble with the meet-up because the Mickey Rose Garden was roped off on one side by Disney Security which did not allow anyone inside. The other side was not roped off and the security was letting people in. We worked things out.

Back at the hotel, I took a snap of the nighttime view from my room.

A bit of the Universal resort