Trip Report: Magic Kingdom Day 1 (2017)

May 21, 2017

Since this was our original arrival day we were planning later start… maybe around noon-ish. The Grand Flordian had been so efficient with our luggage transfer that we ended up ready to leave by 10:30AM.

We had planned to meet Mickey Mouse first just as we had done last year but with our early arrival it was much too soon for our FastPass+ window. We opted for pictures in front of the castle and stopping at Tomorrowland Speedway, the Barnstormer, Dumbo, a meeting with Goofy and Donald and a quick viewing of the Move It, Shake It, Dance Parade first before getting to Mickey.

We found out very quickly that the end of May was a lot hotter than the middle of April. Excuse our rosy cheeks.

To cool down we grabbed some cold drinks and lunch at Tortuga Tavern. Then split up for Peanut and I went to go to our FastPass+ for Splash Mountain. We both loved it. It was a bummer Diva wasn’t with us for the 15 minutes we were stuck listening to her favorite song from preschool, Zippity Do-Dah.

We rushed to meet Grumpy and Diva at the Pirate’s League. This year both kids are old enough for makeovers. At first Diva was going to be a Mermaid, then decided to be a pirate like her brother. She had been pretty certain for the month or so leading up to our trip that she was going to be a pirate. And that’s exactly what she requested when we arrived. Two pirates coming right up!

I really, really love the Pirate’s League as mentioned a few times already on this blog. The Cast Members are really fun and the kids get into the pirate talk and treasure. For 2017 there were some changes that made it a little less of an experience: no Photopass photographer in the “secret room” after the makeover and no parade around Adventureland. Still, they both loved it and we went to Captain Jack’s Pirate Tutorial right after the makeover. Peanut was in the show again and sword-fighting with the Captain. He had a pretty bad aim and Captain Jack’s reaction was priceless. He also called me out teaching Peanut to fight dirty.

We had a very light day planned. Last on the list was a FastPass+ for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Peanut wanted a short nap instead and so just me my 3-year-old Diva went on. She had loved the Barnstormer previously and so I figured she’d like this too. Well that was an understatement. She was crazy about the “Heigh Ho Ride”!

Mine Train was last on our to do list for the day. It was warm and I had the room ready text from Port Orleans-Riverside. We went back early cool off, relax, and check out the property until the evening surprise I had for the family.

I love Magic Kingdom and could spend the entire day–even the entire trip– in the park, but it’s still great when we can spend just a half day there and still see and do so much.