The Kingdoms
- Amaris Scipione
- Mar 2
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 10
This trip is a work trip but work trips can be fun too. Our conference begins with registration pick-up starting at 1pm but goes until 5pm. We have the morning for fun!
Disney in one day is super difficult because you have to really narrow down what’s important. You’re only going to do a super small fraction of what Disney has to offer. I’ve been to Disney so much, but there are still plenty of new-to-me experiences that are plump for experiencing. My top choice to experience was the newly themed ride that is now called Tiana's Bayou Adventure. My one-day park hopper ticket required a park reservation and Magic Kingdom was sold out. I decided to start in Animal Kingdom and then hop over.
Disney sometimes has early entry available for Disney resort guests. It allows you into the parks 30 minutes early and you can usually ride one top attraction without a wait. I utilized this today. I walked to the bus stop at around 6:50am and made it to Animal Kingdom right at 7:30am. Expedition Everest was my top ride choice, and I walked on without waiting! I always forget how much I like this ride until I’ve gone on it again. Next, I headed to breakfast with a detour on Na'vi River Journey. Since I’m not experiencing a full day in the park, I didn’t buy lightning lane multi pass. It’s such a different experience, but it really was nice to wait because so much thought and storytelling goes on in the queue. You miss that part when you go lightning lane passes. This was my first time waiting for the ride and it really added to the experience. I liked the ride a lot better!
Breakfast was at Satu'li Canteen which is a new-to-me experience. I ordered Tropical Pandoran Forest Fruits and was pleasantly surprised. It was a colorful assortment of fruit with yogurt. The yogurt was a little weird though because it has pieces of, I think pear mixed into it. A little crunch to your yogurt. That must be the Pandoran touch.
The plan was to hop over to Magic Kingdom once park hopping began, but I had a little hiccup. Park hopping started, but the bus from Animal Kingdom to Magic Kingdom doesn’t start that early. Luckily, I know Disney well. The resort buses were running so I hopped onto a bus to The Contemporary and walked to Magic Kingdom. It’s a short walk.
I scanned my Magic Band to enter the park, but my blue light circled and flashed blue. I didn’t get the green go. I always thought it would flash red if you’re denied, but that wasn’t the case. A visit to guest services fixed my issue and I was in.
I didn’t think I would get a chance to ride Tiana's Bayou Adventure a few weeks ago because it was operating on a virtual queue. I’d miss the morning try because I didn’t have a park reservation, and I’d miss the afternoon try because of the conference. Lucky for me, Disney removed the virtual queue shortly before my visit. We walked straight to the ride and noticed that log flumes were coming down empty. The ride was down. Not long after, the queue opened, and we really lucked out on the wait time. It was only about 20 minutes which is really short for this ride. I was very skeptical about this re-theming. I didn’t understand how it would fit. I still think the exterior doesn’t match that area of the park, but the inside of it really went with the log flume ride. It’s still very much the same ride which is a classically amazing ride.
On our way to our next attraction, we stumbled upon the parade. It shocked us because it was earlier than the normal parade time. They had two scheduled for today! I rarely watch parades because I don’t like being surrounded by so many people. This turned out nice because we grabbed a spot close to the front and hadn’t need to wait for it. It was a really magical thing to watch. One thing most people don’t know is that they have a rope that signifies the end of the parade. You can walk behind the rope and follow the parade. That’s just what we did! We didn’t follow it too long because our next destination was close.
Country Bear Musical Jamboree was recently re-done. I had never seen the original so I’m not sure how it compares, but I found this version very entertaining. There are talking animal heads on the wall full of dad jokes. Then, a variety of different bears play and sing classic Disney songs with a twang. It was enjoyable and I’d watch it again.
We needed a snack, so we stopped by my favorite food place in Magic Kingdom. Aloha Isle serves the classic Dole Whip. I opted to try the pineapple with coconut. It was good but doesn’t beat pineapple with vanilla.
We went on some classic rides such as Haunted Mansion, It’s a small world, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Then, a quick lunch at Pinocchio Village Haus. The time came to do the work part of the trip, and we headed to the conference. We got there a little later than we expected because we ran into the parade again. It was funny how much a different venue and view makes the parade. Main Street is a much better location to view the parade than the back of the park. We could hear the music better and the backdrop of Main Street really complements the floats. We also noticed several things the second time around.
We ended the evening in a Disney way after the conference. We went to 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa for character dining. This is a buffet dining experience, but the chef had me order my meal instead due to food allergies. He brought me a heaping plate of food. It was all so good! The strawberry soup was my favorite. While we ate, characters came by the table to say hello. It was a magical end to a day full of smiles and laughter.
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