Walt Disney World Buddy Trip 2016, Part 4 ; After Hours at the Magic Kingdom

By Nick

Who: Me and my friends Joe and Josh
Where: Walt Disney World, stayed Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, Kidani Village 

Part 4

 
Thursday, May 12th Continued

After dinner at Be Our Guest, we went to Guest Services to pick up our lanyards for the After Hours at the Magic Kingdom event, which gave us exclusive access to the park from 11pm-2am. This was a gift from our new friends Alison and Jim! We then made our way up Main Street to a spot to watch the Celebrate the Magic castle show and Wishes.

Left to Right: Alison, Josh, Joe, me, Jim

By then it was almost 1030pm. 

We rode the People Mover, watching the park empty out. 

Just a few minutes before the park closed, we went to Space Mountain. 

Now, I haven't ridden that in years because the last time I did I felt a bit motion sick, but, maybe because I'd been going on 5-6 hours sleep since about 730am and I was delirious by this point, or the excitement and adrenaline, or a combination of everything, I enjoyed it thoroughly, and didn't feel a bit ill.

So we immediately rode again!

During the event, there were ice cream carts serving frozen treats and Coca Cola products all over the park, and everything was included free! 

We hit Buzz's Space Ranger Spin, Pooh, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder, Pirates and the Jungle Cruise, some rides more than once, all with little to zero wait!

It was amazing to see the park so empty, we really felt that we had the park to ourselves! It was a surreal experience.

The only time we waited more than 5 minutes was at Princess Fairytale Hall.

Amazingly, I stayed awake the entire day. Anyone that knows me or frequent readers of this blog will know the I'm NOT a night owl, but the thrill of being in the Magic Kingdom at that time of night, and the feeling that it was open just for us, kept me pumped until the very end.

I can't thank Jim and Alison enough for this wonderful gift!

Please stop back soon for part 5!

Part 1 

Part 2
Part 3

The Wildest Ride in the Wilderness

By: Jeff Stillwagon

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Walt Disney World is one of my family's favorite roller coasters on property. One of the many reasons why we love to ride this attraction so many times over the coarse of a trip is the theming, which fits perfectly in Frontierland.
The backdrop of the canyon mountains is stunning to look at from a distance, and makes for amazing photos up close with family.

I enjoy the concept it was based on, that of an old abandoned gold mining town, which is called Tumbleweed in the Walt Disney World version. The name of the town is different at other Disney parks.

This ride is a fast loader which helps move the line along but it can still get really crowded at times, because, after all, who doesn't want to ride “The Wildest Ride In The Wilderness?” It never gets old saying that every time I ride this crazy train. I love the fact the cast members wave to everybody when the train heads out on this adventurous ride.

 We enjoy several parts of the ride, such as climbing up the hill into a bat cave underneath a waterfall where you can feel a little sprinkle sometimes, followed by the roller coaster shooting down the hill, bringing you outside and around stunning canyon mountains through Tumbleweed town. If you ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at night time you can see the windows lit up with little gold miners shadows in them.

If you are traveling with someone that isn't on the ride, they can catch a great photo of you on the train from the exit ramp area that is located right next to a small geyser.

That's just a couple reasons why my family, as well as so many other people, can't get enough of riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

If you are passionate about this ride and want to experience it as much has you can, my tip is to make rope drop. When the parks opens almost everybody these days heads to the back of the park, so you could perhaps ride a good 3 or 4 times in a row (or more!) before having a wait.

Now go have fun on “The Wildest Ride in The Wilderness” and don't forget to wave back to the Cast Member with a smile! YeeeeHawwww!!

This article was originally posted on the Disney Exchange Blog, the official blog of The Disney Exchange Podcast, which is hosted by David Hodges, Lisa Green, and Nicholas Maglio.

A True Disney Baby

By Beth Skarp

Those of us who are true Disney aficionados love decorating our nursery in Disney themes in anticipation of our newest arrivals. Who can resist a baby dressed in his or her first set of Mickey ears or adorable Disney character outfit. I admit, my grown children were dressed as true Disney babies and my husband and I adored doing this, much to the chagrin of my children. 

A rumor used to be floating around that “if” a baby was born anywhere on Disney property, the infant would receive a lifetime pass to Disney. This is truly an Urban Legend. I mean, think about it. If this were the case, expectant Mother's would be lined up all around the Magic Kingdom in hopes of delivering their child or children—all in hopes of obtaining a Lifetime Pass for them. Talk about a logistical nightmare!

One infant actually has an official Disneyland Birth Certificate and was literally born on Main Street USA. On July 4th of 1979, in an overcrowded park on a stifling hot day, Rosa and Elias Salcedo of Los Angeles were trying their best to enjoy their visit despite the fact that Rosa was in the final term of her pregnancy. Why anyone would go so close to their due date is beyond me. Yes, I have gone to Disneyland while several months pregnant and actually had an enjoyable time. However, I have never gone anywhere close to my delivery date. 

While sitting down to rest on a bench behind the Plaza Inn, Rosa went into labor unexpectedly. The baby was in a rush to be born, coming much faster than either Rosa or Elias expected. Rushing off to the hospital was not practical for Rosa or her unborn child. Medics were called in to assist Rosa, and “Princess” Teresa Salcedo was born, just a few steps from Main Street USA. 

Like all true Princesses, Teresa was a small and petite girl in size but born perfectly healthy. Mother Rosa and newly born Princess Teresa were then transported to the local Medical Center to be checked out.

A few months later, in a special ceremony in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle, Teresa Salcedo was presented with “Disneyland Birth Certificate Number One”. The family happily posed with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto—better known as the Fab Five.

Incidentally, this celebration coincided opening of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad which occurred in September as well. This was the first time in Disneyland's 24 year history that a child had been born inside the park, but not the first time that a child had been born literally on Disneyland property.  

Disney Legend, Ron Dominguez, has more of a connection to Disneyland than others. I recently learned that the Dominguez family owned much of the property that Walt bought for Disneyland in the early 1950's. Ron, his mother and his brother were all born in the area that is now New Orleans Square, Club 33, the Blue Bayou, and the Pirates of the Caribbean. The Dominguez family “home” later became offices for Walt's staff. Ron Dominguez still bills himself as a "Native-Disneyland-American" a nationality few can claim. 

There will, of course, be other babies born in Disney Resorts and Parks. Only Teresa Salcedo has the Disneyland Birth Certificate to prove this. And yes, only one can be called the “"Native-Disneyland-American". All others will have just a story to tell (and will have to pay full price like everyone else to visit their special birthplace).

While Disney Birth Certificates are no longer issued (to the best of my knowledge), you can send Disney a birth announcement of your new baby and you will receive a Happy Birthday Response back from them. I have done this for all three of my children—and each one is unique and different. My grown children have their respective Disney Happy Birthday Responses, so I don't have them to post a picture for you.

You can send your child's birth announcement to either California(Disneyland) or Florida (Walt Disney World). Below are the addresses:

Mickey and Minnie Mouse 
Walt Disney World 
1675 N Buena Vista Dr 
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

– or --

Mickey and Minnie Mouse
The Walt Disney Company 
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, California 91521 
     

The Disability Access Service Card at Walt Disney World

By: Jen Casteneda 

This May we took our annual trip to Walt Disney World.  

Like many families, we planned for months, made our reservations, changed our reservations, and sometimes even switched them back to the original reservation. 

After traveling to Disney for 13 years with 2 children with Autism, this was the one trip I was worried about most. 

Every trip we have been fortunate enough to be able to use the Guest Assistance Card, now known as the Disability Access Service card (DAS).  This card allowed our family to use the FastPass entrance without wait.  We have always taken our children’s medical documentation with us, even though Disney does not need or use it.  We last used this pass in September of 2013 knowing the “new” change was coming soon, due to a few bad apples.

We arrived at Magic Kingdom early in the morning and we wheeled our children up the ramp at City Hall.  Paperwork in hand, I waited patiently for my turn.  When my turn came, I explained our situation and the nice young lady asked if Max and Sadie were present.  By this time, everyone in the building knew Max and Sadie were present with their chortling and verbal squeals.

The Cast Member (CM) explained the new process and asked if I had any questions.  I had done my homework so I was feeling very prepared.  She then asked if they were ready to have their photos taken, and Sadie was first in line.

The new passes have the disabled guest’s photo on the front of the pass.
I was very happy to see this.  Each CM must view the disabled person by matching the photo to the person at the attraction the family is planning to ride.

As we made our way around the park, we didn't experience any wait times for the first 4 rides.  We were allowed to enter the FastPass line immediately.  When we arrived at Big Thunder Mountain we were given a wait time of 15 minutes.  I began to get a little nervous that Max and Sadie would not understand that we would have to leave and return in just a few short minutes.  We made our way to use the restrooms near Splash Mountain and slowly strolled back, just in time to enter the ride.  YEAH, no melt downs!

I was savvy enough to work our FastPass times around the time I knew we would be able to use our DAS card.  This enabled us to only have to visit this part of the park one time.  Max and Sadie do not enjoy the same rides all the time, so we were able to split up in groups. Downloading My Disney Experience was a true time saver for us.

We then made our way to Fantasyland. The longest wait time we were given was 40 minutes for Peter Pan, so we chose to skip this ride.  When we arrived at the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, the CM asked if we wanted to keep out Peter Pan ride time as you are only allowed one open wait time on a card at a time.  We explained that the kids would not understand returning to that part of the park at a much later time, and that we would to like to ride this attraction instead. The CM crossed off Peter Pan and inserted the Mine Train with only a 20 minute wait.  The kids enjoyed a few snacks and watched others as they rode the new ride.

All in all, I was very pleased with the way our family adjusted to the new program. I recently heard that some of the return times are up to an hour now with the Summer crowds.

Do You See Tinker Bell at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad?

by: Nick

A few weeks ago, someone on Facebook posted a photo from the exit of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, and said that it was a hidden Tinker Bell.
On our recent trip, I searched it out and photographed it for myself.

I'm a little skeptical. Why would they hide Tink outside of Big Thunder?

What's your opinion? Tinker Bell, or overactive imaginations?