*Tent on Wheels at DISNEY* Magic Kingdom Day 1

Wow, where do I even start? We just finished our first day at the Magic Kingdom, I'm propped up in the bed in our camper, RDB snuggled in beside me, our friend Mr Polo on the sleeper-sofa downstairs; I'm in that giddy state of exhaustion that's known as "park life" after a full day at Magic Kingdom for my 40th birthday. It still feels so surreal that we are here, and this is happening, and today we got to ride so many of the most well-known Disney attractions.

We started the day earlier than I expected - we were waiting for a boat from Fort Wilderness by 9am and in the park by 9:30.  It was perfect timing, as I had purchased Genie+ for the three of us and booked our first Lightening Lane for Pirates of the Caribbean at 9:45. A few quick PhotoPass photos to capture that first glance at Cinderella's castle, and we were in line and boarding in no time! 

From there, Mr Polo went off to find a bite for breakfast while RDB and I took a turn on the Liberty Belle Paddleboat.  Since it leaves dock at the top and bottom of every hour, and is about 20 minutes round trip, it's an easy one to fill a bit of time, and it pretty neat to experience - steam engine and all.

It also gave RDB and me a chance to play around a little with the PhotoPass filters that are a part of the Disney App when you've purchased Genie+

We stepped off the boat and right over to the line for It's a Small World - this was one that I was really looking forward to, so iconic, so familiar, so much of a reminder of the Mickey Mouse watch I had as a kid that played this song at the top of the hour.

This was our first wait in line ("Standby" they call it now) and though the app said the line time was close to 45 minutes, our actual time in line was perhaps half that. It just meant we had a little more time to play with the filters in the app (think they've done that on purpose?)

By far, this was the ride I took the most pictures on - I utterly adore Mary Blaire's artwork and style with rich, blocked colors that are so boldly on display throughout the scenes. 

Perhaps one of the cooler things about new technology and these older rides - thanks to the RFID chip in our Magic Bands, the rides can track you as you go along, meaning that as we were exiting the last scene from It's a Small World, RDB and I both had a personalize 'goodbye'!

At this point, we were approaching the lunch hour and decided to leave the park and take the monorail over to the Polynesian and have lunch at the Kona Cafe.  If I'm being 100% honest, it was the first time we had something un-magical about our stay; our waitress was not in the greatest of moods, and the $18 sushi roll(s) RDB and I had were lack-luster to say the least (our local H-E-B has better sushi!).  The steak salads were excellent, though, and the view from our table was interesting, too. 

Back to the Magic Kingdom via monorail and just in time for not one, but TWO parades! One of just Tinkerbelle (I think they call them 'calvacades') and the other of Minnie, Mickey, and Friends all dressed out in their 50th Anniversary EAR-idecent attire!

There were several PhotoPass photographers around the area there in front of the castle, and I wanted to make sure we were making the most of our Memory Maker service, so we stopped off for a few additional poses - including some with a little 'magic' added.  Tinkerbell is right in line with all my other princesses and,  check out this SuperZoom shot!!!

We took a right turn at Cinderella's castle and made our way over to Tomorrowland. Don't ask me why, because it's another non-thrill-ride, but Tomorrowland's People Mover was high on my list of 'must do' rides! We entered the standby line for this one, and it was hot in the afternoon sun, but moved quickly. Once we were on the ride, we just sat back, enjoyed the fully shaded track, and people watched as we were people moved!

Only one picture - I was enjoying the ride!

From here, Mr Polo really wanted to go to the Carousel of Progress; our next Lightening Lanes weren't for another 30 minutes, so we did.  Anyone who says that the "Its a Small World" song is annoying obviously hasn't been to the Carousel of Progress! "There's a great big beautiful tomorrow, just a dream away." will be stuck in my head for a while!

Not a single picture of that one, cause I think I might have taken a nap (I know Mr. Polo sure did!)

Genie+ and the Lightening Lane system is an odd resource.  Yes, it's nice to be able to skip the lines on some attractions, but it would let you occasionally book two things in one space.  Which is exactly what happened with our afternoon slot.  Good news is that you have an hour window to return to your ride, but it takes a little planning to make sure you're doing it right.

So we zoomed on over to Tomorrowland's Speedway and all got in our own cars to motor around the loop.  I was in first place! (only because I got in the first car - there's no racing here, you're confined to one track!)

After we were done we raced over to the Haunted Mansion, another slow-moving, easy going ride.  Even with the Cast Members trying to keep us in line ("You mere mortals.... you foolish fiends...."), it wasn't scary or fast paced, but certainly had plenty for us to look at and take in.  Thinking of taking things in, having Mr Polo is like having a personal poparazzi - he was taking pics and videos thru the entire day and turning them into really incredible stories on his Insta and FB.  

I think this pic from PhotoPass pretty much sums it up:

We kept backing tracking left of the Castle to make our way over to Adventureland for dinner at the Jungle Skipper Cantina. A few beers and sangrias were a much needed refreshment as we enjoyed our dinners with a side of corny jokes.

Speaking of corny jokes, there were many of those to be had on the actual Jungle Cruise ride; unfortunately, our Lightening Lane for that one wasn't for another two hours and by this time, we were all about ready to call it a day and cruise on back to the campground.  I had learned from several of the FaceBook groups that we're in that if you had any kind of a dilemma with your Genie+, to go to a cast member under the blue umbrellas and they can help you out; so, as we left Jungle Cantina, we happened right into a blue umbrella, told them we'd been there since rope drop and we were done, but the only thing we had left was the LL for Jungle Cruise, and could they please help?  With a "Happy Birthday" and a tap of our Magic Bands, the cast member opened up the Jungle Cruise LL and told us to go enjoy the ride now, and have a safe trip home.

This really is the happiest place on earth!

Just as expected, all the corny jokes, all the punny humor, and of course, the backside of water (how did I not get a pic?!) and we could mark this one off the list and consider it a day of rides well spent!

One last walk down Main Street, a few more PhotoPass photos, just one more parade, and were back on a boat heading to Fort Wilderness.

For our first day at Disney, and my 40th birthday, I not sure I could have asked for a more magical day. 

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Be sure to check out our other posts from Tent On Wheels at DISNEY!