Our ultimate tour of the Magic Kingdom was scheduled for Saturday April 16.  It was early morning magic hours, so we reserved a Disney resort room at Pop Century.  We wanted to make sure that we were at Magic Kingdom in plenty of time for the morning show, which was scheduled for 7:40am.  So we arrived at the Ticket and Transportation Center around 7am and rode the resort monorail over to the Magic Kingdom.

It had been a while since we had taken advantage of early magic hours. There seemed to only be a handful of people there compared to a normal operating day.  We grabbed the times guide and took a picture of both sides, as required by the rules.  Magic Kingdom was open until midnight, so we were going to have 16 hours to complete our tour.


The morning show started promptly at 7:40 and lasted until 7:44.  

We had originally planned to meet Cinderella/Rapunzel first, but with such small crowds we decided to head for  Seven Dwarf Mine Train first. The wait time was listed as 30 minutes with FP return time of 7:50. We entered the line at 7:51am.  We boarded the train at 7:58 and exited at 8:01.  One possible long wait out of the way and we were already running ahead of schedule. 


Next we headed over to Princess Fairytale Hall to meet Cinderella/Rapunzel.  Her line was actually longer than Anna/Elsa, but the cast members wouldn't let us switch lines without completely going out and back in again.  The wait time was listed as 10 minutes. FP return time was 8:02 and we entered the queue at 8:03am.  It seemed longer than the 2 minutes we had to wait before being escorted into the room at 8:05.
 Rapunzel was first so we met her, got her autograph and skipped out at 8:08 before meeting Cinderella.


We scurried over to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.  Posted wait time was 10 minutes, FP return time was 8:10. We got in line at 8:09am, boarded the vehicle at 8:11 and were off at 8:14.
Our picture in the Heffalump room was dark so we tried another near the end of the ride when they are having a party, but that was too light. Clearly, we are not from the selfie generation.

We headed over to Ariel's Grotto.  The estimated wait time was 10 minutes, FP return was 8:14.  We entered the line at 8:16am and were shocked when NO ONE was meeting Ariel. The cast member ushered us directly in to meet her at 8:17. One minute of pictures and an autograph and we were out at 8:18.


Then it was over to snap a picture with Casey Jr at 8:19am and a bathroom break.


We got in line for Barnstormer at 8:21am. The posted wait time was 5 minutes and FP return was 8:21.  We boarded the train at 8:22 and exited at 8:24. 


We went right over to Dumbo the Flying Elephant. The wait time was listed as 5 minutes and FP return time was 8:25. We entered the line at 8:26am, boarded at 8:29 and were off at 8:32.


The wait for Mad Tea Party was posted at 5 minutes and FP return time was 8:34.  We entered the line at 8:33am, got in our teacup at 8:34 and were off at 8:36. 


We had planned to do Tomorrowland Speedway next, but watching the line from the teacups, it appeared to barely be moving with only one line of cars open.  We skipped it and headed to Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin.  The wait time was listed as 5 minutes with FP return of 8:40.  We entered the queue at 8:38am, boarded at 8:39 and were off at 8:44

We knew we needed to get Astro Orbiter out of the way. The lines there can really get long with such a long loading time.  The wait time was listed as 5 minutes  We entered the line at 8:45am, but had to wait for the second elevator so we didn't board until 8:53.  We made the mistake of trying to squish in one rocket.  Don't make the same mistake. We have smiles on our faces because we were laughing hysterically about getting stuck in the rocket. We exited the ride at 8:56. 


It was almost 9am and the park was opening to the public.  We knocked out the morning show and 10 rides/attractions before the park even opened to everyone else.   

Pete's Silly Side Show was scheduled to open at 9am that morning (an hour earlier than usual) so we headed back up to the Storybook Circus.  We entered the Daisy/Minnie line first at 9:01.  The wait time was listed at 5 minutes.  We met Daisy at 9:03am. We got her autograph before skipping Minnie and going back around to the Goofy/Donald line for a bonus.  The wait time there was also listed as 5 minutes.  We entered at 9:05am and met Goofy right away. There was no one else in line.  We exited at 9:06. Poor Donald. We hurt his feelings, not stopping for a picture. 






Merida's line was scheduled to open at 9:15 so we wanted to go there next.  We entered the outside queue at 9:08am.  We were escorted inside and met Merida at 9:21.  After getting a picture and autograph we exited at 9:23.



In all our times at Magic Kingdom, we had never ridden a Main Street Vehicle.  According to the Disney MK website the ride vehicles were only going to be out until 10:15 so we knew we had to do that next or our ultimate tour would be incomplete.  We found a vehicle in the Hub by the castle.  We boarded at 9:24am and were the only ones on the vehicle on the trip down main street. There was a line of people waiting to ride near the Fire Station where it dropped us off at 9:31. When we got off he gave us paper FP that were good at several different rides. Too bad that it was against the rules to use them that day. We ended up handing them to a family we were talking to in line.


Crowds were coming into Magic Kingdom. We knew we wanted to get Thunder Mountain and Splash done early so we headed to Frontierland.  The wait for Thunder Mountain was already 20 minutes or more, but Splash Mountain was only 5.  FP return time for Splash was 9:36.  We entered the line at 9:36am and boarded the vehicle at 9:38. Definitely, our shortest wait for Splash ever.  We were happy to get the back row of the boat, where chances for getting soaked are much lower.  It's a long ride and we didn't exit until 9:52.


With the lines still long at Thunder Mountain, we headed to Adventureland to knock out Pirates of the Caribbean.  The wait time was posted at 10 minutes and FP return time was 9:57.  We entered the line at 9:57, boarded the boat at 10:05am and exited at 10:14.   Knowing it would be difficult to get a picture in the dark, I snapped one before our boat left.  I also tried to get one at the scene where "We wants the red heads."


  We hadn't planned to watch the Pirate Tutorial with Captain Jack Sparrow until the afternoon, but the show was just about to start, so we grabbed at seat for the 10:15am show.



The show lasted until 10:36.  We had a FastPass for Space Mountain that was set to expire at 10:45, so that's where we headed next. The wait time was posted at 50 minutes and FP return time was 10:41.  We entered the line at 10:41am and boarded the vehicle at 10:52.  We exited at 10:57.


Then it was back to Main Street where the Move it! Shake it! Dance & Play it! Street Party was about to start.  Schedule for 11:00am, it was 11:04 when the float made it to the hub.  We watched from the Tomorrowland side of the hub until the vehicles started rolling down Main Street at 11:23.


We had a FP scheduled to meet Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater.  The wait time was posted at 60 minutes and FP return time was 11:28.  We got in line at 11:28am and then met Mickey at 11:38.  We got a picture and an autograph before leaving at 11:40. He insisted on signing with a red marker.





Lunch was one of our longest waits for the day. Jeff went to Casey's to order lunch and I went to pick up cards at Sorcerers of Magic Kingdom at the Fire Station.  As we were getting up from our table, the Casey Pianist was starting to play. We listened to him from 12:12pm to 12:17 for a bonus.  It was Dapper Day and two couples decided to dance.  It was a festive atmosphere.


It was really crowded on Main Street and around the hub with all the Dappers.  We went down Main Street a little way to see if we could find the Trolley Show or Dapper Dans playing.  We found the Mayor at 12:19pm just outside the Emporium.  It was a bonus in more ways than one.


We walked through Cinderella's Castle and someone snapped a picture for us in front of the mural at12:25pm. 



We had a FP for Peter Pan's Flight from 11:45 - 12:45.  When we got there the FP line was quite long.  We entered the line at 12:27pm and the wait time was posted at 75 minutes.  FP return time was 12:27.   We scanned our Magic Bands so we couldn't get out of line even though it appeared to be stopped.  It was 12:43 when we boarded the vehicle and 12:47 when we exited.  


We boarded the Liberty Boat at 12:55pm and exited at 1:21.  


We got some quarters and each shot a round at the Frontier Shooting Arcade from 1:23- 1:24pm. 



We squeezed through closing doors of the Country Bear Jamboree at 1:26pm and exited at 1:36. I got a picture before it started. The picture of the last scene didn't turn out well. 



We got in line for Tom Sawyer Island at 1:38pm.  While in line, we realized that we left our backpack at Country Bear, so Jeff ran back to get it. Fortunately, he was back in time for the boat ride over to the island at 1:48.  

We went through a cave, shot a rifle at the top of the fort and went over the barrel bridge.  






We were off the island at 2:11pm. We decided to pick up cards for the Pirate Adventure - Treasure of the Seven Seas.  The map they gave us, Haven's Defense, wasn't working and only took us to two locations.  We started it at 2:12pm and finished at 2:25.   




Here is a picture of the last station not far from the Pirate Adventure shack.  To be sure that wasn't going to ruin our ultimate tour, we did it again later that afternoon.



Our Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom cards took us to places in Adventureland as well.  We started that at 2:31 and finished at 2:50 inside Tortuga Tavern. I really can't say that I understand this game at all, and what the different cards are for, but we did it.





It was almost time for the 3:00 Festival of Fantasy parade, so  at 2:53pm we grabbed a spot near where the parade starts on the hill in front of Splash Mountain.  Below are pictures of the first and last floats.  The first float went by at 3:01 and the last float at 3:12pm.




After the parade we decided to do the Jungle Cruise.  The wait was posted at 30 minutes and FP return time 3:15. We entered the queue at 3:15 and boarded the vehicle at 3:47.  We exited at 3:59 and weren't happy that attraction took us 45 minutes. 

There was a long line for Magic Carpets of Aladdin, so we went over to Enchanted Tiki Room.  Entering the line at 4:00pm, the sign was changing from 4 minutes to 2 minutes til the next show.  That wasn't exactly the case because the show started at 4:07 and lasted until 4:18. Picture with tiki pole before the show. It's hard to see what's on the ceiling in the picture taken during the show. 



Nervous that our Pirate's Adventure - Treasures of the Seven Seas from earlier wouldn't count, we picked up another map and did Blackbeard from 4:21 to 4:31.  Here we are at the last station that is in the Pirates of the Caribbean store.  My eyes are starting to look tired.




We were nervous about getting to the Flag Retreat on time - an event we had never attended before at MK.  The line to Aladdin was still long and there was even a back up at Swiss Family Treehouse.  We went down to the Flag on Main Street and waited.  The flag retreat started right at 5:00pm and ended at 5:05 with the veteran walking down Main Street. It was hard to get a selfie with the flag in the background.




We headed to Tomorrowland to knock out some of the attractions we missed earlier in the day.  First on the list was Monster Laugh Floor.  We entered the line at 5:09.  The wait time was posted at 10 minutes and FP return time at 5:09, but it was 5:32 until we got in the theater.  Jeff was the guy who is "buying everyone churros". Was disappointed that I didn't get a picture of that.


Then it was across the way to Stitch's Great Escape.  We have only experienced this attraction 2 other times in our many, many, many Disney trips and there is a reason for that. No one likes it. We entered the line at 5:47pm. The posted wait time was 10 minutes.  We entered at 5:55 and exited at 6:11.  It was very difficult to get a picture in the dark room. Here we are before getting locked into our chairs. 


We stopped over at the Incredibles Dance Party from 6:13 to 6:18pm. Here's a picture of the DJ in the background and another with Frozone dancing behind us. 



There was a line for the People Mover...yes, a line. So we went over to Carousel of Progress.  We entered the line at 6:21 and went in the theater at 6:27.  The picture is from the Christmas scene at the end. I usually love Carousel of Progress, but we were really starting to worry about ALL the attractions that we had left to do. We exited at 6:50 and there was still a line for the People Mover.



I had booked a fourth FP at the kiosk outside Mickey's Philharmonic right after we used our third one at Peter Pan's Flight.  Our FP for Haunted Mansion was from 6:10 - 7:10pm so we headed across the park.  We entered the line at 6:55.  The FP return time was 6:56.  We were inside at 6:59 and off the ride at 7:12.  I tried to take a picture of us in the mirror scene at the end.  Then there is one of us in the doom buggies just before we exit. 



From Haunted Mansion we went to watch Mickey's Philharmagic. We entered the line at 7:15pm with a 10 minute wait time and FP return time of 7:17.  We entered the theater at 7:28 and exited at 7:40.

Enchanted Tales with Belle had a 20 minute wait time posted along with FP return time of 7:42, but we entered the room at 7:44pm.  We did not volunteer for any parts so we didn't get a picture with Belle.  We exited at 8:02 without even a bookmark. 


We were worried about getting to Hall of Presidents before it closed, but when we got there the cast member said the next show was at 8:30.  We popped over to Swiss Family Tree House and went through it.  The posted wait time was 0 minutes.  There were people in front of us so we seemed to go at a snail's pace. We entered at 8:08 and didn't exit until 8:15! 

We couldn't risk missing Hall of Presidents now so we just went and waited.  We got there at 8:19 and sure enough the next show didn't start until 8:30.  It was over at 8:52.
Note the sunglasses on my head.  I lost them here when they fell off my lap in the dark theater. I didn't notice they were missing until much later.  Good thing we took all these pictures, we were able to pinpoint exactly when I lost the glasses. More on that later.



  
 So after Hall of Presidents we thought we might have time to go ride Magic Carpets of Aladdin before the parade arrived in Frontierland.  However, when we got over to the ride, we notice that it is down. Ugh!  We pop over to Peco's Bills to get some dinner while we wait for the Main Street Electrical  parade. We grab a parade spot by the walkway to Adventureland, near Country Bear Jamboree.  The first float went by at 9:21 and last float at 9:35pm.




 After the last float passes, we run through the walkway to Adventureland to ride Magic Carpets of Aladdin that went back up sometime during the parade.  Wait time was 10 minutes and FP return time was 9:36.  We boarded at 9:40pm and were off at 9:42.  



 We had a mad dash for the hub to get there for the 9:45pm Celebrate the Magic Show. We started watching on the Adventureland side, but made our way to Main Street so we could get over to Tomorrowland right after Wishes. Main Street was packed but we slid into a spot near the walkway. Celebrate the Magic started at 9:45 and lasted until 9:54.  Wishes started right at 10:00pm and lasted until 10:12.  Tinker bell did not fly. Someone took a picture of us, but it turned out blurry.






Before going into Mickey's Philharmagic, we booked a 5th FP at the kiosks for Tomorrowland Speedway.  Our FP window was 9:20-10:20.  The wait time was 10 minutes and FP return time 10:17 when we entered the queue at 10:17pm.  We boarded at 10:21 and exited at 10:26.


We tried to ride People Mover, but it was stopped.  We went to Under the Sea Journey of the Little Mermaid next. We entered the line at 10:29pm.  The posted wait time was 15 minute and FP return time was 10:29.  We boarded the vehicle at 10:34 and exited at 10:40.



 At 10:43pm we got in line for Prince Charming's Regal Carousel.  This had been a popular attraction for Dapper Day.  We did not see a posted wait time.  It was 10:48 when we got on the carousel. It took a while before it started. We exited at 10:54.

We entered the It's a Small World queue at 10:55pm.  The estimated wait time was  10 minutes and FP return time was 10:56.  We boarded the boat at 10:59 and exited at 11:12.   While we waited for the ride to start, we realized that my sunglasses were missing.  This is when we scrolled through all the pictures and found that they were last on my head at Hall of Presidents, which was now closed.   This was not the first pair of sunglasses I have lost at Magic Kingdom.


We only had 2 rides left!  We hurried back over to Tomorrowland.  But the People Mover was stopped.  The cast member at the bottom of the moving walkway said that it was down for the night and wouldn't be back up!  That was it. Our ultimate tour was ruined by the People Mover that was NOT moving people.  We decided to finish it out with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  On our way back to Frontierland we stopped at an umbrella stand and asked a cast member about lost and found for Hall of Presidents.  He sent us to the Christmas Shoppe. They didn't find them, so they suggested we check at the front of the park. We entered the line for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at 11:28pm.  The wait time was posted at 20 minutes and FP return time was 11:28.  We boarded the ride at 11:46 and were off at 11:50.  My eyes really look tired now.


The park was almost deserted as we made our way to Main Street.  It was our slowest walk of the day.  I noticed the clock read midnight in front of the Emporium. The picture with us in it doesn't show the time well. Then there was the Kiss Goodnight.  




We  stopped at Guest Relations at the front of Magic Kingdom. We waited for several minutes. evidently it was a popular place at midnight.  We described the sunglasses and even showed the cast member a picture.  Sure enough! He came back with MY sunglasses.  He said it was the first time in 4 years that he had ever returned a pair of lost sunglasses!

We boarded the boat back to the Ticket and Transportation Center.  50 core attractions and 4 or 5 bonus attractions done in a little over 16 hours.  The Railroad was down for a scheduled refurbishment and the castle show was on hiatus after Celebrate the Magic ended earlier in April. We didn't get back to our hotel room until 1am.  Did I mention that we were running a half marathon the next day...I mean that day. We had to get up at 2:45am for the 5am race on April 17.   


Here's a recap
7:40 Morning show
7:51 Seven Dwarves Mine Train
8:03 Rapunzel
8:09 Many Adventures of Pooh
8:16 Ariel's grotto
8:19 Casey Junior
8:22 Barnstormer
8:26 Dumbo
8:34 Mad Tea Party
8:39 Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
8:53 Astro Orbiter
9:03 Daisy
9:05 Goofy (bonus)
9:21 Merida
9:24 Main Street Vehicle
9:38 Splash Mountain
10:05 Pirates of the Caribbean 
10:15 Pirate Tutorial
10:52 Space Mountain
11:04 Move it! Shake it! dance it & play it! Street party
11:38 Mickey Mouse
12:12 Casey Pianist (bonus)
12:19 Mayor of MK (bonus)
12:25 Cinderella's Castle
12 :43 Peter Pan's Flight
12:55 Liberty Boat
1:23 Frontier Shooting Arcade
1:26 Country Bear Jamboree
1:48 Tom Sawyer Island
2:12 Pirate Adventure
2:31 Sorcerers of Magic Kingdom
3:01 Festival of Fantasy
3:47 Jungle Cruise
4:07 Enchanted Tiki Room
4:21 Pirate Adventure (bonus?)
5:00 Flag Retreat
5:32 Monsters Laugh Floor
5:55 Stitch's Great Escape
6:13 Incredibles Dance Party
6:27 Carousel of Progress
6:59 Haunted Mansion
7:28 Mickey's Philharmagic
7:44 Enchanted Tales with Belle
8:08 Swiss Family Tree House
8:30 Hall of Presidents
9:21 Main Street Electric Parade
9:36 Magic Carpets of Aladdin
9:45 Celebrate the Magic
10:00 Wishes
10:21 Tomorrowland Speedway
10:34 Under the Sea Journey of the Little Mermaid
10:48 Prince Charming Regal Carousel
10:59 Small World
11:46 Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
12:00 Kiss Goodnight (bonus)

Never again.










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