Take a virtual audio trip in this installment of the WDW-Memories podcast, brought to you in immersive binaural sound, experiencing another magical memory from Walt Disney World. In today’s memory, you will join my family as we change up our day and hop on Monorail to go have some fun at the Magic Kingdom.
Well hello and welcome to the WDW-Memories Podcast where together we relive that Walt Disney World Magic. My name is Lou and I’ll once again be your host on this magical adventure.
We finally got good snow on the ground. There’s nothing more beautiful than freshly fallen snow. It’s so peaceful and happy, the sound of it crunching underfoot, or the way it reflects the sun in the trees is just magical. As this pandemic continues, I am filled with hope as those around me are beginning to get the vaccines, I find myself filled with that hope that lets me find peace, and hope for the future, and maybe even a trip to Walt Disney World soon. But for today, let’s get back to our memories of a pair of days in the parks.
For today’s memory, we are continuing our second day in the parks. It’s a hot September afternoon in 2016. If you remember from last time, we had just finished riding Living with The Land and made our way outside into the bright Florida sun. Since we didn’t drive today, we’ll be utilizing the Monorail to the Magic Kingdom to enjoy the Extra Magic Hour evening in that park. As we pass through the breezeway, we notice a monorail making the trip around Epcot, which means it will be making the return trip to the Magic Kingdom shortly, so we decide to see if we can make it. We begin walking quickly (well jogging really), under Spaceship Earth, past the fountains, through the gates, and up the ramp, only to JUST miss it. Yep, all that and we didn’t get on, which now leaves us hot and tired, and waiting another 10 minutes for the next train to arrive. Once it arrives, we hop in, having most of the car to ourselves, and spread out, putting our tired feet up for a bit as we relax in the cool air conditioning on our way to the Magic Kingdom. As we approach though, a cast member who happens to be riding with us, lets us know that the express monorail is offline in the afternoon, and we’ll have to take the Ferry to the Magic Kingdom, but we know the resort loop also works, so we’ll see which one is there when we get to the TTC. As we arrive at the TTC, the Ferry is just leaving and a resort monorail is arriving, so we make the quick loop around and run to catch the resort line monorail, this time, we make it. Once on board, we’ll enjoy the 3 stops on our way into the Magic Kingdom. I’ll take advantage of the time on the ride to get a late checkout from the hotel tomorrow, and in a few minutes, we’re pulling into the Magic Kingdom entrance. As we disembark, we still have to go through the security checkpoint (at this time it wasn’t over at the TTC), and of course it was a very thorough check for me and my camera bag. Once through the bag check, you guessed it, I got selected for the extra screening, which involves disassembling my microphones and recorder so I can go through the scanner. Finally, we have to hit the tapstiles, which of course were giving us issues, but eventually, we’ve made the transition to the Magic Kingdom. We’ll stop for a photo (we had the best PhotoPass photographer, she really posed and worked with us to capture some cool memories) before making our way up Main Street towards the castle stage show and then on into the park for our first attraction.
So I probably spent a bit more time explaining our trip because I want to warn you about park hopping. In my experience, it’s really not worth it. With the changes to Extra Magic Hours, for most vacationers hopping between parks is a big waste of time. From the time we walked out of the land pavilion to the time we made it to our first attraction is almost an hour and a half. I have really come to change my mind on this idea over the years, and think that time could translate to one or two rides or a complete sit-down meal somewhere in the park you’re in. So my suggestion to you is to save the money and maybe slow down and enjoy the park you’re in.
Today’s memory is in binaural once again, so I’d suggest putting those headphones on to fully immerse yourself in the memory.
Now join my family as we ride the magical highway in the sky from Epcot to the Magic Kingdom.
WDW-Memories: Relive That Walt Disney World Magic 