Chapter 56
Breezing Through the Kingdom

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(Originally posted November 9, 2012)

We werent quite done romping around at Riverside.

We tried to get a glimpse of the Alligator Bayou section of the resort, but we didnt really want to walk all the way over there because its not like we could have gone inside or anything.

Going back to the main building, we again admired the whole waterfront area around the lobby.

We walked back past the Riverside Mill.

And we decided to take a short break relaxing in some rocking chairs on the porch overlooking the docks.

Not knowing the schedule, we were hoping we might get a glimpse of the carriage horses picking someone up or dropping off, but I think they were already done for the day& Now it was time to go back to our room, drop off our mugs, and get going to our next park!

Grabbing our park essentials, we went to the Riverside bus stop for one of the first times on this trip.

It was a mistake, unfortunately. The bus took almost a half-hour to come, and we watched as our time in the parks before we had to go to our dinner reservation dwindled. Finally, the bus came, and took us back to the Magic Kingdom!

Entering the park, it felt like a long time since wed been there even though it was only about 48 hours.

We went to the area behind The Chapeau where Fastpasses for the characters at Town Square Theater are distributed. Having found out from Lines chat that the Fastpass to meet Mickey isnt connected to the rest of the system, we were able to grab Fastpasses for both him and the princesses without having to wait for the distribution window. Both sets were to be valid in about a half-hour.

We strolled up Main Street, taking pictures of some of our favorite buildings and windows.

Heading into Fantasyland, we decided to pay a visit to one of the few remaining Magic Kingdom attractions we hadnt hit yet on this tripMickeys PhilharMagic.

PhilharMagic is definitely my favorite of the 4D movies in Disney World. I love all the music from the Disney renaissance movies that defined my childhood. I also think this attraction makes great use of the 4D effects. Unfortunately, this did not seem to be a great day to experience PhilharMagic. Upon entering the theatre, we noticed that it was a little warmer than we would have expected. It wasnt uncomfortable per say, but it felt a little off. As the movie started up, we quickly realized the problemthe fans in the chairs werent working. Not only do they provide part of the air conditioning for the attraction, they also control the patented Disney smelletzer. Without working fans, we didnt get the delicious whiff of pie or the other air effects central to the attraction. The other 4D effects were sort of working, but they were glitchy as well. We still enjoyed the attraction, but wished it could have been the complete experience.

Coming out of PhilharMagic, I wanted to make a quick stop in Sir Mickeys.

Having just listened to Lous Audio Guide to Fantasyland, I had heard him talk about how the theming for this shop included the giant from Mickey and the Beanstalk peering in from above. I had never noticed this detail before, so I wanted to check it out.

Theres just some more proof that you should always look up and look down whenever youre anywhere in Walt Disney World.

Our time in the Magic Kingdom was already running shortblasted busesso we started to walk back toward Main Street.

We were within the window for our character meet Fastpasses, so we wanted to allow ourselves plenty of time to use them before leaving for dinner. While on Main Street, we saw one of the balloon sellers peddling his wares. Earlier in the trip, we had seen a Photo Pass photographer set up a fun shot with some guests and a balloon vendor. He let them hold onto the balloons, but also posed nicely for the picture. We thought wed try to recreate that with this vendor. While he was totally willing to let Tracy hold on to the balloons, (while also holding them himself), he didnt seem to want to pose. This left us with a somewhat awkward picture which kind of matches what we were looking for&

We continued down Main Street to Town Square.

Approaching Town Square Theater, we got our first set of Fastpasses ready.

Our Fastpasses for meeting Mickey were valid five minutes earlier than those for the princesses, so we got in that line first. We had to take a few pictures of the great theming in the theatre.