Disney Magic Kingdom
May 26, 2013
 | After a late evening at Downtown Disney last night, we sort of took it easy this morning, but are at the gate of the Magic Kingdom at 10am. |
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| We took the long tram in from the parking lot to the transportation hub and chose to take the monorail to the entrance to Magic Kingdom. We had the choice of the large ferry across the lagoon, and as shown above, there were various types of boats from the different resorts. When we saw the crowd from the monorail station above, we were not surprised since it is Memorial Day weekend. |  |
I would say that I was pleasantly surprised at the good nature of this huge crowd and the excellent organization of Disney to accommodate such a horde. We proceeded through the gate with our electronic tickets and to the loop at the end of Main Street. We were greeted by a festive marching band, and we plunged into the crowd that was moving along Main Street.  |  |
 | From the circle where the band was playing we entered Main Street headed toward the Castle. |
Further along Main Street we got great views of the Castle and irresistible places for photos.  The Castle itself was exquisitely constructed. Toward us and to the left is the courtyard where the Disney dramatizations are done, like the princess ceremonies. |  |
 | The girls in another great photo spot with the Castle and sculptures of Mickey and Minnie in the shrubbery.  We headed into the space area since the girls' first priority was the Space Mountain rollercoaster.  On the way there, we got to see Tigger and Winnie the Pooh out on the street. |
Looking for a bit calmer ride after the wild roller coaster in pitch darkness, we opted for the whirling teacups ride. Ashleigh is videoing this one as they whirl.  With the wheel in the center, you could make the cup spin faster. |  |
 We put Jordan in the stocks, but with her ice cream she doesn't seem to be in that much distress. |  We walked up to the Castle, and the closer you got, the more intricate it looked. Jordan and Elyse stood on the steps, and they were quite solid workmanship.  |
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I was interested in Rapunzel's tower and part of the village from the Disney movie "Tangled" about Rapunzel - I think that is one of Disney's most beautiful animated movies, both in scenery and in values and inspiration.
 | Darla, Elyse and Rod took the river loop on the surprisingly large riverboat. It was a great place from which to observe the activity on the streets of the village.  |
The riverboat was a great vantage point from which to see the village. |  I was interested in the fact that we saw ibis everywhere - a bird that I associate with the seashore, but which has adapted to Disney World. I even saw one walking down the street in the middle of a huge crowd!  |
| From the riverboat, we had a bird's eye view of the river raft that took folks out to an island for a walking tour. The crowd behind the building is gathered for the very popular mine train ride. |  |
 | We also had a great view of the mine train ride as the train roared around the curved tracks. They had done a really good job with the setting and scenery. We got fast passes to ride it later. |
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 | Returning from the pleasant, tranquil riverboat tour, we got a nice view of the Castle over the village. Then we plunged back into this amazing Memorial Day weekend crowd. Amazing not only for the great number, but also for it's basic good nature - everyone seemed to be having fun.  |
| Continuing at Magic Kingdom |
2013