By way of a distraction, I have been recalling the joys of arriving at the Magic Kingdom in Florida. "Arriving" sounds simple but it's actually an adventure all in itself!
Coming in by car, we start off by coming up World Drive - the anticipation increasing as we look out for a monorail on the tracks off to our right. Then the road widens out to all of the car park ticket booths. As DVC members one of our perks these days is free parking so we have the pleasure of being waved straight through. Then it's still another half mile or so to the car park off to the left rather than straight on to the MK resort area. We have been known to occasionally blag our way in to one of the resort car parks when we're going to the park, but it is rather frowned upon. One time when talking our way past the security gate at the Contemporary Resort (and we did at least have a fairly valid reason for being there - a dinner reservation at the California Grill restaurant) the guard asked to see my driving licence and I didn't have it with me. He then proceded to give me a lecture on how it was a legal requirement to carry it and how I had been breaking the law. Very annoying but I always carry it now when driving in the US!
Anyway, parking in the main car park is far more straightforward. The attendants direct us to our row and this provides the first real indication of how busy the park is going to be. We always hope to be at the tram end of the row to avoid too long a walk (sounds feeble but the rows can be about 200m long and there will be plenty of walking for the rest of the day). Walking along to the tram the key thing is to remember the row number as finding the car without it at the end of the day would be nigh on impossible. I will probably always be a bit paranoid about remembering where I leave the car after an unpleasant moment at Downtown Disney!
Having remembered row number (and character) it's onto the tram for the ride to the Ticket and Transportation Center ("TTC") which takes a few mins. During the ride the conductor riding at the back will talk to the passengers but the tannoy system on the trams is rubbish and we usually share blank looks with other guests as we try to make out a few words. It's also at this point, especially during our visits in the winter months, that we have a quick shiver and wonder whether wearing shorts was the right thing to do! It usually warms up later and it's just the effect of sitting on an open-sided tram going at about 30mph fairly early in the morning. It is possible to walk to the TTC especially if we're lucky enough to be near the front of the car park, but it's usually quicker and easier to hop on the tram.
Arriving at the TTC we wander past the ticket booths as we've usually sorted out our park passes in advance - we tend to pick them up at our hotel these days now that we enjoy the benefits of staying at "on site" hotels. Then comes the big decision - monorail or ferry boat. Recently we've favoured getting on the monorail on the basis that it's quicker, although I'm not sure we've ever proved this theory. If the decision is for the monorail then off we go up the slope to the station. If we decide that we're not in too much of a hurry we may wait for one or two more trains to go through to get the opportunity of riding up front with the driver, which we did for the first time on Jake's 4th birthday. The monorail is fast to the MK, passing through the Contemporary Resort on its way.
On our first ever visit to the Magic Kingdom, back in December 1996 on our honeymoon we took the ferry boat across the Seven Seas Lagoon. Sailing across we gazed out to the Grand Floridian, the pink palace of a hotel on the western shores of the lake, and I ended up telling something of a fib, as I promised Nicky that we would stay at that hotel on our next visit. The promise was broken a couple of years later when we returned to Florida, staying in a cheap and cheerful hotel on International Drive! Still, I think that I've probably been forgiven over the years. We've been in to visit the Grand Floridian and we don't actually like it all that much. We've enjoyed staying at Port Orleans, the Animal Kingdom Lodge and Saratoga Springs since then, and can't wait for our trip to the Beach Club in December.
Both the monorail and the ferry drop you off at about the same spot and next up is the bag check. Unfortunately it's rather obvious that this security precaution was not anticipated when the park was planned and developed (and indeed I don't think it was necessary when we started going). As a result guests are rather coralled towards the bag check area - and we pretty much always need a bag search rather than strolling through the no bag zone. The security guards are a mixed bunch - some being friendly and jovial whilst others are a bit more jobsworth. There also seems to be a noticeable difference in the levels of bag search, with some making you unpack everything and others taking a cursory glance and giving things a quick poke with their stick.
Once bag search is complete we're nearly there. If we've got our timings right it's still a few minutes to opening time and the throng is jostling towards the turnstiles. Park opening is celebrated with a little ceremony hosted by Mickey on the balcony of Main Street Station where a lucky family gets to join all of the characters and lead the countdown to opening time.
Then the Disney shuffle begins as we edge towards the turnstiles, depending on the size of the crowds. As always sod's law kicks in and we find ourselves behind a huge family with tickets that don't seem to be working and we have the no-win debate of do we stay here or should we start shuffling towards another turnstile. When we make it to the front we take our turn in hoping that we're not going to be that family, holding up the people behind us. The entry system is a little complicated - tickets to post in and collect a la London Underground, but also a fingerprint scanner. Opportunities for mucking it up are fairly numerous, and I suspect that the use of cardboard rather than plastic cards, even for Annual Passes, makes the tickets less durable than they should be. Still, the Mouse seems to be aware of this and the entrance is always well manned with cast members.
Then, deep breath, grab guide map and show times, and it's a few steps under the Main Street station, and out to Town Square at the end of Main Street and the first glimpse of Cinderella Castle. Despite the crowd pulsing by to get to the first ride of the day and pick up the first fasspass, there really is only one thing to do at this point. That's to stop for a moment and enjoy the wonderful feeling of "home". Then you can wrap yourself up in the magic and be whisked off for another day that will last for a lifetime.
(Written from Stephen Ward at St Thomas' hospital. Helps to pass the time and keep my heart rate down!)