Trip Log:

Had a pre-sunrise wake up call this morning and arrived at the Magic Kingdom about 15 minutes before the park opened.  Most of the group joined the heard heading for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.  I hung around and watched the castle show then wandered around Fantasyland for a bit.  They were done quickly and we all used a FastPass for Winnie the Pooh then some went for Coffee and others for a spin on the Carrousel.  We met at Sleepy Hollow and waited for the last of the group to arrive from the resort.  Caught the first Muppets show of the morning.  Then we all headed for Peter Pan to use a Fastpass then hopped on it’s a small world since it was a 5 min wait.  Worked our way around to the Jingle Cruise then Main Street USA for an 11:30am 1st haircut appointment for my 13 month old nephew.  He and his parents went inside and we hung around outside.  Some shopped and a couple went for a quick ride on Pirates.  Once done we exited the park and took the monorail to the Contemporary and had a relaxing lunch at the Contempo Café.   After lunch some went fishing and the rest of us went to the Polynesian and Grand Floridian.  Headed back to the Boardwalk because I needed to finish moving rooms.  Ended up hanging around the Boardwalk the evening.  Some of the group headed back to Contemporary for a late dinner at California Grill.

Thoughts & Observations:

• Today we moved rooms due to the problems from yesterday.  The process was smooth but it meant packing up everything and temporarily storing it until the new room was ready then moving in there.   This all took time but it did remedy some of the issues with the original room.
  
  
• Arrived at the Magic Kingdom about 15 minutes prior to opening and was expecting to be let onto Main Street USA like in the spring.  Unfortunately they were holding all guests at the train tunnels.  They released the crowd to Main Street about 5 minutes before opening and the brief Castle show happened at opening vs right before.  I thought this was not as smooth or pleasant as the way it was done during my spring visit where you could roam Main Street.  This re-introduced the overcrowding between the entrance and tunnel.  Cast Members were not being overly friendly and yelling at guests to move to clear the way for more to be let in.  This was not a very magical way to start your day. 
  
  
• Enjoyed a showing of the Muppets Present American History.  These shows are great additions to Liberty Square and I would recommend taking some time to relax and enjoy one on your next visit.   I would like to see a new show added to the rotation. 
  
  
• I was disappointed that the Hall of Presidents had yet to return.  I was hoping it would during our trip, but it did not until December 19th.  
• Went on a Jingle Cruise.  I thought it was great that Walt Disney World kept their Jingle Cruise, but I wish they would have plussed the show a bit.  I thought the more over the top Anaheim version was better.  But having this version was better than none.
  
  
• Had a relaxing lunch at the Contempo Café at the Contemporary.   After lunch decided to make the rounds on the Monorail and see the Christmas decorations.  I was disappointed with this year’s offerings.  They were almost identical to last year.  The only really notable change at the three hotels was Cinderella for Frozen at the gingerbread display, but it was the same style and not a drastic change.
  
  
• The Monorails were operating more slowly than usual.  There were long waits between trains, the trains were full, and then they kept stopping or moving very slowly.  It took a long time between each resort.  Add in the security check point time and it was not a smooth process to resort hop.
  
  
• At the Grand Floridian we walked around outside for a while.  I thought the lighthouse sculpture/memorial was well done with its placement and design.
  
  
• I called it an early day because I was not feeling 100%.  I was not sure if it had to do with the undercooked corn dog from Sleepy Hollow on Monday night or something else but I was just not doing well.  So opted to spend the evening at the Boardwalk.
  

Pedometer Information for the day:

Magic Kingdom Spent the morning at the Magic Kingdom and some resort hopping. 3 Images Per Page Our traditional format with medium size images and you can click to enlarge 1 Large Image Per Page A large image and you can navigate using buttons on the screen or your arrow keys Mobile Device Friendly One image per page and you can swipe

Other Picture sets from today:

• “Live” Pictures from the day featuring a look as I walked around
• Morning at the Magic Kingdom
• Monorail Resorts
• Full Summary of all posts from my 2017 December WDW Trip