The alarm was early. I quietly snuck out of the bedroom trying not to disturb my wife. I got the boys awake and out of their fog enough to get dressed and get their sunblock on. It’s a good thing we had gotten everything set the night before.
We checked we had our tickets, magic bands, and everything we needed for our day in the park. In actuality we didn’t have much we would carry with us. I had a credit card, my license, some cash, my magic band and my sunglasses. We travel light. We also each had a band that goes around your waist which I use for running. It’s a great place to securely store your cell phone when you run, but we’d use it to store things rather than in our pockets which wouldn’t be as secure as around our waist.
Breakfast on the Way
The hotel is only 20 minutes from the Magic Kingdom and we wanted to get to the parking toll plaza by about 7:00 which is when I had ready they opened it up. This gave us time to stop at a Panera Bread near the hotel that opened at 6:30. We quickly ordered our food and ate it on the way, growing ever more excited as we got closer.
When we arrived at the toll plaza there were a few dozen cars waiting in line already. We got in the shortest line and waited for it to start moving. I also downloaded the My Disney Experience app which I had forgotten to download the night before.
Into the Park
The line started moving shortly after 7:00 and after paying the fee, we meandered through the massive parking lots as directed. The parking spot we got was pretty close to the entrance even though we didn’t pay extra for the preferred parking. The benefit of getting there early!
We made our way with everyone else towards the transportation center entrance where we’d take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. There were cast members with bullhorns advising people of the mask and physical distancing rules.
We were all directed to tents where we had our temperatures taken before going through the metal detectors at the security check. Once through, we were able to get in line for the monorail. There were no shortages of lines even before we got to the park!
The monorail was working at reduced capacity as each car was divided into sections with tarps separating each section. Only one group was allowed on a bench and two groups in a section. This gave me confidence they were taking the COVID precautions seriously.
Once we arrived at the park we had to make our way through the ticket entrance. Tomatico and I had our magic bands from our previous trip, but our youngest couldn’t find his. I had brought the actual platic tickets with us as well as matching them to the magic bands we did have, just in case. Our youngest would have to use the ticket and we made sure he kept track of it and put it securely in the Flip Band around his waist as soon as we were through the gates.
The magic bands just like the ticket cards. The difference from the last trips was that we didn’t have to do a fingerprint verification when going through the gates. We only had to scan the band/card. This makes sense as a measure to reduce touchpoints and got us into the park a few seconds early.
In the Park!
We were finally in the park and it was just after 7:30. The park didn’t officially open until 8:00 but we made our way to Tomorrowland to see if any of the rides were open early as there was no traditional rope drop ceremony to reduce people gathering together. As luck would have it, Space Mountain was open, as were most of the more popular rides.
We quickly got in line and effectively walked on to the ride. It was AWESOME! We decided to go on it immediately again and had ridden it twice by the time the park had officially opened. We then went over to ride Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. I’m undefeated on that ride in both trips with the boys and I remained so. It drives them nuts they haven’t beaten me 🙂
We decided to treat ourselves to a strawberry smoothie at Joffery’s. Joffery’s is a coffee stand that is in all the parks. We weren’t interested in coffee we LOVE the strawberry smoothies which have just the right amount of strawberry flavor and sweetness. We bought two to split between the three of us. They tasted as good as we remembered!
We then decided to try to ride the Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train. While it’s not a ride we love, we hoped to ride it before the line got too long. As we quickly found out, the line was already too long. In fact it was 3/4 of the way around the outside of the ride. We decided to take a pass on that and go to the Tomorrowland Speedway instead. The boys love the ride but I can’t stand it. You’d think they could find a sponsor to convert it to electirc so at least you woudln’t have to inhale the fumes. They had a blast driving the cars, though.
Next we wanted to head over to Adventureland to try to ride Thunder Mountain. Unfortunately the apps were right and the lines were wrapping outside the ride.
We ended up on Splash Mountain instead. Tomatico had been scared to go on the ride the first trip, but he was a trooper and did it this time. He was glad he was brave enough this time as he LOVED all the dips, even the big one at the end. He thought it was hilarious that I got a face full of water. Good thing it was a sunny and warm day.
The line for Thunder Mountain was still way too long so we decided to go check out Pirates of the Caribbean which only had a 20 minute wait. When we got there, the line looked long but that was due to the physical distancing rules in the line. The line moved quickly and we really enjoyed the ride.
It was getting close to lunch time so we headed back to Tomorrowland to get some lunch at Cosmic Ray’s. All of the restaurant’s required ordering online through the My Disney Experience app. After you order, you click when you’ve arrived at the restaurant and they start preparing the order. When it’s ready you can show the app at the door and they will let you in to pick up the food and eat it inside if you choose. It sounds much more complicated than it is and it worked quite efficiently and helped avoid the crowds and the mad dash to grab an empty table.
After eating we ended up going to the Hall of Presidents. When we arrived the show was about to start so were the last group in. Just in time! The ride had been closed when Tomatico and I had gone so he hadn’t see the show yet. They both really enjoyed it as it clicked with what they had been learning in school. We were in the front row so we go t a close look at everytihng. They are amazingly realistic.
After that, we noticed the park was starting to get busy. The sun was getting strong and we were tired from getting up so early. We decided to go back to the hotel and come back later in the evening.
Back at the Hotel
We had been quite successful in our first half day at the park. It was getting busy when we left but hadn’t been nearly has busy as I expected in those first few hours. Back at the hotel it was time to rest our feet and relax.
My wife was working down by the pool and the boys wanted to do some of the resort activities. At the resort there is a “lake” and there are various boats you can use on the lake. We decided to go out on a canoe. Despite the wind, we were able to have a pretty good time. The key was going into the wind to start so we could just float back with the wind when we got tired!
After a half hour on the canoe we headed back to shore. The boys wanted to do the water bikes next, but the wind was too strong and they weren’t letting people take them out. The boys were disappointed but they decided to go to the pool instead. The resort pool had several waterfalls and a water slide. It didn’t compete with Coconut Point but it would do!
Splitting up for the Evening
As it got towards dinner time we decided to split up. Tomatico and my wife decided to have us drop them off at Disney Springs to do some shopping while my youngest and I would go back to the park.
On the way to the car, we stopped in the lobby to get a picture with Santa. The boys were reluctant but finally did it. It was Christmas Eve after all!
Going back into the park with my youngest, we just needed to show our receipt from the morning at the parking gate and managed to find another excellent parking spot. We went through the same temperature and security checks as the morning and made it onto the monorail to get back into the park. There was a steady flow of people heading out of the park which meant shorter lines on the rides! It was likely partially related to a rainy weather forecast for the evening.
Our first stop was to Thunder Mountain. It had been busy in the morning, but the line was only 10 minutes this time. We rode on it twice before going to Splash Mountain. I think both rides are different (and MUCH better) at night.
After riding those, we decided to check out Space Mountain again since the line showed as being relatively short in the apps. When we got there the apps were accurate. While we couldn’t walk on, it was less than a 20 minute wait. It was worth it!
When we got out of the ride and the weather had turned. It was pouring rain. We knew it was coming and told ourselves we’re push through it, but we were tired and it was a cold rain, so we decided to call it a day. We knew we’d be back to the park.
As we exited the park with everyone else, the line for the monorail was extremely long. We decided instead to go on the ferry. The line was long but there were two ferrys waiting to be loaded and each can carry a lot of people. We managed to get on the second ferry quickly and get out of the rain.
The ferry takes only 10 or 15 minutes and was faster than if we had waited for the monorail. Our car was parked close to the entrance to the transportation center so we quickly got to the car to dry off and warm up.
Back at the hotel I dropped my youngest off at the lobby while I parked the car. He didn’t need to get any wetter than necessary! Back in the hotel we reconnected with Tomatico and my wife. They had fun shopping Tomatico got some new shoes and insoles at a specialty running store. He was really proud of and excited about his purchase. Luckily, they had barely made it back to the hotel before it started raining.
After drying off, it was time to go to bed after a long day of fun. We wouldn’t be going to the park the next day and would spend the time enjoying the resort amenities.
Tomatico Travels 
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