Day One: WDW Camping Trip

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: A new year means a new Walt Disney World adventure. This time we decided to take advantage of my wife’s Scentsy convention and make a short vacation out of it by camping at Fort Wilderness. This will be our first camping adventure at Disney’s campground.

We arrived at Fort Wilderness right as the parks were getting ready to open, so we checked in and headed straight to the park. We decided to go to the Magic Kingdom to check out the new Fantasyland rides and attractions that opened last year

By the time we rode the boat from the campground to the park, the park was open and much of the crowd had dispersed into the park. I was worried that that would mean long lines in the new section but amazingly it wasn’t so bad. The line for the new Little Mermaid ride was just five minute. Now the line for the princesses was another story, but luckily we weren’t there to see them.

We rode the Little Mermaid first and it was mixed reviews. My wife thought it was a let-down, wishing there were more scenes from the movie to make the ride. I on the other hand thought Disney did a good job on the ride. They got enough of the movie into the ride for it to make sense and still flow, plus the details of the ride were first class. My son thought it was boring and was ready for some more exciting rides.

From there we toured the rest of the addition before heading on our way. Just like the Little Mermaid ride, the Disney Imagineers spared no details in making the area come to life. From Gaston’s Tavern to Belle’s Castle, the storybook pages seem to come alive here.

As we walked through the park to our next attraction, we got a quick look at some of the up and coming attractions. They seem to be making good progress on the Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train. The mine train is one ride I am definitely looking forward to. Finally as Fantasyland gave way to Liberty Square, you could see the top of the Tangled Tower sticking out over the construction barricade near It’s A Small World.

Once we got to to Liberty Square we headed straight for a family favorite, the Haunted Mansion. A trip to the Magic Kingdom is not complete without a stop to visit the 999 happy haunts. Those playful spirits had their way during this journey as the ride was stopped several times during the ride.

After we finished riding the Haunted Mansion, we headed straight to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The line queue at Big Thunder Mountain had either been upgraded since our last visit or we just never spent that much time in line, but I do not remember all the interactive features in the line queue. It helped pass the time as we waited a half hour for the ride. When we got to the end of the line, we got assigned our favorite seats in the back of the train. If you want the wildest ride in the wilderness to be the wildest, I highly recommend the back row.

After we finished the roller coaster, we tried to ride another mountain roller coaster, Space Mountain. To get across the park, we chose to ride the Walt Disney World Railroad. We hopped aboard the train at the Frontierland Station and took it to the Fantasyland Station. From their, we ditched the crowds via the less traveled walkway by the train track that avoided the high traffic areas of Fantasyland and Tomorrowland and brings you out at Space Mountain. However, it was too late as the line for Space Mountain had exceeded 90 minutes. We decided not to wait for Space Mountain and headed for the park exit.

From there we made a decision we hardly ever make, to attempt a second park in the same day. It was a toss up between Epcot and Animal Kingdom and we decided on Epcot to try the recently renovated Test Track. We monorail hopped from the Magic Kingdom to the Transportation and Ticket Center where we would grab another monorail to Epcot. But at the station, we were greeted with a mass swarm of people heading to the Epcot monorail which caused us to rethink our decision and go to Plan B, Animal Kingdom. 

he bus to Animal Kingdom was much better, only 6 other people on board. We soaked up the a/c as we rode to the Animal Kingdom.

Once inside the park, we headed straight to Kilimanjaro Safari. It didn’t take long to see why we don’t go to the park in the mid-morning/early-afternoon. The park was packed. Elbow to elbow and long lines. So we decided to skip the safari and ride Dinosaur and watch It’s Tough to be a Bug and headed back to the campground.

Once we got back to the campground, we were greeted by a few wild turkey by the outpost bus loop including a male with his feathers displayed. We then set up our campsite. I quickly realized how much hassle it is to prepare for a camping trip. No matter how much I plan, I still manage to forget things. This time it was pillows. Nothing like being 3 hours away and not having a pillow, luckily it was only one night.

After the tent was pitched and the mattresses and sleeping bag laid out, we headed to the Tri-Circle-D Ranch to see the horse and then to Trails End Restaurant for our dinner reservation. Trails End is a family favorite and a main attraction during each of our Disney trips. The all-you-can-eat Southern-style buffet is well worth the price and a great end to a day at the parks.

With full stomachs, we contemplated trying to go to Epcot. Three parks in one day is unheard of for us however we decided not to go. Instead, we headed into International Drive to find the convention center and get an idea of where to go tomorrow for my wife’s Scentsy convention.

After located the West Concourse of the Orange County Convention Center, we headed back to Fort Wilderness and the comforts of our tent, minus pillows. It was hard to get to sleep, you don’t realize how much background noise there is when you don’t have the quiet walls of a hotel room. But finally after a few hours of listening to everything from children crying to passing jet traffic, I fell asleep and ended another great Disney day.

Check out the photos from today in the slideshow below and check back later for more from the trip.