Disney World on Christmas Day!

What was I thinking? Planning a family vacation trip to Disney on Christmas Day. It's one of the busiest day for Disney World. So we braced ourselves and trained for standing in line for anything. Getting coffee? Plan for 45 minutes. Bathroom break? Another 30 minutes. Well, the plus side is they close the park at midnight and yes we did close the park!!

The trip started with 8 hours drive from Atlanta to Orlando. Yes, normally it will take about 7 hours but we are the leisure driver who needs to make more stops than normal people. We checked in and rested for the day. But note to self, don't go to the grocery on Hwy 192 on Sunday. You will think that there is a hurricane coming our way. It was packed! Probably all the timeshare people are checking in at the same time including us. Plus it's the day before Christmas eve might contribute to the craziness.

Next morning, got up early and ready for Magic Kingdom. As an ex-Floridian, we have advantages over typical tourists. For a start, we know to take Resort monorail instead of the one heading for Magic Kingdom. No line, plus the kids get a bit longer ride on the monorail. I think if we leave now, they will still be happy.

The first stop is to rent the stroller and the locker. I have to say Disney's stroller is one of the easiest to steer. All those stroller manufacturers should take note and build one just like that. Eventhough, our kids are 5 and 3, stroller is a life saver. No kids can walk all day long in Disney World.

After unload jackets and extra water to the locker, we headed to the Train. Didn't know that we can just leave the stroller at the station and picked up our name tag and then pick up the new one at the next station. Made a fool of ourselves a bit trying to get it on the train. Well, they should have made a sign for foolish tourist like us. :)

First ride is the Barnstormer. The wait in the line is about 45 mins and the ride is about 15 seconds. Well, that will help set us up to the right expectation. Before we knew it, it's time for lunch. Like I said, time flies in Disney. You won't mind waiting 45 minutes for a bowl of noodle or a cup of coffee. So we stopped by to get Fast Pass for Buzz Lightyear ride. This is by far one of the best feature from Disney. You have gotta use it!

After lunch break we headed out to see Monster Inc. show before our time slot for Buzz. I have to say I'm glad I didn't have to wait over 30 mins for this one. It's just a so so comedy type show. Nothing special. I wouldn't want to waste my time doing it again.


Next up, a people mover ride. Since we have been in Magic Kingdom several times both before having kids and after, we are not typical tourist that aim for typical popular rides. So our itenerary might be a bit off the beaten path from typical tourist plan. No 3 mountains ride on our plan (Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Thunder Mountain). Quite frankly, we did enjoy the ride of Tomorrowland Transit Authority (People Mover). It's a nice break for the day from a long waiting line and walk. Then off to the Buzz lightyear ride. This is a fun, interactive ride. Suitable for all ages. We loved it!