4 New Things I Got To Experience On My Disney Vacation

No matter how many times I’ve been to Walt Disney World, I find there’s always something new to do (this, in fact, is I think another pro in going to Disney World over Disneyland). The reasoning for this is two fold I think: 1. Because Disney is always producing new experiences and 2. Because I’m purposely trying to keep some things new (in fact, I refuse to go to Tom Sawyer island until I have children so I can have a new experience to have just with them). This trip was no exception to the new experiences rule, and with out further ado – here are some of my new highlights:

 

1. Ride The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – I haven’t been to the parks since this attraction opened, and as such – it was the only thing I felt I had to do in Magic Kingdom. The downside here was that I was clearly not the only one who felt this way, and the lines were long even during Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. This meant I had to give up my second viewing of Boo To You in order to have a chance to ride it with out an hour long wait. We breezed through the line pretty quickly, almost too quickly as I was hoping to have a chance to try out some of the interactivity Disney Imagineers had added to the queue. Regardless, this ride was a total hit. It was everything a roller coaster should be: a long track, with plenty of twists and turns, and a fun take on a Disney story. The animatronics where amazing (I guarantee you no video of the dwarfs in the mine will do them justice), and I was thoroughly impressed with how much side to side swinging the cars actually manage to do. While I rode in the front, my next trip goal will be to try the last row, as current CP Caroline swears this is the best life choice.

Photo c/o InsideTheMagic.Net

2. Cheese It Up In The Princess Themed Hotel Room – As I mentioned yesterday, this trip was planned super last minute, and as such we ended up in the Disney Princess Suite at the Port Orleans Riverside resort. While my girlfriend, who is nowhere near as big of a Disney fan as I, wasn’t a huge fan of the over theming, I loved it. Every little touch was princess inspired, from the portraits of the princes by the mirror to the sinks that were modeled after magic lamps, and I couldn’t get enough. Rest assured I played the fiber optic fireworks show every night before I went to bed. (And bonus points for having the best shower/tub I’ve ever seen in a Disney resort).

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3. Witness The Closing of A Legend – If you thought I wasn’t going to bring this up again – you thought wrong. Although I technically left before Maelstrom finally shut its doors, I was there during it’s closing weekend. After riding it twice on Saturday (once with Caroline – another NYU grad turned CP-er), and saying goodbye to my most loved pavilion, I feel like I can say I witnessed the end of an era. And it was sad guys. The line for Maelstrom was never less than 60 minutes long (luckily I was able to fastpass it one of my two visits), and the Norwegian cast members were clearly upset.

 

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4. Aggressively Complete A Food & Wine Passport – The only other time I’ve ever completed one of these bad boys was when I was on my college program, and had plenty of time to pop over to EPCOT for just one or two countries. And while this time my girlfriend and I did split the passport (although I tasted something from ever country to be certain), it was fun to have a mission, while also getting to eat some amazing food.

What’s the last new thing you did at a Disney Park? Is there anything on your Disney Park Bucket List you plan to complete on your next visit?