We woke up early and hightailed it to the Magic Kingdom for the 40th anniversary! Unfortunately there was a bus accident at Saratoga Springs, so we took a cab to the Transportation & Ticket Center instead. We took the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom. It was a madhouse!! We were lucky enough to get a spot right at the turnstiles.
Then the opening show started! I had never actually seen it in person but of course I've watched it on YouTube a million times so I know the script. Needless to say, I cried nearly the entire time. It was just so magical! Here's a full video by UndercoverTourist!
After the show, the park was officially open and we were herded to Main Street. We picked up our special 40th Anniversary buttons and maps on the way!
We saw people jacking handfuls of maps and buttons but that was stopped quickly. I can't remember how many times I heard Castmembers say "One per person". As we walked up Main Street, I checked Ebay to see what the maps and buttons were going for. $35 for the set. Ridiculous!!
We walked up Main Street and grabbed popcorn and a coke for breakfast (only on vacation!!). We found a pretty good spot for the dedication ceremony at the Castle. I'm pretty short so I had to look through people's heads but my camera had a good view!
I can't begin to tell you how awesome it was to be at the Magic Kingdom in person on the 40th Anniversary. The Disney Geeks came out in droves and we met so many awesome people that day. While we waited for the ceremony, we talked to a lady wearing an AllEars.net hat. I saw people wearing shirts from other well known Disney sites but it was so crowded I couldn't talk to everybody!
Then the show started. I have to tell you, I cried nearly the entire time!! The Main Street Philhamonic and Dapper Dans were very moving. But, near the end, there was a crowd sing along to When You Wish Upon A Star. I still can't believe I was there! It was amazing. Here's a video of the entire show by InsideTheMagic! Enjoy :)
After the ceremony, we met up with Lou Mongello & his crew from
WDWRadio by the castle. He interviewed me about the carrot cake cookie vs butterfinger cupcake! I do love both but my heart lies with the carrot cake cookie. I just love the atmosphere of The Writers' Stop.
Lou and his crew were so sweet and they congratulated us on the wedding. We said goodbye to them but we planned to see them again at other meets later that day and over the weekend. We turned around and there were Jess and her Mom again!! It was too funny to see them unplanned like that. We had been tweeting that morning but I knew a ton of people who were there and I never saw them! It's pretty funny to bump into someone you know randomly in the parks and it happened twice to us on this trip!
The herd was heading toward Fantasyland and Tomorrowland so we went to Adventureland. We wanted to ride Pirates of the Caribbean but the line looked pretty long. We're so spoiled since we usually visit during off peak times, we never want to wait more than 15 minutes for a ride. Instead, we decided to eat at the new Tortuga Tavern. I'm trying to branch out from chicken strips and burgers so I got the nachos. Yum!! I would definitely eat there again.
Since the park was a madhouse, we decided to just take it easy and shop on Main Street. We stopped by Crystal Arts and I bought engraved mugs for us and our good friends who just got married this year. I had them engraved with our wedding dates :) Plus as an extra bonus, Crystal Arts will ship your order home for free! I was so happy and I will cherish those mugs forever. Not only are they from our wedding, but I bought them in the Magic Kingdom on the 40th Anniversary.
We loved watching them make the glass and crystal pieces! But don't stare into the fire too long, I was a bit blurry eyed afterwards!
We shopped a bit more on Main Street. I'm always looking for the special phone that you can pick up and hear a funny story and I can never find it! We stopped at a bunch of phones but never found it.
October 1st is also my Mom's birthday so I had to take a break at our favorite white and yellow tables on Main Street to call and wish her a Happy Birthday! As we were talking, the Celebrate a Dream Come True parade went by so she got an extra special birthday present!
After the parade, we made our way to Swan Boat Landing for the
WDWRadio 40th Anniversary Meet. I can't wait to move to Orlando so we can do this every month! We had so much fun talking to everyone I've met on forums, twitter, and the
WDWRadio chat.
I love meeting other Disney fans. I feel like my entire life people at home have thought I'm a bit weird because I have such a huge fixation on Disney and especially Walt Disney World. It really helps to know that I'm not alone!!
We also got to meet Amy Petermann from
TheRelocatedTourist.com. I found her blog over the summer by searching google for relocation information. Low and behold, I found a blog about a family who relocated to Orlando because of their love of Disney and it's chock full of great emotional and financial information!! Plus she's a
WDWRadio fan?? I HAD to meet her!
We met so many new friends at the meet and I cannot wait to see them again in the future. There were so many people there! I highly suggest these meets for any Disney fan.
After the excitement of the meet, we decided to start making our way back to the hotel for some naps. I wanted to see if they had any of the special 40th Anniversary cupcakes left at the Main Street Bakery but they were all gone. Jason got a turkey sandwich and I opted for a croissant...and an eclair! Hey, I was on vacation ;)
It was nice, we got to watch the Celebrate a Dream Come True parade while we sat and ate. After we were finished, we ran into Jess and her Mom again!!! Too bad we were getting ready to leave or we would have hung out with them a bit longer.
We were making our way out but I wanted to make one more stop at Casey's for some corn dog nuggets and cheese sauce. I hadn't had that in years and I was having a craving! Yum! I didn't get a picture because they were too delicious and I had cheese sauce all over my hands. It was a perfect moment, standing on Main Street eating corn dog nuggets and drinking an ice cold coke with my Husband on our Disneymoon on the 40th Anniversary. Finally it was time to go back to Saratoga Springs for naps.
After the excitement of the day, we ended up staying in that night. We had a LOT to pack, some boxes to ship home, organizing to do, etc. The next day we would be checking out early AM and our flight home wasn't until 8PM so we needed to be fully charged. We had one last dinner at The Artist's Palette and watched a bit of Hocus Pocus on the big screen by the pool. We were very excited for the next day because we had 3 more meets planned and one that I had planned myself!
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"Disneyland is a work of love. We didn't go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money."
