OUR 2023 DISNEY WISH AND DISNEY WORLD LAND AND SEA EXTRAVAGANZA: DAY 8! (MAGIC KINGDOM DAY!)

Well hey everyone!

Welcome to another post focusing on our August 2023 Land and Sea trip. Day 8, folks!

And as we all know, 8 is gr8!

And yeah, this day was pretty great. So I mean, I think we should just get to it.

Our 2023 Disney Land and Sea Extravaganza: Day 8

Day 8 once again had us waking up early so I could secure both our first LIghtning Lane of the day (everyone had purchased Genie+ for today) and the all-important Virtual Queue for one of Walt Disney World’s newest attractions.

I’m sure at the mention of words like “Lightning Lane” and “Virtual Queue,” all you non-Disney folks be like…

And yeah, I realized after I posted my last post I didn’t really go into details on what all those weird Disneyfied terms I’ve used actually mean. I know I have explained them before but it might make sense to run through a quick debrief.

• Genie+ – is a paid service Disney offers where once you have purchased it for a day, you can access it via the MyDisneyExperience app to book what are called Lightning Lanes for select attractions in the park(s) you are visiting that day. A Lightning Lane gets you a return time for an attraction which allows you to skip the standby line and decrease your wait. You can only book one Lightning Lane at a time. And you can book another when either (a) you use the Lightning Lane you’ve booked, (b) two hours have passed since you booked your last Lightning Lane, or ( c) you cancel the Lightning Lane you’ve booked.
• Virtual Queues – are a free service Disney offers for their most popular attractions. They open up virtual queues usually at two times a day – once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Once these open up, you have to jump right on them because they fill up fast. And if you are able to, you’re given a boarding group for your attraction. This is a first-come, first-serve sort of situation so the time you secure your boarding group dictates how far into the day you can use it. Once your group is called, the app alerts you and you have an hour to experience the attraction.

Everybody got that?

Today was our Magic Kingdom day so my first priority was securing a Virtual Queue for the new Tron attraction. On account of how popular Tron is with the kids these days. It’s like I can’t open a Teen Beat or turn on an episode of You Can’t do that on Television without just constantly hearing Tron this and Tron that.

Tron is relevant. Is what I am saying to you now.

So starting at 6:59AM, I went to the Virtual Queue page on the app and continually refreshed until 7AM hit and it showed I could book a Virtual Queue. I took a quick look to make sure everyone in our party was selected and grabbed it.

Yeah, it was stressful, you guys. But as I’ve said before – I am a true hero.

Plus, I mean. It didn’t help that it was a pretty beautiful day out on the balcony.

In terms of the Lightning Lane, there wasn’t much I needed to do right now other than make sure I was connected to everyone. Which, like, I was obviously. On account of I am very easy to connect with. People dig my vibe.

But yeah, we had breakfast plans before heading to the park today. So my job regarding the Lightning Lane was just to sort of monitor times until we saw something a little later in the morning.

For breakfast today, it was us (me, Nickie, Owen, Myles, and Hannah), the Pittmans (Steph, Mikey, Sophia, and Scarlett), and the Falzones (Tony, Larissa, and Mia). The Marquados were meeting us at the park. As were some other special guests I am keeping a secret for now.

And breakfast was right in our lobby at Disney’s Grand Floridian, which was a good thing. Since if there is one thing I hate about breakfast, it’s the time it takes to get there.

Also this worked out since it gave me some time to pop over to the check-in desk to check on Nickie’s missing luggage. For those that read my Day 7 post, you might remember we left one of Nickie’s bags at the cruise terminal. I talked to a member of the hotel staff the night before who was insanely helpful and accommodating and she told me to check in today to see if they reached the terminal.

And guess what you guys. They had already talked to the terminal and her bags were expected back this afternoon. Huzzah!

Let’s go have breakfast, you guys. At the Grand Floridian Cafe.

We were seated at a little before 8AM. Here is a look at the Grand Floridian Cafe breakfast menu.

And here is a look at Scarlett, coloring her menu.

To start, I ordered a Chipotle Bloody Mary (made with House-made Chipotle-infused Vodka garnished with Jumbo Shrimp, Chorizo, and a Lime-Salted Rim).

I mean, if you’re gonna put shrimp AND some sort of meat product in a drink, just know I am going to order it.

There were also some Grand Mimosas (Domaine Ste. Michelle Sparkling Wine, Orange Juice, and a Splash of Grand Marnier Liqueur) flying around as well. But those looked far too healthy.

They also start you off with some Biscuits and Orange Butter.

Like, you don’t even have to order these things. Which is nice. Because it eliminates any chance of shame. In fact, it would be rude to not eat all those biscuits.

I, and a number of others, ordered the Buttermilk-fried Chicken and Waffle. The Disney World website describes this dish as “Hand-breaded Chicken Breast and Malted Waffle with Sriracha-Honey Drizzle.” I point this out because Disney is really leaving a lot on the table here not pointing out this waffle is, in fact, Mickey-shaped.

And this dish is just insanely good. I’ve mentioned this one before but this may be the best chicken and waffles I have ever had. The waffle is solid and that sriracha-honey drizzle is just all kinds of bomb. Plus, the chicken is boneless. I don’t understand bone-in chicken when it comes to chicken and waffles. Like, I want a bite featuring waffle, chicken, and syrup all in one. And since it’s early, I don’t wanna work that hard for it.

So yeah – this dish slaps.

I also tried a bite of Nickie’s Brioche French Toast (Madagascar Vanilla Bean-scented Brioche French Toast served with Bacon or Sausage.)

Which was really nice. But I just noticed it said this was Madagascar Vanilla Bean-scented?

Scented?

Disney be playing some mind tricks.

I also snagged a picture of Larissa’s Smoked Salmon Florentine Benedict (with Spinach Florentine, Roasted Tomato, and Hollandaise on a Toasted English Muffin served with Marinated Tomato Salad.)

Which, right? Beautiful stuff.

I also snagged a picture of Hannah and Sophia. Sophia obvs squad agreed on the quality of this here waffle.

Breakfast at Grand Floridian Cafe legit never disappoints. Love that place. Totez hidden gem.

We finished breakfast up around 9AM and headed up to the monorail to get us over to the Magic Kingdom. Look at these folks. Just waiting for the monorail. Looking all adorbz and what not.

And soon enough…

On our way over, I tried once more to get a picture of Hannah and Sophia.

And once again, Hannah complied.

Soph? Not so much.

We made it to the Magic Kingdom at around quarter past nine.

And being that it was already August, Halloween was already in full swing.

Obviously.

Yeah, Disney time works differently. And I’m completely here for it.

We got our first view of Cinderella Castle before 9:30AM.

Obligatory Main Street picture time.

I did end up getting a Lightning Lane for Space Mountain for our entire party but that wasn’t going to hit until closer to 11:00ish so we had some time to hit a couple attractions before that whole situation.

Off to Tomorrowland!

First stop – the ride-that-doubles-as-an-advertisement-for-other-rides, the Peoplemover!

Let’s move, people.

Sorry. I meant – let’s move people.

I do love me some PeopleMover, you guys. I don’t fully know why, but I do. I mean, it’s a pretty simple situation and, like I said, it’s main purpose is to basically show you other rides you could be on right now. Maybe it’s the views.

Or maybe it’s because it doesn’t oversell itself. It knows exactly what it is. It does exactly what it says its gonna do. It moves you. Not in any sort of fast or unique way. But it does. It definitely moves people. It’s an honest ride. And I respect that.

After we hopped off the PeopleMover, we met up with the Marquados (Steve, Liz, Jack, and Lucy) and continued our “simple pleasures of Tomorrowland” theme by walking over to Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress.

For those that don’t know, Carousel of Progress is a revolving theater attraction that follows an American family through four generations of innovation, and four holidays.

From Valentine’s Day at the turn of the century, with its stereoscopes, phonographs, and um sarsaparilla…

…to a 1920’s July 4th, focusing on radios and Al Jolson…

…through Halloween in the 1940s, with television and rumpus rooms?

..and finally making a HUGE jump into the 21st century. Where ovens overcook turkeys and grandmas can fly spaceships or something.

Carousel of Progress is bananas. Is what I am saying to you now.

After exiting Carousel of Progress, two super awesome things happened. For one, it was time for our Lightning Lane for Space Mountain. And for two, we met up with some Florida Goodreaus – my brother Jeff and my niece Shannon.

All of this is made evident in this contraband photo of Jeff, Shannon, and Steph soaring through space.

Not 100% on their on-ride photo theme there.

Chaos, maybe?

Mikey, Owen, and I were much more organized with our on-ride photoskills. Thumbs in the up position.

Hannah and Myles apparently got the “pretend to be asleep” memo but Tony must have been asleep when it came through.

At around 11AM, we all made our way over to Fantasyland. And I took this picture on the way.

Which I only bring up because Google, quite insanely, knows that gentleman in the hat there facing away from the camera is Mikey.

Which is both cool and terrifying.

You know. Like all technology.

First stop was Sir Mickey’s for some pixie dusting. A rare free experience in Walt Disney World.

First up was Mia.

Then it was Lucy’s turn.

And last, but not least – Hannah.

But I dunno. I mean, I think that pixie dust situation is a bunch of bull. I don’t think any of them got any sort of magical powers.

Pfft. Whatever Disney.

Once the quote/unquote pixie dusting was complete, we headed back out into Fantasyland.

And over to It’s a Small World. On account of we didn’t have any songs stuck in our heads yet. It was just far too peaceful and contemplative up there.

Since we were rolling deep – 18 people in total – we got our own boat you guys. Living large on the happiest cruise that ever sailed.

There is something about taking pictures on It’s a Small World. In that I can’t stop doing it.

Nickie and Shannon also took this opportunity – as one often does on Small World – to have a deep, emotional conversation. Which I exploited for the purposes of this blog.

At the end of Small World, the ride randomly chooses who the most special people are by displaying their names during the “goodbye” scene. This really helps to make people feel good about themselves.

Well unless your name isn’t chosen.

Which was me.

I guess I’m just not that special. Despite my mom insisting the contrary for years.

Myles, meanwhile? Doubly special.

Whatever, Disney.

After our happy little cruise there, we stopped off at the bathroom. Which, like, I normally would not really note but this bathroom is the most magical of all the bathrooms.

Yeah man. The Tangled bathrooms. It’s legit difficult to not pee and both sing about peeing at the same time here.

Remember when Disney was putting this much thought into bathrooms? 2013 was an intensely special time.

Next up – Haunted Mansion time folks.

And I got to ride it with the prettiest girl in the park.

I know. She’s boooo-tiful.

I of course snapped far too many pictures on Haunted Mansion but given the constant movement of the Doom Buggy and inability to use flash photography due to the spirits’ frightful sensitivity to bright lights, getting a good picture is a difficult endeavor. Here are the best of the bunch:

After exiting the Mansion, we came to a crossroads. Our Tron Virtual Queue wasn’t going to be hitting for a little bit but guys. IT. WAS. HOT. Sooooo…some of us (Nickie, Larissa, and the Pittmans) decided to head back to the hotel for some lunch and pool/nap time while the rest of us made the call to stick it out in the park.

Which left us with a decision – where to get lunch.

We ended up at a classic Disney spot I, weirdly, have never been to before – Casey’s Corner.

Yeah, never been. Crazy right?

Exciting stuff. Let’s check it out.

It was busy in there, but the line moved rather quickly.

Also that dude up there – Jean – ended up being the dude that served us. And this guy? Awesome stuff. He took our orders, sure, and did great at that. But literally, he made every customer he came across feel like he was truly excited to see them. I don’t know. Guy had a vibe.

For lunch, I (and a few others honestly) ordered the Chipotle Barbecue All-Beef Hot Dog (topped with Pulled Pork, Slaw, and Chipotle Sauce) with a Coke and a side of fries. I went foot long. Obvs squad.

We grabbed a few tables outside and yeah, this thing was a messy situation but a really REALLY tasty hot dog. I been sleeping on Casey’s man. Which is weird. On account of how much I like hot dogs and what not.

I had secured a post-lunch Lightning Lane for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad so after lunch, we all made the walk over to Frontierland. Along the way, we passed what is soon-to-become Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

Almost there.

Get it?

Because of the movie.

Big Thunder time!

We boarded our “wildest ride in the wilderness” at around 1:50PM.

And I mean, of course it was fun. It’s Big Thunder you guys.

Our Tron Virtual Queue had still not hit so we headed over into Adventureland.

As I have said before and MANY MANY TIMES on this trip, shizz was hot AF. So the plan for the moment

was to take advantage of some air conditioning and catch what I think always wins in the “Country Bears vs. Enchanted Tiki Room” discussion no one else has but me.

Yeah, it’s the Enchanted Tiki Room obviously.

While we were waiting outside for the show to begin, both Shannon and Myles fought over who got to stand next to Jeff.

Thankfully, Jeff has two different sides for one to stand on.

Olé! Olé! It’s showtime!

Right though? The Tiki Room? It’s all kinds of magical.

Once the show ended, the crowd shuffled next door to Aloha Isle for some much-needed Dole Whips and Dole Whip-adjacent situations, like the Tropical Serenade float (Pineapple-Orange-Guava Juice, Coconut Soft-serve, and an Upside-down Pineapple Cake Pop).

Of which I got zero pictures.

I did, however and for some reason, take a picture of this dude on the roof.

Yeah. You’re welcome.

And hey – guess what?

It was finally time for Tron!! Let’s go to Tomorrowland!

Look guys. It’s Tron.

Well fine. So technically it’s called Tron Lightcycle / Run. But that slash really grinds my gears. So I am just gonna go ahead and call it Tron.

So right. At this point, Tron was the newest attraction in all of Walt Disney World. So even though we had a Virtual Queue, that didn’t mean we had NO wait whatsoever. We all got in line for Tron at around 3PM but we didn’t make it inside the attraction until around 3:30.

And we didn’t make it on our lightcycles for another 10 minutes or so.

So was it worth the wait?

Honestly?

Yeah, it was pretty great.

I mean, the rumors are true. The queue leaves a little to be desired and the ride itself is a tad on the short side. But oof. That launch. Tons of fun. Plus, Owen and I sat in the front row. Which, like…if you can swing it, I highly recommend.

I really liked it a lot. Is what I am saying to you now.

And with Tron now behind us, those of us that remained in the park were now ready to head back to the hotel for a little chill time before coming back to Magic Kingdom for dinner and the rest of the night.

The Marquados were lucky enough to have just a short little walk back to the Contemporary. But the rest of us were tasked with finding a way back to the Grand Floridian.

And being that we have never actually taken it before, we decided to make use of the kind-of-new-but-completely-new-to-us walkway between the park and the resort.

Yeah, it was hot and what not. But this was such a pretty walk back.

The walk itself also took only like 10 minutes. What an awesome addition this walkway is. Crazy it took THIS long to put one in.

By the time we got back the Grand Floridian, it was around 4:30 and we had dinner reservations back at the park at 6:00 so we didn’t have MUCH time but we quickly threw on our bathing suits and met Nickie down at the pool.

It was a very VERY quick dip though. Which was fine anyway since I don’t know if I would call that water

“refreshing.” I mean it was wet. But that was about as far as it went. Thing was like bathwater.

After the quick dip, I also ran into the lobby to check on Nickie’s missing bag situation. And awesomely, they had her bags!

Disney you guys. They’re an impressive bunch.

So I brought her bag back to the room with me and we all got ready for dinner.

We met back up with everyone else and a quick monorail ride had us back at the Magic Kingdom. Dinner tonight in Liberty Square at Liberty Tree Tavern, which was all kinds of exciting.

Because of the size of our total party, we were split into three different tables. The Marquados were at one, Jeff, Shannon, and the Pittmans at another. And us (me, Nickie, Myles, Owen, and Hannah) were seated with the Falzones (Larissa, Tony, and Mia).

For those that have not had the pleasure of dining at Liberty Tree Tavern before, the way dinner works here is it an all-you-care-to-enjoy family style situation. So they bring the plates out to your table but you can ask for as much of anything that you want.

It’s paradise. Is what I am saying to you now.

The meal starts with these delicious Sally Lunn rolls.

And a Declaration Salad (Mixed Greens, Apples, Cranberries, and Cheese tossed with our House-made Dressing).

Which like, I know…

But this is a pretty damn good salad.

I also started my meal with a Bud Light, which still feels weird to enjoy in the Magic Kingdom.

Well, I mean, not weird to enjoy completely. But weird to enjoy without having to sneak it in.

The main event though.

Look.

At.

This.

Up there, we have A LOT happening. Roasted Turkey. Pot Roast. Oven-roasted Pork. Mashed Potatoes, String Beans. Herbed Stuffing. Cranberry Sauce. House-made Macaroni & Cheese. And House-Made Gravy.

I can’t. With how awesome Liberty Tree Tavern is.

And everything was delicious. I remember really liking the stuffing. And the pot roast. Also, the pork. Oh, and the mashed potatoes. Those string beans too. Ha, also the turkey. And I mean of course the mac and cheese.

Yeah it was all good.

And it didn’t end there. We also got dessert. Behold – the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake (Vanilla Toffee Cake, Chocolate Sauce, and Vanilla Ice Cream).

Which is a legend around these parts.

Dinner? It was a success.

And after dinner? I had another Lightning Lane booked. This time for the Jungle Cruise.

Scarlett was excited.

Let’s go cruise. In the jungle.

Whoa with that picture. Why’d I even bother wearing a shirt? Apologies, other park-goers.

It’s not sexy. It’s animal.

Ahem. Backside of water, mofos.

I obviously had a thing for the elephants that day because that’s like the only animal-tronic picture I took.

After the Jungle Cruise, our next attraction was all the way over in Fantasyland. Which was a walk, but I busied myself with photo-chronicling the journey. On account of I am a skilled blogger.

It was kind of cool though because night was falling as we were making our way across.

Our last attraction had us cruising on the water, but our next one? This one had us going under the sea.

It was Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid you guys.

Come on. Keep up.

The ride stopped for a little bit during the “Under the Sea” scene, which worked out for all of you because I got to get some pretty high-quality pics of the whole situation.

Uh yeah. You’re welcome.

I mean, for what it’s worth – this entire attraction is pretty conducive to good photo-taking.

Good stuff that Little Mermaid situation. And a great last attraction for the day.

But even though we hit our last attraction? That didn’t mean our day o’ fun was over. Not even close,

bud.

We had to find a spot to catch “Happily Ever After”!

Most of us did at least. The Marquados decided to head back to the Contemporary before the show to get some rest for another jam-packed day tomorrow.

But the rest of us.

We first checked out the hub but being the fireworks were going to be starting in like 15 minutes, the crowds were kind of insanity and what not. But I was able to snap a pic of Halloween in August. Look guys. Halloween in August.

We decided on watching the show from the end of Main Street near the Confectionary. The crowds were smaller down there and it put us closer to the exit, which is always a good thing once those throngs of people start leaving post-fireworks.

Plus, while this used to be a subpar spot since you would miss the projections on the castle, But recently, Disney added projections on the buildings down Main Street, which we were excited to see.

I mean, this was a pretty good view.

And look at these two.

I love these nieces to pieces.

As I alluded to before, our spot was right outside the Confectionary. So, like, that was an added bonus.

Sophia agreed.

Scarlett was more interested in the lollipops, obvs squad.

Oh wait. Sophia ALSO was into the lollipops.

The show started at around 9PM. And yup. Settle in. Because it’s time for a fireworks-a-pa-looza of pictures.

Man do I love Happily Ever After. And man, do I love seeing Happily Ever After with my beautiful bride. .

And that was our amazing day at the Magic Kingdom. We were on our way out of the park before 9:30.

And since a few of us hadn’t taken the walk yet, we took the walkway again. Well, some of us did.

Jeff and Shannon were heading back to their All-Star resort (Movies, I think?) for the night. But don’t worry you guys. There’s more Jeff and Shannon tomorrow.

So stop. With the worrying.

And the Pittmans, given they had the girls, opted for the monorail back.

Which. OK. You can start worrying now. Because the Pittmans were heading back early tomorrow morning. Which meant we had to say our goodbyes now. Blergh. It was so great having this time and making these memories with Steph, Mikey, and the girls. We are legit too lucky to have these guys as both our family and our friends. Legit.

Love those guys.

So yeah, back to the walkway.

Disney walks just hit different at night.

And yeah, we of course stopped off for a nightcap with the Falzones at The Enchanted Rose before going up to our room.

And yeah, of course I got a Lagavulin.

And yeah, of course it was delicious.

Tony opted for something I cannot remember what it was but I do remember it was like $65.

The girls, meanwhile, bought a bottle of Veuve Clicquot.

Yeah, we were going all out. But can you blame us?

It WAS the Falzones’ last night. Yeah, we were also saying goodbye to these guys too. We spent our time at the bar talking about the trip – the highs, the lows, the heat, the chafing.

Even the boys joined us.

At the bar.

Parents of the year.

But like all good things, it had to come to an end. And we once again found ourselves saying goodbyes tonight.

Man, Day 8 was sad. The Falzones are just all kinds of awesome to vacation with you guys. Which I mean, those of you that have been reading the blog for a while, this is obvious since they’re part of so many of our trips.

So saying goodbye was a bummer.

But eh, we obviously have many many vacations with the Falzones to look forward to in the future.

Obviously.

After saying our goodbyes, we headed back to the room.

But our night wasn’t quite over. On account of the boys wanted to watch a movie in the room. We settled on The Muppets. On account of. Well. It’s the muppets.

How is Fozzie so much the best?

OK so yeah. That was Day 8 folks. LOTS going on huh? Such a great day.

And stay tuned for Day 9. It’s another great one. And I am really going to try and get it out before 2024.

See ya then!

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