50 Years of Memories

When Disney World announced that they would be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the opening of Magic Kingdom this October, I was excited that Cameron had picked the most magical place on earth for his fall break destination.  My family had visited Magic Kingdom the first year it opened and I thought it would be awesome for me to visit it with my family fifty years later.  To make it even more nostalgic I found a picture of me with Minnie Mouse on my first trip to Disney World right before we left.

Today was the day that we set aside to visit Magic Kingdom.  Once again we were up well before 7 a.m. to take advantage of the early morning magic hours and were happy to ride Peter Pan, Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear before the park officially opened.  While we were walking from ride to ride, we  enjoyed the golden 50th anniversary statues.  I also made sure to have Cameron take my picture in front of Cinderella's castle which was also decorated for the occasion.  

We chose a new restaurant for lunch, the Jungle Navigation Co., Ltd. Skipper Canteen.  Cal and Meg were extremely disappointed to hear that we bypassed Cosmic Rays this trip.  Doug was never a fan of the restaurant and Cameron and Brett were okay skipping it this year.  The cuisine at Skipper Canteen was definitely a lot better than chicken tenders and hamburgers.  Brett chose a curried stew, while Cameron tried their rib dinner and Doug and I split two appetizers.  The food was delicious and the atmosphere was perfect for lunch.  We were seated next to the "wall of China" and got to hear multiple "Skipper" jokes while we were eating which made up for missing Sonny Eclipse.  We also enjoyed looking at the memorabilia on the way in and out of the restaurant including a picture of "Albert Falls."  We were all pleased with our new lunch spot based on Doug's favorite ride.

After lunch we headed back to the hotel to take a break for the afternoon.  Brett and Cameron spent some time in Disney Springs and Doug and Cameron tried out the pool at Saratoga Springs when they got back.  The guys decided to go to EPCOT for dinner tonight where they sampled the Heinisch family's "greatest hits".  I wanted to join them, but was just too tired.  I decided to rest at the hotel and met them back at Magic Kingdom afterward for the extra evening magic hours.  The bonus for me was that I got to order a chili cheese dog from Casey's Corner for my late night meal.

The park was still crowded when we got there at 7:30, but by the time extra magic hours started at 9 the crowds had lessened quite a bit.  I was surprised by how many families tried to stay even thought they weren't in a deluxe resort.  One group in front of us became irate when they heard that they didn't qualify.  I was glad that we had upgraded as we finished all of the rides that we missed this morning including Little Mermaid, Winnie the Pooh, Small World, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Big Thunder Mountain.  We even got a second turn on two of our favorites, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion before we were ready to head back to our hotel.  Overall, it was a wonderful day celebrating 50 years of memories at Magic Kingdom.