The Waterstraut Waterspout: Disney Quest: 100% Complete

If you follow my blog at all, or follow me on Facebook, you know Asa and I have been on a quest to do everything at all four Disney parks on these annual passes (which ran October 6, 2018- October 6, 2019) That's all the entertainment, attractions, characters and rides listed on both the Disney website and the app. It can be hard to nail it down because things are always coming and going without very much warning. But we added things (like characters and new lands- here's looking at you Galaxy's Edge!) and took things out along the way (sorry O! Canada, you closed early for your refurbishment and we couldn't get to you in time!)

But, we had gotten nearly EVERYTHING done. We were less than a dozen items away from completing the 251 items on our list. One of those items remaining, however, was 'Let the Magic Begin', otherwise known as the rope drop celebration. Meaning, it only happened at one time of day, and that time would be EARLY. 7:50 to be exact. And the Magic Kingdom takes a minute to get to. Asa and I mulled over the best time to do this. It was probably one of the times we were staying at Disney over the last year. But, we never got around to it. Finally we decided we would just get up early, bite the bullet, and be at the Magic Kingdom by 7:50. I mean, if we had a bunch of stuff still to go on our list, we probably would have said 'well, we gave it our best effort' and given up on our quest. But we were SO CLOSE. Since we're blacked out of the Magic Kingdom on Saturday's, Sunday was pretty much our only option. So a couple of Sunday's ago we woke up at 5 am and headed to Disney before the sun even came up.

Fun fact: there's not like anyone there that early! We parked in the very first row of the parking lot, and got on the monorail with no waiting. We practically had the whole car to ourselves.

There were a few other things left on our list that were morning only things as well. One of them we had sort of done before. We checked the 'Main Street Vehicles' off our list when one was sitting out the afternoon we did the Flag retreat. But in the morning, apparently you can ride in them down Main Street!

So we hopped on and took a ride right down Main Street to the castle!

This is super fun, and it seemed like almost nobody wanted to ride these down. There wasn't a big line, or any line at all, in fact. They'll even roundtrip you down to the castle and back if you want.

But we needed to be at the castle for 'Let the Magic Begin' anyway. They used to do this show at the very front of the park, right after the turnstiles but I guess that got too crowded. Also, Mickey and Minnie used to come in on the train, and the train hasn't been running for almost a year because of the construction on the Tron coaster. Fun fact, though, there's also like nobody up at the castle that early which makes for a lovely picture.

Then, one of the Royal Majesty Makers comes out to announce Mickey and Minnie! It was the same Royal Majesty Maker who called Asa up to take out the Sword in the Stone. Apparently though, they're cutting that 'entertainment' as well, so that's sad.

Mickey and Minnie are joined by a bunch of their friends to help open the park.

And the Fairy Godmother makes a little magic happen. It's a cute show, even if it's just a couple minutes and you have to get up super early to be there. But we did it, and we checked it off the list.

#59 Let the Magic Begin

We had a few minutes before anything else on our list took place, so we swung by and got a Cheshire Cat Tail for breakfast over the by tea cups. And, um, we saw something rather interesting there.

As entertaining as it was to see a dog ride the tea cups, we were there to see

#60 Meet Alice in Wonderland at the Mad Tea Party.

She was concerned my ears might help me disappear like the Cheshire Cat.

We were headed back to the front of the park for our next thing when we had a little time to kill so we stopped by to get our Sorcerer's cards for the day. We've discovered this along the way, and Asa loves it. You're allowed to get one pack of cards per day, so since we've found out about it, we've gotten a pack of cards every time we've been at the Magic Kingdom.

We were there to wait for the Main Street Trolley. It is very exclusive. I mean, anyone can ride it. But, it only goes down Main Street like three times a day, and it's only a one-way ride.

The trolley doesn't load up right outside the barn though, instead you'll find a little sign in the town square. Although, when the trolley got to us at the sign the conductor just yelled 'all aboard' and people walking by just dashed on. Luckily, we were also there, so we checked another one off our list.

#61 Horses on Main Street

Plus, I got to ride a horse drawn trolley down Main Street. It's one of my favorite things we've done on these passes! Zilly was our horse (and apparently sometimes he's also the headless horseman horse during the Not So Scary Halloween Party!)

The trolley takes you down past the castle and then drops you off in the hub.

You can't ride it back, because of

#62 The Main Street Trolley Show

This is just a little singing and a little dancing, that maybe goes on a little too long- but will get stuck in your head for sure.

Then we were off for our next character Meet and Greet.

We visited

#63 Stitch at the Alien Encounter Character Greeting

He enjoyed our colors, and believed we picked our outfits to coordinate with him!

Being there so early in the morning we did have to wait around for some of the characters to begin appearing, so we killed some time going on Space Ranger Spin (where I finally beat Asa! Though he claims he had a bad gun) and napping on the people mover.

True story: you get an awesome view of the new Tron Coaster construction from the people mover!

We were following my index card o fun, and it was about time to

#64 Meet an Out of this World Friend in Tomorrowland

We were the very first people in line to Meet Buzz Light year!

And then we headed over to

#65 Meet Aladdin in Adventureland

As a bonus we also got Jasmine.

I am CONVINCED this is the same Aladdin we met in Epcot when he was in his prince outfit.

After we had met with Aladdin and Jasmine, we were ready for some lunch, but it wasn't quite lunch time. So the best option for that is some waffle sandwiches from Sleepy Hallow!

The seating to Sleepy Hallow is back open too, because they're finally done with the walkway construction (they widened the walkway around the castle). That also means all the water is back in the moat around the castle!

In our quest we have met A LOT of characters. There are plenty still to meet, available only at the parties, or just sometimes showing up- but with no real times. Some come and go from the app, but one that's usually there was our very last (sort of) character meet and greet

#66 Meet Cinderella's Stepsisters Drizella and Anastasia

These two appeared on the app for the first time for me days before we were headed to the Magic Kingdom, but I think that's only because they are only morning meet and greets, and they only appear on the map when they're actually there. I know this isn't a new meet and greet, because I've heard about them before.

Lets just say, we totally saved the best face character for last. These girls sell it. And they are HILARIOUS! They spent a good five minutes with us and we laughed and joked the whole time. (None of us are super big fans of Cinderella, and we noted the only other person who has a statue of themselves in Fantasyland is Gaston, so like, what does that tell you?

Seriously, if you only ever want to do one character meet and greet, these are the girls to go see. I love getting a Chewie hug, or a Pluto hug. But the sarcasm and quick wit of the stepsisters really is unmatched. So fun. They're probably the only 'face' character I would want to meet again.

So, I say they were our last characters, but sometimes

#67 Captain Jack Sparrow

is listed. He wasn't on the day we were there, though. But, he was there that Friday when we went to the Halloween Party. Peyton wanted a picture with him, so I'm adding him to the list. I will get to that blog in a bit.

But for now, back to Sunday. By now it was 11, and so

#68 Tom Sawyers Island

was finally opened. We used to do this one ALL. THE. TIME. when the boys were little. We loved it. We would take our packed sandwiches from our backpacks over to the island, put our feet up and sip our juice boxes. Then we'd go play hide n go seek in the fort so they could run off their energy in an enclosed area and not bump into a million people. It was the BEST. But, those days have long since passed, and it's probably been a couple years since we got on the rafts and headed over to Tom Sawyers Island. It also probably doesn't help that it's only open like 11-4.

The rafts are the same old same old. You hop on, they take you across the river.

And Tom Sawyer's Island is exactly as it was years ago. It's almost like a time capsule. So many things at Disney come and go, or change- but not this place. It's the same as it ever was. We made our way around the bridges (and the barrel bridge too!)

We stopped by the fort.

And we took the paths through the caves.

After making our way around Tom Sawyer's Island and riding the raft back to the mainland, we hopped on

#69 Liberty Square Riverboat

Honestly, I think the last time I was on this one, I was with my dad, and he's been gone almost 10 years. So, it certainly has been awhile. It's a nice little break from the busy park. You just follow along the river and circle back to where you started.

Besides the little staged scenes, you also get a fun perspective of some Disney rides.

And so now it was time for our very last thing in all of Disney World

#70 A Pirate's Adventure- Treasure's of the Seven Seas

This is an interactive game, similar to the Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom. You go to this little hut and they give you a map and send you on your treasure hunt.

Along the way you tap your magic band in all these little secret places and cannons shoot out, or clocks spin- you know, something cool happens. There's five adventures and when you finish them you get a special prize. We didn't do all five, and it's certainly not a difficult treasure hunt. But I'm sure little kids would enjoy it. Truth be told I want to do all five eventually to get my prize.

And that my friends, is that.

40 items complete at Hollywood Studios

69 items complete at Epcot

72 items complete at Animal Kingdom

and now,

70 items complete at the Magic Kingdom

251 in all.

In our quest we've learned some things:

The Carousel of Progress and the Tiki Room still suck. The princess meet and greets are boring. Splash Mountain is just weird. Like, what is even happening there? Disney Junior Dance Party is basically a rave for toddlers. Beauty and the Beast hasn't changed an ounce in 15 years. Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy could be so much cooler, but Disney phoned it in. Dance parties are fine if you're just walking by, but nothing to go out of your way for.

Going to a festival? Pick the Flower and Garden one. It runs the longest and is more affordable than Food and Wine. Plus things are fruit and veggie based and much lighter which means you can eat more! Plus, who doesn't like fruity wine? The Festival of the Holidays and Festival of the Arts are more just filler festivals.

Then there's the things that aren't what you think they might be, so try them. The Frozen Sing-a-long is so much fun! Don't believe the warnings that you'll get drenched on Kali River rapids. Tower of Terror isn't terrifying at all. In fact, it's more like a grown up frog hopper. Find those little out of the way attractions and give them a go-Colortopia was my favorite off the beaten path attractions and you guys, I got to ride a horse drawn trolley down Main Street! All the museums in Epcot are tiny enough not to take up your time, but interesting enough to check out while you get out of the heat. Those special events in the American Pavillion? Some of them are awesome. See: Guardians of the Galaxy Awesome Mix Tape Live.

Then there's the rides that do in fact still make me motion sick. I won't be going on Expedition Everest, Rock N Roller Coaster, or Dinosaur again. The tea cups are only allowed if we try and keep the tea cups from spinning. I have to keep my eyes closed for like half of Smuggler's Run. And Mission Space is not for you if you get the slightest bit claustrophobic.

Some shows are awesome and worth your time! Lion King is still amazing. Nemo is entertaining, but be prepared to sit in the most uncomfortable seats of your life for 40 minutes. Skip the Up bird show, and go to Winged Encounters instead. Then make your way to Pandora to see the utility suit. If you're lucky enough to catch the Rose N Crown Pub Musician, grab a drink and listen, she's super fun (like the Yeehaw Bob of the UK).

Then there's the stuff you should totally do even if you don't have little kids anymore. Jedi Training Academy is cute to watch even if you don't have kids participating. Turtle talk with Crush is still funny and entertaining if you can get past a handful of screaming kids in the audience (that Crush will likely make jokes about anyway). Tom Sawyer's Island is still a reprieve from the crowds even with out tiny hands holding peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Be a Wilderness Explorer and earn those badges! All of the interactive games are fun, but Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom is the best. You'll find plenty of adults grabbing their free daily pack of cards without a kid in sight.

And for the love of all that is Disney, still stop by to see those characters. The Ugly Stepsisters are hilarious. They win best "face" character, though Mary Poppins is charming and chatty. Ask Aladdin about Abu, he has funny stories. You can't beat a hug from Chewbacca, but Pluto and Goofy will do in a pinch. Daisy is always on point- in every park, dressed in all her various costumes.

Along the way, we found some gems. I adore the Pixar Film Fest. Country Bear Jamboree is Asa's new favorite! The Animation Station is worth the trek. The Voices of Liberty are great if you want to duck out of the heat for a few minutes. The Shootin Arcade is on free play, so stop by! The Dapper Dans will remind you of the Cuphead days.

I also know now, I will never beat Asa on Toy Story Mania or Space Ranger Spin (unless of course he gets a broken gun). Kilimanjaro Safaris, not so great mid-day. But hit the evening ride or one of the first in the morning and you'll see tons of animals. If acrobats are your thing the best ones are the Harambe Village Acrobats. Best drummers go to the JAMmitors for sure. Best band is the British Revolution, but Viva Mexico Live Entertainment gets honorable mention.

Find Cinderella's horse on Prince Charming's Carousel (hint: it's the one with the bow on his tail). If you only have time to take one of the trails at the Animal Kingdom: The Gorilla Falls Trail has better animals, the Maharajah Jungle Trek has better ambiance - but they both have bird houses.

Also pro tip from someone who has done ALL of Disney: Keep refreshing those fastpasses! You just might get a Flight of Passage or Slinky Dog Dash two minutes out. We did, more than once!

If you want to see something, do it now- because it could be gone without any warning. We never made it to the O! Canada show, and Primeval Whirl went down months ago with no warning and never came back up. March of the First Order stopped abruptly. The Via Gia Street Band is out, which wasn't that great to begin with. But, they're taking away the Muppets present Great Moments in American History and that is just heartbreaking. And the Royal Majesty Makers are about to hang up their pantaloons.

Don't listen to everyone who says the night time shows are the end all be all. Fantasmic is showing it's age. Illuminations has never been that great (although, last night was it's last show- so I'm excited to check out what comes next) Happily Ever After is no Wishes. River's of Light is cool for the first five minutes and then gets old. Our favorite night time show was the Star Wars: a Galactic Spectacular and the Tree of Life Awakenings which seemed like an afterthought to Disney, but we still enjoyed them.

Oh, and if you're going to do all 251 things at Disney, reward yourself with a Pineapple Upside Down Cake topped with a Dole Whip (or you know, some Cheeseburger Spring Rolls if that's more your thing).

So with that, we're all done with our quest. Now, we'll just go to Disney to do Disney, and that'll be weird. We're actually working on a 'Disney Bucket List' for this next set of passes. We've got some new things that'll be opening this year on them, some food we want to get, and we've added things like 'Visit all Four Parks in One Day'!