After a busy first day at Epcot, Dan and I took the complimentary shuttle boat ride from Fort Wilderness to the Magic Kingdom for the evening.  Karen and Al, along with his cousin Bill, would be taking a later boat over and joining us for the parade and fireworks.  This would be our first visit to the Magic Kingdom.  And needless to say, we were immediately lost without our tour guides!

Upon arriving on the grounds, we had no idea what to see or do, and actually had to get a map!  We promptly texted our ‘tour guides’ to see when they would be arriving, and they were on the next boat over…whew!  Even though it was only 6:30, people were already lined up for the 8:00pm Main Street Electrical parade, making it difficult to wander through the crowds to see anything.

We quickly became overwhelmed as we had no idea what to see or do, so we found refuge in a gift store and waited for the rest of our party.  When you live in an RV, it’s easy to avoid buying souvenirs, as we have very limited space.  But it’s always fun to look, and Disney seems to excel in merchandising.  You will see I am wearing neon mouse ears in the photo below.  These were a gift from a former co-worker, Katie, from her honeymoon in Disney!  She was happy to know they made “the cut” when it came to deciding what to pack in the RV!  Thanks again Katie!

Karen, Al and Bill quickly found us in the gift shop, and then we headed out into the park and they gave us a quick explanation of the six different themed areas of the park.  Since we would be returning to the Magic Kingdom on Wednesday, this gave us a brief overview of the areas we needed to see during the day.

We wandered around the Main Street, USA area for a while, taking in all the sights and sounds before heading over for coffee and dole whips (a fresh pineapple dessert).  Then we headed to Adventureland to stake out our parade route.  There was nobody there before parade.  We thanked our excellent tour guides for again leading us in the right direction…away from the crowds.  No sense standing 10 deep in line at the Main Street area, when we can have our own personal space in another area.  Once it was close to the 8 pm start time, the area quickly filled up, but we had our front row spots.

The Main Street Electrical Parade is a 20 minute parade of floats and characters covered in LED lights, with music playing across the parks loudspeakers.   I love parades, and this was very enjoyable, and a must see item at the park.  Tinkerbell leads off the parade.

Alice in Wonderland…not sure why she is on a mushroom.  Someday I will see that movie!

 

Lot’s of Disney characters were in the parade, so it was fun for me to try to figure who they were.  Some were obvious.

I thought this was Puff, but Karen told me this is Pete the Dragon!

Behind Cinderella’s pumpkin coach, was a float with Prince Charming, hanging out with her step-sisters, who were having a lot of fun.

They were followed by his majesty’s court, and the clock turning midnight.

Snow White was roaming around the crowd.

Followed by the dwarfs.

The last float in the parade was a patriotic tribute to the United States, complete with bursting “fireworks” and a bald Eagle.

After the parade, we headed over to the main street area to watch the fireworks, formally known as Wishes nighttime spectacular.  I was expecting a basic fireworks show, but this was an excellent light show displayed on Cinderella’s Castle, with an appearance by a flying Tinkerbell followed by fireworks.  No matter how tired you may be after a day at Disney, this is well worth staying for.  The castle is constantly changing colors during the show. It’s hard to take photos of fireworks, so these are the best I could get from the show.

It was a great way to end a long, busy day seeing two of the four parks.  And it was just day one!!  Stay tuned for more of our busy Disney week.

Quote for the day:  “There is something you must always remember.  You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – Winnie the Pooh