Nighttime Entertainment

One of the most unique parts of the Disney World experience is the variety of entertainment offered after the sun goes down. After a long day in the sun, feet sore, there's nothing more relaxing than taking a seat for a fantastic show.

My favorite, hands down, is the Magic Kingdom! A fireworks show is one thing, but add in some Disney music and a light show on the castle and you have something really spectacular! We love to watch the show from the hub, where you can see the firewoks as they were meant...framing the castle, and if you're not there, you can't really see the castle projections properly. But, we also LOVE if we can get on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad just as the fireworks start. So cool...they are practically right over your head as you ride! And then when you exit, you get a really nice view standing in the viewing spot for BTMRR.

Magic Kingdom has the best nighttime parades too!! The first time I saw Spectromagic was in 2005 and I was in awe. The music is what did it for me. As soon as it starts, I get teary....every single time. Love love love it!! We like a front row seat and make sure we get one early. The parade has a different feel when everything is right in front of you...larger than life!! The hub seems to be our favorite spot to watch...we get a nice curb spot! But for almost a year now, they have been showing the Main Street Electrical Parade. It was brought back for a limited engagement and was supposed to end at the end of summer last year along with the other special things they did just for summer. (Bummed I never got to see the special effects in Tower of Terror!) So I was kinda of excited they still had it for our trip in December 2010. It was a neat parade, but it didn't wow me as much as Spectromagic. The Main Street Electrical Parade is still running, with no rumors for when it will end. I am hoping it ends before our next trip. It will be my dad's first, and possibly only trip, and I'd really much prefer that he saw Spectromagic. But actually, the older characters presented in the Main Street Electrical Parade might appeal to his youth more.

I finally saw Illuminations in Epcot's World Showcase Lagoon during our trip in 2009 and I wondered what took me so long! Just wow! The combination of fireworks and music and the images on the Earth float were just stunning. And then each country is illuminated in white lights around an otherwise dark lake, breathtaking! :)

My least favorite nighttime show is Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios, but I seem to be in a severe minority here. There are parts of it that I love, like the imagines projected onto the water (so beautiful!) and the fire scenes (so cool!). The lighted water jets are neat and the boats with the princesses are pretty; I like those. But the Pocahontas storyline is a bit dated and boring. I just think the whole show could use an overhaul.

So what's your favorite park entertainment after the sun goes down??

Morning person or night owl??

At home, I am most definitely a night owl. I just cannot seem to get myself in bed before 11:30-12, on a weeknight. Sometimes I try but if I am not tired and ready to conk out, I lay there awake, much longer than I would have if I'd just stayed up an extra half hour.

But in Disney, boy is that all different!!!

I am always up early and out of bed minutes after the wake-up call. (At home, I lay in bed trying to force my eyelids open, sometimes for a half hour.) For days we want to get to the parks before rope drop, I set the wake-up call for 6:30. I get everyone up and start getting myself ready. I get the kids breakfast, finish my prepping, then get the kids ready. We are out the door by 7:45.

Hubby will sometimes stop by the food court to refill his mug, but if not, we proceed directly to the bus stop. Sometimes we have to wait a while, but most of the time, we are on a bus by 8:10-8:15, and the bus is usually near empty. Which is great when you have two kids, a double stroller and a few bags.

We get to the parks before most and we are usually first in line at the turn-style (which I love!) Magic Kingdom has my absolute favorite welcome show and I have to see it every trip. My eyes always tear and I am filled with uncontrollable joy! It's usually our first morning...we always go to Magic Kingdom our first full day. Pic above is me and the kids before the hordes of people got there, when you could still get a decent pic in that spot.

We do not stay late at the parks. Our kids don't really nap anymore, so the chances of them still being chipper past 8 are slim. We usually eat dinner between 5-6:30ish, then after that do one or two more things, then head back to the resort. Some nights we might swim or something, but usually, that is just our time to unwind, the kids get baths and maybe watch a little TV. I empty out the stroller, diaper bag, and my little backpack purse and get them all ready for the next day. I shower, write in my travel journal and then turn in. Lights in our room are usually out by 10 at the latest! Hubby will keep the TV on for a little while, but usually not long.