Seeing as Jim has already covered what the Disneyland Resort
version of the Monstrous Summer! All Nighter was like, I thought that I'd share
Angela Ragno & myself's experience at the WDW version of this 24 hour-long
party.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
In the spirit of full disclosure here, I guess I should
mention that we did not in fact spend a full 24 hours inside the Magic
Kingdom. Given that I was actually
down in Central Florida to cover the grand opening of SeaWorld Orlando's new
Antarctica: Empire of the Penguins attraction (which didn't officially open to
the public 'til 9 a.m. this past Friday morning, a full three hours after WDW's
Monstrous All Nighter had gotten underway), Angela and I weren't able to make
over to the theme park 'til 11:30 p.m. that evening.
And as you might have expected, even at that late hour, the Magic
Kingdom was still very busy. Full of Walt
Disney World Guests who were determined to make the most of their after-hours
access in that theme park …
Photo by Nancy Stadler
… but on the upside, there was still Monstrous Summer! All
Nighter merchandise available for purchase when Angela and I arrived. According
to what Jim told me, most of Disneyland's All Nighter
merch was sold out by late Friday morning.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Which isn't to say that every character in the Park was pleased
to see this stuff. Take — for example — Captain Jack Sparrow. Who clearly
didn't know what to make of this Guest wearing a special set of Sulley-inspired
Mouse Ears.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Speaking of "Pirates of the Caribbean,"
Angela & I spent part of our time in the Park playing "A Pirate's Adventure:
Treasures of the Seven Seas." This new interactive quest is now in soft
opening mode at the Magic Kingdom
and it really is a fun new way to fold more of the characters & the mythos
of Disney's "Pirates" movies into the Magic
Kingdom.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
And speaking of things that have recently been added to this
theme park which bring more of Disney's more modern motion pictures into the Magic
Kingdom, I have to admit that I
just loved the look of Fantasyland's new "Tangled" bathrooms.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
And while I applaud the Imagineers for finally adding a
place inside of this theme park where Guests can go to recharge their handheld
devices, this past Friday night / Saturday night … Well, it seemed like
people were more interested in using the benches around the "Tangled"
bathrooms as a place where they themselves could go to rest up & recharge,
rather than recharging their Droids or iPhones.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
And speaking of new things in Fantasyland, over the course
of this All Nighter, Angela and I spent a good amount of time revisiting New
Fantasyland. It had been six months since we had last explored this new
addition to the Magic Kingdom.
And I was hoping that — this time around — that we might now get to
experience the one attraction that we had missed back in December …
Photo by Nancy Stadler
… which was "Enchanted Tales with Belle." On
each previous trip to this theme park, the line to this New Fantasyland
attraction had been so long that it just hadn't seemed wise to queue up for the
thing. But given that there was only a 20 minute-long wait this past Saturday
morning at 3:45 a.m., Angela and I
finally decided to give this show a shot. So we entered Maurice's cottage,
stepped through that magic mirror and thoroughly enjoyed our brief visit with
Belle.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
If you wanted face-time with your favorite Disney / Pixar
characters, this 24 hour-long party at the Magic
Kingdom certainly gave you plenty
of opportunities to do so. You could get your picture taken with the two hosts
of the Monstrous Summer! All Nighter, James P. Sullivan & Mike Wazowski.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Or — if you were willing to wade into that teeming crowd
which had assembled in front of Cinderella Castle for the Up All Night Dance
Party — …
Photo by Nancy Stadler
… you could do the Dougie with Goofy & Pluto …
Photo by Nancy Stadler
… or shake your tail feather with Donald Duck.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Mind you, as Friday night gave want to Saturday morning,
more & more Guests found themselves fading. Which led to some of these
people finding some pretty unusual places to catch some Zzzzs.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
But the Cast Members at the Magic
Kingdom did what they could to keep
us energized & entertained. Whether it was by drawing our favorite Disney
characters on some theme park pavement by using only some water & a broom
…
Photo by Nancy Stadler
… or by staging spontaneous group dance numbers right
there in the street.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
But as the moon began to set …
Photo by Nancy Stadler
… more & more people began to gather on Main
Street, U.S.A. to see how
the Magic Kingdom
was going to bring this 24 hour-long party to a close. And Disney, they did not
disappoint. They brought the Fab Five & friends out in pajamas and then had
these characters stand at the Main Street Train Station …
Photo by Nancy Stadler
… as thousands of people streamed out of that theme park.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
After all, by the time 6 a.m.
rolled around …
Photo by Nancy Stadler
… there were a lot of Guests who were ready to call it a
night …
Photo by Nancy Stadler
… not to mention those who had already fallen asleep.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Me personally, what I loved most about my Monstrous Summer!
All Nighter experience is that I got to see the Magic
Kingdom in a whole new light …
Photo by Nancy Stadler
… not to mention getting to see yesterday turn into today
in the skies over Tomorrowland.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
If Walt Disney World ever does another one of these All
Nighters, I'd love to try and do the full 24 hours. Mind you, just the 6 1/2 hour
version of this after-hours event left Angela & I feeling exhausted. But even so, we got to see
& do so many amazing things this past Friday night / Saturday morning in
the Magic Kingdom,
I can't imagine what we'd have been able to accomplish if we'd stayed inside of that
theme park for the full 24 hours.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
There must have been a few of you JHM readers who actually spent
the full 24 hours inside of the Magic
Kingdom on Friday & Saturday.
What was that experience like? Do you have any stories that you'd like to share
about Disney World's Monstrous Summer! All Nighter?