PHOTO REPORT: Magic Kingdom 8/23/20 (Return of the Cheshire Cat Tail, Long Lines, New MARVEL MagicBands, and More)

Kevin Lake

Main Street with Balloons and Cinderella Castle

PHOTO REPORT: Magic Kingdom 8/23/20 (Return of the Cheshire Cat Tail, Long Lines, New MARVEL MagicBands, and More)

Welcome to “The Most Magical Place On Earth” on a beautiful Sunday! It’s an exciting day to be at the Magic Kingdom, with the return of the Cheshire Cat Tail, a few new pieces of merchandise, great character interactions, and, unfortunately, some long lines and wait times. Let’s take a look inside the park and see what the day had in store for us.

Town Square Theater 8 23 20

As we already mentioned, it was a lovely day to be in the Magic Kingdom. While it was a bit hot — because hey, it’s August in Florida — there was a pleasant breeze and a nice mix of sunshine and clouds. Let’s be honest, these Photo Reports are always a bit better when the sun is out.

City Hall Construction 8 23 20

As we start out on Main Street, we always take note of City Hall, which has been under refurbishment since January. We always have a slight hope that “today’s the day” for the scrim and scaffolding to be gone, but today was not the day.

Spider Man MagicBand
Iron Man MagicBand

Moving on to The Emporium, we were treated to a couple of new MARVEL MagicBands. Today, it was Spider-Man and a new style of Iron Man.

Iron Man MagicBand 5

These new bands joined an existing Iron Man MagicBand which debuted at Walt Disney World back in July.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Delayed Opening 8 23 20 1
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Delayed Opening 8 23 20 2

Over in Frontierland, the morning didn’t start out quite as positively, as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad experienced a delayed opening of over an hour.

ChesireCatTailMKReview 1
ChesireCatTailMKReview 6
ChesireCatTailMKReview 11

On the bright side, that extra time would enable eagle-eyed guests (or readers of WDWNT) to take advantage of the return of the Cheshire Cat Tail. With the Cheshire Cafe not having reopened with the Magic Kingdom, this treat had been notably absent for nearly a month and a half.

TRON Lightcycle Run Construction 8 23 20 1
TRON Lightcycle Run Construction 8 23 20 2
TRON Lightcycle Run Construction 8 23 20 3

Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe was a good jumping-off point to head over to TRON Lightcycle Run to check on its progress. As we recently reported, assembly of the illuminated canopy has begun, though it appeared that the crew was off today.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train End of Line 8 23 20

Adjacent to Tomorrowland, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was a popular spot today, as it always is. During a busier point, the line stretched near Storybook Circus.

Disney Duck at Popcorn Cart 8 23 20 1
Disney Duck at Popcorn Cart 8 23 20 3

Heading back towards the hub, we noticed a very patient duck waiting at the popcorn stand for a snack. He was adhering to the floor markings and waited at the line for service, as is appropriate for all guests to do.

Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe Sign 8 23 20

As we do every day, we popped into Ye Olde Christmas Shop — it’s only four months until Christmas, after all.

2020 Christmas Ornament 8 23 20 1
2020 Christmas Ornament 8 23 20 3
2020 Christmas Ornament 8 23 20 2
2020 Christmas Ornament 8 23 20 4

Today we spotted a new 2020 ornament that features Mickey and Minnie Mouse skating, along with a few cute details (and a rhinestone hidden Mickey). The ornament sells for $26.99.

Rapunzel in Character Cavalcade 8 23 20
Jasmine in Character Cavalcade 8 23 20
Merida on Horse 8 23 20

Heading to the neighboring Frontierland, we were able to catch a couple of the Character Cavalcades passing by, and grab some photos with a few princesses.

Character Cavalcade Dancer 8 23 20
Mickey Friends Character Cavalcade 8 23 20

Yes, we also got to see Mickey & Friends, too.

Splash Mountain Sign 8 23 20
Splash Mountain Youth Shirts 8 23 20

At nearby Splashdown Photos, the lone item related to Splash Mountain was this blue “secret message” youth shirt. Splash merchandise is pretty hard to come by these days.

Splash Mountan King Carrots 8 23 20

You may not be able to find the merchandise you want, but you can always check out some of the fun signage strewn about the area.

Splash Mountain Line 8 23 20

Heading away from the shop, we noticed the line for Splash Mountain had grown pretty long. The attraction still held a 45 minute wait time, but that may have been a slight underestimation.

Mickey Sipper Float Sign 8 23 20

On our way back over to Tomorrowland from Frontierland, which took us through Adventureland, we noticed that Sunshine Tree Terrace has added a Mickey Sipper Float to the menu. Sadly, this is for ‘standard’ flavors of soft-serve.

Cinderella Castle 8 23 20

We’re pretty sure it’s Disney Law that you can’t cross through the hub without taking a picture of Cinderella Castle. Who are we to argue?

Space Mountain Line 8 23 20 3

Arriving into Tomorrowland, we noticed a line for Space Mountain which kept going…

Space Mountain Line 8 23 20 2

…and going…

Space Mountain Line 8 23 20 1

…all the way to Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies. Even with this massive line, the posted wait time was (a highly inaccurate) 15 minutes.

The Child Bounty Collection 8 23 20

On a more positive note, Tomorrowland Light & Power Co has received some of the Star Wars Bounty Collection featuring “The Child”, better known as Baby Yoda. Today, five different styles of figures were available.

Hocus Pocus Spirit Jersey 8 23 20

Heading back to the front of the park, we noticed that The Emporium had received a restock of Hocus Pocus Spirit Jerseys. Popular sizes were quickly selling out, though.

Main Street Cinderella Castle Balloons 8 23 20

On our way out, we had the opportunity to catch a double-supply of balloons on Main Street.

Express Monorail Line 8 23 20

Finally, much like most of the attractions inside the park, the monorail had a bit of wait. While this is nothing unusual for the Magic Kingdom, it’s not something we’ve seen much of since the reopening, even though this only amounted to a posted 10 minute wait.

Thanks for joining us on our tour around the Magic Kingdom today. With the Cheshire Cat Tail having returned, is your favorite snack now available at Walt Disney World, or are you still waiting on a treat that has yet to make its comeback? Let us know in the comments!