Happy magical Monday from Magic Kingdom! Today featured the end of the TRON Lightcycle / Run virtual queue and Christmas Shoppe refurbishments, as well as more magical moments.
Monorail Monday
Since it’s Magic Kingdom Monday it’s only appropriate to take the Monday Monorail. Okay, I’ll stop. If you take the Express Monorail into Magic Kingdom, you can catch a scenic view of the park like the one above. If you look closely at the horizon, you will see Cinderella Castle and Space Mountain just above the Contemporary Resort Convention Center roof.
Main Street U.S.A. Train Station Window
One of my favorite spots on Main Street U.S.A. is the train station window between Crystal Arts and Uptown Jewelers. I especially love the attention to detail in the window. The Transportation Tickets even have “monorail” written on them. The small bag of popcorn features the Main Street Confectionery logo as if the person that it belongs to just ordered it a few doors down. If you listen closely you may even hear some voice lessons from the windows above.
Walt Disney World Glass Coin Set – $125.00
I spotted this four-park glass coin set for $125.00 in Crystal Arts on Main Street, U.S.A. There are five glass coins, four of which feature the park’s respective icon, opening year, and park name. The center coin says ‘Walt Disney World’ and features fireworks and Tinker Bell.
Prepare for Rope Drop
Earlier this month we reported that TRON Lightcycle / Run would be ending the virtual queue option and offering guests Lightning Lane and standby options instead. Since today marked the start of that change and the end of the virtual queue, I rope dropped Tomorrowland. With TRON Lightcycle / Run moving to a standby queue, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is the only attraction in Magic Kingdom still offering a virtual queue.
TRON Lightcycle / Run Standby Queue
The best way I could describe TRON’s standby queue this morning was organized chaos. Given it was the first day, we give our Cast Member friends lots of grace since it’s their first day handling the change, too. The line initially stopped, near the front door of Tomorrowland Launch Depot, the exit shop of Space Mountain. The line behind me continued almost to Tomorrowland Speedway.
The line never stopped for longer than 2-3 minutes once Cast Members were able to start moving guests. It took me one hour from the time I got in line until I was off the ride and out of the building. Pretty impressive for the first day!
I like that standby is now an option for this attraction, and I think this is going to work really well. Congrats to the Cast at TRON for a great first day!
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
At Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, they were using the unloading area as an entrance for guests using wheelchairs. The double doors lead into the space at the exit where guests can view their in-ride photo. Guests are then directed where to go to board the attraction by a Cast Member. Guests exiting the attraction are still directed through the gift shop and cannot use these double doors as an exit.
Sonny Eclipse is MISSING
It seems that Sonny Eclipse got the boot last night for the Disney Jr. Jam Dance Party. Those kids must’ve partied hard last night at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party or maybe Sonny just needed a day off. It was weird being in the Starlight Cafe without Sonny’s music or any music at all.
Triton Statue…
Yes, still no update on King Triton’s statue. If this is the first photo report of mine you have read, apologies. Since King Triton was removed 328 days ago, I have been patiently waiting for his return. Alas, only the sketches inside remain.
Christmas Shoppe Refurbishment
On my way out of Magic Kingdom, I went to see if there were any updates to the Christmas Shoppe refurbishment. Luckily, they had completed the work and reopened the space. Again, just like with the other side of the store, no major changes were made.
Also, not to cause panic, but there are only 107 days left until Christmas Day! Are you looking forward to the Holidays? I’m looking forward to cooler weather!
End the Day
It was a thrilling morning at Magic Kingdom, and it was so nice to experience standby for TRON. Will you be using the standby queue for TRON? Let me know in the comments below.
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