WDW Daily News

Ever since I was a little girl I have LOVED the Disney Princesses. My room had princess everything! So of course with every Disney trip you would think I’d have dragged my parents off to meet them- WRONG. I was terrified of the characters so I never wanted to meet anybody. I just liked to wave at them in the parade. But as I’ve aged…I have come to really enjoy meeting all the Disney Characters in the Parks and my mission to meet every princess began. Last summer my best friend and I trekked around the parks and met all 11 princesses…and then Frozen happened.

At the time Frozen hit theaters, I didn’t live in Florida so my thoughts of meeting Anna and Elsa were few and far between, but then I got hired on at Disney World and meeting them became a real possibility. I was pumped!! I wanted to be able to say I’d met all 13 ladies, but then I found out about the wait times for them and thought, perhaps it wasn’t meant to me. And then the mouse blessed me again…he moved them to a fast pass location in my home park no less! I was elated…but once again the wait times were still very long and with no hope of getting a fast pass I soon realized I would have to anchor down and stand…in the dreaded standby line.

So initially my plan had been to wait til right before park close to go see the ladies, but when I went by the line it was 150 minutes…and I jumped in the line! It was my first time going to Princess Fairy Tale Hall since it opened so I was kind of excited to be there. I met some really fun families while I was waiting in line. I spent about an hour in the outside queue line. Whoever designed Princess Fairy Tale Hall kudos to you. There are fans, and it is air conditioned. I noticed several people had place holders in the line- ie dad would stand in line and mom and the kids would go off and do something else. One of the families in near me was doing that, but once we got inside I told her she might want to call her family in. I had heard tales of the place holders getting to the front of the line and being turned away because the entire party wasn’t with them.

Once inside the queue continued to wrap around, but at least we were inside. I marked my progress by the paintings on the walls. When I got to Princess Tiana I was really excited! Mostly because I wanted a photo of it but I was really…Almost There (see what I did there hehe). I finally got to the front of the line and I watched a few fast pass families go in and then I had finally reached the room! I almost did a happy dance, but that would’ve been embarrassing. At this point I had waited exactly 150 minutes. There were only about two families in front of me and after they went in I finally got to meet the frozen girls!

They were so sweet. I asked them to do a video for my best friend and her daughter and they went on and on about chocolate, and snow and olaf and pretty much everything awesome about Frozen. They signed my parasol and I got my photos. I was one very happy camper! Unlike most of the families I skipped happily right on over to Aurora and got my autograph and photo with her. It hurt my heart to see so many people walking right past her. I mean after waiting for 3 hours I wanted to meet every princess and have my pictures done with the cast members too.

I’m so glad I was able to meet the ladies from Frozen and complete the princess set and I’m especially glad I went when I did because not they take one whole side and you don’t meet them together, you meet the individually. It was well worth the wait…but I don’t think I’ll be waiting 3 hours plus for any other characters…that is until Villain’s Unleashed…hehe.

After months and months of planning, excitement, and anticipation, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the Disney parks. You might feel like you have to do every attraction, see all the shows, and eat all the cuisine, but sometimes it’s best to just take slow down and take a break. There are so many little details in the parks that people pass because they want to cram every experience into just a few short days, but they fail to realize that the little things can make bigger memories. Here are some of my favorite Disney details that my family and I have found in the Magic Kingdom throughout the years.

1. “One if by land, two if by sea.” These famous words were first found in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride” in 1860, but they tell the story of a night in 1775 when Paul Revere warned other Patriots that the British were coming. You can find the signal from Paul in Liberty Square across from the entrance to the Haunted Mansion.

2. You might think that the windows of the buildings on Main Street are just there to add to the park’s themeing, but they also hold a secret. Most of the names you see on the windows are either members of the Disney family or Imagineers that had some part in the making of the Magic Kingdom. Others, like “M. T. Lott,” are references to fake names used by the Disney company or a play on words.

 
3. This “secret” requires a child’s perspective. If you go to the back of Cinderella Castle, you’ll find a fountain with a statue of Cinderella. Behind her is a painting with a crown. Pretty usual-looking, right? However, if you bend down to take a sip of water or curtsy to the princess, you’ll see that the crown is perfectly positioned on Cinderella’s head.

 
4. Our last detail comes from Liberty Square again. It’s not easy to miss the huge tree standing in the middle of the land, but you might not realize that there are exactly thirteen lanterns hanging from its branches. The “unlucky” number of lights is actually a nod to the thirteen original colonies of the United States of America.

These few details are just a small part of the grand scheme of the Disney parks, but that’s what makes the parks so much fun – there’s always something new to discover. Remember to slow down and keep your eyes open the next time you visit Disney, and you might just see something that you’ve never noticed before. (Liberty Tree photo credit goes to Gene Duncan)

Danai Gurira and Norman Reedus (“The Walking Dead”), Matt Smith (“Doctor Who”), Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy), David Boreanaz (“Bones,” “Angel”), Katie Cassidy (“Arrow”), William Shatner (“Star Trek,” “T.J. Hooker”) and comics legend Stan Lee are among the celebrities scheduled to attend Wizard World Chicago Comic Con. It is largest and longest-running of the 16 events in the 2014 series produced by Wizard World.

The Midwest’s largest pop culture convention will also feature other stars of “The Walking Dead,” including Scott Wilson, Sarah Wayne Callies and Michael Rooker; “Doctor Who” and Guardians headliner Karen Gillan; a “Star Trek: The Next Generation” reunion with Jonathan Frakes, Levar Burton, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner and Gates McFadden; and five WWE® standouts, including Bautista (a.k.a. Batista™), Superstars John Cena® and Bray Wyatt™, Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino™ and Diva Paige™.

Meet these stars and more, August 21-24 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.

GET YOUR CHICAGO COMIC CON TICKETS HERE!
GET YOUR VIP EXPERIENCE TICKETS HERE!

Take a look at this photo featuring Festival of the Lion King in the new Harambe Theater from Stacy Degaro.