Magic Kingdom: Liberty Square

Liberty Square transports guests back in time to colonial America, the brick covered buildings are reminiscent of Williamsburg, Virginia. Liberty Square is a lot smaller than the other lands in Magic Kingdom, but it is home to one of the most popular Disney rides, the Haunted Mansion.

One fun experience in Liberty Square is the muppet show that plays out multiple times a day at the Hall of Presidents. The show is entitled The Muppets Present Great Moments in American History and it features Kermit and friends recounting historical events in a hysterical way. Laura kept telling me we needed to see it, but I wasn't super interested in seeing it since there is so much to do in Magic Kingdom. But we happened to be walking by just as one of the shows was starting so we decided to stay and watch. I'm glad we did because it was super adorable and really funny, it made me laugh out loud multiple times. 

The show ends with a band and a shower of patriotic streamers!

Normally I would have skipped Hall of Presidents, but the ride was just about to go under renovations to add the newest president, Donald Trump, and we wanted to see it while Barack Obama was still the main president and to hear his lovely speech at the end of the show. I'm going back to Disney World in November and I am a little curious to see what the new addition will look like and what his speech will entail ....

The Liberty Belle! We didn't have time to ride it but it is an iconic part of Liberty Square. Some interesting trivia about the other Liberty Bell located in this part of Magic Kingdom,  In 1976, 50 replicas of the Liberty Bell were cast and molded in honor of our country’s 200th birthday.  Each state would receive one and place it in a spot of their choice.  However, the state of Pennsylvania had a problem.  They already had the original Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.  Why would they want a replica?  Years later, Walt Disney World realized Pennsylvania had the replica and asked if they could have it for Liberty Square.   Pennsylvania agreed and on July 4th, 1989 the replica Liberty Bell was hoisted and lowered into its permanent spot inside Liberty Square at the Magic Kingdom where it still sits today.  Florida remains the only state with two of the 50 replica Liberty Bells.

This is the actual Liberty Tree that is located in front of the Liberty Tree Tavern. Its name is from the 1957 Disney movie "Johnny Tremain". Among its branches are 13 lanterns representing the original 13 colonies of the United States. At a hefty 38 tons, this tree is the largest living thing in the Magic Kingdom.

The Haunted Mansion is quite the sight when it is all lit up at night. This ride is a must for me whenever I visit one of the parks.

The queue area for the Haunted Mansion is pretty interactive which makes waiting in line so much more fun. One thing to keep an eye out for is Madame Leota's tombstone, her eyes occasionally open and look around, so make sure to keep and eye on her...

Magic Kingdom: Festival of Fantasy

This trip was perfection in many ways, most of it due to Laura's amazing organizing, reservation making and superb fast pass planning. We also had tons of luck and being in the right place at the right time, one of those instances was happening upon The Festival of Fantasy parade in Fronteirland. We stumbled upon the crowds lining up just minutes before the parade started, but since it was sprinkling rain and the parade had potential of getting cancelled we were able to get a perfect front row spot which is unheard of when the parade is minutes away.

I love all Disney parades, but Festival of Fantasy is my favorite so far. The floats were so over the top and unique and movies like Brave and Fantasia were featured which was super fun and unexpected.

This Tangled float was one-of-a-kind. The giant axes in the middle swung like ginormous pendulums and Flynn and the Vikings would hop from side to side and run up and down the blades of the axes!

I always like to pick out the outfits I would want to wear if I was ever lucky enough to be in a Disney parade. This amazing under the sea outfit would be my pick from this parade, the colors and details are perfection not to mention that amazing shell-like hair and crown. I die.

The Lost Boys!

I was fan girling over the entire Brave section. That bagpipe float is so creative and fun!

My all time favorite part of this parade was the Sleeping Beauty segment. It had it all, the three fairies in all their glory, Prince Philip fighting off menacing ravens and dragons and a larger than life steam punk Maleificent dragon that actually breathed fire. I almost cried tears of joy at the imagination of it all.

As much as I don't love the movie of Pinocchio, the whole Pleasure Island part give me the creeps, this parade made Pinocchio seem fun for a minute.

I love that Figaro and Cleo got included in this fun float

This float had all the fun Fantasia details, the hippos in tutus doing ballet with the crocodiles, the ostriches in leotards and ballet shoes, the adorable baby pegasuses, they are my childhood.

Micky and Minnie arriving in an old fashioned hot air balloon was the perfect ending to a perfect parade.