Rock Your Disney Side 24 hour event at Magic Kingdom
On May 23, Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort was open for 24 hours, from 6 am to 6 am on May 24, for the Rock Your Disney Side 24 hour event. A little more than a month before, I decided I wanted to go. So some of my Princess Posse girls and I got to planning.
Me, Heather, Aimee, Katie, and Heather’s daughter Hailey
I’ll be honest, when I first started talking about it, I had no intention of staying for the entire 24 hours. I thought I’d be there for rope drop (the Disney term for park opening), head back to the hotel for a nap and maybe the pool in the middle of the afternoon, then head back in the evening to shut it down. It didn’t take long for my Posse peeps to convince me otherwise. I realized pretty quickly that I needed a strategy. So, I came up with a plan, and it worked beautifully!
- Pack a bag. Spending 24 hours in the Magic Kingdom is like a sleepover, only with no sleep. You need stuff. How much stuff is a personal preference. I took a backpack full of 2 changes of clothing complete with undies and socks, flip-flops, my glasses, contact solution and case, deodorant, wipes, tooth paste and tooth-brush, hair brush, hair spray, and head band. I used every single thing in there. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Aimee only took a robe and sleep mask (Tinkerbell ready for bed) and deodorant spray. Katie was somewhere in the middle.
- Take resort Transportation. Sure, you could drive your own car if you have one there but there is really nothing more convenient than resort transportation. They were well-prepared for the crowds and even though the bus line was super long at our resort, it moved quickly, and there were plenty of buses to move us all.
The bus line–ack!
We headed down to the bus stop a little before 5 and made it right on time for the 5:45 opening show.
- Divide and Conquer. This is especially important if there are multiple things your group wants to accomplish at the same time. We wanted some of the special merchandise and since you never know how well stocked it is, it’s always best to go right away. We also knew that there might not be enough lockers to go around so that was a priority, too. Katie and I went to get the lockers (we ended up getting 2 and sharing) and Heather, Aimee, and Hailey went to get the merchandise.
- Pace yourself. 24 hours in the Magic Kingdom is not easy. You cannot go full speed ahead and expect to make it through. Well, maybe YOU can, but I knew I couldn’t. Be realistic about what you will be able to do and prioritize. Do you want to ride everything? Do you want to get fun character pics?
Fairy Godmother loves us!
Glad we had fast passes for this one!
Pinocchio
You may have to choose because as long as 24 hours seems, there is not enough time to do it all. We tried to find a good balance. We got some great character pics and rode some of our faves.
Will I ever get 999,999 on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin? Not this trip!
We even rode the new 7 Dwarfs Mine Train before it was officially open to the public! We also were able to do many of the special experiences just for that day.
- Use social media. It was a special day so bloggers and media were out in full force, both official and unofficial. While Disney released a lot of the deets during the weeks leading up to the event, they didn’t spill everything. If it weren’t for social media, we would have never known about the Mine Train being open. Ok, to be fair, we probably would have figured it out, but not until much later in the day when thewait was insanely long.
Nope! We didn’t wait 3 hours!
There were also food and beverages we wouldn’t have known about if it weren’t for social media.
Special drink mug I found out about through social media. Also, I thought I was smiling! I was tired!
There was even a live webcam on Main Street, and some of our friends who couldn’t make it were able to see us. How did we coordinate this? You guessed it! Social media! Oh, and if you are going to use social media, this also means you will need to bring your charger and take advantage of the many charging outlets throughout the park.
- Hydrate. Y’all it was hot! The heat index was over 100 during the hottest part of the day. Dehydration is not magical! I drank about 6 of the 20 ounce sized bottles of water throughout the day and Diet Coke, too.
I drank 6 of these throughout the day.
- Don’t forget to eat. You need fuel to make it through 24 hours of non-stop fun. And yes, it is possible to have so much fun you forget to eat. We only had one dining reservation, and that wasn’t until 10:45 that night. We also had planned a 2 pm Dole Whip meet up so we could easily meet up with everyone we knew who were there.
Hailey tried to get my tiara at the Dole Whip meet up.
We found Maryanne and Kelsey at the Dole Whip meet up.
Other than that, we had to remind ourselves to eat.
- Get into the spirit. Walt Disney himself once said he doesn’t make movies for kids. He makes movies for the kid in everyone. The same is true of his theme parks. This was the first time in history that the Magic Kingdom allowed adults to dress in costume during regular operating hours. They do allow kids to dress in costume all the time, and they allow costumes during the fall special ticketed Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and other special events. However, adults in costume during the day is unprecedented, and some people went all out! I had 2 outfits for the event and pajamas for over night. Aimee wore a full-blown Tinkerbell costume and got lots of attention.
Tinkerbell Aimee
Also, characters love it when adults want pics with them. We even got pixie-dusted in Bibbity Bobbity Boutique!
Pixie Dusted
- Keep your eyes open. Even if you’ve been to Magic Kingdom dozens of times, when it’s a special day, special things sometimes happen. Cast members were handing out buttons to promote the new Maleficent movie. Also, around 1 am, we were approached by a cast member who handed us special passes for an exclusive meet and greet with Maleficent from the movie.
We got special tickets to an exclusive Maleficent meet!
I met Maleficent!
Aimee and Katie were able to get their pic with Pain and Panic from Hercules because they were paying attention. No joke, that line had been 4 hours long earlier in the evening, but around 5 am, they saw the line was nonexistent. They were able to get several other great photos, too. About this time, I was sitting on a bench resting, not sleeping, resting!
- Stop and smell the roses. Not literally, unless you really want to. 24 hours in the Magic Kingdom has only happened 2 other times so there aren’t a lot of people who can say they’ve done it. We watched the sun rise in MK 2 days in a row and never left. That’s pretty epic! The energy of the day was electric! From the opening shot of fireworks to the characters waving goodbye to us in their pajamas, it was truly an amazing day!
It was certainly a day I’ll never forget and to be able to spend it with some really amazing ladies made it even more special. Were you there? Share some of your thoughts! I’ll leave you with a few more of my favorite photos from the day.
We found Betsy on Main Street!
I, Aimee, and Katie made it for the entire 24 hours!
Heather and Katie staked out great seats for Festival of Fantasy.
We found Maryanne and Jennifer after wishes!
Middle of the night silliness
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