Pete’s Silly Sideshow, Storybook Circus Merchandise, and Walkthrough – Magic Kingdom 10/8/12 Part 1

We’ll finally make our way out to Pete’s Silly Sideshow, which opened all the way back on October 4th.  Recent weather had hampered my attempts at visiting.  Luckily I was able to dodge the wetness today and the next few days are looking to be much dryer.

Back to the main entrance, this is the line for Snow White.  You may or may not be able to make her out underneath the tree.

About what you can expect for the Princesses and Mickey.  Even when Mickey is listed at 5 minutes, you can expect it to take at least 15 minutes to make it through.  You have the initial queue and then another queue while you wait in the room to meet the magician.  With Minnie now greeting in Storybook Circus, she does not meet alongside Mickey at the Theater.  The only place to meet Minnie in her classic red polka dot dress is Character Spot at Epcot.  She is also a regular at Characterpalooza at Hollywood Studios, but her appearances there are never guaranteed.  Goofy no longer greets in Adventureland.  Donald no longer greets in Frontierland.  And Chip & Dale have moved from Tomorrowland to Frontierland in Donald’s old spot.  I’ll have a rundown with pictures shortly.

FASTPASS for Mickey remains unconnected to the system, meaning you can collect FASTPASSes whenever you want, including right after pulling Princess FASTPASSes.  Because Town Square Theater is at the beginning of Main Street and far from any of the Lands, plan your return time carefully so you don’t end up walking ten minutes to pick up FASTPASSes, eight minutes to Space Mountain, then eight minutes back to Town Square.  Since FASTPASSes are usually 40 minutes out, you may want to shop, grab a snack at the Confectionery or Bakery, or get in line to meet Snow White, Pluto, or Marie.  Or you could hop on the train from Main Street Station and ride around.

The Movie It, Shake It, Celebrate It Parade is by far the easiest daytime parade to see.  I’m just walking up after it returns from The Hub, where the characters host a dance party of sorts.

Are we seriously not going to be able to get a picture with this alien at Ariel’s Grotto?  Tragic.

I’m not exactly celebrating Winnie the Pooh’s departure from Hollywood Studios, but enough is enough of that guy.  Disney has all these characters that appear for special events, Mickey’s Parties, Parades, etc. but refuses to put them somewhere accessible to guests.  Granted, Lumiere may have mobility issues.

With Storybook Circus more or less completed, we’ll take a walk over.  The easiest way to get there from the main entrance is through here.  I stopped for a few pictures and it took me about ten minutes to walk from the turnstile to the entrance of the Circus.  Add a few minutes if you walk slower and subtract a minute or two if you’re in a hurry.

So far so good.

As a quick aside, the refurbishment at the old swan boat station is complete.  There currently aren’t any benches or tables in it, but that may change.  Or Disney may be too cheap to clean it.

One more aside, it looks like Merida’s bear contraption is completely gone – replaced by crates.

Last aside ever (LOL), waits for Merida seem to only be getting longer.  This is a solid 45+ minutes if you got in line now.  Because the wait is outside and uncomfortable, I recommend heading over right at 9am if you’re interested in meeting her.  Otherwise, arrive around 6pm, but not much later or you risk not making the cutoff for the 6:30pm meet.

Mad Tea Party is now directly in front of us with the entrance to the attraction on the opposite side.  Up and around to the right would be Tomorrowland and Indy Speedway.  Up to the left would be Fantasyland starting with Winnie the Pooh.  The entrance to Storybook Circus is behind Mad Tea Party just ahead.  I usually go up to the right because it isn’t as congested, but it doesn’t really matter.

We made it.  Here you’ll find Big Top Souvenirs, Dumbo, Barnstormer, Casey Jr. Splash Zone, Pete’s Silly Sideshow Storybook Circus Train Station, Bathrooms, and three snack carts.

I don’t know if this makes it easier or not.  As you enter the Circus, Big Top Souvenirs is first on your left and Dumbo is on your right.

Okay, so now we’re past Dumbo.  Straight ahead is the Casey Jr. Splash Zone and behind that the bathrooms.  Barnstormer is up on the right and the Train Station is located in between that and the Bathrooms in the very back.  Up to the left is the Sideshow, FASTPASS machines, Pretzel/Hot Dog food carts, and seating.  There’s also a walkway to Space Mountain and Tomorrowland up past the entrance to Barnstormer on the right.

That should hopefully help you get your bearings.  The exit from the train, if you’re traveling here from Frontierland or Main Street, is to the left of the Bathrooms.

The view from the train station exit.  See if you know where everything is!

And grab a free stroller!

Speaking of scam artists like myself just out to steal strollers and save a few dollars on a $15 margarita, La Cava del Tequila’s marketing arm sent me an email today:

“Hello,

I represent La Cava del Tequila at Epcot through their public relations and social media efforts and it has come to my attention that some users may be misrepresenting La Cava’s specials. We love to reward our fans and followers, but posting ‘loopholes’ for discounts is not very kind to our business, nor is it fair to the people who actually follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

This is the link to the discussion that contains the misleading posts:
http://www.easywdw.com/forums/showthread.php?8241-La-Cava-del-Tequila-Margarita-Mondays”

Hope that went well for you.

We’re here for Pete’s Silly Sideshow, so we’ll take a look at it first.

These two meet in one line.

And Donald and Goofy in the other.

Both have a posted wait time overhead.

I’ve been watching internal wait times over the past few days, and the girls usually have posted waits that are at least 1.5 times as long as the boys.

A cutout of Pete greets out front and his voice welcomes everyone to the area.  He should soon tip his hat as well.

A sign in the queue explains the characters that will LEAVE YOU BREATHLESS.

My apartment has the same entrance, only it’s my face and I have more teeth.

The queue is scary long.  If it were backed all the way out here, you’d probably be looking at 60+ minute waits for each set of characters.  See you in July.

The entire meet takes place in one tent.  I’m actually in line for Donald/Goofy, but can see Daisy and Minnie on the opposite side.  The wood barrier separates the two lines.

You’ll meet Goofy as the Great Goofini first.  The theme works well since The Barnstormer starring him is right outside.

He’s looking pretty trim.  That Disney health initiative must trickle down to characters.  Goofy just wants a Hershey’s bar and all he can get are celery and bananas.  Happy Halloween!

Exhaust sprays out of the bike he’s crashed into the wall and his trophies spin.

gooby pls.  We’re zoomed in far enough here that the background almost doesn’t matter.  I think it’s a cute outfit even if they have slenderman wearing it.  You can see the patch on his thigh, the dirt underneath that, and then charring on the cuff.  The life of a goofy daredevil.

I didn’t realize how goofy the lighting in here was until I got home and looked over the pictures.  It’s one where you’re going to want to use that flash.

Come at us bro.  The Astounding Donaldo is a snake charmer.  Why’d it have to be snakes?  And how many lawsuits is it going to take to get this guy a pair of pants?

The posted wait was ten minutes and it took me a total of 17 minutes to wait for and meet both characters.

Back out front, the posted wait for Minnie and Daisy is up to 25 minutes, while Goofy and Donald are still at ten.

Prepare to be left in a STATE OF WONDERMENT.

From this line, we can see Donald and Goofy across the way.  The point here is that you’ll want to be prepared to head through both lines if there’s a chance the kids (or adults) will see the other set of characters and want to hop in the other line.  Unlike the new Enchanted Tales with Belle and Town Square Theater Meets, there’s only the one set of characters.  Luckily, they do meet continuously.

Madame Daisy Fortuna meets in front of her gypsy caravan.

Not a light packer I see.  Three quarters of this stuff is probably Minnie’s…

Daisies.  Guest Relations is actually receiving complaints about Disney’s use of “black magic,” if you can believe that.  Personally, if I’m looking for the all-seeing, I look no further than the Eye of Sauron.  I just don’t feel like Daisy has built enough of a reputation yet.  How many of her predictions have come to to pass?  And honestly, since she doesn’t really talk, you never know if something is lost in translation.  You might think she’s trying to tell you that you’re going to grow to be “this tall,” when she really means that you’re soon going to be chopped in half at that point.  There’s really no telling.  And let’s not forget that she’s (theoretically) a talking duck that doesn’t wear pants in the first place.  But really, this whole fortune telling hocus pocus business really has me worked up.

We shared a moment nonetheless.  Those eyes.  That beak.

The Siren of the Seine, Minnie Magnifique, and the Pirouetting Parisian Poodles will greet you after Daisy.  Really…France?  Doesn’t Disney remember Freedom Fries and Freedom Horns?  Can’t we get something a little more relevant?  Daisy the Brazilian Oil Tycoon?  Minnie the Forecloser, Ruiner of More than Vacations?  That has a bit of a ring to it.  No pun intended.  Get it?  Circus….?  Center ring?  Nevermind.

I don’t know about pirouetting, but they’re very well behaved.  They don’t move.

And Minnie is tres magnificent.  Our interaction was so special that I’m not comfortable sharing it publicly.  It took 36 minutes to wait for and meet these two with the 25 minute posted wait.

Overall, Pete’s Silly Sideshow is decent.  With these next-generation meets popping up at Enchanted Tales with Belle and soon at Ariel’s Grotto, the bar has been raised a bit.  This isn’t a whole lot different than Character Spot, other than the fact that the backdrops are more inspired and the outfits are (arguably) more interesting.  And there’s two lines instead of one.  The fact that there’s only one set of each character also isn’t a welcome sight.  Obviously when there’s a second set, wait times drop in half.  Or four sets, waits are a quarter of what they would be otherwise.  That’s why you see the five minute posted wait at Mickey.  It doesn’t mean that he’s 20.0% as popular as the Princesses.  Otherwise, I like the backdrops a lot and the theme is well executed.  Disney doesn’t seem to be willing to roll out the classic characters, so there evidently isn’t any reason to discuss whether it would be more fun to find Humphrey, Pete, Lambert, et al. back here instead of the run-of-the-mill characters.  I’ll discuss timing the characters after the merchandise.

Exit Through the Gift Shop.

We took a lengthy look at Big Top Treats last week in this post, but we’ll check back in for any new “merchandise opportunities.”

And new opportunities there were:

And Caramel Corn Cupcakes, which look awfully good.  I haven’t seen the Dumbo ones that were available on the day it opened since.

Otherwise the treats are mostly the same as last time, though Halloween cupcakes look to have invaded.

These little hats have arrived.  Disney Parks Blog has a better look here.

Just in case you want to spend more money.  That option is available to you.

$12.95 each. You can always look dorkier I guess.

The FASTPASS situation back here in the yellow tent is the same.

These are in the order I pulled them from left to right.  I first pulled Dumbo, which printed with the useless PhilharMagic FASTPASS.  I tried to acquire a second Dumbo FASTPASS and was denied, so I moved on to Barnstormer, and it printed one of those.

At the moment, I’d plan to head over to Storybook Circus around 11am, after hitting the major Fantasyland rides, other characters that will see longer outdoor waits, and some of the low-capacity attractions like Astro Orbiter and Tomorrowland Indy Speedway.  Then I’d come back here, collect FASTPASSes for the two rides, and get in line for Minnie and Daisy.  After that, I’d hit Goofy and Donald.

That should take about 40 minutes.  Since it’s nicely air-conditioned and you can get a good look at the other interactions, it’s not a terrible use of time, especially considering that the Circus is a ways away from Tomorrowland, Adventureland, and others.  With multiple days in Magic Kingdom, you could elect to head back here sooner.  Or if you’re not doing Space, Big Thunder, and Splash Mountains, you could head up here after Pan and Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and move through the attractions and characters quicker.  But I think a 10:30am – 11am arrival is a nice compromise.  You’ll be waiting 10 to 15 minutes per line for the characters, but it’s not that bad when you consider that Merida and Tinker Bell will see 40 – 60 minute waits later in the afternoon.  I’ll try to get out early Wednesday for a better look at the current state of Magic Kingdom characters.

In Part Two, we’ll ride Barnstormer and Dumbo and see if we can get a better look at construction.  We’ll try the Circus Hot Dog and Main Street Bakery Turkey Sandwich, as well as take a better look at the Bakery choices.  And some Little Mermaid merchandise.