Fifth Day: Magic Kingdom

Universal Studios.

Animal Kingdom

Epcot

Disney/MGM Studios

Our fifth day, the 19th of June, we finally headed for the one place where it all began, Disney's Magic Kingdom.

Right away you encounter a minor problem. You can't get to the Magic Kingdom without the Monorail or the Ferry Boat. We chose the Monorail, thought it would be faster. Wrong. The line was so long, but you really can't see how long from the ground level. I'm sure the ferry boat got there before us. If you go, take the ferry boat. Everyone thinks the monorail is faster, but the line slows you down. You are tired before you even get to the Park!

To truly enjoy this park, imagine you are a little girl or boy, immersed in the culture of Disney animation and the best of recent family-rated fantasy adventures. You know the names of all the characters of all the Disney animations, from Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, Little Mermaid, Aladdin's Lamp,  Snow White, Pinochio, Peter Pan, to other favorites: The Swiss Family Robinson, Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear, Milo and Stitch, and Pirates of the Caribbean...

well, I know when I watched Cinderella receive her crown while her friends Ariel, Snow White, Belle, and their beaux accompanied her, ... well, I just had to look at the faces of all the young mothers and their daughters that stood around me. You could hear the glee in the young children's voices.. "look, there's Belle! Look momma, it's Ariel!" I was sure they imagined themselves upon that fantasy stage of romantic storybook characters.

What little girl didn't dream of being a princess, her handsome uniformed prince standing beside her, his eyes only on her because she was all he could see? Well, I'm sure some little girls by-passed that stage, but I was one who dreamed such as this.

That's what true love feels like, isn't it? When you've found the one you could live with forever, the one who makes you laugh, who pledges his life to you, and you to him, and with whom you cannot imagine living without. He rescues you, and you rescue him right back! (Pretty Woman).

I married my prince charming long ago. Now we both look more like the king and the queen in our gray crowns, but we know, and we remember the early days of our youth. Yes, there are some magical moments to treasure.But this is about Disney's Magic Kingdom, not Bea and Steve's!

If you never liked Disney story characters, if you never fell in love with Bambi's eyes, Snow White's ruby lips, Cinderella's plight,  Belle's power to transform the beast, or the fantasy flight with Aladdin and Jasmine on the magic carpet, then you may not care to indulge in the magical stories told here. This park is for die-Hard Disney fans. Cute, adorable, sweet, musical, whimsical, playful, and sparkly. You just have to get into the fantasy of it all, and go with it. Here you are the kid.

Tomorrowland was a gentler version of Epcot's futuristic exhibits and rides. Here, we considered the Indy speedway, but saw that the cars drove very slowly... fun for the 4 year olds and their dads, I'm sure. Space Mountain was a roller coaster ride. Decent. Probably one of the faster rides at Magic Kingdom. Also in Tomorrowland, Disney's Carousel of Progress was much like we remembered it twenty years ago. Nostalgic and sweet. For a fast ride with interaction, meaning you get to shoot at targets as the ride progresses past moving and still targets, get on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. You even control the spin of the vehicle.

We got FastPass tickets for Stitch's Great Escape. Not worth it. Don't make that mistake when you go. If you miss this ride, youhave missed nothing! It was most disappointing, probably because there was such a great buildup with the backstory.

The building is new, the ride sounds mysterious... what is going to happen in there? I am familiar with Stitch, the little blue alien that spits acidic, slimy, slobbery stuff at his enemies. I figure we'll get squirted with water again, like those other 3D shows.

We are told we are prison guards in training, at some future alien prison ward. Inside the cavernous room, circular rows of seats beg to be filled, suggesting some adventure with motion. Heavy harnesses come down over our shoulders to protect us.

The room darkens. Laser cannons are aimed at Stitch, trying to keep him under control, but he gets away. I wait for the ride to start, for the floor to drop, for the walls to open, or even close. Something! The room fills with disgusting odors, fog, and we get wet, the kids are screaming all around us... colored lights flash, Stitch appears to be running around our seats, touching us... whatever,... nothing else happens! The seats never leave their position, we never move one inch, nor even feel like we have been moved. What were those harnesses for? To keep us in our seats so we wouldn't get up and leave I suppose. The little kids seemed to love it, probably because it was in the dark, and it was scary to them. And stinky. Boring!

The most surprising ride was Splash Mountain in Frontierland. As the name implies, you will get wet. No problem for us, except we had to be careful with the camera. We watched the ride for awhile to figure out which side would get the wettest, so I could sit on the dryer side. We watched one log plume and noted when we'd get the wettest, near the bottom. We had it all figured out, and placed the camera in Steve's right pocket. He sat on the left, the side we figured would get the wettest. I sat to his right, and leaned in over the pocket with the camera, covering it further with my denim bag.

I said it was the most surprising ride. In fact, we were just starting up the first climb, when a log came gliding down the steep hill where the big splash would be, and we got splashed from their splash!!! Did not see it coming... we got soaked right then and there (the camera was dry, though). All of us in the log ride laughed at our own surprise.

The rest of the ride was cute and tame by comparison, with Brer Rabbit and brer Fox story being told through song and audioanimatronics. We enjoyed it. The great anticipation was "when are we going to go down that big steep drop, the one that makes the big splash?"  There are so many twists and turns, you just never know when it's going to happen. The last plunge did not get us wet at all... not after that first drenching. It was fun. Worth getting a FastPass for.

In Fantasyland, another 3D show, Mickey's PhilharMagic, was great fun to watch. There was something a bit off with it. I mean, the 3D action was awesome, but there were some parts that seemed not to focus very well, the objects that appeared to float right in front of your face, so close you could touch them, were actually troublesome to see in clarity. Still, it was a fun story, where Donald Duck takes off with Mickey's Wizard Cap, and passes through the landscapes of several other Disney animations and characters as he tries to catch the cap and return it to Mickey Mouse, who is about to conduct a Symphony. Very entertaining. No disappointment here.

The Spectromagic Parade was on Main Street at 9pm. It was like watching larger than life snow-globes pass by with all the famous Disney romance couples (Cinderella/Prince, Aladdin/Jasmine; Snow White/Prince; Beauty/Prince) inside waving at us.

It began to rain about 7:00pm or so. We headed for Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station. We thought it would be a great place to hunker down and have some dinner, rest, and wait for the Spectromagic show at 9pm. Followed by a 10pm fireworks show. We were tired enough, since we hadn't left the park to go home for a rest.

The fireworks were breathtaking, and watching from the Terrace was a good choice because we had a seat.

Disney Survivor Tip #1: You may not opt to go back to your room at this park because it takes so long to get back and forth (monorail/ferry), then tramto parking lot. But you should pick out a cool spot, and rest for a couple of hours if you decide to stay. We chose a restaurant. It really made the difference by the time 10pm rolled around.

Disney Survivor Tip#2: If you are going to buy souvenirs, wait until it's time to leave the park so you won't have to lug them around all day long. Or rent a locker for the day, but that will cost you. Don't know how much, didn't look into it. I waited until my last day to buy souvenirs from Magic Kingdom, although I did buy one at MGM Studios, but it didn't weigh much and fit in my bag.

Disney Survivor Tip #3: Do not wear flip-flops! Wear good, solid comfortable athletic shoes! All that walking is hard on your legs and back... you will notice it by the time you go to bed at night. You need shoes with good arch support. Sandals look great on your feet, ladies, but you will suffer for it later. You will not want to walk far with flip flops on. And don't wear new, unbroken shoes... you don't want to deal with blisters. What a way to ruin your day!

Disney Survivor Tip #4: Carry some aspirin or tylenol or advil, you know, you're favorite OTC painkiller, just in case you get a headache. Dramamine for those susceptible to motion sickness.

Disney Survivor Tip #5: Drink plenty of water all day long. Don't let yourself get dehydrated. That's a recipe for a headache and constipation if anything is. Combine dehydration with dizzying motion, and you are gonna feel miserable all day long. Be good to yourself so you can enjoy the day. It's hot in the summer... can't do anything about that except step into the shade as much as possible, drink water, drink water, and drink water. I told you there were plenty of bathrooms, right?

Magic Kingdom was as much fun as it was 20 years ago.