Disney World Trip - Day 5

We got up early and hit the Waffle House for breakfast...again.  We really enjoyed it the first time on Saturday morning.

To get to the Magic Kingdom, you have to go to the parking lot, walk to Seven Seas Lagoon, and then take a ferry over to the park.  After riding in from the parking lot on the tram, there were cast members handing out sidewalk chalk to all the kids.  They got the chance there to write their names on the sidewalk before boarding the ferry.  The trip across the Lagoon was fun, and the kids enjoyed the ride while looking over the side.

It was an absolute zoo getting in, but once we got in, the people thinned out quite a bit.  We knew right where we were going:  To get Space Mtn Fast Passes.  Then to Buzz Light Year where we'd wait in line to ride.  Buzz Light Year was great, kind of a laser tag sort of ride, where you blast different things as you travel throughout the ride.  We had hit it so early, and it was so fun, that we ran around and got on again for another try before the line got really long.  Usually, the line for Buzz Light Year is very bad, so we were glad to get the chance to hit it a few times, and have it out of the way.

After finishing, the plan was to head up to the area where Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad are.  They are the two other big time thrill rides, along with Space Mountain, at the Magic Kingdom.  I ran on ahead, and found that both these rides were broken down with no target time for them to reopen.  We were really bummed, because we'd also just learned that Space Mountain had been closed as well.  It was beginning to look like we might miss all three unless we wanted to return another day.

Because we couldn't use our Fast Passes we'd gotten for Space Mountain due to its being down, we were able to go get Fast Passes on another ride, and we chose Peter Pan, as we'd heard it was pretty good.  We got them, and got bonus Fast Passes at the same time for Mickey's Philharmagic.  So, we were loaded with Fast Passes.

We hit Mickey's Philharmagic first.  It was a theatre type production in 4D (not only is it 3D, but you actually feel the wind hit you, or the mist come down on you, during certain points of the show).  We really enjoyed it, and it provided a nice break to sit down and cool off before heading back out into the heat.  I'd recommend it.  The kids got quite a kick out of it.

After coming out of Philharmagic, Soleil asked Ang to take her on the Carousel, which was just outside Peter Pan.  The location was perfect, and she loved it.  Then all the kids took their turn at trying to pull the sword out of the stone.  None of them could do it alone, so they finally tried together:  still no luck.  Oh well, what are you going to do.

Next, we headed over to Peter Pan.  While this appears to be one of the older rides, it is also still very popular.  Jesse seemed to especially like this one.  He and Rhett were pointing and talking the whole way through.

By this time, it was getting pretty hot, and we were getting pretty tired.  We decided to circle down by Pirates of the Caribbean, which we loved.  The wait was a little long, but it was worth it.  The line was all inside, out of sun, so no big deal.

After Pirates, we took our break from the park.  As I mentioned back on Hollywood Studios, we took no break on Day 3--BIG mistake!!  Take a break, take a nap, get something to eat that isn't deep fried, and relax.  We found that time out of the park to be worth its weight in gold.  We were able to recharge, cool down, and, we found, get a bonus:  There was an extra large, powerful thunderstorm that came through that afternoon.  We'd left the park at about noon, had lunch, and napped and relaxed until the storm hit at about 5:30.  I pulled up the weather on my phone and saw that the storm, while bad, was only a narrow strip passing over, and would likely only last about 30 minutes.  That ended up being the case.  Knowing how long it would take to get back to the park, and that the storm would likely drive a lot of people out, we headed back to the park. It worked out perfectly.  The storm was just letting up as we got back to the park.

Even better, we found out that all the rides we'd missed, the good roller coaster rides, were now up and running.  We first hit Space Mountain, which everyone loved.  When we came out, it was just getting dusk, and there was kind of an outdoor concert and video screen set up where they were playing music videos, and 4 or 5 dozen people were out in front of it dancing and listening.  We had a little time before the fast passes for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, so we sat and listened, and Soleil danced up a storm.

We finally decided to head over to Frontierland, and once again, our timing was perfect.  The electrical parade was just getting started.  It made getting around a little hard because the main street in the park gets packed, but the good part is that everyone leaves the ride to go and watch the parade--go figure.  Anyway, we headed over and used our Fast Passes on Big Thunder, and because everyone was over watching the parade, which ends with fireworks (that will matter in a minute), we were able to go and get right on Splash Mountain with almost no wait.  As we were riding Splash Mountain, there's a point in the ride where you float around and face the rest of the park.  At that point in time, and at a few others since the fireworks last a little while, we saw the fireworks going off from a great vantage point.  The ride was so fun that, when we got down, we asked everyone if they wanted to try it again and they did, so we hit it again.

Jesse was so funny on Splash Mountain.  For those of you who have been there, the big drop on Splash Mountain is on display, big time, for everyone else near the ride so that you can see what you are in for.  Jesse had seen these big drops and splashes several times, and he was not enamored with the idea of any of it.  As a result, he clung to me like grim death as we got further and further into the ride, and especially as we started the big climb to the drop off, and then went over (see picture).

After Splash Mountain, we felt like we had to get a picture of that, so we went to the store and bought the picture of us going over the falls, and then headed out of the park.  Getting out was somewhat of a nightmare (understatement of the century), but we survived it.  Soleil asked for a piggy back ride because she was wiped.  Within a minute or so, she'd fallen asleep in my back (again, see picture).  We finally got out, hit KFC (as the last customer of the day since they closed at midnight) and headed back to the resort to eat a very late dinner (only Angie, Rhett, and I could stay awake for dinner).  Soleil and Jesse went straight to bed.  As we sat and ate, Rhett looked at us and said, "I sure love you guys."  That was a great end to an already great day.