26th: Magic in the Magic Kingdom

Our best friends Doug and Betty arrived in Orlando on Sunday night and we planned a day at the Magic Kingdom with them. We enjoy the Park just as much with friends as we do alone.



We rode Space Mountain, an indoor roller coaster in the dark and then Buzz Lightyear, where you shoot targets while you are on a moving ride.

We crossed the park and had a great time on the Jungle Cruise. The pilot of the boat has a script that he has memorized, but this is one ride where an enthusiast cast member really makes the difference in your ride experience.





20 people ride in a boat and you see Bengal tigers (“they can jump over 20 feet, but don’t worry we’re 19 feet away and he’ll jump right over us”), elephants (“Look here…it’s the republican national convention. You can take pictures because they all have their trunks on. Oh by the way… If you want to see the Democrats they’re back at the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Festival of Fools attraction”), crocodiles (“Do you know what the difference between the crocodiles and alligators are? The crocodiles are made of plastic and the alligators are made with fiberglass”), and when returning to the dock (“…and now we reach the most dangerous part of the journey, my attempt at docking the boat”). It’s silly. It’s slapstick. I love it all.

The Magic Kingdom also has a Pirates of the Caribbean ride similar to Disneyland's. It IS a little different though. The queue line here is much cooler to go through, but the ride itself has a little less in it.

When we got on Splash Mountain we were told we would get wet and we got wet. Others got even wetter than we did when the water cannons blasted them. Basically, you ride a log around and see and hear the story of Brer Bear, Brer Fox, and Brer Rabbit. Near the end of the ride you drop down a roller coaster-like drop into a pool of water. Great fun.





Everyone had lunch and then we rode a raft over to Tom Sawyer's Island to walk around and explore the fort and the caves.

The Haunted Mansion tried it's best to scare us but we had ridden the one in Disneyland so we knew what to expect.



In ToonTown we rode a goofy roller coaster and then got on a real steam train that took us around the park to see everything from the tracks.





We lasted until 10pm or so that day. It was a great first day with our friends.