When we last left off, Judy, James, and I had just ridden Big Thunder and had decided that a treat was in order. We headed back into Adventureland to find Poppy and Gram and introduce them to the sweet nectar of life known as the Dole Whip. It was a bit like herding cats because I had James in front of me, who would take little side-trips to check-out whatever caught his eye, and Poppy and Gram behind, whom I had to make sure were keeping up and I had to be careful that I didn't walk too fast for them. At one point, James made a detour to cool off in the tiki-themed water-misters near the Magic Carpets and I thought that my parents had kept following Judy, but then I realized that they had turned and come with us and I said, "no, keep going, well catch up." (Easily.) Meanwhile, I texted Lauren that we were getting Dole Whips if they wanted to join us.
Yes, yes, yes. This is the place!
The Swiss Family Robinson treehouse is right across the street, and the first time I had a Dole Whip Float, I understood why Mr. Robinson built there.
I think that Poppy wanted to pay for our afternoon treat again today. Thankfully, he didn't get rained-on like last time at Animal Kingdom.
Soon, we were holding the object of our desire, the incomparable Dole Whip Float.
Looks like Minnie is also a fan!
I always go with the "float" versus the just plain "Dole Whip". But thats just personal preference. If they made a "Beverly Float", maybe I'd like that better too.
We sucked those babies down, and the other yayhoos in our group showed up. So of course, while the rest of our crew was hanging out at Aloha Isle, James wanted to do a couple more Sorcerers missions. I accompanied him to his next battle, which was at a portal near the Magic Carpets of Aladdin.
Okay, so this is one of those moments when I demonstrate that even though I've been to DisneyWorld several times, written several trip reports, and probably come off like I know a whooole lot about Disney touring, I still have things to learn. And at the risk of damaging my credibility with you, this information is just too good not to pass on. So now I give you, the "Not-so-secret-Passageway-between-Adventureland-and-Frontierland". Much like the fabled "Northwest Passage" of old, I had heard rumors of its existence, this short-cut between Adventureland and Frontierland, but had never seen it with my own eyes. That was, not until James' Sorcerers mission brought me to its very doorstep!
I had always gone through Adventureland passing by the Magic Carpets of Aladdin on the main thoroughfare, closer to the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. The Sorcerer portal that James needed to go to was tucked into a little corner behind the Magic Carpets. (Just out of frame, on the left-hand side of the picture below.) As James waited for other kids to finish so that he could play, I realized the significance of what was before me and decided to duck out and document this newfound gem.
The passage!
To give you a frame of reference, here's a shot looking back, towards the spitting camel and the Magic Carpets.
I walked closer. See through there? That's Frontierland my friends.
You just take about 8 steps forward, and you're at the Country Bear Jamboree. Yes, yes, I know that I took a picture with Dan (FantleroyFan07) and Candi the trip before this one, right there at the Country Bear. What can I say? It just didn't resonate at the time.
All right, back to James and his Sorcerers game.
Then he went to another one, closer to Aloha Isle. While he waited for this one he talked to a girl and her dad who seemed to be pretty knowledgeable about the Sorcerers cards. She had hers all bound in a notebook with little plastic sleeves to hold the cards, like a baseball card collector would use. James showed them his cards and they said that one of his was pretty rare, I forget which one, and even she didn't have it yet.
Then we joined back up with everybody else and James went off with the younger crowd, while Judy, Gram, and Poppy and I would pay a visit to the Tiki Room. I wanted to see it since it had been restored back to the original version; no longer "under new management".
I like Gilbert Gottfried as much as the next guy...okay, that's probably not saying much, let me start over. Sure, Ill admit it, I like Gilbert Gottfried, but it was kind of nice not having him interrupt the Tiki Room show in the form of the character Iago from Aladdin. I liked this new old version much better.
It's always neat to think that this attraction is one that really was envisioned by Walt Disney himself.
It was now almost 3:30, and we had one errand to run on our way over to Tomorrowland to meet up with the rest of our gang.
We cut through the Northwest Passage (I think that's what I'll call it from now on) and I thought I'd give you a sense of the crowds in Frontierland. As expected probably, for June.
Our errand was for each of us to sign-up for Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom so that we could get more cards for James. We were able to do it at Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe, a small building in Liberty Square just before you cross the bridge over to the Hub. We had trouble finding the sign-up area, since it was actually outside, and behind, the shop. Eventually, we found it and got signed-up even though we'd just be turning the cards over to James.
I dont think that I'd taken any Castle pictures yet, aside from the Photopass pictures on Main Street, so I had to make it an official Disney trip.
After we got through the Hub, I saw a Photopass photographer and we stopped for a few pictures.
Yes, it's always good to have sweaty pictures of yourselves on vacation.
Up Next: Finishing up Magic Kingdom with the younger crowd
Link to next chapter
I hope you have a great time. The crowds are no fun, but I don't mind the heat...just gives me an excuse to hit the pool.
and 
and 
*burp*
(back). I was beginning to think that I didn't have any Mexican readers anymore. Great to hear from you!
Another win for Marv!
