Right after lunch, we hopped over to Buzz to get fastpasses. They were for about an hour and a half later so we trekked back across the hub to ride Jungle Cruise with the FPs we got before lunch.
We were on Volta Val!
Jungle Cruise was great as usual! Although we got stuck for about 10 minutes at the end! That stretched the talent of our skipper. I think we heard every possible joke from the script. LOL.
(and yes- getting stuck is by far the recurring theme of our day!)
After Jungle cruise being in Adventureland and all, we determined it was time for a cold refreshing snack. While Aloha Isle was just up the way with its tempting Dole Whips we decided to go Old Skool and get the newly-returned OG Orange Swirl from Sunshine Tree Terrace!
Tart frozen orange juice swirled with vanilla soft serve.
There was an intriguing story about the Orange Swirl on the DFB Podcast and how, when talk of the Orange Bird coming back was rampant, an Imagineer dug around in storage and found the original Orange Swirl machine from back in the day. They went though all kinds of trials and tribulations getting the parts to get the machine back into working order but eventually did. As a result of that we can now enjoy Orange Swirls the way they are supposed to be with the frozen OJ and not sweet cloying orange soft serve from an antique WDW original machine!
Yep. Tangy!
Sour is good!
We all enjoyed it!
Frozen treat break, we passed through the breezeway and went Rons way to BTMRR (kindof- remember you are already in Frontierland at that point NOT all the way back at Liberty Square like the way he was suggesting earlier).
We had old FPs for Big Thunder that we were lucky enough to be able to use anyime since it was down when we returned to ride again after the 2nd ride on Splash.
We all had another super fun ride in the back!
We made the mistake of popping in to use the restrooms by Splash and got stuck having to let Sarah run around the Laughing Place.
She had fun!
Then we walked back towards Liberty Square (again). There was a whole lot of walking and a whole lot of park-crossing to accommodate these FPs.
Since we were in the area we dropped in on the Haunted Mansion. The wait said 20 mins but it did not look bad at all. For some reason the HM has had horrible lines the last few times wed been at MK.
Oh look. Fastpass+, Yay. /sarcasm. So as soon as they implement that everyone will be forced to go through the graveyard.
Right now though, it was still an option. As we approached everyone was bypassing it and nobody was going though the graveyard/new queue area. A CM stationed there was saying no wait to go through the interactive queue- which was true at the time there was nobody in it.
So of course we listened.
The queue is fun dont get me wrong. It is brilliantly detailed and should be seen by every visitor at least once. But as it turned out this time it didnt work for us. As soon as we passed through the doors that had opened closed and we were the first to be cut off. Oh well.
Normally it wouldnt be a huge deal but we were well into our window for the Buzz FPs. We had time to make it there but only if there were no more delays&&
But this is Haunted Mansion after all. Probably the most notorious ride in WDW for going 101 (the CM term for breaking down). And we were not to be denied. As soon as we reached the endless stairways scene, sure enough our Doombuggy stops and the spiel plays&you know the one Frightful spooks have interrupted our tour please remain in your Doooooooooommmmbuggies and we will resume in just a moment
Or maybe 10-15 moments.
So after finally getting free from the mansion we hightailed it to Buzz and arrived a few minutes past our FP end time. I wasn't worried about it since I knew there was a 15 minute grace period but the CM was VERY stern about us being late and expressed how he was going to be nice and let us in just this one time but we should be sure to arrive within the window from here on out. Geez dude.
So lets blast some Aliens!
I let Sarah do the shooting this time and look- she did really good! 101,100. She almost caught up to Ron and his 188,800!
And then we though wed give Space Mountain one more try with Sarah. Standby was 20 minutes so we hopped in (where was everyone? ) and hoped for the best. Again she made it past the entrance check but was denied at the load area. Oh well. We tried.
From there we trekked BACK to Fantasyland (lots of walking today, did I mention that?) for a ride on Sarahs favorite- its a small world!
I do like the pretty gold and white color scheme. Beats the old-fashioned pastel powdered sugar-butter mint colors we had going on a few years back. I dont like the new queue configuration of entering through the old exit and exiting through the old entrance. I guess 36 years of doing it the old way will do that to ya.
Looking over the rail into the water blow for Bs old cell phone. He dropped it in there a couple of years back. I wonder what kind of crazy things they find when they drain it?
Not quite. Im pretty sure the happiest cruise that ever sails will actually be in three more days.
Ooh! I can get pretty pictures in here without my flash now!