Monday Feb 14th 05
We hadnt planned for today to be so manic and to be totally honest, Id never want a day as busy as this again! We knew we were going to the Disney MGM Studios and so an early start was in order. Luckily, the kids didnt need much persuasion to wake up at 7am as for once, theyd gone to bed on time. Surprisingly, we managed to get to MGM by 08:30 and were parked very close to the main entrance, so close in fact that it took less time to walk than wait for the tram!
Once inside the park Ruth and the children went off to rent a locker whilst I had only one goal in mind. The one, the only, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. But wait! The way was blocked. Although wed been let into the park my path was blocked as it hadnt reached the official 9am opening time. Along with around 500 others we had to wait for 08:55 and then saw a procession of Disney characters walk towards the huge Mickey hat and then wave at us all waiting to come in. I wish Id had my camera but in my rush to get to ToT Id given it to the kids
Opening time duly arrived and I made haste around the corner and headed to the imposing hotel façade. With nerves tingling and the adrenaline coursing through my veins I got to the ride to be greeted by CLOSED! signs. A Cast Member was explaining that the ride had technical Difficulties and that it would be open later. He suggested that people get Fast Passes for later in the day which I wouldve done if I hadnt left the tickets with Ruth! Doh!
Next option was to walk round to the Rock n Roller Coaster. On the way to the small RnR queue I was texting Ruth asking her to get me a FP for ToT just as I entered the film show for RnR I got a reply from Ruth saying that shed already got them now thats why I love being married, sometimes I swear shes telepathic!
This was my first go on RnR as it was closed on our last visit. Id heard and read about the ride though and was particularly looking forward to the staaaaaaarrrrrrtttttttt!
When Steven Tyler counts down and you go from 0 to 60 in around 2 seconds what a rush! Why anyone feels the need to take drugs when you can feel so exhilarated from a ride like this is beyond me. The loops, the fast turns, the neon lights and garish signs flying by make this a great indoor coaster. This is a true roller coaster, whereas Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios is a ride with coaster elements. I loved it and came off with a rock n roll giddy feeling! As I came back into the sunlight I met up with Ruth and the kids who could see I was itching to get back on. Neither Emily or Howard would contemplate the idea but Danny said hed give it a go.
Now Danny didn't know the coaster went upside down and I er ... neglected to tell him! Shame on me.
As we queued up to get into the limo he saw the one in front shoot off and he froze. It took some slight persuasion to get him onto the ride but once we took off I could hear him screaming with delight! As he got off he had a huge smile across his face and his words were something like "That was brilliant Daddy! Lets do that again!" So the next time he went on with Ruth who absolutely and utterly hated the ride. She has sworn never to do it again! She was literally shaking with fear and the video I took of her as she came out is very funny - she was not amused!
As we were leaving the RnR area we saw that Tower of Terror had opened so we made use of the fast passes Ruth had picked up earlier. None of the kids have ever wanted to ride this and all were adamant that they wouldnt go on now. I tried to explain that its just an up-and-down thing but they wouldnt budge. Ah well, I tried! I went off to ride it and was, well, disappointed. I dont know whether it was because Id been thrilled by RnR but the lift drops seemed a bit tame. I didnt get the stomach-in-my-throat feeling that the drops normally give; it was if the actual drops have been slowed slightly. Maybe Im just imagining this or Im getting old?
Ruth then went on whilst I looked after the children and just like RnR she came off saying that shed never do it again! This was her first ride on this though, maybe Ill talk her around in the future. Deciding which way to move around the park we saw that we had 15 minutes until the next Indiana Jones Stunt Show. This would be the fifth time Id seen this show and its just a huge amount of fun. The show takes about 40 minutes to run and is worth every minute. Its action packed, funny and will keep all but the youngest of children watching.
Tip They pick out audience members to join in the fun on stage. If you want to try this (Ive never had the bottle but it looks great fun!), get there early and get seats toward the centre of the auditorium. Oh, and wear a bright shirt so you can be picked out from the crowd!
The kids all wanted to ride Star Tours next as this is next door to the Indy show. Ruth & Howard decided they didnt want to go on (theyve both done it before and dont like these motion master rides) so Emily, Danny and I headed off on our trip to Endor. Now I love Star Wars and have done since I was a kid. At least theyve kept the original themes here from the first movies instead of updating it to the lets make some money prequels of the last few years. Better not get me started on those though or well be here all night. I was mightily annoyed though when we came into the obligatory gift shop. They had some great ice hockey, gridiron and basketball jerseys with Vader and a number, 77 for episode IV and 80 for episode V. These looked fantastic but at $150 each? Er, no thanks. I would happily pay $50 for a shirt like that but not $150, that, like the prequels, is just a rip off. Bite lip. Stop now. Off my high horse!
Still, Emily and Danny wanted to ride it again. As theyre now 10 and almost 8, its time to start letting them (occasionally) loose. So I guided them to the front entrance and told them to meet us outside the gift shop after the ride. Strange feeling this letting our kids loose in a theme park particularly on a ride where we couldnt see them. Have to let go sometime though and I think they appreciate the fact that we let them go on alone.
Off to one of my all time favourites now, The Muppets 3D show. I love this and again, like Indy, this was my fifth experience in the theatre and far from being bored by it I actually got a buzz waiting for the things to happen, or should I say, go wrong! Its a scream for all ages although compared to the what we saw later in the day during Mickeys Philharmagic, 3D shows have come along way sine the Muppets first opened their doors.
Feeling peckish and needing a quick snack, we went into the Pizza Planet restaurant over the road from the Muppet Theatre. As is usual with a lot of theme park food, its rushed, expensive and not that filling. I have to admit that I find it slightly annoying paying over $40 for pizzas, fries and drinks when for a fraction more you can be well fed with decent food on International Drive. But thats where the theme parks have you over a barrel if you dont bring your own grub and I guess its the price you pay.
Ambling around the park we passed the Honey I shrunk the kids play park. OK, Im a mean Dad. I couldve let our kids go in but experience has taught me that once they go in, its an almighty task to get them out again. So they were ushered away from the entrance in the hope that they wouldnt see it. Luckily (for Ruth & I) they didnt and we got a good view of the new stadium built for the Lights, Motors, Action! stunt show. The reports Ive seen of the Paris version look good so I guess this attraction will be impressive when it opens in May this year. We decided to skip the Backlot Tour, weve done it before and I dont really share the American passion for seeing a copy of the Golden Girls house or the water/pyro show now based on Pearl Harbour. One of, if not THE worst film ever!
We made our way down to Voyage of the Little Mermaid because, well, I love this show. I might be 37 and the size of a wardrobe, but there is something about it, probably the music, that makes it so much fun to watch. When we finished here the kids wanted to go on the Great Movie Ride. I neither like or dislike this ride, its just slightly dull. Like Ruth saying shes ridden Tower of Terror but would never go on it again, I feel the same about TGMR. Do it once definitely but never again and I feel the exact same way about Its a Small World in Magic Kingdom!
Now we had a choice. It was a nice day, we could stay here and wait to see the next Beauty & The Beast show and ride other things again or we could hop to the Magic Kingdom which I knew was open until 10pm. It was a family decision to park hop, we all voted and the choice was unanimous but the fact the kids wanted to ride Stitchs Great Esacpe won the day. So, saying goodbye to MGM we headed off back to the car for the short hop to the Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom
Parked easily at MK and took a tram ride to the monorail and were inside the main gates by 16:15. Cinderellas castle looked magnificent but Main Street USA was very busy. Making our way down Main Street (or rather fighting through the crowds!) we found that the area around the front of the castle was surrounded by a 7 foot high fence. Not sure whats going on behind this but it took the shine away but I guess itll be good whenever its finished. Have faith in the Disney Imagineers!
We made our way into Tomorrow Land to be greeted by 50 minute+ queues for both Buzz Lightyear and Stitch. Making use of the fast pass system we managed to get 5 for Stitch but they werent available to use until after 17:40. We couldve queued for Buzz at this point but with the debacle of Men In Black at US (see here) none of us wanted to spend that much time in a queue. Having looked over at Space Mountain, the queue for this was over an hour but Im so glad we didnt queue for either Buzz or Space Mountain. Youll soon see why.
We all jumped onto the TomorrowLand Transit Authority ride as this is a nice way to start any MK trip. As you may know, at one point the TTA ride passes through Space Mountain. Normally its dark and eerie as you hear the sounds of the coaster and screams of the riders. Not today! All the lights were on inside the mountain and the ride was at a standstill. I desperately tried to get some shots of this as its rare to see Space Mountain properly but Id set the camera incorrectly and this is the best shot of a bad bunch. At least this explained why the queue for SM was so long! Whilst on the TTA we saw a building moving around.
After checking the map Ruth found it was called Carousel Of Progress and so we decided to give a look. Well, Ruth and the kids did. I was in there but before the theatre had revolved the first time I had fallen asleep! Yep, Dad was snoring in a ride again. This really is a ride for the older members of a party or to do if there are queues elsewhere. I understand it has historical value but its dark, quiet and comfy and in anyone of those situations I can and will fall asleep!
After buying some ice creams & drinks (it was a very hot day), we made our way to the top end of the park. Our kids are old enough now not to want to go into Mickeys Toontown Fair and to be perfectly honest, Im glad. We didnt go to see the Barney show at Universal or the Bear in the Big Blue house at MGM our children would rather watch Disneys Recess and its ilk and have grown out of the, as they would say, baby stuff. Weve been there with the push chairs and although we wouldnt have missed it for the world its nice that the kids are growing up!
Its for this reason that we werent going to queue (40/50+ mins) for the Peter Pan or Snow White rides. Weve done them before on our last visit and theyre a bit old hat for the kids. I would recommend that anyone with young children go on them though, theyre certainly worth doing at least once! Saying this, all of my kids were disappointed that Its a Small World wasnt open I was glad as they wouldve been singing that infernal theme song for the rest of the holiday!
Seeing that a Mickeys Philharmagic show was about to start we managed to get into this showing, although only just! After seeing the Muppets 3D earlier in the day, I was looking forward to this show and I wasnt to be disappointed. The 3D effects and immersion into the action is on par with that of Spiderman at Islands of Adventure. Although Philharmagic is a stationary auditorium, the way the screen envelops the audience in sound, vision and smell (the pie, oh the pie!) is amazing. It is a fantastic display of how far 3D and sensory manipulative attractions have come. No idea on how much it cost but it was worth every penny. Mickeys Philharmagic Show is a must see item in the Magic Kingdom!
After the show was over Emily & Howard wanted a go on the Mad Tea Party cups ride, only because I think they were trying to make Ruth feel ill!
It was getting near Stitch fast pass time now and we made our way back towards Tomorrow Land. The FP system was great straight in at the front of the queue!. Id been on the old Alien Encounter ride which was there before Stitch and really enjoyed it. I wondered what had been changed, was it a totally new ride? What would be the differences? To be brutally frank, the only things different are the decoration, Stitch instead of an alien and the sound track. Now before anyone jumps down my throat about me being negative about Stitch I loved every single second of it!. I thought it was funny and well done. The changes from Alien to the current Stitch are more or less cosmetic but its made the experience 10 times better because instead of being scared, most people (including children) now have fun! Missed me, missed me, know you gotta kiss me! is a line that the kids are still reciting two weeks later!
Tip: When inside the Stitch ride, keep your head back in the seat so you can a) hear the funny soundtrack and b) get the full effect of smell and touch. If you lean forward youll miss the best parts of the show!
Literally Buzzing when we came out of Stitch our hearts sank when we saw that Buzz Lightyear had closed due to a fault :cry: So looking forward to riding Buzz again but these things happen. We took a slow gander around the park and found our way to the Columbia Harbour House for something to eat. They do a nice fish, chicken and fries combo but just our luck we didnt get any fish (grrr) but we needed something to keep us going for the evening ahead. It was getting dark as we left the restaurant and we found ourselves at the entrance to the Haunted Mansion. We all queued up, all went in, got to the cars and Emily & Danny chickened out only Howard and myself rode it. Theyve ridden this before and know none of it is real but refused point blank to ride. Kids!
Now this was going to be fun: Splash Mountain in the dark! Ruth and the children decided against riding as they wanted to get their fleeces from the locker so I rode alone. Its still a mystery to me why people go on water rides wearing coats, macs or ponchos. Its a water ride. Youre supposed to get wet, deal with it! Its a bit like going to watch a scary movie with a blindfold on whats the point!? Splash Mountain is a good ride in the daylight, its superb at night! It brings on air of mystery and the castle looks beautiful bathed in light. If you get a chance to ride Splash at night, do it!
As soon as I came off splash I spoke to Ruth on the phone who said she was making her way towards Pirates of the Caribbean, a real family favourite. I walked ack down and met up with them before riding. This was enjoyable (as ever) but for some reason there was a big delay about 80% of the way around causing a big log-jam of boats! We moved back towards Splash Mountain as Ruth wanted a go and still none of the children would risk it. Its strange that Danny would ride Rock n Roller Coaster with loops and Dudley Do Rights Rip Saw Falls at IOA but he wont ride SM which is tame in comparison! Neither Ruth or I have ever ridden the Thunder Mountain Railroad as it hasnt been open on previous visits. Trying to persuade the kids to ride what is, lets face it, a tame ride, proved a fruitless task. Yet again, Ruth and I rode separately whilst the other looked after the children. Just as with Splash Mountain, the TMRR is a great ride in the dark with brief glimpses of the illuminated castle. Finally, Emily and Danny caved and decided to ride on Thunder Mountain Railroad and went with Ruth. Guess what? They loved it and went on again. And again. The words I told you so came to mind but hey ho, thats life!
It was moving towards 9pm and time for the Spectromagic parade through the park. We watched most of this from near the Splash Mountain bridge and it was very good, but a bit too long on a chilly night.
We all, bar Howard, had one last go on Thunder Mountain Railroad before the park was due to close at 10pm. As we were making our way back through the crowds the fireork display started and it was very good. I was amazed to see how many people with very young children were still in the park very few were sleeping as the pyrotechnics were so loud! Im not normally a fan of fireworks but this show is worth seeing; I would recommend that you try and catch one of these shows.
As the show climaxed we made it back to our lockers to retrieve our stuff and hand the key back for the $2 refund. As you can imagine, at closing time the amount of people leaving the park is tremendous! Thousands were streaming out of the gates and back towards the monorail. A nice touch was Mickey on the steam train platform waving goodbye to people, I have to admit to waving myself! Luckily we managed to get on the first train back to the car parks and onto a tram to attempt to find our car. The guard on this tram was very funny. He sounded so hacked off, so droll, so fed up that we couldnt help but laugh at him telling people off for getting out the wrong side after he had specifically said dont do it!
Back to our car we collapsed in and drove back home. Timing the trip, it had taken around 32 minutes from Main Street USA to get back to the villa. Now thats fast. I reckon governments & councils should be employing Disney transport executives as they are absolute masters about getting (literally) hundreds of thousands of people into and out of confined areas on a daily basis, with a minimum of delay or fuss. At home, the kids crashed, Ruth crashed and I hit the warm pool to give my legs and feet a rest.
Never, ever have my calves and feet felt so sore. We had over done it today but we did have a good time. We got to do (most) of the things we wanted to at MGM and the Magic Kingdom and we had the option with the hoppers to go back. Ruth and I did agree though that we wouldnt try for two parks in one day again!
And if you've read all of this you deserve a medal!
We hadnt planned for today to be so manic and to be totally honest, Id never want a day as busy as this again! We knew we were going to the Disney MGM Studios and so an early start was in order. Luckily, the kids didnt need much persuasion to wake up at 7am as for once, theyd gone to bed on time. Surprisingly, we managed to get to MGM by 08:30 and were parked very close to the main entrance, so close in fact that it took less time to walk than wait for the tram!
Once inside the park Ruth and the children went off to rent a locker whilst I had only one goal in mind. The one, the only, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. But wait! The way was blocked. Although wed been let into the park my path was blocked as it hadnt reached the official 9am opening time. Along with around 500 others we had to wait for 08:55 and then saw a procession of Disney characters walk towards the huge Mickey hat and then wave at us all waiting to come in. I wish Id had my camera but in my rush to get to ToT Id given it to the kids
Opening time duly arrived and I made haste around the corner and headed to the imposing hotel façade. With nerves tingling and the adrenaline coursing through my veins I got to the ride to be greeted by CLOSED! signs. A Cast Member was explaining that the ride had technical Difficulties and that it would be open later. He suggested that people get Fast Passes for later in the day which I wouldve done if I hadnt left the tickets with Ruth! Doh!
Next option was to walk round to the Rock n Roller Coaster. On the way to the small RnR queue I was texting Ruth asking her to get me a FP for ToT just as I entered the film show for RnR I got a reply from Ruth saying that shed already got them now thats why I love being married, sometimes I swear shes telepathic!
This was my first go on RnR as it was closed on our last visit. Id heard and read about the ride though and was particularly looking forward to the staaaaaaarrrrrrtttttttt!When Steven Tyler counts down and you go from 0 to 60 in around 2 seconds what a rush! Why anyone feels the need to take drugs when you can feel so exhilarated from a ride like this is beyond me. The loops, the fast turns, the neon lights and garish signs flying by make this a great indoor coaster. This is a true roller coaster, whereas Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios is a ride with coaster elements. I loved it and came off with a rock n roll giddy feeling! As I came back into the sunlight I met up with Ruth and the kids who could see I was itching to get back on. Neither Emily or Howard would contemplate the idea but Danny said hed give it a go.
Now Danny didn't know the coaster went upside down and I er ... neglected to tell him! Shame on me.
As we queued up to get into the limo he saw the one in front shoot off and he froze. It took some slight persuasion to get him onto the ride but once we took off I could hear him screaming with delight! As he got off he had a huge smile across his face and his words were something like "That was brilliant Daddy! Lets do that again!" So the next time he went on with Ruth who absolutely and utterly hated the ride. She has sworn never to do it again! She was literally shaking with fear and the video I took of her as she came out is very funny - she was not amused!As we were leaving the RnR area we saw that Tower of Terror had opened so we made use of the fast passes Ruth had picked up earlier. None of the kids have ever wanted to ride this and all were adamant that they wouldnt go on now. I tried to explain that its just an up-and-down thing but they wouldnt budge. Ah well, I tried! I went off to ride it and was, well, disappointed. I dont know whether it was because Id been thrilled by RnR but the lift drops seemed a bit tame. I didnt get the stomach-in-my-throat feeling that the drops normally give; it was if the actual drops have been slowed slightly. Maybe Im just imagining this or Im getting old?
Ruth then went on whilst I looked after the children and just like RnR she came off saying that shed never do it again! This was her first ride on this though, maybe Ill talk her around in the future. Deciding which way to move around the park we saw that we had 15 minutes until the next Indiana Jones Stunt Show. This would be the fifth time Id seen this show and its just a huge amount of fun. The show takes about 40 minutes to run and is worth every minute. Its action packed, funny and will keep all but the youngest of children watching.
Tip They pick out audience members to join in the fun on stage. If you want to try this (Ive never had the bottle but it looks great fun!), get there early and get seats toward the centre of the auditorium. Oh, and wear a bright shirt so you can be picked out from the crowd!
The kids all wanted to ride Star Tours next as this is next door to the Indy show. Ruth & Howard decided they didnt want to go on (theyve both done it before and dont like these motion master rides) so Emily, Danny and I headed off on our trip to Endor. Now I love Star Wars and have done since I was a kid. At least theyve kept the original themes here from the first movies instead of updating it to the lets make some money prequels of the last few years. Better not get me started on those though or well be here all night. I was mightily annoyed though when we came into the obligatory gift shop. They had some great ice hockey, gridiron and basketball jerseys with Vader and a number, 77 for episode IV and 80 for episode V. These looked fantastic but at $150 each? Er, no thanks. I would happily pay $50 for a shirt like that but not $150, that, like the prequels, is just a rip off. Bite lip. Stop now. Off my high horse!
Still, Emily and Danny wanted to ride it again. As theyre now 10 and almost 8, its time to start letting them (occasionally) loose. So I guided them to the front entrance and told them to meet us outside the gift shop after the ride. Strange feeling this letting our kids loose in a theme park particularly on a ride where we couldnt see them. Have to let go sometime though and I think they appreciate the fact that we let them go on alone.
Off to one of my all time favourites now, The Muppets 3D show. I love this and again, like Indy, this was my fifth experience in the theatre and far from being bored by it I actually got a buzz waiting for the things to happen, or should I say, go wrong! Its a scream for all ages although compared to the what we saw later in the day during Mickeys Philharmagic, 3D shows have come along way sine the Muppets first opened their doors.
Feeling peckish and needing a quick snack, we went into the Pizza Planet restaurant over the road from the Muppet Theatre. As is usual with a lot of theme park food, its rushed, expensive and not that filling. I have to admit that I find it slightly annoying paying over $40 for pizzas, fries and drinks when for a fraction more you can be well fed with decent food on International Drive. But thats where the theme parks have you over a barrel if you dont bring your own grub and I guess its the price you pay.
Ambling around the park we passed the Honey I shrunk the kids play park. OK, Im a mean Dad. I couldve let our kids go in but experience has taught me that once they go in, its an almighty task to get them out again. So they were ushered away from the entrance in the hope that they wouldnt see it. Luckily (for Ruth & I) they didnt and we got a good view of the new stadium built for the Lights, Motors, Action! stunt show. The reports Ive seen of the Paris version look good so I guess this attraction will be impressive when it opens in May this year. We decided to skip the Backlot Tour, weve done it before and I dont really share the American passion for seeing a copy of the Golden Girls house or the water/pyro show now based on Pearl Harbour. One of, if not THE worst film ever!
We made our way down to Voyage of the Little Mermaid because, well, I love this show. I might be 37 and the size of a wardrobe, but there is something about it, probably the music, that makes it so much fun to watch. When we finished here the kids wanted to go on the Great Movie Ride. I neither like or dislike this ride, its just slightly dull. Like Ruth saying shes ridden Tower of Terror but would never go on it again, I feel the same about TGMR. Do it once definitely but never again and I feel the exact same way about Its a Small World in Magic Kingdom!
Now we had a choice. It was a nice day, we could stay here and wait to see the next Beauty & The Beast show and ride other things again or we could hop to the Magic Kingdom which I knew was open until 10pm. It was a family decision to park hop, we all voted and the choice was unanimous but the fact the kids wanted to ride Stitchs Great Esacpe won the day. So, saying goodbye to MGM we headed off back to the car for the short hop to the Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom
Parked easily at MK and took a tram ride to the monorail and were inside the main gates by 16:15. Cinderellas castle looked magnificent but Main Street USA was very busy. Making our way down Main Street (or rather fighting through the crowds!) we found that the area around the front of the castle was surrounded by a 7 foot high fence. Not sure whats going on behind this but it took the shine away but I guess itll be good whenever its finished. Have faith in the Disney Imagineers!
We made our way into Tomorrow Land to be greeted by 50 minute+ queues for both Buzz Lightyear and Stitch. Making use of the fast pass system we managed to get 5 for Stitch but they werent available to use until after 17:40. We couldve queued for Buzz at this point but with the debacle of Men In Black at US (see here) none of us wanted to spend that much time in a queue. Having looked over at Space Mountain, the queue for this was over an hour but Im so glad we didnt queue for either Buzz or Space Mountain. Youll soon see why.
We all jumped onto the TomorrowLand Transit Authority ride as this is a nice way to start any MK trip. As you may know, at one point the TTA ride passes through Space Mountain. Normally its dark and eerie as you hear the sounds of the coaster and screams of the riders. Not today! All the lights were on inside the mountain and the ride was at a standstill. I desperately tried to get some shots of this as its rare to see Space Mountain properly but Id set the camera incorrectly and this is the best shot of a bad bunch.
At least this explained why the queue for SM was so long! Whilst on the TTA we saw a building moving around. After checking the map Ruth found it was called Carousel Of Progress and so we decided to give a look. Well, Ruth and the kids did. I was in there but before the theatre had revolved the first time I had fallen asleep! Yep, Dad was snoring in a ride again. This really is a ride for the older members of a party or to do if there are queues elsewhere. I understand it has historical value but its dark, quiet and comfy and in anyone of those situations I can and will fall asleep!
After buying some ice creams & drinks (it was a very hot day), we made our way to the top end of the park. Our kids are old enough now not to want to go into Mickeys Toontown Fair and to be perfectly honest, Im glad. We didnt go to see the Barney show at Universal or the Bear in the Big Blue house at MGM our children would rather watch Disneys Recess and its ilk and have grown out of the, as they would say, baby stuff. Weve been there with the push chairs and although we wouldnt have missed it for the world its nice that the kids are growing up!
Its for this reason that we werent going to queue (40/50+ mins) for the Peter Pan or Snow White rides. Weve done them before on our last visit and theyre a bit old hat for the kids. I would recommend that anyone with young children go on them though, theyre certainly worth doing at least once! Saying this, all of my kids were disappointed that Its a Small World wasnt open I was glad as they wouldve been singing that infernal theme song for the rest of the holiday!
Seeing that a Mickeys Philharmagic show was about to start we managed to get into this showing, although only just! After seeing the Muppets 3D earlier in the day, I was looking forward to this show and I wasnt to be disappointed. The 3D effects and immersion into the action is on par with that of Spiderman at Islands of Adventure. Although Philharmagic is a stationary auditorium, the way the screen envelops the audience in sound, vision and smell (the pie, oh the pie!) is amazing. It is a fantastic display of how far 3D and sensory manipulative attractions have come. No idea on how much it cost but it was worth every penny. Mickeys Philharmagic Show is a must see item in the Magic Kingdom!
After the show was over Emily & Howard wanted a go on the Mad Tea Party cups ride, only because I think they were trying to make Ruth feel ill!
It was getting near Stitch fast pass time now and we made our way back towards Tomorrow Land. The FP system was great straight in at the front of the queue!. Id been on the old Alien Encounter ride which was there before Stitch and really enjoyed it. I wondered what had been changed, was it a totally new ride? What would be the differences? To be brutally frank, the only things different are the decoration, Stitch instead of an alien and the sound track. Now before anyone jumps down my throat about me being negative about Stitch I loved every single second of it!. I thought it was funny and well done. The changes from Alien to the current Stitch are more or less cosmetic but its made the experience 10 times better because instead of being scared, most people (including children) now have fun! Missed me, missed me, know you gotta kiss me! is a line that the kids are still reciting two weeks later!
Tip: When inside the Stitch ride, keep your head back in the seat so you can a) hear the funny soundtrack and b) get the full effect of smell and touch. If you lean forward youll miss the best parts of the show!
Literally Buzzing when we came out of Stitch our hearts sank when we saw that Buzz Lightyear had closed due to a fault :cry: So looking forward to riding Buzz again but these things happen. We took a slow gander around the park and found our way to the Columbia Harbour House for something to eat. They do a nice fish, chicken and fries combo but just our luck we didnt get any fish (grrr) but we needed something to keep us going for the evening ahead. It was getting dark as we left the restaurant and we found ourselves at the entrance to the Haunted Mansion. We all queued up, all went in, got to the cars and Emily & Danny chickened out only Howard and myself rode it. Theyve ridden this before and know none of it is real but refused point blank to ride. Kids!
Now this was going to be fun: Splash Mountain in the dark! Ruth and the children decided against riding as they wanted to get their fleeces from the locker so I rode alone. Its still a mystery to me why people go on water rides wearing coats, macs or ponchos. Its a water ride. Youre supposed to get wet, deal with it! Its a bit like going to watch a scary movie with a blindfold on whats the point!? Splash Mountain is a good ride in the daylight, its superb at night! It brings on air of mystery and the castle looks beautiful bathed in light. If you get a chance to ride Splash at night, do it!
As soon as I came off splash I spoke to Ruth on the phone who said she was making her way towards Pirates of the Caribbean, a real family favourite. I walked ack down and met up with them before riding. This was enjoyable (as ever) but for some reason there was a big delay about 80% of the way around causing a big log-jam of boats! We moved back towards Splash Mountain as Ruth wanted a go and still none of the children would risk it. Its strange that Danny would ride Rock n Roller Coaster with loops and Dudley Do Rights Rip Saw Falls at IOA but he wont ride SM which is tame in comparison! Neither Ruth or I have ever ridden the Thunder Mountain Railroad as it hasnt been open on previous visits. Trying to persuade the kids to ride what is, lets face it, a tame ride, proved a fruitless task. Yet again, Ruth and I rode separately whilst the other looked after the children. Just as with Splash Mountain, the TMRR is a great ride in the dark with brief glimpses of the illuminated castle. Finally, Emily and Danny caved and decided to ride on Thunder Mountain Railroad and went with Ruth. Guess what? They loved it and went on again. And again. The words I told you so came to mind but hey ho, thats life!
It was moving towards 9pm and time for the Spectromagic parade through the park. We watched most of this from near the Splash Mountain bridge and it was very good, but a bit too long on a chilly night.
We all, bar Howard, had one last go on Thunder Mountain Railroad before the park was due to close at 10pm. As we were making our way back through the crowds the fireork display started and it was very good. I was amazed to see how many people with very young children were still in the park very few were sleeping as the pyrotechnics were so loud! Im not normally a fan of fireworks but this show is worth seeing; I would recommend that you try and catch one of these shows.
As the show climaxed we made it back to our lockers to retrieve our stuff and hand the key back for the $2 refund. As you can imagine, at closing time the amount of people leaving the park is tremendous! Thousands were streaming out of the gates and back towards the monorail. A nice touch was Mickey on the steam train platform waving goodbye to people, I have to admit to waving myself! Luckily we managed to get on the first train back to the car parks and onto a tram to attempt to find our car. The guard on this tram was very funny. He sounded so hacked off, so droll, so fed up that we couldnt help but laugh at him telling people off for getting out the wrong side after he had specifically said dont do it!
Back to our car we collapsed in and drove back home. Timing the trip, it had taken around 32 minutes from Main Street USA to get back to the villa. Now thats fast. I reckon governments & councils should be employing Disney transport executives as they are absolute masters about getting (literally) hundreds of thousands of people into and out of confined areas on a daily basis, with a minimum of delay or fuss. At home, the kids crashed, Ruth crashed and I hit the warm pool to give my legs and feet a rest.
Never, ever have my calves and feet felt so sore. We had over done it today but we did have a good time. We got to do (most) of the things we wanted to at MGM and the Magic Kingdom and we had the option with the hoppers to go back. Ruth and I did agree though that we wouldnt try for two parks in one day again!
And if you've read all of this you deserve a medal!
