When I last left y'all, I had just finished conquering Splash Mountain, and was headed to a first-time experience....
I had always wanted to ride on Aladdin's Magic Carpets, but always voted down by the boys who find the ride "baby-ish" and not thrilling enough!
I confess, I find the idea of riding on a magic flying carpet romantic and mysterious
And as I mentioned before, one of my favorite Philharmagic moments is when Jasmine and Aladdin soar over the city of Agrabah on their dreamy carpet ride!
There was a very short line when I got to the ride, and I practically walked-on. No one else sat behind nor beside me, and I had one whole carpet all to myself! Yay!
I pushed the scarab in front of me to control the height, and I reached behind to the other scarab to control the dip/pitch of my ride.
I noticed that there was a pool of water at the base of the ride. I read that the imagineers put it there so you can look down at your reflection in the water just as Jasmine and Aladdin do in the film. How totally cool is that?!
I tried to avoid being spit at by that naughty camel:
And finally figured that if you fly as high as the carpet will go, you'll avoid getting wet. Plus you get a "new fantastic point of view" of Adventureland.
I thouroughly enjoyed this ride, and make a note to self to make time to go on it again later in the day.
After I get off my carpet, I feel a great big hunger pang. I remember I had not had anything to eat since dining with the Princesses at Akershus yesterday evening. So, I quickly walk over to:
And order a favorite WDW snack:
A Dole Pineapple float! Yum!
While I savor its tropical goodness, I decide to get in line for:
There was a line short enough for me to be able to finish my float before I boarded the boat.
I must say that I really do prefer DL's version of POTC over WDW's. POTC is much longer at DL than it is at the MK. WDW seems to have received the abridged version of the attraction as DLs has a much longer prelude, and has extra scenes at the end that were left out of the MK's version of the ride. I still enjoy riding it, though, and love its gift shop at the end with all the pirate toys/curio.
Next, I go on an exotic nautical adventure:
I was seated on the benches in the middle of the boat, so my pictures came out with other people's heads on the bottom
. This was one where I cropped them out:
I found the skipper quite hilarious with his very dry sense of humour. I think the tongue-in-cheek, constant stream of puns is extremely amusing. Everytime I ride this, I always pick-up a new joke I don't recall hearing the last time.
As I walk away from the Jungle Cruise, I see a large group of people congregating by the entrance to POTC. I come closer to see what all the commotion is about:
It's Captain Jack's Pirate Tutorial!
I manage to weave my way to the front to get a pretty good view of the (ahem) very hot Johnny Depp look-alike. I will let the photos speak for themselves:
Another great thing about solo-tripping: enjoying "the view" guilt-free, without being rushed by DH and the boys!
After the tutorial, I glance at my watch and I see that I need to get going in order to be on time for my lunch ADR.
I head towards Main St. and get side-tracked by the Dream-Along-With-Mickey show in front of the Castle. Then, I run into these two gorgeously garbed citizens of Main Street:
I finally reach my destination, Tony's Town Square:
I am directed by the man standing behind the podium outside to check-in inside (a little confusing). At this point, to add to the confusion, I am also on the phone with WDW-DINE, trying to make/cancel/rearrange ADR's in order to accomodate the arrival of my beloved boys.
I am seated at a nice corner table, and knowing that I want spaghetti and meatballs, I politely tell the waiter that I do not need to see the menu. I order on the spot.
I love the rustic Lady and the Tramp water fountain in the center of the restaurant:
The food arrives, and I get a huge portion. And in spite of it being quite delicious, I barely finish half of it.
After my filling meal, I have one clear objective in mind --
To conquer Tomorrowland!
And for that, you'll have to stay tuned for the next chapter. 
I'm so glad you & your family are safe, take the kids to Sea World & have fun. You all deserve it after what you've been through.
