| Day 7, Saturday, January 5, 2002
This was a day we spent entirely at the Magic Kingdom. In the morning, it was cold, but not as bad as the last couple of days. By midday, it was too warm for a coat, and the evening wasn’t bad at all. And, of course, it was nice and dry. This was a good weather day. We were all up at 7, but Debbie stayed in the room until late afternoon, while Nick and I went off to the Magic Kingdom. We rode down to Tomorrowland on the horse drawn trolley. The park
decorations for the holidays were really something to see. There is a video
of our trolley ride down Main Street on our videos
page.
We started off at Tomorrowland, and the crowds sure seemed to be a little lighter now. We went to Space Mountain right away, and we didn’t have much of a line. We probably waited about 15 minutes. It was once again a great ride, though it seemed a little slower after having done Rock N Roller Coaster yesterday. We pulled a Fast Pass on Buzz, then did a turn on TTA. Once again, tried for somme of those great photos, which are plentiful here if you’re fast. After TTA, we did Timekeeper. Nick hadn’t seen this for a while, and he enjoyed it very much. Robin Williams is still hilarious in this, his personality comes through. Overall, the stage effects, Circle Vision, and animatronics here are a fun combination. |
 |
 |
We still had some time to kill before the Fast Pass came up.
So, we grabbed a snack at the Launching Pad. I had a turkey leg,
Nick had cookies.
I got a half a million on Buzz, which made me a Space Ace. Believe it or not, I did better riding with Nick than I did when riding by myself. We had a great time on this ride together. We were going to do some Fantasyland rides, but ended up walking through the Toontown Fair, and took the train around to Frontierland. The train is such a great classic ride. Nick begged for a ride on Splash Mountain, and finally talked me into it. It was still awfully cold, but the ride wasn’t as bad as you might think. It’s still a fun ride, even if you try to avoid getting wet (which you can do by a duck and cover at the drop). I didn’t really get wet at all, which is a good thing, considering the temperature. It is still fun to see the elaborate animatronics through this ride. Nonetheless, next time I’m on it, I’m hoping it’s 80 degrees. I couldn’t resist buying the photo, because Nick was in a hands over the head, gung ho pose. We pulled a Fast Pass for BTMR, then went to have lunch a Pecos Bills. It was hot dogs and hamburgers, of course. Nick was proving to be very good company this morning, and I was glad to be spending this time with him. |
| We tried to do Pirates, but it was closed for some reason. We
went down for a couple of rides on Aladdin. It was a lot of fun,
but I guess they thought it was still too cold for the camel, so it was
turned off. That’s too bad, because it adds a lot to the ride.
We finally met Debbie (talked to her on the cell) in Adventureland. We went ahead and did the Tiki Room (the only time this trip). I am once again impressed by the articulation on the goddess of disaster. That’s a great piece of animatronics. Now, Iago says “stop the music” at the beginning of the show, I thought he said something about “what is that noise”. Is it possible he has been softened? I’m sorry, I still like the new Tiki Room. It’s funny, and the goddess of disaster is wonderful. Next, Nick and I returned for our Fast Pass on BTMR, while Debbie waited, because she had no Fast Pass. We had a great time, and a fun, fast ride. We were in the front car, though, and I think the rear car is a little zippier. It was then time for another Haunted Mansion ride. The line was pretty substantial, with about a 35 minute standby wait. The crowds were thinning out from earlier in the trip, but they were still kind of thick. |
 |
 |
At the HM exit, we did some great shopping at the little gypsy stand.
Nick and I replaced our HM T-shirts, which are wearing thin. The
new design is pretty nice, but the old one was better. It was great
to get a new replacement, though. Nick got a giant key, because this
ride doesn’t have a card, and I got an eyeball key chain. We picked
up another couple of trinkets also.
We did find on this trip that they had discontinued the practice of making deliveries to your room when you are staying on property. It’s kind of too bad, that was a nice thing. But, they will deliver to your resort’s front desk, which still saves you from carrying packages around with you all day. But, it takes an extra trip to the general store if you’re staying at a place like OKW. Oh, well. After the gypsy stand, we went on a ride on It’s a Small World. I do love the overall feeling of this ride, and the theme sung in different languages. After all this time, this ride still doesn’t grow old for me, it is still enchanting. Next, we made a strategic error, and stood in the standby line for Peter Pan. We probably should have either pulled a Fast Pass for this, or at least grabbed a Fast Pass on Pooh while we waited in this line. Despite a long and unpleasant line, we had a magical ride on Peter Pan. This is a simple ride, but perfectly designed. I know it’s an old and simple ride, but if you let yourself go, you are flying, just for a moment.... |
| By this time, there was just enough time left before dinner to do a
little shopping in the Fantasyland shops near the castle. Then, it
was on to Cinderella’s Royal Table for dinner.
Waiting in the drawing room was a lot of fun, with the royal decorations, coats of arms, and suits of armor. There was even a nice Christmas tree between the fireplace and the throne. Even though dinner is not a character meal here, the Fairy Godmother was hanging around the drawing room before dinner. We didn’t catch any pictures with her, though. The meal upstairs was as close to perfect as you can get. We started with a wonderful beef barley soup, then had a prime rib to die for. But, the dessert was the crowning glory of this royal meal. Debbie and Nick had a chocolate mouss, but I had a raspberry sherbet, dipped in just a bit of chocolate, and surrounded by fresh strawberries, blueberries, and bananas. It was heavenly, and made you feel great. The dining room in the castle is such a lovely setting, with the stained glass windows, the banners, and the roof tops of Fantasyland in view. We snapped a few pictures, and had a couple that were quite good. The service was also top notch, one of those spoiling experiences from Disney that makes everyone else seem rude when you go back to the real world. |
 |
 |
I will say that we broke $100 on the bill here. But, with two
prime ribs and three deserts, this isn’t so terrible.
After dinner, we tried to see the Hall Of Presidents. But, as it turns out, it closes at 6 p.m. So, we completely missed HOP this trip, and we’ll have to see George W. next time around. So, we did another ride on the Haunted Mansion. It was a walkon, because people were lining up for the parade. This is an even better ride when it is near empty, it’s eerier and quieter. The aging portrait was not working, though. It seems like we had a third ride on the Haunted Mansion this day, but I’ve lost track of when. All three rides, though, were close to perfect. We did have one breakdown coming down from the attic window. But, that just gives you a chance to look around and absorb the atmosphere more. It’s the Haunted Mansion, after all. We then headed to Adventureland. Nick did the tree house by himself, and seemed to enjoy it. This climb is just a little too much when you are getting near the end of the day. Aladdin was also not very busy, owing to the parade. So, Nick and I did a ride, then the three of us, then Nick a couple of times by himself. I tried to shoot a couple of parade shots through the buildings from Aladdin, but that didn’t work out well. |
| Nick wanted to do the Astro Orbiter! His last experience, which
was a couple of trips ago, he didn’t enjoy it. But, he’s a bit older
now, and he’s ready for a new adventure. He ended up loving the ride,
claiming he was nearly as high as the planets on the ride.
He rode by himself, as these are kind of snug rockets. I wasn’t quite as aggressive in my rocket, but it was still fun. These things do take a very rapid spin. Overall, it was a good last ride of the day. We saw the fireworks while standing in the Astro Orbiter line. It isn’t a perfect view, but it’s still impressive. After the Astro Orbiter, we met up with Debbie near Walt’s statue, as arranged. We tried some castle photos, and found that the camcorder took some really nice stills here, while the Kodak struggled. We walked out slowly along Main Street, trying to soak up the feeling of the place on our way out. The beauty of Main Street, and the added enchantment of the Christmas lights made for a lovely farewell to our day at the Magic Kingdom. When we got back to OKW (boy, the buses seem to work really well to this resort), we tried for a soak in the hot tub. But, for some reason, it was far too hot, and we gave up and got in the pool (85 degrees) instead. It was relaxing, but not quite as nice s the hot tub could have been. Still, it was a good way to take the edge off the day, and relax those exhausted muscles. |
 |
