Walt Disney World: Day Four -- MGM Studios

No alarms for Tuesday. We decided to sleep in and make it an easy day. As it turns out, we were up and out by 9:45 anyway, but we didn’t put any pressure on ourselves to get out by a particular time, and without that pressure (self-imposed or not), our morning seemed far more stress free.

We rolled up to MGM at about 10:00. Once again, there was plenty of parking, and we had no trouble grabbing a tram to the gate. The forecast for Tuesday was for 60 degrees, with the possibility of showers, but the day looked bright and clear as we entered the park.

The park seemed far different to me from the time I was there in 1992. I didn’t remember Mickey’s magician’s hat being so prominent as the focal point in the center of the park. And, of course, the Tower of Terror, looming off to the right, was totally new to me. We were all very eager to get into the park!

The Lights! Motors! Action! Stunt Show was our target attraction today – we’d heard so many absolutely wonderful things about the show, so we didn’t want to miss it. According to the schedule, the first show was at 10:45, so we had about 30 minutes to get there. We walked past Star Tours on the way to the stunt show, and with both Jake and me being huge Star Wars fans, we decided to fill the thirty minutes with a quick trip to the moons of Endor.

Star Wars fan or not, this simulator type ride still holds up and is very enjoyable all these years after it was first introduced. The ride is very well done, and seems very realistic. It takes some of the best scenes from the original three movies, and some new footage, and puts you in the middle of the picture. It’s a very enjoyable experience, and it really impressed Jake. We wound up riding it a total of four times during our visits to MGM, and each time was a lot of fun. (Seat Tip: As usual, seats in the middle are better, so try not to be first in line as they load the ride, if you can help it. Also, seats in the back of the 40-person cabin give you a better experience than seats up front.)

From here, after ushering Jake through the Star Wars shop with promises of a return later in the day, we hustled up to the Stunt Show. We got there just at 10:45, and it was packed. However, we managed to get great seats for the show, about three rows up on the right hand side. The show itself is nothing short of amazing. It’s cars. It’s motorcycles. It’s guns. It’s explosions. It's fire. It’s stunts. It’s guys falling off of buildings. It’s a lot of action and a lot of fun and it’s something that you simply don’t want to miss. This show is great!


After the Stunt Show, there were only two other things we definitely wanted to do at the park – well, three if you count the Tower of Terror, although I was the only one of us who really wanted to do the Tower. Sue and I didn’t want to miss the Rock n’ Roller Coaster, and none of us wanted to miss Fantasmic, the laser light show at the end of the day. Apart from those things, we were just going to play it by ear, and fit in what we fit in. MGM is small enough so that, on an uncrowded day, you can pretty much wander around and do things as you happen upon them. That’s exactly what we did.

We cruised over to the Rock n’ Roller Coaster first. To get there, of course, you have to walk along MGM’s version of Sunset Boulevard, which is kinda cool. There are great shops, with movie and studio themes (there's one dedicated solely to villains), and great props all over, from vintage cars to classic store fronts. It’s really a neat experience walking down a Hollywood street from yesteryear.

Of course, looming at the end of Sunset is the Tower of Terror. It’s quite an impressive sight, to be sure. And the screams that float down from the tower add a certain ambiance to the area at the end of the block. But more on all that later.

As we turned left at the end of Sunset, towards the coaster, Sue and I were both excited, but Jake was a bit nervous. He wasn’t sure that we meant it when we said that we were not going to make him ride the coaster, and he kept saying, “You’re sure I don’t have to ride it, right?” Of course, we had no intention of making him ride the coaster; we did, however, want to give him every opportunity to try it. But he was having no part of it. “It’s got loop-dee-loops!” which was all of the explanation we really needed.

The set up for the coaster is great. You enter a giant record company studio, and you see exhibits of all of the “stars” for the company as you walk through. You ultimately make your way into an observation area for a “live” recording seesion, where you see Aerosmith just before they head out to a show. It’s exceptionally well done, and your exit from the studio to your limo-coaster is way cool.

Jake was able to go along for the whole pre-ride tour because there’s an exit from the ride right before you enter the loading area for the coaster. (The exit takes you right into the gift shop, right by the exit from the ride, so older kids -- and the more faint-hearted family members -- who don’t want to ride can wait right there for you.) Meanwhile, you can get in line and start filling in the seats for the limo. You can request front or back seat, so don’t be shy: Ask the Cast Member for the seat you want, and they'll direct you to that section of the loading area to wait in (at least they do during the low season; I suspect they try to keep the line moving faster when it's busier). If you decide to wait for front seats (and you should, if you can), the line takes a little longer, but it’s worth it. As coaster aficionado’s know, front seats, back seats, and middle seats all give you a different kind of ride, and some rides are better front-seat rides while others are better back-seat rides. The best ride on the Rock n’ Roller Coaster is front seat – no doubt and without question, so if you’ve got the time and the inclination, get yourself a front seat and enjoy.

The ride itself is amazing. Apart from the fact that you’ve got some great Aerosmith tunes blasting in your head as you settle in, the ride is fantastic. 0 to 60 in 2.8 seconds. Jake’s “loop-dee-loop.” Corkscrew. Fantastic artwork. And a great finish. (Okay, truth be told, it could be a tad longer. But, that’s my complaint with most coasters – too short.) Overall, this is one great ride, and well worth the wait. (To compare, in my opinion, this is far more worthy of a lengthy wait than Mission: Space. The Coaster is worth whatever it takes to get in. Space, to me, is a ride to ride if you can get in without wasting a lot of time waiting. But that’s just me.) Oh, one more thing. They take a picture of you as you launch (and there’s no other word to describe your departure). You can buy a copy of your picture in the gift shop at the end of the ride, and here’s your tip: try hard to keep your eyes open if you want a good picture!

As we left the Coaster and its gift shop, I asked, casually, if anyone wanted to ride the Tower of Terror. I wasn’t surprised when my request was politely, but hastily, turned down. “But don’t let us stop you,” Sue said. “We’ll wait right here for you.”

I couldn’t pass up the chance to ride the Tower because I’ve heard so much about it over the years. I’ve ridden Free Fall, at Six Flags Great Adventure, which is thrilling in and of itself. But that’s a simple take-you-up-and-drop-you-down ride. I knew the Tower would be special, and it was.

First of all, the decor in the hotel in spot-on. It’s as if you’ve stepped back into a Hollywood hotel, circa 1940, that hasn’t been touched in more than 60 years. Then, there’s a perfect back-story, a la The Twilight Zone, with Rod Serling and the whole shebang. Then, there’s the build-up as they take you up the tower. I don’t want to spoil it, but suffice it to say that it’s not a simple straight-up-and-straight-down ride. It’s up, and down, and up again, and down again. It’s dark, it’s light. The windows in the tower open, and close. It is a thrill-ride-and-a-half, another must-do ride, and it’s well worth the wait. Fast Pass it, or wait for it, but do it. It’s scary, thrilling, exciting, exhilarating – all of these, and more. Do it. You’ll be glad you did.

Sue and Jake were waiting patiently, and I couldn’t wipe the silly grin off my face as I walked up to them. They both knew from my expression what I thought about the ride. I invited them to go, but I didn’t push it on them when they politely refused. But I figured I’d work on them later to see if I could convince them.

The skies were starting to get overcast as we strolled back down Sunset. We decided to try the Great Movie Ride, which was kind of fun. Lots of clips of classic movies in the pre-show, and some fun displays and events during the ride itself. It’s a fun little attraction, great for the movie buff.

By the time we got done with the ride, we discovered that we’d missed one of the rain showers forecast for the day. Rain ponchos and umbrellas had sprung up everywhere, but we were nice and dry, thanks to the Movie Ride. This is one of the little facts of life about a Florida vacation. Some time, some where, you’re going to get rain.

The rain didn’t bother us, though, as we headed off to the Indiana Jones Stunt Show. I remembered this show from my visit in ‘92 and, at the time, it was an amazing show, so I was really looking forward to it. But you know what? Over the years, and especially after having seen the Lights! Motors! Action! Show earlier in the day, the Indiana Jones show feels slow and pretty outdated. There was far more talk and set-up than I remember, and far less action. It also didn’t help that the rain made them cancel that portion of the show involving the attack on the plane, so we got a shortened version of the show (or at least what I remember of the show). It’s still a good show, with stunts and explosions and all. But you can get by with skipping this show, if you want to. If you do want to see it, I would suggest that you go to this show before you do the Lights! Motors! Action! Show. That way, you get the flavor of Indiana Jones, followed by the non-stop action of Lights! Motor! Action!. Doing it the other way makes Indy feel like a let down.

We took a break for lunch next, and this is where our plans had to change. I had originally reserved a table at the Sci Fi Drive-In. However, the day before, while we were strolling through Epcot, I’d gotten a call on my cell phone from Disney. Seems they’d had some plumbing problem (the details of which I really didn’t want to know), which forced them to cancel all reservations for Tuesday. They did give us another reservation for lunch on Thursday, but that left us to our own devices for Tuesday. We wound up grabbing some burgers at the Back Lot Express, which were actually pretty good. The lesson is: don’t fret if you don’t have reservations for every meal. The counter service is pretty darn good, and, in addition, the freedom of eating on the fly made the day seem easier.

After lunch, we planned on taking in “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” which is a live version of the TV game show, but without Regis or Meredith. On our way down Mickey Avenue towards the studio, we saw one of those little trailers you’d expect to find some Hollywood star in, and who did we see? DONALD! It was Donald Duck! Serendipity! One of the “tough gets” of characters, and there he was! Things work out best when you don’t plan them! Jake grabbed a spot in line, and Donald was wonderfully friendly and nice. We got several pictures with Donald along with his autograph, of course.




Basking in the glow of the newly added signature, we continued on to the Millionaire set. It’s actually pretty neat to walk into the studio. If you’ve ever seen the show, the studio is an exact replica of the TV set. What’s more, every member of the audience has the chance to play for a shot at the “hot seat.” There are buttons on the back of the seat in front of you so that you, too, can play the fastest finger game. However, I discovered that there is a down side to this: with a couple hundred people in the studio, including kids of all ages, it’s entirely possible that someone can randomly rap out the correct sequence of letters more quickly than you can come up with the actual answer to the fastest finger question. So, although it took me only 4 seconds to come up with the answers C-A-B-D, about three other people in the audience had already rapped out C-A-B-D on their keypads in about 2.5 seconds. As a result, the winner was a nine-year old girl, who got to play the game with her mother. (When the studio host asked, the girl said that she’d just randomly pushed buttons as fast as she could, which is how she won. I mention this only because you should know: don’t go in expecting to have a realistic shot at getting into the hot seat. Getting on-stage is simply a crap shoot and, most likely, you’ll just be along for the ride.)

Anyway, the game play in the studio is identical to the TV show, with life lines (although, instead of a friend, you call a random stranger on the streets at MGM), poll the audience, and the 50-50. And, instead of playing for money, you play for Disney character pins, with a Disney cruise as the ultimate prize. Of course, it’s as hard in the studio as it is on TV to get the grand prize, and the girl wound up taking home 10 Disney pins. Also, it appears that they only set aside time for one contestant, so if you decide to do the Millionaire show, plan on enjoying the show, but don’t plan on being a contestant. It’s a lot of fun to watch, and it’s a fun show, so I would recommend making time to check it out. But don’t go planning to play the game, because it’s likely that you won’t.

We next took the Backlot Tour, which I also recommend for a little taste of what it’s like behind the scenes. There’s a little special effects show at the beginning of the tour, for which they take volunteers from the audience. It looks like a lot of fun, but there is a great deal of water involved, so keep that in mind if you decide to step up. After the special effects, the line for the tram ride part of the tour winds through a warehouse with all sorts of neat little props, costumes, and the like. Waiting in the line is almost as interesting as the tram ride itself as you see items that could have been in any number of movies – and probably were!

The backlot itself is also pretty cool, with some behind the scenes looks at the Lights! Motor! Action! Show and a ride through Disaster Canyon. Grab a seat on the left side of the tram, if you can, for the best view of the canyon.

We did skip a few things at MGM. We didn’t do the Beauty and the Beast show, or the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, or One Man’s Dream (although Jake really wanted to see what Walt Disney was all about). We also skipped the Magic of Disney Animation, and the Character Parade through the park as well. We did check out the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set, where Jake got to run around through the giant hose, grass, and insects. We also saw the Muppet 3-D movie, which was good, but not nearly as good as Mickey’s PhilharMagic over at the Magic Kingdom. (Unless you’re a muppet nut, or unless you really need to sit down for a few minutes, you can probably skip this movie. If you stay for it, the same “don’t be first in line if you want the best seats” rule applies.)

By this time, it was nearing 6:00 p.m. The only thing left to do was Fantasmic, the end-of-the-day show at MGM that we’d heard was wonderful, so we didn’t want to miss it.

We’d heard that if you wanted to get seats for Fantasmic, you had to plan on getting to the show about an hour before start time. But it was such a beautiful night, and we’d had such good luck with all of the lines, we decided against sitting on the bleachers for an hour. Instead, we headed back to the Rock ‘n’ Roller coaster, where we once again tried to convince Jake that he should try it – to no avail. But we did get the chance to ride the coaster again, which was a nice bonus. This time, we rode in the very last seat, and here’s your tip from that: Don’t. In my experience, the last seat is a decent although different ride from the front seat. However, I didn’t like the last seat at all on the Rock ‘n’ Roller coaster. It seemed too “draggy,” if that makes sense. But, we did get to ride it again, and it was still a very fun, very exciting ride.

After the Rock ‘n’ Roller coaster, we took a leisurely stroll to MGM’s version of the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater. We were fortunate because, in January, we didn’t really have to fight the crowds and we didn’t really have to worry about getting to our seats an hour before the show. I can definitely see this place filling up quickly during the high season, though, so plan your trip accordingly. By the way, you can make dinner reservations at some of the restaurants at MGM that also include preferred seating at Fantasmic. You should explore this option as you’re planning your trip. But if you’re going in the low season, you don’t have to worry about seating so much – we strolled in at about 6:45 for a 7:00 show and found three seats together, about half-way down, without any problem. Of course, your results may vary.

As for the show itself, this is another must-see. It’s a classic Disney good-vs-evil tale, with some of Disney’s best music, a laser-light shows combined with a water show, and some really unique special effects. It is well worth your time, so make sure you make time for it.

After the show, plan on spending a LOT of time getting out of the Amphitheater. As good as the show is, that’s how poorly designed this facility is. There are at least ten sections of bleachers, but only main exit and entrance. Disney is usually very good with its shows, and rides, and the entrances and exits, but the Amphitheater is an exception. They pack a LOT of people in for the show, which is great. But the aisles all funnel towards a bottle neck before they exit and it is painfully (and inexplicably) slow going as you leave. We talked to one of the cast members as we were waiting to exit, and he told us that it takes between 20 and 25 minutes just to get out of the amphitheater at the end of the show. That’s a little crazy to me.

We finally did make it out of the Amphitheater and were able to wander down Sunset Boulevard under the night sky. It was really nice, actually, with all of the marquees lit, and the neon signs flashing.



It was about 7:45 by now, and MGM was closing for the night. We had plenty of time to get over to Epcot, if we wanted to, to catch Illuminations. But we hadn’t eaten, and we really were tired, so we decided to grab dinner away from Disney (I know!) and then call it a night. We knew we would have the next night to do Epcot's Illuminations.

We wound up eating at a Chevy’s mexican restaurant in the Crossroads Shopping Center, across from our hotel. We’re very familiar with Chevy’s, and dinner was actually very good. (Plus, the homemade tortilla chips put the Tostitos chips they used in the San Angel to shame.) We had a nice, leisurely dinner, and then retired to the room for the night. We had The Animal Kingdom scheduled for the next day, and from everything we’d read, we knew we wanted to do the safari ride first thing, because the animals tended to go into hiding as the day grew warmer. So, with images of dancing gorillas in our heads, we settled in for our next-to-last night in Orlando.

Walt Disney World: Day Three -- Epcot

We actually had an uneventful morning on Monday. Having learned my lesson the day before, I set the alarm clock in the room, and it went off at 6:45. I got myself going, and then got the family going and, as a result, we were at Epcot by 9:10 a.m.

I had learned from my reading (and watching the Disney Information Channel on the hotel TV) that the new ride/attraction, Soarin’ was the number one attraction. Soarin’ was imported from Disneyland in honor of its 50th anniversary and, as the Number One Attraction, I knew that we should make that the first thing on our list of things to do at Epcot.

Soarin’ is located over in the Land pavilion and, after a brisk walk through security and the ticket gates, we were on-line in Soarin’ by 9:20. We only had a ten-minute wait, so we were thrilled.

Let me tell you, it’s an amazing ride. It’s part IMAX movie, part hang-glider, and 100% fun. You do get lifted up in the air for the ride, but don’t let it freak you out. You don’t really go anywhere – but let me tell you, it certainly feels like you are hang-gliding over California. You feel the breeze, you smell the trees, and you feel yourself move. It’s so real, I instinctively lifted my feet as we swooped over the ocean because I thought I was going to get my shoes wet! (By the way, for those hunting for Hidden Mickeys, watch closely – you’ll see one during the ride, if you're alert.) Soarin’ is amazing, and really worth the wait. (Seat Tip: There aren’t really any bad seats, but in Row 1, you won’t have any feet hanging from above you, as you do in Rows 2 and 3. It’s not really terribly distracting, but I did notice it, so I’m just saying....)

After we finished, we wanted to do it again, but by this time, the wait was already up to thirty minutes. Hello, Fast Pass. We got a time for about an hour later, so wandered upstairs to the Circle of Life movie. It’s very informative – and kinda dry. But it did serve the educational purposes we needed for Jake to complete one of his assignments for school, so it was worthwhile. For instance, in the waiting area outside, we learned that cars were the hope of the future in the late 1800s because folks figured they would help decrease the horse-droppings problems that were plaguing society at the time. The movie itself, though, in all candor, is kind of a yawner for younger kids, so keep that in mind.

From here, it was over to the Living Sea. The must-see attraction over here is Turtle Talk, with Crush (that’s the turtle from Finding Nemo). This is a neat little interactive show that will delight your kids and really amaze you as well. We’re still trying to figure out exactly how it works. Simply put, Crush talks to you, reacts to you, and engages members of the audience in conversation. You have to see it to appreciate it, and you should definitely see it.

The massive aquarium in the Living Sea is also incredibly impressive. You can watch schools of fish, and rays, and a wide variety of sea critters. There are also lots of informative displays all throughout here, so if you’re into the denizens of the deep, this is the place for you.

We strolled back over to Soarin’ for our second ride. Thank goodness for the Fast Pass. The wait was over an hour when we got back to the ride, but in the Fast Pass line, we waited for less than five minutes. The ride was just as thrilling the second time around.

By now, it was lunch time, and we’d reserved lunch over at the San Angel Inn, in Mexico. (Yes, I know. It’s technically the Mexico Pavilion. But to me, it was Mexico, so that’s what I call it.) Inside the temple, it appears that you’ve stepped into a courtyard in Mexico on a star-lit night, and the effect is truly realistic. There’s a little ride that passes through here (The River of Time, which traces the history of Mexico) and you can see the little boats passing by as you eat your meal at a table near the “river.” The effect is really neat, and we had a wonderful, mostly authentic, Mexican meal that was delicious. I say “mostly” authentic because I did notice that they were using bagged Tositos chips, instead of freshly made chips as in some other Mexican restaurants we’ve visited. Not that the chips were bad – but you can tell the difference (and I saw the bags as I passed by the kitchen). Other than that, though, the food was wonderful. Afterwards, we wandered through the little shops and stalls in the “courtyard.”




Once outside, we visited the little jewelry stand, where Sue found some beautiful sterling silver rings at very reasonable prices. For about $20, you can have your name, or initials, carved into a silver ring in about 20 minutes. It’s a neat little souvenir.

After lunch, which we finished at about 1:30, we had a bit of a dilemma. We had 6:30 dinner reservations in England, so we had about five hours. We were also stuffed from lunch, and we weren’t at all sure how much we would want to eat by 6:30. This highlights the primary problem we faced with having booked two Disney meals in the same day. You wind up planning your activities around meal time, which kind of stinks, because you’re always watching the clock. Also, you don’t want to eat too much at lunch for fear of ruining dinner. But, if you have a wonderful luncheon meal, you sure want to indulge, right? Thus, the dilemma.

We decided to hit as many countries as we could until about 4:00. Then, we would start to work our way to the front of Epcot again to visit Innoventions and Mission: Space before dinner. (I was the only one remotely interested in Space, by the way – we’d heard a lot of horror stories about how sick people became on the ride, and how scary it was, so Sue and Jake were already opting out while at the same time insisting that I go so that I could report back. [That’s part of the on-going mission of the family -- to find a ride that I won’t go on. So far, they haven’t found one!])

Anyway, after lunch, we headed for Norway, where we wanted to ride in the Viking Boat. That was a neat little ride, actually. (Note, though, that if you’ve got little kids, there are some dark, kid un-friendly, semi-scary moments during the trip.) We did elect to skip the film about Norway after the boat ride. I know, I know. But we made up for it when we visited China next. There, we watched the film (which is the only entertainment in China). The film is quite amazing, and China itself is beautiful. The movie is one of those 360 degree films, where the screens are all around you, and the movie is shown on 8 screens, all with a different scene, shot from a first-person perspective. It’s really impressive.

Inside the pavilion, there’s a display about the new Disneyland they’re building in Hong Kong. We, of course, had to get a picture.



From China, we skipped past Germany and hustled over to Italy for one of the afternoon street shows. (The times for the entertainment is listed in your daily guide, which you should make sure you get when you enter the park.) The World Showcase has a wide variety of street performers and entertainers, and its both a nice rest break, and an entertaining show, if you catch the performers in one of the countries.

We watched the World Showcase Performers put on a rousing version of Romeo and Edna (one of Shakespeare’s lesser works). They did a great job of putting on an entertaining show, involving the audience, and having a good time. After that, we paused to enjoy a little champagne and chocolate from the little wine shop in Italy while we enjoyed the afternoon sun.

From there, we started to make our way towards the American Pavilion, when we happened upon a couple of characters: Mr. Smee, from Peter Pan, and one of Cinderella’s mice. Then, suddenly, from the little pathway between Italy and America, we caught site of the mother-lode of characters. We saw Chip and Dale! And farther back – Pluto! And, Oh. My. God! Mickey AND Minnie! Together! Jake was freaking out! He got autographs from Chip and Dale, and Pluto, before grabbing a spot in the Mickey and Minnie line. Oh, but it was a long line. We’d learned that the characters don’t stay out all that long, and I could hear the clock ticking as people did their meet-and-greet with Mickey and Minnie, and adjusted themselves, and readjusted, and snapped, and reset for pictures. All too soon, the Cast Member with them said, “Mickey and Minnie will be back, but they’re going to have to take a break in five minutes.”

Five minutes? Well, that should have been plenty of time. But the family of five in front of us had to shuffle, and adjust, and pose, and re-shuffle, and hug, and then pose some more. The Cast Member said, “We’re going to have to leave soon,” and my wife piped up sweetly, “But it’s onlyl been two minutes! We have three minutes left!” The Cast Member, who was very nice, grinned, and acknowledged, “Okay. Three minutes.” Meanwhile, the family of five was STILL trying to get just the right picture. Yes, I know it’s Mickey, and I know you want your picture, but there was a line of about a dozen folks waiting, and they were completely oblivious to that fact. But we stayed calm and, with one minute to go (we made sure to time it!), we hustled Jake into position with first Mickey, then Minnie. He got his pictures and his autographs, and we were done in thirty seconds, which left plenty of time for the folks behind us to get their pictures, too. Whew!



As Jake enjoyed his autographs, the couple that had been behind is line thanked us for making it possible for them to get their autographs and pictures. We exchanged stories about our character hunts, and we learned that Donald was one of the toughest to get. As we thought about it, we realized that we hadn’t seen Donald yet at all, anywhere. So, of course, our goal for the rest of the trip was to find Donald.

By now, it was time to work our way up towards Mission:Space. I tried to talk Jake and Sue into joining me, but no go. Instead, they busied themselves exploring the area around the mission while I walked in. (You can see that Jake had his hands full!)



There was absolutely no line for the ride – the wait was less than five minutes. But here’s another line tip. They have a Fast Pass line, and a regular line, and also a line for those “flying” solo. DO NOT take the solo line. Here’s why: Each “capsule” seats four. If they have a couple, or a group of three going together, they take a person from the solo line to fill in. Since I was solo, they told me to go in the solo line, which I did. However, the Cast Member up at the front of the line had absolutely no idea what she was doing. With no one – NO ONE – waiting in the regular line, or the fast pass line, she didn’t start filling capsules with the first four solos in the line. Instead, she waited to get groups of two or three, and then would pull one or two solos from the solo line, resulting in about a ten minute wait. Yes, yes, I know – with a ten minute wait, I shouldn’t be complaining. But it’s the principle, dang it!

Anyway, the ride itself is pretty good, though I wouldn’t classify it as great. In the waiting area, you’re given a role – commander, engineer, etc. Then, you’re led to the capsule. The first thing you see is an air-sick bag, displayed prominently on the dash board before you. From what I was told, these bags actually get a workout on a regular basis, although I didn’t anticipate any such need on my part. Still, a pouch full of air-sick bags can be somewhat intimidating.

As you enter the capsule, you take the seat that corresponds to the “role” you were assigned. During your mission, each person has certain buttons they’re supposed to push during the trip, at certain times, for the mission to be a success. (The button pushing, while fun, is not required, so you needn’t worry about crashing your capsule.) You get a pre-flight briefing (from mission commander Gary Sinise, who's one of my favorite actors), and then, you’re off.

The simulated launch is really amazing. The view through your screen, plus the sound, plus the motion, helps make the feeling of lift-off very realistic. It’s pretty impressive, as is the rest of the mission. Overall, it’s an enjoyable ride, and I’d do it again, but I certainly wouldn’t waste a lot of time waiting in line. Fast Pass it, to make the wait tolerable. (Riding Tip: I understand that this ride is based on a NASA-style centrifuge. The secret to avoiding any motion sickness is to keep your head back against the head rest and continue looking straight ahead. That way, you’re less likely to lose your equilibrium.)

From Mission: Space, we spent some time in Innoventions. We were surprised how empty it was. Jake got to try some virtual bowling, and some virtual baseball, without worrying about people waiting behind him. We also toured the “house of the future,” which was a fairly colossal waste of time (but worked its way into Jake’s science project for school!) and also saw some of the testing devices used on appliances by the Underwriters Laboratory. (*Yawn!*) Okay, it was somewhat interesting, but only just.

As the dinner hour rolled around, we headed off towards England. Unfortunately, dinner was a bit of a disappointment for us. The menu was severely limited for our tastes, and the food itself was not particularly well-prepared. I was kinda sorry that we’d scheduled the afternoon around what turned out to be a very sub-par dinner.

As we waited for the check, we discussed whether we had the energy to wait for Illuminations, which was scheduled for 9:00 p.m. (almost two hours away). Looking at the schedules, we saw that MGM, which we were visiting the next day, closed at 7:00 p.m., which would leave us plenty of time to scoot over to Epcot afterwards to watch Illuminations. Given our level of fatigue (between the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, there’s a LOT of walking involved), we decided to call it an early night, and head back to the hotel. After all, it was our vacation – why make ourselves miserable with exhaustion?

As we headed out, we paused in a couple of shops and did some hat shopping. We stopped at the lighted sidewalks, and the dancing fountains. And, because I’d promised Jake, we finished with the ride in the Golf Ball (the Spaceship Earth attraction). With absolutely no wait at 7:30 p.m., it was an easy way to finish the day.

Walt Disney World: Day Two -- The Magic Kingdom

Naturally, because I didn’t bother to set the alarm clock in the room, I didn’t properly set my phone alarm. And, of course, because I wanted to get up by 7, I slept through until 7:40. But you know what? It was vacation, and as much as I wanted to get to the park early, I wanted us to have an enjoyable vacation. So, I shrugged it off. We got ourselves moving, got our comfortable shoes on, and headed down to breakfast.

The hotel had a nice little breakfast buffet. However, unlike some of the hotels in and around Disney World, the Best Western charges for the buffet. In addition, the Best Western also employs the somewhat wacky age designations that Disney uses in its ticket sales, because prices vary for the buffet, depending on the child. Once again, 10 year olds are presumed to eat like adults, so get charged the adult price. Of course, if you’re in a position where you’ve befriended your waiter or waitress, he or she might not charge your 10 year old the adult price for the buffet. Not that that actually happened, because I wouldn’t want anyone to get in trouble. I’m just posing a hypothetical, that’s all. But, hypothetically, it always pays to be friendly and polite.

Anyway, we were on the road to the Magic Kingdom by 9:00. We could have taken the hotel’s shuttle, which ran on the half-hour. But we were just as happy that we didn’t have to rush to catch a bus, and we didn’t have to worry about having to wait thirty minutes for the next bus. We liked the sense of controlling our own schedule.

We got the the Magic Kingdom parking lot, parked (in Pluto 18 – always remember where you parked the car!) and were headed towards the transportation center by 9:15.

The transportation center is where you get to choose your means of access to the Magic Kingdom – monorail or ferry. The monorail (one of Walt’s dream-methods of conveyance) leaves the Center, cuts through the Contemporary (which is pretty cool to see) and arrives at the entrance to the park. The ferry cuts across the Seven Seas Lagoon, one of Disney’s waterways, and gives you a nice view of the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian. Either way gets you to the same place, and each way is enjoyable, if for no other reason than you’re heading towards the Magic Kingdom.

We picked the monorail for our first trip in, and it was a blast. There is something unique about riding a “train” through the center of a hotel, where you can see the guests eating, shopping, and hanging out below you. We pulled up at the station and, finally, headed in.

It was wonderful. Jake’s eyes were wide with anticipation, but no wider than mine, and each one of us had that “happiest-place-on-earth” grin on our faces.

We approached the entrance gates and met the first major change created by the 9/11 attacks: a bag check, which is an unfortunate, albeit necessary, addition to the Disney experience. Once we cleared that, however, we were able to use our prepaid, super cool admission cards, confirmed our fingerprints, and headed in.

Main Street, USA was as wonderful as I remembered. The view of Cinderella’s Castle from Main Street was equally thrilling. It was great to be back!

The first thing we saw was Goofy -- in the flesh (so to speak) -- signing autographs, and meeting and greeting the kids. Jake grabbed his autograph book and grabbed a spot in line. Unfortunately, Goofy had been out there for a while by the time we got to him, so he was ready to take a break. The Cast Member assured us that Goofy would be back in just a few minutes, but Jake was not in a mood to wait with all of the Magic Kingdom waiting for him. So, we just watched Goofy hop and skip towards Tony’s Town Square Restaurant in that Goofy way of his. This simple scene brought us one of our enduring memories of the whole trip.

As Goofy skipped along, a little kid about 5 or 6 years old broke free from his mom and ran behind Goofy, trying to hop and skip along with him. Unfortunately, because the kid was so short, and was running just behind Goofy, Goofy didn’t see him. As a result, when Goofy made a sharp skip-hop to his left just as the kid made a little skip-hop to his right, Goofy’s foot and the kid’s legs became entangled and down goes Little Kid. Fortunately, the child was fine, and Goofy was fine, and the Cast Member escorting Goofy made an appropriate fuss over the child. And us: we were left with our first memory of the Magic Kingdom being that of Goofy drop-kicking a child across Main Street, USA.

We did get a nice picture of Jake sitting next to the Goofy statue in front of Tony’s.



This is the first of many, many photos we took in the Magic Kingdom.

Which brings me to the Disney Photo Pass. After we took our first couple of pictures, one of the Disney photographers approached us. These photographers provide a nice little service, so let me digress for a bit of detail. Disney has really perfected the digital photography thing. As a result, they have bunches of "official" photographers stationed in various key areas throughout the parks. The first time you’re approached, the photographer will hand you a little plastic credit-card type pass, with a bar code on it. He or she will then scan the bar code into a hand-held device and you’re registered. Then, every time you have a Disney photographer take your picture, you hand them your card, they scan it, and your picture is saved to their master computer. You can then order prints of your favorite pictures.

This is a great thing for a number of reasons. First, you’ve got a professional photographer, with professional equipment, taking your picture at the best locations in the park – Cinderella’s Castle; the giant golf ball at Epcot; the Tree of Life in the Animal Kingdom, and so on. Second, your whole family gets to be in the picture, so the photographer is not left out. Third, and this is the best part, instead of just getting one or two prints of a favorite picture here and there, Disney has this great option available to you, which they don’t trumpet, but which they readily talk about if you ask. For $99 (which is not that much at all, considering that you pay between $20 and $30 for each print), you can purchase a CD with all of the pictures taken by Disney Photographers at all of the parks. Not only that, but Disney provides you with the necessary waivers so that you can take the disc to your local Walgreen (or wherever) and print out your own prints there without the usual hassle you’d ordinarily get for printing out “professional” photos. So, no matter how many photos they take (we took over 50; we were told of another party, which had been at Disney for a month, having over 400 pictures taken), you can get them ALL for $99. It’s a great deal, and I heartily recommend that you take advantage of it. But note: you can only get all of your pictures at either the photo center at Epcot, or at one of the resort hotels (I believe it's the Grand Floridian, but Epcot's worked fine for us.) If you go to the photo center at any of the other parks, you only get the photos taken there that day. Take the extra trip to Epcot to get all of your pictures.

Anyway, we met our first Disney photographer outside the character breakfast at the Crystal Palace buffet. We got a couple of great shots there, before we headed off to Adventureland.

Now, we only had a loose plan of attack for each of the parks. I know that some folks have carefully scripted battle plans, but we just wanted to enjoy the days. There were certain things that I knew we wanted to do, but we weren’t wedded to doing them in any particular order. We planned on hitting specific things, in a relatively logical sequence, so as to make the most of our time in the park. I figured going clockwise from Adventureland made the most sense, so that’s what we did.

Before we got too far, we ran into Rafiki just past the entrance to Adventureland. With only two other kids in line, Rafiki became our first official character. Jake grabbed his autograph book and got in line. It was great to see him so excited about such a simple thing; he’s at that perfect age for Disney – young enough to enjoy the simple pleasure of meeting the characters, old enough to carry the memories with him for the rest of his life, but not too old to think he’s too big for it all. (Of course, if he’s anything like me, he’ll never think he’s too big for it!)




After Rafiki, it was off to the Swiss Family Treehouse. Even though Jake never saw the movie (I actually remember seeing the movie – at a drive-in! – when I was about Jake’s age), he was nevertheless impressed with the Treehouse, and how it was set up. It really is a pretty neat thing to wander through, and we enjoyed it as our first stop.

From there, it was off to the Jungle Cruise. It’s a fun ride, mostly because it’s so corny. You’ve got Disney-fied “exhibits” along the river trail and an amusing running commentary by the boat’s captain. If you like corn-ball humor and silly fun, the Cruise is worth the wait.

The same is true for the Pirates of the Carribbean, although there’s far less humor and far more exhibits here. It’s hard to believe that the popular movie was spun off from this ride because the only thing they have in common is pirates. (I understand that they’re going to update the ride with references to Captain Jack Sparrow and the other folks from the movie, but, at this writing, that’s only a rumor.) However, even without Captain Jack, the ride is pretty neat. It’s not a “thrill” ride in the same vein as a roller coaster, but it is thrilling to ride along the river in the dark (especially with a kid who doesn’t know what to expect), and to watch the pirates do their pillaging, and listen to the cannons roar and have the water splash around your boat. This is another “classic” Disney ride that’s worth the wait.

Pirates now empties out into a gift shop, so after this ride (and most others these days), we had to convince Jake that the time for shopping would be later, that we didn’t want to have to carry things around all day, that he might see something he liked better later on – all you parents know the drill. He was pretty good about it too, although it was very difficult for him once he saw the pirate pistols on the rack. Jake loves his toy-gun collection, so the unique pirate pistols were an immediate draw. (We eventually wound up with one of those, and more.) However, with most of the day still ahead of us, he understood that no one wanted to be carrying weaponry around as we navigated the park.

Our next stop was a monumental one for Jake. Big Thunder Mountain. Roller Coaster. And it was his first.

It took some convincing; he really, really wanted to do it, but he was also really, really nervous about doing it because he didn’t know what to expect. His primary concern was: “It doesn’t have any loop-de-loops, does it?” When we explained to him that any ride that has only a lap-bar, and not an over-the-head shoulder bar, most likely does not go upside down, he was somewhat more willing to entertain the notion of actually riding the coaster. He did, and he enjoyed it, although he wasn’t quite sure that he wanted to do it again. Still, it’s a wonderful memory for me, explaining to him the thrill of the ride, and sharing with him my own memories of my first roller coaster ride (I was thirteen and rode a rickety old coaster at the now defunct Bertrand’s Island in New Jersey). For Jake, he can always say that his first “real” coaster ride was Big Thunder Mountain in Disney World.

After Big Thunder Mountain, we debated about whether to ride Splash Mountain. It wasn’t the fear factor at play in that one. It was the water factor. Although it was 85 degrees that day, none of us really wanted to get soaked at the bottom of the flume ride, so we ultimately decided against Splash Mountain. Instead, we wandered over to The Haunted Mansion. (We stopped briefly at the Shootin’ Arcade. With a ten-year old boy, you almost have to! It’s actually a fun little diversion and gives the parents a few minutes to sit while the kids pick off vultures, cacti and train cars with electronic bullets.)

The Mansion is yet another ride that inspired a movie (one of the few Disney movies I haven’t actually seen, but from what I hear, I didn’t miss much). This ride is in the same family as the Pirates of the Caribbean in that it’s more about atmosphere and mood than it is about actual speed and thrills. It’s good for spooky chills, and, if you’ve got a child with a vivid imagination, it works wonders. One of the neat little facts about this ride is that it’s the only one in the Magic Kingdom where the Cast Members who work it do not smile. At all. Ever. It’s a subtle but effective little feature.

From the Mansion, we went to the Hall of Presidents. I remembered two things about this exhibition from my previous trips, both of which I wanted Sue and Jake to experience. The first is the vision of Abraham Lincoln standing up and addressing the audience (yes, Disney makes that happen). The second is the full array of all of the presidents standing, or sitting, before you. When they first revealed the presidents, Sue let out a gasp and whispered, “My God!” Disney makes the display quite impressive. Even though it’s a bit slow for the kids, the Hall of Presidents definitely gives you a sense of history, and a sense of pride, in this country, and, for me, it’s an experience worth undertaking.

It was about 1:00 pm when we got done with the presidents. With 4:45 dinner reservations in Cinderella’s castle, we didn’t really want to eat a full lunch, and we also wanted make sure we got the twisty-turny rides out of the way before dinner. So, we decided to alter our clockwise rotation a little bit, and headed directly over to Space Mountain, in Tomorrow Land. We also figured that this would be our best chance of convincing Jake to ride Space Mountain. Fresh on the heels of Thunder Mountain, we thought his adrenaline would still be pumping enough to make getting him on the ride an easy task.

As we approached Space Mountain, I wasn’t yet sure how the lines were going to be. We’d had about a 20 minute wait on the Jungle Cruise and Thunder Mountain, but only about 10 minutes for the Pirates, and 5 minutes for the Mansion. (Yes, this is the beauty of traveling in the off season.) As a result, we hadn’t had any opportunity to use Disney’s Fast Pass.

For those who don’t know, the Fast Pass is Disney’s take on a new practice that many parks use to speed folks through the lines. Here’s how the Fast Pass works, in a nutshell. At any Fast Pass ride or attraction (not all of them are – your daily schedule for the park lists which rides are Fast Pass rides, a list that can vary from day to day), you take your admission ticket and slide it into the Fast Pass machine. The machine then returns your ticket and also spits out a stub with a pre-determined period of time on it (for example, from 1 pm to 2 pm) during which you can return to the ride and wait in a significantly shorter line. For instance, if you show up as Space Mountain and you see that there’s a 40 minute wait (most rides post a wait time showing how long it’ll take you to get into the ride), you can opt for the Fast Pass. You get your Fast Pass ticket and come back during the time window stated on the ticket. When you get back, you’ll find that the Fast Pass line is significantly shorter than the regular line.

There is a tipping point in whether or not to actually get a Fast Pass. Based on my limited experiences during the off season, I found that it made sense to get a Fast Pass only if the wait time was more than 20 minutes. This is because the Fast Pass usually spits out a time that is about 20 minutes – or longer – down the road. So, if you have to kill twenty minutes waiting for your Fast Pass time, you might just as well wait in the line for the ride. (That also helps you resist the temptation of spending money at the food stands or the gift shops while you’re waiting for your Fast Pass window.) However, if the wait time for the ride is 20 minutes or more, it makes sense to get the Fast Pass, because the longest I waited in a fast pass line was 10 minutes. (This time may be longer in the high season, by the way. However, over in Epcot, we got Fast Passes for Soarin’ when the wait time was 60 minutes. We took our dinner break and came back during our window and waited ten minutes in the Fast Pass line. The main line still had a 60 minute wait, so it was well worth it to Fast Pass the line.)

The Fast Pass is a wonderful innovation, and far too few people take advantage of it. (This fact is actually a good thing for those of us who want to take advantage of it!) We walked past literally hundreds of people waiting in the “regular” line as we Fast Passed past them. With so much to see and do, the Fast Pass helps you get it all in while still giving you the chance to ride the rides you want to ride. Don’t hesitate to take advantage of the Fast Pass when you get the chance to.

Meanwhile, back at Space Mountain. There was only a 10 minute wait, so we hustled right in. Of course, we had to convince Jake that this was a good idea every step of the way, which wasn’t easy. Fresh off of Thunder Mountain, he was starting to get that nervous feeling back in his stomach. “I don’t know, Dad. I’m not sure.” But we just kept pumping him up: “It’ll be fine, it’ll be fun. You’ll love it, it’s in the dark, you won’t see anything.”

As we approached the capsules, I realized that I’d forgotten that this was a single-file ride. You don’t sit side-by-side, but one-after-the-other, which is kind of neat. In addition, it’s three people to a capsule, so it was nice for us, with Jake in the middle. As we got launched into the mountain, all I could hear, in addition to Sue’s screams of exhilaration, was Jake yelling, “What did I get myself into?” over and over again. It was pretty funny.

As we disembarked from our capsules, we kept pressing Jake for how he felt. He finally grudgingly admitted that he’d actually enjoyed the ride. We didn’t know how much, however, until we got outside. We were hanging around by the entrance to the ride as we discussed our next stop when a lady came up and asked us if we’d like to use their Fast Passes for the ride because they’d decided not to go. When we asked Jake if he wanted to do it again, he said “Yes!” without hesitation. So, we did Space Mountain back-to-back, and Jake was in his glory.

We next went over to the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway. I had not intended on stopping there because I didn’t think Jake would be interested. See, although Speedway looks like a go-kart type track, it’s really not. You drive Indy-type, gas-powered cars along a roadway, but each car is on a track-type path from which you cannot stray and top speed is about 10 mph. I thought that Jake would be much more interested in a go-kart he could drive anywhere on the track but I had forgotten the attraction to a 10-year old of actually being behind the wheel of your own car, even if the car is confined to a track. The prospect of driving a mini-Indy car (even in the limited way permitted by the Speedway cars) was something Jake was really looking forward to, so we each grabbed an Indy car and did the Speedway. It was actually a lot of fun, and we all had a good time.



It was from the Speedway track that I saw the next ride we tried. I saw what looked like another roller coaster from the Speedway, but I couldn’t figure out what coaster track I was looking at. As it turns out, I’d caught a glimpse of The Barnstormer at Goofy’s Wiseacre Farm, which is in Mickey’s Toontown Fair. Because Jake is 10, I hadn’t looked into visiting the Toontown Fair because I thought that Jake might think himself too old. I was right about that, because he was a bit reluctant to wander into the Fair, but I urged him on, explaining that I found another coaster that looked pretty neat.

The Barnstormer is a short little coaster. It lasted maybe 60 seconds, and is clearly designed for kids, but it was a fun ride nonetheless. A nice little hill, a couple of nice twists, and some great Disney imagery along the way make for a neat little ride.



For older coaster aficionados, it’s probably not worth more than a ten minute wait. But for breaking in a coaster novice, like Jake, it’s worth at least twice that because it’s pretty harmless but still exciting. We enjoyed this ride, too.


From here, we hit the Mad Tea Party, which is the traditional “spinning cups” ride you see at most amusement parks and fairs. There’s something exciting about spinning your family ‘round and ‘round that continues to make this ride popular, and we always hit a version of this spinny ride whenever we can. We actually hit this ride at the same time as the character parade on Sunday, so there was virtually no line. (We had already decided that we probably weren’t going to any character parades unless we were so exhausted we needed to rest. Taking a tip from Frommers’, we figured the lines at the rides would be far shorter during the parade – and they were.)

We had a quick snack to tide us over to dinner before heading over to It’s a Small World. Yes, we did it. I think you almost have to. And yes, it’s still way-too-cute, and yet strangely appealing. And yes, we were all singing the song during quiet moments for the rest of the trip. But the visit to the Kingdom wouldn’t have seemed complete without doing the ride. By the way, as you set sail, make sure you look at the command bridge that spans the water way. The folks who monitor the boats coming and going were laughing and waving and making a big deal about our departure; they really were having a good time, which was kinda nice to see.

From here, we went to see Mickey’s PhilharMagic. This is, by far, one of the best 3D movies I’ve ever seen, and you should not miss it. (There’s a 3D movie in each park, but this one is the absolute best and if you have to pick one, this is the one.) You enter through a nicely designed classic theater entrance, select your new-style 3D glasses from a tray just before you get to the theater doors, and then wait just outside. Here’s an important tip for this, and all, theater shows: DO NOT BE THE FIRST IN LINE to get in the theater. Once inside, you have to move all the way across the theater and fill in seats from the end, through the center, and then to the other end. If there is any kind of crowd whatsoever, you will be stuck on one-side of the theater for the show, rather than in the middle. To me, the middle seats are the best, so as you enter the theater, hang back a little and pick a row that is already starting to fill up with people. That way, you have a better shot at those center seats.

I won’t spoil the show for you. Suffice it to say that the 3D images of some favorite characters, and some favorite scenes, together with some of Disney’s best music, makes for a very enjoyable show. I heard many kids excitedly gasp out the names of familiar faces as they appeared on the screen. The film itself, which is about 10 minutes long, is great right up to the last moment. I cannot imagine anyone who wouldn’t enjoy this show. I know we did, because we saw it twice!

By the time we got done with our second viewing, it was time for our 4:45 dinner reservation, so we headed over to the castle. Not having dined in the Castle before, we didn’t know quite what to expect, but we dutifully arrived about 15 minutes early, just to be safe. As a result, we experienced the benefit of an early arrival for an early dinner reservation. The cast members took us right in. Unbeknownst to us, we were not going to be escorted right to our table. Instead, we were introduced to Cinderella herself! What’s more, it was just us and Cinderella. No line. No waiting. We had her all to ourselves!

Cinderella was absolutely beautiful. She carried herself with the elegance you would expect from a real princess, and she focused her attention on Jake, who (much to his surprise) was delighted at the attention he received from the beautiful princess. She happily signed his autograph book, chatted with him, and posed for pictures with us all. She was very sweet and very personable, and she made us all feel as if we’d actually met a princess.

Which brings me to another tip if you want to spend a little extra time with Cinderella. I would definitely recommend an early dinner reservation at the Castle. We had a good five minutes of uninterrupted time with her before the next family arrived. In contrast, by the time we left after dinner at about 6:00 p.m., the line for Cinderella was at least 10 deep. While I’m sure they were all treated very nicely, I doubt very much that they each received the personal attention that Jake did simply because so many folks were waiting for the princess by 6:00. (Of course, it may be different during the high season, but even then, I’m guessing most people won’t be eating dinner at 4:45, which will make your lines shorter.)

The dinner itself was actually better than I expected. The food was really tasty and very well prepared. I had a pork loin dinner that was delicious. The service is attentive and friendly, and we were addressed as “My lord,” or “My lady,” which is a nice little touch. Our server was more than happy to accommodate our requests, from additional condiments to pictures of us at the table. It was a wonderful experience, and well worth repeating. However, I do understand that the dining plan has now changed, so everything is now on a fixed price basis. Still, the experience of being in the Castle is well worth it, and I would definitely recommend it.

The dinner break refreshed us, so we decided to wander around and do some of the shopping we had promised Jake while we waited for the fireworks show, which was scheduled for 8:00 p.m. That brings me to a tip that I found particularly useful when it came to shopping for souvenirs. I know that, with kids, there are many different ways to allocate money during vacation trips. This is the method we used, which was most effective for us. We knew that we’d be at the parks for five days, so we gave Jake $100 when we arrived ($20 a day) and told him that he could use it to buy whatever he wanted on the trip, but that once it was gone, he would get nothing more. When we left for the park each morning, he would ask me to bring some (not all) of his money, and I carried it for him. If he wanted something, we would take it out of his stash for the day. This worked great because Jake became far more selective with his shopping. He would ask us our opinions about what to buy, but when the choice and the money was ultimately his, he became very particular. He also wound up bringing almost $50 of the $100 we gave him home with him.

Jake selected a pirate gun and a revolutionary war era rifle as some mementos of his trip. We also wandered past the stocks in Liberty Square, visited the Christmas shop nearby, and had some silhouettes done as well. We had some time, so we wandered back over to Tomorrowland. We already knew that Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin was closed for refurbishment, but we were going to try The Timekeeper ride and Stitch’s Great Escape. We found Timekeeper closed (I’ve heard that it’s closed for good, too), but we did hit Stitch’s Great Escape. This “ride” was different, and kind of fun. It’s not really a “ride” as much as it is an “experience,” and it was actually quite entertaining. There’s a somewhat lengthy backstory involving training as an intergalactic corrections officer of sorts, and the capture of Stitch, who is apparently a very frightening critter to have in custody. Once again, I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll just say that there are some wonderful sensory effects in this ride and if you sit back in your seat and take it all in, you will be pleasantly surprised.

After Stitch, there was nothing left that we wanted to do at Magic Kingdom that day except watch the fireworks. Well, okay. Let’s be honest; after a full day at the park, there was nothing else we had the energy to do but sit on a curb along Main Street and wait for the fireworks. We hadn’t wanted to wait in the 40-minute line for Peter Pan’s flight; we’d skipped Splash Mountain on purpose; we’d decided to skip the Railroad around the park, and we hadn’t wanted to ride most of the traditional amusement park rides, like the carousel and Aladdin’s Magic Carpets. So, all in all, by the time the fireworks rolled around, we’d had a jam-packed day of fun and were happy to be waiting for the show.

And what a show. Do not miss the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom. You may believe that you’ve seen fireworks before but, unless you’ve seen the Macy’s Fireworks on the Fourth of July in New York City, you’ve never seen fireworks like those in the Magic Kingdom. And when the fireworks form the backdrop to Cinderalla’s Castle, and it’s ever-changing colors, it is an experience that cannot be duplicated, or rivaled, by any similarly themed show anywhere in the world.




Take them in. Absorb them. Enjoy them. And don’t blink, or you’ll miss Tinkerbell, who actually flies from the top of the Castle to the trees below. It’s an amazing experience.

After the fireworks, we made our way to the docks, where we took a ferry back to the transportation center, then grabbed a tram to the car. We made our way back to the hotel (watch for the cops if you’re driving yourself. It’s a 35 mph speed limit here, and they apparently love to catch the tourists leaving the parks at the end of the day). We dropped Jake’s arsenal in the room before retiring to the bar for a nightcap and a few minutes to unwind. (Jake, ever the energetic one, ran off to the arcade room next to the restaurant where he played video games to wind down.) Finally, we headed up to the room, where we collapsed into our beds so that we could recharge and be ready for a day at Epcot.