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On the Tuesday of our week in Florida, we spent the day at Disney's Magic Kingdom. This was, I think, my favorite of the Disney parks. Unfortunately it's also going to be the most difficult to write about, because we did so much and the details are getting harder and harder to remember. Thank God for all the photos we took, because without them to jog my memory, I wouldn't be able to write anything at all.
The first ride we hit was the Jungle Cruise, a tame boat ride through the jungles of the world, complete with cheesy animatronics and corny jokes. But don't take that as a negative review; it was very entertaining! Our "driver" had us chuckling the whole time.
Pirates of the Caribbean was next. Unfortunately none of the photos we took on this ride came out, as it was too dark. I'm just thankful for the gap in image numbers so I can remember when we did this one. It was another nice, tame boat ride (I like those!), save for one small surprise they throw in while you're in complete darkness so you can't see it coming. I'm not really into pirates all that much, but it was cute, and the animatronic Johnny Depp takes the cake.
After Pirates I briefly considered Splash Mountain, until we got there and I saw how steep the drop was. There's one moment of insanity averted. Chris wanted to ride, though, so he got a FastPass so that I wouldn't have to sit out in the heat while he waited in line. (For those unfamiliar, a FastPass is kind of like call-ahead seating. It gives you a time to come back, usually the same amount of time as the standby wait, and then you can go out and continue to enjoy the rest of the park until it's your turn to ride.) He didn't end up using it, though... as for why, you'd have to ask him. 
The next stop on our agenda was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It was the one roller coaster I had been willing to ride, since everyone I had talked to said it was relatively low-key, with no loops or periods of being upside down. But Chris talked me out of it! After all his complaining about the rides I wouldn't go on, here was one I was perfectly willing to get on without a second thought, and he convinces me it's a bad idea. His argument? It's worse than Splash Mountain. Which, by the way, according to everyone we've told about this after the fact, is a classic case of "Fuzzy Memories by Chris".
After grabbing a quick lunch, we found ourselves a spot to watch the Disney Dreams Come True Parade. Disney provides several designated viewing areas for guests using wheelchairs, where no one, except for one companion per wheelchair user, is allowed to stand... that way you don't end up seeing nothing but ass once the parade starts. But I couldn't believe how difficult the job is for the cast members assigned to guard these areas. The areas were roped off, with clearly visible wheelchair signs on the posts. But people would duck right under the rope, then when told the area was for wheelchairs only, pretend not to understand, or argue with the cast member or even downright ignore him. And these poor people have to go through this every day. Eventually, though, they did get all the morons out of the area, and I was able to see the parade just fine. It was really cool, and definitely another dork moment for me. But I did feel sorry for all those people jumping and dancing around in those hot costumes.
Next (as far as I can remember) we went to see Mickey's PhilharMagic. This was a really fun 3D movie starring the classic Disney characters. Even though the 3D glasses gave me a bit of a headache, it was well worth it. More than just an audio/visual demonstration, the show gets all of your senses involved... with wind in your face, droplets of water squirted at you, and even scents to match up to what you're seeing. It was one of my favorite attractions at Magic Kingdom.
We wandered around a bit more, and found ourselves in Mickey's Toontown Fair, the little kids' section of the park. We toured Minnie and Mickey's Country Houses, and tried to meet Mickey, but the wait was too long for us to make it to our dinner reservation on time. So we slowly strolled through the last section of the park (Tomorrowland), back to the restaurant on Main Street. Since the park was closing early that night for the Pirate and Princess Party, we headed back to the hotel after dinner.
We came back to Magic Kingdom on Thursday evening to see the fireworks (which had not been held on Tuesday night because of the early closing and the party). We also had some time to do a few things we'd missed when we were there before. First order of business: meet Mickey! After that was done, we went on to the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. Wow, what a cool show! It's a real-time computer animated stand-up comedy show featuring the characters from the movie. They zoom the cameras in on members of the audience, ask them questions and then incorporate that into the jokes. And it's all animated on the fly. It's amazing what they can do with computers and animation. It was another favorite, and definitely something I'll go see again the next time we visit.
Finally it was time to get ready for the SpectroMagic parade (which we did not know we'd be seeing that night) and the Wishes fireworks show. The parade is an update to the old Electric Light Parade. It was beautiful, but I think we were both paraded out by then. It was hard to get decent pictures, because the camera didn't think it had enough light so slowed down the shutter speed too much. I know there has to be a way to override that, and maybe if we had taken those free digital photography lessons that came with the camera, we'd have known how to do so. We did get a few shots, though... and several of the fireworks that followed. The fireworks were another dork moment for me, and the absolute best I've ever seen. They more than made up for the fact that I hadn't gotten to see any on the Fourth of July this year, and let's just hope they haven't spoiled me for life.
Next installment: Epcot!
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