Magic Kingdom

a.k.a. The Low Point

Each time I've been to Orlando, the Magic Kingdom has been the most disappointing park of the trip. Perhaps it's because I didn't go as a child and have never been there with children. Other than a few highlights, this park has never had much to offer grown-ups. There are a few enjoyable things for thrill seekers - Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Mountain Big Mountain Thunder Mountain Railroad Mountain (Hmm.. so, I guess, if "Mountain" is in the name, those who don't like scary things should skip it.) Alien Encounter Mountain is oogy, so I have always skipped it. (Yes, oogy. You know what I mean.)

We visited the Magic Kingdom twice during our trip - once at night to see the light parade, and another time during the day to take in a few attractions. In order to get from the parking lot to the park, you first get on a Tram which whooooshes you to the Ticket and Transportation Center (known to some as the TTC, but we don't admit to knowing those some), and then you either take a nice breezy uncrowded ferryboat or pile into a cramped Monorail car surrounded by smelly crying children (and some smelly crying adults) to get to the park.

Ken's happy and ready to go!

This is one of those "hold-the-camera-out-and-hope-it-works" pictures

We got into the park just as people were gathering for the Electrical Parade. We jockeyed for position and waited.. and waited....and....waited....while children of all ages yelled, screamed, and either played with these annoying spinning lights that seem perfect for de-eyeball-ulation or whined to their parents to get a spinning light toy. Finally, the music began and the light-covered floats came by. We took many pictures, but only a few came out (the rest suffered from either being jostled in a crowd or a subterranian earthquake causing shaky light blurs).

After this, we fought the crowds into the park - - big mistake. This was a Saturday, which is the biggest day in the MK. In our plan, we were going to Universal the next day, and I knew that Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin was a toned-down version of Men In Black. Therefore, I thought I would see how Ken fared as a Spinning Space Ranger first.

The ride was very crowded, so we picked up a FastPass. We had about 45 minutes to kill, so we toodled around on the People-Mover and had a snack. We went in for the Spin, which was packed with little sweaty children screaming at the end of the day.

We went home after this. Ken decided that he didn't want to go out the next day, so I was off to Universal by myself. But that's another Web page.

We went back to the Magic Kindgom on our last day of touring for a few hours of fun and pleasure. First, we took the River Cruise. After seeing the Animal Kingdom, this looked pretty ridiculous. The puns were very bad as well, but it was still cute (and without wait, thanks to FastPass). However, the ride was much smoother than the safari, so I was able to take a few pictures.

We also visited the Enchanted Tiki Room Under New Management. Iago (from Aladdin) and Zazu (from the Lion King) appear and run the show. It's very different. It has some funny bits if you have seen the old show; however, it has lost some of its charm.

After this, it was off to the Haunted Mansion, through FantasyLand to Tomorrowland. Timekeeper was next, which is a 360 degree film orginally made for the Paris Disney park. This will become obvious as the attraction focuses on Paris, and makes a number of references meaningless to those without Paris knowledge. The Carosel of Progress, while being admittedly cheesy and out-of-date, still holds a place as one of my favorite attractions. I don't know why... I just have always enjoyed it and see it each time I come here.

There endeth the Magic Kingdom portion of our trip. You can continue on to the Animal Kingdom, or choose a destination from the list below:

The Magic Kingdom