Florida - Magic Kingdom

The next day we made our way to the Magic Kingdom.  It was not nearly as easy to get there as we had to wait for a bus, drive about 15 minutes to the park, and then walk in.   But at least our bus driver had a sense of humor.

We made a Genie+ time for Big Thunder Mountain for 11:00.  So when we arrived, we had an hour or so to kill so we headed to Splash Mountain to check out the stand by line.  It was only about 30 minutes so we got in line to await our turn.

The line was moving pretty fast and we estimated we had about 5 minutes left until it was our turn.  All of a sudden - boom - the line stopped cold and we weren't moving.  So we looked over to the entry/exit point and saw this.

The canoes were empty with no one in line to get on and people were exiting up the stairs.  Yes, the ride was taken out of service due to mechanical issues.  So here we were again.

They finally got everyone out and gave each person a lightning lane pass to use later on Splash Mountain or any other attraction (except for the "big" ride that you pay extra for).  So that waiting was a waste of time.

We headed over to Thunder Mountain to get in line for our window.

Every time I go on this ride I think it will be my last (I'm getting too old for this) and then when the opportunity comes back around, I climb aboard.  It really is beautiful and, thankfully, doesn't last too long.

From there we walked over to the Hall of Presidents.  For those familiar with Disneyland, this is similar to Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.  It shows all 46 presidents and is quite amazing how they have been depicted.

As luck would have it, when we exited the theater a parade had just begun and we had a great view.

Disney does such a great job with parades and the kids love it!  In fact, I had more fun watching all the kids than I did watching the parade.

We had a reservation for 1:00 to go on the Haunted Mansion so we went to a restaurant across from it to get some lunch.  It's pretty slick to go to the restaurant, find a table, and then place a mobile order and pick it up.  We were sitting by the window watching the line for the Haunted Mansion when we noticed that it had come to a complete stop!  What the heck - again?  By the time it was our appointed time it was back open but the Genie+ line was now over 1/2 hour.  No thanks.  So we made a reservation for later in the day and headed out.  A few friends were on the balcony to say hello.

Time to check out Splash Mountain again so we got in line with our 'special' pass.  It moved pretty quickly and we climbed aboard.  Uh-oh, we were in the front row and were bound to get wet.

Ron does a good job of taking pictures while we're on the move.

You have to go up before you can go down.

From the top you get a great view....if you have your eyes open.

You can see it's quite a drop.  And yes, you get SOAKED in the front row!

Okay, we did it.  The water actually cooled us off so we carried on.

Next stop was People Mover in Tomorrowland.  I remember being so infatuated with this ride in the 60's when we went to Disneyland.  But since it was closed in 1995, it was just a vague memory for me.  But I was happy to see it up and running at Disney World and confirm that my memory wasn't as bad as I thought it was.

The special effects are nil but you get a pretty good overview of Tomorrowland.

We could see they were still creating a new ride - Tron.

We saw it in late 2019 when we were there - doesn't look like they've made much progress.  Probably due to Covid.  :-)

By now we needed some nourishment and we found the perfect snack - I Lava You Float.  Disclaimer:  I wolfed mine down so quickly I had to find someone who would allow me to take a picture of his drink before he started eating it.

The float is made with Strawberry Fanta Soda at the bottom acting as the lava preparing to erupt with the carbonated bubbles, next was strawberry and red passion fruit syrup flowing down the side of the cup, then top with Orange Dip Swirls.  Added to the top was something like pop rocks which really exploded in your mouth.  Perfect!

Time to hit Pirates of the Caribbean.  Since the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard trial was in full swing, we wondered if we'd see Johnny as Jack Sparrow.  Yep, there appeared to be no change.  As I write this we are waiting for the verdict in the trial which makes me wonder what will happen if the trial doesn't go his way.

Jack even came out to sign autographs for his fans.

Finally, it was time to go back to the Haunted Mansion.

The line moved quickly and we were on.  The ride stopped several times as we were riding but, thankfully, we didn't have to evacuate.  We assumed it was due to disabled people getting on or off the ride.

And now it was time to leave so we made our way to the front of the park.

Back on the bus for the return trip.  By the time we got back to the resort, we decided we needed a beer to go along with some dinner.  So we walked through the resort and took in some of the sights.

View from our room

The main pool at the resort

We found a great little bar.

Right on the water and behind an awning to keep the sun out.

Unfortunately, it didn't keep the birds out.

See the crow up there?

But the best part of the whole day was having Amber serve us.  She provided some of the greatest customer service we've ever experienced and we had a great time talking with her.  

It was a great day but we were exhausted.  Time to relax!