Chapter 6:The Wildest Ride in the Wilderness!

After a great ride on the all new POTC, we made our way out of Adventureland and over to Frontierland. As soon as we crossed the border, we saw that Frontierland was a lot busier than Adventureland was, but we would find out later why. The first thing we saw as we after Frontierland was one of the best log flumes in the world, Splash Mountain. This was planned to be next on our hit list. The massive drop in the Briar Patch, as seen from the Frontierland midway, really gets you excited to ride this thing. So, we made our way over to Splash's entrance to see how long the wait was. Once we got in clear view of the Stand-By wait time, I just started to walk away. The wait was long than an hour, and I didn't plan on waiting. However, what other ride is very close to Splash? That's right, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad! When I was at the park in 2003, the ride was closed down because of A. Down for rehab or B. Down because the one at Disneyland recently had an accident. Anyway, this was ride 2 of 2 I wanted to hit in Frontierland, so it was up next, wait time pending. We approached the area of the ride's entrance, and noticed the wait time of only 20 minutes. Perfect. Considering this was a relatively short waiting time, and I really wanted to ride this, we decided to make this the 2nd ride of the trip!

We boarded the queue, which is highly themed, just like everything else at Disney. I love the first part of the queue line on this line, it really makes you feel like you're in the wild west. One of my favorite features is the water trough system was have overhead. The outdoors part of the queue, as I said has an awesome wild west theme to it. After taking in the awesome theming, we entered the queue building, where we stopped shortly after getting inside. It really was a scorcher out, so I was happy to be inside. Anyway, while waiting, I pulled out a park map and looked at how much it had changed since I last was there. One thing I'll note is that map the maps a lot smaller than the last time, but they seem to be fine this way. We waited in that one spot for about 5 minutes in the shade, and then we were moving. We continuously walked through the queue, only making short stops along the way. Since I hadn't been in the queue since 2000, I didn't know where it would be going, but I knew it ended in an underground station. After walking through the first room of switchbacks, we moved into the next. This is where we really started to fly. Everyone just kept going and going and going...and it didn't stop at all. We were in and out of the 2nd switchback room in no time, and now we were on our way down into the underground caverns station. We finally stopped on the downwards ramp leading to the loading area. We paused here for a few minutes, waiting in the almost complete darkness. Soon we were moving though, and were inches away from loading. Once I had a view of the loading area, I saw that rows 1, 2, and 3 were roped off. What? This simply made no sense to me, until it was our turn to board. A few people went in front of us, but then the operator asked us how many, and we told him. he then directed us to rows 3 and 4. Then, I understood. They don't want a bunch of people waiting for the row car, of course, making this an excellent system. I was very happy with my row 3 ride, considering many people wouldn't be as lucky as I. Anyway, since we were the first to be the only people in rows 3 and 4, we would be on the next train! With mere seconds of waiting, our train pulled up, and the air gates opened. It was time for the first coaster of the trip.

We all boarded our runaway train and pulled down our restraint, making sure it wasn't too tight. After that, we were ready to roll. As I waited for everyone's restraint to be checked, I looked around. The station itself is almost pitch black, aside from a few shining lights overhead. Along with the darkness of the mine shaft, the extremely realistic steam engine at the front of the train adds more to the great theming of the ride. While I was looking around, taking in all of the amazing theming, I realized it was now go time. Our steam engine's whistle blowed, and we soon crawled out of the station. The ride starts off by plummeting you through a dark cavern, full of sights and sounds. As soon as we got off the transfer track, we made a quick left and plunged into the dark cavern, full of sound effects and some little bunny hops. You hear screaming bats, and rushing water...soon we will see where that is coming from. Anyway, this part of the ride is nothing special, but this is only the beginning. After this relatively short segment, we begin to climb the first of many lift hills. This one has a surprise at the top, however...a huge waterfall separated into two by a rock in the ceiling! When I first saw this, I thought it was an awesome theming piece, and not meant for you to get wet. Once we got to the top of the lift hill, I noticed it was for both. This thing can give you quite a soaking if you sit right up against the edge of the car. Anyway, after going under the waterfall, it was time for the ride to begin. We soon found ourselves at the top of the mountain, and were given a view of the lake in which surrounds Tom Sawyer's Island. Before long, however, we were on our way into the ride's first of many turns. The ride starts off by throwing you through some wild turns, each of which were relaxing, not thrilling, mainly because we hadn't gained much speed yet. After some nice curves, it was time for the first helix, in which we gain some nice speed. Once again, this helix is more relaxing breeze-giving than thrilling. Racing through the rocky mountain terrain, we glide up a small ascent and enter one crazy put of this ride. The track in this segment is crazy, and just throws you around all over as we cross a small stream. The ride then throws us into another turn, and then we encounter the ride's main lift hill. This is where you can receive some excellent views of the mountain range, and all the theming it has to offer. Unfortunately, the views are short lived, as it's not long before you're charging into the 2nd part of the ride. We hit a sharp left-hand turn, and went back down to canyon below. Coming up is my personal favorite part of the ride. We climbed a small ascent, which leads us to, as I said, my favorite part, which starts off with a strong double helix. Around and around we went, diving in and out of the rock work, gaining more and more speed as we went. Once this thing lets you go, you've gained a very nice amount of speed, and the next element gives my favorite part of the ride a two-part punch. Right after the helix, you get thrown into a bunny hill, which looks innocent, but it's going to give you some of the only air time found on this ride. Once you crest the top, you get some sweet, sweet floater air, before heading back down under the rock work. You just have to love the sensation floater air creates. Anyway, after another little turn, we encountered the last lift hill of the ride, which is held in the dark and in another "mine shaft". As we made our last upwards climb, boulders at the sides of the shaft come out of the rock, which look like they are going to fall right down you! it was time to make a quick exit before those boulders came right down on us. Finally, we saw the light at the end of the tunnel. The brighter it got the closer we were to getting out of that mine shaft. Finally the light surrounded us, and we were back out on the mountain range. After a small hill to get us moving, we went into another sharp curve. Coming up next is the nice, swooping curve over the picturesque lake. Ah, what a nice breeze this turn creates, as well as an excellent view of the water. After that nice, sharp turn, we went up into a completely pointless part of this ride, a small block brake that holds us for a few seconds. Once it finally lets us go, it's time for the ride's finale. We went into another sharp turn in the rock work, which fed us into a tunnel created by dinosaur bones! The track in this section is a little bumpy, giving you the sensation of just narrowly avoiding the bones of a dinosaur's rib cage. After one more final turn, we hit the final brake run over a small spring, which had geysers shooting off everywhere!

KKR05's Expert Advice-Overall, the combination of a wild coaster ride along with some awesome theming (especially the rock work/canyon, it is extremely realistic) makes this a must hit. If you're looking for a thrilling coaster ride, then you'll be disappointed, but this ride without a doubt offers one fun-filled experience, and is a great starting coaster for the younger ones. Also, along with the theming and some thrilling parts (double helix), this ride will also be a favorite of the older ones. It's definitely a must ride in Frontierland, right up there with Splash Mountain. On a last note, with fast loading times and moving lines, this attraction could be hit about anytime throughout the day. Our wait time ended up being only around 15-20 minutes, for what seemed to be a very long line.

After enjoying the sights and sounds of the little themed stream that we were stuck on, the brakes released us and we flew back into the almost pitch black station. Once we did, we threw up our lap bars and headed for the exit. Everyone seemed to enjoy the ride, and it was a lot more of a ride than I thought it was (in other words, the ride is longer than you think) We quickly exited and found our way out back to a very crowded Frontierland. Since Splash was still an extremely long wait, we decided to move on in our loop around the park. As we walked toward the next section, Liberty Square, we discovered that the crowdedness of the section was mainly due to a huge meet and greet session going on near the Country Bears. Since the pathway was completely blocked, we followed the dock which goes along the banks of Frontierland's lake, and headed our next attraction, which was just dead ahead...

Chapter 5:Dead Men Tell New Tales!

After making about a 10 minute journey total from our resort, we arrived at the MK gate! What a beautiful sight it was, to finally arrive at a WDW theme park. We pulled up to the a gate ready to pay the 9 dollar parking fee (What a scam...). Anyway, we paid the money, and received a parking ticket in exchange. After that, we were heading into the MK parking lot, held in the TTC, or Transportation and Ticket Center. We followed all of the guides to our final destination, a spot in the Donald parking aisle. We all jumped out of the car, and went over to the tram stop. I wasn't familiar with the parking configurations in the MK parking lot, so I couldn't tell if the park was crowded or not. Anyway, we walked over to the tram stop, which was luckily waiting for passengers when we arrived. We hopped on, and enjoyed a quick, but enjoyable ride to the TTC. Hey, it was our first ride of the trip. When the tram makes a tight turn into the drop-off area, the instructor told everyone to put they're hands up as if they were on Space Mountain :P. What did I do? Hang on for dear life. If I put my hands up, I'd be kissing my WDW vacation goodbye, because I would be falling out of that tram so fast I wouldn't know what hit me. Anyway, we quickly arrived at the drop off area, and climbed the ramp to the Monorail station. Luckily we grabbed a Monorail that was Express to the MK, so we didn't have to stop at the Contemporary on the way there. Ah, the WDW Monorail. I love this thing. I just love the views and the enjoyable ride that it gives. It really makes you feel like you are at Disney. Anyway, the Monorail ride was quite short, because it was an Express. One thing that is noteworthy...you receive and EXCELLENT view of the Space Mountain structure from the Monorail, perfect for taking pics. I don't have one myself..but I do have a few others. Anyway, we finally arrived at the MK, where they had some kind of odd Chip and Dale recording go over the intercom. Everyone rushed off the Monorail and to our first stop in the MK, the all important security booths. Luckily, however, security was very quick and efficient. They checked both of our bags, and we made our final stop before entering the park...the turnstiles! The MK is trying out a new system from the rest of the Disney theme parks (at least in Florida). You must place your ticket through the slot, press down your index finger, and wait for your card to shoot out. One thing about this confuses me though...my brother and I had the same ticket (Mickey on it). So how would we know who's ticket was his or mine? I guess we would just have to wait and see. Anyway, the system is quite quick, but it really makes you think... Anyway, I didn't think anything of the sort when I entered the MK. I was just ready to ride. I waited long enough. We passed under the Main Street Train Station (where I picked up some maps for my collection) and onto Main Street, U.S.A. You won't fine a more accurate replica of an old style main street anywhere else in the area. Main Street is simply charming, from its small shops to its old fashioned food stalls to its classic trolley trains. It is unbelievable how picturesque this small strip of land can be. Unfortunately, we didn't have much time to take it all in. Main Street was completely packed. I think it was either almost time for a parade or a parade just let out. Anyway, we made our way through the huge masses of people to the heart of the Magic Kingdom, a.k.a "The Hub", right in front of the "dressed-up" Cinderella Castle. This is where one of the most important pieces of information for guests just entering can be found, the Billboard of all wait times in the park. As soon as we arrived at the board, I checked it out, and to be honest, I was quite surprised. The wait times were not bad at ALL. The longest waits were Splash and Space Mountain, along with Peter Pan, which are expected before entering the park. Anyway, with 20 minute waits for the all-new Pirates, Big Thunder Mountain, and the Haunted Mansion, we opted to hit the right side of the park first. Since Pirates would be the first attraction we would hit that everyone wanted to do, we decided to hit that first!

I had read about the new "additions" to the ride before the trip, and from my understanding, it seemed to be a very successful rehab in incorporating the characters from the movies. So, I was pretty excited to see what they really did during the near 6-month rehab. After walking through the sidewalks of Adventureland, we came to the ride, which has all-new decorations out from, most notably the mast of a pirate's ship with a big black and red sign saying the ride's title, "Pirates of the Caribbean". We walked over towards the entrance, expecting around a 20 minute wait, as the billboard in the front of the park had promoted. This particular ride has two different queue lines, but they all lead to the same place, just opposite sides of the station. It's been known that the left queue is ALWAYS shorter than the right. However, as we were walking towards the entrance to both queues, we saw a large amount of people walking into the left queue, so we ducked right and decided to try that queue. Unfortunately, this ended up being a poor choice on our part. Once we walked through the people-counter for the ride, we walked through the dim-lited and dark queue line until we came to a halt in one of the queue's numerous hallways. The queue for the ride is pretty nicely themed, with some random barrels and crates (full of rum, of course :P), torches illuminated with the light of fire, and overall just a prison-y feel to it, which is really cool. Even though we were in almost complete darkness, I took out one of my park maps and started observing it. Even though the MK is a pretty easy park to navigate, I hadn't been in the park in 3 years. So, I observed, and we-familiarized myself with the park itself. Our wait time, the depths of the POTC queue was about 15 minutes, in other words, we were on the "dock" in 15 minutes. Throughout waiting in the queue, I was extremely excited. It was our first official ride of the trip, and the additions to the ride really excited me. Once we arrived at the dock, we saw two operators who were definitely enjoying their job. Decked in pirates costumes and fake swords, and pointed the swords at park guests saying "what you looking at?" lol. I was waiting for one of them to do that for me...considering I had an answer for them. "You", I would simply say lol. Anyway, another operator asks us how many, and we told them. We were assigned the last two rows, which I was particularly happy about, but what can you do? We all sat down, and got ready for the ride in front of us. As I waited for the conveyor belt to send us gilding into the water, I looked around the station and realized how awesome it was. I had never realized how detailed it was. Anyway, the moving of the conveyor belt caught me off guard, and we were on our way. Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a Pirate's Life for me...

We were finally on our voyage through the seas of the Caribbean. The ride starts off very dark, and we rounded the turn, ready to take in the brand new effects added to the ride, the Davy Jones waterfall effect. We could hear his voice as we rounded the turn in near darkness. Finally, we encountered the waterfall. This thing seriously looks extremely real. The first time we rode it, meaning this ride, I thought we were going to get drenched by this huge waterfall. Well, this thing tricks you. There is no projection on the "screen" until you get close enough. Finally, the sea-monster named Davy Jones, appears on the waterfall. And what does he do? He laughs. After a big old laugh from Mr. Jones, he begins to speak, and repeats the classic line, "Dead Men Tell No Tales." I've learned that he says different things each time, which is pretty cool. Anyway, once he's done chit-chatting, there's only one way to go, through the water fall. As we went through, we were greeting with a mist-like effect, which was very awesome. It was really an awesome addition to the ride, and an amazing ride to start the ride off. Anyway, after the amazing effect, we were on our way through some sort of dark caverns with rock-formations. After a short trip through a cavern, we moved on that seems to be Isla de Muerta. The beaches are covered with plentiful ruins of old ships, and even some bare skeletons that have washed up on shore. On the other side, we see a jolly old skeleton steering a broken wooden ship. The wind sounds are now kicking in, adding more to the effect of everything being deserted, expect for the remains of some jolly old fellows. After we move on from the beaches of Isla de Muerta, we are surrounded and complete darkness. We continue to move closer and closer to a Skull and Crossbones dead ahead above us, and then, we drop. Whee! We sailed down what seems to be a 20 foot drop or less. Hey, it isn't much, but that isn't what this ride's about!After our nice, leisurely drop, it's time to meet up with our good friend Captain Barbossa. He seems to be having quite a battle on his hands. He's on his ship, decked out at sea, with multiple cannons firing from his ship to the fort next to us. The fort, which is being attacked, is firing back at Captain Barbossa, who is making orders from his ship. And we are all in the middle of it. Water is splashing everywhere from the cannonballs falling in the water, and explosions are heard when the ship or fort is hit. The Barbossa animatronic is very realistic, but looks a little differently than he appears in the movie (In a different outfit, mainly). This is the big battle scene of the ride, and it is pretty intense. What I love about this scene is how you're in the middle of it all. If you're lucky enough, you may receive a nice spray of water when the cannonballs hit. Even though Barbossa continues fighting and giving order, we move on, on the hunt to find Captain Jack Sparrow. He should be around here, somewhere...

After the fort scene, we move on into a small pirates town, where the big news is Captain Jack Sparrow, who was seen running through the small pirate town. However, where is Captain Jack. As we move on, we see him hiding in a wardrobe of women's dresses. Nice hiding spot, Jack. This is our first glimpse at how amazing these AA's really are. It really seems like Mr. Depp is standing there, acting in a theme park attraction. His look matches perfectly as in the movies, from his clothing to general appearance. The first time I saw it, I couldn't believe how realistic it was. It really is a sight to see, and an excellent addition to the classic ride to give it a little more flavor and appeal. Anyway, moving on, we notice numerous pirates doing what they do best, drinking rum, of course! Yep, this scene consist of pirates ravaging the town with rum bottles in hand. After taking in these classics AA's, which I believe all stayed the same, we pass under a bridge and into the next scene, where CaptainJack but be sighted again. However, we first see some more classics parts to this ride, including some drunk pirates chasing some girls lol. After enjoying some more classic AA's, we come upon an old drunk man, sitting down on a crate. He's explaining the story of Jack Sparrow. Now irony kicks in. As we pass by, Jack pops his head out of the barrel behind the old drunk guy and stares at him...and then at us. It was a little creepy, but awesome. Once again, these AA's are something you're not going to find anywhere else, except Disneyland of course. After our second to last encounter with Jack, our voyage continues into the next scene. The next scene is what I like to call "What Happens When Pirates Get Too Drunk". As soon as we enter, we see the town in flames and in ruins. However, this is just the Pirates lifestyle, as they greet us with the singing of the classic song, "Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a Pirate's Life for me!" Sure, the town's up in flames and is burning as they sing, but does it seem like they care? I don't think so. We encounter some more classic AA figures in this scene, including a band singing the classic tune, and some pirates so drunk they can't even move, unless it is to put the rum bottles up to their mouths lol. Anyway, shouldn't we be running into Captain Jack sometime soon? Jack is nowhere to be found in this scene, but the ride moves on. Coming up next is quite possibly the most remembered scene in the whole ride, the jail cell with criminals begging the dog for the keys to open the cell. That dog is never going to move, and I think that those pirates know it, but they continue to try to try to end their misery in the prison. We now round a corner, and guess who we see. That's right, it's Captain Jack Sparrow, found in the treasure room. He's relaxing and enjoying himself with gold all around him. The treasure is his, as no one else is in sight. With the enjoyment of gold all around him, he sings with true pirate spirit. "Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a Pirate's Life for Me". We then leave the joyous Captain Jack to enjoy his treasure, and we disembark at the exit platform. We all jump out, and head for the exit. On a final note, did a People Mover always used to be there to transport you from the exit platform to the upstairs gift shop? I personally never remembered that...Anyway, let's move onto the first KKR05's Expert Advice!

KKR05's Expert Advice-Pirates of the Caribbean-Is "Pirates" you're type of ride? Here's how to find out. Did you like the Pirates movies? If so, you will love the new additions to the classic ride. From the Davy Jones water effect to the amazing Captain Jack AA's, it's quite a sight to see. As for fans of the classic attraction, don't worry, most of the attraction has not been changed at ALL. All of older AA's are still in place I believe, along with all the old effects. Overall, Pirates is an attraction that anyone will now enjoy, especially with the new additions to the ride.

After an excellent ride on the new POTC, we made our way into the gift shop after riding the People Mover. The gift shop is now FULL of movie merchandise, along with some classic Pirate Props. It seemed to be doing very well, as it was full of people. I really think this rehab was a success and in the long run it will attract more and more people to enjoy the experience. After finding our way through the gift shop, our next stop was...the bathrooms! Yay! After a relaxing stop (lol), we were back on the "midway", and made our way west into Frontierland, home of 2 of the park's major attractions, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. One of these attractions was next up on our hit list...but you'll have to wait until next time to see which one!

Chapter 4:Sliding, Chilling, Swimming, and Relaxing

In the morning of the second day, we all slept in after a late night the night before. I woke around 9:30 to our first full day in the Sunshine State. I was excited, mainly that today would be our first day at a park, which means it's time to ride. However, our first trip to a park would not happen until later on in the afternoon. After everyone got up and was ready to go, we started off our morning by heading out to get breakfast and drive around our resort's property to see what was actually there, what we couldn't do the night before. As we wandered the property, all I thought was "holy crap this place is huge". The resort consists of many different developments that each have their fair share of rooms. After looking around at how huge the resort itself was, we made our way over to the Clubhouse, where we had our first breakfast of the trip. I had some scrambled eggs and bacon, which were delicious, along with freshly-squeezed orange juice :P. After a very nice breakfast, I looked around the Pro Shop at all the golf related items they had. They had quite a variety of items, from hats to shirts to clubs to balls. I really wanted to play some golf on this trip, but I didn't know if it was going to happen. Anyway, after the Pro Shop, we hopped back in the car and continued to explore the property. There was some MAJOR construction going on at our resort, as many of the different "developments" the resort had weren't even finished. After doing some more exploring, we went back to the room to grab our suits, as we would be starting our day over at the resort's water park. After everyone was ready, we all hopped back in the car and made our way over. It was around 10:oo AM now, and since the water park had just opened, we didn't think many people would be there, and luckily we were right. When we got there, we basically had the park to ourselves, which was amazing. We grabbed some towels at the entrance and continued to walk into the park. Once we were in, we found a few lounge chairs so we could put down all of our things. Before I jumped it, I just looked around the park. I seriously thought I was on a tropical island. The setting was extremely natural, with plenty of shrubs, trees, and scenery to make you think you really were on an island. And, while I was just gazing around, I heard a very familiar sound come over the park's speaker system. Just what was it though? None other than the Red Hot Chili Pepper's Dani California of course :P. I was now ready to jump in. We all first headed over to the lazy river for a few nice laps around. I jumped into the almost person-less lazy river to cool off on a hot Florida day. The lazy river was very nice, complete with four waterfalls, a tunnel, and of course, lush scenery. After two laps of relaxation, we all decided to head over to the main event of the park, their slide. We got out of the lazy river and climbed up the large number of stairwells to the top of rock "mountain". Since, as I said before, the park was deserted, there was no one on or waiting to go on the slide. Just how I like it. I jumped into the starting platform (it was a body slide, built into this rock "mountain") and pushed off the side of the slide. The slide sends you twisting and turning down inside this rock formation. Around and around I went until I hit that last crazy curve and flew into the water. The slide was pretty fun, and you actually gain quite a bit of speed, especially towards the end and at the final curve. Anyway, we all did the slide a few times (STILL no one on the slide), until we finally decided we had enough and decided to walk around the park and enjoy the paradise it seemed to be like. As we walked around, we heard another song that I like, Gnarls Barkley's Crazy :P I needed to figure what radio station this was. Anyway, we ended up back at the slide, and we all wanted to go to check out the kiddie playground. The quickest route seemed to be down the slide, so that's what we did! Once we were all at the bottom, we were basically at the entrance to the kiddie playground. I don't care what you say, these things can be so much freaking fun! This one was bigger than I expected it to be, so I climbed up and checked it out. While I was up there, I decided to go down the biggest slide they had. Sure it was slow, but it was still pretty fun! I used the water guns on the structure to squirt people as they went down :P After playing around for a while on the kiddie structure, we decided to head back to the main pool to relax for a bit. I chilled in an inner tube as I went around the pool. After chilling in the pool, going on the slide a few for times, and taking another lap on the lazy river, it was about time to call it day, at the water park that is. As we all dried off, another song that I like came over the radio, Over My Head by The Fray :lol: I definitely NEEDED to know this station. Anyway, after we all dried off, we threw our towels in the bin, and headed out of the water park around 1:oo PM. It was 3 hours full of sliding, chilling, swimming, and relaxing. What an amazing day to start off the day.

After the water park, we hopped back in the car and cruised back to our room. We all got changed, as we were ready for our trip to the Magic Kingdom coming up next! However, we would grab a bite to eat at the McDonald's in Champions Gate Village, which I mentioned earlier. I got what I always get at McDonald's, Chicken Selects. At McDonald's, they had Strawberry Fanta, which I had never seen before, so I decided to try it. It was actually much better than I expected it to be. I don't know if it's new or they don't have it New Jersey or something (wouldn't be a surprise), but would like to get my hands on some more of it. :P Anyway, after a quick lunch, it was time to set out for the Magic Kingdom! Yay! I was definitely ready for our first theme park of the trip (finally!) It was about time. We made the 5 minute drive to the Walt Disney World gate. (it was very convinient that our resort was so close to WDW) Once inside, you could feel the magic in the gate. Billboards and road signs pumped me up for the Magic Kingdom, just ahead! It was finally time!