Chapter 14:Cockroach Eating Isn't Only at Six Flags

After we pulled out of the Magic Kingdom parking lot, it was time to find a place to eat. We came to a conclusion on going to the Crossroads area to find something. The Crossroads is a shopping/eating area located just outside the WDW gate. I'd say the area is closest to Downtown Disney, as we passed it and Hotel Boulevard on our way there. The drive wasn't far at all, maybe 10 minutes tops, until we came to the light right outside the WDW gate. This thing just took forever. By the time we made it across the street (which is where the Crossroads is) it was another 10 minutes. So here's a tip...don't try to exit WDW through that gate...especially if it's near closing time. That light would just not move at all. Once inside, we checked the place out. They had more than quite a few places to eat, so it was going to be tough deciding on just one. We ended up deciding on Jungle Jim's, a tropical themed family restaurant near the end of the Crossroads strip. We had been there about 10 years ago, on my first WDW trip ever. I was little, maybe 3-4 or so, so I didn't remember anything about it. Anyway, the rest of the family decided it would be a good place to go for something to eat, so we tried it. Everyone was wiped out from our first day at the MK, and after a late night the night before, we all wanted to get a good night sleep. So, we parked the car, and headed into the truly jungle themed restaurant.

We walked inside and I noticed immediately how well themed it was...maybe a bit TOO well themed. It really looks like a jungle in there, full of green trees and blue waterfalls. The place seemed pretty popular, so hopefully this would be a good choice for the night. We were quickly seated upon coming in, and we walked through the very green restaurant towards a table in the back. We sat, relaxed after a long day, and checked out the menu. Everyone ordered quickly, i went with a buffalo chicken sandwich. While waiting for our food, I checked out my MK map and some of the brochures I begun collecting during the trip (I "collect" maps). I noticed that the WDW maps had been downsized since my trip in 2003, they went down to one single horizontal flap instead of two. Anyway, the maps are still very nice looking, I guess they didn't need all that extra space. So, that's what I did while I was waiting. However, let's fast forward to when the food gets here. It luckily didn't take that much time, maybe 20-25 minutes tops. Once our food was here, everyone dug in. My sandwich wasn't bad, I finished it pretty quickly. However, as soon as I did finish it, all I heard was "OMG"....and looked up.

There were two huge cockroaches climbing down the wall right beside me. They were on a mission, to capture my food! Well, the rest happened so fast. My mom and sister were out of there in an instant, my brother slowly behind. The cockroaches were still quickly gliding down the wall, looking to get a bite at my dinner. My dad and I waited a while, and I just watched them crawl down the wall in shock. Well, they don't call the place Jungle Jim's for nothing. Soon our waitress came around, and we showed her the nasty things climbing down the wall. She quickly apologized for the matter, and my dad and I made a quick exit. We left the place disgusted...it was a very spur of the moment kind of thing. While I at least got my sandwich down, which I didn't feel to good about now, some of the others didn't get to eat anything. Oh well...I guess this was a bad choice. I still can't get over that incident, and probably never will. Anyway, as you can see, I'm pretty speechless about the subject, so I'll say no more. However, I will give you a statement of advice...beware Cockroach Jim's...

After leaving, we met up with the others outside. Everyone just about had it for the day, and it ended on a pretty shocking note. Anyway, we headed back to the car, and made our way back to the hotel. The drive was about 20 minutes with no traffic. Before heading to the room we stopped at the Publix by our resort. We picked up a few items for the room, some sodas, snacks, etc..., and then made our way back to our room. Ah, how nice it felt to kick back and relax in our room. We all got ready for bed after a long day. I put on the Little league World Series and reflected about the day we just encountered...so here's a recap for those that are just joining us.

-Starting the day off at the resort's mini water park is awesome and relaxing
-Parking is expensive
-I love the Monorail
-The Magic Kingdom really wasn't crowded around midday, which is surprising for a hot summer day
-The new Pirates upgrade is a new, fresh addition to the attraction
-Big Thunder was wilder than I remember it
-Splash Mountain has the longest lines in the park
-The Haunted Mansion is a classic, but needs an upgrade
-it's a small world isn't for the faint of heart
-Mickey's PhilharMagic is the best 3-D show in the World
-Buzz Lightyear is fun yet incredibly hard for a beginner, yet with practice you will get better (trust me)
-The Tomorrowland Transit Authority is just freaking sweet. Most relaxing ride in WDW and one of the best for photos
-Space Mountain can NOT just go 28 MPH. Not possible.
-The Carousel of Progress simply doesn't get the respect it deserves.
-WDW popcorn is amazing...
-Beware Jungle Jim's...
-After a day at the park, it feels great to relax back at the room.

With that, I was out in no time. Tomorrow we would brave another park, the Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow...EPCOT, of course! EPCOT may be my favorite park of the four at WDW, it is very, very close. Anyway, and in hopefully the near future...the biggest Expedition Everest review ever. Well, that's enough for day 2. Good night, sweet dreams, and drive save. Day 3 is on the horizon.

Chapter 13:There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow...

As I mentioned, it was time make a decision. Our decision came to this conclusion, to go on a favorite among us all, Carousel of Progress, then head out to get something to eat. After that we'd return to our hotel so we could actually get a good night's sleep, which we didn't get the last night. CoP was only a short walk away, and I was excited to ride this classic again. This is one attraction that I just enjoy going on whenever I visit WDW. It clearly shows how things have evolved, and will evolve. Plus, they have numerous entertaining scenes featuring Audio Animatronics to keep you entertained. This is one attraction that I would hate to see the World do away with...it's such an underrated classic. It really never has a line, which is quite disappointing. Anyway, we all approached the attraction and walked up the entry ramp. There were only a couple of other people waiting to ride, which again to me is disappointing. A lot of people are missing out on a classic Disney attraction. Anyway, it was only a couple of minutes before the doors were opened and we were allowed into the rotating theatre. We all took a seat (which are actually very comfortable, by the way) and got ready to enjoy a piece of Disney magic about one of the things that fascinated Walt the most, progress.

They filled up the theatre as much as they could, which unfortunately seemed like less than half of the total seats. People don't know what they're missing with this one. Anyway, after a few minutes, the doors closed, and lights dimmed, and the show was ready to begin. The red curtain in front of us opens, and shows the Carousel of Progress logo. Our host then greets us (who we're about to meet), and tells us some history about the attraction. It was created for the 1964 World's Fair, and it was entirely Walt's idea. It was a hit back then...unfortunately not so much now. He also explains how Walt was fascinated with the American family. The show itself shows a regular family going through the changes and advancements of the 20th century. With background info in hand, it's time to move on into the next part of the theatre. We begin to rotate towards the next area, and can hear the classic song "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" beginning to be sung as we enter. This first scene takes place around the turn of the century (In 1900, that is). It was a time when flying seemed impossible and automobiles were a rarity. Our narrator (named John) shows off his living room with the greatest inventions of the time, the telephone, gas lamps, and the good old icebox. We see the family living in almost 100 years ago, and they are shocked about all the new inventions popping up nowadays. However, this is only the beginning. There's plenty more of progress before this show's over...

Next up, we fast forward about 20 years to where electricity is the big thing. Our narrator shows off all of his electric powered devices now situated around the stage. Also, the invention of the radio brings in news from all around the world. They couldn't be more happier about indoor plumbing as well..."it's good for cold nights", says John. The family is prepping for the town's Fourth of July parade, and everyone's getting ready in costume. When the new handy-dandy radio says the festivities are starting to begin, it's time to head out for the parade. We exit the scene again with our narrator singing the classic tune. When we arrive in the next scene, we're in the fabulous 40's. The family's Halloween has been enhanced with tons of new inventions, such as the automatic dishwasher and the famed first television. The family is quite busy with Halloween festivities and transforming their basement into a "rumpus room"...it was all the rage at the time. And when John's paint mixer spatters paint all over the room, he tries to cheer up his wife, who was painting, with his song. With that, the 40's are over and its time to move into the next area. The time of this era isn't stated, but I've begun to think of it as the future, and we'll see why in a bit. It's Christmas time in the our narrator's American household, and everyone's over to celebrate the holiday. We see many new inventions popping up in the house, such as voice activation systems and and virtual video games that are played just through a set of glasses! I don't see is this as any time but the future. Everyone's having a great time until the voice-activated oven overhears the number "750", raises the temperature, and burns the Christmas turkey! After some talk about what will happen in the future, the final scene ends again with everyone singing the song together. Finally we rotate into the exit scene (which is different than the entry scene), and our narrator lets us go with "tomorrow's just a dream away..."

The doors opened and we all got up from our seats. We exited the theater and went back out into Tomorrowland. Overall, the CoP is an amazing attraction to me. It's highly informative and provides a learning experience for all. Also, the show it presents is highly entertaining. It's fascinating to see how much has evolved over the next decade, and how things will continue to evolve. To me, the attraction is excellent, as well as the idea behind it. It's a definite must hit on your next trip to WDW. Well, the day was beginning to end, and it was now time to head out. As we walked back to the main gate, I thought about was an awesome day it was. It was short, sweet, and I got on mostly everything. I'd be back later on in the trip to hit what I missed. However, for the first real day, it sure was a nice relaxing one at the park. It surprisingly wasn't crowded at all...no waits were longer than about 30 minutes and we only needed one Fast Pass. Not what you would expect from a hot August day. However, I did plan our days around the Extra Magic Hours, so maybe that had something to do with it. All in all, it was a great first day at the Magic Kingdom.

KKR05's Expert Advice-I think I've said most of what's had to been said about the CoP. It's a great ride for all ages...really everyone can experience this classic attraction. I said it once and said it again, this ride doesn't get what it deserves. So, on your next trip, head to the CoP for a nice pleasant surprise.

It was time for the last ride of the day...the monorail ride that is! We took an express shuttle back to the Transportation and Ticket Center. I love riding the monorail, it's so relaxing and gives excellent views. The trip was short yet sweet as we arrived back at the TTC. Our car was just a tram ride away now. Once we finally exited the monorail and got to our car, we noticed a surprising amount of people heading into the park. It seems we got out just in time (it probably was Extra Magic Hours). Now, it was time to eat, so we dashed over to the Crossroads for dinner, where we'd discover that cockroach eating wasn't only at Six Flags.

Chapter 11:Paging Mr. Morrow, Mr. Tom Morrow...

After a great spin on Buzz Lightyear, we checked the time and realized we had a while to go before it was for Fast Pass on Space Mountain. Since we had the time to kill, we decided to check out the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, the highway in the sky of Tomorrowland. What I love about the ride is that it offers an awesome view of the area, and it literally never has a wait. Also, this is a great ride when your trying to burn some time in a relaxing fashion, as the ride is about 10 minutes long. Anyway, we made our way to the heart of Tomorrowland, where the escalators that send you to the TTA station are located. Also in thew central hub is the Astro Orbiter, which I have actually never been on. We rode the always fun escalators up to the station, which contains a very small amount of queue. The ride never has any wait because of the mass amount of cars that support it. You'll have your peak times when the ride can be busy, but that doesn't mean there's going to be a wait. The continuous motion of the cars keeps you always moving to board your car. We did this, going through the small queue and finally boarding our dark blue car. When in the station, you think the cars are all stuck together, but once you heard out on your journey, the "trains" separate. Anyway, we sat down, and got comfortable for the relaxing and fun journey ahead on the TTA.

As we pulled out of the station, we stayed at the same sluggish pace as the carts move in the station. However, once we reach the first turn, we sped up at a pace that is faster than you'd ever expect for a ride like this. It moves much faster than you think it would, so the breeze in your face can be a great relaxing experience. I put my legs up on the other bench a began to relax. The ride starts off by circling the highest point in Tomorrowland besides Space Mountain, the Astro Orbiter. This gives you an except view of the surrounding areas, as well as great photo opportunities. After circling around the plaza, we entered the area above the building home to Stitch's Great Escape. This is an attraction I didn't experience during this trip, but after hearing some reviews of it, I'm quite happy I didn't waste my time. If anyone's been on this, feel free to comment about it, I'd like to hear your opinions. Anyway, after the ride glides above the show building, and finally, inside it. Once inside we're surrounded by darkness, until a model of the city of tomorrow is seen through a window. This thing is truly awesome. It's a real life model of what the cities in the future may look like. Definitely keep an eye out for this, luckily the train slows down a bit when inside the building. The detail of the model is excellent, and it's very interesting to see what they thought the city of the future would look like (whenever this was constructed). Anyway, after the model, we continue on through the dark until we pass through Mickey's Star Traders, one of the biggest shops in Tomorrowland. After that we're back outside in the fresh air, hot sun and cool breeze. Now we're back up to pace as well, and we're getting a great view of the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, another Tomorrowland attraction I've never been on, as I mentioned before. This is another great opportunity for some photos of Tomorrowland, so get those cameras ready. Coming up next is a highlight of the trip, entering inside Space Mountain.

As we begin to enter the mountain, we again slow down and prepare for an awesome experience, to see inside Space Mountain. First, we're surrounded by darkness, and not able to see anything. So, we see the queue of Space Mountain, where riders were waiting to experience one of Tomorrowland's biggest attractions. After a look at the queue, we get a peek at the mountain itself. We see the "rockets" zipping riders out and about the tight turns and curves of Space Mountain one of my favorite Disney attractions of all time. Seeing this just got me more pumped to ride quite possible my favorite attraction in the Magic Kingdom. This was just a taste of what to come. We exited to the sounds of screaming riders, having a great time riding through the mountain, As we exited, we were blasted again with sunlight and began to speed up. The next part of the ride sends us back the way we came, but we then make a turn and head out past the bathroom buildings near Space Mountain. Once again, get those cameras ready, this is the best time to snap some pics of the Mountain, and the rest of Tomorrowland. The next attraction we come upon is the Carousel of Progress. As we approach the show building, we hearing the classic recording that's been playing for years..."Paging Mr. Morrow, Mr. Tom Morrow". I still don't know who they mean by Tom Morrow, but the way they spit up the name of "tomorrow" is great. Anyway, we pass above the Carousel of Progress building, but we don't enter this one. After riding through this, we come to final stretch of our ride, including entering inside the Buzz Lightyear building.

Once again, we enter the darkness, and our train slows down quite a bit. Shortly after entering, we get an excellent view of Buzz Lightyear's second room. A recording encourages as to become Junior Space Rangers in Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. Due to the TTA, I saw realized the UFO in the way back of the show building. I don't think I hit the targets spinning around on the UFO any of the 4 times I rode, however. That spot is extremely hard to hit, especially with them constantly moving. Anyway, after a view of Buzz, we came back out to on top of where the Timekeeper used to be. The Timekeeper is going to be replaced by a new attraction in early 2007, the Monsters Inc. Comedy Club. The attraction will be using similar technology as to Turtle Talk with Crush. The attraction to me to going to come down to how well the show is executed, especially the jokes. Test runs have been performed, and the what I've been getting from them is that the show needs work. We'll see how well it goes when it opens next year. Oh, and while I'm on this topic, there didn't seem to be any visibly progress going on, just "Imagineers at Work" signs. Anyway, back to the TTA where we're completing our great relaxing ride. After one more trip around the central hub, we finding ourselves coming to a slowing pace as we re-enter the station. Finally, after our 10-minute ride, the doors fly open and we exited to a moving platform.

KKR05's Expert Advice-Not much to say about this one besides is an awesome way to "kill" time. However, you're now "killing" time, you're enjoying a great, enjoyable experience. This is also great when you're waiting for a Fast Pass to be ready. Also, everyone in the whole family can enjoy this one, from young to old. I highly suggest this one, so definitely check it out on your next trip to WDW.

After riding down the exit escalator, we still had some time to kill before our Space Mountain ride. So...what to? Use your imagination.

Chapter 10:To Infinity...and Beyond!

After our viewing of Mickey's PhilharMagic, it was time for the others to go to their viewing of Cinderellabration, the new stage show brought from Tokyo Disneyland to the Magic Kingdom as part of the Happiest Celebration of Earth. Well, seeing that show wasn't part of my agenda, so we split up, and had some time on our own. Hmm...what was there to do? Well, there wasn't much left in Fantasyland, so I think it was time to move on to my favorite area of the Magic Kingdom, Tomorrowland! We pushed our way through Fantasyland and towards the furutistic town of tomorrow. On the way there, we passed the new Pooh's Playful Spot, a new area across from the Pooh dark ride (which I didn't ride this trip) where the little ones can play. The area replaces the old sub lagoon, which was unused for who knows how long. I think this area could have been used for something much more than a kiddie playground. Anyway, we continued through Fantasyland and towards Tomorrowland. Once we passed the Teacups we were greeted into the town of tomorrow with some great futuristic music and theming. The first ride we encounter is the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, which is usually a skip for me. Why? You can get this kind of expierence at other regional amusement parks across the country, although they are becoming a bit extinct. The ride always pulls long lines and is quite popular, but there's no Fast Pass option for this one. Those reasons make up why I've never gone on this attraction. Anyway, one ride I've really wanted to get on since we arrived in Florida is Space Mountain. The ride is simply a classic, and one of my favorite, if not my favorite attraction in the Magic Kingdom.

We walked through Tomorrowland Plaza and over to the attraction's entrance. As we approached it, the while was forming outside of the mountain, so we knew there was going to be a wait. When we approached the sign, we saw that the stand-by line was an hour wait. It was time to whip out our Park Hoppers and get some Fast Passes, our first of the trip. Fast Pass, to me, is a huge advancement in the amusement industry made in the past few years. The system allows you to insert your park ticket to a machine, which will give you a ticket to come back at the time posted. When you come back at the posted time, you can get on with little or no waiting! Now, many parks have tried their own systems like Fast Pass, but Disney's system to reigns surpreme. Also, the fact that it's free with your admission is a definite plus. Anyway, it was more than an hour before our time to ride Space started, so we ventured across Tomorrowland Plaza to other of my favorite attractions, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. The ride is a shoot-em-up dark ride where the guests become Junior Space Rangers to defeat the evil Emperor Zurg! Zurg's latest evil plot...taking the energy (aka batteries) from all the toys! It's now up to you to defeat Zurg and regain power for the toys! As we approached the attraction, we saw the stand-by line was 20 minutes for the ride. Sweet, now long at all! To my surprise, the wait ended up being shorter than that.

Our journey begins in Star Command Headquarters, which is where the queue takes base. The line was right to the doors out front, and from what I remembered from my last trip to WDW, the queue inside isn't that long. So I figured we would looking at a 15 minute wait tops here, and I turned out to be almost exactly right. The queue moves extremely fast for this attraction, due to very fast loading times and a surplus of ride carts (The boarding system is just like the Haunted Mansion's, with carts in continuous motion which you access on a moving platform). While waiting, we enjoy the sights and sounds of Star Command HQ, where the queue weaves in and out. On the walls, we can find a numerous amount of posters which show the plans of the mission we are about to go on. Also, the queue has its on Audio-Animatronic Buzz Lightyear himself, which is very impressive to have in-line for an attraction. While in line, he explains our mission and has some help from one of those toy viewers (I forget what they are called!). The red flashing alarms in the queue area tell us that Buzz is ready to speak, and it's time to listen up. Our journey will consist of many things, but first we have to zap the "Z" targets to regain the power that Zurg stole from the toys, which are now fueling his monsters! Once that's done, it'll be time to take on Zurg himself and stop him from reaking havoc in the toy world!

There's plenty to keep you entertained in the queue considering how short you're in it. This is easily one of the fastest moving lines in the park, so you can hit it at just about any time during the day, even peak times. Anyway, I highly suggest checking out the Buzz AA before riding as well, it's awesome. Anyway, it's time to set off on our journey to save the toys of the universe! We climb into our XP-37 Space Cruiser, which we already know how to control thanks to the sketch on the Etch-a-Sketch in the queue line! Once we leave the station, the platform with our Ion Cannos and our 360 Degree Spin Stick comes down, and our personal points calculator sets to zero. It's time to travel into Sector 9 to save the toys and defeat the Evil Emperor Zurg!

As we enter the attraction our score counters light up, and we get power from the Astro Blaster, which we pass in the ride's first scene. After getting our power, we are ready to go save the toy world! As soon as I get a sight of the first room, I start shooting my gun randomly. Hey, I sometimes manage to score a few easy points this way (and one time an extreme surplus...but that's for later...) Once we're completely in the first room, I put one hand on the gun for aim and one hand on the trigger to shoot (this is the best technique I found to use the gun), and starting blasting away at the Z targets. Zurg's monsters are roaming about, stealing batteries from from innocent toys here in the first scene, which are floating about. Since I'm a little rusty with the ride (I haven't played in a couple of years), I had to get used to it. My score in the first room didn't calculate to much, but the more you ride this thing the better you get. I always aim for the big monsters/robots, which to me seem to calculate the biggest amount of points. I always shoot for that big red robot in the first scene, especially the targets on his hands. Although you move at such a slow pace, it seems like you fly through each of the rooms. Take advantage of the rotate stick, it can put you in position to get just about any target you want to. Anyway, as I said, the first room wasn't a one for me this time around. But round 2 is coming up next.

We passed through a tunnel and found ourselves in the next room, where I soon started zapping away. This room has a lot of different, wierd looking monsters, some that have Z's plastered all over their bodies. It's time to take them down. The big points in this room are on the moving monsters, the hidden targets, and the spinning UFO way in the back. Be on the lookout for the UFO, I didn't realize it was there until I rode the TTA later on that day. If your having trouble getting points, there are some targets on the wall which is almost right up against you. They won't give you much, but they're almost definite hits. This room is a ton of targets in it, so make sure you take advantage of it. For beginners, as I said, shoot for the easy targets on the wall. However, for the pros, you don't really need to use you rotate stick in this scene, just shoot away at where all the action is. I improved my score quite a bit in this area, but the next area is where I really started to warm up. After the 2nd room, we move into the 3rd room, which is basically a long tunnel. We enter it with some easy targets on the walls (the ceiling is low, and the walls aren't high). We move on and see a bunch of batteries stacked about. Definitely try to hit those, and if you do, you'll get big points and they even actually fall down! After this, we get our first look at the Evil Emperor Zurg!

In our first encounter, Zurg's just chilling in his machanical machine. He's loaded with Z targets, so shoot him up for some big points! It seems he's getting a little pissed at you, and decides to take matters into his on hands. After this, we head out of the tunnel, and before entering the darkness scene, there's a spinning wheel in the wall. Only a portion of it is revealed at a time, so to shoot the Z's which are on it, you need to time it just right. After that, we turn and enter the room of darkness. We become surrounded in it, the only light in this room is the bright pink light at the end of the tunnel. I still don't the purpose of this room personally, but shoot you're gun around in random spots. I receieved a couple of points by doing this, so give it a shot! I still think there's a hidden target in here that's worth a million points...Anyway, once we finally reach the light, we head into the next room, where we begin the final battle against the energy-hungry Zurg!

The next room to me is awesome. It's basically a large television screen built into the ceiling. On it, we see that we're in space, and that Zurg is reeking about in his mechanical machine. This is it, it's time to defeat Zurg! Zap him down as he moves about in space in his machine, and continues to get hit by various flying space objects. The more times you hit him, the more points you'll get. Since he's basically always moving, it can be a little hard to really zap him down. However, he really only moves from left to right over the entryway into the next room, so keep you're gun focused in those areas. And once you're through, you'll move on to the final room of battle. Here, he find Zurg in his now broken mechanical machine, thanks to us defeating him in the last scene! However, those Z's are still all over him, to zap him some more! These targets are worth a LOT, so be careful with your shots! I always aimed for the one at the top of his machine, and it gave me a nice amount of points. This scene will be over in no time, so when you're about to reach the exit, rotate your car so you face backwards. This way you can continue to shoot inside the exitway until you finally are out of his reach. By the way, when Zurg's machine flashes, a picture is being taken. It can get you pretty distracted it, but it will most likely result in a hilarious picture!

After the last fight with Zurg, we meet up with Buzz (an AA just like the one in the queue), who congradulates us on capturing the evil emperor Zurg, who is hanging from the "Claw", as seen in the movie. Now that Zurg's been taken care of, our job as junior space rangers is over for now. However, how did your score turn out? On my first time of the trip, my score was around 35,000. Not very good, but I was still getting used to it. By the end of the trip, I'd have this thing mastered. As you exit your cart at the exit, there's a list of rankings on the wall. I don't really remember the titles, but the one for my score wasn't very good...I guess better luck next time. We hopped out of our carts, went down the treadmill, through the photo area, and back out on to the midway.

Ryan/KKR05's Expert Advice-Overall, this ride to me is just a blast. I love everything about it, and it could easily be the most fun attraction in the Magic Kingdom. It's just like being in a video game and shooting up all the monsters. The attraction is perfect for all ages as well, everyone from young to old will enjoy it. It's also got that competitive edge to it...you HAVE to beat the other people in your party haha. Even if you're not too good at shooting the targets, and ride aspect to it is excellent. I highly suggest this attraction to EVERYONE. This is a must-hit at the Magic Kingdom, and it can become the highlight of your trip. Put it on your hit list!

After my first spin on Buzz for the trip, it seems I needed some more practice with a final score around 35,000. I would get the practice, but not until later on in the day. Right now it was time for another Tomorrowland classic. Paging Mr. Tom, Mr. Tom Morrow....

Chapter 9:The Philharmagical Nemesis

After "it's a small world", we strolled through Fantasyland to our next attraction, just beyond Peter Pan's Flight. This attraction is also my personal favorite in Fantasyland, and gives an enjoyable experience every time. It's Mickey's PhilharMagic, of course! The attraction, which replaced The Festival of the Lion King in 2003, may very well be the best 3-D show I've ever seen. It's a must hit in Fantasyland, so definitely check it out on your next trip. We came to the entrance and the cast member was waving people in for the next show, which was starting promptly. We all ran through the queue, grabbed a pair of 3-D glasses, and got into the theater before the automatic doors closed. The theater of the show is VERY large, and can accommodate a large amount of people at one time. It's themed to an orchestra hall, as we are going to see Mickey's orchestra perform before Donald comes in and screws everything up...

We were lucky to find seats quickly, the show was just about to begin. The doors closed, the lights dimmed, and we heard Goofy doing his opening spiel. The show starts off with the curtain in front of the screen, and a conversation between Goofy and Mickey. Mickey says don't open the curtain yet, but c'mon, it's Goofy. He does it, the curtain opens, and the orchestra is ready to perform. However, Mickey isn't there to lead them in their musical madness. Mickey's Sorcerer Hat sits upon his podium, just waiting to be put on the head of one so willing to conduct this orchestra through a musical masterpiece. Just aside the podium is Donald, sleeping, but is awoken by the fanatic Mickey who runs on to the stage. He tells everyone that it's showtime...but he's not ready. So Donald, now awoken, eyes the Sorcerer Hat sitting undisturbed on the podium. He lets out a laugh, and places the hat on his head. The orchestra then comes alive, and Donald tries to get control. Well, that doesn't go so well. His conducting skills, aren't the greatest, as a mass racket is produced by one swing of the baton. However, one of the flute doesn't want to stop playing the cheerful Mickey Mouse theme, and Donald tries to throw it right at us! Here's our first glimpse at the 3-D we are about to experience. This doesn't make the flute to happy, so it comes back and hits him square in the head :lol: This creates a mass panic among the instruments, and they come together to plummet Donald into a smoke filled world of musical terror! Donald flies around, trying to escape the instruments grasp. Wind is blowing in our faces and instruments are flying all around us, but it finally comes to an end in the pitch-dark. Here is our first musical encounter, Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast, ready to invite us to "be his guest". He lights up the room through his candlelight and Donald prepares for a great big feast with food flying around everywhere. Ah, the aromas of the the food are real, we can smell and almost taste the food right in front of us! As food flies around the table, Donald discovers the hat, which is what he really desires. The hat moves along with the food, and while Donald tries to find it, Lumiere finishes his song with the explosion of wine bottles...and the corks are headed right at us! You can feel the corks whizzing by our faces, and let me just say that this is one awesome effect. Lumiere ends his song on a high note, and Donald blown away from his hat once again.

Next, we are found in a dark room full of dirty plates ready for washing. And in between the stacks of plates is Donald's coveted Sorcerer Hat! He awakens, but then the brooms come marching in. That's right, the brooms carrying water from Fantasia, along with the classic song. They're here to clean all those dirty plates left behind from dinner, and in doing so, we all get a little wet! Water sprinklings shoot at us while the brooms clean the plates. Donald spots a small little broom who holds his hat, and violently takes it away from him. Not a good idea. Here comes big old mamma broom, who splashes Donald into a world under the sea, and gives us one last spray of water. Here Donald meet Ariel, aka the Little Mermaid. While she sings about "being where the people are", Donald becomes all rapped up in her loveliness. He forgets all about the hat and follows Ariel all about under the sea. So when Ariel finishes up her song, Donald tries to kiss her, and in return, receives the shock of an electric eel making his way through the sea :lol: Ariel and and a shocked Donald climb towards the surface, and out of nowhere, we meet our next musical artist, Simba from the Lion King! He just can't WAIT to be king, and isn't afraid to tell us. He even shows us his roar, as his mouth comes directly at us! Ok, we're safe, but he goes on to sing about being king. We follow Simba and the insightful bird Zazu all around the jungle, until we finally encounter Donald again, who is still just ready to get his hands on that hat. Now Donald's found himself riding on the backs of animals, and his hat seems to have done the same thing. All of the animals are now following Simba on his musical journey through the Savannah, as Donald is. As Simba starts to rap up his song, animal heads, shaped in a circle around a central point, pop out of the screen. They showcase all the animals in the kingdom, giraffes, zebras, you name it, then comes a pop up of Donald and his hat. I really love what they did with this effect, the pop ups just seem to get bigger and bigger with the more animals that are added. After this is done, Simba sings his last "I can't wait to be king" high top of a fountain. Donald and his hat are then blown out of the Savannah, and we soon encounter a whole new world.

First, we receive a first from Tinkerbell and Peter Pan, who are sitting high atop of Big Ben. Donald and the hat come flying out of no where, and each lands on a different hand of the huge clock. Peter Pan jumps off the hat's end of the clock, which sends Donald flying into the air! He can fly, he can fly! Peter Pan and Donald soar through the skies, and even the hat received some pixie-dust of its own. They all float into the clouds, Peter, Donald, and the hat. Next, we get a visit from Aladdin and Jasmine, who are enjoying a magic carpet ride. The wind of the sky blows strongly, as it does into us. The wind just flies into our faces. Aladdin and Jasmine greet us on their magic carpet, and want to discover a whole new world. Donald, who suddenly appears, has a different objective, getting the hat from Aladdin and Jasmine's carpet! Donald struggles to gain control of his carpet, but continued to chase them through the streets of Agrabah. Up, down, left, right, Donald chases them. All around the city they all go, and Donald goes through something more, someone's laundry! He shakes off the extra clothes and continues to follow both of the fellow Agrabah-ites who so unknowingly enjoy a pleasant night. As they finish their singing, Donald finally catches up to them, and tries to grab the hat off the back of the other carpet. He tries, and tries, but he can't get it. It's until Jasmine recognizes him that Donald struggles for the hat. She then takes it and places it on his head, ending his long musical journey at last...or is it?

As the hat sits on Donald's head, he can finally take a break...or not. Iago comes and knocks the hat off his head and toward the ground below, and Donald goes right on after it. This plummets him back into the same whirlwind he encountered below his musical journeys, with all the instruments and the wind effects. Around and around he goes into he's finally sucked in, and finally re-arrives at the concert hall, where Mickey's hat finally returns to its rightful owner. Mickey grabs the hat, puts it on, and conducts a short musical piece with all the instruments, and Donald floating in air. He abruptly stops it, and all of the instruments, and Donald, fall the ground. Donald grabs Mickey's baton, hands it to him, and Donald is then sucked into one of the tubas! Mickey then plays one last piece, his musical theme song. With the pressure building, once Mickey pulls down his baton, Donald shoots into the air and right at you! He doesn't stop there, however, we sails all the way back into the back of the theater. This is where he is suspended in mid-air with his legs sticking out of the hole in the wall (that he made)! And after a few moments, we hear him say "uh oh" and we see and hear him fall with a big crash at the end. Mickey then thanks the crowd, and the philharmagically show finishes.

KKR05's Expert Advice-This attraction is great. It's perfect for the whole family, and is definitely one of the better 3-D shows you'll see. Along with the great 3-D effects, they have the extra surprises, like the water, wind, and smell effects. The show was done perfectly. I can't think of any better way they could've done it. As I said, it's my favorite in Fantasyland, and it is a must-hit in Fantasyland. It'll be a hit with the little ones, the older folk will enjoy it as well.

After the show is all said and done, Goofy comes over the intercom and tells us to have a philharmagically day. Sure will, Goofy. We got up, moved down the aisle, and made our way up the exit. We dropped our glasses in a bin and arrived back out in the Fantasyland midway. Well, what was next? It was time to split up. The others wanted to go see Cinderellabration, so it was time to do want we wanted to do. And, in one word, I'll tell you all...Tomorrowland.

Chapter 8:Not for the Faint of Heart

After a not-so-scary ride through the Haunted Mansion, we walked through the portal and into the Fantasyland section of the park. When people think of Fantasyland, they think that this section is only for the kiddies...not true. This section can also be a delight to anyone who tries to enjoy it. Sure, it's geared towards the younger ones, but that doesn't mean people of all ages can't enjoy it. Anyway, Fantasyland is the "Heart" of the Magic Kingdom. This section has a numerous amount of attractions, and I believe the most in the entire Magic Kingdom. Anyway, Fantasyland is the home to our next attraction in our round-trip around the Magic Kingdom, "it's a small world". I know that when some people think of this ride, they say "Skip it, can't stand hearing that song over and over again!" Well, yes, is some cases that's true. The song can get obnoxious, but the ride is a classic from the 64 World's Fair, and has been entertaining ever since. Plus, the point the ride brings across is evident by just going on the ride. For those that think it's just an annoying kiddie ride, they are missing the point the ride brings across. The world is indeed small, and must try to live friendly with one another. For these many reasons, I respect the ride for what it's worth.

OK, so we're heading into Fantasyland and we pass Peter Pan. I'll say something about this now, considering we didn't get on it this trip. The ride is insane. The queue line for this ride is most likely the longest in the park. That is for many reasons, most notably the bad capacity. Along with that, the kiddies love this ride, and it's the perfect ride for them to enjoy with their parents. So, here's a tip about Peter Pan's Flight. If you plan on riding, get a Fast Pass, or get there EARLY. I'd actually go with the ladder, considering what happened to us later on in the trip. That's for later though. Anyway, Peter Pan was a must-skip with the line expanding out of the fairly large queue. The ride across from it was, you guessed it, "it's a small world". The ride was our next hit, and with a very large capacity, we would be on in no time. The line was down the ramp just a little bit, and it was only about 10 minutes until we were in our boat. While in line, I looked around the station, and it looked different to me. Then, out of nowhere, a bell rang and a large grandfather clock on the wall told us it was now 5:30 PM. From what I remember, after that, some dolls came out of the door in the clock and dance around. Then, it hit me. They recently re-did "it's a small world", last year I believe. I could tell the queue area had been re-done...it LOOKED new with a different color scheme and different props, such as the new clock, which was a pretty cool addition. So after a quick wait, we climb in our boat, and it's time for departure. As we pull out of the station, the main operator in the tower above waved to our boat, and everyone waved back :lol: Around the bend, and we approached the portal to "it's a small world".

Just before we recap this classic attraction, I'd like to mention something. One would be rich if they went swimming in "it's a small world's" lagoon...the amount of loose change in the area is ridiculous. I guess people have a lot of loose change to get rid or something, but to me it's pointless. Ok, end rant. Here we go into it's a small world. During the ride, you sail through the following areas of the world-Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and the South Pacific Islands. Each room of the ride has an amount of the total 289 dolls in the attraction who sing the easily recognized theme song. In the first scene, there are some magic carpets flying from the ceiling. Evidently I was scared of these when I was younger, which was brought up as we went through the attraction. Hey, I was like four, little kids are scared of everything. My favorite scene on the ride is the Africa scene. I love the animal animatronics. The giraffes almost reach the ceiling and the hippos are a surprise as they hide in the water. The area has a great jungle feel to it, and is very colorful.

After we've visited all of the countries, we move on to the finale! This scene is awesome. People (dolls) are brought together from across the world to have a great time together. This scene features dolls from every country we've already visited. The entire area is very white and bright, and features many different props than those we've already seen. There's a ferry boat, a merry-go-round, and even a roller coaster lit up brightly in the background! All of the dolls, again are singing together the ride's theme song. It's a great way to end the ride, and is one of the best done areas on the entire attraction. Anyway, once we pass through this area, we enter one more small area where we get a final good-bye...in many different languages. See how many you can recognize in this scene, it's interesting to see how many you'll know. You'll have time to look at all of the signs and see how many you know because the ride is usually backed up into this area. There are just too many boats on this ride to keep it constantly moving. Unfortunately the waiting time until you finally return to the station can be more than 5 minutes...so try to relax and enjoy the theming. After about 10 minutes, we finally exited, and made our way back into Fantasyland. As for a closing statement on the ride, like I said earlier, it's a classic. The ride can be very enjoyable if you try to enjoy it. Many of the scenes are very well done, and can be very interesting to observe. Along with that, the message of the ride is supreme, and it's more than you would ever think.

KKR05's Expert Advice!-Nothing much to say that I haven't said already. The ride is good for all ages, except be careful with the little ones. I told you the story about me and the magic carpets, so be aware if you're a parent. Other than that, hopefully the song won't stay in your head for that long after the ride!

We returned to the Fantasyland midways, which I must say were very crowded on a summer afternoon. The walkway between Peter Pan and it's a small world is very small, so the area can be very congested. So continued on through Fantasyland and decided what attraction was next on our hit list. It was almost time for some of the others to go see Cinderellabration...some we decided to hit one more ride before they had to go off and see that. And that attraction is many definite favorite in Fantasyland.