Can it be? Can it be? Yes, it can be... another exciting installment of Dave-El and the El Family as they explore the Friggin' Happiest Friggin' Place On Friggin' Earth....
Wednesday, December 7th brought us back to the Magic Kingdom.
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| Part Four |
Wednesday, December 7th brought us back to the Magic Kingdom.
Over
the course of the day, we would take a variety of shows and rides. We saw
Mickey’s Philharmonic 3-D show. We rode the People Mover in Tomorrow Land as
well as the Carousel of Progress (“It’s a great big beautiful tomorrow…!”). We
saw the Monster’s Inc. Laugh Factory show (which like Crush the Turtle at
EPCOT actually interacts with the audience) and the decidedly kitschy Country
Bear Jamboree. We saw the Hall of Presidents which is kind of cool but I wouldn't
be surprised if everyone there was thinking, “Oh my God! They’re going to have
to add Donald Trump to this thing next year!” Even if you voted for him, it’s
hard to imagine robot Donald sharing a stage with robot Martin Van Buren. By
the way and in my opinion, robot Barack Obama looks a bit too buff. And we made
our way through the shadowed tormented halls of the Haunted Mansion where I
wondered if Disney could somehow add David S. Pumpkins to the show.
But
the big thing for the day was a couple of the thrill rides that my daughter
Randie really wanted to ride.
Big
Thunder Mountain Railroad looks scary with a rickety looking track with sharp
curves diving in and out of a mountain side mine. This is one wild ride with
sudden lurches to the sides and abrupt drops. I’m not a big fan of
rollercoasters but I had ridden this one before so I knew what to expect. It
really isn’t so bad and anything for my darling daughter Randie on the week of
her 16th birthday.
Here
is a transcript of my time on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad:
“WHOA!”
“HEY!
HEY! HEY!”
“WHEEEEEEEEE!”
“YOWL!”
“WHOA,
WHOA, WHOA!!”
“YA-HOOOOOOOOO!!!!!”
“OH
YEAH!”
“RIDE
‘EM, COWBOY!”
“RIGHTEOUS!
RIGHTEOUS! RIGHTEOUS!”
“ALL
RIGHTY THEN!”
And
there was Space Mountain. I had never ridden Space Mountain before but what the
hell? How bad could it be? I mean, I have to admit Big Thunder Mountain
Railroad was rather a lot of fun so I was willing to give Space Mountain a
shot. And besides, anything for my darling daughter Randie on the week of her
16th birthday.
Here
is a transcript of my time on Space Mountain:
“Uh
oh.”
“No.”
“No,
no, no.”
“NO,
NO, NO!!!”
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!”
“Our
father who art in heaven…”
“Oh
my God, oh my God, OH MY GOD!!”
“I’m
gonna die! I’m gonna die! I’M GONNA DIE!!!!”
“Yea
do I walk through the valley of death….”
“Blrghmph!”
Now
you might wonder why my reaction to Space Mountain was so drastically and
forebodingly different from my reaction to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. On
Big Thunder, you have a sense of perspective. Most of the time, you can see
what’s going on. There are few turns into darkened mine shafts but these are
exceptions to the visual stimulations of that wild ride.
On the other hand, Space Mountain is mostly in darkness. There are exceptions with intermittent light effects that are kind of cool in a cheesy sci-fi sort of way. But the majority of the ride is a hurried, jerking sensation through total pitch black darkness and I did not care for it. I did not care for it at all. In fact, for a while after the ride, there was some concern that Space Mountain may have broken my brain… FOREVER.
On the other hand, Space Mountain is mostly in darkness. There are exceptions with intermittent light effects that are kind of cool in a cheesy sci-fi sort of way. But the majority of the ride is a hurried, jerking sensation through total pitch black darkness and I did not care for it. I did not care for it at all. In fact, for a while after the ride, there was some concern that Space Mountain may have broken my brain… FOREVER.
Here
is a transcript after the Space Mountain ride. Oh, before I go on, I should
note that my wife Andrea opted not to join us on either ride. As far as Big Thunder
Mountain Railroad is concerned, she’s a total wuss. But in regards to Space
Mountain, the woman was extremely wise, wiser by far than I.
Randie:
“And then the ride when whoosh….”
Dave-El:
“Uh.”
Randie:
“Then we swooped around…”
Dave-El:
“Er.”
Andrea:
“Randie, is your dad OK?”
Randie:
“Oh, I’m sure he’s fine. Anyway, we…”
Dave-El:
“Blrghmph.”
Andrea: “What did he say?”
Randie:
“ I think he said blrghmph, mom.”
Dave-El:
“Blrghmph.”
Randie:
“See, he’s fine. So then we…”
Dave-El:
“Blrghmph.”
Andrea:
“Dear, your dad is drooling.”
Don’t
worry, dear reader, I eventually did recover my… my… my…
Blrghmph!
…
Wits.
I eventually did recover my wits.
…
Sorry,
I still occasionally enter what is called a fugue state. One day I’m sure I
will be fine. One day I will forget… Space Mountain.
Moving
on, people!
Wednesday
was a big day for FOOD! We started off the day at Old Port Royale with Mickey
waffles because… it’s what you do.
For
lunch, we dined alfresco at Casey’s Corners, an establishment on the Magic
Kingdom’s Main Street overlooking Cinderella’s castle. It’s done up with a
baseball motif circa the late 19th century. They specialize in hot
dogs which are really good but it takes a certain amount of fortitude to enter
as it is a very crowded and boisterous environment. The hot dogs are accompanied
by enough French Fries to fill a bucket and our Disney dining plan let us score
a brownie that should be illegal, it is so big and so tasty.
For dinner, we had reservations as the Diamond Horseshoe which is in the Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland and is done up in the style of the old American West. Now here is a serious dining challenge. The main entrĂ©e at the Diamond Horseshoe is… meat. What kind of meat, you might ask? All of it, I would answer. OK, not ALL of it but they bring out a tray that includes braised beef, pulled pork, smoked sausage and turkey. And it is all GOOD! Especially the beef and the pork which was so tasty and so tender as if it were made of the dreams of angels. Damn, it was some good eating! And damn, I wish we were hungrier. Oh and the meat came with macaroni and cheese, baked beans and corn on the cob plus corn bread, salad and brownies. We got the brownies to go. I would’ve bagged up the meat too if I had a chance to do so. Everything was so good!
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| A photo of Mary Poppins across the street from us when we were at Casey's Corners |
For dinner, we had reservations as the Diamond Horseshoe which is in the Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland and is done up in the style of the old American West. Now here is a serious dining challenge. The main entrĂ©e at the Diamond Horseshoe is… meat. What kind of meat, you might ask? All of it, I would answer. OK, not ALL of it but they bring out a tray that includes braised beef, pulled pork, smoked sausage and turkey. And it is all GOOD! Especially the beef and the pork which was so tasty and so tender as if it were made of the dreams of angels. Damn, it was some good eating! And damn, I wish we were hungrier. Oh and the meat came with macaroni and cheese, baked beans and corn on the cob plus corn bread, salad and brownies. We got the brownies to go. I would’ve bagged up the meat too if I had a chance to do so. Everything was so good!
There’s
a lot of walking at Disney World and chances are you can walk off 20 pounds
over the course of a week there. But the food will put 30 pounds back on.
After
staying late to watch fireworks shows on Monday and Tuesday, we decided that we
would beat a retreat at a more reasonable hour. But instead of taking the bus
from the Magic Kingdom back to the Caribbean Beach Resort, we opted to ride the
monorail from the Magic Kingdom to EPCOT and then take the bus from there back
to the resort.
And
on our third night on our vacation, we actually made it from our bus stop at
Old Port Royale to our room with a minimum of fuss and bother.
OK,
another post is coming up at 5 PM Eastern Time today in the United States as I
take a cautious look out into the world and see what kind of trouble Donald
Trump has gotten us into now.
And
12 hours after that, we’re off to another part of Disney World as we explore…
Animal Kingdom with a side trip to Mickey’s Car Repair Adventure Land as I deal
with the check engine line from Part 1 of this post series. Coming up Saturday
morning is Disney Daze – Part Five.
Until
then, remember to be… to be… to be…
Blrghmph!
Remember
to be good to one another.
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