WDW Trip Report - Day 7 - Wait! This is a Rollercoaster?!

Magic Kingdom’s Rope Drop is one of the most magical moments at Disney World. You enter the gates but wait outside of the entrance a bit, so you can see the Magic Kingdom Railroad Depot. When MK opens, the train drives up with various Disney characters riding it. The Main Street Singers/Dancers sing and welcome you to MK. Everyone sings along and gets a little misty-eyed... oh wait... that's just me? Ok... awkward... moving on. Needless to say, I look forward to it every trip and was NOT going to miss it this year. We made it with time to spare and (I) sang along as we were welcomed into the Magic Kingdom. Mom and Dad joined us for our final full day in the Parks, and they were excited to see all of the Christmas decorations with us.

Joshua, still holding on to the idea that Aunt Joanna was a racecar driver before she was a math teacher, decided to ride the Tomorrowland Speedway with me. I think the jig was up after the ride because those cars are ridiculously hard to drive without bumping all over the place! We spent the morning in Fantasyland riding Small World and the Prince Charming Regal Carrousel. We also walked though the Swiss Family Treehouse and relaxed in the Enchanted Tiki Room. The Astro Orbiter and Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin (which I kind of sucked at this year) were highlights, and Katelyn got to see Woody and Jessie. All in all we got a lot done in the morning before we headed back to pack during naptime.
We ate lunch at Pecos Bills - I think - which was the absolute last full meal I ate before I pretty much went on a hunger strike because I couldn't stomach even the idea of food. Not sure if it was the return of the Headache of Doom or if it was sadness over leaving soon, but food was not good after this point in the trip.

When we were in Magic Kingdom in 1987 when I was 5, I vividly remember riding Snow White’s Scary Adventure (think they forgot to mention that it was "Scary" back then) and The Haunted Mansion with my dad and being scared and crying through both. I asked Dad to ride both rides with me, so that memory could become a happy one. While everyone else rode It’s a Small World, Dad and I split off to ride Haunted Mansion (walked right on). We laughed through the ride together as I pointed out neat things I read about on doombuggies.com. And while I still won't ride that one alone, I do really enjoy it after this trip. We got back in time to wave to our family from Pinocchio’s Village Haus as their boat went into the ride. When they finished, they went to the Carrousel again as Randy joined Dad and me for Snow White’s Scary Adventure (he had not been on it since his honeymoon). Both rides were fun and created a nice memory that I’ll hold on to tight.

Forgot to mention when I first talked about Haunted Mansion on our first day at MK that LaRae and I looked up at the right time and got to see our "ghost host". Cool to see something most people miss. Dad didn't see it, but I think that's because his eyes are bad...

We spent a little time in ToonTown walking through Minnie's Country House. After waiting in line about 15 minutes for Goofy’s Barnstormer with the ride swooping around our heads, I boarded in the same car as my mom. As the Barnstormer was pulling out of the barn, she looked at me and quite seriously asked, “is this a rollercoaster?!” We had all forgotten that she hates them! (In fact, back in the 80s she rode Space Mountain by accident, and Dad thought she'd fainted on the ride!) She wailed “I don’t like rollercoasters! Get me off of here! Make it stop!” over and over again for the whole 2 minute ride! By the end we (and most of the line) were laughing at (with) her!

That evening we stayed for the Main Street Electrical Parade. Last time I saw that parade was my band trip in high school. We sat on the ground at the rope for about 45 minutes before the parade, so we’d have good seats. Right before the parade a CM came up and looked at Randy (who is over 6 feet tall), and said, “um, like the kids behind you can’t see, I think, yeah, that you might be blocking them.” Randy stared at him like he had two heads and the CM gave up. I mean, really, when we sat down, no one was behind us. The “kids” were teens who chose to sit behind the tall guy. Sorry. Not moving. I mean it’s not like we were those people who sit right until the beginning and then stand up!

The parade was great! Alice in Wonderland and a few others had an actual microphone, so they were speaking and interacting live with the crowd. That was a really neat touch that I’m glad they added. I love Spectromagic, the usual nighttime parade, but this still had quite a bit of magic. Something about all the beautiful lights, the music, the interaction with the crowd - it just all puts a huge smile on my face and makes me clap like an excited child!

From there we went to stake out a place for Wishes (another highly magical moment). The sky was very cloudy and it was muggy out, so through all of Wishes, the smoke from the fireworks stayed low in the sky. It was a different Wishes experience than I’ve had before, but it was also very beautiful. While I wish the sky had been clear, I still enjoyed the music and magic of the moment. Once again I found myself singing along and smiled as I heard my sister singing along beside me. After Wishes we waited for the crowd to clear and the PhotoPass Photographers to reemerge, so we could get a nighttime photo in front of Cinderella Castle. I had purchased a "Memories" frame that mentioned Cinderella Castle for Mom and Dad for Christmas, so I wanted to make sure I had a photo in front of it for them. On the bus ride home, a child threw up all over our bus. I’m not going to rant about it (stuff happens, but I’m not ok with the mom or how she handled it) because honestly I’d rather forget the experience. I can tell you the story if you ask, but I’d rather not put it out there over the internet. Let’s just say I got off the bus and wanted nothing more than a hot shower and my bed!
All in all it was a great day with lots of rides and fun.

Tomorrow I head back for one last day at Magic Kingdom, so I can get in a few more "never dones". What will those be? ;-)