Magic Kingdom - The Summary

I've already posted some photos from our visit to the magic kingdom, but I'm pleased to give you two more, as well as a synopsis, for the record. The day after we arrived in Florida we got up early, had a bit of breakfast in our hotel room and headed for the gates. We elected to take the train instead of the ferry and arrived while the welcome song was in process. No doubt the welcome song comes with a spectacular show, but we couldn't see much from our position. When they opened the gates, we rushed in and headed for Fantasy Land. I had understood that the trick at the magic kingdom was to get to the things you want to do the most right off the bat, before killer wait times kick in. Flight of Peter Pan was our first priority, and it didn't disappoint, we rode twice. Then we hopped right over to It's a Small World, which was also spectacular. We ran into Peter Pan and Alec took great delight in meeting him. That which I've just described was the most "magical" part of our day. After this, Alec needed to be politicked into participation. While it was only about 10 a.m., we had seen and done a lot, and the hotel pool was calling him. We rode the tea cups (thanks to the time an ice cream bought us for lining up) and Winnie the Pooh's Windy Day (at my absolute insistance as Alec protested he was much to be old to be cavorting around with Winnie the Pooh). We caught sight of a souvenier (pirate pistol) that motivated Alec to walk to Adventureland and there we purchased a few things and rode Pirates of the Caribbean - which was well worth doing, despite that I had originally dismissed it as too old. On the way to Adventureland, we ran into Donald (see above). Next up, the hunt for Mickey Mouse, and Pluto (we shared a joke that Pluto would think Alec was a big hot dog because he had spilled so much ketchup on his shirt during his lunch at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe). When we found out Pluto's location, we judged it too far a hike, and we headed to Splash Mountain, where we heard Mickey was to be seen. The fact that we got some face time with Mickey himself was all down to Alec's perserverance. We had to join a line up and stand in the sun, and not for a short time. But, as Alec said, "I didn't come all this way not to meet him". So meet him we did (and Minnie as well), as the picture shows. We capped it off with a cold drink, followed by the parade, then back to the hotel for a swim that was cut short by lightening. It was a good day. :-)