Vacation! Day 3

Alberto unleashes his wrath.

RAIN.

The morning started with a ‘bang’ as Chandler ran into a sliding glass door. The glass was so clear he didn’t see it, and he busted his lip.

Back at the Magic Kingdom, the rain had stopped long enough for us to think we wouldn’t need our ponchos or umbrellas.

Now used to the routine, we loaded our people mover and headed for the monorail.

My parents were gracious enough to watch Emily for us while we finished up Magic Kingdom. It was a BIG help!

Aw, man! I sat in gum!

Once off the people mover, a quick pit stop for the ladies.

The gate for the monorail (this one is for Epcot).

Unfortunately, once we got off the monorail it was raining again. After getting a loan to purchase official Disney Ponchos (again), we headed back in and down Main Street USA.. This is a bronze statue of Walt Disney and Minnie Mouse, with us behind it blending in to a sea of licensed ponchos.

Yesterday we covered Fantasyland, Liberty Square, and Frontierland. Today we’ll hit Adventureland and Tomorrowland, then go back and ride the good rides we like again

We take a left into Adventureland and go right into the Swiss Family Treehouse. Always a favorite!

From there we pass some Tiki statues that squirt you with water.

The kids enjoyed this, and we didn’t mind so much since we were already soaked from the rain. Here Keighly gets squirt(ed?) right in the head!

We actually got there a little late because of some road work, so we headed for some lunch next. We ate at the Pirates Cove, which served (you guessed it!): Mexican food. Since we were inside, the rain stopped (of course). I charged my camera batteries while we ate, and by the time we were ready to leave it was raining again.

Pirates of the Caribbean was under rennovation (to better match the movies), so next we went to the Jungle Cruise. The line was LONG, and this is probably what most people remember from theme park vacations. Every inch of real estate is maximized for cattling people around.

We rounded the corner we thought was where we get on the boat, but more lines. Ironically, while we were under the pavillion it was sunny outside!

An “exotic” and “adventure” theme complete with African and safari props.

Chandler admiring some African masks and spears.

As we passed a display, we noticed someone wrote an approximation of where we should be based on the Africa map in the display. Shouldn’t we be a little higher, in the northern hemisphere?

Almost there!

The “Ganges Gertie”, one of the boats you ride on.

More motif to set the mood.

Right when we got on the boat it started raining again! I did my best to take some pictures and video (further down). This is a nice waterfall (I think called “Inspiration Point”) representing the Amazon. There were some nice cam-a-tronic butterflies that I could never get a good picture of (check the video, they may show up on there).

Now in the Congo, some headhunters have raided this party’s camp!

A twenty-four foot anaconda!

These silverback gorillas have taken over this camp.

Now in the Nile, we see an African Elephant named George.

Animals that come to the Nile for water. They have ducks over there?

Lions feeding in their den.

An African rhino has the explorers up a tree while the hyenas laugh it up!

Two cam-a-tronic alligators (crocs? Not sure).

Fun!

Watch out for the waterfall! You don’t want to get wet! Er, we were already soaked, so this didn’t have the intended effect.

A plane crash can mean only one thing: people.

Hippos!

The headhunters dance to the drums.

Ambush!

Now back under the waterfall.

Anticipation! A temple cave is coming!

In the temple cave, some king cobras guard golden statues and treasures.

Indian elephants having a party!

More partying from the younger elephants.

This big guy would pop up and spray you! Luckiy he missed us.

Chief Nambee, head protector of the jungle. Good thing he had that umbrella.

Yay! We made it!

Yours truly!

What a great way to end the day! The parade was great, and we got some special recognitions at that! (I’m telling you, she kissed at ME!)

One thing I noticed while watching the parade: somebody was stinky. I wasn’t sure if it was a stranger next to me or one of my crew. Of course, we had been rained on for two days straight plus walked all over the Magic Kingdom. By the end of a long day, hygiene is long forgotten.

We opted not to stay for the fireworks show, and fell in line with the other sheeple as we mass-exodus’ed back down Main Street USA and through the entrance gates to the monorail. This was our last day at the Magic Kingdom, so we thought we may dart into a souviner shop for one last momento. That thought was quickly crushed as there were just way too many people with the same idea.

Things were quiet on the monorail, everyone was absolutely pooped! After the ride, we ended where we started: with the ladies going to the bathroom. From there we got back on a people-mover and watched the fireworks show as we rode back to the van. What we saw was very impressive, it is amazing to think they do these shows almost every night!

A quick one hour drive back to my Aunt and Uncle’s house, and the day is over. Once there, I discovered the stinky source: my shoes! I guess walking around for two days in wet shoes took it’s toll. Tomorrow: flip-flops.

After a very long day, Ian sums it up: exhaustion.