On day 2 in Orlando we went to Disney’s Magic Kingdom.
The Magic Kingdom kinda lacked on the whole “magic” front – at least to me. Although, now that I think about it – perhaps it was magical that we managed to survive a downpour that persisted for hours without ruining any electronics we brought with us. And it also didn’t seem to dampen our spirits in the least.
It did cramp hubs’ paparazzi-style photography however, but there again that is kinda magical!
We were about an hour in to the park when the down pour came in. In an instant you had throngs of people cramming inside gift shops, kids running around and splashing in puddles, rides closing down and a magical amount of poncho’s showed up for sale.
Magic.
A $9 magical poncho and 3 pairs of soggy tennis shoes later, we were on our way again. The plan was that I would carry the backpack, containing cameras, phones and my Kindle – don’t judge me, I learned me lesson from Animal Kingdom the day before – and the poncho would protect those goodies. It should be noted that all those valuables were also inside gallon sized Ziploc bags INSIDE the backpack. One can never be too careful…
Faith and hubs just went for it and decided to get soaked.
In the beginning we all walked around barefoot – like many other people and because we knew the next day we would be at SeaWorld and we would need our tennis shoes to be dry. After about 3 minutes we saw the futility in trying to keep our shoes dry. Not to mention every ride/attraction required we wore shoes – so the putting-on-then-taking-off-then-putting-back-on routine got old after the first time. Once we embraced the wetness we continued on! While people remained huddled and terrified of the water, we breezed through lines and got to see a lot of the park!
At the end of the day we went back to Space Mountain (we had gotten fast passes earlier in the day) and as we were making our way toward the ride I started getting a little scared. Remember how I hate roller coasters? Well hubs had me convinced this was no worse than riding on a bumpy stretch of road until we got inside.
“Ummm, maybe I didn’t remember this correctly…” he says in a low voice.
“What do you mean? You said it wasn’t bad at all! That’s why I agreed to come with y’all.”
“Yeah, umm, you know – I don’t think it can be that bad. I mean, I was a kid – they can’t make it that bad for a kid. Can they? You can always just walk through the seats to the other side and wait for us to finish.”
“What?!!? Not cool babe, not cool. I don’t feel so good. Maybe I will just wait for y’all on the other side.”
Finally as we’re 1 set of people away from boarding I look at hubs.
There is no walk-thru option.
I probably would have made a sassy comment except I was afraid to open my mouth for fear of throwing up from nerves.
The car was a three-person car so we immediately decided I would be in the middle; this worked since Faith wanted the front anyway and hubs was probably feeling bad enough for me that he didn’t care where he sat. The ride began and instantly I started screaming.
Yes, we hadn’t even really started moving and I was screaming. I probably was getting some rude stares, but since my eyes were squeezed shut I can’t confirm that.
Only once did I open my eyes, and it was just long enough to know I didn’t want to keep them open. I shrieked in terror and tears were streaming down my face the entire time. Yes, I am THAT woman. But in all fairness, I warned them I do not do roller coasters. I don’t think hubs believed me until he was deaf from my shrieks. When the ride ended I was so emotionally broken I could barely walk. I stumbled along behind Faith & him, desperately trying to wipe my face and get it together.
We came to the area where you can see the photos the ride snaps of you in motion and there I was: complete horror on my face and holding on for dear life.
It was quite a sight to see, especially given I was sandwiched between two wide-eyed and smiling people. We were thisclose to buying the photo simply because of the comical value, but at the time, things were still too touchy for us to make a decision about that; looking back I kinda wish we had bought that photo! We left the ride and continued through the park to catch the shuttle to Epcot, where we planned to eat dinner and see the famed fireworks show as a cap to our evening.
I might or might not have missed the beginning of the show because I was trying desperately to make it to the French pastry shop to stock up on bread.
I also might or might not have snuck in the exit door since the entrance door was already closed and locked.
Oh, and maybe I bought 3 croissants, an apple turnover, a slice of cheesecake, a strawberry tart and another item that is slipping my memory.
The fireworks show was awesome and it was kinda magical (even if we weren’t at the Magic Kingdom anymore!) watching all those colors and shapes in the drizzling rain surrounded by family.
Yes, that cup of hot chocolate was divine. Sooooo delish!
