It was a magical day

It was an early start to get to Disney's most famous park, Magic Kingdom, to take advantage of the extra hour for resort stayers without the general public. The first ride we went on was billed as one of the big thrills, Tomorrowland Speedway, but we were bitterly disappointed because we thought that we'd be driving cars on a fast track. Instead the cars were on a rail which meant no racing and regardless of how hard you tried to push the accelerator through the bottom of the car, it would not go faster than walking pace. This did not satisfy the 'need for speed' and was half an hour of our lives that we won't get back.

The second ride we attempted is still now my most favourite ride at Disneyworld, it is Space Mountain. It is a high speed, dipping and diving roller coaster, a very smooth ride, and I pretty much had my eyes shut the whole time, but it doesn't matter because most of the ride is in the dark, which means you can't see the twists and turns coming. A properly exhilerating ride, and the funniest thing you ever saw are the photos that they take of you after the first corner, Sam's eyes were bugged out of his head, but poor boy was sitting right in the front of the car, Fraser looks like he's sitting on a couch watching tv, I had a grin on my face, but one hand holding tightly to the back of the seat in front and Amy has horror on her face, with her neck clenched.

The next big thrill of the day was the roller coaster called Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road, this too was a great roller coaster at high speed and steep drops. The last big thrill in the park that we wanted to do was Splash Mountain, so that came next. We did expect to get wet, and some parts we were floating on the water in a 'log', other parts we were moving fast along a rail. When it came to the finale, a steep plummet down into a pool below, Amy and Sam were seated in the front of the log and a big wave splashed over the front straight onto their laps, water came in the sides and wet our seats. We were pretty wet when we came off. It was after doing the Haunted House ride that Amy and Sam decided that they wanted to go to the water park called Blizzard Beach for the afternoon, Fraser and I stayed at Magic Kingdom to continue doing all the more sedate rides and wait for the parade in mid afternoon.

Some of the rides that we went on for the rest of the day were, Buzz Lightyear Ranger ride, the classic ride, 'it's a small world', watched a 3D movie starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, a jungle cruise on a boat, another short rollercoaster that is obviously good for kids just getting started on rollercoasters, a ride featuring Winnie the Pooh, a ride on Peter Pan's ship through the air, and a ride that the movie, Pirates of the Carribean was based on. We watched the parade featuring lots of disney characters which was pretty cool.

One of the final things that we did was a train ride around the entire park, there are only three stops and just as we got to our second stop the heavens opened and the rain absolutely bucketed down. We were glad that we were on the train and were tempted to stay on and go around a few times until the rain stopped, but it got heavier and heavier and finally it was coming through the open side of the train where I got drenched for the second time that day. It signaled the end of the day for us and we went back to the room, following a stop at the confectionery store for candyfloss on the way.

Amy and Sam had arrived back from the water park and were pretty tired from their adventures. We all decided to have a quiet night so popped down to the canteen at our resort for dinner.

Magic Kingdom was a mixed bag of thrills and children's rides, and each ride you went on, each time you encountered a smiling staff member they wished you 'a magical day' which was cheesy, but a nice touch.

Beer of the Day:
Michelob Amber Bock - Bottle - Light malt, hint of caramel but generally watery, a bit stale and lacking any substance. Reminded me of an old Lion Brown.