Day Three PM - Magic Kingdom

It was shortly before six when we boarded the bus to the Magic Kingdom where planned to spend the evening. It was very crowded when we arrived and people were already lining up along the parade route for the 8:00 PM Spectromagic Parade. This time we started in Adventureland, picking up FP’s for the Jungle Cruise before getting in line for Pirates of the Caribbean. The line for this attraction moved very slowly. This is mainly because they can only load one boat at a time, whereas Pirates at Disneyland can load two boats at once. The ride itself was different than the one at DL. First there was only one drop compared to two at DL. Next, each scene seemed less expansive, with less theming, and the ride itself seemed shorter. There wasn’t the boat ride through the bayou to get us in the mood. There also wasn’t a Blue Bayou restaurant, which is one of our favorite places to eat at DL.

After Pirates, we used our FP’s for the Jungle Cruise. By now it was dark, which made the ride very interesting. The ride differed slightly than the one at DL, with this cruise including a trip through a cave.

We decided not to watch the parade, deciding instead to continue our way around the park and riding more attractions. Next stop was the Haunted Mansion. The stretching room is not an elevator like it is at DL where they need to get us beyond the train tracks. Also, there isn’t the long hallway through the portrait gallery before boarding the Doom Buggies. You step out of the stretching room and are ready to board the Doom Buggy. The ride itself was great and seemed a little different the DL.

Making our way to Fantasyland, we went on Mickey’s Philharmagic and enjoyed it immensely. One thing we noticed at WDW is that most rides exit directly into a gift shop and Philharmagic was no exception. We browsed around for a few minutes, admiring a particularly nice Philharmagic coffee mug, but didn’t buy anything.

By now it was really getting crowded and we decided to leave before the fireworks began, to try to avoid some of the crowds on the bus. Apparently, many people had the same idea as we waited a long time for our bus. In addition to being the furthest bus stop from the park, it always seemed more hot and humid, if that’s even possible. While we waited, we were able to see some of the fireworks in the sky.

Once back at the resort, I showered for the third time that day then we went down to the Food Court to refill our mugs and get something to eat. We again split one of our counter service meal credits and got the Cheesesteak Wrap and fries, a chocolate milk and a piece of carrot cake. Total cost $13.07, our cost $0. We discovered that the beverage island had an icee type machine and filled our mugs with frozen coke. We took our food back to the room to eat, relax and watch TV before turning in for the night.