Walt Disney World

I had one more day in the parks left on my pass from last week and today was the last day to use it .... so I made it count.

Some rain was predicted, but never materialized and the day stayed cool.  The only time I needed my rain coat was on Splash Mountain. ha.

Disney World is 70 miles from Wauchula, so I headed out early and arrived about 10am.  I parked at Hollywood Studios because I thought it would be less crowded than the Magic Kingdom.  Fortunately, the parking attendant did not charge me the $20 to park as I had been camping at the park and this was my same pass.  Yeah.

First ride .... Rock "n" Roller Coaster, of course.  I also had a fast pass for the ride, and could ride as a "single" so, although the wait time got up to 2 hours, I was fortunate enough to ride 3 times without an excessive wait.  Yeah 2.

In between the rides I also rode on The Great Movie Ride.  It was enjoyable as it was a "different" tram than the one I had last week, so the "action" was different.  Also, I was in the front seat and saw more than before, so I'm glad I gave it a second chance.

And then onto the Magic Kingdom.  A lot of footwork is involved in walking to the buses and then back to the entrances when changing parks .... and time.

Once in the Magic Kingdom I headed for Big Thunder Mountain, and then Splash Mountain (where I got very wet), the Jungle Cruise (to compare with Disneyland) .... and then got caught by the parade.  I couldn't cross the street into Tomorrowland, so I watched the parade for the first time.  I was actually pretty close to the front.

As for the Jungle Cruise, this one has an "added" section for Cambodia that Disneyland doesn't have (at least the last time I was on it).

Once in Tommowland, it was Space Mountain and Peoplemover.  I think I mentioned before that Disneyland no longer has the Peoplemover ride or the Astro Rockets ....

I'm trying to make 4 parks in 10 hours, so I'm moving ....



Next onto Animal Kingdom to see the Lion King Show and meet up with Mandy's friend, Tandi ...

I arrived at the show at 5pm and they wouldn't let me in ... so I went for a pizza dinner and came back for the 6pm show.  Tandi and her family were in the 5pm show and then they went to dinner, so when I came out I went to find them at the restaurant to say "hi."

The Lion King show was nice.  It was a production with audience participation, singing, dancing, aerobatics ... even a fire-stick juggler and fire eater.  "Human" birds flew through the air and "monkeys" dressed acrobats did a show.

OK, now it is 7:30pm and the parks close at 8pm tonight .... by the time I caught a bus to Epcot for the last ride on Test Track, the park would be closed, so I went back to Hollywood Studios and walked what felt like 2 miles to find my car, and then drove the 70 miles home.

It will be years before I'm back, so it was a good last day.

A couple of facts about WDW that you may find interesting ..... they have a field of 40,000 solar panels, when seen from above is in the shape of Mickey's head ....  and they have the first bus fleet in the US using fuel made from 50% renewable diesel made from non-consumable food waste. Considering the amount of food they prepare in the parks, it is a great way to "recycle."

Tuesday my Jeep is back in the shop for the part they ordered ... so it will be chore day for me.

Wednesday I'm going to check out Tampa!