Tom Sawyer Island

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As many years as we have been coming to Disney, it is funny that this was the first year we ever went over to Tom Sawyer’s Island. Other than riding the raft over to it, there wasn’t much to do except walk around and look at the view of the park the island offered. Which was spectacular, of course.

Haunted Mansion... woooooo

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Of course, we could not miss spending time on one of my most favorite rides…The Haunted Mansion. I think it is great what they have put on all the gravestones as you are in line waiting to get on the ride. Then we had an opportunity to ride Buzz Lightyear’s Star Command and try our hand at defeating the infamous Zorg. We even managed to get a glimpse of Woody and Jessie, as well as Mrs. Incredible on our stroll through.

Magic Kingdom II

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While at the Magic Kingdom I spent time at Philharmagic, Peter Pan's Flight and It's a Small World. When Tom was with me, there were character greetings and Disney landmarks to hit. As I told you yesterday, I got to meet Wendy from Peter Pan. While Pan gets a personal welcome from none other than Buzz Lightyear himself. After that he bumped into Blinkley from Lilo and Stitch. Looks like Blinkley is already for a vacation too. Then there was the Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain to take in. (What’s that? Everywhere we went, we ran into Stitch.)

Magic Kingdom in Yellow

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Okay, that's me with Wendy Darling. We caught up with her just as we entered the Magic Kingdom and before we started our all-day trek through the theme park. More tomorrow.

As they take their bows

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And so the show concludes with the prince and princess living happily ever after. That is until the next showing when it will be much hotter. There definitely was no shade for either the actors nor the audience. Fortunately, it was not a terribly long show.

Magic Kingdom Archives are a treasure trove of information

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There was not much you could really say about the show, that wasn't covered in the official press release, so I used that as my journaling. The Magic Kingdom archives also included some of the interesting facts surrounding the show which I also included. 

the guests arrive at Cinderellabration

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Didn't think I was going to get this one uploaded. But finally it worked for me. The costumes were stunning in such vibrant colors. And get a load of the king and the fairy godmother taking a spin around the stage. It was definitely a show worth seeing.

Cinderellabration

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How great that we were at Disney when they were having the Cinderellabration. And lucky for me that I arrived for their first show in the morning so it was not as hot nor were there as many people. I can't imagine what it would have been like for the actors in the middle of the day in those costumes. 

Mount Everest and Gracie

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The new ride/exhibit, "Mount Everest," was still in the building stages when I was there in 2005. But very close to being finished. Not that I would ride it. Well, maybe if the kids were there and they really wanted to. What really amazed me though was Gracie. A vineyard nymph, that also happened to be an animatronic. She was so very life-like that, until she came out from behind the tree, I thought it was a real person.

Onward Rafiki

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Next stop for me was to Rafiki's Planet. A short train ride to a conservation site with life-size cutouts of endangered species and plenty to read about them. Of course, on the way over, we got to see the actual animals.

Take a bow

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As with all good things, the show came to an end. And the winner was... each corner of the audience as they were got to watch such an amazing and colorful show based on one of Disney's most popular movie series. Next stop, more of the Animal Kingdom.

Trapaise Artists

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There's that Timon again. But look at the performers doing their bird impressions. Wow what a graceful ballet mid-air it was. Don't get to close to the fire-eater if you don't want to get burned. 

More of the same

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Timon dominated the show, but Simba and Pumbaa made appearances as well. The performers really made an effort to include children and the rest of the audience in their production, pitting one corner against the others. 

Lion King Festival

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Next stop...The Lion King Festival much along the same lines as the Cirque de Soleil (sp). Very enjoyable and was surprised to find that they encouraged photography, sans the flash. Which is understandable as you don't want the performers blinded by the light.

Camp Mickey

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The first stop after walking in and seeing the impressive Tree of Life in the background was to Camp Mickey and the Pocahontas show. I fell in love with the talking tree. The trained "wild" animals were adorable. Then I ran into Ranger Donald Duck giving out autographs, which under the bridge I saw Daisy Duck taking Huey, Dewey and Louey out for a fishing trip.

Animal in All

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My first visit to Disney's Animal Kingdom. Quite an impressive preserve of endangered and extinct species. Although not show in any the photos, I was "adopted" by a young boy who spent a good deal of his time with me going through the park. That is until his mother decided he was getting cranky and needed to have a nap. It was nice to have someone to share the visit with.

Turn to the Dark Side

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Back to our regularly scheduled scrapbook pages after taking a break to wish the Bug a very happy birthday. It was fascinating to see so much devotion to the dark side in the Backlot museum. Darth Vader, of course, predominated but there was also a wall of Star Wars villains, a Storm Trooper and a special display for Barbosa of Pirates of Caribbean fame.

Happy Birthday

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Oh how the Bug has grown. And this year she celebrates her 49th birthday. I still picture her as this little squirt who use to peer out the bedroom window when I was coming home from a date. No goodnight kisses for me as I heard this little voice saying "I saw you. I'm telling mom." Love you anyway, sis. Happy Birthday

Great Movie Ride and more

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More of the Backlot with a tanker bursting in flames and then being flooded with rushing water (which, incidentally, managed to make its way into the tram) and scenes included in The Great Movie Ride. Singing in the Rain (one of my favorites), Mary Poppins (never got into), The Mummy (who doesn't love Boris Karloff) and the Wizard of Oz (of which my sister was terrified).

Ahead of myself, lol

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Here are the pictures of the special effects showing. While it may have been fun to have been chosen as a participant, I am rather glad not to have been.