Day 4 pictures at Webshots

All of Day 4's pictures, now including the Studios with the Osborne Lights, and another late-night Magic Kingdom adventure with me and the boys, are online at http://community.webshots.com/user/brwombat!

A frosty end to the day

Mickey’s Philharmagic is still a delight, and has us grinning from ear to ear even though we know what to expect. It’s just such an enchanting way to experience our favorite movies and characters, in a short but fun story.

When we emerge from the theater, it’s 10:55, and close enough to 11:00 that we need to start making our way back to the resort – pausing only for a photo op as Brandon tries to remove the sword from the stone, next to Cinderella’s Golden Carousel.

We take a walkway to find some restrooms that are closer to Tomorrowland than Fantasyland, even though they don’t appear that far on the map. Still, I’m glad we go out of our way there, because on the way back towards Main Street, we find another PhotoPass photographer taking pictures with the castle, from the side, in the background. For some reason, the castle is lit in pink instead of blue.

The photographer is working with a family of four, mom, dad and preteen boy and girl, but no one else is waiting besides us, so the photographer is having some fun with them. He poses them several ways, taking time to get some cute and quality shots. My favorite is the last. He instructs the little girl to hold up her hands by her face and make an expression of shock, then tells the boy to look really disgusted. After a reminder for the kids to hold those poses, he has mom & dad kiss behind them and takes the picture!

It’s our turn next, and we go through a few poses ourselves and then give the guy our PhotoPass card to scan. Great system. I can’t wait to see the pictures.

We turn at the hub and head up Main Street, where it is still snowing – but this time the temperature feels like it matches the snow that we see! It is biting cold. So, as we head out of the gates, what does Brandon want to do again? Take the boat across to the Polynesian.

Kid, that would be one extremely cold ride, with the wind from our motion added to the chilly north wind already blowing hard, with nothing on the open water blocking its full effects. Your mom would probably glare at me a lot for taking the boat when there is a nice, warm monorail available.

Let’s do it!

We walk down to the pier. Even just standing around waiting for the boat is freezing. Eventually two other couples join us – so we’re not the only crazy ones here.

The boat pulls up within minutes, and driver Bill, an older man who looks like he’s been around boats for a good part of his life, looks at us with a perplexed expression and bluntly asks, “Why are you taking the boat on a night like tonight???”

“We’re crazy” is my reflexive response, which gets a derisive snort in return from Bill. “Actually,” I add, “we figure that if you can survive it, then we can.”

“Yes,” Bill replies, “but I get paid to do this!”

He has a point.

We sit on the bench seat at the back of the boat, and soak in the experience. The boat makes a stop at the Grand Floridian dock, where the two couples get off. Bill has to make some tricky maneuvers on the way in and on the way out to keep the wind from slamming the boat into he dock. He makes it look easy in a way that only years of experience can bring.

Once at the Poly, we bid Bill good night with a cheerful, “keep warm!” and head to our room. We are exhausted, but in a good way. Another fun night out with the boys.

I climb into bed without even stopping to update my trip notes.

Fantasyland with little waiting

After the Haunted Mansion, we walk into Fantasyland. The loading area of it’s a small world is almost empty!

Now, this ride is admittedly no one’s favorite, at least not in my group. We don't actively dislike it, it's just not a favorite. But it is so completely identified with the Disney experience that we almost always make time for it. It helps that we’re able to walk on the ride.

The loading area has been completely renovated since we were last here, done up to resemble the iconic original ride at Disneyland, but in dazzling white. I approve.

Our “wait” in line lasts as long as it takes us to walk at full speed down the ramp, and we are put on a boat immediately. As I sit, I can tell that I’m going to have a problem here. I’m a big guy, and I’m always concerned that I’ll be able to fit in a ride. The boats in it's a small world have bench seats, so my width is not a problem, but my height is. There is very little leg room.

I’m forced to sit cross-legged in the seat, and even then my knees are pressed into the back of the seat in front of me. I try readjusting several times during the ride, but never find a comfortable position.

The dolls and singing are saccharine-cute as always – and also renovated, with new paint and a new sound system so the theme song gets stuck more completely in our brains – but I’m never happier to see the “goodbye” signs marking the end of the ride! My knees need a break.

Okay, it’s almost 10:30 now. What next? We go to check out Mickey’s Philharmagic, which was new on our last trip. It was also one of our favorite new attractions. The standby line shows a wait time of 10 minutes, but I don’t think it can be accurate, since the queue is out the door.

Still, we get in line. Becky will probably be irate that we saw this without her, but we’ll be willing to do it again when we’re here tomorrow.

We quickly enter the main queue room, and find that all of the switchbacks there are bypassed, so that the line goes straight through to the preshow holding area! We go straight there and are ready to go in for the very next show!

The Haunted Mansion

In spite of the 30-minute wait time sign, we’re to the front doors of the Haunted Mansion in fifteen minutes.

As I said, I love this attraction, and the updates it’s been given are awesome. One of the first and most obvious comes soon after we board our “doom buggies.” We are transported through a room filled with staircases all around, each oriented in a different direction, just like M.C. Escher’s famous prints. It’s a dazzling effect.

Madame Leota’s crystal ball no longer sits on a table, but rather floats up and down in the dark séance room, as musical instruments in fluorescent colors float above us.

When we reach the attic, we ride past several wedding pictures, each featuring the same bride, but a different husband. The husband disappears from each photo as we pass. At the end of the room the bride herself is standing there, and suddenly a bloody ax appears in her hands.

The ghosts are wonderful as always. We spot the hidden Mickey in the dining room place setting pretty quickly.

Once in the graveyard, the ride comes to a stop, and for several minutes we are amused by a ghoul popping up repeatedly from behind a tombstone. The delay gives us time to appreciate the wealth of detail that goes into each scene.

The ride comes to a typical ghoulish and humorous end, with a ghost hitchhiking along with us.

It seems so appropriate that we exit into darkness. The Mansion is always good, but it’s just substantially creepier at night!

Cool and creepy. And cool.

Once back at the Poly, the boys and I layer up with some warmer clothes and then head out for the Magic Kingdom. Becky makes us promise to start back to the room by 11:00. “But it’s open until midnight!” schedule-master Benjamin informs her.

His mom replies, “For you, it’s closed at 11:00.”

The boys and I walk across to the Great House and then upstairs to the monorail platform. As we wait for the train, I can already tell that this is going to be a chilly experience, even with the additional warm clothing!

We’re into the Magic Kingdom at 9:15. We walk up Main Street, where it is still snowing, and spot a couple of Photopass photographers stationed in the hub. They are taking pictures with both the Partners statue and the castle lit up in ice lights behind it.

We have to have one of these!

After the photographer takes a couple of pictures, we turn towards the attractions – left this time. We want to check out the wait times on the Haunted Mansion and the Fantasyland rides.

One brisk (both means, both fast and chilly) walk later, we are at the queue for the Mansion, which stretches well past the Mansion gates. The sign is showing a standby time of 30 minutes. That’ll do.

We’re really interested in seeing the Haunted Mansion. The original was one of my favorites from my one visit to Disneyland. Then, on my first visit to the Magic Kingdom in 1990 – with Becky on our honeymoon – it was shut down for renovation. We finally got to ride this version in 2003.

Here we are at the start of 2008 (I’m not used to calling it that yet!), and the Magic Kingdom’s Mansion is newly reopened after yet another renovation. I’ve read some about the additions made here, and I’m curious to see them.

The queue goes through several lengthy chained switchbacks under the canopy. I’ve never ridden this after sunset before, and I must say, it is awesome at night. The Mansion is lit in subtle purples and greens, with occasional flashes of lightning around. It is deliciously creepy!

We strike up a conversation with a young couple in line with us. Turns out they are from Charlotte, North Carolina, where we almost passed through on the way here. We have a nice, if brief, chat about the new effects in the Haunted Mansion, as well as favorite eateries. We strongly recommend Le Cellier in Epcot, which they’ve never experienced.

Benjamin suddenly says, “Daddy, hold my hand.” Now, it is creepier here at night, but Benjamin wasn’t all that scared by this attraction back when he was six, and he’s ten now. I suspect an ulterior motive.

Once I grasp his hand my suspicion is confirmed. It’s ice cold from the wind,

“You’re not scared, you just want me to keep your hand warm, right?”

“Well, yeah!” he says, grinning smugly. The pair from Charlotte just laugh.