How about a ride on the Jungle Cruise? I really enjoyed this version, it’s of course bigger than Disneyland’s and even includes an indoor sequence that made me feel like Indiana Jones should have been close by. We had a great female skipper (skipperette?) she was funny and charming.
The weather in Florida fits the Jungle Cruise nicely, sticky and hot! This camp site got sacked by a Gorilla, I wonder if he blogs? Nah, Gorilla’s Don’t Blog!
A pet zebra, how cute. Don’t these look a little too plastic?
The Rhino looks upset. Notice how green it is in Florida, it works very well for this attraction.
That’s a fine “how do ya do”!
There is a wrecked plane that looks pretty convincing.
The natives get shade and protection from the sun and rain.
Next up, the Swiss Family Tree House. I must confess I have an “issue” with heights, I did the best I could with taking pictures while not stopping in one place for too long, a lot came out blurry because I was obviously in a hurry. Trust me it’s in great shape and is a complete flashback to the Disneyland version. Why Tarzana ever moved in I will never know, it’s time to evict him!
The Tree House is surrounded by tons of old plant growth; it mixes very well with the artificial tree making it hard to tell it’s not real.
Oh boy, I forgot how high this thing is, I almost think the Florida version is higher?
Vertigo anyone?
It looks as if the family will be returning any minute.
The boy’s room, I bet they are out racing ostrich’s!
We made it to the top!
The view from up here is amazing, sorry I did stop to take more and better photos, I was starting to get that same feeling when I rode the “Parachute Drop” at Knott’s!
Back on the ground we get a nice view of the kitchen.
See I told you they are coming back soon; the table is all set and ready to go.
You can’t see it very well do to the grown, but there is a stream here that feeds the water wheel which was broken so I didn’t take a picture of it!
This is the moat that surrounds the Tree House and connects to the moat at the Hub and in front of the castle. When they had the Plaza Swan Boats, you would board near the Tomorrowland entrance and sail all the way to here to go around the Tree House, boy that seems like the coolest thing to me, too bad it’s gone.
The Enchanted Tiki Room, and “Under New Management” yet. Well, I have read a lot about how the new management ruined the original show and it seems logical to me. Maybe because I never saw the original show in Florida, but this one didn’t bother me. It was actually kind of funny. Of course if they did it to Disneyland, I would cry foul and demand a return to the original, go figure. Anyway, I think once is enough for this show, so WDW should put back the original show.
The Building is big, with a semi-enclosed queue line. The actual theater seems a little larger than Anaheim's, but not much. The air conditioning was not so good in this attraction, I was surprised.
Pirates of the Caribbean. The outside has all the charm of my local Mission Burrito restaurant. An hours worth of the queue line is inside, which is great because it's air conditioned, but not much theme involved, basically like a long dungeon walk thru. When you approach the load area it’s weird and small. No high ceiling, no Blue Bayou. The ride itself is good, and basically the same as Anaheim from the Mayor dunking scene to near the end. It’s shorter for certain, not much of the cave sequences and the fort/ship battle scene seemed small and hurried. Honestly, I felt cheated after waiting 50 minutes to ride this attraction.
I caught Peter Pan on his way somewhere in Adventureland? I think I got his shadow too!
Passageway to Frontierland from Adventureland. This beats walking all the way around, it’s a lot further than you’d think.
Frontierland is fun and well themed.
This trio played great music, it really added to the atmosphere. Disneyland could use a few more of these and a few less pirates.
Now you KNOW you are not in Anaheim, I only found a few ducks in Florida, mostly they have these guys.
It was raining slightly when I took this photo; the river barely seems wide enough.
Tom Sawyer Island. I never got time to check it out, but it looks original as day one. It also seems a bit smaller that Disneyland’s Tom Sawyer Island. Note the lack of Pirates, I love it!
Splash Mountain is neat, and big! People did not seem to get as wet as Anaheim’s version.
This is looking the opposite direction from the Splash Mountain picture above. I like this view and this photo; this is how I will remember this section of the park.
Liberty Square and the Hall of Presidents is a great part of the park. It has a super themed feel to it and the Hall is detailed and rich in person.
Nice carpet in the Hall of Presidents waiting area. There was a great Cast Member in the waiting area that knew TONS of Presidential Trivia; he went on for 15 minutes! He was charming and entertaining. Good show Disney!
The silhouette shop is in Liberty Square, where it seems to fit just fine.
The Haunted Mansion.
The queue setup was not so good for this attraction. While it is covered, it’s a snake of line, then you just sort of enter thru a side door and into the stretching room, I’m not even sure if you are even in the Mansion itself? Once I stepped out of the stretching room I was faced with hundreds of people packed in like cattle to squeeze into MORE queue lines. No casual walk, no changing scaring portraits (that comes later on the ride). Once again, tons of people were crushing down into a slim area, inch and push, shove and wiggle, bad show!
The ride itself was good. It had a weird “which way is up” room with stairs in all directions and a library that handled the changing portraits and statues that stare are you. Otherwise the ride was much the same as Anaheim’s and I was pleased with it.
The Country Bear Jamboree was playing as good as ever. I sure do miss this show at Disneyland. My camera was getting full so I only got one picture and a short video. I wonder what they did with the bears at Anaheim? Are they in storage somewhere? I hope they bring it back some day (soon!).
The firehouse, I wonder what’s upstairs, Roy’s apartment?
The interior of City Hall, just for you Jason!
The train station at the end of a long, wet day.
In summary, I liked the Magic Kingdom. I was sad to leave on the last day, knowing I would probably not be back for while. Is this how out of towners feel after they visit Disneyland?
The Magic Kingdom has its good, bad and ugly, just like Disneyland. I can see how if you grew up going to the Magic Kingdom you would consider it to be “the park”, and I respect that, even more having now visited the Florida Property. Of course, Disneyland will always be “the park” to me. It’s nice to know that my park has a great sister out in Florida.
Check back later today for a Bonus Sunday Special mini reivew of the other parks and all the guide maps.
