Thursday, October 25, 2012

Disney in Review - The Rides

For those of you who know me pretty well, you know that thrill rides are not my thing.  As in, I cried riding Space Mountain during my first trip to Disney when I was eight eighteen.  My best friend from high school suggested that I should have a do-over, of sorts, during this trip - but I wasn't having any of that!

In fact, I thought that having my thirty-nine-inch-three-year-old with me would give me protection from any of the rides that might elicit bodily fluids of any kind.  Who could have guessed that Ethan would have grown an inch before our trip and would be every bit of a roller coaster lover as his Daddy?!

We first learned that Ethan met the 40-inch height requirement at the front of Splash Mountain - a "really cute" (sarcasm) log flume ride that takes you through the tale of Brer Rabbit, then drops you 52 feet at 40 miles per hour into the briar patch.  (Just so you know, I Googled those facts.  I was entirely too consumed with squeezing the hand of Emma, my 8-year old riding mate, and burying my head in my lap to pay attention to those kinds of things.)

At the end of the ride, while I was still trying to determine if my shorts were wet from the ride or ... I hear the sweet little voice of a certain three year old pipe up in front of me and ask,

"Can we do it again?!"

We didn't.

I did suck it up and ride Goofy's Barnstormer with him (go ahead - laugh away), and that concluded my roller coaster riding at Disney.

Now, the teacups? I could have spun on those bad boys all day long! Especially with this sweet face looking back at me...


The Magic Carpets of Aladdin was the very first ride we rode, which was later followed by Dumbo, and a similar flying-dinosaur ride in Animal Kingdom. 



Mama likes.

Another personal favorite was Soarin' in Epcot.  I rode that one twice and could have ridden it many more times after that! For someone who doesn't love heights, I was kind of surprised that I liked it as much as I did.  It probably had something to do with the fact that it was simulated.  And the scents of the orange groves and pine trees didn't hurt, either!

Ethan was super excited to "drive" the cars at the Tomorrowland Speedway in the Magic Kingdom.  His little face peeking out behind the steering wheel just makes me smile!


Out of them all, though, our family's favorite ride - hands down - was Toy Story's Midway Mania!


Thanks to Ethan's Guest Assistance Pass - if you or your child goes to Disney with a disability of any kind, make sure you get this pass! - we were able to ride Midway Mania a total of three times.  And, with any of the rides that Ethan rode, our wait time was less than 20 minutes.  I'm telling you - get the pass!

But, back to Toy Story.  Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin was another Toy Story inspired ride in the Magic Kingdom that we liked a lot, but this one in Hollywood Studios was by far our favorite! It was an interactive 4D ride and we couldn't get enough of it.


The safari in Animal Kingdom didn't disappoint, either! I was pleasantly surprised with how much room the animals had to roam, yet how close we were to them.  It was a very neat experience, indeed.


Jeramie would tell you to be sure to ride the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and Expedition Everest, but I'm not going to endorse any of that crazy talk here on my blog.

It's a Small World, though? Throw your hands in the air and have at it!



4 comments:

mossfamily said...

oh, you make me smile! I LOVED soarin' too & I tell ya, from one roller coaster chicken to another... I think you need a do over. I am not a fan of coasters, but LOVED Rockin' Roller Coaster. I rode it over & over again each time we've gone! I think the fact that it's in the dark, helps! All your Disney posts are giving me an itch to go back again! I am eager to hear if you ate at some of the same restaurants that we love! So glad Ethan had such a great time!!

Sherry said...

We are exact opposites. Trust me, you do not want to ride any ride that spins really fast. :-) I get motion sickness very bad...my brother learned that lesson the hard way when I was in high school, and he begged me to ride a fair ride. Not for me! I can do any roller coaster though...mostly because they don't spin and they don't last very long. Eddie had to ride the teacups with Evan, and we both rode Splash Mountain with him. I am ready for Evan to be tall enough to ride the roller coasters. You really should have given Expedition Everest in Animal Kingdom a shot...the Yeti part is so fun! Even Space Mountain isn't that bad as it is dark and it doesn't actually go upside down. I actually love upside down roller coasters though, but my husband is not a roller coaster fan. Yep, Toy Story was our family favorite too, and Buzz Lightyear was a close second. Of course, my husband is like a expert sniper so he had this insanely high score. Ha!

Sherry said...

* I meant you don't want to ride "with me." :-)

Anonymous said...

I am with Sherry... I would do a roller coaster any day before a spinning tea cup!!

I loved all of the stories and I loved Ethan looking over the steering wheel at Tomorrow Land Speedway . Absolutely A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E!!!

P.S. Remember what we were saying about those simple spelling words? I am second guessing my spelling of 'wheel'. LOL...

Another enjoyable post!!

Love Grandam A.

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