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!