Happy 45th, Magic Kingdom!

Five years ago, we went to Walt Disney World's 40th Anniversary of opening the Magic Kingdom.  This year, the 45th anniversary would be on a Saturday... but due to Hubby's new schedule, I didn't think it was possible to go!  I toyed with the idea of having him ask for the day off, but decided against it (because, he's a delicate little flower, and generally wants to take off the day after a Disney day, too, so we'd lose out on both days worth of paycheck).

However, the week before the anniversary, he brought up the suggestion of going after he got off of work at 2.  I told him I didn't think it was a good idea (we wouldn't get there until 4 at the earliest, we'd have to leave at 8 at the latest - so he can get a night's sleep before his 5AM shift on Sunday, it didn't seem like a good use of gas, blah blah blah), but he kind of whined about it, so against my better judgement, I said what the hell and we headed down.

He got off of work at 2pm, and after changing clothes, we were on our way. We stopped for gas and snackage at the Circle K, which included gas station nachos and cheddar sausage (yeah.... it seemed like a good idea).

We got to the TTC just shy of 4pm, which is what I was expecting.  We took the ferry over to the park.
 

Of course there's no lines - it's 4pm!

Soon...

Almost there!

Being that we arrived so late (honestly, it's weird to be walking in to a park for the first time that day when many people were walking out of a park!), we weren't able to see any of the special entertainment. Luckily, there were still some 45th Anniversary buttons left, so each of us got one of those!

We missed the welcoming entertainment this morning

I would have loved to have been able to ride all the original 1971 rides, but at this point, we were simply here to enjoy the day.

Our first stop, was Aloha Isle. I've never had a Dole Whip (well, I had a sample in St. Augustine once, but never at Disney!), and I decided it was time to change that!  Of course, part of that decision was because of Disney's decision to allow people - finally - to eat while waiting in line, or while enjoying, the Tiki Room.

I'd say this was probably 6 ounces?

Both Hubby and the Kiddo tried it (they'd never had it either); neither of them were fans.  I thought that it was very reminiscent of Pineapple Sherbet (but without the icky pieces of pineapple).  I'd eat it again, but I don't think this tiny cup was worth $5.

As for eating it while watching the Tiki Room? Yeah, it didn't last that long.  We were still eating it during the pre-show, but finished it before going inside.

At least I didn't lick it... this time

Totem Pole Face Watches You

These remind me of little Audrey 2s

When we left the Tiki Room, it was actually raining (we must have really pissed off the Tiki gods in there!). We headed to Pirates to get out of the rain.

Hahahaha! You May Get Wet... sign

We're gonna get wetter out here than in there!

Yeah, it's raining a lot now

The line was long, but it kept us out of the rain for almost an hour, and by the time we were done, the sun had already set. 

Always fun to ride water rides in the rain!

Prince Eric's Castle as seen from the Seven Dwarfs Mine Trian

We headed over to our favorite ride, the PeopleMover - it was STILL raining!

Crappy photo, but shows that it's still raining

No need to cram all of us into one car - plenty of room!

Wet and Beautiful Tomorrowland

We had a ride stoppage, and they had the lights on in the Space Mountain portion of the tunnel, so of course I took some pics!

The glass on the right separates us from Space Mountain

Walkway on the right of the ride vehicle

Bigger walkway on the left side of the ride vehicle

Moving again, but the lights are still on

Hey look - rain...

As we could already see from the PeopleMover... it was still raining. I know this is Florida, but come ON!

So, we went over to the Carousel of Progress.  We scored a front row seat to stretch out our legs.

Front Row, Center!

He's so sexy

No privacy, at'all

My dream house will have a kitchen that looks like this

Complete with a breakfast nook with a bay window

Artsy (also, did she raid my sock drawer? I still have socks like these!)

Looks like mom needs a tailor - those pants are way too long

Once we finished at the Carousel of Progress, we headed out to, you guessed it, rain!  At this point, we decided to go ahead and cut our losses and head out.  We did make a pit stop at the Emporium - I was searching for a cool mug that had Humphrey's face on it.

Unfortunately, the mug still hadn't arrived, but Hubby and the Kiddo each found a mug for them, and I decided to splurge on a "Main Street Electrical Parade" shirt, since the parade would be retiring soon. All in all, after AP discount and tax, we spent about $50 (although, I used the remaining amount on my gift card, and some Disney rewards, so it was all "free")

Hubby's mug - he loves Sorcerer Mickey

The Kiddo's Mug - she loves Scar

She didn't realize this was for "football" until months later!

My shirt glows in the dark, and each dot is raised, so it's fun to touch

See Ya Real Soon (when we're DRY!)

Seeing the line at the Monorail station, we skipped it and went over to the dock. We had to wait for the second ferry, and we got to the TTC around 9pm. Hubby, at this point, was already grumpy (even though earlier, he said we should stay for the fireworks at 9pm).  Since it was still raining, I suggested we take the tram - just in case torrential downpours happen again.

Yeah, NO

We'll catch the next boat, thanks

I have to admit something here - I used to be (not as much now) an avid reader of the DISboards, and one thing I saw a lot of complaints about was the tram lines at night.  Until now, we've never experienced this issue, and I've always thought it was just people bitching.

It's not.

Logic would dictate that if you are in a line (there are queues at the tram line), you only go into the row that you are in line for (If you are in Line 3, you enter Tram Seat Row 3).  But because there are no Cast Members overseeing who goes where, it's pandemonium at the Tram Lines.  When a tram pulls up, everyone just bum rushes the vehicles and goes wherever they want!  Line 3 people run to Seat Row 7!  While parents were folding strollers, other visitors would shove in front of them and seal seats! I truly could not believe what I was seeing!  We stood through probably 10 trams showing up, watching this behavior.  DISboard folks, I get it now - I totally understand.

While waiting in line after the 4th or 5th tram, I could see that Hubby was getting visibly pissed off. I asked if he wanted to walk to the car, but he was in "I Don't Give a Fuck"-istan, so we just dealt with it until it was our turn.  (By then, I was gonna elbow jack anyone who tried to get our spots!).

Pandemonium!

We made it safely (and non-violently) to our car, made a snackage stop at WaWa (including a sammich for Hubby's work lunch tomorrow) and got home as quickly as we could.  I think we made it back by midnight, but I can't swear to it.  All I know is that the alarm buzzed on way too early for my liking the following morning!  (Although, at least I got to go back to bed!)