Public Spark

Previously
Day 1,
Day 2,
Day 3

July 2, 1997 (Thursday)

We headed towards Epcot Center once again on the water taxi and this time caught a monorail to the Magic Kingdom. Then we had a choice between a monorail or ferry boat. We chose the ferry to head towards the Magic Kingdom. We saw Disney’s Contemporary Hotel, which is unique because there is a Monorail going through the main hotel lobby.

Magic Kingdom Map

[The layout is quite different from Disneyland as you can see from the map. Main Street is much wider and leads to what appears to be an island around the statue of Disney and Mickey Mouse. The locations of Adventureland, Frontierland, Liberty Square and Mickey’s Toontown Fair are all different.]

When we arrived at the Magic Kingdom, we at breakfast at the Tony’s Townsquare Restaurant.

Gazette

Quickly we headed towards the magical new Tomorrowland. There, I experienced the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. That was quite an experience. In the darkness, you could feel the Alien breathing on you. Then we went to Carousel of Progress. This showed progressions of technology while turning in a circle. Next we headed toward the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. It was like People Mover, going through Space Mountain, but a much faster version. The Tomorrowland Speedway was our next stop. I drove the car, my mom being the passenger.

At Fantasyland, we saw the Legend of the Lion King Show. There is the classic “It’s a Small World.” We made our way through Liberty Square and we went to the Haunted Mansion. This is similar to the one at Disneyland, but the house itself appears larger and is a different design.

We rode a big boat similar to Mark Twain, but was called Liberty Belle. After this “calm” boat ride, we headed towards Splash Mountain. Unlike Disneyland, each “log” carries 8 people. After waiting an hour and a half, we made the big drop. I reached my goal and opened my eyes.

At Adventureland, we toured the jungle with Jungle cruise. As we decided where to go for dinner, we shopped along Mainstreet and we rode on a Railroad train around WDW Magic Kingdom. We then headed for the large castle with the 25th Anniversary frosting.

25th Anniversary decoration on the Magic Castle

We decided to eat inside the castle at the Cinderella’s Royal table. It was an excellent dining experience. [I highly recommend this. It is themed as though you are eating inside a castle and you have a great vantage point towards Main Street.]

We left the beautiful Castle and headed back towards Epcot center by monorail. At Epcot, we rode the Universe of Energy, a slow ride that was previously missed because it was broken. It was a thrilling ride where we saw animatronic dinosaurs up close. [This is the current location of Mission:Mars]. We then left Epcot and we could see IllumiNations 25 fireworks light up in the sky. We road our water taxi back to our dolphin hotel.