Return to Disney World- June 22 to 29: Part Three

Initially, I didn't plan on going to the Magic Kingdom on this trip. But I was still feeling okay after hitting EPCOT the day before and with the wife, daughter, and niece all going my hesitancy disappeared. As expected, the crowd at the Magic Kingdom was nearly overwhelming with stand-by wait times on many of the attractions moving into the two-hour realm. Just a few years ago getting a picture at the Walt and Mickey statue was fairly easy. Now it becomes both a battle in figuring out where the line really begins and then waiting your turn. Disney management has spent years building resorts and hotels for their customers and the strain on the four parks is starting to show. They need to build a fifth park to help with the crowds.      

We did hit a few attractions by using the "fast-pass" system. You either use the Disney parks app or go to a computer kiosk and look up what attractions have open seats and during what times. After reserving a fast pass you then wait till the assigned time and then report to the ride. You don't immediately get on, but fast passes do cut a huge chunk of time out of standing in line. 

One of the resorts that opened with the Magic Kingdom back in the 1970's was the Polynesian Hotel. Never once set foot into the place until this visit. It was just a recon with us checking everything out. It was nice but I like other resorts better. This is a statue/fountain in the lobby. 

Later that night back at Animal Kingdom Lodge wife and I hit the pool to cool off.

Animal Kingdom Park built another section devoted to the movie Avatar. These are the "flying mountains" the human visitors to the planet Pandora has in the movie. Not an exact match to the movie but since anti-gravity isn't real, they did a really good job.  

A much better flying mountain with the waterfall adding even more realism.

A "plant" native to Pandora. The picture doesn't do justice to the actual bright colors. But my camera isn't the best and the sun was incredibly bright that day. 

This gets back to what I wrote about the parks being overwhelmed. The Avatar section has two big rides that have very long wait times. The "Flight of Passage" ride has the flying mountains and alien plants which make it interesting. While the "Na'vi River Journey" has this hellish, old-style line. Flight of Passage was a long wait but it went quick with all the things you can look at. Na'vi River Journey wait time was over two hours and once we were on the ride my wife and I soon discovered it was a big disappointment. Think "It's a Small World" but set on Pandora. 

A bad picture of the Na'vi River Journey.

Something from the movie, a fighting walker. No, it doesn't move.

Me with Donald. Last post about the trip. Was nailed by some sort of virus last weekend and I will now go collapse back on the couch.