Chapter 113
Overcoming Fear

Previous Post | Next Post
Table of Contents

(Originally posted December 1, 2013)

We enjoyed how they used some Disney songs that don’t typically get the love they deserve, such as “I Wanna Be Like You.”

Also “Just Around the Riverbend” (which I LOVE!)

Mulan singing “Reflection.”

And of course, I love “I See the Light.”

The Sebastian puppet is very impressive for “Under the Sea.”

The work the sign language interpreters were doing off to the side of the stage was somewhat of a show in itself. The two of them had to work VERY hard to be all those characters. Tracy and I both took a year of sign language in college, so we have a lot of respect for just how difficult it is.

One more song we love: “Hawaiian Roller-Coaster Ride.”

The finale with Tiana and her showboat emerging was really fun too.

So here are my thoughts on the show overall. I understand how the general consensus has been that it’s good but not great. I actually thought that many parts of it WERE great, but I don’t think it’s going to have the same sort of staying power as, say, Fantasmic! On the other hand, I am really glad it’s another solid show being put on daily in Disneyland—I don’t think there could ever be too much live entertainment in the park. We will definitely be back to see it again soon!

Tracy and I couldn’t decide what to do next, so we made a crazy impulse decision—we were going to ride Splash Mountain. Now, I’ve mentioned that Tracy always used to hate this ride because she really doesn’t like drops. When we rode it in WDW back in 2008, she was literally crying as the final plunge approached. But somehow, she was the one who decided it looked like fun and wanted to give it a try.

I wasn’t about to argue because Splash Mountain had always been my favorite ride when I was younger, but I was a little nervous too because it had made me feel bad when I rode it back in 2011. We both approached the loading area, full of trepidation.

Climbing aboard our log, there was no turning back now! We both really enjoyed all the animatronic sections leading up to the big drop. Splash Mountain here will never be as good as the version in Florida, but it’s still a great Disney ride. As we started to approach the drop, Tracy definitely got more than a little nervous, but to her credit, she didn’t actually panic like she had at WDW. Suddenly, we were taking the plunge, and though she screamed bloody-murder, she actually decided she enjoyed it!

Suddenly, we had a new ride to add to our rotation, and I was so glad we both had liked it (I was also glad it hadn’t made me ill…). Here’s our picture—note Tracy’s face.

Here it is again.

We got one of the Splash Mountain pressed pennies to celebrate our triumph, and we thought the machine itself was very cool.

I had promised Tracy a reward from Pooh’s Corner if she bravely rode Splash Mountain, so she got to choose the one that appealed to her most. She had wanted one of the 4th of July Pretzel Rods she’d seen on Instagram, but they were all out, so she picked this Mickey Rice Krispie treat with SO MANY chocolate chips instead. It was really tasty.

We sat in Critter Country while we ate, and the sun was just starting to set behind the trees.

Conquered!

We rode Pooh next and asked to be in the front row this time (so often, we get put in the back on rides like this, and Tracy has trouble seeing over the tall people that end up in front of us).

We went over to Hungry Bear next to look for cats, but none were to be found. There were plenty of ducks, though.

And one duckling.

We got nervous because one of the rafts bringing cast members back from Tom Sawyer Island pulled up as the duckling was swimming there, and he didn’t seem to be as familiar with the ritual of getting out of the way as the older ducks were. Luckily, it just missed him…

Tracy still couldn’t believe she had enjoyed this drop as we saw it again walking out of Critter Country, but I’m glad she did!

We realized suddenly that we had almost missed our Fastpass window for Space Mountain (I think we had 3 minutes to spare and we were all the way across the park). We booked it over to Tomorrowland as quickly as we could, and I think we were probably 5 minutes late. No one seems to ever be sure if there is actually a 15-minute grace period for return times, but we had no issues getting into the line.

I did the princess pose while Tracy slept.

I wanted to go into Star Trader after our ride on Space Mountain to see if they had any cool shirts with R2-D2 on them (since he’s our favorite). Tracy found this one, but they didn’t have anything good for men.

We figured that Radiator Springs must be reopened by now, so we hopped back to DCA. We took the Trolley to Carthay Circle and then walked to the back of Cars Land.

As we arrived, the ride was actually down yet AGAIN, but apparently it was only a short 101 this time. After a minute or so, they reopened and we had almost no wait. We got Ramone’s side and lost, and we both slept in this photo.

By this point, we were getting pretty tired, so we decided to head out. We were amazed at how much we had gotten done today, and it had definitely been one of the most fun days we’d had at the parks in recent memory. Between the low crowds, the good attractions, and just being in a fun mood, we’d really had a blast!

Previous Post | Next Post
Table of Contents