Christmas at the World (Day 6, Tonga Toast, Dinner Shows and Leftovers)

Tonga Toast (Internet Picture)

Once again, Because of the meal plans we had made, our day started early on the next to last day of our stay.  Our extensive reading and research had relieved to us a not so closely guarded secret about breakfast at Disney world.  Everything we read on the web and in the guide books my librarian wife had obtained for us had spoke highly of the Tonga Toast at the Kona Cafe in the Polynesian resort.  Being one not to pass up a good meal, We made reservations for Breakfast at 9:30 at the Kona Cafe.  Our goal was to try the Tonga Toast and the pressed coffee service.  We hopped on the bus and rode to the magic kingdom, where we caught the monorail to the Great Ceremonial House at the Polynesian Resort. The Kona Restaurant was located on the same floor as the monorail station right next to Ohana's.  We soon were seated and were ready to order breakfast. There would be no Mickey waffles and tasteless bacon this day.  We went to the Kona Cafe for real food and we soon ordered our breakfast. The Tonga Toast was huge and rich.  It takes a better man than me to devour this mountain of banana's, sourdough french toast, and strawberry compote. It comes with a breakfast meat at which point I think I wised up and ordered the sausage. We also ordered the Kona Coffee in the french press pot.  I think it was the best cup of coffee we had the whole trip.  Having assuaged our hunger we were ready to once more venture into the parks. Low and behold, the proximity of the Magic kingdom make it the perfect choice.

Mike Wizowski??? (Internet Picture)

The time has now come for a disclaimer.  While there are a number of things I'm completely certain about with regard to their chronological status  There are a number of things in the next few paragraphs that I want to talk about that I'm not completely sure happened on Day 6.  Some of the attractions especially I'm sure we did earlier in the week but warrant some discussion. For example, I'm sure we did the Monsters Inc. laugh floor several times and I know we did "Its a Small World" and the Peter Pan ride the first day there but I neglected to talk about them. So I'm going to take advantage of my lapse in memory and discuss some of my favorite attractions as if the were all done on Day 6. After all,  the attractions were no less fun just because I don't exactly recall what day we did them.  The first of these attractions is the Monster Laugh Floor in the Magic Kingdom.  Some of you might recall some number of years ago of a show with a character named Max Headroom.  The technology used to animate Max is probably different that the Technology used in the Monster Laugh Floor, but I'm pretty sure the Imagineers would acknowledge the fact that real time animation may have had its start with Max.  The Amazing part of this attraction, Beside being outrageously funny and different each time you see it, is the  technical skill it takes to put the show on.  There are real live cast members voicing the Animated characters on video screen.  Of course some of it is pre-recorded and doesn't change from show to show, but much of it is interactive with the audience and could only take place with live cast members manipulating the animation.  The audience is brought into the show by cameras and screens so you might end up a part of the show.  One audience member is singled out for special treatment by the cast and has a reoccurring role through out the presentation.  He is know as "That Guy" and yes, it wasn't on this trip, but I have been "That Guy".  I was thrilled.

Its a Small World after all.... (Internet Picture)

Some of the most iconic attractions of all the Disney parks reside in Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom.  These attractions have been with me since before I visited Disneyland at 10 years old.  My first Disney Experiences was on our one and only trip do Disneyland in the late 60's. Disney World had not yet opened.  Most of my favorite Fantasyland rides were recreated at Walt Disney world.  I remember the Mad Tea Party, a ride that I can no longer do, remember my aversion to round and round, but it was fun then. I visited  "Its a Small World" with the insidious song that invades your brain thanks to the Sherman Brothers on that first trip to Disneyland.   I can't visit Disney without seeing these too cute creations from all over the world singing "Its a Small World" in all those various languages.  The Small World attraction had its start as part of the 1964 New York worlds fair.  The attraction was moved to Disneyland in 1966 where it is still going strong today.  The Disney World incarnation opened when the park opened in 1971.  One thing that made the attraction more fun for me was looking for the Hidden Mickeys scattered among the anamatronic characters. I found a few.

Entrance to Peter Pan's Flight (Internet Picture)

Right across the sidewalk from "Its a Small World"  is one of my favorite old school Disney Attractions.   Peter Pan's Flight.  Apparently, There are a number of people that agree with me about this attraction, because,  the line always seems long for this attraction. Sometime, the line has been so long for Peter Pan's Flight that we have skipped it. Christmas trip was were blessed with thinner crowds, so the lines were shorter.  Basically, visitors are taken on a flight over London and Neverland in small flying boats.  The clever way the imagineers used perspective gives visitors a true sense of flying. Its always fun to see Pan and Hook do battle while Peter tries to save the Darlings from certain doom. The original incarnation of this attraction opened in Disneyland in 1955 and was expanded in 1985 and versions of this attraction exist through out all of the Disney Locations through out the world.

Barbossa, Pirates of the Carabbean. (Internet Picture)

In adventure land we, of course, visited on the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.  This is one of the few attractions that have inspired a movie that has inspired a renovation of the attraction.  Disney's attempt at a movie about the haunted mansion doesn't really count because none of the movie found is way back into the attraction.  If you ride the Pirates of the Caribbean then you well see Capt'n Jack Sparrow, Black Beard and Barbossa and the whole time the ride keeps the same flavour the old Pirates of the Caribbean. This is one of those old school rides that I remember riding in Disneyland  all those years ago.  We didn't visit the Enchanted Tiki  room  Under New Management this trip Even though it is one of my favorites.  About a month after we were in Disney World there was a fire in the attic of the attraction.  Sadly, the fire had  damaged Iago pretty severely.  The attraction has reopened however in the interim to more closely resemble the original attraction.  I look forward to see it when i get the chance.

Space Mountain (Internet Picture)

In Tomorrowland sits one of the Three Mountains of the Magic Kingdom.  Splash mountain and Big Thunder Mountain are in Frontier Land and Space mountain, The iconic coned building that can easily be seen from the Monorail, sits in Tomorrowland. I had first rode Space Mountain when I was a teenager just out of high school. I had gone with my Senior Class to Florida as our Class Trip.  Back then, Only the Magic Kingdom was open as Epcot was still 5 years away from opening. Disney World still used the Lettered Ticketing system and of course Space Mountain was an E ticket ride.  I loved Roller Coasters when I was a teenager. I still love them now.  Space Mountain was special.  Except for the occasional glowing sign or swooshing star, the ride takes place in complete darkness.  Riders don't have any way to prepare for what's coming up on the ride because riders can't see the track ahead . Space mountain boasts a relatively modest top speed of 28 miles per hour. Not being able to brace for curves and hills and loops made the attraction thrilling and new. For years,  every time, i would return to the Magic Kingdom, Space mountain would be "Closed for Renovations".  During this trip to Disney World, The stars finally aligned and I was in the Magic Kingdom at the same time Space Mountain was open.  I jumped at the chance to ride it.  My wife had some trepidation about going on the ride but she, in the end without any coercion on my part decided to ride.  I have to say now,  The experience was a bit anticlimactic. It was still fun, but i didn't love it with the same fervour i loved it before. As I have aged, I guess I enjoy the smoother ride that a steel coaster provides. The recent Renovation replaced the wooden track with a steel track but it still seemed to jerk me about a lot.  I've come the the realization that the reason i didn't enjoy the ride as much this time was the very same reason i loved it before.  I couldn't brace for the turns and didn't know what was coming. I'll probably ride Space Mountain again someday.  I gave Everest a second chance and really enjoyed it the second time.  Maybe the same will be true for Space Mountain.

Sleigh (with wheels) (Internet Picture)

Our Day ended early at the Magic Kingdom because we had set up a number of special events for next to last night of the trip. We took a water taxi to the Wilderness Camp Ground where all of this evening's fun had been scheduled. My wife had found a "sleigh" ride listed on the Disney Website while we were putting together our Vacation. As we were already planning to go to the Hoop Dee Doo Review dinner show in Pioneer Hall, we thought that a ride through the camp ground might be a lot of fun.  We had read where many of the campers decorate their site with lots of Christmas ornaments and lights.  The cost was fairly reasonable and we could schedule it before our reservations for the dinner show so we decided it would be fun to take the "Sleigh" ride. Now, obviously, there isn't a lot of snow in Orlando. I think they might get a dusting every 30 or 40 years but I'm not sure. The rub of all this is, the only way you can take a sleigh ride in the wilderness camp ground is to put the Sleigh on wheels. We are not so silly as to expect a real sleigh in Orlando so we were not disappointed when we saw the sleigh perched neatly and safely on top of the wagon. Now just like all the other evenings it was cool bordering on cold and loosing temperature fast.  We arrived early for our reservations.  There were not a lot of other people sighed up to do the sleigh rides that evening, so, when we arrived, the cast member running the attraction was ready to take us right away.  We climbed into the back of the sleigh an the cast member  gave us some blankets.  It would come to pass that later that evening we would have liked to have those blankets again. For now however, we were bundled and warm as we road off through the camp grounds.  I had seen many houses decorated for the holidays and the park had gone all out to decorate. In typical Disney fashion, many of the campers went all out as well. Santas, Rudolfs, Elves, and lights were all over the camp ground.  These decorations were not Disney furnished  but each camp site had been decorated by the camper that was renting it at the time.  There were many Nativities as well as secular decorations that we saw as we wandered through the camp grounds. It was fun to see how people shared their holiday spirit with the rest of the visitors at Disney world.  I would probably do the Sleigh ride again given a chance.

Now the highlight of the evening was to be the Hoop Dee Doo review and we had planned the timing of our attendance much better than we executed it.  Our reservations were for the 9 o'clock showing.  We had floor seats that we had paid for ahead of time.  Our "sleigh" ride wrapped up around 6 o'clock.  As the sun went down, it got colder and we still had three hours before our show.  So, We made a decision that at the end of the day may have saved the evening for us.   We went up to the Ticket sales booth and asked if we could attend the 7:00 show instead.  They said that the show was sold out but, that usually somebody didn't come so they put us on the 7:00 waiting list assuring us that we wouldn't loose our spot at 9:00 if we didn't get in at 7:00.   An hour in the cold was much easier to deal with than 3 hours.  There were places, like Crocket's Tavern where we could have stayed warm and spent the time having a drink or two but this was a better solution.  We did spend some of the time while we waited at the Trading post.  Camp ground Trading posts have a little bit of everything. I would equate it with a general store.  They had food, meds, clothes, and souvenirs, just about every thing you would need to camp at Disney.

Pioneer Hall, Home of Hoop Dee Doo (Internet Photo)

Our instructions were to hang around the entrance of  Pioneer hall till the next showing of the Hoop Dee Doo Review was seated. After a few minutes, which seemed much longer, our names were called and we found our seats on the top balcony over looking the crowd seated below.   Pioneer hall is laid out with the more expensive seats on the bottom floor near the stage. The seats on the floor further from the stage and the center balcony seats where the middle tier  and balconies on either side were the least expensive of the seats.  Notice at no time did I call any of the seats cheep.  Our view from the side was good and the cast made an extra effort to include everybody in the show.  The show is based on the Old Traveling shows that went throughout the old west.  A troupe of entertainers had come to Pioneer hall to do their show.   The food is served very soon after the first couple of songs are done.  The food included Fried Chicken, Ribs, fresh bread, baked beans and corn on the cob.  The cast makes a production number of serving desert and all the servers get in on the act.  As far as the show is concerned it is cornier than corn on the cob you get with your meal.  The jokes are, by design, bad.  The songs were straight out of the western song book with enough twist to make them entertaining.  At the end of the day the barrage of bad jokes and corny songs made for one of the most enjoyable shows I had seen for a while.  The cast is delightful and very talented singers. I laughed and clapped my way through the evening. There is a surprise at the end that makes the jokes even funnier when the audience participates in the show.  I have seen the Hoop Dee Doo since and it was just as delightful the second time. After laughing and singing and clapping my way through the Hoop Dee Doo review, Special buses were provided to all of the Disney Resorts.  After asking around a bit, we found our bus and jumped on.  There was standing room only on the bus and I got the chance to stand and hold onto the rail for most of the trip back to our Port Orleans. We both collapsed into bed as day 6 drew to a close.