4/12/13 instagramatical Friday

Friday's pictures were limited to the phone, which royally pissed me off, but didn't stop me from taking them. 

After the camera saga, of course Jaffar was our driver.

Hey, taken rows back in the bus, zoomed over the driver's head, while bumping along, with an iphone, this isn't bad.

As seen at the Grand Floridian. (Who gets married at 2:30 in the afternoon on a Friday? )

The bus was dropping off every other hotel before ours, so we got to see the Wilderness Lodge.

And then finally we got the Contemporary, where we discovered the lie of the Tower. (This is a chandelier in the lobby.)

So after the previously discussed taxi ride in circles, and the battery charging in the room, we set out for the Magic Kingdom, trying to salvage something of the day.

First stop: City Hall to get Bob's birthday button he would wear all weekend. 

 The gray, heavy clouds and sticky evening heat reminded me why I only like to visit Disney World in December.

 Bonus points for getting blue camo pants in the picture. 

 We picked up dinner at Pecos Bill's, pulled a fastpass for Splash Mountain, and came back to ride Pirates in between.

At the Splash store:

Splash Mountain tips: 
If you want to avoid getting soaked, asked for the back row. Also, eye the people in line around you and let some past if you need to. What you don't want, if you're avoiding a soaking, is heavy people who will populate the front rows of your log. The more weight you load up front, the bigger the water splash at the end. 

More on the Fluffy Unicorn tomorrow.

 After Splash, for some reason, we didn't feel like waiting on Big Thunder and the fast pass time was later than we cared to sit around for, so we headed across Frontierland and rode the Liberty Belle riverboat which, in 8 trips, we have never done before. And, will probably never do again. It's going on the list with It's a Small World for "I can say I rode it once."

The view of The Haunted Mansion from the Liberty Belle

And after a very, very slow trip around a circle, we headed over to the Mansion to see our favorite ghost hosts. 

 I always think of Sammi when I pass this sign. The stretch room was all she could take on that first trip, at age five, even though that was the scariest part of the entire ride. We had to take the chicken exit and wait outside for Nicholas and Bob to finish the ride.

 The new Fantasyland expansion (more on that later) included Rapunsel's tower (not accessible or viewable anywhere closer than this) and... a bathroom? Really? 

So, yeah. Here is the new restroom area across from Pan that is Tangled inspired.

Hard to see, but the Men's Room is adorned with frying pans. 

I love the Magic Kingdom so much more at night. 

The new Fantasyland turrets

The Beauty and the Beast Castle houses the hottest sit-down reservation right now.

Gaston's Tavern by night 

The Little Mermaid ride by night. Since we just rode it in Disneyland in October, it wasn't a must-do.

And we checked out the revamped area that was once Toontown, now Storybook Circus, where two Dumbo the Flying Elephant Rides now run. 

We hit Space Mountain, Buzz, and the People Mover in Tomorrowland before calling it a night, but my phone battery died about halfway past the closed for refurb Teacups.....

just one more reason Bob's "well, you have your phone camera" comment on the plane will go down in the annals of dumbest things he's ever said to me.