We left the park and went to our car (close by in the Peacock section since we got there early, luckily). As we are driving out of the parking lot I look at the clock. 11:37. No way we'll get there by noon. Hopefully they'll hang out at the hub for a while. We get to the MK parking lot. We park in Goofy. Thank goodness there is a tram waiting. It takes us to the TTC. 11:52. The monorail comes and we board. We get to the gate and make our way to the hub. 12:15. I recognize Ronnie and a few other folks. Whew! We made it.

Soon after we got there everyone decided to go to the Tiki Room. Nat wanted to do Splash Mountain again but we acquiesced to the masses. On our previous visit to the Tiki Room we completely missed the pre-show with birds named William and Morris (voiced by Don Rickles and the late Phil Hartman), and this time we just caught the tail end. (pun not intended but gratefully acknowledged). After the show some folks lingered behind because Iago has some funny lines after everyone has supposedly left the theater. I don't want to give them away, but if you see the show and have an opportunity, it's worth the few extra minutes.

After the Tiki Room we all went our separate ways. Before going to the Tiki Room I overheard Ronnie mention her desire to get a Dole Whip. I had never had a Dole Whip but had heard they're very good, and it sounded particularly appealing on a hot day. Nat was also hungry and wanted a bagel, so I got her a bagel at the Main Street bakery, went back to the Dole Whip stand near the entrance to Adventureland and we enjoyed our snacks under a ceiling fan in a covered eating area next to the stand. The Dole Whip was great and really cooled me off.

After our snack we headed to Splash Mountain again. We ran into Ronnie on the way who told us that she and Jill were on their way to (hopefully) pilot the paddlewheeler. I told her that her mentioning the Dole Whip prompted me to get one and urged her to indulge herself. We said good-bye again and went back to Chickapin Hill. There is a sign on Main Street that states the wait time of the most popular attractions, and it said the wait for Splash Mountain was 45 minutes. When we arrived the sign at the queue entrance said 55 minutes and I overheard a CM tell a guest that the wait would be about an hour. Nat really wanted to do Splash again so we went for it. Luckily the wait ended up being about 35 minutes. Once again, at the bottom of the big drop Nat squealed "Let's do that again!"

I told her we really couldn't wait in line again, and I really wanted to find a gift for Andie. I bought Andie a Hawaiian shirt as a gift while on a trip to California that she loved, and I thought I'd look for another. I figured that Adventureland held the most promise so that's where we went. I actually found one at the Adventureland Traders that I thought she might like, but they only had it in large. I asked the CM on duty if they had any others and he said "No". He suggested I try the Polynesian. No time for that. Oh well.

Nat spotted Pirates of the Caribbean and requested another cruise. This surprised me a bit because she was scared by it a little on Saturday. She said "It's only the beginning that's scary." OK. At the ride's conclusion I heard someone behind me call out "John!" I turned around and saw Randy, another of our new friends. We chatted with Randy for a few minutes in the gift store outside of PotC (he asked me if we requested the "special 16 seat Splash Mountain log ;-)" ). To see the log, courtesy of Randy Berbaum, Click Here (Note that there is no return link).

After saying good-bye to Randy I suggested Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (BTMRR). All I had to say to Nat was the word "rollercoaster" and she immediately agreed. We had made a few attempts to ride BTMRR earlier but the line was always too long. Unfortunately, it was a little after 3:00 and there was an afternoon parade between us and BTMRR. It appeared to be the tail end of the parade so we waited it out. As it turned out the line was quite short - I assume on account of the parade. Of course Nat loved BTMRR, squealing at the conclusion of the ride - you guessed it - "Let's do that again!"

It was getting woefully close to our scheduled departure time. Originally our flight was scheduled to leave at 8:30 but they moved us to a 6:30 flight. I considered that to be good news. Sure, it meant 2 hours less at WDW, but it also meant we would get home at a reasonable hour. We had enough time for one more good attraction so I suggested the Country Bear Jamboree (CBJ). I've seen CBJ at Disneyland countless times, but I've never seen it at WDW. Last year we went to see it but I had to leave just before the show started to change Charlotte's diaper and couldn't get back in. The show then was the holiday show, and I assumed the show now would be the "new" show that had been playing at Disneyland for several years. I was pleasantly surprised when it was the old original show. That's one I could recite verbatim. It brought back many fond memories for me.

After CBJ it was getting close to time to leave. We still had some time left but I didn't want to rush out of the park. We just strolled through Fontierland and down Main Street. When we got to the end of Main Street we turned around to say "good-bye" to the Magic Kingdom and Walt Disney World. "Can't we stay just a little longer?" "No, sweetie, we can't. Don't you want to go home and see Mommy and Charlotte?" "Yeah."

We left the park and did something I've never done - we rode the ferry to the TTC. It's a beautiful ride and a great way to end a final day at the park. At three days the trip may have been short, but we really were able to pack in a lot of fun. My main goal, that of having some fun time with just me and Nat, was accomplished and then some. We're thinking about doing another trip with my folks in Thanksgiving 1999, and you know what that means. Time to start planning!