Reflections of Magic part 1

The second evening of “Night of Joy” (Saturday September 8, 2007) was a fun experience as well. However, I did not take my camera that night, but rather took my younger cousin, Brittany, who is 15. We headed to the park around 3:00pm which would put us in the park around 4:00pm. This was the time that Disney was allowing Night of Joy attendees to enter the park. The rest of the park guests inside who did not have Night of Joy tickets would have to leave by 6:00pm. The concerts would be beginning at 7:30pm that evening. There were only two artists that I really wanted to see that night, Mark Schultz at 9:30pm and newsboys at 11:30pm. The reason for going in so early was to allow Britt and I time to enjoy some of the rides before the concerts.

During the drive on I-4, we went through a patch of hard rain which subsided when we got closer to Disney. Once on the premises, we found a place to park, and began looking for a tram to come and take us to the monorail station. It wasn’t long though, until we began to feel rain drops falling on our heads. I told Brittany that I had a Poncho (from a Night of Joy a few years ago) in my trunk and an umbrella. The poncho is transparent with a Mickey Mouse printed on the back. At first, I suggested that Britt take the poncho and that I’d carry the umbrella. But, after Britt kindly refused to wear the Poncho because she said they bothered her when she wore them, I gave her the black umbrella just as the rain began to pour down hard upon us.

There still wasn’t a tram in site, but thankfully, we weren’t that far from the monorail station, so we just walked. As others walked past us, getting so soaked it looked as if they had taken a shower with their clothes on, we were staying relatively dry. Only my freshly shaved head was getting another washing, because the hood on the old poncho was no longer in working order. I tried putting it up over my head, but it didn’t seem to work quite right. Brittany observed and informed me that it was ripped. Damage probably done from years in the hot trunk. All Brittany had to make sure of was that she held the umbrella in such a way as to not get her “Sponge Bob” square back-pack wet that she was toting behind her.

After we arrived at the Magic Kingdom via monorail, we stepped out into a massive crowd of Night of Joy attendees that were trying to wait out the rain under the station’s pavilion. As for Britt and I, we were going to brave the storm with our protective rain gear. The only thing I wasn’t ready for, was the mini lake that was forming at the bottom of the ramp as we exited the station. Apparently, the drainage system isn’t that well engineered at that particular part of the grounds, which came as a surprise being on Disney property…everything there is supposed to be “Magical”! At first I hesitated, then I just went for it, taking high steps…as if that was going to help. But, it didn’t help at all. The water was at least ankle high and my feet were getting soaked. Brittany was wearing sandals, so it didn’t really bother her that much. She was just trying not to slip, because her sandals lacked good traction on the wet pavement.

After Britt and I went through the ticket area, we took refuge under the train station. While there, I took off my sneakers and rung out my socks. We then waited the monsoon out on the second floor of the train station. This vantage point over-looks “Main Street USA” which leads up to Cinderella Castle. A view I’ve experienced before when I was even younger than Brittany.

Once the rain had subsided a little, we went and found a bite to eat at a place called, “Casey’s Corner”. There was no room to sit inside, so we stood outside under an over hang while we partook of our fries and such. Upon finishing our snack, we decided to face the rain some more and headed over to the “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride. Thankfully, there wasn’t even a line at this particular time of the day! As we walked through the corrodores on our way to the loading station, memories came flooding back to me from my childhood. The ambiance is that of Pirate adventure. You feel as though you've been transported back to another time and place before you ever get on the actual ride. This has always been one of my favorite attractions at the Magic Kindom. They recently added some new elements to this ride, such as the character of “Captain Jack Sparrow” (whom my cousin, Brittany, is a big fan of). I must say, they did a great job on his “Animatronic“. He seemed a little more “Life-Like” compared to the older Pirate characters in this classic Disney attraction. After all, the movie was loosely based on this very ride.


To keep this commentary from being too long, I’m making this a multiple part story. So, please stay tuned.

I captured this image of Cinderella Castle during the first night of “Night of Joy” 2007.