[Better pictures are coming, but we need to develop our waterproof camera.]
Another nice thing about the water parks (besides the water on a hot day) is that parking is free, although locker rental is $10 (for unlimited access to a large locker for the day). Central to Typhoon Lagoon is a large wave pool, which I referred to as "stew" because of all the people floating in the water. We actually avoided that this day and headed right over to the Crush 'n' Gusher, a water roller coaster - you carry a tube up to the top of the tower and there's a series of drops and lifts, so it's not quite a floom with one large drop. There are actually three different courses to take, which speeds the lines and adds variety. This was one of the rides that Calvin was a tad too short to ride on; we said he could leave on his sandals to do the height check, but he refused, saying he didn't want to cheat (very admirable). So Hobbes and I tried it out and it was fun. So Hobbes went again with Sweetie.
Then we moved on to some other raft rides: Gangplank Falls, Keelhaul Falls and Mayday Falls. Gangplank was a "family" raft ride in which you got soaked. The other two were single-rider slides. They were all fun, but I liked Gangplank best. After lunch, we headed over to the Storm Slides. These were three water slides with different personalities: one had a dark tunnel, one was very twisty, and one was very fast. Calvin, in particular, loved these and went on them many, many times. (Here I will note that it was 110 steps up (and 37 steps down) to get to the top of the Storm Slides. Calvin went on them 9 times this day.)
Right next to the Storm Slides was the Humunga Cowabunga, a five-story straight down water slide. This also had a height restriction, so Hobbes an I did this first, and then Sweetie and Hobbes went. It's a tube, so when you start, you drop into pitch black, and then, when you get toward the bottom and start to see light, your feet start kicking up water, essentially blinding you. So you really can't see anything the whole way down. Terrifying.
We bounced among these rides for the rest of the day, and then left before dinner because we had a special appointment that evening. Yes, as part of Calvin's birthday, we had gotten tickets to the Pirates & Pals Firework Voyage, a cruise across the Disney Lake to see the electric parade and the "Summer Nightastic" fireworks show. We were met at the Contemporary Resort by Patch and Patch the identically named pirates who introduced Mr. Smee and Capt. Hook. Now I don't know if it was because we had a full, tiring day at the water park, or if Calvin was just a little freaked out by the costumed characters, but he wouldn't go anywhere near them and started saying he didn't want to go on the boat. Augh! So we gave him a coke and a brownie and some cotton candy and crossed our fingers. Hobbes was enjoying meeting the characters, and even had a minor kerfuffle with the crabby Capt Hook.
After the meet-and-greet with the Hook and Smee, it was time to split up into our boat groups and head down to the pier. Calvin got a special surprise here, because he was called up to be First Mate (that means he carried the flag and led the group down to the boat). I wasn't sure how he was going to respond to this given his behavior so far this evening, but he went right up when called and took the flag (remarking "but I don't know how to get to the boat") and off we went. He did a great job, and did get us to our boat; in return, he received a nice plastic cutlass from Patch.
The boat set sail, and there were jokes and songs and general rowdiness until we reached the position from which we watched the Electric Water Pageant, which apparently hasn't changed (much) since its debut in 1971. That was pretty enjoyable. We then celebrated birthdays (including Calvin's and Hobbe's) and anniversaries until we reached our position for watching the Summer Nightastic fireworks display. Let me just say Disney wins when it comes to fireworks - what a great display! Everyone oohed and aahed. On the trip back to the pier, we played a trivia game in which Hobbes won a water flintlock pistol. Everyone was very satisfied - and tired. At the pier, who should meet us, but Peter Pan himself! Calvin was having none of that, either, but Hobbes was a good sport and discussed how to defeat Hook with him.
Home, to bed, and looking forward to a lighter day tomorrow.
Today's Scorecard
| Ride | Me | Sweetie | Hobbes | Calvin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gangplank Falls | A | A | A | A |
| Keelhaul Falls | B+ | A | A+ | A+ |
| Mayday Falls | B | B- | B+ | A+ |
| Castaway Creek | C | C | C | C |
| Storm Slides (Stern Burner) | A | A | A+ | A+ |
| Storm Slides (Jib Jammer) | A- | A | A+ | A+ |
| Storm Slides (Rudder Buster) | A | A- | A+ | A+ |
| Humunga Cowabunga | B- | A- | A | n/a |
| Crush 'n' Gusher (Banana Blaster) | A | n/a | A+ | n/a |
| Crush 'n' Gusher (Coconut Crusher) | n/a | A | A+ | n/a |
| Crush 'n' Gusher (Pineapple Plunger) | n/a | A- | A+ | n/a |
| Pirates n' Pals Fireworks Voyage | A | A | A | A |
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