The Big Finish!

 On our final day at Disney World, we had our greatest accidental adventure.

We took the boat from the campground over to The Magic Kingdom and then went on to ride my favorite ride, Splash Mountain.  Following a slight soaking, Trish and I headed back into Adventure Land and lined up for Pirates of the Caribbean.

Everything was fine as we started out.  Then there was a stoppage of about one minute...nothing unusual...before the ride continued. Our boat went down the little splash-slide into the main part of the attraction and, just as we got to about the center of the ride, things came to a stop.

After being stuck for about ten minutes while we were repeatedly told that there had been an “unexpected stop,” we began to realize that this was a bigger deal.  We could hear the announcements being made to the staff about things like restarting pumps, shutting down the ride, and turning on the work lights.

Suddenly all the lights came on and we could see everything about the inside of the ride in full illumination. It was great!  We saw how everything was made and all of the details that are normally in darkness. 

Then we were told to stay seated and someone would come to get us.  All the animatronics and all the sounds shut down.  It took a while, but then staff people came through doors you would never notice in the dark.  They were followed by others in waders.  The wader people got in the water and gradually pulled each boat up to the flat side where we could climb out.

We went through the back workings of the ride and out of the building right into where the parade floats are stored.  The Main Street Philharmonic was returning from a show just as we got there.  We were led along a sidewalk back toward the Magic Kingdom inside.  We had to wait for an ambulance to be loaded (learned nothing about this) and while we waited they came by with water and added a Fast Pass to our Magic Bands so we could walk right into any ride we choose for the rest of the day.

Once back inside the park, Trish and I took a Dole Whip snack break and then noticed that Pirates of the Caribbean was about to reopen! We got right back in the beginning of that line and this time rode the ride successfully without any stops!  We then used our Fast Pass for another ride on Splash Mountain and this time really got soaked!  

It was the best day ever!