Chapter Ten
The next morning, the girls picked up Josh and Rick from their hotel and headed out to Disney World. On the way, they discussed which park they would like to see first.
"I read that first thing in the morning, Epcot is not as crowded as the other parks. Let's start there," Kacey suggested.
Everyone agreed. They parked in one of the gigantic parking lots and took the tram to the park entrance. Soon they were looking over maps and deciding where to go first.
"Let's start at the World Showcase and work our way back to the entrance," Rick suggested, and the group followed his idea.
Everyone enjoyed walking around the park and looking through the international attractions through the areas representing countries from all over the world. In the Canadian area, they saw a wonderful movie about the beautiful Canadian territories, and walked under waterfalls cascading from a towering canyon wall. In the area of France, they stopped to savor some French pastry and coffee. They shopped in the exotic Moroccan markets and bought chocolates in a shop in Germany. Afterward, they enjoyed a movie in the American pavilion and stopped to have lunch there.
In the area featuring Japanese culture, a group of Japanese drummers performed to the delight of the crowds. After browsing through the stores and displays of Japanese artifacts, they headed over to China where they experienced its beautiful scenery and culture. From there, they climbed onto the scenic boat ride through the Gran Fiesta Tour of Mexico.
After leaving the World Showcase, the group entered Future World and got in line to drive the race cars on the Test Track. As they were whizzing around the track, Emma shouted,
"I feel like we're going five hundred miles an hour!"
"It's not really that fast," Kacey assured her, "But it's still incredible!"
As they exited the ride, the friends all agreed that it was one of the best rides at the park. Next, they walked over to The Land pavilion to ride on Soarin', the hang-glider attraction. The simulator gave them the experience of flying over the countryside and oceans.
"I loved that ride!" Kacey exclaimed as they left the pavilion.
"I really felt like I was flying!" Emma declared.
The group toured the Living Seas and then crossed through the park to view Mission Space. By the middle of the afternoon, they completed their tour and headed back to their car.
"Next: The Magic Kingdom!" Emma announced.
The five friends drove to the Magic Kingdom and hopped onto a train that took them to Frontier Land, where they got off to ride Thunder Mountain, a wild roller-coaster ride through a mountain mine. The girls screamed loudly all through the ride as the two guys yelled and laughed at their screams. After the ride, they walked to the Pirates of the Caribbean and climbed into the boats for the adventure ride.
The group next decided on riding down Splash Mountain, a tall drop from a high mountain peak down into a pool of water. As soon as their boat hit the water, huge sprays of cold water shot into the air and fell like torrential rain.
"I'm totally soaked!" Emma declared, shaking water off of her arms as they left the ride.
"Don't worry, you'll dry off quickly in this warm, sunny weather," Ava assured her.
They crossed the center of the park, stopping for ice cream, before getting in line for Space Mountain, a dark and thrilling roller coaster ride.
After leaving Tomorrowland, the friends walked through Fantasyland and rode on another roller coaster and several other rides.
They doubled back through the park to Liberty Square to go into the Haunted Mansion. The ride was both spooky and fun, and when they left, all agreed that it had been one of their favorites.
"Gee," Emma said, "I wish I had time to go on all the rides. Even the ones for the little kids look like fun."
"You'd probably have to spend a week at each park to find enough time to do everything," Kacey replied.
After a couple more hours of going on rides and viewing the attractions, the group decided it was time for dinner. They found the Be Our Guest Restaurant in Fantasyland offered a wide variety of foods and plenty of seating.
"It feels good to sit down after all that walking," Emma remarked.
"I know what you mean," Kacey agreed.
Emma poured ketchup on her french fries and said, "I sure wish Dave had come. He would've loved this place."
Ava spoke up, "Maybe you two can come back here again someday."
Emma frowned and looked forlorn. She shrugged her shoulders, but didn't reply.
During dinner, the group chatted and caught up on their messages. Afterward, they finished their meal and wandered down Main Street, stopping to browse through the shops and take photos of each other.
That evening, the friends all decided to go for a swim in one of the heated pools at their hotel. Rick and Josh took turns doing dives into the deep end to impress the girls. Then they pulled the girls into the pool when they weren't expecting it, causing them to shriek in surprise. After horsing around in the water for an hour, Ava got out to get a towel and dry off. She walked over to the towel cart and picked up a towel. As she was walking back and drying off, she passed a couple sitting in lounge chairs beside the pool. Something caught her eye and she stopped. She looked behind her and then stepped back to see what had drawn her attention.
A young man was seated on the lounge chair talking to a young lady. He didn't notice Ava behind him, looking down on his head from the side.
To herself, Ava declared, "I know that profile!"