Fear becomes reality.

I really love roller coasters. I have very few inhibitions about super fast, super high rides. I'm not an adrenaline junkie, but I really do like that feeling of flying/falling/etc.

However...

I harbor a deep-seated fear of a ride getting stuck while I'm on it. It's a terrifying thought that flashes across my mind right before that initial plunge/drop/loop/corkscrew of a ride. This may be crazy, but I offer sincere prayers, asking God PLEASE not to let me die that way. I feel like people very well may chuckle at that.

While in Florida, it happened. A ride STOPPED in the middle. SPOILER: I survived, though. Whew.

We were riding "The Forbidden Journey" (the main attraction ride that's housed inside the castle) for the 4th(ish) time, and right in the middle of the Forbidden Forest/acromantula part (Kat, SERIOUSLY? You know how I feel about acromantulas!!), it stops. Halts while we're tilted upward, feet lolling, right in front of a cobwebby hole that made my imagination go crazy. A very cool and professional British voice came on to alert us that we were paused momentarily but please to be careful because we'd be moving shortly.

And we did...about an inch. Same recorded British voice telling us we'd be moving shortly.

And we did...about half an inch. Same recording...

Repeat this about 4 times.

Finally, they turned all the lights on and told us that our ride would be curtailed. Then, the coolest thing happened. We got a "backstage" tour of the mechanics of the ride. The seats that we rode in were attached to the mechanical "tree" contraptions with arms to tilt and rotate the seats around, giving the impression of flying. We even saw little crazy things, like a flip flop that someone lost mid-ride...bummer.

The best part? At the end of the ride, they gave all of us Express Passes to use on the ride later. You know, when it was up and running again. Note: this is one of the rides at the park that does not accept Express Passes. Unless you get stuck on the ride, I guess.

Thankfully, Brad documented things. I was really nervous at first, thinking the ride would jerk to life and we'd lose our camera. We didn't. Whew.

I think we look surprisingly cheery, given that we were hanging in front of a huge hole out of which anything could have emerged!

Backstage tour. The dementors are far less scary when you see them without their figurative make up on.

Express Pass! We got to walk right past all the folks standing in line. Victory.

We were REALLY proud of those passes. You should probably know that one time last summer, the Brassarts stood in line for 1.5 hours for that ride. This time, we just whooshed on through.

Actual backstage tour. We got to walk in a different way through the castle and see some more of it. These pictures are the ones that move and talk like true wizard pictures. See how real they look? Granted, not ALL of them talk, but many of them do.

More pride. We were dripping with it.

(insert professional, British voice here): This concludes our tour of Harry Potter's Wizarding World. Thank you for your participation, and have a magical day.

ALSO, Peggy: Don't let this post deter your interest! It was a fluke. I attract trouble and such. Your experience would probably be awesome and 100% magical.