I'm Singing in the Parks...

It was July 8th.  I had to work at 8:45 pm.  What’s there to do in the meantime?  Go to the Magic Kingdom of course!  So off to MK for opening with two of my roommates.  We went on Space Mountain, met Tiana, got some sorcerer cards, and had a waffle sandwich from Sleepy Hollow.  One roommate left for work, so the two of us then went on Pirates of the Caribbean, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan’s Flight, Small World, Winnie the Pooh, and Prince Charming’s Regal Carousel.  Since we were in Fantasyland we decided to have some ice cream from Storybook Treats (great lunch, don’t you think?).  With a chocolate soft serve cone in hand we headed to Main Street and danced in the Move It!  Shake It!  Celebrate It!  Street Party.  Some other attractions we went on were the PeopleMover, Carousel of Progress, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Tomorrowland Speedway, and Dumbo.  A few weeks ago the Casey Junior Splash area opened, so we decided to walk through…  Dang, you get soaked.  So smart of Disney to sell towels right nearby!  A few days ago Dumbo started using Fastpass and the inside of the tent opened up.  The play area inside is legit – I haven’t looked around too much yet, but it seems pretty awesome.  My roommate and I stopped at Cosmic Ray’s for a bite to eat before heading back to POTC to buy a few things…

We split up after this because my other roommate had to go to work.  I took the monorail back to the Grand Floridian to do some more shopping… 

I love this resort and could literally spend all day in here.  Once my credit card had been significantly abused I grabbed a bus home, got ready for work, and turned right back around to the Magic Kingdom for work until 2:45 am!  A tiring, but fantastic day.   

On the 11th my roommate and I went to the Orlando Premium Outlets nearby.  It is pretty close to our apartment; only about a 15 minute walk and it’s right across from Publix.  There are a ton of nice stores there – Nautica, Ralph Lauren, Coach, Juicy Couture, etc… Here is the link: http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=17
I went to American Eagle and bought 3 shirts for $14 – love the clearance section. 

Afterward we went to Animal Kingdom and rode Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl and watched Finding Nemo:  The Musical.  We also went on Expedition Everest twice; once in the front, once in the back… boy you can really feel that force when you’re in the back seat – such a great attraction.  By this point there was only one hour left before the park closed, so we decided to grab some food.  Luckily Yak and Yeti was still open and had plenty of available seating.  I have always wanted to eat here and was not disappointed!  The food was absolutely delicious, although the service lacked a bit; still a great experience nonetheless.  Once dinner was over we hopped on a bus to the TTC and went to MK to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade.  In the meantime we went on the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Haunted Mansion, Small World, Mad Tea Party, Dumbo, and the Barnstormer twice.  We each had a sundae from the Plaza and enjoyed it while watching the parade on Main Street.  What an ending to a wonderful day!

My last day off for this week was the 12th.  This was a very special day because we had lunch reservations for Restaurant Marrakesh in Morocco; there were 6 of us total; me and three roommates and a girl from France who works with one of my roommates, along with her friend.  The girl from France is also part Moroccan, so she speaks fluent Arabic and could talk right along with our servers.  As the 6 of us walked into Epcot it began to pour… thank goodness none of us brought ponchos and were too cheap to buy some.  So we decided to walk all the way there in the pouring rain so we wouldn’t miss our reservation.  Let’s just say we were a little bit wet by the time we got to Morocco… we tried to dry off as best we could and made ourselves presentable before checking in.  We were seated in a nearly empty restaurant, close to the stage where the belly dancer performs – she was insane!  I have no clue how anyone can move like that.  Anyway, the reason we came to Marrakesh… the food.  I had the chef’s lunch special and it was delicious!  I would definitely come back here because the food was divine and the service was fantastic.      

We had finally just started to dry off, until it began raining again.  We stopped at the store in Japan (no purchases for me!), where my roommates and I split up from our other two friends.  We then proceeded to create our own rollercoaster at the Sum of all Thrills and ride Spaceship Earth.  On the way out we made the spontaneous decision to go to the Magic Kingdom.  We got off at the TTC, decided we were getting very tired, and went to Property Control instead.  I spent a whopping 1 dollar and 34 cents!  Once we were back home, I heated up leftovers from Yak and Yeti, made potato soup, picked up my room, and entered all the money I’ve spent into my budget. 

And that brings us to the 13th…  Since I didn’t work until 5:45 I decided to go to the Magic Kingdom!  I went and got my sorcerer cards for the day and defeated Cruella on Main Street.  Luckily I also ran into the Dapper Dans and Citizens of Main Street!  Some of my favorites were working, so I was really excited to see them.  How I love knowing Dapper Dans….  I then went to Adventureland and watched Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Tutorial.  At the end when everyone is singing he totally came over to the side where I was standing and propped his foot up on the barrel next to me.  He starred into my eyes and sang, while I about passed out….

I then had lunch at Pecos Bill (yay for kid’s meals), walked through Swiss Family Treehouse, and then got chocolate cake from the Main Street Bakery.  As I was eating my cake in the alley way on Main Street, the Philharmonic came out and decided to play Zip-a-Dee-Do-Dah (quite fitting, if I do say so myself). 

I then hopped on a bus from the Grand Floridian to costuming.  I went and got milk and bananas from Cast Connections, returned a costume and got two new ones, and made it just in time for the bus back home.  The bus came at 4:20, so I still had plenty of time before I had to leave for work.

Speaking of work, I’m working straight through until next Wednesday… yay for working 45 hours – can’t wait for that paycheck!  Hope you all have a magical night and enjoyed reading about my days at the parks.  :)