Park Time

Since I’ve had some time off, I have finally been able to spend some time in the parks!  On Friday I went to the Magic Kingdom in the afternoon.  I tried to catch a bus around 2:00 so I could watch the Celebrate a Dream Come True parade; this however didn’t quite work out.  You see, President Obama decided to come to a conference at the Contemporary and when he was ready to leave they actually closed I-4 so he could get to the airport, naturally causing a huge delay in traffic.  After waiting an hour for three buses that never showed up, I jumped on a bus to the Caribbean Beach Resort.  As we made our way over there it began to pour…  Once we arrived I took the internal shuttle to one of the bus stops and only waited about a minute for a Magic Kingdom bus to arrive.  Yay!  I finally arrived around 4:00, 2 hours late… No worries though! 

The rain had let up a little, but I still donned my poncho.  I entered the park through the Cast Member entrance (so legit) and browsed through some shops on Main Street.  Unfortunately I had missed the parade and since it was raining I figured there wouldn’t be any pirate tutorials or the flag retreat.  I headed over to Adventureland and went to the Enchanted Tiki Room; I am really glad they restored this to its original version (let’s all sing like the birdies sing – so good!).  Afterwards I went to Pirates of the Caribbean, but was deterred by the 30 minute wait.  Instead I walked back through Main Street and went to the Carousel of Progress.  Since I was in Tomorrowland, I also went on the Peoplemover – a great attraction to get out of the rain or to just take a break from the park.  Once I had gotten off I went over to Space Mountain and got a Fastpass for later.  It was almost 6:00 at this point, so I declared it time for dinner. 

Columbia Harbour House it is!  This is one of my favorite quick service restaurants because the whole place is nautical themed and you really feel like you’re inside a ship.  My favorite place to sit is on the second floor above the walkway from Fantasy to Liberty Square.  I ordered the Lobster Roll here:

It was after dinner that I finally got to go on Pirates!  The wait was listed as 25 minutes but I walked on.  I then headed back to Main Street, stopped for a shortened version of Dream Along with Mickey,

and went to Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor.  This show is full of puns, so I loved it!  Afterwards I took the back walkway to Fantasyland and rode the WDW Railroad all the way around while I waited for my Fastpass time to roll around.  After riding Space Mountain it was time for dessert.  What better place than the Plaza Ice Cream Parlour?

Once I had finished devouring this luscious sundae it was time for the Main Street Electric Parade.  I love this parade, especially since Pete and Elliot are in it!

Then it was time to head home.  I hopped on the monorail and caught a bus from the Polynesian.  I was pretty tired by the time I reached my apartment, so I went to bed immediately because I had an exciting day coming up.

Alrighty, onto Saturday!  I woke up early, along with two of my roommates.  Why would we get up early on a day off?  Because we had reservations for Kouzzina at The Boardwalk!  This was my first time dining here, so I was very excited.  This restaurant is amazing – the food is absolutely delicious!    

After a filling breakfast, we hopped on a Friendship boat to Epcot.  My roommates had never been here before, so this was very exciting for both of them. 

Our first attraction of the day:  Mission Space. 

Since we had just eaten we went on the more mild Green version.  Once we were strapped in, we all took our roles very seriously.  I’m happy to report that we made it to Mars safe and sound.  We then went to The Seas with Nemo and Friends, rode the clammobile, saw Turtle Talk with Crush (adorable), and watched the fish swimming around. 

Then it was time to go around the World – 11 countries in only a few hours.  While in Italy we met the Ziti Sisters.  Guess who got dragged into the show.  Yup, this guy!   

And yes, we may have gotten a Duffy and stopped to have it stamped at all the Kidcot stops…

No big deal, Duffy is awesome. 

Once we had reached our final country, we headed back to The Boardwalk and caught a bus home.  After a bit I went to Walmart, had some dinner (tomato soup and a sandwich!), and then went to Downtown Disney with another roommate.  We both bought some pins and then had some ice cream before coming home for the night.  Productive day wouldn’t you say?

Unfortunately there is a tropical storm headed our way, so it has been raining all day long.  That ruled out the parks for me.  So I caught up on sleep, cleaned the kitchen, made a chicken broccoli braid and chocolate pie, and uploaded my pictures.  I have to work at 9 am tomorrow, so I’ll probably head to bed soon.  Have a magical night!