natebenma
Beach Club Dee
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2008
All along, my plan had been to stay at the Poly and watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the beach. With or without the guys. I had little hope that Mark would want to stay, and he was even a little nervous about me staying behind alone, but when I told him I was planning on taking a taxi back to the Beach Club, he felt better about it.
I said goodbye to Mark, Nate and Ben at 8:30. They got on the monorail to Magic Kingdom and took a bus back to the Beach Club.
First order of business: A short photo tour of the lobby of the Grand Ceremonial House and the Poly grounds.
Next up: Find the beach. I had never seen the pool or beach at the Poly, so I spent a few minutes soaking the view in.
When I made my way to the beach, it was a little before 9 and there was maybe one other group on the beach. I pulled a lounger to a dead-center view of the castle. I did not pull it to the waterline, and I must say that I am impressed that when people did eventually start coming to the beach for the fireworks, nobody sat or stood in front of me to block my view.
I had come prepared, with a book to read and some Off Mosquito wipes. Imagine that!
When the bugs started biting, I applied the wipes and they were pretty effective. Then off to my right I heard Slap! Slap! Slap! The bugs were getting the family seated near me. I told them I had some bug repellant wipes, but they declined my offer.
I had an hour ahead of me, reclining in a lounger on the beach, the waves gently lapping the shore and a view of a beautiful, magical castle changing colors as the sun was setting. I never even opened my book.
I just sat.
And watched.
And snapped a photo or two.
Then the Electrical Water Parade started making its way around the 7 Seas Lagoon, performing in front of all of the resorts. This was the first time I had seen and heard the parade. It is very cute.
A little more of a wait, and Nightastic! started. This is the first time I have seen a Magic Kingdom fireworks show in its entirety and from a vantage point so close-up. In the past, I have seen fireworks from the monorail or parking lot, and on this trip watched the show from the Beach Club balcony.
An amazing show, but I have to confess that I was trying to multitask, take photos and videos (two cameras) of the show while it was going on. In the end, I didnt get any incredible fireworks shots, and I discovered later that the audio on the camera I used for the video does not work, so I really should have just sat and watched. But thats not me.
All in all, it was a spectacular, solitary finale to an unbelievably wonderful vacation.
When the show was over, I rushed to the lobby so I wouldnt be behind the crowds waiting for a cab. When I got to the bell clerk, there was one family getting into a taxi, and I was next.
The fare was $15 plus tip. By 10:30, I was back in my room at the Beach Club. Everyone else was asleep. I may have puttered around a little and packed but it wasnt too long before I settled down for our final night at Disney.
Next up: The return home that SHOULD have been