Its almost lunchtime, but theres still some time to enjoy the Plaza Gardens and all of its beautiful scenery before our ADR time comes up. We never seen to spend much time in this area, so it was nice to get have some time to really enjoy it.
A topiary swan near the gardens entrance, I think a reminder that this use to be where the old Swan Boat dock use to be. Wish I could have been here when the ride was here since they looked cool from the pictures Ive seen of them, but alas that was before my time.
The views of the castle are really gorgeous from here. This photo doesnt really do it much justice- its that nice.
Mickey and Minnie in topiary form wave to guests passing by.
A topiary sea serpent and even more Disney ducks.
And eventually we reach our destination for lunch- The Plaza Restaurant. Weve been going to Magic Kingdom for years and years and never once had any of us eaten there on any occasion. It had never really ever crossed my mind to try it and at least Dad (if not a few more of us) didnt even know this was here! When we were planning the trip, the idea of at least checking the menu and some reviews of the place online came to mind and it really looked good. Everyone seemed really enthusiastic on giving it a try so here we are.
When we arrived, the restaurant was just opening, so we had a bit of a wait, so we relaxed and watched a bit of the Castle Show that was going on across the water until our table was ready. We were among the first to be let into the restaurant that day, so I was able to get a few shots of the practically-empty restaurant.
The dining area was very small- probably smaller than any restaurant Ive been to at WDW, but it was very charming. The atmosphere was great, plus the music loop from Main Street (probably my favorite loop in all of WDW) was piped into the dining room adding to the feel of the place. Plus, how can you beat the view out the window?
Yes, we had a table with a Castle view! How could it get any better than this? The only major negative thing that Id heard about this place before the trip was that the service was a little slow, but I thought it was just right- not too slow but also not too fast where you feel like youre being rushed out of the restaurant. Plus the food was great! I ended up getting the Chicken Strawberry Salad and really enjoyed it, and the milkshakes were delicious. Everyone else liked their meals too. All in all, I really think this was one of the best meals Ive ever had at MK. Why didnt we know about this place sooner? A definite thumbs up!
After lunch, we left the turn-of-the-century atmosphere of Main Street for Tomorrowland. First stop- Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. There was a bit of a line so we decided to FastPass it. As we got our passes, we were surprised to see two FastPasses come out for each of us instead of one. We were each awarded with Bonus FastPasses for Carousel of Progress. Now, if youve ever been to Carousel of Progress, you know that theres rarely (if ever) a line for it, so FastPasses for it seem a bit silly. After recieveing out Bonus FastPasses, we try to decide whether we wanted to hit Carousel of Progress or do something else before our time for Buzz came up. I suggested Stitchs Great Escape since wed only done it once before a few years back, but nobody else wanted to do that again so we decided to just use the FastPasses for Carousel of Progress.
When we arrive at Carousel of Progress, theyve even got the queue separated into Standby and FastPass line. It was amusing since the Standby line was empty and the only the FastPass line seemed to have anyone in it. Looked like we werent the only people to receive Bonus FastPasses. The show was very corny as usual but still enjoyable. Dad actually saw this when he was a kid when it was in the New York Worlds Fair, so I think its neat to be able to do something as a family that Dad experienced in his childhood. After the show, we had a few minutes to look around Tomorrowland, check out some of the shops and get some water.
Ran across the Pleakley statue and got a picture. Hes so goofy-looking (no offense, Pleakley).
Our FastPass time quickly came up, so we head over to Buzz.
Not a great picture of the queue. I never have much luck getting pictures here. The score wasnt my best, but was ok. Buzz (my brother, not Buzz Lightyear) did much better- one of his better scores. The ride stopped a few times, but I dont think that ended up affecting our scores much.
Booster salutes us as we exit. At this point, Mom and Dad were interested in heading back to Pop to spend some time at the pool, so we decided to split up and Buzz and I headed off to spend some more time in the park before joining them. We wanted to see how the lines and FastPass times were at Big Thunder Mountain, so we figured wed take the train fron Toontown to Frontierland. Plus, that would give me a chance to see if there were any interesting character in Toontown. Sometimes rare ones hang out near the train station (spotted Cruella there last year), so it's usually worth a check to see if anyone is out.
Well, there didnt seem to be any characters out besides the ones at the Judges Tent and Hall of Fame, and their lines were long enough to where I wasnt really interested in waiting. We looked around Toontown a bit until the train came.
Next chapter: More Magic Kingdom
They were really great with the kids. They even took special care with the kids (usually the little girls) who were terrified of them. Captain Hook would walk over to a nearby tree, pick a flower and give it to the girl as a peace offering- and it actually helped! It was cute, but Im not sure if Disneys horticultural staff would feel the same way. When I was meeting them, Mr. Smee wanted to be the center of attention in the picture with Hook in the background which caused a fight that we and the character attendant had to break up (all in good fun, of course). The pose in the picture above was the compromise one they finally reached in which they both were the center of attention. 
I gave up and left without the picture. Took a quick trip to Toontown to see if there were any characters at the train station now, but there were still none. Well, back to Fantasyland. 
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It just seemed so wrong. 
I was affraid I wasn't quick enough with my updates and had lost my awesome readers. Glad to know you're still around.
Turns out she and Dad had went to the pool, but it was ridiculously cold. Combine that with the somewhat cool- or at least cool for Florida in August- weather this afternoon, it really made things a whole lot worse. She was all achy with a sore throat just miserable. 
At this point, the plan for the rest of the day was up in the air. For now, well just hang out in the rooms and see how Moms doing. 
