Day 5 Rest Day and MNSSHP Magic Kingdom
Hey Everyone Sorry for the Delay. My dad has been diagnosed with some serious health problems and I have been helping out. Missed everyone. He is doing well with good prognosis and we are looking forward to a Happy Holiday thanks for all the well wishes Much Appreciated!
As I start day 5 I need to say planning a rest day into your schedule is a must. I am sure other people have strong feelings about this, but I really think it helps you enjoy your trip more as you are rested (Your feet are rested) and you are better able to experience everything you have saved, traveled so far and looked forward to all the months you have been thinking about the trip.
We slept in first of all. After all those early mornings it was really nice to sleep in. Our bodies craved it. We decided to go to Boatwrights for breakfast. This was a nice leisurely breakfast that we forgot to bring the Camera too so I can show the Eggs Benedict and Pancakes we had but I can tell you we enjoyed the breakfast. We met a great Cast Member Dana who is one of the restaurant managers for POR. (We should have taken a pic of him) He chatted about how much he enjoyed working for Disney at the restaurant because he loved people and he loved food. I can say we were actually surprised at the consistent quality of the food at the Riverside. Not that we expected it to be bad but as hotel restaurants go sometimes you are kind of stuck there so they just serve you whatever food.
Disney knows that you are staying at their resort and they go out of their way to give you a Resort experience you will remember long after you have arrived back home and start planning next years Disney trip. They want you to remember that your food court Caesar Salad was pretty good even though your feet were a little sore. At POR they want you to remember how convenient it was to take the boat to Downtown Disney. So after breakfast we walked around our mansion and figured out where the Laundry was.
Here are some Resort Pics this seems like a good place to throw them in: Pay particular attention to the Freddy Krueger like monster they had on the steps we used him as a landmark!
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We decided no one was really that interested in our dirty clothes and it would be ok to put the clothes in and go get a drink at the poolside bar later when we put the laundry in
..we went back to the room dilly dallied around getting the clothes ready - deciding what we would wear to MNSSHP. (I wanted to go in a mild costume but DH was not into it). I think we had breakfast around 10:00 so finally about 1:00 we put the laundry in and went to the outdoor pool to have a drink. We had fun the only negative I can say is they do not serve anything besides potato chips at the pool bar and I was wanting some light finger food you know shrimp a green salad, nachos
..the bartended said I could go to the food court and bring something back but we were just too lazy to be honest! It was our relaxing day and we wanted to be served you know? So we went back to the Laundry Room and retrieved out now downy fresh laundry and dragged it back to the room to fold. We had a quick Sandwich and Chips in the room around 2:00 and since we knew we could get into the MNSSHP at 4:00 with our tickets we headed over about 3:30pm.
Abstract Thoughts on Meal plan because there is no where else to put the info
I wanted to also take some time out to talk about our dining choices for the trip. Since we knew Al would want to pay for some meals we decided to use the DDE Disney Dining Experience card. This card is available to Florida residents and Annual Pass Holders and gives you a 20% discount on all your meals including alcohol. Over all adding everything up at the end of the trip It was about dead even with the less expensive meal plan where you get 1 table service, 1 Counter Service and 1 snack and costs about 37.99 Per Person. Because of the days we ate in the room for breakfast snacks and lunches it was a break even for us. We actually would have ended up spending more on the meal plan because the dinner at Artist Point would have cost us two dinner credits leaving us 1 short on the last night of our trip. What would I pick for next time? I think it depends on where we are staying and who we are traveling with. I may try the meal plan next time especially if we traveling during a time when it is offered free or for just a little bit more to add it on.
Ok Back to MNSSHP. This was our first MNSSHP. I decided to get tickets just out of curiosity! We had no trouble getting in earlier than the advertised time of 7:00 which was cool. We did some pin trading walked around a few shops and headed over to Future world for a burger at Cosmic Rays Starlight Café. We decided to opt out of a fancy expensive dinner when there were pins, and candy to collect and rides to ride with no lines Woo hoo!! Every ride was a walk on as they had already started clearing the park. If you can save up to do the Party and you are there during this time this is a great un-crowded way to enjoy the Magic Kingdom. Also there are special photo booths set up Cinderellas Carriage, A Hearse(in front of the haunted Mansion), Hitchhiking Ghosts and they are all on Photo Pass. If you ask most of the Photo Pass photographers will also take a pic with your camera as well. I found at every park the photographers were hardly used at all and almost always available or just a 1 person wait.
More later.....