Welcome Home, Now Relax ~ Day 3 - Magic Kingdom

[wickesy]

Friday 27th March

Once again we were both wide awake by 6:15 and I found that I was suffering from a sore throat, which I hoped wouldn’t develop into a full-blown cold.

For those who would like to see what the sofa-bed looks like when it is pulled down we took some photos.

I then had a breakfast of a toasted bagel with strawberry cream cheese and a glass of strawberry and kiwi juice while Dad just had a cup of coffee.

We left around 8:10 and after parking up in Pluto 12 and catching the monorail to Magic Kingdom we arrived just as the opening ceremony started. Once that had finished we made our way into Fantasyland and quickly polished off Pooh, Snow White and Peter Pan with no waits. By this time we were enjoying ourselves way too much and so we went on It’s A Small World to balance things out a bit.

From Fantasyland we made our way through to Liberty Square and onto the Haunted Mansion, which was also a walk-on. A little tip for those who would like to be one of the first out of the stretching room - stand underneath the portrait of the lady with the parasol and the door will open right behind you.

After Haunted Mansion we walked round to Splash Mountain where the wait time was 5 minutes. We were ‘lucky’ enough to get the first row and got absolutely soaked on the final drop. We both had our arms up this time and so we bought the ride photo.

By the time we got out of Splash there was a huge queue and the wait time was 20 minutes so we must have got there just at the right time. Big Thunder also had a queue and the wait time was 30 minutes so we decided to leave that for another day and wandered over to Pecos Bill for a drink. This counter-service restaurant now has touch-screens where you can place your order and charge it to your dining plan, room or credit card and it then prints out a receipt for you to take to the counter, which saved us a couple of minutes standing in line for the cash registers.

continued

 

[wickesy]

After our drink we got the raft over to Tom Sawyer island and had a wander around over there and took some photos.

Once we had finished over there we went back to the ‘mainland’ and made our way round to Casey’s Corner where we had corn dog nuggets (chopped up frankfurters deep-fried in corn batter) and a coke each.

After lunch we were browsing the shops when I noticed somebody had left an Iphone on one of the shelves. I handed it in to the Cast Member on the nearest till and a few seconds later the flustered owner re-appeared and claimed it saying “Medication makes me stupid!”, to which Dad replied “I‘ve got no excuse“. We went down the shops on one side of Main Street and back up the other and then went for a wander through the rose garden.

From there we went back to Main Street where Dad bought a Partners Statue and Dedication Plaque

and wine glasses for me and him.

Continued

 

[wickesy]

We then went to City Hall to get some Disney Dollars for Snowy-girls’ daughter’s birthday so that we could give them to her when we met them for lunch.

By this time it was about 1:30 and we left the park to wander over to the Contemporary Resort stopping to take pictures of ‘the sandwich’ on the way.

We had a look in Bay View Gifts where Dad bought some fridge magnets and then in Fantasia where he bought a couple of Grumpy pins and a personalised Tinkerbell pin for Snowy-girls’ other daughter. I also took some more photos from the viewing area.

It was now around 3:00 and so we got onto the monorail and went back to the studio for an afternoon break.

We went back out again at 5:15 and made the short trip up to Universal Studios. I knew that parking at Universal was no longer free after 6:00 but what I didn’t realise was that after 6:00 parking is only $3.00 rather than the normal $12, and we arrived at 5:35. Still, c’est la vie, we parked up in Cat in the Hat 459 and used the travelators to get us to City Walk. We found Nascar Grille and just as we were about to go in we saw a sign - “Closed for private event” - the whole restaurant was closed off! Ah well, these things happen. I spotted a sign for Moe’s South Western Grill, which sounded like it would be OK so we went up there and had a large burrito and root beer each.

Once we had eaten we had a wander around City Walk and went back to the car, arriving back at 6:35, thus paying $12 for an hour’s parking - still we’re Londoners so we’re used to those sorts of prices! As we were close by I decided to go over to the Wal-Mart in Turkey Lake Road where we picked up a Tinkerbell birthday card for Snowy-girls’ daughter’s birthday and a couple of gift bags.

We then went back to the studio, arriving just before 8:00, and spent the rest of the evening relaxing before going to bed at 10:00. Plans for the next day were to go to Festival Bay Mall first off, baseball game at Wide World of Sports in the afternoon and Mardi Gras/Kelly Clarkson at Universal in the evening.

Day 4

 

[natalielongstaff]

Great day David, love the ride photo on SM

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

Loving the report so far david!

 

[SusanEllen]

If we're keeping score, your dad out shopped you by a mile on this day. What lovely rememberances of another buddy trip--the Partners statue,
Dedication plaque, the engraved glasses--and especially the Splash photo.

 

[wickesy]

Oh if we're keeping score he blew me out the water Susan. I really didn't buy much on this trip at all.

 

[Lizzybear]

Would you believe I haven't visited Tom Sawyer island in 3 trips?! Definitely in the plan for this year I love the partners statue and wine glasses

 

[CHEK]

Lovely photo's today, love the pic on SM

How thoughtful of you buying the pressies for Michelle's 2 girls

Love the things your Dad bought, especially the statue!

 

[Gaynor]

Lovely souvenirs you've bought, I especially like the statue.

 

[Pinky166]

What a lovely day. Such a shame about Nascar Grille, did you manage to get back there?

Great shopping, love the statue & SNAP with the glasses.....

 

[Nubbedy]

Love the things your Dad bought. Such a shame about the cost of parking at Universal, and the restaurant being closed. Good n you both for being so good natured about it!

 

[wickesy]

What a lovely day. Such a shame about Nascar Grille, did you manage to get back there?

Great shopping, love the statue & SNAP with the glasses.....

No we didn't - my cold came out after that so my appetite wasn't really up to it, plus I didn't want to pay for parking at Universal for a third time. Still that's why we go back isn't it, to do what we missed out on.

The statue was the one thing Dad was determined to get so he was pleased he found a decent one. Love your glasses too.

 

[wickesy]

Love the things your Dad bought. Such a shame about the cost of parking at Universal, and the restaurant being closed. Good n you both for being so good natured about it!

There wasn't really much we could do about it, although we did both say it was unfair that they closed the entire restaurant. I was annoyed with myself that I didn't do my research and find out that parking was still cheaper after 6:00 though.

 

[Pinky166]

No we didn't - my cold came out after that so my appetite wasn't really up to it, plus I didn't want to pay for parking at Universal for a third time. Still that's why we go back isn't it, to do what we missed out on.

The statue was the one thing Dad was determined to get so he was pleased he found a decent one. Love your glasses too.

That's understandable.....ridiculous parking fee's when you are only going for dinner.

If you don't mind me asking, how much was the statue?

 

[wickesy]

If you don't mind me asking, how much was the statue?

I don't mind at all Claire, it was $135.

 

[Pinky166]

I don't mind at all Claire, it was $135.

Thnaks, that's not too bad. I really like it.

 

[suzycute]

Great pics - especially of the sandwich!! It's looking great with the scaffolding off. Can't wait to try it out in September.

 

[jockey]

Lovely day, I love your wine glasses

 

[arieljasmine]

Another lovely day. I love the Splash picture and think you are both very brave! I am always clinging on for dear life!

I bought Andy a Partners statue for his 30th birthday last year, they are so nice.

We've never made it over to Tom Sawyer island either, though I have a feeling that may all change now we have a little boy!

Thanks for the update about the parking at Universal - I had thought it would be full price after 6 pm like it is in Hollywood.

Laur's xx