Planning | Travel | Animal Kingdom | Epcot | Magic Kingdom | Hollywood Studios | Summary

The third day of our trip took us to the Magic Kingdom.  We arrived early so we could get there in time for rope drop.  Since the opening show for the Magic Kingdom has been moved to the hub, we were able to get in really early.  We decided to wait for rope drop at a spot near the Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant.  It was quiet, near some restrooms, and out of the sun, unlike what the large crowd that was building on the bridge to Tomorrowland was experiencing.

The girls made a beeline for Space Mountain and Nancy and I headed to Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin.  The girls rode twice on Space Mountain, then came over to join us for another round on Buzz Lightyear.  Nobody managed to get the maximum score, but we all had a great time!

We spent the rest of the morning going around Fantasyland, riding our favorite rides. 

Once we finished up in Fantasyland, we decided to stop for a snack at Gaston’s Tavern.  Even if we aren’t hungry, we can always manage to finish some cinnamon buns from Gaston’s Tavern with a Lefou’s Brew to wash down the sugar.

After our snack, we continued touring through the park until about noon.   We rode a number of rides as well as looked through the shops.

The girls wanted to ride Splash Mountain, but (as previously established) I HATE being wet while walking around the parks.  Nancy and I took some pictures while they rode.

Around noon, we decided to split up to get lunch.  Half the family wanted something from Sleepy Hollow Snacks and the other half wanted something from Friar’s Nook.  I went off to Friar’s Nook to get some food and planned to walk over to Sleepy Hollow with the food to join the rest of the family.  However, while waiting for the food, the sky opened up.  I ended up getting two trays and covering the food with one of them to keep it dry while I walked in the rain over to Sleepy Hollow.  The storm continued for about 20 minutes, then it cleared up and the sun came out again. 

The park got more and more busy as the day went on.  We used our initial FastPasses up, and continued to add to them.  We did, in a moment of weakness, decide to take the girls onto Stitch’s Great Escape.  One of them had never ridden before, so we all took the plunge.  It was ten minutes of our life we will never get back.

After riding Stitch’s Great Escape, we headed towards Big Thunder Mountain, but got side tracked in Liberty Square by The Muppets Present Great Moments in American History.  It was actually pretty funny, even thought we only caught a small portion of it.  Next time we go through Magic Kingdom, I’m going to make sure we see the entire show.

We continued touring through the park until about 8:00.  We decided to take advantage of a 30% off dinner special Disney was running at select restaurants during the time we were visiting.  Since we were at Magic Kingdom, we decided to head to The Wave at the Contemporary Resort for dinner.  We have visited The Wave before, but it has been a few years.

We started with the bread service, which was so good that we almost filled up on it.

We also ordered the cheese platter, which is a family tradition.  One of the girls serves the cheese, while the rest of us try to come up with funny descriptions of the cheese (e.g., “This one reminds me of the sweet smell of dirty socks resting lightly in an old coffee can”).

Everything we ordered as entrees was delicious.  This included the Grilled Pork Tenderloin, the Seared Potato Gnochi, the Cioppino, and The Braised Short Rib.

The total cost for the dinner was actually pretty reasonable considering we ordered an appetizer and four entrees.  I believe the total, with tip, was about $135.  We decided to pass on dessert and head back to our room.  We were going to Hollywood Studios the next day for our last day for this short trip.

For all of these trips, we always pay for our shopping and dining using Disney Gift Cards that we’ve purchased at a discount.  So, whatever the price is, we have always gotten another 5% off using Disney Gift Cards.

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