Last I left off, we were heading back to BLT from the Animal Kingdom for our afternoon break. The first thing I did was head to the concierge desk in the BLT to ask if they could schedule our fourth FP+ of the day. They very kindly assisted us in getting a Peter Pan's Flight FP for myself and a BTMRR for Eeyore and Cindy. I was hoping to switch these later to Fairytale Hall FP+ if they became available.
I believe this was the day I truly discovered the joy of the little beach behind the BLT pool. I ordered some sangria from the pool bar and enjoyed it while reclining in a pool chair in beautiful calm and quiet. I was the only one on the beach and it felt like my own private little oasis. It was incredibly relaxing and a great way to recharge after a busy morning in the parks!
After I checked out the beachy area, I believe I did most of my souvenir shopping in the Contemporary shops. I picked up some really fun finds, like a Limited Edition SpectroMagic pin of the Chip and Dale float – it has actual pieces of the float in the pin!
Soon Eeyore was up and ready from her nap in the room and we were ready to go. Cindy was still napping at this point and was out like a light. She did wake for a moment as we were getting ready to go and said she needed to sleep longer and would meet back up with us later on. It was a quick trip to the Magic Kingdom and we were excited for some fun!!
The first thing on our agenda was getting some very special pictures in front of the Castle….
I’d been wanting to take these pictures for months and months! We did feel pretty awkward and shy about wearing our graduation caps and gowns on Main Street in front of all those people (and let me tell you, it’s kinda sweaty in those gowns as well!) and we kept giggling because we felt so awkward. But it was a wonderful memory and I actually much prefer these photos to the ones of my actual graduation ceremony!
After removing our grad gowns and stuffing them back in our bags, we made our way to Cosmic Rays for some dinner. While eating we enjoyed people watching, talking about our trip highlights… and then I spilled on my white dress. Oops, not very princess-like. Luckily my type A tendencies cause me to overplan and overpack, and I had a Tide To Go pen in my backpack. My dress was as good as new!
After dinner, while waiting for Cindy to join back up with us, we decided to see the Tiki Room. I hadn't seen this in so many years, and it's really special to me because it was one of my grandma's favorite attractions (besides IASW). Sitting there in those seats made me feel very close to her, like she was there. <3
We also went to the Hall of Presidents:
Now, you should know this is an attraction we were both actually looking forward to. We are both Political Science majors, and I’m also a pretty big American history nerd, so we LOVEDDD this. It made us think of our American Political Theory professor – a class we took together. The older man sitting beside me, however, was not as excited about the show as we were, as he fell asleep almost immediately.
No judgment here, I know that AC is refreshing! We enjoyed this show so much, and nerded out about it quite a lot, even discussing its accuracies and which presidents we found most inspiring as we walked to BTMRR for Eeyore’s FP+.
While Eeyore rode BTMRR I texted with Cindy, who’d just woken up, and tried to change our FP+ to Fairytale Hall Cinderella/Rapunzel FP+ on my
MDE phone app. Success!! I was able to switch them and I was so excited – we were meeting the princesses!!
I believe we met up with Cindy after Eeyore rode BTMRR and we made our way to Pirates of the Caribbean because the standby was pretty short. They headed straight in line while I sat it out. I know, I know, I’m a huge baby. I actually really like the Pirates ride, but the new addition of the scary tentacle face guy on the waterfall, combined with the little dip that was always there, really freaks me out a lot. I was going to ride it with my friends, but ultimately decided, why cause myself anxiety when this is supposed to be a vacation I enjoy?
So while they were in line I perused the adjacent gift shop and then headed over to Fantasyland to window shop behind the castle. I was on the hunt for Frozen merch, and couldn’t find anything but swarms of children and strollers surrounding me in a very claustrophobic little store.
So I just had a seat outside Sir Mickey’s and watched the sun set over the carousel. I have to say, this is one of my most vivid and special memories of the trip. Spending a little quiet time, watching the pink sky over the most special, magical place, and watching all the Fantasyland lights go on was just beautiful.
Soon Eeyore and Cindy arrived – they loved Pirates but said they got SUPER wet?? – and we took some photos behind the Castle as we waited for our Princess Hall FP+ to be eligible. After all, we were just about to meet some beautiful princesses, so why not feel like princesses ourselves and pose in front of the dreamy Castle? : )