Day 3 - Downtown Disney

Day 3 – Downtown Disney

Today we really had no plans and were going with the flow – something quite unusual for me! We lazily awoke late and Kara decided to call to see if she could get in for a pedicure today at the hotel salon. And in Disney fashion, they could take her immediately, so she bolted out the door. I showered to get going and then met her for an early lunch at another favorite, Beaches & Cream, a 50’s style tiny diner. We both had cheeseburgers, onion rings, & a favorite dessert – the Frozen Sunshine! (This is simply an orange shake, but like nothing I can get anywhere else.) Kara was gleeful over her freshly polished orange toes, but I didn’t think they could even compare to my Rockstar Pink glitter toes! (I choose a funky polish for all of my vacations!)

Next we headed to Downtown Disney, the shopping/dining public district. This was a huge risk, as it was a Saturday during spring break! Luckily it wasn’t as bad as we expected. We both bought some Ear hats for others; mine was shipped back to the hotel, while Kara shipped hers home to Indiana. More shopping at the Christmas store, where Kara got a Pluto stocking, which I bought some ornaments for both my mom & me.

Next we were off to Goofy’s Candy Company for a beverage and to purchase snacks for later in the week. I don’t remember all the things Kara got here, but I chose a Snickdoodle cookie, triple chocolate brownie, & an M&M covered marshmallow stick on a Mickey straw. That place is small, but it has a Willy Wonka impact on all who enter!

We braved World of Disney, the largest Disney Store on the planet, and went through each section methodically. Kara purchased a sweatshirt, another baby Pluto, and a pink Mickey-shaped squeaky plush toy for her dog, Lindsey. Amazingly, I purchased nothing! Sorry, but after this many trips, I know exactly what I want and if they don’t have it, that’s it!

Initially, we’d planned to go straight over to Ft. Wilderness for our dinner, but we were running quite early. On the way back to the bus we passed by Guest Relations and Kara thought to request an earlier dining time, as we were also hoping to make the wagon ride. Proud of our Disney knowledge and ability to adapt our plans on a moment’s notice, we headed for the bus.

Soon we arrived at Ft. Wilderness and transferred to the internal bus to take us back to the dining/activity areas, where we arrived just in time for our reservation. Our dinner was at Trail’s End, a country-style buffet. They even serve our drinks in Ball canning jars! J We had salad, carrots, cheesy potatoes, corn, mashed potatoes, fried chicken, ribs, corn bread, and the best honey & cornbread coated salmon of my life! The dessert bar included apple cobbler, soft-serve ice cream, chocolate & peanut butter cookies, and a variety of sauces & candy toppings! Yummy!

We had a little break after dinner before our wagon ride. The sturdy wagon was pulled by the equivalent of two black Clydesdales. Our driver’s name was Joe, and he was the embodiment of the perfect cowboy – tall, dark, & handsome! After this trip, I’m thinking Disney needs to produce a Men of Disney calendar! HAHA!!! The wagon ride was perfect at twilight (speaking of the movie), except for the part where we saw real bats!!! EEK! They have a small bat house out there because they dine on mosquitoes. Eww. I’m glad they do their job, but wow, I did NOT need to see them!

We were ready to go home, but traveling between resorts is always a chore on Disney transportation. We initially decided to avoid the boat to Magic Kingdom, because tons of people were trying to get there to catch Wishes, the evening show with fireworks. So we tried to take the other boat to the Contemporary, where we’d have to walk or take the Monorail the long way to the Magic Kingdom bus stop, but the boat was too full to take us on that trip. Next, I decided the best option was to take the bus to Hollywood Studios and then our boat back to the Yacht Club. However, the Studios had already closed and the transportation there had also stopped. (Hello?! It’s spring break, how did the Studios keep to their usual closing time of 7pm?! Crazy!) So we ended up going the way we came: back to Downtown Disney and switch buses back to the Yacht Club. I have to say I enjoyed watching so many people wander about, having no idea where they were going or how to get there! LOL! The buses were really backed up, but that’s because Disney had most of the fleet out to deal with the increase in crowds. As we were at a Deluxe resort, our bus wasn’t very full, so the trip back was easy.

We grabbed some drinks at the hotel shop and headed upstairs to catch some Harry Potter that’s been on ABC Family for four nights in a row! This reminded us of Paris, when the only station we could understand was Disney Channel UK that only showed Hannah Montana! HAHA!