First Day in the Parks: Magic Kingdom

Normally we don't seem to get to Magic Kingdom™ until a few days into our trip but this year, decided to hit Magic Kingdom™ on our first day in the parks. So after a leisurely morning that began with a walk around the resort, then having breakfast on the patio enjoying the view from our room, we headed for the bus. We always rented a vehicle but last year decided to try Disney Transportation after being satisfied with Magical Express. Was a decision we didn't regret, so went that route again this year.

Arrived at Magic Kingdom™ and was nice that the park wasn't as crowded as what we were normally used too. We did some browsing along Main Street and wanted to check out the new Art of Disney store. In addition to what we saw the night before at Downtown Disney™, they had the Pirate on Bridge. I know some were waiting for WDW to get in stock. No signs yet of the Three Little Pigs or the Sleeping Beauty Jewel Box :(

We killed time shopping until time for lunch. We had priority seating at the Plaza Restaurant. We hadn't eaten there in years. The first and only time was Amanda's first trip to WDW and she was so young, she didn't recall going there, so we thought time to check it out again. We had an awesome lunch and highly recommend the Chicken Strawberry Salad tossed in a white zinfandel vinaigrette dressing .. filling but not heavy.

After lunch, we headed over to Disney Hollywood Studios™ for Toy Story Mania! We decided to take the monorail to the Ticket/Transportation Center, then the monorail to Epcot™ and then take the Friendship Boat from Epcot™ to Disney Hollywood Studios™. It was another awesome day weatherwise, so was a great day to be out on the boat. Once we docked, headed straight to Toy Story Mania!!

After Toy Story Mania, we returned to Magic Kingdom™. The park had gotten a lot more crowded since we were there earlier in the day. Still overall, we didn't wait too long for rides. We stuck to Fantasyland, Adventureland and Frontierland today. Loved the redo to the Haunted Mansion! After Mickey's Philharmagic, we stopped in the gift shop and found the coolest set of coasters -- ceramic tiles (with cork backing) featuring the 3 Caballeros! It was a 4-tile set, each of the Caballeros were featured on a tile and the 4th tile was all 3 together -- so stoked when I came across these!!

We had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Tony's. We had looked over the menu on Deb Will's site and glad some of our favorites were still listed and then arrived to find they changed the menu a couple days ago .. yikes! Not only that, they no longer serve the dried tomato pesto with bread! Our waiter told us they weren't happy that was taken away but would check in the back if he could find some and brought us some out. Hopefully it will be returned full-time before we head back down and special thanks to Jaimie for being one of the best waiters we've ever had! I ended up trying the Spinach Rigotta Gnocchi Primavera -- Oh My God! It was out of this world .. highly recommend if you like gnochi, as well as artichokes, roasted red peppers, broccoli and mushrooms. Topped it of with Cappucino Cheesecake with an Oreo Crust. I'll definitely be up walking tomorrow .. LOL!

The day ended with watching Spectromagic and Wishes. Spectromagic Tip: If you want a great seat to view Spectromagic, head over towards Liberty Square and grab a table outside Sleepy Hollow Refreshments. The parade crosses the bridge from Main Street into Frontierland and its the perfect viewing spot.

Tomorrow we head to Animal Kingdom™. I need my Expedition Everest fix :) We'll return to the Magic Kingdom™ on Friday and will be attending the Pirate and Princess Party that evening.

Next up, pictures from Toy Story Mania and my thoughts on this awesome new ride!