No long-haul... I'm a local now! Day 2 Magic Kingdom, Senses Spa & Fireworks

[debidee]

I was awake at 5am - maybe some kind of pretend jet lag or maybe just excitement! Today we were off to Magic Kingdom, I knew it was going to be a busy one! We had our FP booked and had already decided we were just going to take it easy and soak up the atmosphere

Breakfast we decided to just get something onsite before we left. Artist Palette has about 6-8 breakfast platters and then lots of baked items / fruits etc. We also had our refillable mugs. Jez went for Mickey platter and I took an egg, cheese and spinach wrap - the photo looks horrendous but it tasted pretty good!

Full tums we decided to take the bus, in hindsight this bus stop at the reception was the worst as it was the last stop, we made it on the second one but standing room only! Next time we will pick a different one closer to our apartment! The benefit of the bus is that you are dropped right at the entrance so no boat or monorail (although I kinda missed that!)

It was really busy approaching, bag check does take a while now but once in we just wandered down the Main Street and soaked up the sounds and smells we were home!

Knowing crowd levels would be high we needed a small plan, so decided to hit the buzz ride first, good job as when we walked past later it was 60 mins!

Then with ever magic tradition we needed to experience the peoplemover, it's such a simple ride but love it especially looking out for hidden Mickeys and waiting for them to page 'Mr Tom Orrow'

We had time for 1 more ride before our first FP and opted for space mountain, it said 35 minutes but probably closer to 50!

Then onto 7 dwarfs mine train, it's definitely a grower and I do like it now, but not quite enough for the 150 minute queue that was advertised! Thank goodness for FP

We had some time before the next FP so headed for little mermaid, again the queue was nearly double the advertised time, but the sunshine helped take away the pain of queuing!

Next up one of my favourite rides and it was speedway! I don't know what it is about this ride but the sounds, smell and atmosphere are fab! Knowing the front person will always win doesn't stop the pretend race... clearly I win!

Lunch was now needed and we were close to starlight cafe, it has 3 queuing areas all serving the same. There was a pretty decent choice of burgers, salads and other things... I went for a Greek chicken salad and Jez had the BLT burger

Jez was hoping to watch hall of presidents...given it was Presidents' Day and all that... but no - preparing for trump still!

We had 1 last FP on big thunder mountain... it certainly feels faster when you are on the ride as opposed to watching it!

By now it was heaving and we were flagging a bit...I know I've talked about this on every trippie - but in case you are new... we split the day into 3 segments (morning / afternoon and evening) and ensure 1 segment per day is not in a park to give us a bit of a break and re-charge...also helps make the holiday feel longer!

But before we left we needed a little snack... ice cream was on the list! It's fab the sundaes count as a snack - they are huge! I had sugar free pecan which was delicious but no-way I could eat it all! Jez had a strawberry cone!
On the way out I wanted to mooch through the shops and I picked up my matching Mickey mug and also a little shot glass (thanks still to my voucher!). I'll post the picture tomorrow as they are all wrapped up in the other room!

Disney has 2 full service spas at the grand Floridian and here at SSR. I decided on the off chance to see if I could get a pedicure this afternoon - they could fit me in at 5pm and said I was welcome to arrive 2 hours before my treatment and make use of the facilities... well why not it would be part of my downtime segment today!

I was shown around and the place was empty! I had the whirlpool, steam room and headed loungers to myself! Then had the most glorious jet shower and made use of every product on offer!

I then made my way up to the relaxation lounge where there were lots of snacks including Mickey pretzels and chocolate! I relaxed on a very comfy lounger (complete with blanket) and someone said 'champagne madam' - I looked around and nope just me here... well go on then!

Next was the actual treatment lol... I had opted for the spa pedicure at $75 for 50 minutes... to be honest there were cheaper treatments and seriously this is an awesome deal considering you can spend 2 hours before or after your treatment relaxing! More champagne and chocolate! This has quickly shot to the top of my list considering the price and service... I'll be back for sure and would highly recommend it (even if you aren't staying onsite)
You also get a mini goodie bag with all of the items they used and the mini varnish in the colour you pick!

Tonight we had reservations in the contemporary resort at the California Grill, I was in a slight panic as I hadn't brought any proper footwear and had my flip flops on... I'd just had a pedicure and in fairness I had a dress on! Anyway when we arrived we needed to go to a check in desk before heading up to the 15th floor. I was behind a little kid in flip flops and decided if I was going down I'd take him with me... insert evil laugh!
Well no issue we checked in and got into the elevator. The attendant commenting on the other ladies shoes which of course Jez found most amusing! She looked over at me, down at my feet and quickly said - I like your dress! Lol!

So once up on the 15th we had about 30 mins until the fireworks and then another 30 until dinner. We found a couple of chairs right by the window and had the most perfect view of the castle and the fireworks. This picture is poop as are all my firework ones! So please close your eyes and imagine wishes! They dim the lights song play the audio - I have to say it was great and such an awesome view with no-one standing in front of you! The drinks were outrageous - 1 glass of wine and a Diet Coke for $26!

The food was really great but the service was very slow - we didn't get out until after 10pm - if you are on the dining plan and can spare a couple of tokens (it's 2 DDP here) then I think it is worth it for the atmosphere. But if we were paying out of pocket it would have been $150 and I just don't think that is worth paying tbh

I am absolutely knackered so I'm sorry I haven't answered any comments today - I love seeing them on here and IG and it makes me smile to know you are reading along! Tomorrow may be someone's birthday (hint it isn't me!) so we have a day at Epcot and dinner in Canada - until then... Debs x

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New Photo Added by debidee - 21 Feb 17 4:09 AM.

[Hevfev]

Fab! Enjoyed reading and can't wait for the next.

[codym]

Oh great day, the spa looks lovely & really reasonably priced, must remember for future trips

[Rob & Jan]

What a fabulous day Magic Kingdom , the spa and California Grill !

[JoJo88]

What a great day! Love that you had the spa all to yourself

[pretty71]

Hiya Debs, I was so laughing at the flip flops bit 😀 Wonderful that you got in the spa what a great way to spend a couple of hours definitely one to consider for the future for that price.
Enjoy today xx

[emmabanana]

Brilliant day, thanks for posting 😄

[disneylover]

How fabulous is that spa? Glad you had a great day. MK looked BUSY!

[closeder]

Great day, just catching up, so happy to have another of your trip reports to follow, still trying to decide whether to do another live one for my upcoming trip, quite hard work but so appreciated that you are letting us come along x