Less than 12 hours after leaving it, we returned to the Magic Kingdom to start this day of touring. Some rides were ridden and shops explored, of course, but the main attraction was lunch at Be Our Guest, the headliner restaurant in new Fantasyland. Lunch is quick service, which usually means first come, first served, but thanks to tips from online friends, I managed to snag a FastPass+ type reservation for us, so we were able to get in that way (though I think if we’d shown up standby a half hour or so before lunch ended, there might not have been that much of a wait anyway, but you just can’t know ahead of time). It’s a big space, with three themed rooms, and there are a lot of details to entertain the eye. It’s also pretty noisy, but I guess that’s part and parcel of theme park dining.

By late afternoon, we’d made our way back to the Studios, where we scored a walkup dinner seating at the Hollywood Brown Derby and saw the nighttime Fantasmic show in between doing various attractions (I was the rebel spy in Star Tours; first time that’s happened to me) and looking in various shops. Near the end of the night, we walked back to the Osborne Lights and it was so crowded we didn’t spend long hanging around (it wasn’t a wander at will situation, but rather cast members were directing traffic and not allowing access from certain points).

We got back from the Studios early enough to take a swim in both of the pools back at the Poly; we even watched the Magic Kingdom fireworks across the lake while bobbing around at the shallow end of the main pool.

*****
On this date in 2012: On Being An Hourglass
2011: On Being a Negative Force
2010: With Attribution
2009: Better to Light a Candle
2008: Procrastination
2007: My Most Memorable Day & One Picnicker, All Alone
2006: Four Days in Utah
2005: Winter Count—August
2004: Back When It Was Warm
2003: Not According to Plan
2002: Missing