On our last day of Disney we started our day at Animal Kingdom and then made our way to Hollywood Studios in early afternoon for a couple rides and then it was off to Epcot for the remainder of the evening! Our morning started off with one of my favorite rides at Disney, Kilimanjaro Safaris. One of my bucket list vacations is going on a real African safari but for now this shorter Disney version will do! (I'm currently saving up for the real one)
We were lucky enough to snag fast passes for Avatar Flight of Passage so we didn't have to wait in a 3 hour line. This ride is INSANELY good. So if you are planning a trip to Disney and are staying on property make sure to book your fast passes a full 60 days in advance of your stay so you can snag a fast pass for this ride! We were actually able to ride it Thursday evening when we arrived in Florida as well. WOO!
Animal Print Top: thrifted, Shorts: Madewell boyshort in Frances wash, Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Athanasia' (Moda Operandi), Bag: Disney x Coach 'Patricia' with Mickey ears, Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika', Eyeglasses chain: Tinksky (Amazon)
We were lucky enough to snag fast passes for Avatar Flight of Passage so we didn't have to wait in a 3 hour line. This ride is INSANELY good. So if you are planning a trip to Disney and are staying on property make sure to book your fast passes a full 60 days in advance of your stay so you can snag a fast pass for this ride! We were actually able to ride it Thursday evening when we arrived in Florida as well. WOO!
Animal Print Top: thrifted, Shorts: Madewell boyshort in Frances wash, Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Athanasia' (Moda Operandi), Bag: Disney x Coach 'Patricia' with Mickey ears, Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika', Eyeglasses chain: Tinksky (Amazon)
Meeting Characters
Donald Duck
When Kristen was going to ride Dinosaur I decided to wait in a short line for a photo with the dino-digging themed Donald Duck before sitting down to wait for her. In the end she decided not to go on the ride so we took our photo with Donald and made our way out of the park.Food
Satu'li Canteen
This was our second time eating at Satu'li Canteen this trip, we previously went on Thursday evening when we got to Florida. I love it because it's a healthier option and the price is really good. I buy the kid's meals so my meal was about $8! Kristen is also obsessed with their Blueberry Cream Cheese Mousse. Kristen's brother joined us and had the adult version of my meal. |
| My Chopped Wood-Grilled Chicken bowl on a base of mixed whole grains and rice with crunchy vegetable slaw from the kid's menu |
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| Kristen's Slow Roasted Sliced Grilled Beef Bowl on a base of romaine and kale salad with crunchy vegetable slaw from the kid's menu |
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| Kristen's Blueberry Cream Cheese Mousse |
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| Kristen's brother's Chopped Wood-Grilled Chicken Bowl on a base of red and sweet potato hash with crunchy vegetable slaw, boba balls and charred green onion vinaigrette |
Rides, Entertainment & Shows
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Unfortunately we had some annoying fellow passangers on our safari on this particular day. BUT on Thursday evening we had a really good group of travelers and our guide was amazing. We also got pretty lucky with animal sightings with some being VERY close to the vehicle. The safari is always one of the highlights of my trip. It's best to go in the morning or evening when it's not as hot so the animals will be more active. On my next trip to Disney I'm thinking about doing one of the special safari experiences, we'll see if I can save up the money in time!
Rivers of Light
When we were at animal kingdom at night we watched the Rivers of Light show on the water. I had never been in Animal Kingdom at night so it was my first time watching the show. It was pretty cool to see the interaction of lights, boats and water. Definitely a must-see at least once during your Disney travels.
Before going on this trip I researched some Disney outlets and Kristen and I stopped by the 2 near Disney on the first couple days of our trip. They are located on International Drive and Vineland Avenue for those of you that are interested. The outlets carry merchandise exclusive to the Disney parks, even items from Shanghai Disney! I actually had a gift card for the outlet chain so I was able to buy myself some souvenirs for free! SCORE! I picked up this tank top for $7.99 and it's regularly $32.99 in the parks. INSANE!
I wore it on our second day at Magic Kingdom. We got to go into the park an hour and 15 minutes early because we had 8am breakfast reservations. Pro-tip: get early reservations if you can because you'll get to a enjoy pretty empty park for a few minutes before you head back to the restaurant of your choice! I almost had some photos with no one in the background but there was one family dilly-dallying near the photopass spot. GRR!
On this day there were also extra magic hours for families staying at Disney hotels so we could have stayed until midnight. We left around 11:30 since we had been up for way too long already and couldn't make it the extra half hour.
Mickey Tank Top: Disney Character Warehouse, Shorts: Madewell, Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Alethea' (bought in Greece), Bag: Disney x Coach 'Patricia' with Mickey ears, Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika', Eyeglasses chain: Tinksky (Amazon)
I wore it on our second day at Magic Kingdom. We got to go into the park an hour and 15 minutes early because we had 8am breakfast reservations. Pro-tip: get early reservations if you can because you'll get to a enjoy pretty empty park for a few minutes before you head back to the restaurant of your choice! I almost had some photos with no one in the background but there was one family dilly-dallying near the photopass spot. GRR!
On this day there were also extra magic hours for families staying at Disney hotels so we could have stayed until midnight. We left around 11:30 since we had been up for way too long already and couldn't make it the extra half hour.
Mickey Tank Top: Disney Character Warehouse, Shorts: Madewell, Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Alethea' (bought in Greece), Bag: Disney x Coach 'Patricia' with Mickey ears, Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika', Eyeglasses chain: Tinksky (Amazon)
Food
Be Our Guest
For our early morning breakfast, we went to our favorite - Be Our Guest for some French Toast (off the kid's menu!) I also had my favorite dessert, The Grey Stuff. Unfortunately it wasn't very good this trip so I wasted my $6 on it since they wouldn't refund me. Blegh. I guess having so many good ones I was bound to get a dud (or two since they brought me a second one that had the same issue as the first...stale and no flavor.) Luckily you also get a plate of pastries with your breakfast so I still had plenty of tasty food to eat.
Casey's Corner
On this trip we tried to visit new-to-us locations for food. For a late lunch we decided to try out Casey's for hot dogs. Kristen loved her chili dog but I wasn't as happy with my regular hot dog. If I didn't added relish I wouldn't have enjoyed it at all. For the price - $10.50 - I wouldn't go again.
Meeting Characters
Since we've ridden all the rides so many times, we decided to wait in character photo lines that we normally wouldn't wait in because we go to the parks with people who aren't into character pictures or long lines. It was a nice, different way, to spend the day in the park. We also made sure to enjoy our favorite rides as well thanks to fast passes and short lines.Gaston
Who doesn't love to hate Gaston? He's such a smug, guy and makes it known that you're lucky to be taking photos with him. It's quite amusing.
Mickey Mouse
We were actually very lucky with the timing of this trip. This particular Mickey Mouse talked to visitors taking photos with him up until Saturday May 12th. We saw him on May 7th so we juuuust squeezed in getting to chat with him. He showed us one of his magic tricks before posing for photos. I got the whole thing on video and it's adorable.
Pooh and Tigger
Winnie the Pooh has always been one of my favorites so we waited in line to meet him and Tigger. So soft and cuddly!
Chip & Dale
Chip & Dale were one of my favorite photo ops. They were just so funny, they loved the gold chain I hold my sunglasses on and then fought over hugging Kristen and I at the end.
Rapunzel & Tiana
Rapunzel and Tiana are in the same line so it's not as bad as waiting for single characters. You get to wait in line in a beautiful castle full of portraits of princesses. 
Disney Character Warehouse
Below are my buys from the Disney outlet! (The Merlin and Sorcerer Mickey pins are not from the outlet) All of this was under $50 and I paid $0 thanks to a gift card! The purple tee was $0.99! It's a kid's small but I love Sorcerer Mickey so I figured I'd turn it into a pillow or tote bag!
Since we were at Disney to celebrate Kristen's birthday we decided to do something really special on the day. We did the Keys to the Kingdom Tour in the morning into early afternoon and then finished the evening with a very special dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table.
The Keys to the Kingdom Tour is a 5 hour walking tour of the park where you learn some fun hidden secrets behind the making of the park. A couple of rides are also included, we went on the Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion, I'm not sure if they do any others. You do get to go inside the secret Disney "tunnels" and backstage areas but the majority of the tour is out in the park. It includes lunch and you also get a keepsake key to take home with you! It was a rainy morning so I had to buy an $8 poncho to keep dry.
Unfortunately no photos are allowed on the tour so no pictures there. I do HIGHLY recommend this guide if you're a huge Disney fan and want to learn more about the history of the parks. Our tour guide, Iyar (spelling?) was amazing, he really had a love for Disney and the parks. Even though it was raining for a bunch of our tour he still kept it fun and upbeat. I would do it again (even in the rain) in a heartbeat.
Dress: Elle (Kohl's), Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Athanasia' (Moda Operandi), Bag: Disney x Coach 'Patricia' with Mickey ears, Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika', Eyeglasses chain: Tinksky (Amazon)
We had lunch at Pescos Bill during our tour. I got the chicken tacos and grabbed a corn medley as well. SOOO good!
On to dinner! We had previously done Cinderella's Royal Table with my sister back in December but one day I was randomly checking for reservations and saw one for the night of Kristen's birthday, it was a no brainer! The meal was amazing, as expected and we had some pretty great princesses to take photos with. We were there for the fireworks and unfortunately didn't have the best view to see them, but it was still really cool seeing the lights from inside the castle.
Kristen had the Charcuterie Plate and Beef Tenderloin Salad with The Clock Strikes Twelve. Since it was her birthday I also ordered a special signature dessert from the special events department. It included a dark chocolate slipper (you could also get white chocolate) filled with a chocolate mousse, a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse covered with a chocolate ganache and finished with a Happy Birthday chocolate piece. You can also get one that says Happy Anniversary or Congratulations.
You can see a video of the fireworks in my Instagram post:
The Keys to the Kingdom Tour is a 5 hour walking tour of the park where you learn some fun hidden secrets behind the making of the park. A couple of rides are also included, we went on the Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion, I'm not sure if they do any others. You do get to go inside the secret Disney "tunnels" and backstage areas but the majority of the tour is out in the park. It includes lunch and you also get a keepsake key to take home with you! It was a rainy morning so I had to buy an $8 poncho to keep dry.
Unfortunately no photos are allowed on the tour so no pictures there. I do HIGHLY recommend this guide if you're a huge Disney fan and want to learn more about the history of the parks. Our tour guide, Iyar (spelling?) was amazing, he really had a love for Disney and the parks. Even though it was raining for a bunch of our tour he still kept it fun and upbeat. I would do it again (even in the rain) in a heartbeat.
Dress: Elle (Kohl's), Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Athanasia' (Moda Operandi), Bag: Disney x Coach 'Patricia' with Mickey ears, Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika', Eyeglasses chain: Tinksky (Amazon)
Food
Pescos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe
We had lunch at Pescos Bill during our tour. I got the chicken tacos and grabbed a corn medley as well. SOOO good!
Liberty Square Market
In between our tour and dinner we were a bit hungry so we stopped for one of my favorite Mickey shaped treats, a pretzel! YUMMM!!
Cinderella's Royal Table
On to dinner! We had previously done Cinderella's Royal Table with my sister back in December but one day I was randomly checking for reservations and saw one for the night of Kristen's birthday, it was a no brainer! The meal was amazing, as expected and we had some pretty great princesses to take photos with. We were there for the fireworks and unfortunately didn't have the best view to see them, but it was still really cool seeing the lights from inside the castle.
(The photo above is from when we moved to the center of the room to see the fireworks, our view was of one of the side windows)
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| Princesses normally get wands, but Kristen and I asked for swords because they're cooler (and we already had wands from last time) |
Food
The menu had changed slightly since our last visit where I had the starter salad, Pan-Seared All Natural Chicken and "The Clock Strikes Twelve." This time I got the Castle Salad and "The Clock Strikes Twelve" again but tried the Beef and Shrimp as my entree. It was DELICIOUS. The steak was perfectly cooked and the shrimp were delicious. I'm not normally a huge fan of mashed potatoes but I ate them all. Super smooth and tasty.Kristen had the Charcuterie Plate and Beef Tenderloin Salad with The Clock Strikes Twelve. Since it was her birthday I also ordered a special signature dessert from the special events department. It included a dark chocolate slipper (you could also get white chocolate) filled with a chocolate mousse, a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse covered with a chocolate ganache and finished with a Happy Birthday chocolate piece. You can also get one that says Happy Anniversary or Congratulations.
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| Castle Salad |
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| Charcuterie Plate - A Selection of Cured Meats, Cheese, and other specialty selections of the Castle |
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| Grilled Beef Tenderloin, Sautéed Shrimp in a Shallot-Butter Sauce, and Potatoes Au Gratin with Braised Rapini |
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| Grilled Beef Tenderloin, Mixed Greens, Roasted Marinated Mushrooms, Blue Cheese Crumbles, and Fried Leeks in a Balsamic Vinaigrette |
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| The Clock Strikes Twelve - Dark Chocolate Mousse with a Dark Chocolate Ganache served with a Raspberry Coulis |
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| This royal dessert features a dark chocolate slipper or a white chocolate slipper, filled with a chocolate mousse. This is presented with a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse, covered with a chocolate ganache. |
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| This royal dessert features a dark chocolate slipper or a white chocolate slipper, filled with a chocolate mousse. This is presented with a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse, covered with a chocolate ganache. |
Princess Photos
It's always fun taking pictures with the Princesses. Before dinner you take a photo with Cinderella, and while you eat Snow White, Princess Aurora, Ariel and Jasmine come around to your tables. The Cinderella photo is done by a professional but you take the other Princesses on your own. My one complaint about this experience is the fact that the lighting is dark in the room so the photos you take with the other princesses are never as good as Cinderella. For the price you pay for the meal there should be a photographer with each princess to take professional photos. 
You can see a video of the fireworks in my Instagram post:
