August 2021: Magic Kingdom

Happy Monday! Here I was, ready to begin a recap of day 2, when I realized day 1 wasn't finished yet! I know these things keep dragging out and I'm sorry - it's been a wild few weeks here since we returned home from our trip!

Hands down, one of our favorite parts of staying at BLT was the easy walkable access to the Magic Kingdom. In fact, we did it twice in one day - once in the morning, then again in the afternoon after our swim!

It's a fairly quick walk - and they have security there, so you don't have to worry about passing through them with a huge crowd at the MK itself.

Seeing the castle all decked out for the 50th Anniversary was a pretty neat thing, too!

Not long after we arrived, this little dude was worn out. Jason and I decided to eat lunch at Sleepy Hollow, and I ordered an extra set of chips for Brayden that we saved for later.

So good!

To give him an extra bit of sleeping time, we decided to visit Carousel of Progress. 

Poor dad was losing an eyelash! 

We were excited to see the TTA open, so after Carousel, we jumped in line for a ride!

Of course, Brayden requested two of his favorites - the Speedway and the Teacups. I think it's hilarious I avoided the Teacups all these years and it's really not that bad of a ride - you can make it what you want!

The next request was Dumbo, so that's where we went!

Quick story about those glasses on my face - I lost them.......in Dumbo.....in the play room. They slipped out of my book sack when I was reaching for something else. They are the Disney Ray Bans - Mickey's 90th birthday edition. When I realized they were missing, I panicked. We had just walked outside to queue up for the ride itself. Thankfully, the cast members let me walk back inside. I searched the room and wasn't able to find the glasses, so I asked the CM's at the table if anyone had turned in a pair of sunglasses. MUCH to my surprise, a wonderful soul had turned them in!! I was so so so grateful!! Those glasses are also now on a leash. And will never come off! HAH!

By mid-afternoon, we knew we wanted a cold snack, so we walked over to Adventureland. Jason's choice was the "backside of water float", and I ordered the kakamora float. Each float came from a different location in Adventureland and mine seriously took forever. Jason was mostly finished with his by the time mine was ready! Crazy!

They were both VERY good, though!

We also ordered Bray a little cup of ice cream. 

After our snack, we went back to Bay Lake Tower to swim, then returned to the Magic Kingdom for the evening.

This trail of ducks were the CUTEST! They were walking in a line into the entryway tunnel! 

Our dinner reservations that evening were at the Plaza Restaurant. 

I'd read mixed reviews about this place online, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect...

The inside of the restaurant was cute and quaint. I was honestly surprised at how small it was inside!

Brayden had chicken tenders and fries. Not gonna lie, the batter on these tenders was good!

I ordered the meatloaf which is one of the dishes they are known for...

...and Jason had the plaza burger. 

To be honest, I don't think we will be back. This was likely a one and done for us. 

After dinner, we walked outside and saw the crowds lining up for Happily Ever After. We still had about an hour and 15 minutes before the show, but I knew this would be one of our only chances to see it this trip and likely our last time to ever see the show.

So, we staked out a spot and Brayden fell asleep...again! Hah!

The fireworks were gorgeous and magical and everything I love about Disney nighttime shows. I'll be honest - I hated to see Wishes go and it took a while for Happily Ever After to stick with me. Now, I'm going to be sad to see this one go. There might have even been tears. Ok, there were lots of tears...

After the fireworks, we had 45 minutes to play, so we made our way to Tomorrowland for Brayden's new favorite ride - the Astro Orbiter!

We also stayed at the MK WAY past his bedtime but who cares...YOLO!

They were gearing up for their first Boo Bash of the season, so some pumpkin decor was already out. So much fun to see!

...and that's a wrap on day one of our August trip! Day 2 coming at you this week...promise! :)

Disney Travel Day & Bay Lake Tower [Day 1]

Prior to Brayden starting Kindergarten, we took a super quick/long weekend trip to Walt Disney World and had an absolute blast! Our trip included a split stay with one night at Bay Lake Tower followed by the remainder of the week at Old Key West. We spent time in all four parks, did a lot of swimming, and even visited Blizzard Beach. These recaps will include the highlights of our days at Disney!

Oddly enough, just as we were about to leave for our trip, our Florida friend Randy was in Louisiana to visit his parents. He stopped over to say hi! (We live about 12 hours apart!) 

No and I mean NO Texas road trip is complete without a stop at Buc-ee's! It was definitely the highlight of Brayden's day!

We sure do love this place! If you've never been, you should stop by sometime! It's seriously the largest and cleanest gas station/restroom stop/souvenir store I've ever seen!

Our flight departed bright and early the following morning. We stayed at a park and fly hotel the night before and were then brought to the airport the following morning. TSA pre-check was open and running which was nice (sometimes it's not open that early) and we were through the gate in no time.

Somehow, we snagged the front front row seats on Southwest and joked that we were starting our trip off on "Southwest first class"! These seats were awesome! 

Only problem is, you had to store your bags overhead for takeoff and landing as there's no where to put them at your feet. I would totally sit here again, though!

Now that Magical Express no longer obtains your bags for you, we had to do something we've never had to do in all our years of flying to MCO! Baggage claim!

It was not bad or difficult at all, though! Just something new for us! 

The line for Magical Express was incredibly short. We got right into line 3 which also had zero line and we were directed right onto our bus!

Off to Bay Lake Tower! In total, the whole airport thing took about an hour, then another 45 minutes or so for the Magical Express trip. We landed at MCO a little after 9 a.m. and were up and in our room at 11 a.m.! 

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that our room at BLT was ready!

We booked a basic deluxe studio without anything extra.

The rooms at Bay Lake Tower are very nice and I'd love to stay longer on our next trip.

I love how clean and updated these rooms feel. 

A kitchenette with all of the amenities were included in this little alcove.

The overall size of the room was great as well!

We ended up with a lake view somehow, but I wasn't complaining! :)

The artwork was so cute!

After glancing over our balcony, what I thought was a lake view actually turned out to be a split lake view/theme park view!

We dropped off our bags and headed to the Magic Kingdom (more on that later) then came back to the resort mid-afternoon to swim!

Brayden LOVED their slide!

They also had this adorable splash pad!

Behind the pool area was the cutest little beach/relaxation section complete with comfortable outdoor furniture! It looked so nice!

Even though Bay Lake Tower isn't our home resort, we loved it and would definitely consider adding on points there in the future!

It was so nice to be "home"! 

Stay tuned for a peek at our time in the Magic Kingdom! :)