Day 2 – Practically Perfect In Every Way | D.A.D. 2014 | Part 5

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Magic Kingdom; The Crystal Palace (Character Breakfast); Columbia Harbour House (Counter Service Lunch); Narcoossee’s (Signature Dining); Wishes

Dine Around Disney 2014 Trip Report Index! (And here is the Pre-Trip Report!)
All the photos for this day are on my Flickr. Full Florida 2014 collection of photos here! 


August 15th, 2014
…Continued from Part 4…

The weather by late afternoon was boiling hot – but as the CMs tried to stop people from walking down the parade route (which mostly fell on deaf ears, and which really annoyed me – how people can be so ignorant is beyond me), and the time ticked by, I suddenly clocked the poncho vendor rolling out his cart. I said to Steve, looks like they’re expecting rain…but no announcements were made, and so, in the blistering heat, we waited.

Bang on 3pm, an announcement was made – due to inclement weather, the Festival of Fantasy Parade was cancelled…you could hear the collective groans, as well as the gasps of astonishment. I know that weather can change quite suddenly in Florida, but there was barely a cloud in the sky! So instead, they rolled out the Rainy Day Cavalcade which followed the Grand Marshall (families who had been picked to lead the parade) I’m not going to even pretend how disappointed I was (as were others, from the mutterings around us) I was so gutted – I figured, that watching the parade on our first day would mean, that even if we didn’t get the chance to for the rest of the holiday, we would have at the very least, seen it the once!

The rainy day parade was whatevs – some of the characters in various modes of transportation, which of course, we smiled and waved at! Still a disappointment though! *pouts*

Magic Kingdom Grand Marshall

Magic Kingdom Rainy Day Cavalcade

Magic Kingdom Rainy Day Cavalcade

I know why the parade was cancelled – with the big metal float, it’s a risk to put it out in the rain – but it felt even worse because no rain fell at all for the rest of the afternoon! Arrgh!

Steve decided to take a look to see if we could make any FP+ selections, and there was one in about 40 minutes for Haunted Mansion. Another favourite of ours, so we booked it.

Amazingly, we all felt a bit hungry, so we decided to stay in the area and try somewhere new – Columbia Harbour House for a counter service lunch. We knew we would have credits to use, so we might as well start!

When it comes to the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan and counter service restaurants, it is one credit per person you are entitled to an entrée, a desert and one non-alcoholic beverage. Here is what we had…

Me: Lobster Roll + Strawberry Yogurt + Iced Tea – served with potato chips ($10.49) + ($2.19) + ($3.19)

Columbia Harbor House Counter Service Lobster Roll

Him: Anchors Aweigh Sandwich + Seasonal Cobbler + Iced Tea – white tuna, lettuce and tomato on toasted multigrain bread with potato chips. ($9.49) + ($3.99) + ($3.19)

Columbia Harbor House Counter Service Tuna Sandwich

The Boy: Chicken Breast Nuggets + Chocolate Pudding Cake + Coca-Cola – served with steamed fresh broccoli or apple slices or French fries ($8.99) + ($3.99) + ($3.19)

Columbia Harbor House Counter Service Chicken Nuggets

The lobster roll was really good – would happily eat one of those again. The roll is pretty thick though, could do with it being less bread-y! Steve’s tuna sarnie was lush too – I had a bite, you know, for research. And Liam’s nuggets were nuggets. We didn’t make much of a dent on the desserts – but they were all fine.

Service was slow, but after we got our food, we found a table quite easily. We have generally found that counter service is always very slow.

Columbia Harbour House Counter Service

Bill Total: $51 (3 Credits) {Tip: $none}

DxDDP Running Totals: Bill: $248.94 | Credits: 9/126 | Tips: $34.99

After lunch, we walked over to the Haunted Mansion. Fastpasses are great, in that you bypass the line and don’t have to wait as long, but the downside is that you miss out on all the great themeing around the lines! So my photos from Haunted Mansion are thin on the ground.

Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion

You ride in Doom Buggies to journey around the Haunted Mansion. There is a lap bar, and from a plus size perspective, I just managed at a size 30/32 – any bigger and the lap bar may not fasten. Any smaller, you’re absolutely fine. The ride itself is great – dark and so much to look at! Taking photos in here without any photographic knowledge of settings is impossible. But I’ve seen them, and I aim to learn for future visits!

Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion


…Continued in Part 6…

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