My Disney Today - Shopping and Squirrels

I was out at Magic Kingdom all day recently and of course had too much fun.

This is one of my most favorite views in the world. It's only seen from the ferry landing area at the TTC and yes, I know, my phone/camera is sadly crap, but I'm hoping you get the gist.

What I actually love about this particular photo though, is if you really look, the castle is disappearing into the clouds.

Any day that I get there and this is my first view of MK, it just fills me up with joy.

So I went out there with a friend of mine for ice cream. I love sitting in the castle foreground having ice cream. It's the only time I ever have it, like the only time I have Starbucks is on Disney Sunday. As I'm entering the park, I stop and pick up a Vanilla Bean Frappe... mmmmm makes my morning.

A warning about the sitting waiting for ice cream though, don't do it when you're hungry because
the people who've bought lunch at Casey's often end up on the ice cream parlor side of the street and if you're starving, waiting for ice cream, having to watch people eat fries and these amazing hot dogs... a thing of magic all in itself if you ask me. I've never seen a hot dog that actually made me want to eat it before, but these... yum! Someday, I'm getting one, but not the point. I'm just saying, time your ice cream visit better than I usually do!

After ice cream, we spent a lot of time in the shops on this particular day. I saw so many things I hadn't before, like the designer haunted mansion bags and china, new Christmas merchandise, and I saw nearly all the Attractionista dolls!

I love these dolls. My favorites are Gracey from the Haunted Mansion and Maddie from the Mad tea Party ride. I think when I was a kid, oh my god, I would have gone out of my mind for these dolls! They're each inspired by a popular attraction. There were originally only four, but they've since added two more. I'm hoping they keep adding! Of course, I was a huge doll fan back then. Still am truly. :)

You know shopping at Disney, it's weird for me. In my day to day life I'm quite a spiritual person and I've been doing a lot of work on my "poverty mentality" recently. I realize that I've ignored Disney shops for much of my life because I've never felt like I could afford anything there. That or if I bought merchandise, I'd be being irresponsible in some way. So actually being out at Disney in this latest incarnation of my life is very surreal in moments because I actually buy food, and now I'm actually starting to look at merchandise and say, yeah, I may buy that.

For instance, I'll be attending Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party in December and one of the things I picked out on Monday were my Mickey ears I'll be wearing to the party!

And yes, they DO light up!

They're $25 and in the past, I would never have allowed myself a purchase like this. Now, I do because to be entirely honest, I get that I deserve to enjoy my life. When you get to that place, it's such a great thing. Everything is different for me now and it's why I'm happier than I've ever been in life and I can't wait to get these ears!

I may have to figure out the whole "selfie" thing once and for all so I can get a picture of me wearing them. I'm somewhat self conscious to begin with, but I have a bad phone for selfies, not one of those ones where you can see the shot you're taking. grrr So it's always guess work. If I'm even in the shot, I call it a win. lol

I took this one waiting for the ice cream. It was breezy so the hair over the eyes wasn't a fashion statement. LOL And I do apologize, because I almost never wear make up out to Disney. So if that horrifies you, move along, nothing to see here! ;-)

Oh you know what else I found on Monday? The place that sells the M&Ms in all the crazy colors! It's in a shop in Frontierland. I'm going to get my oldest a bunch for Christmas in black and purple... maybe aqua. :D

I keep seeing things out there for him. I want to get him a Nightmare Before Christmas stocking and throw, and a top hat from the Haunted Mansion, and several tee shirts I've seen. My oldest has a very quirky sense of humor.

It's funny really, my youngest loves Disney like I love Disney. I mean, even enough to face his anxiety and autistic issues to be there, but his tastes don't run in such a way that I see merchandise and think, Oh he'd love that! Whereas oldest doesn't really do the parks, but his personality fits with it so well. There's your strange pondering for the day. ;-)

Another interesting thing I did on Monday was hang out in the area where Tiana and her prince used to be before they set them up inside Heritage House. It's off to the side of the castle between the Adventureland and Liberty Square entrances and it's a quiet spot much of the time.

Now, here's one of those strange Disney moments most people don't experience so hang on you're about to be amazed at a level of amazement you've never before seen! lol

I spent probably an hour watching squirrel craziness!! lol

See, yore amazed right?!?!?! LOL

I'm guessing it's nesting season because I was watching some of these cuties run off with little branches of tree over and over. I know how it sounds, but it was the cutest thing!

In that area, there are a ton of squirrels! I was amazed to be honest at just how many are back there. It made me laugh at one point because I watched this little two year old girl just utterly fascinated by the squirrels. She was following them, with her mother following her, running the constant running monologue of, "Don't touch it. Don't pet it." lol

I was thinking of the stories that would be told someday, "I took you to Cinderella's castle and all you were interested in were the squirrels! LOL My friend that was with me that day had a similar story from her own childhood, so we were sharing the laugh over that.

We ended the day with dinner at Pecos Bills. I am loving the new menu there. Everything I've tried so far has been amazing and the fixin's bar is stellar. I really don't think you can go wrong eating there.

I had the steak fajitas that night and while no, you aren't going to swoon and think they're better than your favorite Mexican place, they were a very satisfying meal.

It does get crazy busy though during lunch and dinner, so go in off times if you can, you'll enjoy your dining experience more. However the dining areas are large so I don't think they ever run out of seating which is nice!

I came home later that night than usual. As I ride the bus, I tend to try and get in before it's too late, but this night I was leaving after dark as people were lining up for the Electrical Parade. My friend and I took a trip through the emporium, where she bought her second of those Attractionista dolls that day which was so fun!

I have to say, I've been running into something interesting lately out at Disney, a return to "gentleness" I almost want to call it... not in the guests, god that's a whole other story, but with cast members. I'm seeing young people who seem to truly appreciate their jobs there. Who are helpful, happy and kind. Maybe it's just that I spend more of my time interacting with other guests and I've become a bit disheartened at how self centered we seem to have become as a society, but there have been several times this week, this day out with my friend being one of them, were my faith in humanity took up bump upward and for that, I thank these gentle cast members. They may have just been "doing their job" but the interactions were felt deeper by me and I appreciated it.

Well that's it for this edition of My Disney Today, but stay tune, there'll be another one in a day or two. I love my life. I'm incredibly blessed and grateful. Blessings to you all today and may your life be the thing your dreams are made of too!