Even though we were so close to the kitchen, being on the water still makes up for it and it is well worth the wait. We took some time to decide what we each wanted, and to make a long, boring story short, Morgan went with the steak and I went with the crab cakes. Blue Bayou definitely redeemed itself for me, as the crab cakes were light and fluffy and not overwhelmingly fishy. Quite delightful, I must say, and certainly the better of the two dishes. There were sides upon sides piled even onto the steak itself, which I think was to hide the unimpressive taste of the steak itself. Morgan described it as tasting like McDonald’s beef. (Which leads me to wonder - is that before or after the pink slime debacle?) Overall, however, lunch was good, I enjoy the gumbo to start it off and it was nice to try something new. I’m sure we will go back for dinner again, and I’m sure the filet will not disappoint.






After lunch, we grabbed another fastpass for Indy, and noticed that the line for Jungle Cruise was not very long at all, even during this busy time of the day. Since we hadn’t yet done it, this would be the perfect opportunity. Growing up, the Magic Kingdom version of the Jungle Cruise was always our first ride of the trip, so the attraction holds a special place in my heart. The ride is unique in that the skipper makes or breaks it, and this particular time was a good experience. Nothing exceptionally memorable though, but good nonetheless. We were still in the area and had old fastpasses, so we went for a drive through the Temple of the Forbidden Eye, which was thrilling as usual.





It was about this time that we really started to notice how nice it was outside. Not because of the weather itself, but because of how busy the park had become. There was hardly any room on the paths and there was no way to go without bumping into another couple people. Since it was the first time in three days that it was really nice out, and being spring break, I’m sure more people started to make it out. Lines for most of the rides were skyrocketing, and we decided to slow down our pace a little to accommodate.





I wanted to head to an attraction that I knew would not have a wait or heavy traffic. Off to the castle, we went! The walkthrough is one of those hidden gems. Even though it is basically just a bunch of cardboard cutouts, the effects and bright colors make it that much more enjoyable and it is a nice place to spend a bit of time. The fact that is in the castle doesn’t hurt either! We went for a quick ride on Pinocchio, and strolled through Fantasyland and toward the pathway leading past Big Thunder.





As an aside - the stand in that particular pathway that sells hot and frozen beverages, among other things, had an awesome travel mug on our August trip (I collect them) and through a tragic occurrence, the lid was lost and then we never got a chance to see the mug again (though we did end up with a broken lid). Anyway! By chance, I mentioned to Morgan that was the place that had it last time and told her we should take a look. Low and behold, they had it again! Needless to say (but I will anyway), I bought it and don’t you worry - the lid made it home with me. (I was probably even too excited to get a picture)



I was in such a state of joy that I had absolutely no care what we did. Though I did prefer that we find somewhere cool to walk since I now had a hot chocolate in one of the hotter parts of the day. We meandered around the park and ended up watching a couple of shorts at the Main St. Cinema. We did some shop scouting for later and the trip and I needed to cool off. The line was short for a dole whip, which meant it was a perfect time for me to get my first of the trip!