Day 3: Magic Kingdom

This morning Ben and I took it easy. By 'easy' I mean sleeping in till 8, and making it to the park just after opening. We needed the sleep, and it worked all the better for us.
We were curious to see the Magic Kingdom (last time I was here I was 13), especially after being so recently familiar with California's Disneyland. The castle at Magic Kingdom is much larger than ours ( unfortunately no photos with my phone). Although, no walk through the story of Sleeping Beauty inside the castle. Instead, is a 'turn your child into a princess' parlor.
We took our time through the park and rode all our favorites: Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean (no Blue Bayou restaurant here! So sad), Peter Pan, Small World. But I was surprised there was no Mr. Toads Wild Ride, or Pinnochio. No wonder I didn't remember riding them as a kid. We rode everything else. No need for a Fastpass with these nonexistent crowds!
Lots of characters walking through the park today! I think we saw everyone but Mickey and Minnie!
Side note: saw lots of Gryffindor scarves(including myself) and even a few Ravenclaws and Slytherins!
We had lunch in Liberty Square--the restaurant reminded us of a Cracker Barrell but without all the candy and trinkets in the waiting area. For those of you from Cali, the Magic Kingdom has Liberty Square instead of the New Orleans district. It took me awhile as I stared at our park map to figure that one out!
We came to the conclusion that Disneyland is larger than the MK. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we only have 2 parks in Cali as opposed to Disney's 4. ( not including water parks)
After riding everything we could, we took the monorail back to EPCOT for dinner at Marakkesh in Morroco (photo above). It must be said that before we ate, we stopped by England again for more Strongbow Cider (photo above) and also tried the Woodpecker Cider. Both were great but Strongbow remains the favorite. Excellent food at Marakkesh with live entertainment. We had the Moroccan feast: tea with mint leaves, salad with a cucumber/yogurt/mint dressing, filo dough filled with a mixture of basmati, shrimp, grouper, and spices, then lamb shank and lemon chicken over couscous, with baklava for dessert. Oh the miles I'll have to run after this vacation! Music played and dancers danced dressed in such fashion Ben refrained from staring (what a wonderful man he is!) Jasmine and Aladdin even made an appearance.
One day left in this park. Animal Kingdom here we come!