We started off our trip leisurely by choosing to forgo anything at the parks. We didn’t want to stress in case of any flight delays or encountering Fourth of July holiday crowds. It was the best decision for us and I very much recommend it before going full force in the parks. We decided that we would spend the evening at Disney Springs, eat at a fun restaurant, and finish the night at the Polynesian Resort to watch the Fourth of July fireworks over the castle from their beach.
If you’ve never been to Disney Springs (or heard of it), it’s basically an outdoor mall that has the main and largest Disney store in Disney World, called World of Disney, along with loads of other shops and restaurants. You might remember the district from its previous name, Downtown Disney. It’s home to many delicious restaurants ranging from nationwide chains to single-location restaurants specific to Disney Springs. It’s also where you can see the Cirque De Soleil perform. Their show, Drawn to Life, is unique to the Walt Disney World resort. We missed the show this time around, but hope I can get a chance to see it on the next trip to Disney World. There were also tons of musicians and singers performing at the different outdoor stages throughout the area to provide live music and entertainment. Disney Springs is free to get into and has so much to do and look at. It’s a great place to go to if you want to do some souvenir shopping or you want a stress-free time away from the parks.
We took the ferry over from our resort, and the views were stunning! We passed several Disney resorts on the way including Saratoga Springs, Port Orleans Riverside, and Port Orleans French Quarter. It was only a ten minute ride from Old Key West and a short walk from the ferry dock to the entrance of the Springs.
The first store that grabbed our attention when we walked in was the Lego Store, mainly because of the impressive Disney Lego displays outside. I had to snap a picture of the characters because of how amazing they were! There’s even a lego statue of a snake in the water. If we have the chance the next time we go to Disney World, we both agreed that we would love to spend a half day or even a full day at Disney Springs to explore. We would particularly love to visit the Art of Disney store, which has Disney-inspired art, some by local artists, for sale.
After making our way towards the Boathouse, we still had some time before our dinner reservation. Luckily, Gideon’s Bakehouse was nearby so we decided to try to grab a sweet treat from there. We’ve both heard amazing things about their cookies and wanted to try to snag some. Gideon’s is a beloved local Orlando bakery that opened a location in Disney Springs in January 2021. Their cookies are half a pound each and are a very popular dessert offering in the Springs. They have standard flavors like their original chocolate chip cookie in addition to a flavor of the month. They also serve cake slices and coffees (including peanut butter cold brew). Unfortunately, by the time we located the front entrance we noticed the line was around the building and sadly realized we wouldn’t have enough time to wait.
We walked back towards the Boathouse to enjoy the live music nearby when we noticed Wine Bar George and their to go window (The Basket at Wine Bar George). Wine Bar George was on our list of restaurants to try in Disney Springs, but we were unable to secure a reservation. We decided to grab a pre-dinner drink at the Basket and quickly found what sounded like a delicious option on their menu. They had what might be our favorite drink of the entire trip: the Froscato. It’s a mix of Moscato wine with Dole Whip Pineapple and vodka blended in a frozen drink machine that was both sweet and very refreshing. If there was a recipe I would love to snag from this trip, this one is it!
By the time we finished our Froscatos, it was time to check in for our reservation over at the Boathouse. After checking in, we went back outside to wait for our table and to watch the Amphicars launch. This is such a cool activity to do if you get the chance. An Amphicar is a vintage car that drives on ground and floats in the water. The driver takes you on a cruise around the Springs. If I ever get the chance, especially if I come with a future significant other, I would love to ride in an amphicar!
Pro tip: if you eat at the Boathouse or make a purchase at the “Boatique” store, you can present your receipt to get a discount on the experience.
Our table at The Boathouse was located in the corner between the bar and the patio. The space was bright and the decor gave off marina vibes. We were right by the windows and had a great view of the water. This also put us directly in the sunlight and because the overhead fans either weren’t working or weren’t on, we were left very hot during our meal. One of the coolest tables at the Boathouse is one nestled inside a boat! It’s the most coveted table in the restaurant. Apparently, this table is very hard to snag. The bar was also made to look like it was it was made out of steering wheels and other woodworks.
For our dinners, we kept it light after a long day of traveling and getting settled in to our resort. I started with a glass of Moscato (you can never have too much Moscato) and Mary Ellen got the Shipwreck cocktail (Marti Gold and Silver Rum, Passoa, fresh tropical juices, fresh oranges and cherries). I got the Coconut Shrimp, which was delicious and filling even being off the appetizer menu. Mary Ellen got the Grilled Mahi Taco and while she thought it was decent, she wished she had gotten the Coconut Shrimp like me. We also split a side of fries, which was definitely the right call after seeing how big the portions are (seen in the picture below). Overall, we felt the food was decent, but not incredible. I would love to return, but I definitely want to explore the many other fantastic restaurant options at Disney Springs, too!
After finishing our meal, we wandered around Disney Springs for a little bit. We were hoping to check out some of the souvenir options, especially those specific to the 50th Anniversary. I spotted a baseball hat that had an embroidery of Walt and Mickey in front of the castle. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m a sucker for Partners statue and any merchandise that includes Walt Disney. I knew that the hat was going at the top of my souvenir wishlist.
When it was getting close to time for the special Fourth of July fireworks show at Magic Kingdom, we hopped on the bus headed to the Polynesian Resort. The Polynesian Resort is one of the three resorts on the monorail loop and has a great view of the castle and fireworks from the beach. We did a quick walk through of the lobby, which made us feel like we were on a brightly colored tropical island. The resort features bungalows for guests to stay in that sit over the Seven Seas Lagoon as well as regular resort rooms and villas which have been updated to include designs inspired by the 2016 movie, Moana.
We did not plan this part of the night well at all, because as soon as we reached the courtyard area we could tell it was going to be hard to find a good vantage point to watch the fireworks. We managed to get a decent spot to watch the show. Would I recommend this option for a special fireworks show? Yes, but planned better. Because viewing from the resorts is a free way to see the Fourth of July show, it does getting very crowded. I would probably plan to get there a few hours early and eat dinner at one of the restaurants or lounges instead of going somewhere else. The other resorts on the monorail loop that have good spots for fireworks are the Grand Floridian and the Contemporary.
Our other issue with the fireworks show was that we couldn’t hear the audio of the show on the speakers. It was very interested watching fireworks over the castle without any audio to go with it. We ended up being far away from the speakers because the audio was only being piped in on the beach, but we were up behind the resort’s pool. The beach was reserved for Polynesian Village Resort guests only, so it was inaccessible to us and loads of other guests wanting to watch the show from the Poly. It was still enjoyable and we both have gone onto YouTube to watch a filmed version of the show from in front of the castle (with music), like this one here.
After the show was over, we walked over to the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC) to catch a bus back to our resort. Unfortunately, resort busses don’t run to and from the TTC, so we had to go to the Magic Kingdom via monorail instead in order to catch the bus to Old Key West. As we were getting off the monorail and walking in front of the entrance to Magic Kingdom, we saw the massive hoards of people leaving the park. It turned out to be a record breaking day for attendance at Magic Kingdom!
After we finally figured out how to get to the bus we needed to get back to our resort, we settled in pretty quickly to rest up for our day at Universal’s Islands of Adventure and most importantly, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!
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