Wonderland Katie's family fun trip report! **Complete**

Day 4 (Saturday): Hollywood Studios

The day started very similar to the MK day, in that Matt decided to sleep in and catch up with us later, while the rest of us went for rope drop!
We arrived at DHS at probably 7:45, went through bag check, then found a line to wait and scan our Magic Bands, since they don't have a post-scan holding area like MK. Of course, we seemed to pick the slowest line, and we were getting antsy because we knew 75% of those people in front of us were headed to the same place we were: TSMM!! Luke is the only one of us to ever do this ride before, and I know from reading, and wait times, that it was an absolute must do! Well, when we finally got in the park, we went to the right of the Hat because I thought that would be quickest, but we speed walked to the entrance and had to keep going left as that was the direction that the line had looped to, down to the entrance of the backlot tour! I think that they just hadn't opened up the entrance to TSMM yet, because it moved outside and we were quickly in Andy's toybox! We probably had to wait 15-20 minutes, but there is plenty to look at in the queue so it wasn't a bother. I rode by myself and Desmond rode in between Mom and Dad, which I'm really glad he did so he wouldn't slide around so much during the hairpin turns I thoroughly enjoyed the attraction, and felt like I was doing amazingly awesome at scoring points, but I still only ended up with a beaver lol, also, I pulled that string so hard and fast that I got a lovely blister/skin tear on the side of my pointer finger

From there we headed to ToT I remember riding this when I was 7, when there were no seatbelts, only a singular lap bar for the row! My dad thought I was having a stroke the way I was screaming and shaking and he had to hold on to me for dear life lol E, K, and Dad went first while Mom and I got a child swap card (which is really just like a paper fast pass, but it doesn't expire until a few days after you get it). We waited in the shop and Mom realized she left her purse on TSMM she figured she'd go back to look for it after we rode ToT.
The other 3 were through the standby line quickly and back to us in no time, so it was Mom and I's turn! We went through the FP line since we had the child swap card, but we walked a little slower to take in all the cool ambiance that the lobby offers Again, I had intended to keep my hands up the whole time, but as soon as we started moving forward to certain doom, I gripped the side bars like there was no tomorrow, and I definitely screamed like a crazy person the whole ride because I was hoarse afterward

^our little musician

^We're in the back middle lol

We then headed to RnRC and E, L, and I rode and Mom and Dad grabbed the child swap pass and went to TSMM to find Mom's purse, but it had already been sent to Guest Services with all items intact so that went there and everything was hunky dory! RnRC was the first looped coaster Ellen or I ever rode, so it holds a special place in our hearts, plus we're big classic rock fans so you can't go wrong with listening to some great Aerosmith tunes
Mom and Dad went next, while Des got his crazies out in the courtyard

^we are so metal

It was time for our Star Tours FP, so we headed that direction and I told the others to head and do the ride, because I wanted to take Desmond to see the 10:30 show of Disney Jr on Stage. They were just opening the doors to let people in when we got in line, which I thought was perfect timing, but right when we got up to the front, they took the dad and daughter in front of us and said they were at capacity I'm pretty sure Des would have loved it, but oh well!

Des and I went and waited in Tattoine traders for the others to get done, and I watched them come around from the ride and Mom looked completely pale! She said she was strongly contemplating throwing up in the 3D glasses bin, but fought the urge! That got me a bit worried to go on the ride... and then Matt showed up right at the end of our FP time, so we decided to go (but I was a not-so-nice wife and didn't tell him it made mom very motion sick ) We requested to sit in the back row, because mom said they were in the front, but we both still felt quite sick! I kept looking at the stationary C3PO and told Matt to do the same, and that kept us from upchucking I really wanted to enjoy Star Tours, but I should have known better and not risked it. Luckily, our nausea didn't last for very long, and we were ready to move on!

We then went to Muppets 3D and enjoyed that, as always I do think the addition of Constantine to the lobby video is a bit random and unnecessary considering they haven't made any changes to the regular video. We were now quite hungry so we made our way over to Pizza Planet, which was pretty packed. We ended up sitting upstairs, which I didn't even know they had so that was nice, but we didn't end up playing any games (last time we were there as a family, we must have ate at a weird hour because I remember there being like no one else in Pizza Planet and we played arcade games for about an hour ) The pizza was standard fare but I really thought the Worms in Dirt cupcake they were featuring was delicious! Worms in Dirt was one of my favorite things growing up, and the cupcake did not disappoint with the gummy worms, crushed Oreos, and little chocolate flower pot on top

Desmond was seeming pretty sleepy at this point, so Mom took him around on the stroller while the rest of us went to Lights, Motors, Action!, something we'd never seen before. The drivers did an amazing job! I've never seen driving like that in real life so I was super impressed! However, the acting-like-we're-not-acting-but-we're-totally-following-a-script from the "director" and "stunt coordinator" and all of that was really getting on my nerves. So if we could have watched it on mute, we would have enjoyed it a lot more

At this point, mom, dad, and Matt were wanting to go back to the hotel for a swim, and I decided to go too as the only other things to do were shows, and I wasn't much feeling in the mood for them at the time (although, right now, I wish I would have done B&tB and VotLM). I was also annoyed with myself that all of our stuff was still in suitcases and not in drawers. So E & L stayed and the backlot tour, Indiana Jones, Magic of Animation, and One Man's Dream while the rest of us headed back. We stopped at Writer's Stop on the way because I had to get the carrot cake cookie, which was delish but it wasn't as fresh as I'm sure it could have been. We all went swimming but I only stayed for probably 20 minutes because I wanted to finally unpack and get the room situated. Everyone else enjoyed the pool and Desmond had a lot of fun!

We got changed and headed back to DHS for our FP on GMR at 6:15. Our CM was extra chipper and cheesy, and most of the other people in our vehicle did not speak English so he probably didn't get as much reaction as he had hoped for We got the gangster scene and while I thought our gangster lady did a good job, she talked SUPER fast and I was having a hard time understanding her

We then headed down Sunset Blvd to grab food, and I think most of us ended up at Fairfax Faire, where I got the delicious mac n' cheese hot dog. It really hit the spot for that evening
After dinner I went into Villians in Vogue because I thought for sure they would have a Queen of Hearts pin, but no such luck

I'm really glad we got FP for Fantasmic because standby was at standing room only when we were still eating dinner, so probably around 7:45 We went in around 8:30 and got really good seats about 5 rows up in the Maleficent section. Des was starting to get antsy so we were glad when the show started. It was fun to watch the glow with the show ears; I didn't realize they were actually synchronized with the show! I really enjoy Fantasmic because it combines so many different effects, and also so many different characters!!
After the show, we were all ready to head back to the hotel. I'm trying to remember why I didn't insist we do TSMM again, but it was probably because my finger was still smarting

Of the whole trip, this is the day I feel I missed the most out on, but it is also the only day I took a break from the park in the afternoon. Next trip, I will be sure to hit a couple more shows and do One Man's Dream

Tomorrow: Animal Kingdom bright and early!

Allie you will have a blast!! I don't have a lot of tips that you can't find other places (I looked at a LOT of blogs via Pinterest in preparation of taking a toddler ) These are for you too, NHShorty if you're interested

-The most important and obvious one is to pay attention to their needs/wants/energy level and go with that. I feel like we were super lucky because Des was in a "go with the flow" mood all week, but he is definitely not always like that lol. If they are looking glassy-eyed, don't make them do something overly stimulating. If they really want to ride Dumbo again, ride Dumbo again!
-Approach characters with caution, and let the child lead the interaction with how close they want to get
-If possible, take a stroller they are comfortable in, especially if you're hoping for them to take a nap in the park. We found out, after the first day, that it was easier and less disruptive to let Des continue to nap in the stroller than take him out of the stroller to get on the bus, put him back in when we got off the bus, and put him to bed.
-One bit of advise that I did not follow, but I recommend to other parents: if they aren't used to sleeping in a pack n' play, practice before going on the trip! Last year we went to Myrtle Beach, and Des screamed his head off when we tried to get him to sleep in the Pack n' Play, so he ended up sleeping in the full sized bed with us during that trip.... and he has ever since He got used to sleeping with us during one week and he would not sleep in his crib after that. SOOO... if you enjoy sleeping with your hubby and your hubby only, don't let them sleep with you on vacation

Good call on the full sized crib, I didn't even know they would do that so that is great! I didn't think we'd have a problem getting into Disney Jr., but looking back, a FP would have been a good idea

My iCloud photo stream to the computer is being really frustrating, and I can't find a picture online of the pin I got Matt, but this is the thing he wanted to get for his desk, and the pin looked just like it with a steampunk wheel behind it

Thanks Amy!! We really liked Memory Maker! It was quick and easy to use with the magic bands, and the photographers were in a variety of different places. I liked being able to have all the ride photos too! The only negative, I would say, is that there wasn't a photographer with the character meals, bug I suppose that would slow things down too much...
I definitely think it is worth getting at least once!!

Lol no problem! When you go online to mydisneyphotopass to view the photos they took, you can add in borders and stickers with characters signatures and stuff, but I never saw anything like adding in a character, but maybe they will if you ask the photographer?? There is a free phone/tablet app from Disney called Memories, and you can use your personal photos and crop yourself in with a number of different characters!

Day 5 (Sunday): Animal Kingdom

*I will attempt this entry again... it was almost complete last night and I clicked a wrong button without saving and lost it all *

We had a pre-park-opening ADR for Tusker House at 8:25, and were all glad to see that the buses run regularly in the AM specifically for breakfast (we didn't want to attempt another taxi fiasco ) We arrived at the park at about 7:50, and the CMs at the gate checked the ADR list and let us in to an empty and beautiful park! We stopped at a few of the Oasis exhibits on our way to Africa, and looked up in the sky to see macaws and other parrots flying around! A CM told us that they were training some of the younger birds whose wings were not strong enough to take them too far away. It was really neat to see and made us feel transported to another country

^the sky looks ominous here, but it didn't rain a drop until the very end of the trip!

We were immediately seated at Tusker House, and were given glasses of their delicious mango-passion fruit juice, which was very refreshing on this humid morning! Once again, all the food was yummy and I didn't try anything I didn't like. I was excited for this character greet because Desmond loves the Fab 5 and I figured he would enjoy meeting them, and he certainly did! He warmed up a bit more to each of the 4 characters that were greeting that day, and I'm glad we met Mickey last because Des was so excited to see him! He even tried to honk Mickey's nose Goofy was my favorite because when he saw the stuffed Goofy we had for him to sign, he jumped up and down and gave it a big hug!

After breakfast, it was time for our FP for the safari! We wanted to do this first thing, hoping that the animals would be more active in the morning. Many of them were, and the giraffes on the savannah were roaming all around! We enjoyed our trek through the reserve very much, although Desmond didn't want to sit very still for it
We then made our way through the Pangani trail, but most of the animals here were taking a midmorning nap. We hopped on the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch, where we spent a little time. It was fun to watch Chip and Dale play hot potato with a circle of guests Des and I went into the Affection Section, but only the goats were out and about (like at our local zoo) so I was a little bummed because I wanted to pet a sheep or mini donkey

We then circled around Discovery Island to do It's Tough to be a Bug. We waited about 15 minutes, but the queue here is nice to see a few different animals, and check out all the carvings on the Tree of Life. Unfortunately we were some of the last in the theater for the show, so our group was split up and we ended up having to sit in the 2nd row, right in front of Hopper Matt and I found the 3D hard to focus on from that close; I felt like I had to go cross-eyed most of the time I had to cover Desmond's ears when Hopper popped out, and he did start to get a little shaky and freaked when it got dark and misty, the one and only time of the trip that he got scared. When the fog went away tho, he was fine. They do warn you plenty of times in the queue that it could be frightening for small children, and I would definitely agree. That all being said, I still think the show is cute and have always enjoyed it.

We found out that since it was Mother's Day, they had been giving out carnations to all the mothers coming in the gates, but we didn't get one since we were there early I had planned on going to Flame Tree BBQ for lunch, since it is our Mother's Day tradition at home, since before I can remember, to get BBQ port-a-pit chicken from our small hometown Lions Club. However, none of us were yet hungry for lunch when we passed Flame Tree, so we decided to move on to our Kali River Rapids FP! Ellen and Luke didn't want to get wet, so they wore ponchos, and I wore a small one around my shorts because I didn't want to have a wet butt, and mom braved it sans poncho! The ride was shorter than I remember, but we had fun and got wet enough to cool off
Desmond was starting to look sleepy at this point, so Matt took him on a search for beer while the rest of us hopped in the standby line for Expedition Everest, where we waited probably 25 minutes. This ride was a first for all of us!! I really liked the museum area of the queue, and it was fun to decide what were real 'artifacts' and what were props. I loved being able to see all the way out to Spaceship Earth and beyond when we were stopped just before going backwards! The whole ride was very fun, but I didn't get the drop feeling in my stomach on the big drop, which is what I love about roller coasters, so I thought that was weird. We liked the cute plush yetis in the shop afterwards, too

By this point it was after 3 o'clock and mine and Matt's FP window for Dinosaur was coming to a close, but we were both really hungry at this point so decided to skip it. E & L went on it as their FP didn't expire until 3:40, while the rest of us went to Restauranasaurus to eat. I got the Chicken BLT salad, which was quite delicious with the perfect amount of dressing and it was very refreshing. E & L joined us, and Dad decided he didn't want to do Dinosaur, so mom and I went. I liked the ride and thought it was a good mix of 'scary' and fun. (The last time I rode this, back in '05, I kept my eyes closed the whole time )

Dad's contacts were really bothering him and Matt wanted to nap for a bit, so the two of them headed back to the hotel, promising to meet up with us for dinner. I figured it was now or never if I wanted to get Pocahontas's autograph, so I headed toward her meeting spot (and got totally lost on the way in the Discovery Island trails) while E, L, and Mom took a still sleeping Des around Maharajah Jungle Trek. I finally found Pocahontas right when she starting her meet for that hour, and I only had to wait about 10 minutes. I showed her my henna tattoo of her arm band, and she mentioned that her chief would like it very much I don't think this one looked much the part, but oh well! (And I swear I saw the same girl as one of the Patriotic dancers at the end of MSEP on Tuesday night)

I swung by the Allergy Free food cart and grabbed an Angry Orchard Hard Cider and made my way over to the Finding Nemo theatre to wait for the others. They made it there right before the show was about to start, and we were afraid we were going to have to sit in the very back, but a CM asked if we didn't mind being split up a little, and we ended up sitting about 4 rows up on the far stage left I thought the show was super cute! The singing was good, and I loved the synchronicity of the puppets and people! Desmond liked the big bubble things on the side of the stage, and when all the bubbles fell from the sky

After the show, E & L decided they wanted to look around at more of the animal exhibits on Discovery Island and the Oasis, so Mom and I took Desmond on Triceratops Spin, which he enjoyed just as much as Dumbo We hung out in DinoLand for a little bit because it wasn't very busy at this point, and Des enjoyed watching Primeval Whirl go up the hill and spin around. We made our way to the bus station and met E & L at the Poly bus to head to our ADR at Kona Cafe

We met Matt and Dad at the Poly and hung out on the second floor for a bit looking down at the waterfall before checking in and grabbing a pager. I went over to the Tambu Lounge and got a Backscratcher and drank that before being seated in Kona. Our host was very nice and gave us the "tour" of all the sushi and desserts. I just had to order the Lapu Lapu to drink during the meal, and it certainly did not disappoint! I also convinced Mom to split the Volcano Roll with my as an appetizer. Anddd.... now... well, I didn't feel that inebriated at the time, but I am having a hard time remember what the sushi tasted like, or what everyone had for dinner Lol that Backscratcher and Lapu snuck up on me I guess! Anyway, I know I had the NY Strip, and I had the Banana-Chocolate Creme Brulee for dessert, which was absolutely to die for! Ellen had the Kona Kone, and I didn't try any of it but it looked so fun and she said it was yummy!

^mom got the drink with the glowing ice cube

After dinner, we took the quick monorail ride to MK which was beautiful to see all lit up at night, and grabbed the bus home. Today was a lot more humid than previous days, but I think we spent it in the right park since there is plenty of shade and opportunities to cool off

Tomorrow: World Showcase and Downtown Disney!

Haha well thanks very much Robyn, that's sweet

Haha she does not appear to have!
Kona was great, probably only 2nd to Kouzzina in our opinion

Day 6 (Monday): EPCOT and Downtown Disney

Dad, Matt, Des, and myself slept in today because we didn't have any set plans. All I know is that I wanted to try some more stuff from the outdoor kitchens and have meet and greets with Belle and Mulan. E, L, and Mom got up in good time and took a taxi to Islands of Adventure where they spent the day on the coasters and exploring Hogsmeade. It was in the original plan for all of us to go to IoA, but Desmond can't ride much there, Matt doesn't want to ride much there, and really the $30 per person to add on another Disney park day was wayyy cheaper than taxi, park tickets, and non dining plan food at Universal. I am a huge HP fan, but I went to IoA in March 2013 while visiting my friend that lived in FL at the time, so I didn't feel like I was totally missing out since I remember that trip well.

We got up and around at about 9:30 or 10, and went to our hotel concierge desk to add on our extra day ticket. It went smoothly and worked on the magic bands without a problem. The CM could even add Dads day on just by looking up his room number since he wasn't waiting with us in line.

We got to EPCOT and headed around west and toward Canada first. I stopped at the Pineapple Promenade outdoor kitchen and got the thing I was most excited for today: Dole Whip with Coconut Rum!!!! It was indeed as delicious and refreshing as it sounds! We continued on to UK and Desmond had fun in one of the phone booths and didn't want to get out lol (is it bad that earlier in the trip, I saw a pin of a phone booth and my first thought was 'ooo, a red TARDIS'...! ) Matt and Dad got fish and chips at Yorkshire County and grabbed some beers from Rose and Crown while I headed to France to meet with Belle. She was acting very stern about Gaston's name being written next to her picture, and she asked if he proposed to me lol

Aladdin and Jasmine were meeting next door in Morocco in just 15 minutes, so I went to the France F&G booth and got a Kir Imperial, which was champagne and Chambord, and also very delicious! Matt and Dad were grabbing a French beer now, so I went over to get in line for Jasmine and Aladdin. This was the first time I'd met any of the face characters as a pair, and it was so much fun! It cuts down on a lot of the awkwardness when they banter back and forth with each other. I feel like they fit the part the best of any of the characters I met! They both spotted and admired my henna and said I should have added a genie's lamp to it Jasmine signed the shirt and Al asked where he should sign and Jas said deadpan, "the armpit."

We decided to chill out for a bit in the shade in the Japan pavilion, and Des had fun dancing to the drummers that were playing out of site of where we were. That was the first time I'd really ever seen him dance full out to music, and it was so cute and fun!

^yes, that is an 'emotional support dauchaund' in the background lol

Mulan was going to start meeting soon all the way over in China, so I hot footed it over there while the others went in search of more beer (see a theme here ) Mulan was cute and commented on my lanyard of pins saying they were my medals of honor! The only princess I needed to still sign my shirt was Ariel!

The others were still back at the America pavilion, so I backtracked and met up with them. On the way through, I stopped at the Florida Fresh kitchen at the outpost and got a white sangria and a piece of kumquat pie. I don't think I've ever tried kumquat before, but the pie was light and fruity but creamy at the same time. The sangria was good but it was just pre bottled mix so it wasn't as fresh tasting as I was hoping for.

We did some more wandering through the shops in Germany and I got some potato salad and sat on a bench and chatted with a nice older woman. We went back over to the Outpost and Matt got one more beer and Desmond played on the drums for awhile. The bridge between the Outpost and Germany went up while we were there, but I couldn't see what went under it so it must have been just too tall to go unannounced.

By that time Matt and Dad both agreed they were beered out. We stopped in Mouse Gears where I found a big gardening hat with Mickey ears on it for the F&G fest, and it was 50% off! I wish I would have found it on Friday! (I wore it to our local zoo last week and got a lot of compliments on it!) I decided to go through the Test Track single rider line before we left the park. The posted time said 20 minutes for single rider, but I only waited less than 10. This was the first time doing it 2.0, and I have to say I liked the old ride better, with the hot and cold and everything... But the interactive elements afterwards were fun, and I particularly enjoyed putting my car in the commercial!

We headed back to the hotel, and Matt, Dad and Des went for a swim. I had told them earlier in the day that I wanted to check out the Port Orleans resorts, since I've read such great things about them on this forum! So I grabbed the bus to Downtown Disney and we all agreed to meet there later. I stopped in the Pin Trading station in DTD, but didn't find anything I was looking for, so I hopped on the boat. It was a nice relaxing ride and I enjoyed seeing the Treetop Villas. We made the first stop at FQ, but I decided to wait and get off at RS and walk the path back to FQ to grab the boat. I went into the River Roost to grab a signature drink to go, and I settled on the Ramos Fizz. I can't remember what all was in it besides gin and agave nectar, but I ended up really not liking it at all but I pushed through and drank it on my walk back. I can't believe I didn't think of stopping at the dining hall to get a Magic Cookie Bar!!! The resort was really quiet and there was no one else on the path. Both were absolutely beautiful and I would have a really hard time deciding which one to stay in! The mansions were cool and I loved the one with the rose gardens in front named for different princesses. If we get a chance to go to a moderate when Desmond is still young, I think we'll pick FQ mainly for the pool.

I had to wait for a couple of boats to go by to get on one because they filled up at RS and could only take a couple of people from FQ. I made it back at about 7:30 and got in line to check in at TREX because the line was so long. It moved quickly though, and we were all seated promptly. E, L, and Mom had arrived a bit earlier from their fun day, and Dad, Matt and Des arrived just in time. Unfortunately, Desmond hadn't slept earlier in the day, so he ended up falling asleep on the bus We chose TREX for Des because we knew there would be a lot for him to look at, so we were bummed that he was asleep, but knew it was better that then be really cranky. He actually did stay asleep for at least a 1/2 hour when we were in the restaurant, even though it was so loud! It was really fun inside and there was something different to see everywhere you looked. Since Ellen's Kona Kone looked so good yesterday, I decided to have the Cosmo Paleo Cotton-tini, which is a Cosmo poured over cotton candy!! It was yummy, but obviously very sweet. E & L shared a huge margarita with a bottle of Corona in it, and they were both the tipsiest they'd been the whole trip, so that was entertaining I got one of the specials as my main, and it had three different things, scallops in a yummy cream sauce, shrimp skewer, and something else I can't remember. It was good and plentiful for everyone, but nothing overly exciting. Des was starting to get antsy (we had taken turns during dinner walking him around and looking at everything), so Matt took him to the Lego store and we got dessert to go. We saved the key lime pie for breakfast in the morning but all split the Ice Age Indulgence on a bench outside. It is basically a tower of ice cream sandwiches, cool whip, caramel and chocolate syrup, but it was so deliciously sinful we had it gobbled up real quick!

^the cotton candy, right before she poured the cosmo on top

We stopped into World of Disney and I got a much needed new case for my phone. I was about to buy the small wallet they had of the new hidden Mickey Vera Bradley, but I talked myself out of it. I actually live in the city that Vera is based out of, so I have a hard time buying any of their stuff full price off the rack... We can usually find things at outlets or Goodwill, plus my best friend works there so she could probably get me something discounted if I asked Desmond took a couple rounds on the little Marketplace train, and we tried to make our way to the buses but Des found the jumping water fountain/splash pad and he had a blast running though that for about 15 minutes, and somehow avoided getting totally soaked We had a nice, relaxing day, and I'm glad every one of us got to do the things we were looking forward to that day!

Tomorrow: Magic Kingdom and our last park day

Day 7 (Tuesday): Magic Kingdom

*This is another day where I might not get everything straight, because I did a lot of back and forth and deciding at the last minute what to do*

Our intention was to make it to the park for the welcome show since we enjoyed it so much last time, but we were all a little slower getting around. E & L were way behind in the getting around part, so the rest of us hopped on the bus and made it to the park right after 9. We went in the right side by the theatre and waited there for E & L to arrive. Matt went to grab a coffee at Starbucks and I figured he would be gone for a long time, but the line moved really quickly and he was back in no time. We got to see the Main Street citizens arrive back at the train station and do another little song and dance which was cute! E & L arrived and we all took the stairs up to the train. I don't remember ever riding the train before, but it was rather nice, and I feel like it got us to the Fantasyland station faster than walking Desmond loves trains, too, so that was a definite plus!

We tested Desmond out at the front of Barnstormer, and he was about a 1/4" too short Oh well, next time! We headed over to the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, where there was already a 20 minute wait. The line here is very interactive, though, and Desmond had fun with it all I hadn't seen the movie in a long time, and I totally couldn't remember anything about the ride from when we rode it on our honeymoon, but anyway, I totally forgot how much the heffalumps and woozles song creeps me out lol! I'll take HM at night by myself any day over that We went back up to Gaston's tavern to use up some snack credits on more cinnamon rolls and Lefou's brews! We saw that Gaston was meeting again, but it was a different one this time who did not have the cleft chin and was thusly deemed by Ellen and I to be inferior
Now it was time for our FP on Haunted Mansion, so we made our way over there with a stop at the Tangled Restrooms (I still had no luck finding Pascal!) Desmond didn't have any issues on HM, but I wouldn't say he was super excited to be riding it lol, he just kind of looked and everything like, "what the heck?!" We got the hitchhiking ghost that sat on top of the car and switched Matt and my heads around
Mom, Des, and I decided to head over to the Magic Carpets because this was another one of which Desmond had been watching YouTube videos, while everyone else went to watch Hall of Presidents. He enjoyed this ride as well, and thought the water spitting camel was just too fun
We met up with everyone else in time for our Jungle Cruise FP. This is another one, like Peter Pan, that I can't justify waiting in a long standby line. Our tour guide was a young lady with really good, dry comedic timing, so we were laughing the whole time! Next up was Enchanted Tiki Room, which we hadn't seen since the 'new management' had been fired. I enjoyed the nostalgic feeling of it all
We had to hot foot to get to our next thing on time: Be Our Guest with fastpass For me, I was much more excited about the atmosphere than the food choices. When we got up to the order station, I forgot what it was I was planning on getting, and ended up just ordering the first thing on the menu I read that they give you a little red rose tracker so they know where you are sitting in the restaurant, but every CM we asked in line told us that we didn't need one...? So we were all a little bit confused on how they would find us, until one of the server CMs told us that since we were staying in the park and had Magic Bands, they did the tracking for us I did not realize that was one of their features, and we all started talking about how The Man had been tracking us our whole trip
The food arrived soon. The thing I ended up getting was the Tuna Nicoise Salad. The description of it is "warm seared tuna steak..." but it was stone cold. That's bound to happen with tuna steak I guess, so I didn't complain and at it anyway, and it still tasted pretty good. I had to ask for some more dressing for my salad, but they delivered that quickly as well. For dessert, Matt got the Master's Cupcake which has the grey stuff on top (it IS delicious, Lumiere wasn't lying ), and I got the strawberry cream cheese cupcake which was very yummy and fresh tasting. I took Desmond on a wander around the different rooms before it was time to move on. I think the concept of the food carts and everything is neat, but I think they still have some bugs to work out in order to keep the food fresh and warm.

Everyone made their way to Tomorrowland while I quickly stopped off for my FP to meet Ariel! I was hoping for a good interaction because I had my "keep calm and kiss the girl" shirt, and also Little Mermaid necklaces and bracelets! She noticed the Ariel on my necklace, then I shower her the dinglehoppers on my necklace and bracelet, which she got excited about and pulled out a big fork from behind her chair

I went to the FP kiosk to try and get a FP for Buzz, since everyone else had one that was already in the hour. I lucked out and got one that overlapped with the others We all rode the Peoplemover (those curves feel pretty fast when you're sitting backwards lol), and then we only had to wait a few minutes until my FP time started and we all rode Buzz!

We then stopped at the FP kiosk and got times for Space Mtn. We took the bridge to the Hub and that is when we got the family picture that is in the original post. E & L parted ways and the rest of us headed to It's a Small World since Matt had yet to ride it. He enjoyed it but said it was a lot different than he remembered it being. We got stuck in the final big room again, and Desmond (who had been looking glassy-eyed the whole boat ride), fell asleep against Matt

Matt wanted to get most of the things packed up so we didn't have to worry about it in the morning, so the 4 of them headed back to the hotel. There was still time before our Space Mtn FP window, so I decided to get in line to meet Merida whose time was just opening. She's not on my shirt, but I realized that (besides for the Frozen girls that I was NOT going to wait 2 1/2 hours for), the only princesses I needed were Merida and Tiana to complete the set of bonafide Disney princesses!! The wait for Merida was incredibly boring unfortunately, because there is nothing to see or look at from that little path, and they open up the gates to where she is for a group of people to go in and all be done before letting another group in, so I felt like I was standing in the same place forever! However, once I got in the arena, it was quick. I apologized that her picture wasn't on the shirt, and she said that her mom probably said her picture couldn't be on the shirt since she didn't brush her hair lol. The little arena was cute and kids could try their hand at archery or color a picture after meeting with Merida.

I headed to Tomorrowland and met Ellen and Luke who were just getting off the Astro Orbiter, and we boarded Space Mountain for another hair raising trip! (I told Luke to sit in front this time since my heart was pounding for about 10 minutes after the last time!)

We went to the FP kiosk and tried to get times for Splash Mtn, but it was broken down at the time so it wasn't available to choose from, so we got BTMRR instead. We headed across the Hub and I was going to get in line for Tiana, but they were done letting people in the line for that hour, so we decided to do the Liberty River Boat, but had missed it by 3 minutes! We decided to do Country Bear Jamboree, and we were cracking up the whole time! The 'adult-ness' of the show was lost on us as kids but it was really fun to see it now

We headed over to use our BTMRR FP and had ourselves a wild wilderness adventure! Then Ellen and Luke hopped on a ferry to Tom Sawyer Island while I went back over to Tiana's garden glen. I noticed the Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom booth right as I was getting in line, and is been seeing people play the game which looked like a lot of fun, so I went over and got my cards and tutorial and got back in Tiana's line. She and Naveen were so much fun! When I told her she wasn't on the shirt, she said 'well, as long as they didn't skip me and put those frozen girls on there!' Lol... She forgot to draw a heart under her name while we were chatting, so Naveen tried to draw it for her and she was like, 'what are you doing?? My poor husband doesn't know how to draw hearts' and he said 'I think it is wonderful! Put it on display!' (He didn't look the part but his accent was spot on) we had fun and it was the longest character interaction I had; it was nice to not feel rushed thru My shirt was complete!!! It was so exciting; I really didn't think I'd get all the autographs of the pictured characters, let alone 7 others!!

I made my way to Adventureland and met E & L at Aloha Isle for another Dole Whip!! We walked back through to Liberty Square and I found my first SotMK spot (my villain was Dr. Facillier, which I thought was pretty funny since I'd just visited Tiana). We stopped off at the Frontierland Shootin' Arcade, and I personally love that it hasn't changed a bit! We got done with that and turned around to see the characters for the Hoedown coming down the path! E & L went to get on the riverboat while I watched the hoedown for a little bit; it was cute and fun to see the impromptu like performance! I went to the FP kiosk to get us times for Splash Mtn since it was back open, then I finished my round of SofMK since all my locations to find were conveniently in Liberty Square or Frontierland I saw 2 guys with large books filled with SotMK cards, and they were playing like pros and trading cards with each other

At this point, Mom texted that the 4 of them were back in the park so I met them at Aloha Isle so Mom and Dad could get their Dole Whip fix All of us (sans E & L, who weren't hungry yet) headed over to Cosmic Ray's to get some big ol' burgers! I really appreciate the toppings bar here, and my bacon angus burger was delish! We went just across the path to Cheshire Cafe, but they were out of cake cups I don't know if they just make so many per day, or if they stopped serving them there all together... Dad and Desmond rode the Tea Cups one more time, and Des loved it just as much as the first time

The MSEP had started already, so we went through Fantasyland, past HM, and around to behind the gallows, along the fence in front of the river boat dock. Some people were in front of us so it was a bit difficult to see, but overall not a bad spot. It was just coming down straight at us when we got there, so we had good timing! Des wasn't as enthralled with the parade as I thought he'd be, but I think he was getting pretty tired by this point.
Ellen texted to say they were going to use the FP for Splash Mtn, but the rest of us decided the air was cooled off enough that we didn't feel the need to ride it. The other 4 made their way to the front of the park to find a spot for Wishes, since they hadn't seen it on Thursday. E & L decided to head back to the hotel after Splash to swim and pack.
I went back through Fantasyland and decided to visit Maurice's cottage! Enchanted Tales with Belle was very cute and I loved the theming and design behind everything, but I don't think I'll be doing it again without Desmond I came out of the show during the tail end of Wishes, and I was super cool to see from that angle! I had close up views of the fireworks from behind the castle and the ones that come from behind the park. It was so secluded and the fireworks lit up the sky so brightly, it felt like a private firework experience! I recommend watching them from Fantasyland for a change of pace if you've seen it from the front plenty of times before

There was no wait for anything at this point, so I walked on Under the Sea, and I felt a few rain drops as I entered the queue, the only ones I felt for the whole trip! I went over to Big Top Souvenirs to do some last ditch Alice pin searching, and just looked around there for awhile. I walked onto Buzz Lightyear for one more attempt at greatness, but I did average like all the other times It was 10:56, so I had time to end the trip on a stellar last adventure on Space Mtn!! I told the guys behind me to make fun faces, but they didn't listen lol. We were the 2nd car so I could at least see the outline of the previous car to get some idea as to where we were going

The rides were all closed at this point, so I was sadly making my way to the front of the park when I got a text from Mom, who had stayed and shopped in the Emporium while everyone else went back to the hotel I found her across Main Street, luckily right before my phone died, and we watched the parade one more time from opposite sides of the street. We went into the Emporium for awhile and we both bought a couple of picture frames, then went over to the Main Street Confectionary to use up the last of our snack credits. I only had one credit left, so it was a hard choice, but I decided on a Mickey Krispie Treat
It was time to make our way back to the hotel We were very sad to be leaving, but I was glad for a great day! I enjoyed the time spent with Ellen and Luke and also my time alone. I think that was a nice time to kind of relax and reflect on the wonderful week.

Tomorrow: departure day and final thoughts

Hehe thanks ladies! He is a pretty cool kid

Thanks MM! That's one of my favorites too!