We explored 4 parks: Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and my favorite, Magic Kingdom. Jenne is the ultimate Disney vacation planner and she wisely scheduled "down" days in between the park days so we could sleep in and get to bed "early" as well as spend time walking around a very nice Super Target and Downtown Disney.
Epcot is my second favorite Disney World park. I love that one can go around the world in just a day... and, not having been to Europe (yet!), I almost feel like I'm really there. Jenne wisely did not schedule lunch that day and we just snacked our way around the globe... fabulous fish 'n chips in the United Kingdom... a tummy-tickling assortment of pastries and crepes in France... gooey caramel that made my teeth hurt just looking at it in Germany... and frozen bananas while we watched Illuminations, the fireworks show at the lagoon. We finally had dinner in Mexico- the best Mexican food we'd had on the East Coast!
The International Flower and Garden Festival was going on while we were there- beautiful flower beds, potted plants and amazing topiaries were EVERYWHERE!
Everyone was looking forward to being at the Magic Kingdom on our last day at Disney World. Jenne and Richard had strategized the "best" (meaning being able to ride the most rides the most number of times) approach to the park and decided we needed to be there at least an hour before the park opened. No kidding- we were cars number 3 and 4 in the parking lot!
Have you EVER seen the entrance to the park so empty? Yeah, me neither!
We had a great time at the Magic Kingdom. Thanks to an app Jenne downloaded to her phone, we were able to know wait times without actually going to the ride which enabled us to strategically use Fast Passes allowing us to ride lots of rides... lots of times! Ben and Lexie were not tall enough for some of the rides but were good sports about waiting for those who could- fortunately, they enjoy "people-watching" and "performing"!
Watching the Disney Electrical Parade whenever it's available has been a tradition of ours since before we were married. Our kids grew up watching it... and then recreating it when we got home using multiple flashlights while they hummed the song and danced around the house. We were excited to see the parade again... this time with our grandkids.
The parade was at 11 pm... and everyone was awake for it!
Richard, Jenne, Jacob, Christopher and Nick went to ride a couple of rides one last time after the parade while I stayed with the stroller crew, who had by now finally fallen asleep. After the last ride on Splash Mountain at midnight, we all headed to Main Street for ice cream.
As we sat on the curb eating our ice cream, we noticed the crowds had dissipated... and we had a clear view of Cinderella's Castle!
At about 1 am, our visit to the Magic Kingdom had come to an end and we walked out the gate to the parking lot.
Yep... there was only one other car left in the parking lot besides our two. We had opened the park... and closed the park! I think we definitely got our money's worth this trip!
The Disney parks are fun- but what I enjoyed most was watching our grandkids. They are young enough to believe that they are really driving the cars on Autopia... to believe it's really Cinderella... to believe that Mickey-shaped confetti is pixie dust. To believe...
At the Princess Breakfast, Cinderella gave each child a "Wishing Star" ("When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are..." from Pinocchio). Christopher said he was keeping his forever.
Nick knew he was making great music banging a spoon on a washboard at the Hoop De Doo Review. It was more fun than strawberry shortcake!
Ben has loved Mickey Mouse for a long time. The look on his face is one of absolute delight at holding Mickey's hands and having his undivided attention. I couldn't hear their conversation but Ben told me it was a secret...
Lexie was kissed by both Ariel and Snow White at the Princess Breakfast... how much more loved can you get? Oh- and she told me they were real princesses... really!
I think I speak for everyone when I say that we all had a most magical time at Disney World... mostly because we were together... and because of the Mouse!
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