Day 8 - Saturday, December 4th
Magic Kingdom (9am to Midnight), Boardwalk, Captain's Grille, Beaches and Cream
*Christmas Parade Taping Day*
Weather: High of 70, Low of 37
What we wore: Pants, t-shirts and hoodies
Coming off of a late night, fun filled day at Epcot, we had no breakfast reservations and knew we could sleep in - hurray!! Sleep in we DID and though my time stamps were off on my photos, I'm pretty sure we didn't roll into Magic Kingdom until around 11am.
We had no idea what to expect crowd wise as today was the scheduled taping of the Christmas Day Parade. When planning the trip I hadn't known it was going to be that day, but digging into it a bit more, some things I read said to avoid MK at all costs, and others said to go because most people would be staying away.
So in the end, I kept it and the cool factor of watching the parade on Christmas morning knowing that we were there that day was awesome.
I'd read that we would be diverted away from Main Street upon entering the park and would go behind the scenes to Tomorrowland - another cool factor! Our plan for the day was just to see how it went. We'd go about our day as if it was any other but if we got the chance to see a performance here or there, or even a snippet of the parade itself - bonus!
Heading in, our timing was fantastic and guess who was just coming out to greet guests?
What a great start! We noted that Main Street wasn't blocked off after all but hopped right onto the WDW Railroad with plans to head first to Demetri's favorite ride. I snapped a picture of the crowds still coming in.....
What were we in for?? Well someone wasn't particularly worried.....
Jumping off in Frontierland, it was straight to Splash Mountain.....
.... and then a hop, skip and a jump to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, also known as to my family..... the CRAZY train!
All passengers securely fastened.....
I thought I'd have a little fun on this particular ride seeing as how I was in the back and all..... I flipped my camera setting to video and recorded the ride. I absolutely love how halfway thru as we're passing the ferry boat we all feverishly started waving at everyone.
Click to play!
At this point we were pretty hungry having skipped breakfast and headed over to the Pickle Barrel for lunch. Standard fare was eagerly consumed....
.... and straight after we made our first attempt to meet Tiana and Naveen.
Whoops! Actually they were coming back out about 15 min later so with a small crowd ahead of us, I sent Alex and Kathryn off by themselves while the rest of us waited. George took the kiddies off to a nearby bench and I was the poor sod who was left behind to stand in the line. Spouses were breaking out regularly to go grab drinks and snacks while someone stayed behind and a Dad from the family in front of me took drink orders from his crew. I laughed and piped in that I'd take a Diet Coke and with a chuckle, off he went. Wouldn't you know it - he comes back and hands out his purchases and hands me a Diet Coke!! I was shocked and a little embarrassed insisting I'd only been kidding, he didn't really have to give me the Diet Coke but with a laugh he said it was his treat. A few more "are you sure?" 's and I thanked him profusely for the drink, George laughing at me from the bench.
Tiana and Naveen came back and we had the most entertaining meet with them. Demetri thought they were absolutely hilarious and Ariana was in heaven.
These two are definately worth waiting for to see!
Coming up next.... Pixie Dust!
I PROMISE to have an update done here later tonight for our day 8! For those that followed my PTR, this was the day that I had to scramble to make a new ressie after Kouzina closed for refurbishment! 
I forgot it was Survivor night and I do a recap email for the pool I help run AND it's Game 7 on a few NHL playoff games tonight so.........
! Glad you've joined in!
