The Annual Pass Bonus Trip April/May 16. One big megathread

Day 5

Woke up at 7am and saw that I had message from our friend Brian (who worked at the Animal Kingdom Lodge club lounge). He was working the day at the Boardwalk so we made plans to go over and see him first thing.

We got dressed and made our way over, valet parked and went in to find Brian <3 he was working on the front desk so we found him right away. Cue lots of hugs! We caught up for about 15 minutes and we gave him the chocolates we had brought over for him, but we didn't want to stay too long and get him into trouble for slacking off. I'm totally gutted that I forgot to get a pic :'-(

We then made our way over to Epcot We did toy with breakfast at the Boardwalk Bakery but the queue was mahooooosive so instead we decided to France. We stopped on the way for a few pics of the Flower and Garden festival while there was no one else around.









The bakery was pretty empty inside. I decided to get a croissant and a Demi pain. Sy went for a bacon and cheese pastry. We were served by a guy from Toulon, the place where I spent most of my childhood holidays! We chatted a little bit about his hometown and our shared love for it <3



We then found a table and got our munch on... My croissant was pretty disappointing if I'm honest. I'll skip that next time. However the bread was good and Sy's enjoyed his.



Once finished we made our way to the front of the park to meet up with Ali, grabbing some more flower and garden pics on the way...









We met Ali at the Joy and Sadness meet and hopped in the queue. I had to take a pic of Ali's top, perfect for the meet! Ali is a huge sadness fan and I'm a Joy fan, so I think we balance each other perfectly



The queue took forEVER! Omg! It didn't look long when we joined but it moved soooooooo slowly. I think we waited 45 minutes! But then it was our turn and it was amazing <3<3 Sadness loved Ali's top. I told Joy that we were the real life Joy and Sadness, was such a fun meet.







After the handlers dragged us away kicking and screaming like little children... We went across the room and joined the queue for Baymax which only took 5 minutes.

Sy was wearing the perfect tshirt for the occasion...



And seeing as Sy was wearing his special outfit Ali and I decided we would let him to meet Baymax first...









Awwwwwwwwww <3 <3

They hugged, and hugged, and hugged. Sy tried to get away but Baymax wouldn't let go! Eventually though we were allowed to come in for some pictures too. Ali got a bit cuddle happy and Baymax ended up wearing some make up :O poor Baymax had to have a baby wipe haha.



As we were right there, we popped across the walkway into Character Spot.













I have no idea what Minnie and I were talking about, but it looks animated haha.

Ali isn't the biggest Epcot fan (I know, shock horror!) so other than the meet and greets, she's not spent a whole load of time in Epcot. We were trying to change her mind We stopped to watch the Jaminators, a cute little show (and one of the things I remember from my first ever visit to Epcot)





It was hot out after being stood in direct sun, so we decided to do Ellen's energy adventure (as Ali had never been on it) followed by Test track (another first for Ali).









We stopped to get some photopass pics. The lady was making us do fun things but she sounded like she couldn't be any less excited to be at work if she tried hahaha.









While we were waiting for Test Track we were chatting with Vicki and we made plans to head over to Sweet Tomatoes for some lunch. Sy walked back through World Showcase to get the car and I went with Ali as she wasn't sure of the way. On the way out however I spotted a sign at the Art of Disney shop saying David Doss was in there signing his pictures :O O.M.G. He is our favourite Disney artist, we have a few pictures of his hanging in our beachy themed bathroom. Of course we had to go inside and take a sneak peek... Ali had 2 pictures signed and I bought another picture and had it signed to Sy.

David also graciously posed for a pic with us. He seemed genuinely pleased when I told his that we already had some of his pictures.





We then rushed over to Sweet Tomatoes arriving only a few minutes late... Vicki and the kids were already waiting for us along with Sy.... Oops!

Lunch was sooo yummy. I do love a sweet tomatoes. And a bargain. We stayed for quite a while just chatting, before heading back to our hotel to swim and do some packing - tomorrow we would be heading to Vero Beach!



We had another friend waiting for us in our room when we got back...



How cute is that?! We now had a boy and a girl

The wifi in our room had been unusable and we had raised it a few times with Disney, not long after we returned to the room an engineer arrived to have another go at fixing it, which was great but it meant we couldn't really get on with the packing... Nor could we get changed into our swimwear...

After he left we were able to get changed and go for a swim. I went over to the main pool first but omg it was sooooo busy. I lay down on one of the only spare loungers I could find, Sy was meant to be coming to find me but after about 10 minutes I'd already given up with the main pool and walked back over to the quiet pool by our room.

How pretty is this resort?!



We only had time for a super quick dip to cool down and then had to back up to the room to change. We had somewhere special to go tonight... We were heading to Club Villain!! Woohoo!!! Once dressed we made our way to the bus stop, Club Villain is a free bar so in case we wanted a few drinks we thought we better get the bus we didn't have long to wait at all.

Bus selfie!



We arrived at Hollywood Studios in no time. We had a Fastpass for the Great Movie Ride so we went there first, it was our first time since the new additions - I wasn't convinced lol but then maybe it's just cause I hate change?! Haha! Great Movie Ride is a huge favourite of mine so maybe I just don't want it messed with...



We still had a bit of time to kill so we went to watch the Muppet show, a classic!

It was then time to meet up with Ali and head into Club Villain! Squeeeeeee!

I Must start by saying, I wasn't really sure I wanted to do club villain, it's an awful lot of money for me to not eat any of the food and hardly drink. Sy wanted to do it and Ali so I went along with it, and my goodness I am SO glad I did. I really enjoyed the whole evening.

We checked in about half an hour early and were given welcome drinks and our official invitations with our set times to meet the characters (to avoid big queues). There were standing tables set up but we went for one of the benches off to one side to get a seat.









They invited everyone in 10 minutes early, we found our table was right in the middle so we had a great view of the stage and dance floor. The food was out already so I went round taking pictures of everything.















Desserts















Ali knew to go round all the different thrones to get pictures sat in the empty seats so we did that before eating.







Being a right queen on his throne...



Each villain had their own signature cocktail, and there was a normal fairly well stocked bar. There were also cans of soft drinks so you could help yourself. I actually didn't feel 100% so I decided not to drink, we tried one of each cocktail though, some were nicer than others.





As I expected, I didn't enjoy any of the food. I couldn't eat any of the savoury dishes (I did try the gumbo till I realised it had something in it I couldn't have) and the desserts were very sweet, I just didn't enjoy them. Sy loved it all though so that was good.

When we sat down to eat the show started, I didn't know there would be a show element to the party, so I was pleasantly surprised. It was very, very good as well. It was a singer (Kanzo), dancers and Dr Facilier. They introduced the Villains to come out to sit in their thrones for the meets.

We joined the queue for Cruella De Vil first, she was very fun.







Maleficent was definitely a more serious affair. She made us stand all serious for the pictures lol









Later on we met the Queen of Hearts who was AMAZING! Her queue was soooo long but that's cause she was taking her time with everyone. She's one of the best meets I've ever had, and that's even with her going crazy at me for having a white rose in my hair and shunning me out of the pictures she took a real shine so Sy though











She was not happy with Ali's ears...



Last up was the Evil Queen, she was very serious again, though we shared a moment in that I don't really like Snow White either - she's too vacuous for me haha. She appreciated that I didn't like her haha. Ali said she didn't trust her as she lived with so many men! Hahahaha!









The whole feel of the night was very adult. There were a couple of kids but 95% over 21's. People were dressed up, I almost felt under dressed! I see they have added dates for while we are there in October... I'd be lying if I said I wasnt tempted - it really was that good! But it's a lot of money for somewhere that I'm not going to drink much or eat. But who knows, if we come into some money between now and then, maybe I'll book it

Some more party pics from the night





The party finished at 11:15 (slightly later than scheduled) so we made our way back out of an empty park. We stopped on the way to get a couple of pictures while it was empty.





When we got out to the bus station we were asked where we were going and then taken to a bus who took us and one other family back to Coronado. What service eh? He even asked which stop so he could go straight there.

We walked back to our room and then stumbled on the hammocks by the beach. We decided to sit for a bit star gazing. It was the perfect end to a lovely evening <3







Back in the room we packed up most of our things and we were in bed by 12:30am.

Club Villain sounds awesome, i think Mike would like the food and i'd like the cocktails.

Day 6

Vero beach day!

Woke up with the alarm at 7:30 and finished up packing. We called down to Bell Services to ask them to transfer 2 bags over to the Boardwalk ready for us to arrive in 2 days time, the guy was there in no time at all.

Over the last few days we had been chatting with another family who was also staying at Coronado Springs (they are members of the facebook group we help manage - it's orlando time). Well we found out as we were about to leave that they were in the room right next door! Small world! So of course we grabbed a quick pic together before we left.



We were finally leaving Coronado Springs at 9:25 and heading over to pick up Ali from the Disney car centre where she was ditching her car that she had used all of about twice hehe

We were on the road within minutes! Woohoo!

We stopped to get a McDonald's breakfast on the way - breakfast of champions right?! Any reason Sy can pull to get another McGriddle, today's was 'well we need to get on the road so I think we should get a McDonald's' hahaha. He got his McGriddle inside him and he was a happy driver.

The car journey there was pretty uneventful, we came off of the highway a little early so we could drive along the coast road. It took about 2 & 1/2 hours in total by the time we stopped for breakfast, gas and drove some of the way along the coast.

Some pics of the road trip.









Of course we were earlier than the normal check in time but luckily for us our rooms were ready!



We got first visit pins as it was our first time to Vero Beach which was cute.







We were in the main building in a 'garden view' room which was actually just a car park view. We had connecting rooms though which was brilliant.

Loving the elevator hand!



I went around taking a million pics, the newly refurbished rooms were beautiful <3

















We unpacked what we had brought with us and then popped out to find some lunch, I'd been looking online and found a highly rated place by the beach so we went off in search of it.

I must say, when we arrived I was a bit worried - it was really manky looking. We went in gingerly, ordered at the bar and sat at one of the tables. (It looks nicer in the picture than it did in real life!)



Can't beat the view from our table though...



The girl who took our order was so friendly, she mad over to chat with us. The food came and we were in agreement that it was the best food we had eaten all trip! And since coming home I still stand by that statement! I had home made nachos, Sy had a shrimp po boy and Ali had chicken tenders and fries.







We chatted some more with the girl there and told her how much we enjoyed the food, we were debating going back the next day but she told us it was their last day of opening! Noooooo! She was taking the food to the road in a food truck.

Afterwards we popped in next door for an ice cream and sat outside in the warm Florida sunshine.



We walked over the street to take some pics of the beautiful beach.













We then made our way back to the hotel for a swim - I was even brave enough for a trip down the slide hehehe

Back in the room we showered and got dressed for dinner. We decided to head into Vero to Sonny's BBQ.

We arrived at about 8pm and were some of the last people in there, clearly Vero is a place where people are up early and in bed early. We were very much the novelty tourists in there, with the waitresses telling us how much they loved our accents haha





The food was really good, and again we got some of the massive glasses haha











We paid the bill and I think were the very last ones to leave at about 9pm.

We were right nextdoor to a Walmart so we decided to pop inside for some supplies. We got few things like drinks, stuff to take home, and some noodles for the pool.

Ali went to one check out next to Sy and I, and as we were walking out Ali was in fits of laughter. The lady on the check out was blown away by Ali's accent! She had complimented Ali on her dress and when Ali said thank you her words were 'What you sayin'? is that your real accent?' She couldn't believe that Ali's Scottish accent was real Hahahaha. I guess we really were outside of the tourist area! At first when Ali told me I thought she meant the kids who had been in the queue ahead of us, that was funny enough but when she said no it was the check out girl we fell about in fits of laughter hehehehe.

We drove back to our hotel and decided to pop into the bar for a drink.
Sy went for his old favourite - Long Island iced tea. I had a strawberry daiquiri and Ali went for a blue glowtini.







We only stayed for 1 drink, think the early morning was catching up with us! We paid up and made our way to bed, hopping in around 11:30. I was beginning to fall a little bit in love with Vero Beach.

Chilly said:

Club Villain sounds awesome, i think Mike would like the food and i'd like the cocktails.

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I think that's how it went for us... Lol

I so need to go to Vero Beach.

Chilly said:

I so need to go to Vero Beach.

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It's amazing! I really did love it, I can't wait to go back

RobynPrincess said:

It's amazing! I really did love it, I can't wait to go back

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I wonder what it would be like in between Christmas and New Year, we had planned a cruise but i think it'll be too expensive.

Day 7

So my notes for today say 'Vero'. Just that one word.... oh dear! Come on memory... Don't fail me now!

We were up and out at about 9 (i think), heading into Vero for breakfast. I'd found a highly rated place on Trip Advisor called the Lemon Tree. Ali described it as the old peoples breakfast hahaha! It's totally accurate though, we were some of the youngest in there, it was decorated for the older generation - not in a bad way though. And the food. Omg the food! I could see why this place had such high ratings and a queue out of the door! Luckily when we arrived there wasn't a wait but it built while we were there. It was pretty reasonably priced from what I remember too











Sy's breakfast



Ali's breakfast



My breakfast



We popped to the outlets which were about 10 minutes drive away, I couldn't be that near an outlet and not go in naturally Wow this was a different experience to Orlando! It was almost empty! We mooched for a an hour or so, got a couple of bits in Ralph Lauren (some palazzo pants for me and a couple of shirts for Sy) before making our way back to the hotel.

Found this super cute sign from Crackerbarrel that I'm still kicking myself for not buying...



Back in the room we got changed and headed down to the pool... Only to get there in time for them to close it due to a storm coming in. I looked up at the sky. Nope not a single cloud. None in the distance even. I know they close it when there's a storm within a certain distance but it was a little frustrating when there wasn't a cloud in the sky, nor did one ever appear. It's for everyone's safety though so shouldn't really complain... I'm just grumbling and being a grouch.

We walked back up to the room deciding to have a nap instead.... We lasted for about 20 minutes before I was ready to kill someone. They were laying carpet above! Bang bang bang.... So we decided to chance the pool again while I still had my sanity.
In the mean time I'd got some washing ready and went to find some machines on route to the pool. I went to the front desk to find out where they were and was told that all the main building machines were out of use as there was work going on on the top floor. So I had to go to one of the outer buildings and they only had 1 machine! Gah! That was super annoying only being able to do one wash at a time.

Pool was open again so I was swimming/sun bathing in half hour stints between going back to change loads in the washing machine.



I did find time to buy us a dole whip each. It was Ali's first ever :O omg! How has Ali in all of her many trips to Walt Disney World never had a Dole Whip? It was a hit though so that's good it might have taken Ali a while to have her first one but I don't think it will be her last! It was a refreshing change not to have to queue up for it too.



As the sun started to make its way down Sy and I went for a quick walk along the beach as we hadn't stepped foot on there yet. It was so peaceful - there was pretty much no one else around. It was totally picturesque. We spent a little time walking along and watching the little birds chasing in and out as the waves came in. Was just like the short 'Piper' from Finding Dory!









Sy decided to be a cutie and write a note in the sand.





We then made our way back to the room to get ready for dinner. Tonight was a very special dinner... Pirate dinner with Goofy and Donald!

There's not much written about this online but what I could gather was that it was a bit like hoop de doo food, served family style. I was right about the style of food but wrong about the way it was served, they had changed it to a buffet. There were only 4 tables in there including us and one table of cast members! I'm guessing this might be why it's been cancelled now... (Sob!).

We were given bandanas and beads to wear, the waiters were all dressed up too.

Sy looks like a reject from a crap rock band hahahaha





There were table decorations as well as wall hangings and a DJ blaring out Piratey music.













It lacked a little atmosphere to begin with but it got better as soon as the Cast Members got going, the 2 cm running the night were 'Sally Sealegs' and 'Captain Nobeard'. They were fab! They were playing with the kids, teaching them to speak pirate and play games. Poor Captain could have done with some parental help at one point when there were a couple of kids using him as sword practice hehe. There's only so many times you can say 'gently', 'enough now' and 'that's hurting me' :O

The food was very okay, it wasn't very hot but there was a lot of it. They went for quantity over quality I fear, but I found enough to eat so that was fine.















Once we were fed Goofy and Donald came out to pose for pictures, they really could have done with some better lighting here or a photographer. The pictures came out terribly!









Afterwards the guys stayed around for a dance! Goofy could really throw some shapes. I've taken a screen grab of Goofy doing the skanky leg from our 18 min long video hehe



The evening started to wrap up and we were the last table to leave before the table of staff. We sat chatting with Sally for a while, she was telling us about how much she loves working there and that she's actually getting married there and honeymooning in Hawaii when we are planning to be there next September. Who knows maybe we will see her?! Will we recognise her without her pirate outfit i wonder? Hehe

We weren't quite ready for bed so we went up to the bar and got another cocktail each. It had been a big day back home for the Facebook page we manage, we had hit 50,000 members! So of course we had to get a cocktail to celebrate #anyexcuse









We sat out on the balcony, but of course it was dark so we could hear the waves but couldn't see them. It was a gorgeous evening.

I was really falling in love with Vero

Wel it would have been rude not to celebrate wouldn't it!

Chilly said:

Wel it would have been rude not to celebrate wouldn't it!

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well of course any excuse hehehe

Really enjoying this one, thanks for sharing!

Day 8

Today was a sad day.... We were leaving Vero boohoo!

Side note, I didn't take a single note from here out so the rest of the trip will be done from memory and pictures to jog it haha. I hope it's still fun to read!

This morning we decided not to rush off early as we didn't know when we would get back here, so we leisurely packed and went downstairs for some breakfast in Shutters. Sy took aaaaaaaaaaaaages to get ready so Ali and I went ahead and even ordered without him... Well that's what you get when you take forever to get ready grrrrrr (story of my life waiting for Sy to be ready for stuff! Honestly, I tell him we need to be places half hour early when we are at home so that he gets sorted in time - he was running into the church when he heard the horses on the street with me arriving at our wedding!).

Anyway, I couldn't stay mad for too long - who could stay mad in a beautiful place like Vero?!



We ordered from our super cute waitress (who must have been about 80), I went for French toast made without cinnamon - I know I'm weird but I really don't like cinnamon! Ali had the same thing - she is also weird and doesn't like cinnamon



Sy went for corned beef hash.



How cute is the butter?



We were given maple syrup, a pineapple and orange marmalade and some honey butter...



We could use our tables in wonderland to get 20% discount in here which was fab.

I took a couple of pictures around the hotel.





We packed up the last of our things and made our way to check out sad times!

We stopped by the lounge we had drinks in the last 2 nights so we could get a view of the sea without it being pitch black.









The pics didn't really come out of us but a lady at a table there offered to take a picture and we didn't want to be rude and say thanks but no thanks.







We then hit the road. We drove straight onto the highway to get back to Disney as soon as possible! Ali and I both napped on the drive. Only a few days earlier I had been telling Ali about the car that looks like a mouse and we saw it on the way back!



Gotta love seeing that sign again! Takes the edge off having to leave Vero



We made our way over to Boardwalk first, we were checking into a standard view studio for a week. As the rooms had just been refurbished Ali decided to come with us and have a look. She's decided that she's a deluxe person trapped in a value budget hehehe but hey, if it means you can afford to go to Disney at least twice per year I'd take value over deluxe!

We took Ali over to Pop Century so she could check in and then made our way back to the Boardwalk.

We got changed and made our way down to the boardwalk area. Stopped on the way to snap this pic.



We watched some of the performers down at the boardwalk for a while.



Look at the beautiful sunset <3







We then made our way over to the international gateway and into Epcot.

Tonight's munchies were from the flower and garden festival booths.

I was a bit rubbish at taking pictures, I did remember this one of Sy's bratwurst. He said it was yummy!



I snapped this pic while we were heading round World Showcase. So pretty <3



I got some spring rolls from China and bumped into Amy who was there buying some of the candied strawberries. Amy and I are Facebook friends - we met on Walt Disney World For Grown Ups! We were hoping to bump into each other, we had messaged on facebook and we were both heading the right way around world showcase, we had said what we were each wearing so we knew what to look out for hehehe. Amy had left her mum in a spot ready to watch Illuminations so we went back with Amy and stayed to watch it with them. It was a while off so we had a good old chat while we waited. It was SO lovely to finally meet!!!!

Amy is amazing and remembered to get a picture.



Illuminations was good as always - still not quite Wishes hehe



It was extra magic hours tonight, we had hoped we could eat some more from the booths but they had all closed up - clearly they weren't staying open late. So we said goodbye to Amy and her mum and made our way back through the international gateway. We planned to go into Big River Grille at some point while we were staying at the Boardwalk and with the food booths closing and scuppering our plans to eat there, tonight seemed like the perfect opportunity. We went in and sat down while perusing the menu, I started to feel a bit icky though so we decided to order take out to the room instead, Sy waited for it while I went on ahead. I got the nachos while Sy had a burger. It was pretty good, and not bad for the price. I'm sure we will eat here again when staying at the boardwalk.





We then decided to get into bed and get some sleep. It was about 11:30 by this point so we were ready to head to the land of nod.

i too am a deluxe girl trapped in a value body.

Day 9 storms

BANG!!! CRASH!!! Sy was up and out of bed with his shorts on before he knew what had happened or what was going on. I looked at the clock, 7am.

Waking up to a loud bang isn't the most pleasant way to wake up. And what was it that woke us up so rudely? It was a huge storm going on over us - I think it was the loudest thunder I've ever heard. You know it was loud as Sy was up and out of bed so quickly, usually I have to prod and poke him for ages before he wakes up hehehe I love that he put his shorts on over his pyjama shorts though hahahahaha autopilot!

Today was May the 4th. And to celebrate May the 4th be with you... We were attending a dapper event at Hollywood Studios. Only, remember what woke us up? Oh no and it wasn't the typical Florida storm with warm rain... It was COLD. Humph. I'd made us special outfits and we were meeting lots of people there so we decided a bit of rain wasn't going to put us off... And off we went!



It was empty down at the Boardwalk. Not a single other person waiting for a boat - sounds like heaven but really all that means is that it really was that cold and miserable that no one else was as stupid as us lol







The boat was empty of course and we arrived without sinking which was no mean feat in this rain.

We were a bit late for a big meet with some of the characters inside launch bay so we waited around inside until we saw them coming out.



We tried to get some pictures but the rain wasn't being very helpful. In the mean time Jackie arrived so we had hugs all around!



We managed to get a couple of pics with umbrellas. And then we moved to get some more. The plan had been to march with the storm troopers but with the rain as it was, they weren't allowed to come out. So instead we did a lot of hanging around. It gave us chance to chat to Jackie though which was good.







We were seriously cold and wet so we decided we would head out of the park for a few hours and come back later when hopefully the rain would be gone.

On our way out we bumped into the friends we met at the last dapper event, Lorraine, Liz and Nicola so we stopped for pics and a quick hello. We then also found Lea so we got a couple more pics (any excuse for a picture).







We then made our way out to the boat, Jackie came with us and we made some plans on the fly with Ali and Louis as well to go for lunch and then a trip to the Cast Member shop. We stopped in our room to quickly get changed and put on some dry clothes and leave out dapper outfits hanging to dry, before heading to pick up Ali and then Louis.

In the car we decided on Chili's for lunch. The guy who served us was actually a Cast Member as well. He was a real cutie.

The food was yummy as it always is there.





We paid up and drove over to cast member connections.



Yep you could buy these...





We each bought a few things, I got some of the Christmas drinks cups for my niece and next door neighbours little girls - I didn't realise they were Christmas ones till after I got home and my niece told me lol.

We then made our way to Disney Springs for a wander around. Jackie was staying at Saratoga so we parked up right by her room (Disney springs end) and made our way in.

More shopping was done (don't think about the creditcard statement till you get home Sy!)



We then made our way back to the car. Jackie left us for now to do some packing and we took Louis back home as he had a shift in Magic Kingdom to get ready for. Ali came with us back to Hollywood studios via a quick stop in the hotel room to change back into our marginally less wet clothes from earlier.

First stop was the Star Wars Launch Bay again, and this time we were meeting Chewbacca and Kilo Ren. We went to meet Kilo first, he took a real shine to Ali - ali wasn't at all sure though as I felt this tugging on my skirt and heard subliminal help me pleas. I think her face says it all....



Hehehehehehehe







We then went to meet Chewie. He was very cute and friendly - the total opposite of Kilo.





We went to meet Olaf, as none of us had ever met him before. The queue was fast moving but the reason for that was because he posed for one pic and the we were shooed out the door by the handler



We met up with Liz, Nicole and Lorraine again outside Olaf and stood chatting for a while trying to avoid getting too wet (it was hammering down now). We even managed to get a picture.





We got a few photopass pics as well.

We did something else I'm sure, it might have been Muppets but my lack of notes are coming back to bite me! We then made our way to meet Woody and Buzz. We got in the queue as it looked tiny but we stood there for 15 minutes not moving so we gave up and went outside to Toy Story Mania as it had a 10 min queue! Yes people. That was the silver lining of the ever flowing rain! It was still raining by the way, it hadn't really stopped all day boo! Never have I ever heard of toy story mania with so little wait time. The cast members were shouting it out to people like they couldn't believe it either hehehe

This was the point in which we reached the end of the queue. Pretty amazing huh?









I won against Ali and got a kitty, but Sy won over all! #menhaveanadvantageonthisride







We then made our way over to Fantasmic as it had *finally* stopped raining! Wooooooo!

Fantasmic was empty, they weren't even filling one half of the stadium. It was crazy - I've never seen it so empty!

We met the nicest Cast Member while we were waiting. We were on the back row by the end where she was monitoring the dining packages. She was so sweet I gave her one of the little cards I'd made up*. She was so happy and cried and showed all the other cast members who were working nearby. I got a warm squishy feeling in my tummy!

*not sure if I'd said before but I'd made up cards to give out to cast members who made our day. They had a picture of Squirt from Finding Nemo and said 'thanks for making our trip totally sweet'.

Fantasmic was great! And the rain held off - woohoo!





We then made our way back to the Chinese Theatre to get a spot for the Star Wars fireworks. This was another silver lining of the day, we rocked up 10 minutes before they were due to start and got a great spot front and centre.

The fireworks. Wow. Just wow. I'm not even a Star Wars fan and I was seriously blown away!



It was then time to leave the park as it was closing time. Only problem was - we weren't ready for bed and Jackie was at Magic Kingdom for Extra Magic Hours! So of course we went to see her! Via both hotels for some dry clothes, I grabbed a hoodie as well as I was cold, and Ali changed her shoes as they were soaked through.

Magic kingdom at night is something special. Especially on a night like this, the rain hadn't just kept people away in Hollywood studios... Magic kingdom was empty too.



We met up with Jackie at the front of the park and then skipped around like children riding soooo many rides! We went on the Carousel, it's a small world, Dumbo (twice without getting off), Peter Pan to name a few.











It was then time for the park to close We stopped to get a few pictures on the way out.









We caught the kiss goodnight while on Main Street. We stopped in to see Louis in Guest Relations and chatted to him and a few of his work friends. When we walked back outside we realised that we were among the last people to leave the park!

We stopped to get a few pictures and the other people disappeared off making us the last ones to leave! It was pretty cool getting pictures on the empty Main Street.















Sy decided he needed food but I was totally shattered so Ali, Jackie and I all headed for the buses while Sy went back to the car and in search of food. There were rows of empty buses there ready to take guests back to their resorts, so we all got on our own personal buses! This would be the last time we would see Jackie before she went home so we had loads of hugs - we really had the best day and we're all sad it was over. We then all got on our respective buses, my bus driver saw the hugs and held out his arms for one, and as I'm never one to turn down a free hug - we had hugs too! Hahaha it was so cute! (My one final note of the trip said 'hugs all round at the end of the night, including the bus driver David).

I chatted with David all the way back and wished him a good night when I hopped off at the Boardwalk.





Back in the room I got ready for bed and hopped in just as Sy arrived back. Sy ate his food while watching tv and I crashed out as it was now 2:30am! 7am was a looooong time ago!