Bazinga! It was LEGEN-wait for it-DARY COMPLETED

[creativeamanda]

I love Disney resort pools at night....

It is wonderful!

On the contrary I think it adds interest: did you know there are over 2,000 styles of trash can within WDW?.....

LOL, LM, you are right!

That's because Disney is secretly introducing "Beverly" into its drink line-up.

That's what it tastes like! I never thought it that way.

So what is the protocol now?? Is there no "rope drop" at any park anymore?.....I'm confused!

Only Magic Kingdom has a rope drop ceremony.

I missed a TON of updates!!!! I'm thinking of Yacht Club for if my parents come to visit in Sept. Actually, they are thinking 2 nights at a Universal resort and 2 at Yacht Club..I can live with that

I love the Yacht/Beach Club area! I'm glad my pictures could help you in that decision!

 

[LegoMom3]

...



Only Magic Kingdom has a rope drop ceremony.

...

So at the other parks, do they just hold everyone at the turn-styles until opening?....don't they still mob to the headliner attractions?

 

[creativeamanda]

So at the other parks, do they just hold everyone at the turn-styles until opening?....don't they still mob to the headliner attractions?

No, because you never know when the opening might be. It may be at 8:30, 8:45. You get the idea. When the rides are ready, they open the turnstiles. It only has about 10 or so coming through at a time.

 

[creativeamanda]

After having our Soarin' fix, we headed on to a new favorite at Epcot:

The kids really like making their own Roller Coaster. We found the milder coasters not as fun, so we made more and more thrilling rides.

From there, we walked over to get our Test Track fast pass and ride Mission Space

I love seeing the monorail go through the park!

And I think the artistry out here is so pretty. . .especially at night​

While waiting for the Test Track time to come back up for us, we went back over to Innovations and let the kids just play. That's what I really love about the areas at Disney!

Danny learning about recycling.​

After some time, the fastpasses were up for us:

I'm really going to miss this next month

After looking at some cars, we went on to lunch, which of course is the most prized ADR in all of Disney:

Boo is happy with her fruit

Does that moose have a crooked mouth?​

So, what did I think of Le Cellier? The soup and pretzel bread was wonderful. My maple creme brulee was good. But my steak was too salty. This is a common complaint I see on the boards about Le Cellier and it's typically for the NY Strip. I'm going to try something different in June. Maybe I'll have more good to report.

After lunch, we stepped out and watched the ducks in Canada dive.

He's diving!

If you look closely, one is at the bottom of the water!

​

So, after a lunch where we needed to be rolled out, we headed back through the

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Wouldn't you know it? We just needed a nap!

Coming up: ALLLL BY MY-SEEEELF!

 

[natebenma]

Wow, I was really behind on your report!

That looked like a lot of fun seeing all those Star Wars characters out.

The props in the Backlot Tour dump shop are seriously cool!

I asked about the butterfly topiary on the BC board and a recent visitor confirmed that it is gone!

GORGEOUS pictures of SAB at night! I love the colors. It is so cool that you can see the fireworks from the pool.

I enjoyed reading about your EPCOT fun (and food).

Do you know you can call the UK phone booths?

The numbers are:

407-827-9861
407-827-9862
407-827-9863

Can't wait to hear about your solo time coming up!

 

[creativeamanda]

Wow, I was really behind on your report!

That looked like a lot of fun seeing all those Star Wars characters out.

The props in the Backlot Tour dump shop are seriously cool!

They are!

I asked about the butterfly topiary on the BC board and a recent visitor confirmed that it is gone!

That is so, so, so sad.

GORGEOUS pictures of SAB at night! I love the colors. It is so cool that you can see the fireworks from the pool.

Thanks!

I enjoyed reading about your EPCOT fun (and food).

Do you know you can call the UK phone booths?

The numbers are:

407-827-9861
407-827-9862
407-827-9863

Can't wait to hear about your solo time coming up!

I knew that, but I didn't know the numbers. I'd love to have my husband call us there!

In fact, I think we'll get him to call Sweetie to surprise her!

 

[creativeamanda]

That evening, while my family headed to the pool, I ventured over here by myself:

​

Many people would wonder why on earth I feel as if of all places, the Magic Kingdom is a perfect solo location. Sometimes, I like to have the same theory as Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory--my best company can be myself!

One might wonder where my very first stop was. Pirates of the Caribbean? Winnie The Pooh? Fastpasses for Space Mountain?

Or what about The Haunted Mansion?

Nope. None of these:

Yumminess in one spot!

Sugar free butter pecan

And the best part is the view
​

I walked around, taking pictures:

This picture spent a long time as my phone background.
​

From there, I went to the Haunted Mansion. Where I had the photobomb of the trip:

Could you take my picture in front of the Haunted Mansion? Nah, don't worry about sending it to me.

I half expect to see vines growing out and towards me!

No way I'm ringing THAT doorbell!
​

Of course, what's a trip to the Magic Kingdom without:

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My true purpose for coming this evening, however, was to take pictures. I got a few before the heat really got to me and I headed back to the room:

I love this angle

In 20 days, I'll be in there!

Sea of PEOPLE!

I love you, Mickey!
​

I had grand plans for staying late, but alas, the heat, humidity, and exhaustion got to me. Instead, I headed home:

Looks like a storms brewing!

​

The family was back in the room, and I had one thing on my list of pictures to take. Sorry it's a year later, Dee, but a hamburger from Hurricane Hanna's which took me FOREVER to get.

Ah, heart attack in a half paper box. How I love you!
​

In all, although it was a brief amount of time, I enjoyed my alone time that evening. I even have a photopass picture to commemorate the adventure:

Coming up: Where do we go for our last full day?

 

[natebenma]

So jealous of your solo MK time. I had a little solo time in MK back in 2008- during Tropical Storm Faye. The rest of the family packed it in and went back to the room. I stayed a little bit. Rode Splash (I was already soaked), got some food from Caseys and also a solo photopass shot.

Your time alone sounded much better!

Thanks for the Hurricane Hanna's burger picture. Fortunately, I'm a very patient woman!

Hmmm. What do you do on the last day??? I'm going with one of two extremes- either EVERYTHING (2 plus parks) or nothing (hanging around the resort)

 

[LegoMom3]

IS there a better place than the MK for a solo adventure?? I'm not aware of such. Beautiful pictures! I love the ones of Walt & Mickey.... I just read on someone else's TR that in Disneyland, that statue of Walt is pointing up, to the future, and here in the MK, he is pointing down Main St. towards Roy, who will now [at the '71 opening] lead Mickey into the future. Wow....!

.

 

[creativeamanda]

So jealous of your solo MK time. I had a little solo time in MK back in 2008- during Tropical Storm Faye. The rest of the family packed it in and went back to the room. I stayed a little bit. Rode Splash (I was already soaked), got some food from Caseys and also a solo photopass shot.

Your time alone sounded much better!

Great picture, Dee! Yeah, I'm thinking mine was more enjoyable than yours, lol.

Thanks for the Hurricane Hanna's burger picture. Fortunately, I'm a very patient woman!

It's a good thing. I came across that picture and thought, "Oh fudge! I owed that to you a long time ago!"

Hmmm. What do you do on the last day??? I'm going with one of two extremes- either EVERYTHING (2 plus parks) or nothing (hanging around the resort)

Here's a hint--we are not the hanging around the resort type. . .

IS there a better place than the MK for a solo adventure?? I'm not aware of such. Beautiful pictures! I love the ones of Walt & Mickey.... I just read on someone else's TR that in Disneyland, that statue of Walt is pointing up, to the future, and here in the MK, he is pointing down Main St. towards Roy, who will now [at the '71 opening] lead Mickey into the future. Wow....!

.

Nope, no better place! I have not heard that about the statues before.

 

[creativeamanda]

We got up that morning, and I did what every other Diser does. . . take pictures of the hidden Mickeys in the room.

If I'm lyin' I'm dyin'

Not so hidden Mickey, but I want this lamp

On the pillows

In the paintings

On the chairs

Even in the wallpaper​

And what is my Boo doing during this time?

Apparently, she fell out the night before still wearing her clothes. Good job, dad!​

After the kids begged me to stop taking pictures, we headed to our favorite park for Extra Magic Hours:

A wild time, indeed

​

Where we headed straight for:

Yes, the time says 7:56 am. We rode this ride again 6 times in a row before my legs felt like jelly and I was ready for a break.​

I did the one thing that always bothers my husbadn, yet again--tried for the perfect pictures from atop Everest. And this time, I think I got them:

Tree of Life

Front of the car!

The best part of being at the front--hello, Epcot, Swalphin, and our home that I'm refusing to leave
​

As we got off of the ride, I took an obligatory redneck photo. Can you see what's wrong with this?

My hands up in the air, Boo in the back doing the same. Sweetie holding on for dear life. Sheldon hiding (why, we don't know). And Dan. Well, pretending to pick his nose.
​

From there, I packed what I could in a space bag to we could head here:

5 min wait? This is why I love EMH
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We got off of the ride, grabbed a fastpass for later, and headed to our favorite show at Disney: the Lion King Show.

Since pictures tell the story better, I want to leave you all with those:

No way I could walk on those!

Look! Monkeys!

Seeing them reminds me of the Kingdom Keepers I just read and all of the sudden I'm even scared of these monkeys.

But this is amazing!

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We left the Lion King show directly into Camp Minnie-Mickey, where Sweetie saw her favorite character:

​

By now, we still had a lot we wanted to do, and one thing is for sure, our last full day was going to go out with a bang!

 

[creativeamanda]

Leaving the Camp Minnie-Mickey area, we headed back towards Asia to use a fastpass for Everest:

​

Where both Dan and I started to pose, but I finally had to tell him, Stop it, honey, you are embarrassing your daughter:

​

We got off of the ride and people watched for a time:

​

After taking our last ride on Kali, we headed over here for lunch:

Again, after reading Kingdom Keepers II, this one really makes me nervous now. . .

​

Lunch was okay, not great. We enjoyed visiting there, but we all agreed on one thing: we don't want to stay that far out. AKL is definitely off of our must-dos, as is Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness. Nice to visit, and I understand why people want to stay there, but given we live so far out in the boonies, we want to be closer to action.

We rode the bus back to Animal Kingdom, and then boarded another one for the Beach Club. And we had a surprise waiting for us there:

His hat, Doug?

​

I want to make myself clear, as if I have not done it previously, the staff, the location, everything about the Beach Club was perfect. With the entire family, the Beach Club is at the top of our list of places to stay, and our trip this summer was wonderful because of it. The only negative is the lack of a great CS breakfast, that I hope they look into soon.

I'll leave this morning/early afternoon with final views from the room:

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And a view of what we would be doing in mere minutes:

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Coming up--where do you go for your last night at Disney?

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Aww. Your TR is almost done. Just got caught up. I loved the post where you had alone time in MK. My alone time in invaluable to me, and I can't think of a better place for it than MK.

 

[LegoMom3]

We got up that morning, and I did what every other Diser does. . . take pictures of the hidden Mickeys in the room.

If I'm lyin' I'm dyin'

I did the same thing in my room at POFQ two years ago!!

​

I did the one thing that always bothers my husband, yet again--tried for the perfect pictures from atop Everest. And this time, I think I got them:

Tree of Life

Front of the car!

The best part of being at the front--hello, Epcot, Swalphin, and our home that I'm refusing to leave
​

FANTASTIC shots!! I don't usually like the front of a coaster, but this one's an exception.

As we got off of the ride, I took an obligatory redneck photo. Can you see what's wrong with this?

My hands up in the air, Boo in the back doing the same. Sweetie holding on for dear life. Sheldon hiding (why, we don't know). And Dan. Well, pretending to pick his nose. ​

She holds on like I do....on the side of the bar from underneath!!! I swear I almost feel like I'm trying to hold myself down by getting a grip on the underside of the bar....

No comment on the nose-picker......
​

Look! Monkeys!

Must we?....




​

Seeing them reminds me of the Kingdom Keepers I just read and all of the sudden I'm even scared of these monkeys.

Welcome to MY world, honey.
​

​

​

After taking our last ride on Kali, we headed over here for lunch:

Again, after reading Kingdom Keepers II, this one really makes me nervous now. . .

​

Lunch was okay, not great. We enjoyed visiting there, but we all agreed on one thing: we don't want to stay that far out. AKL is definitely off of our must-dos, as is Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness. Nice to visit, and I understand why people want to stay there, but given we live so far out in the boonies, we want to be closer to action.

I have to say I love AKL and would stay there again in a heartbeat. I guess I just love being off the beaten path. I had the amazing privilege of spending two nights in a DVC suite there with Tinkerbellarella, Savannah view and all....A.MA.ZING. I loved the pool, the theming, and Boma.

​

I love this shot...I like the architecture of the building.
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And a view of what we would be doing in mere minutes:

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Boo-hiss!!!! Parting is such sweet sorrow. Or, just sorrow.
​

 

[creativeamanda]

Aww. Your TR is almost done. Just got caught up. I loved the post where you had alone time in MK. My alone time in invaluable to me, and I can't think of a better place for it than MK.

It was wonderful having some alone time!

I did the same thing in my room at POFQ two years ago!!

Great minds and all. . .

FANTASTIC shots!! I don't usually like the front of a coaster, but this one's an exception.

Thanks!

She holds on like I do....on the side of the bar from underneath!!! I swear I almost feel like I'm trying to hold myself down by getting a grip on the underside of the bar....

No comment on the nose-picker......

Ha, ha!

I think you probably have a family member who would find this as hilarious as Dan and my son did.

Must we?....




Welcome to MY world, honey.

I promise, I so see the problem with monkeys now. I haven't slept well for days reading that book. The monkeys are the bad guys throughout the entire thing and now I don't want to think of them!

I have to say I love AKL and would stay there again in a heartbeat. I guess I just love being off the beaten path. I had the amazing privilege of spending two nights in a DVC suite there with Tinkerbellarella, Savannah view and all....A.MA.ZING. I loved the pool, the theming, and Boma.

That's the great thing about Disney, though. There is something for everyone and I can see the draw, but's it's just not for me, KWIM?

I love this shot...I like the architecture of the building.

It is pretty, isn't it?

Boo-hiss!!!! Parting is such sweet sorrow. Or, just sorrow.

A little of both, but mostly sorrow.

 

[creativeamanda]

As we got ready for dinner that night, I was busy doing something else:

NO! I refuse to leave!

Please don't ask why Sheldon is smiling.​

We packed a few things in the truck--the stuff that was locked up with different kinds of locks, and headed to the lobby.

She looks so tan!

Someone is not happy!

Beautiful flowers
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Dinner that night was there at the Beach Club at Cape May Cafe. Now I know this place gets mixed reviews, but we love it. I have eaten at every TS location at the Yacht and Beach Clubs and hands down this is my favorite of the three. I keep saying I'm going to give Yachtsman another try. But my experience there was so bad, I can't do it. That server, more than anything, ruined the experience.

Her own hidden Mickey

Someone is not happy to leave

Lemons?​

We had to be rolled out of there after a wonderful dinner and onto an almost empty bus:

No problem finding a spot, Sheldon.

What a clown!

​

And where are we heading for our last night? Let me give you a hint or three:

This help?

How about this?

Or should I go whole-hog and show you?

 

[LegoMom3]

...

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We had to be rolled out of there after a wonderful dinner and onto an almost empty bus: ...

​

OHMYGOSH......this shot, RIGHT here....I know what this feels like, smells like, IS like.



I looked at this picture and all of a sudden I....WAS....THERE!


Aaaahhhhhh........
​

 

[eandesmom]

I've not been to Cape May for dinner yet but I'm quite sure my kids would love it, they loved the breakfast for sure! That is one seriously empty bus.

 

[creativeamanda]

[/SIZE]

OHMYGOSH......this shot, RIGHT here....I know what this feels like, smells like, IS like.



I looked at this picture and all of a sudden I....WAS....THERE!


Aaaahhhhhh........
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[/CENTER]
[/COLOR][/SIZE]

SO glad that I could give you that nostalgia!

I've not been to Cape May for dinner yet but I'm quite sure my kids would love it, they loved the breakfast for sure! That is one seriously empty bus.

That was an empty bus, especially coming from the Beach Club!

 

[creativeamanda]

So, I have really struggled with how I would end the last night at Disney. I has been forefront on my mind for some time, and I think that I found the best solution: a photo tour. That night, we rode some rides, then went over to the walkway between Adventureland and the Hub, and watch the fireworks and parade from there. We rode Splash one more time, and headed home:

Good night, Mickey.