From Sunstroke to a Concussion: A Yacht Club Disney “Trip” to Remember

What a great day! I love Blizzard Beach - the combination of the lazy river with a cabana waiting at the end sounds wonderful.

(I must admit, I'm looking forward to each update just to see the progression of the eye. Sorry that your injury is resulting in my interest.)

The eye patch was a great idea!
 
What a wonderful day :)
Love the water parks and often look enviously at the cabanas but am always afraid to book ahead in case of rain :lmao:

Sounds like they were well worth it for you!

The progression of the eye injury is intriguing - love the eye patch :rotfl:
 
I forgot to comment in one of the prior updates about the gun. As you probably recall, we have a few of those as they are the favorite souvenirs of my sons as well. We are using one of our red rifles as a prop for Calamity Jane in an upcoming performance of Night at the Wax Museum.

You are right- your eye looks and sounds worse every day!

I love that you got a Cabana at Blizzard Beach. What a nice treat for you all.

I love the family ride there! I am with you on the big slides. They don't necessarily scare me, and I don't have an issue with heights, but I don't particularly care for the feeling of water squirting in my face or an atomic wedgie.

You mentioned lightning closing down the chair lift, but were the other attractions open? We have encountered lightning nearby when we have been at BB and everything was closed down. Maybe it depends on how far away the lightning is.

Cute theming following up at day in the water with a dinner at Coral Reef! I am glad you were able to get a table closer to the tank. I mean, that is really the main draw of the restaurant!

No surprise the boys took a snooze at the table. An active day in the sun and water, followed by a late dinner = ZZZZZZZ!
 
What a great day! I love Blizzard Beach - the combination of the lazy river with a cabana waiting at the end sounds wonderful.

(I must admit, I'm looking forward to each update just to see the progression of the eye. Sorry that your injury is resulting in my interest.)

The eye patch was a great idea!

Yes, I'm interested in looking at the pictures as well as I think I blocked it out since returning. :lmao: I REFUSED to let it spoil my vacation though!

Thanks for following along, regardless of the reason! :)

What a wonderful day :)
Love the water parks and often look enviously at the cabanas but am always afraid to book ahead in case of rain :lmao:

Sounds like they were well worth it for you!

The progression of the eye injury is intriguing - love the eye patch :rotfl:

We booked the morning of, or the night before... Rain didn't bother us. I think we had some at the end of the day.

Not sure what icon to use when discussing these matters. Maybe :3dglasses Definitely :scared1: Maybe this one, without the cigarette??? :smokin: Also :headache: But ABSOLUTELY pirate:

:lmao:

I forgot to comment in one of the prior updates about the gun. As you probably recall, we have a few of those as they are the favorite souvenirs of my sons as well. We are using one of our red rifles as a prop for Calamity Jane in an upcoming performance of Night at the Wax Museum.

You are right- your eye looks and sounds worse every day!

I love that you got a Cabana at Blizzard Beach. What a nice treat for you all.

I love the family ride there! I am with you on the big slides. They don't necessarily scare me, and I don't have an issue with heights, but I don't particularly care for the feeling of water squirting in my face or an atomic wedgie.

You mentioned lightning closing down the chair lift, but were the other attractions open? We have encountered lightning nearby when we have been at BB and everything was closed down. Maybe it depends on how far away the lightning is.

Cute theming following up at day in the water with a dinner at Coral Reef! I am glad you were able to get a table closer to the tank. I mean, that is really the main draw of the restaurant!

No surprise the boys took a snooze at the table. An active day in the sun and water, followed by a late dinner = ZZZZZZZ!

Yep, those just-turned 11 year olds were snoozin' every night at the dinner table! Definitely kept them on the hop. ::yes::

And DS STILL loves both guns we got. Absolutely LOVES them. How cool that you found another use!

The slides were open when the chair lift was closed. I guess the plastic slides were OK while the giant metal thing in the ski was NOT. :lmao:
 

Thanks for writing this wonderful trip report!! :thumbsup2 :cool1: pirate:


I feel your pain about the plug situation in the airport! Here's a tip that always works for me... I carry an extension cord with a 3 plug outlet in my laptop briefcase. I find one of those plugs on the wall in the airport and I politely ask the persons using it if they wouldn't mind sharing the plug using my cord. Now one plug has turned into 3 and I have yet to run into someone who does not see the benefit of that arrangement and let me plug in. Invariably another desperate person comes around and with that third remaining outlet we are both heroes as we save the day and let them plug in as well.

That extension cord doesn't take up much room in the case and I know that I'll always be able to plug in no matter what. People just love this idea so now I will pass it on to you!

I always pack a multi plug, outlet strip with the plugs facing different directions for those block shaped plugs when I travel. However, I usually set up a charging station on the table or dresser so I can keep everything organized in the room and not forget the charging cords that would be plugged in all over the room at the various outlets if I did not have the strip.... That leaves me with the problem of where to plug in the lap top when I am using it on the bed. The cord that comes with the computer never seems to be comfortably long enough to reach the bedside plug. Out comes that 3 pronged cord and my problem is solved! I especially like that I can plug in my phone charger right next to my pillow as well as my laptop! The trick is to remember to use a 3 hole (grounded) 3 plug cord.

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~NM
 
Thanks for writing this wonderful trip report!! :thumbsup2 :cool1: pirate:


I feel your pain about the plug situation in the airport! Here's a tip that always works for me... I carry an extension cord with a 3 plug outlet in my laptop briefcase. I find one of those plugs on the wall in the airport and I politely ask the persons using it if they wouldn't mind sharing the plug using my cord. Now one plug has turned into 3 and I have yet to run into someone who does not see the benefit of that arrangement and let me plug in. Invariably another desperate person comes around and with that third remaining outlet we are both heroes as we save the day and let them plug in as well.

That extension cord doesn't take up much room in the case and I know that I'll always be able to plug in no matter what. People just love this idea so now I will pass it on to you!

I always pack a multi plug, outlet strip with the plugs facing different directions for those block shaped plugs when I travel. However, I usually set up a charging station on the table or dresser so I can keep everything organized in the room and not forget the charging cords that would be plugged in all over the room at the various outlets if I did not have the strip.... That leaves me with the problem of where to plug in the lap top when I am using it on the bed. The cord that comes with the computer never seems to be comfortably long enough to reach the bedside plug. Out comes that 3 pronged cord and my problem is solved! I especially like that I can plug in my phone charger right next to my pillow as well as my laptop! The trick is to remember to use a 3 hole (grounded) 3 plug cord.

12880548.jpg



image0097.jpg


~NM

That is an AWESOME idea. :) :goodvibes Hopefully we won't have such a long layover anytime soon, but you never know (especially if we fly during our winter...)

Still working on Animal Kingdom day. I broke my flash drive with all my pictures (grrr) so I am trying to get it together to copy another one.
 
Hi Feckless, I've been following your "trip" report. I remember when you posted about your black eye on the BC thread, but seeing the actual pictures is just - wow! :scared1: I can understand why you didn't want to go to the hospital. What would have been different if you had gone? What would they have done for you?

The kids looked like they had a great time. We have taken a few vacations with family friends who had kids our age and they were always lots of fun. I think your kids were very lucky. :goodvibes
 
LOL. Love his solution. You should have worn it. It was the perfect place for it.
A free colonoscopy. ROTF. I have yet to get to either water park.
Love Coral Reef. Nice she moved you; I would have given her a little tip though she might not be able to accept it. Love the lobster pasta there.
Fun night at Epcot.
Great update and pics.
 
New reader here and oh my goodness you poor thing!! When I read you'd had an accident with a patio door I thought you'd walked into it, which I've done before :rotfl2: but you definitely did it in style. It's definitely a trip you'll always remember and thankfully you were incredibly lucky to just get a black eye!

Your water park day sounds lovely with the cabana :goodvibes
 
Hi Feckless! Joining in. I remember about our fall from the BC thread. OM goodness. I like the eyepatch idea!!:cool1:

And they Grey Goose Slushie:thumbsup2 Yum!! I have to get one this April!:)

Can't wait to hear more!!!
 
DAY SIX: ANIMAL KINGDOM DAY

Eye was looking worse but feeling better:

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I was keeping up with my denial, and choosing to ignore it. However, at this point, I was getting sick of wearing my sunglasses all the time, especially inside at dinner! It would be nice to see my food once in a while. LOL

As expected, we had a slow morning getting going because of the late night. We still tried to get on the go early in order to make the most out of the day, but the kids were exhausted, so unfortunately we didn't get out to the bus stop to Animal Kingdom until about 10 a.m.. On the positive side (for me anyway), the Nescafe machine was up and working again, so I enjoyed my morning “latte”. The bus arrived almost as soon as we got there, and so before we knew it, we were in the boiling heat looking at this:

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First, we stopped and picked up this awesome drawstring bag for all the miscellaneous crap we seemed to be accumulating. I always liked the gift shop at the front of AK.

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Despite our best efforts with sunblock, the kids got too much sun the day before at Blizzard Beach. Their sunburn made sunblock application difficult, and as I knew that AK was going to be super hot, I knew this would be a difficult part of the day. Add in the exhaustion, and we had some extra magic unhappiness once we got to the park. When we got there, the girls were looking for some aloe vera for their burned cheeks, so we went to the care station. They gave us some, but unfortunately, both girls said that it burned and made them feel worse. Then DS said that his feet were blistered, and there was more unhappiness over that. Got DS’s feet bandaged up, and the girls’ discomfort passed over. We really weren’t on the go to enjoy the park until close to 11 a.m. with all the drama. Where we were close, we decided to hit “It’s Tough to be a Bug” first and enjoy the AC to try to lighten everyone’s mood.

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There was no wait even though it was early in the day, which was great. I had a seat with no “stinger” unfortunately, but still loved the show. I don’t understand the intense hatred for this show - we always enjoy it.

Next, we headed for Kali River Rapids with our first FP+. Had a great ride, except DS complained again about not getting wet enough! These are problems that we don’t have on the Universal water rides. LOL. First World Problems indeed - gave him a good ribbing over that complaint! He found the water showers in the building nearby, and got himself nice and soaked. First World Problem solved! The ride plus the AC in the Tough to be a Bug attraction made everyone much happier, and we went on with the day without a hitch (and without whining - score!)

After Kali, we leisurely headed to the Safaris with our second FP+. Stopped in Africa to enjoy the band…

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The Safaris is always the highlight of AK. DS still misses the poacher story line! Didn’t take a million pictures this time - decided to enjoy it without looking through the viewfinder. It was lovely, but hot!

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We hung out in the shops in Africa afterwards - DD bought a gorgeous AK dress, and DS bought a shark tooth necklace. I love that shop as well. 

Next, we were heading here with our last FP+:

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On the way, we hung out with the monkeys. The baby was SO cute.

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We had SO much fun on this ride - girls waited for the front row as usual! No go for the other son, but the rest of us rode and he waited in the gift shop.

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We also ended up here:

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My kids love Primeval Whirl. All the kids rode twice (and I count myself in as one of the kids!!)

Next up was Dinosaur.

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We didn’t have a FP, and the line was super long. After a while, the other mom and dad and DS decided to bail and hit the Nemo show. Since I had never seen it, I tagged along with them, leaving my DH with our kids and the other DD. When they finally rode, their car got stuck for about a half hour or more. They ended up making friends with the New Yorkers in the car, and we saw them over and over throughout the day. Whenever we saw them, we all yelled, “DINOSAUR BUDDIES!!” It was pretty sweet, actually. The four of riders were given anytime FP for this attraction to make up for it. In the meantime, we got decent seats!

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Check out that shiner!

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I didn’t mind the show, but I don’t feel the urge to go again. Because of the long wait and the breakdown of the ride, the other four were finished with Dinosaur at around the same time as we finished the show. We met up in the throng outside the show, and continued our day together...

Second part of the day coming up in the next post...
 
After the Nemo Show, we checked the wait time for EE, and it was about 30 minutes, so we decided to give it another go. It’s always nice to check out the theming in the actual queue, since we usually don't go on this ride without FPs.

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And drive everyone nuts with the bell.

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I had forgotten my PP+ again today (duh) so I did redneck ride photos, hoping that CL staff could help me later.

And they did! We ended up with this absolutely EPIC PP picture (DS and I decided to wait for front row):

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After this, I took the three brave monsters for the Dinosaur FP ride while the other three parents hit the bar outside Tusker House (and the other DS hung out with them). This picture didn't end up on our PP, so all I have was the redneck photo! :)

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On the way back, we stopped here again…

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Well shaken, we headed for supper at Tusker House. It was delicious, and we were pretty exhausted and hungry. I much prefer Boma, however! Definitely will not miss a Boma dinner next trip. After dinner, the three thrill seekers wanted to head back to EE, but it was closed due to weather - it was POURING rain, no sign of it letting up.

The girls were disappointed, but I took them to get some henna tattoos so they felt better. LOL. The other DD got a Deathly Hallows tatt (surprised that they would do that one! LOL.)

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DD's tattoo while drying:

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Finished product:

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Unfortunately, it was still raining, and even outside of the rain it was too humid for it to dry. LOL It smudged a bit, but it still looked cool. The woman who did the tattoos was amazing - so helpful! She was really patient, and didn’t overcharge…

Headed for the bus (covering tattoos from the rain!) and didn’t have long to wait. Once I got back to the YC, I asked about the PP+ ride photos I missed. CL staff told me that I could hit the PP desk in the BC lobby. Since I took the redneck photos that showed the numbers he said he could get them for me, and even tried to get the SM one from a few days earlier (but that one never turned up - oh well!) The CM was helpful and pleasant.

When we got back to the YC, we got a drink and then headed down for a late night swim and soak in the hot tub. It was nice to not have an evening ADR outside the park so that we could enjoy SAB at night. I brought down a drink in my refillable mug, which worked out great. After a long soak, I felt wonderful and refreshed.

So, tonight I decided to ditch the dark glasses, and, like the celebrity I think I am, (LOL) as soon as the glasses came off I got recognized. I had been posting on the YC/BC thread on the Resort Board and people reading there heard about my mishap. I was in the hot tub with the other mom for only a few seconds, and a woman came in and said, “Are you Feckless”? (user name Babalooagain) I thought the other mom was going to die, especially when she started talking about the surprise and other things about the trip. It was also funny to hear me referred to in that way, since she knew the original, late lamented fat cat named Feckless! LOL. If that wasn’t enough, when Babalooagain and her family got out of the hot tub, another crew got in and the woman said, “Are you Feckless?” (user name Dolewhipmom) It was hilarious. And clear that the internet is not such a big place. LOL

Next day, the dads were going golfing in the morning and other mom and I had plans to hit Hollywood Studios with the four kids. All hands were excited for the next day!!!!! :rotfl2:
 
I just stumbled on your TR and reading along on your adventures.
A surprise trip to Disney for the kids, best parents in the world!
From one Canadian to another... keep up the great trip report.:thumbsup2
 
Between your eye and the kids sunburns, you did an amazing job of not letting things get in the way of enjoying your vacation.

Your daughter's henna tattoo is gorgeous!
 
Glad to hear the eye is feeling a little better even if it doesnt look it!

You got a lot done considering sunburn and rain :thumbsup2

Love the henna tattoo :) :thumbsup2 Do they last a long time? Very pretty :)
 
I just stumbled on your TR and reading along on your adventures.
A surprise trip to Disney for the kids, best parents in the world!
From one Canadian to another... keep up the great trip report.:thumbsup2

Thanks for joining in! :) (and please let my kids know that we are the best parents in the world! LOL.)

Between your eye and the kids sunburns, you did an amazing job of not letting things get in the way of enjoying your vacation.

Your daughter's henna tattoo is gorgeous!

Thanks, Janet! She loved it. And we are not whiners, to be sure. :)

Glad to hear the eye is feeling a little better even if it doesnt look it!

You got a lot done considering sunburn and rain :thumbsup2

Love the henna tattoo :) :thumbsup2 Do they last a long time? Very pretty :)

The tattoo was supposed to last two weeks, but with the chlorine, etc. it only lasted about 3 or 4 days.
 
YIKES! That eye.
IATBAB is such a fun show.
That is along line for Dinosaur.
Love Nemo. We do it every 2 -3 trips.
It is really funny when people know who you are while you are there. It feels when it happens but then so happy they took the time to say hello.
 
This is my lovely face today:

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After breakfast, the men hit the golf course while we headed for the boat dock. DH was texting me pictures - is this a turkey???? He said it was his only birdie of the day. :lmao: They had an excellent day on the links and came back relaxed and happy.

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First we took in the gorgeous sights...

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Soon we were here!

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The other DD took her purse this morning, unfortunately, while the rest of us were bag free. The bag line-up was huge, and we ended up waiting at least 15 minutes for her to get through that line. The best thing about staying onsite with MBs is that you can stick your phone in your pocket and just go, and this was really emphasized as we stood by the bag check wasting daylight! LMAO.

First stop was the first FP+ selection.

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Other DS got to hang out in the gift shop again… Managed to convince the other mom to ride with me. According to the PP pic, she had her eyes closed for the whole thing. I don’t know if she enjoyed it, but she did it!

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Next, it was DS’s favourite of all time, Star Tours. We didn’t have a FP for this attraction but the line was short, and we like the queue anyway. The other DS liked this ride, and he ended up being the Rebel Spy during our ride. My DS was totally rotted, since he is the Star Wars fan and the other kid, while he got a kick out of it, didn’t really care. LOL

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Next, we headed this way:

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Other mom wasn’t interested in Tower of Terror (she says she will never ride it!), so she had switched her and her DS’s FP+ to Star Tours through the Concierge at CL that morning. So, while we headed for the Hollywood Tower Hotel, stayed to ride Star Tours again.

Unfortunately, when we got there, we had our first and only FP+ glitch of the trip. Somehow, in changing her and her son’s FPs, the other DD must have also had her FP+ switched, When we hit the TOT FP line, we had our first (and luckily only) red Mickey head when she put her MB up to the scanner.  The worst part was that the CM at the FP return was quite rude to us when we explained what had happened, and was not the least bit helpful. She treated us like we were just lying. I surely didn’t mind her not letting other DD in with us, because I can imagine that people are not usually honest about these things, but there was no need to be sour faced and rude, and no reason at all to treat us like liars. She didn’t even tell us how we might correct the error, just refused us entry. However, as soon as we were turned away, we noticed that there was a FP+ kiosk just next door and the CM there was pleasant and SO helpful. The other DD was telling us to go on without her, and my DS stepped up and offered her his MB so she could ride instead of him. Really proud of all the kids, and how cooperative and lovely they were on this trip! I said no, it was all for one, and one for all, and hoped that the CM could help. It took 20 minutes or so standing around a computer with the other CM (in retrospect, we could have just rode standby! LOL) but we finally got everything straightened out and went past the same nasty CM with four green Mickey heads. I almost wanted to stick my tongue out at her when we all got through, but I took the high road.

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By this time, it was getting close to lunch time, so we headed to our next ADR - Sci Fi café! This is not my absolute favourite, but three of the four kids love it. Unfortunately, the other DS hates this place (not a fan of much science fiction…) He was a trooper though, and sucked it up.

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Milkshakes were incredible, and we had a delicious, bad for us, lunch. We all got to ride/eat in the same car which was fun, and was the second year in a row we had two people missing for this ADR.

After lunch, we headed for our next FP+. Pixar Place, here we come! It was so relaxed to already have our TSMM FPs, and when we got there, the standby wait time was 180 minutes. We walked straight on, no large FP line. We had a great ride, and since we didn’t ride this ride last time because we couldn’t coordinate the Legacy FPs with our large group last time, I was thrilled to get to ride it this trip. Always so much fun.

We stopped for a few pics on the streets of America:

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We then headed for Lights Motors Action, which the boys were excited to see. However, pretty much as soon as we got there, the two girls started to get restless. This wasn’t their scene, and were desperate to re-ride RRR and TOT. After some consultation, and setting of rules (including checking their phones!) the girls headed off alone for some thrill rides (thrilled themselves with their freedom). The boys were also happy to have some time without their sisters! Unfortunately, about 5 minutes into the show, the heavens opened up, and they closed the show. The boys were disappointed, but luckily they weren’t too upset. LMA was closed on our last trip, so that’s two trips in a row that we missed this show… All the more reason to plan another trip! We did have a chance to see a bit of Lightning McQueen before they shut down though.

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We decided to line up for the Legend of Jack Sparrow as we went passed, since neither of us had ever done this. It was about a 20-25 minutes wait, and it was outside - probably the worst wait of the trip. It was a cool show, but I don’t think that I would either go again, or recommend that anyone wait more than 10 minutes.

After this show, the other mom and DS were tired, and decided to head back to the resort. DS and I were not done yet, so we had some alone time. Of course, DS wanted to head back to Star Tours. We had an up-close and personal experience on the way in!

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DS was still pretty happy to be there!

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We had a fun ride (unfortunately, not the rebel spy again, but whatever!) and then hit the fun gift shop. Unfortunately, when we were halfway through the park on the way out, DS realized that he had left his visor on the ride. Argh… We schlepped back to the ride, and since this has happened on this ride every single trip (not sure why it is so hard to remember to check the basket under your seat on this ride!), I knew I could go in through the exit in the gift shop and get a CM to check for the hat. This time, it was so much later that I thought there was no hope, but there it was in their lost and found! Since I had NO IDEA where we had ridden it was quite lucky.

First, some selfies with Walt:

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We stopped and got some mom and son PP pics on the way out:

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On the way back to the boat, we met up with the girls. Got a couple of pics of the cool Monsters University topiaries:

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We still had plenty of time before our ADR at Captain’s Grille, so we met up with the golfers for some swimming and relaxing before dinner. We really enjoyed our dinner, as we did during our last trip. The boys fell asleep again…

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The girls had a plan to head back to DHS to ride TOT in the night but unfortunately the timing didn't work, resulting in much disappointment. Oh well, they had to content themselves with their three or four rides during the day! LOL. The girls licked their wounds at the arcade and got to bed super late. We all prepared for our last full day in Disney the next day… Our FPs for the next day were for MK in the evening, so the plan was to go to Typhoon Lagoon for the day. However, I had other plans for myself…

Coming up - errands and a solo park trip for me!!!
 














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