After riding PoC, we decided that Jamie would take Jane back to the cabin for a nap while I stayed with the big kids at MK. It was too easy to get back and forth from the cabins with the boat to not take advantage of a nap for Jane. We decided that on our first day I would stay with the big kids and then we would switch off on our last day of vacation and Jamie would stay with them while I took Jane to nap. The INITIAL plan was for us to all go back for a rest/swim time, but the big kids and I were itching to stay at the park. Many of our INITIAL plans didn't quite work out though...
So, after bidding goodbye to Daddy and Jane, I decided to put my DIS knowledge to the test. First, we grabbed Fastpasses for Splash Mountain. While waiting on the time to come up, we decided to go to Philharmagic since we already had those hard to come by Fastpasses.
This was a great idea and a hit with both the kids. Philharmagic is a great 4D movie where you not only see the sights, but also feel them as well. Donald Duck was such a laugh that Jay had to buy a Donald on his way out of the feature.
We took a few pictures in front of the castle and tried HARD to remove that stubborn sword. No luck there though!
Our Fastpass time was not up yet, so we thought a snack might be in order. Totally intended to hit Main Street for an ice cream sandwich cookie. BUT THERE WAS A PARADE BLOCKING MY WAY...WAHHH!!!
I never did get to try out Main Street bakery. NEXT TRIP FOR SURE. At any rate, we ended up in Fantasyland at Storybook Treats. Jay got a rootbeer float, Annie got a brownie sundae and I got a strawberry shortcake sundae. I have no comparison to Main Street Bakery, but that was a GOOD sundae!
Finally, our Fastpass time had come up, but first we needed to grab Fastpasses for BTMR. After getting those, we went to ride Splash. Despite getting stuck on the ride 4 times, I think this was a top ride of the entire five days in the parks. The kids loved it, as did I. The story is such a great one and its such a well done and LONG ride. We had no wait because of the Fast Passes. BUT, I will admit, that when the ride stalled RIGHT as we were going up the hill to the top of the big drop, I almost had a heart attack. I think I hid it well, but I was really nervous our log was just going to topple off the ride.
After getting off the ride, our BMTRR Fast passes were not quite up, so we went over to Tom Sawyer’s island. You know, just to kill fifteen minutes or so. AN HOUR LATER WE WERE STILL THERE. I didn’t think I would ever get those kids off that island! Just goes to show you the things that will be interesting to kids are not what you expect!
We explored the entire island and then Jay got caught up in the fort action where they were firing guns. He was having the best time. Annie and I were enjoying a good game of checkers. When we finally completed our game, I had to DRAG the children off the island. The lure of BTMRR was strong though and it didn’t take too long for them to get excited about moving on.
We rode BTMRR, which was Annie’s favorite ride of all. She was upset when it was over and wanted to go again, but with a standby line of over an hour, it wasn’t going to happen. I told her she could ride again with Daddy on Friday. Jamie can’t remember if they actually DID ride that friday. Clearly, the ride made an impression on HIM!
Now, we had ridden all the big stuff that we had planned on that day, so I let the kids pick what they wanted to do next. We walked around for a bit and did some exploring, and then they decided on Aladin's carpets. And just so you know, I have a great fear of heights. Roller coasters don't bother me because they are moving fast, but I hate, hate, hate ferris wheels. And I kid you not that I was actually trying to avoid Dumbo. Yes...I am that bad.
So, I end up on The Carpets of Death with Jay and Annie. They gleefully climb into the front of our carpet and I am in the back.
Do you see the devious looks in their eyes? It's because they know they control the up and down function in our carpet.
Little devilish children. And I really tried not to clue them into my fear because then I KNOW I am going to suffer, but it was right about the time that Jay figured out how to BOUNCE our stupid carpet that I stupidly yelled out, "Don't DO that!!!"
And then they made me suffer. We bounced the whole rest of the time. And I spun around on The Carpet of Death and prayed that we would all come out alive.
But we DID live. Long enough to exit the ride and make our way back to Main Street to meet Jamie and Jane. We were distracted by The Imporium and items were purchased. Thus, the money burning a hole in Jay’s pockets would be eased yet again. After the Imporium, we went to The Chapeau, where we got hats and had our first magical moment...free embrodiary! Yay for First Visit pins! Jamie and Jane caught up with us in the Chapeau and we spent a LOOOONNNNGGGGG time waiting on our hats. While we waited, we enjoyed the ambiance of Main Street and entertained ourselves with the Cast Members who were drawing with water. Completely amazing!
With hats firmly on head, we decided dinner was in order. I had planned for us to eat at Columbia Harbor House for that meal. And on the way in, we saw that there was NO line for the Haunted Mansion. We decided to go ahead and jump on, even though it was late. A good move, since that next Friday it was so packed we never got a second ride. We walked right on though and soon were meeting all the happy haunts. Jane was not too thrilled with this one, especially the plunge into total darkness, but she never did cry. Jamie and I had planned to ride with Jane, but Annie didn’t want to ride with Jay and no grownups, so I jumped in her doom buggy and Jamie went with Jay and Jane.
After that ride, we did finally decide to eat. We went to CHH as originally planned and got a bunch of food for us all to share. It was all very good and I would go back for sure. As we left CHH, the Electric Light parade was in full swing. We had thought to leave the park and head home, but got caught up in the parade and Jane seemed to LOVE it. She was so so so excited! So, we stopped and decided to enjoy the moment. We watched the parade, watched Jane get excited. Jay and Annie were sooo tired at this point...after all, THEY had had no nap. But they hung in there anyway. As soon as the parade was over, we realized that we could easily watch the fireworks. This was totally unplanned since I figured Jane, who normally goes to bed at 7:30 would NEVER last that long. I remembered a shortcut to the castle and we took it only to find that the PERFECT SPOT was wide open with NO ONE standing there!
See how close we were? So close that I couldn't even get the whole castle in the picture. And we were so close that we had a FANTASTIC view of the castle, right in front of us. Which CLEARLY means a fantastic view of the FIREWORKS, right?? We were at the Kodac sign that announces, "Perfect picture spot!" What better place to watch the fireworks!? Right under the...trees.
Ahh...but I did not even SEE trees. All I saw was beautiful castle and a HUGE empty spot. I OPENLY bragged about my Disney knowledge and how AWESOME I was for finding us this spot.
Like, in FRONT OF OTHER PEOPLE. These were the same people though, who stood in the same dumb spot we did, so at least we have THAT in common.
Then the fireworks started and I realized we couldn’t see a THING through the trees.
Epic fail! We managed to move a bit, but never did get a good view of those darn fireworks. Lesson learned. Go to the beach at FW to watch fireworks. Next time, I’m springing for the dessert party so I can be assured of a good spot to watch. AND dessert. Win win!
And when the fireworks ended it was mass exodus out of the park. We were literally shuffling along all the way from our fireworks spot and out of the park with ten thousand other people. I promise you, the park was not crowded until THAT moment. I had both of the children by the hands and Jamie was pushing the stroller. Of course, THIS is when Jane decided to melt down. Not that I BLAMED her, mind you. I think we all felt like that. Note to self: watch fireworks from beach at FW!!
It took us close to an hour to get out of the park, but luckily, our boat was waiting on us and we were back at FW and in our cabin pretty quickly. We got everybody bathed and bedded and it was 11:15 (yikes!!) before we got everybody in bed. We repacked the park bag, and it was lights out for us all before long.
Next up...our DHS day!
That place was ENORMOUS. I have no pictures of this adventure with Jane because I was busy chasing her through every nook and cranny and had no time to stop and take a photo for fear of losing her in the great abyss of the playground. Jane had no time to stop and pose either because she loved every second of trying to outsmart her Mama! She played in the water area, explored the tunnels, and made me crawl up the giant spider web. In a dress. And sandles. And if you’ve ever seen that thing, then you know what a feat THAT was. It is made entirely of ropes and goes WAY WAY WAY up into the sky. You crawl all the way UP and then all the way DOWN. And did I mention my dress? And sandles? We only did that once despite her complaints. 
