DS3 got into a deep sleep. He doesn't take naps at home. But, WDW wiped him out. He was out of the stroller more than in it. So, he did allot of walking. He slept for four hours. During that time, I started to pack for our early departure the next morning and got another pizza from the food court for dinner. After dinner, everyone cleaned up and changed into different clothing.
We relaxed at the resort until around 8 pm (MK closed at 11 pm). Then, we hopped onto an empty bus to MK. We arrived at 8:22 pm (The reason I remember the exact time is that DH and I were placing guesses on when we would arrive. I won!)
The Magic Kingdom takes on a totally different feel at night. It is romantic IMO. Walking down Main Street with Cinderella Castle illuminated is worth the trip every time to me. There's nothing like it.
We didn't have any major plans for the park. We just wanted to be there. We had FPs for Buzz, BTMRR and SM from earlier (FYI - You
CAN use the FP after the timeframe. It just has to be on the
SAME DATE). Looking at the crowd, we decided to head towards Buzz. The stand-by line time read ten (10) minutes. So, we entered that line and were going to save the FP for a re-ride. However, when we entered the line it was not moving and looked like more than ten minutes. So, we exited and re-entered into the FP line. We walked through the FP queue in less than a minute (no line) and were on the ride. Yes, we got the "evil eye" from the people in the stand-by line. Don't these people know about FPs?!?!?!?!?!?
After Buzz, we were on a mission to find Mickey bars. We
ALWAYS have a Mickey bar on each trip. It is just part of being at MK (We don't eat them at any of the other parks. Only at MK.) It was too hot earlier in the day. I honestly was not in the mood to eat ice cream. I was mostly thirsty. But, now that I wanted one, all the carts were closed. A CM here, would tell us to go there and so on ... We were led on a wild goose chase. We found ourselves in Fantasyland on the backside of the castle. That is when we noticed a rope blocking traffic into the castle and realized it was almost time for Wishes (fireworks). So, we put the Mickey bar hunt on hold. We ended up just sitting down near the rope to see the fireworks display (near the carousel). When the fireworks started, I felt like I was in a war zone. We had fireworks in front of us and behind us. Was this a bad joke? I was getting whiplash.
Note to self:
DO NOT WATCH WISHES FROM FANTASYLAND!!!
We got up and left after one minute. We've seen Wishes from Main Street (perfect place IMO). We didn't need to see it from here. We saw a smallish line for Dumbo. So, we got into line. It is a treat for me to ride Dumbo, because my children don't like the Dumbo ride. I know, what is wrong with these children?!?!?!?! I almost didn't get to ride it this time. DS3 and DS9 were complaining and really didn't want to ride. I did. So, DD6 and I stayed in line while DH took the boys to see the fireworks. We could hear the fireworks in line. But, the awning blocked any sort of view. We got up to the main platform area during the finale. So, we at least got to see that. I was like a child on Dumbo. It is just fun to be on something that has been around so long. It is such a MK icon.
I love it! While whizzing past the castle, I thought to myself ... this is the best Mother's Day ever!!!!
(You have set the bar high for next year honey!
)
We met back up with DH and the boys. DS9 wanted to go on the HM AGAIN! We still had FP for BTMRR and SM. But, the children didn't want to ride them. Even DS3, who normally is scared of HM, wanted to ride it again. So, off we went to ride HM. Again, with no line. This time exiting the stretching room, we let everyone pass by us. For the first time, we looked around the queue area without being felt like a heard of cattle. It was kind of eerie, but fun.
After HM, we decided to find a snack (I had given up on my beloved Mickey bar). As we were about to cross the bridge from Liberty Square to the hub an aroma was calling us. There is a stand that sells funnel cakes. How could we resist???? So, we grabbed a couple to share and sat with a great view of the castle (DS3 got a dish of ice cream). While sitting there, the park closed. It was nice to end our trip relaxing with the children in view of Cinderella Castle. It's times like that which remind me why we keep coming back.
After our late night snack, it was time to exit the park. As we were walking around the hub toward Main Street, DH spotted a cart selling Mickey bars. However, they were all out of Mickey bars. I spotted another cart on the other side of the hub. But, they were closed. Then, I looked behind me and DH was walking up and told the people at the second cart, their Manager (at the other cart) said it was okay to give us some Mickey bars. I guess, DH pleaded our case. They asked how many we needed, we each just eaten half a funnel cake. So, DH said two (2). We would all share them. When DH went to pay for them, they said it was
FREE!!!!! We were
VERY grateful. It's that kind of Disney magic that was the icing on the cupcake of this trip.
Main Street and the hub were filled with people exiting. So, we took our treats to our favorite out of the way spot ... Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station. While sitting there a nice CM started chatting with us. He was just getting on duty. He was responsible for cleaning the Tomorrowland area (including inside the rides). DS9 went to throw away one of the ice cream wrappers when he noticed there wasn't a bag in trash can. So, he brought it back to the table to throw away elsewhere on our way out. The CM really appreciated his thinking. So, he gave DS9 a special Tinker Bell pin. DS9 was glowing. He likes chatting up the CMs. He got a very special limited edition YOMD pin from the Dream Squad last year. They were "off duty" and just walking the park waiting for their next assigment I guess.
I hope they do another promo like YOMD. It was fun! We won Mickey ears last December on Buzz. (We ride it enough it was bound to happen eventually!
). I got my
FIRST pair of Mickey ears at age 36.
Nowhere but at Disney, does an adult revert to being a child eating a simple ice cream treat. Only at Disney ...
It was finally time to bid MK a tearful farewell. With one last glance at Cinderella Castle at the end of Main Street, we were off. Which meant this trip was quickly coming to an end. I was surprised how busy the buses were at almost midnight. Our line wasn't too long. We were definitely getting a seat. But, I could see the line for Pop from our line. It was well out of the queue.
We barely had off our shoes and pajamas on when everyone dropped into their beds. We all slept well this night.
Tomorrow, we planned to depart around 7:00 am for the long trek home ...
It really is a great deal. Large cheese pizza $13.99 and it fed our whole family.
This would be our last day in the parks. What better way to end our mini-trip than a visit to the Magic Kingdom?!?!?!?!? We arrived around 9:30 am (the park opened at 9 am). Walking past the turnstiles, DS3 turns to DH and says, "We have to get a Buzz FASTPASS." Passerbyers even heard him and smiled. That's my boy! 
There was no one in sight. We picked out some tables right in the corner nearest the castle. Not a bad place to eat lunch. While eating lunch, the stage show came on (Dream Along with Mickey). We had a great view. I couldn't have planned it any better. 
).
Jennifer
Nice to have you along for the ride. I am so jealous of your upcoming DLR trip. I still daydream about our trip. 
This recent WDW trip actually started out with me just "hinting" to DH that DD6 didn't have school that week (DS9 is homeschooled). Why don't we go "somewhere". Usually with me that somewhere is WDW. 
SUBBING
rotfl2:
) June 5 and like you said there is harly ever a cheap Disney trip.
There's one thing I noticed about living in Texas during our DLR trip, we live almost equally between Disneyland and Disney World. 
