Well, this was a good day! 
We had a late breakfast planned at Kona Cafe, which as DS put it, "was worth getting up for." We had a great meal, very relaxing and enjoyable then did a little shopping in the resort gift shop. We ended up buying a lot and were told the delivery to our resort would take 4 or 5 days...paleeze! I think the CM may have been knew and didn't ask to be sure. So we decided I'd have a Backscratcher at the lounge...okay so I really just wanted the blasted back scratcher as a souvinier...but they didn't open till later...rats! Anyway...we all ended up taking the monorail to MK, where DH and DS grabbed the bus back to SSR...DH wanted to get his sweatshirt anyway...while I went into the MK alone....
Let me back track here a bit to the monorail...DS has never asked to sit in the front car until now...and he's 13 for crying out loud. Well, I told him I'd ask just in case, but not to get his hopes up. Well, pixie dust was with us...we got to sit in the front...
Here's a shot as we head toward the GF...
As I walked into MK for the first time alone, I didn't have a clue what to do first...I really felt like a kid who'd been cut loose in a candy store. Well, I walked up the stairs to the RR station, watched the Trolley singers come around the square, took some photos, and then the grown up in me spoke. It said check on things for MVMCP tonight...okay...if I must...so I found out how we'd get our wristbands, grabbed the special maps and went on my merry way. I decided I'd try to find the Princess Christmas hats since I really wanted one for myself and one for Dniece. I think I hit every gift shop except for Tomorrowland and Toon Town with no luck and I'd worked up a bit of a sweat so I stopped by the Aloha Isle for a dole whip float..yum! As I head toward Casey's I see the cutest little boy watching the ducks...it was neat to see that with all the great things Walt has for us, the simple little ducks can still grab a boy's attention...another bit of magic on this trip.
Then I found the limited edition pin that was just released and grabbed the Tink one for Dniece, she's becoming a real collector. Around this time my phone rings and it's the boys who are about to enter MK so I head to Town Square to meet them...the first place they wanna head is Aloha Isle...so we sat there and I watched them. Then stopped by the Tiki Room, which wed not seen since 1999...enjoyed it again, just dont think we could sing in the Tiki, tiki, tiki room that often.
Well, we wander around to Frontierland, where one of those Kamakazi gulls dive bombed and hit my jacket...those are some nasty birds that WDW needs to attend and people should stop feeding...they might not be such a nuisance.
But it was here that I had another personal magical moment watching DS and DH walking with their arms around each other
not something they usually do. I guess this whole trip was kind of a bringing together for them and I think I realized that some day DS will be grown up and not be with us as often, so when I saw them doing this it got me misty eyed. It's not the best photo for composition, but this is what I'm talkin' about...
Well, it was almost time for the Share a Dream parade, so we grabbed a spot right near the Turkey leg cart, which DS had to have as he does on every trip, though now he eats the whole thing instead of sharing with DH. It was the first time wed seen the parade and I thought it was really nicely done loved the way it told the story of Walts dreams. Afterwards we meandered around slowly toward the castle for our 4:30 ADR, which was very nice.
After dinner we grabbed our wristbands in the Rose Garden and headed to the Emporium to buy our holiday hats - Santa Mickey, Minnie, and Jester Santa Goofy for DS. I knew I wanted to get our photos taken in Adventureland and we were hoping to meet up with a CM from home whod be working the party later so we went back to Frontierland to ride BTMRR just walked on! Then to Haunted Mansion just walked on and actually got to take a couple photos of HM without people in it. After a quick potty break, we headed back to get our photos taken via Diamond Horse for a cookie and cocoa. There was no line at Adventureland and we got our photos done quickly then went to Tomorrowland. We werent interested in Space Mountain and I couldnt convince the boys to do Buzz so we stopped at the gift shop and bought our MVMCP shirts. Then we headed toward Fantasyland to check out the hop, which looked more like a character greeting when we passed and on to Philharmagic great as usual! Then on to Its a Small World, which had I know it wasnt the Christmas decorated one, wed have skipped ah, well, remember that for next time. Our friend from home was suppose to be with Belle and Beast, but I got a call from him that hed be with the Country Bears near the show till parade then over by Aladdins Carpet, which is where we finally found him. The bears and Aladdin were riding and DH and DS hopped on while I talked with our friend. We hadnt seen him since August, but he looked great and was loving his college intern program. He was lucky to get his break so we all chatted for quite a while till duty called him to the Bears.
On the way back to Main St. we found a good spot so I could take photos of Holiday Wishes, which were fantastic!! Heres one of my shots
As we passed Caseys we noticed the piano player was returning, so we stopped and listened for his whole show. He is very good played a bunch of Christmas carols ala ragtime and had a wee magical moment as I watched a young princess of about 2 in her stroller dancing as Mom and Dad stood there and listened. She just loved the music! Here's the talented guy playing for everyone...(okay, I actually took this one earlier in the day of him)
Well, DS was getting bored with all the party hoopla, so we told him he could leave. OMG! What was I saying? He took us up on the offer so we walked him to the gate, and watched him go. Another moment for momma just after he exited the park, he looked back with a sad face and waved, but I knew he really didnt want to watch the parade and hed be fine he had the other phone and would call when he arrived at SSR. So, DH and I walked back into Town Square. I noticed a few spots left at the train station to watch the MVMCP parade so we went up and grabbed a place next to a nice family from West Virginia. I took photos as my fingers started to get a little numb, but we enjoyed the parade. Did anyone else notice that in true Disney fashion that Goofy's Bake Shop float smelled like gingerbread?
After the parade, DH and I were done...the cold air had gotten to us and we headed for the bus and home...SSR.
Day 4 is all about relaxing...
We had a late breakfast planned at Kona Cafe, which as DS put it, "was worth getting up for." We had a great meal, very relaxing and enjoyable then did a little shopping in the resort gift shop. We ended up buying a lot and were told the delivery to our resort would take 4 or 5 days...paleeze! I think the CM may have been knew and didn't ask to be sure. So we decided I'd have a Backscratcher at the lounge...okay so I really just wanted the blasted back scratcher as a souvinier...but they didn't open till later...rats! Anyway...we all ended up taking the monorail to MK, where DH and DS grabbed the bus back to SSR...DH wanted to get his sweatshirt anyway...while I went into the MK alone....
Let me back track here a bit to the monorail...DS has never asked to sit in the front car until now...and he's 13 for crying out loud. Well, I told him I'd ask just in case, but not to get his hopes up. Well, pixie dust was with us...we got to sit in the front...
Here's a shot as we head toward the GF...
As I walked into MK for the first time alone, I didn't have a clue what to do first...I really felt like a kid who'd been cut loose in a candy store. Well, I walked up the stairs to the RR station, watched the Trolley singers come around the square, took some photos, and then the grown up in me spoke. It said check on things for MVMCP tonight...okay...if I must...so I found out how we'd get our wristbands, grabbed the special maps and went on my merry way. I decided I'd try to find the Princess Christmas hats since I really wanted one for myself and one for Dniece. I think I hit every gift shop except for Tomorrowland and Toon Town with no luck and I'd worked up a bit of a sweat so I stopped by the Aloha Isle for a dole whip float..yum! As I head toward Casey's I see the cutest little boy watching the ducks...it was neat to see that with all the great things Walt has for us, the simple little ducks can still grab a boy's attention...another bit of magic on this trip.
Then I found the limited edition pin that was just released and grabbed the Tink one for Dniece, she's becoming a real collector. Around this time my phone rings and it's the boys who are about to enter MK so I head to Town Square to meet them...the first place they wanna head is Aloha Isle...so we sat there and I watched them. Then stopped by the Tiki Room, which wed not seen since 1999...enjoyed it again, just dont think we could sing in the Tiki, tiki, tiki room that often.Well, we wander around to Frontierland, where one of those Kamakazi gulls dive bombed and hit my jacket...those are some nasty birds that WDW needs to attend and people should stop feeding...they might not be such a nuisance.
But it was here that I had another personal magical moment watching DS and DH walking with their arms around each other
not something they usually do. I guess this whole trip was kind of a bringing together for them and I think I realized that some day DS will be grown up and not be with us as often, so when I saw them doing this it got me misty eyed. It's not the best photo for composition, but this is what I'm talkin' about...
Well, it was almost time for the Share a Dream parade, so we grabbed a spot right near the Turkey leg cart, which DS had to have as he does on every trip, though now he eats the whole thing instead of sharing with DH. It was the first time wed seen the parade and I thought it was really nicely done loved the way it told the story of Walts dreams. Afterwards we meandered around slowly toward the castle for our 4:30 ADR, which was very nice.
After dinner we grabbed our wristbands in the Rose Garden and headed to the Emporium to buy our holiday hats - Santa Mickey, Minnie, and Jester Santa Goofy for DS. I knew I wanted to get our photos taken in Adventureland and we were hoping to meet up with a CM from home whod be working the party later so we went back to Frontierland to ride BTMRR just walked on! Then to Haunted Mansion just walked on and actually got to take a couple photos of HM without people in it. After a quick potty break, we headed back to get our photos taken via Diamond Horse for a cookie and cocoa. There was no line at Adventureland and we got our photos done quickly then went to Tomorrowland. We werent interested in Space Mountain and I couldnt convince the boys to do Buzz so we stopped at the gift shop and bought our MVMCP shirts. Then we headed toward Fantasyland to check out the hop, which looked more like a character greeting when we passed and on to Philharmagic great as usual! Then on to Its a Small World, which had I know it wasnt the Christmas decorated one, wed have skipped ah, well, remember that for next time. Our friend from home was suppose to be with Belle and Beast, but I got a call from him that hed be with the Country Bears near the show till parade then over by Aladdins Carpet, which is where we finally found him. The bears and Aladdin were riding and DH and DS hopped on while I talked with our friend. We hadnt seen him since August, but he looked great and was loving his college intern program. He was lucky to get his break so we all chatted for quite a while till duty called him to the Bears.
On the way back to Main St. we found a good spot so I could take photos of Holiday Wishes, which were fantastic!! Heres one of my shots
As we passed Caseys we noticed the piano player was returning, so we stopped and listened for his whole show. He is very good played a bunch of Christmas carols ala ragtime and had a wee magical moment as I watched a young princess of about 2 in her stroller dancing as Mom and Dad stood there and listened. She just loved the music! Here's the talented guy playing for everyone...(okay, I actually took this one earlier in the day of him)
Well, DS was getting bored with all the party hoopla, so we told him he could leave. OMG! What was I saying? He took us up on the offer so we walked him to the gate, and watched him go. Another moment for momma just after he exited the park, he looked back with a sad face and waved, but I knew he really didnt want to watch the parade and hed be fine he had the other phone and would call when he arrived at SSR. So, DH and I walked back into Town Square. I noticed a few spots left at the train station to watch the MVMCP parade so we went up and grabbed a place next to a nice family from West Virginia. I took photos as my fingers started to get a little numb, but we enjoyed the parade. Did anyone else notice that in true Disney fashion that Goofy's Bake Shop float smelled like gingerbread?
After the parade, DH and I were done...the cold air had gotten to us and we headed for the bus and home...SSR.
Day 4 is all about relaxing...
