December 23
Today was our last park day and it was a short one. FIL was in FL with his girlfriend who has a home down there. This year he decided to stay past Christmas since we were down there. We made plans to meet up with them this afternoon at our resort, so they wouldn’t have to get one day tickets.
We decided the easiest thing to do would be to hang out at Epcot for a couple of hours, each lunch right at 11 and then head back to meet them at the Boardwalk. I would have much rather gone to MK again since there was so much there that we had missed this time, but it was a red day, and I just don’t do red days this close to Christmas. Plus we wouldn’t have enough time to spend there when you add in transportation time.
DH talked me into buying something nice for myself, so I had picked out a hoodie that matches the purse I bought last year. So we walked over to MouseGears to take advantage of the 20% off coupon. They had the hoodie, but not in my size. *sigh* This one:
I almost settled for one that was black with Mickey Mouse written across the front. The hood had Mickey ears on it. Very cute, but just too expensive for me for something so simple. We spent a lot of time in the store and I ended up with nothing. lol DH got the Vinalmation stuff he wanted though. He bought one last time and painted it when we got home in honor of Lily’s first trip, so he wanted one for her first Christmas trip too.
Can you guess what we did next? Yep! We rode Nemo! 4 or 5 times. Lily thought it was hilarious by the third trip. We hung out and dolphin watched for a little while. I told one of the CMs in the dump shop that they seriously need a seagull plush, and she said that she had heard that they were coming very soon! Lily would LOVE one. I wanted to buy her one of the many other “Mine! Mine! Mine!” things they have, but nothing was appropriate.
We rode Journey into Imagination one more time and it was time to head back to WS to eat. We decided to stop in the UK for fish and chips since it was the only counter service until you get to Morocco on that side. So we sat down to wait for them to open. A CM was out putting the condiments and things out and finally told the small line of people that it didn’t open until 11:30. Why in the world would they not post a sign with the opening time? It doesn’t have to be a permanent thing, one of those ones that you can change. Stupid.
We started walking and decided on Morocco. I wanted to try something different since we’ve eaten there before, but it was either that or go all the way to America and we’d eaten there too. DH and I both got the big sampler plate and most of it was really, really good. The baklava made my mouth really dry, but other than that it was good, but it was COLD where we were sitting. We ate fast and headed toward the exit to the Boardwalk. When we got there, we saw:
My favorite country bear!!! LOVE HIM! Lily liked him too. I told him he was my favorite and that I wished we could sing a duet, and he laughed and hugged me.
We also saw:
I told them they were missing Brer Bear and Brer Fox started looking for him.
Not done yet!
It was really cool, but VERY chaotic. There were 3 CMs standing next to each other down the hill, but no one was directing people into lines or anything, so everyone was cutting each other off and it was a mess. We hit it at the right time, because there was only a few other families, but it would have been a nightmare with any more people.
It was such a nice surprise to end our last park time this way. We got back to the room and Lily and I took a nap right away. When she woke up we went to visit with FIL. We spent a couple of hours walking around the resort and the boardwalk. Lily played on the playground for a while. I wish we had swam!! It got warm enough, and I was totally itching to be in the pool. Lily had a ton of fun playing with her daddy and grandpa on the playground and that made it all worth it for sure.
Our ADR for Ohana was quickly approaching, so we said farewell to our visitors and drove over to the Poly. I had to do a little convincing to get DH to drive instead of taking the bus to MK and then the monorail, but I’m so glad we did. The drive went smoothly and was so much more convenient.
Dinner at Ohana was wonderful as always. I think this is one of the very few places we’d eat at every trip and it’s one of the most inexpensive too! Lily and I did the hula again and got leis, but this time hers went around her next because her head was too big to wrap it like last time. (See pic in first post). This made me all teary, because it really highlighted how much she’s grown in such a short time.
After dinner we managed to catch Lilo and Stitch next to Ohana. I really should have pulled Lily out of the stroller. The photopass pictures are so awkward; it’s actually kind of funny!
We spent some time in the shops since I was still hoping that something would scream “Buy Me!” Then we hopped on the monorail to visit the GF. I just had to see the gingerbread house. Lily loved the monorail almost as much as the train to Rafiki’s. I wish we would have had time to ride the train at MK. Next time!
The gingerbread house was awesome!! It seemed much cooler this time than the last trip. The balcony was so cool and covered in so much intricate stuff.
There was a Photopass photographer taking pictures in front of the GF tree and MAN! were people decked out. We saw them take one of the most adorable little girl ever (except Lily). She was sooo cute. The smile and the pose could easily been in a magazine.
We hunted through the shops, but nothing caught my eye, so we got back on the monorail. I loved being able to see the castle one more time all lit up. Most trips, my last view of the castle makes me tear up, but this time I felt such a sense of satisfaction. We had such a great trip…2 great trips with our little princess! I felt so full of magic!
We headed back to the resort to pack and relax.
Up Next: Drive home and final thoughts!
He said he wants her to be older for a cruise. We'll see if I can wear him down.
