The Mouse Family Live from Disneyland!! 10/20 - 10/25 NOW COMPLETE

[mousemom11]

Mouse Family Roll Call:

Me, DH (who had a kidney transplant this past May), DD9, DD7
Our best friends, BFH and BFW, and their kids, DD9 and DS7

There has been much excitement around the Mouse House this month as we counted down the days to Disneyland. We haven't been able to travel the past 2 years because DH had been so sick with kidney failure. We're so happy to invite you to join our family as we celebrate DH's return to health and make some magic at DLR.

We were up bright and early at 6 am and the car service picked us up at 8 am for our 10:30 am flight. We were checked-in and through security in 20 minutes and spent some time at the Marketplace at SeaTac, which has spectacular floor-to-ceiling windows surrounded by shops and eateries.

It was a gray, gloomy, rainy day in Seattle and we were glad to leave it behind for the beautiful blue skies and warm weather of Anaheim. We're staying in Room 2657 of the DLH on the 8th floor with a view of DTD and both parks. It has 2 queen beds and a couch and is much more spacious than our previous rooms at the GCH.

Splash Mountain

\]

Matterhorn

DTD with Space in the background

GCH with TOT in the background

Paradise Pier in DCA

 

[10stime]

Wow what a nice view!!! I hope you and your family have a wonderful trip, it sure sounds like you deserve some fun!

 

[mousemom11]

The whole family was delighted by all the special touches in the room.

The girls posing with the etched armoire

Etched headboard

Tink

Talk to the Hand

The girls got a huge kick out of the Mickey toiletries

Another touch of Mickey

Even the wallpaper in the bathroom had Mickey and friends

When we got to our room, we noticed that one of the lightbulbs in the lamp was burned out. Before we could even call down to the front desk about it, a maintenance man knocked on our door with a replacement. How's that for great service? I ordered water, snacks and 2 bottles of wine online from Vons a few days ago with delivery scheduled today between 11 and 3. We checked in around 3, the order was waiting for us at the bell desk, and they delivered to our room. I'm having a glass of wine now while I write the TR and look out the window at the lights of DTD and the parks. Can it get any better than this?

 

[mousemom11]

After we unpack, we hook up with our BFFs, who have a room 4 doors down the hall from us, and head off to DLR. When we walked through the front gate and came out the tunnel onto Main Street, it felt like I had come home. It has been 3 long years since we have been here, and all of us have sorely missed it.

Halloween Decorations at the Front Gate

First up was Haunted Mansion. On the way there, we grabbed FP's for Indy. None of us had seen the NBC overlay, so we were anxious to get our first glimpse. Unfortunately, my DD7 cried all the way through it. The rest of us just loved it. The attention to detail is wonderful and there is so much to see that you can't take it all in one just one ride.

To get DD7 back in the DL mood, we headed over to Winnie the Pooh.

Pooh restored the Magic just in time for dinner. We got chicken nuggets and mozzarella sticks for the kids at the Stage Door Cafe and the adults went to Rancho Zocalo. It was my first time eating there in 6 trips to DLR (where HAVE I been?) and it was wonderful. I had the beef burrito, DH had the soft chicken tacos, BFH had the Carne Asada, and BFW had the roasted chicken. The portions were generous and tasty and the food was served piping hot. We'll definitely be eating there throughout the week.

Then it was off to POTC (which was a walk-on) where we all sang the Pirate song loudly and had fun picking out Jack Sparrow. Once again, I was struck at how well done it is. The BFF's were at WDW earlier this year and said that POC here is much better than the one at WDW.

We used our FPs on Indy. DH and I were the only ones who had been on it before and it was a big hit. We slowed down to enjoy the pre-show line, and our DDs were horrified that DH was pushing on the pole and pulling on the rope. They were sure that a big rock was going to roll out and land on him.

The final ride of the night was BTMRR. DD7 was finally tall enough to ride it and she laughed and screamed the whole time. As the train came to a halt she yelled "That blew my face off!!!! That was the BEST ride of my life!!"

We walked through WOD in DTD on the way back to the hotel and also got our first churro of the trip. Yumm!

At the entrance to WOD

I'm going to call it a night, as we have MM tomorrow at 8 am, so I need to be up around 6. We have PS at BB for lunch tomorrow too.

 

[disney-inspired]

What a perfect and special way to celebrate your DH's health! Your hotel room loooks great and I'm glad it's off to a good start!

 

[mousemom11]

Wow what a nice view!!! I hope you and your family have a wonderful trip, it sure sounds like you deserve some fun!

Thank you so much! We've been having a blast so far.

What a perfect and special way to celebrate your DH's health! Your hotel room loooks great and I'm glad it's off to a good start!

He's taking a nap right now, as we ran him ragged this morning. Which gives me time to upload photos and do another installment of the TR.

 

[10stime]

Sounds like a perfect day and evening

 

[wendylady36]

We were up bright and early at 6 am and the car service picked us up at 8 am for our 10:30 am flight. We were checked-in and through security in 20 minutes and spent some time at the Marketplace at SeaTac, which has spectacular floor-to-ceiling windows surrounded by shops and eateries.

I was in SeaTac for the first time this year. I got there WAY too early and spent the longest time sitting at a table and looking out those windows, it's such a great area.

I'm having a glass of wine now while I write the TR and look out the window at the lights of DTD and the parks. Can it get any better than this?

No, no it cannot. That is basically my dream evening. Wine + Disney = magic

 

[mousemom11]

Yee haw. Our first full day at DLR. And DL opened at 9 today instead of 10 as is usual during the week. At one time, there was a private party here tonight and the part was originally scheduled to close at 5 or 6, so they decided to open the park and hour early. However, when I checked the park schedule last week, the 9 am open time was still good, but closing was back to the usual 8 pm, so we get an extra hour today. Plus, it's MM today.

We had breakfast at Steakhouse 55 this morning and I actually remembered to take some food pics. DD7 had the Mickey Pancake and I had the American Breakfast, with 2 eggs, potatoes, sausage, and toast. The potatoes were a bit dry, but other than that it was good.

We hoofed it through DTD and hit the park at 8:05 am for MM. We Walked With Purpose to FL and got in line for Peter Pan. After just a few minutes wait, the first 2 from our party loaded and were off into the ride. Just as our 2nd group loaded, alarms went off and the ride stopped. Then came the announcement that the ride was experiencing "technical difficulties" and that it would be about 15-20 minutes to get it going again. Rats, there went my well-laid plans for taking advantage of the MM hour. With two of our group on the ride, we didn't want to leave them. Besides we were right at the front of the line. The hordes of maintenance people showed and up and mumbled officially to each other before disappearing into the bowels of the ride. About 10 minutes later they managed to get the boats moving and offload the stuck riders, but still did not re-open the ride. With our MM quickly disappearing, we decided not to wait any longer and left. We then walked on to Snow White and Pinnochio.

It was now 9 am, so as the rest of our group headed to Dumbo, I got everyone's park tickets and power-walked to Space for FPs.

Oops, the group is ready to head back to the park for the evening. To be continued......

 

[pixleyyy]

Oh, I LOVE live trip reports. You always remember the best stuff when you write it down right away. Can't wait to read more about your days at Disneyland.

 

[dalepool]

I am liking the way you travel. . I so love when guests do on site trip reports. You will be returning from your wonderful trip the day before I leave for mine. I am doing that Mickey Mouse Happy Dance. Can't wait to read the rest of your report.

Patty

I asked at clinic Monday and I can actually have an alcoholic drink or two should I desire one on this trip. This trip is looking better all the time.

 

[mousemom11]

Wow. Sorry all. We were out late last night and when we got back to the hotel, I wrote some quick notes to myself so that I wouldn't forget what we did and then fell into bed.

Let's see, where was I? Oh yes, getting FPs for Space. I got an unexpected surprise when I went to get the FPs. I went up the exit for Space, mistakenly thinking that FP distribution was there. Who was coming out with his handler for some character time but Buzz! When he saw me whip out my camera, he stopped walking long enough for me to take his pic. Thanks Buzz!

[

I caught up with my group in FL where we walked on to the carousel, Mr Toad, Teacups, and Matterhorn. Oh joy, DD7 had her first meltdown getting on the Matterhorn. She absolutely refused to board and was screaming in terror, poor baby, so DH aborted the ride and took her to sit down and take a breather. She was still crying when we finished the ride. After much hugs and kisses, she finally told me that she wasn't afraid of the ride per se, but that she was freaked out by the Yeti. OK, scratch Matterhorn for DD7.

DD9 on carousel

MouseMom on the carousel

However, she was perfectly fine with going on Space. Unbelievably, at 10:15 am, Space was a walk-on!! Can you believe it? We all hooted and hollered throughout the ride and got a great pic of the 4 of us on it all together for the 1st time. As we left Space, who came walking up the exit but Donald Duck. Wow, the Space exit is really the place to hang out for impromptu character sightings. We then walked onto both BLAB and Astro Orbiter.

[/IMG]

Then it was time for lunch at BB. I caught Captain Jack wowing the ladies and signing autographs right outside BB.

We had PS for 11:40 and they seated us right away. Because we were a party of 8, we couldn't get a waterside table, but were in the second row, so still had a great view of The Bayou and the POC boats going by. I just love eating at BB, sitting in the near dark with the glowing lanterns, the sounds of the bayou, and the fireflies winking. Unfortunately this time, we had very poor service from our waitress. The rest of the staff was excellent, but our waitress was very slow. She showed up quickly when we were first seated and took our drink orders, but didn't return with our drinks for 15-20 minutes. Then, it took her another 10-15 minutes to come back to take our lunch orders. After a long wait, our meals were finally brought out by a different staff member, who set the tray with our meals on a stand next to our table and left, with our waitress nowhere in sight. Meanwhile, our food is sitting on a tray next to our table getting cold. We were just about to get up and serve ourselves when our waitress appeared and served us. The food itself was quite good. I had the Monte Cristo, which is my absolute favorite there. After lunch, it took quite a while for the bill to arrive, and, unfortunately, the tip had been added to it because of the size of our party. The kids in the group were getting really restless, so we decided not to take it up with the manager. BFH commented to me while we were waiting for the waitress to bring back the charge slips, "Do you think that we'll get out of here before nightfall?". My response was that I was regretting not completing my absentee ballot before I left for DLR.

DD7 in her pirate hat in BB

Wedge salad

We restored the magic by walking on to POC and once again lustily singing the Pirate Song.

Splash was only a 15 minute wait and we got another fun pic of the 4 of us together for the first time on the ride. Then it was time to head back to the hotel for an afternoon break - nap for DH and swim for me, BFW, and the 4 kids.

We headed back to the park around 6 pm and took the monorail. We rode the new, red one and I saw first-hand the way with windows only pop out slightly from the bottom. We were quite comfortable, but it was evening in October. I can see how they would be a blast furnace during the day in the summer.

DH and DD7 used a blanket and staked out places for us on the parade route right by IASW. He passed the time by calling all his family members and bragging that he was in DL waiting for the parade to start. DD9 and I went on Pinnochio and then stopped by Mad Hatter and each bought Mouse Ears. It was our first time seeing the Parade of Dreams, and the Alice float stopped right in front of us for about 5 minutes while they did a really cute production number.

After the parade, we stopped by Mad Hatter again so that DD7 could get her mouse ears and then walked onto Space (again) for our final ride of the night. We did some shopping on Main Street on the way out and I bought this wonderful print of Mickey. The minute I saw it, I knew that I had to have it. It shows Mickey painting a self-portrait. He is looking in the mirror at himself, but the drawing on the easel is of Walt. To me, that is what makes DL so special. This is the park that Walt built and it holds a very special place in my heart.

The Gang and Our Ears. L-R, BFW, My DD7 and DD9, her DD9 and DS7, Mousemom

DD7 and her Tink Ears

We had dinner at Jazz Kitchen in DTD on the way back to the hotel. I had the sweet potato bisque, glazed pork with green beans and sweet potatoes, and blueberry beignets for dessert. To die for!!!

DD9 all worn out at dinner

Mousemom and her ears at dinner

 

[mousemom11]

We were up very late last night, after a long, wonderful day. This is the sight I was greeted with when I got up this morning.

Awwwww. We wore them out yesterday.

It's now 11:45 pm on Wednesday, and I'm tuckered out. So, I'll leave you with this quick preview. It was HOT HOT HOT today. I heard it got up to 95! Yikes. We spent today at DCA and had a great time in spite of the heat.

I'll catch you up on all of it tomorrow. I've got to turn in since we have MM tomorrow.

 

[mousemom11]

We started the morning with breakfast at Rainforest Cafe. Once again, very slow service but the food was good.

DH (wearing DD9's ears) and DD7

DD9 and DH

Now, for our first taste of DCA this trip. We walked right on to Soarin and I got to sit in the 2nd row with the 3 girls. I had so much fun listening to them laugh and holler at what they were seeing (and smelling).

Since it was so hot, we hustled over to GRR to get wet and cool off.

As we had 8 in our group, we got the raft to ourselves. DH took the brunt of it, but we all got pretty soaked and laughed ourselves silly.

Now that we were a bit cooler (and wetter), we headed over to Paradise Pier. I took one last shot of the Sunwheel. Notice that all the gondolas have been removed.

We hopped onto Mulholland Madness, where BFW's ride-breaking karma kicked in again. Our family had just exited our cars and they were in the car behind us when the ride broke down. We hung out for a while and kept them company and gave her a lot of grief over breaking another ride. After they were extricated from the ride (and given head-of-the-line passes for any ride in DCA except TSM), DD9 finally was able to ride Orange Stinger. For years, she has wanted to, but this was the first time that she was tall enough. Then it was on to Jumpin Jellyfish (or as I call it, the Space Shuttle Launch on Thorazine).

DD9 played the midway basketball game and won this huge stuffed frog that had velcro on its hands and feet, so that you can stick it to yourself. She named it Jolly and got lots of comments on it throughout the day. DH and I walked on to Maliboomer and then we all hit TSM. This was the longest line of the day at about 30 minutes, but it was well worth it. We all absolutely loved it and will definitely do it again before we leave.

We love you Mr Potatohead!!

The kids hit the Carousel, while DH and I practically walked onto Screaming. I just love this coaster! Fast and smooth. Yee haw!

We had lunch at Pacific Wharf. I had the Chicken Salad, which was perfect on such a hot day. You can see Jolly was eyeing my lunch.

After lunch, we walked on to Monsters Inc. DD9 and DD7 were in the front seat at the end of the ride. Roz talked to the girls and told DD9 "Nice Ears. Is that your little sister with you? If she gives you any trouble, you just let me know". She told our friends in the car behind us "Next time, bring me a Churro".

By now, everyone except DD9 and I were tired and wanted a break, so they all headed back to the hotel. DD9 and I used our FPs on GRR to cool off. We then took the "scenic route" back to the DLH. We started off through the GCH, but instead of heading out to DTD, I thought that I would take a "short cut" and we went out the front door. I thought I could easily cross the street to DLH from GCH. No such luck. We went out the front door of GCH to the right and turned right when we hit Disneyland Drive. I was so sure that there would be a path back into DTD. Well sort of. We went through the underpass under DTD and came up the other side. Finally, we found a path that I think was coming from the Mickey parking garage. The first place that we could find to get into DTD from that path was at House of Blues. Which is right about where we would have come out from the GCH. Oops. Needless to say, DD9 was a bit peeved at me for wasting her valuable swim time.

After a nice, refreshing swim, we had dinner at Steakhouse 55. It was VERY nice. Our servers were friendly and attentive. They checked with us to see if we wanted the kids food to come out first and we said yes. The food and wine was marvelous.

My New York steak

Sides of asparagus, mushrooms, and BFH's Porterhouse

Sides of green beans, roasted red potatoes, and BFW's New York

Fruit tart a la mode

Kids ice cream with M&Ms

Photo of Walt in the lobby of Steakhouse 55

Sated from good food, good wine, and good company, we headed back to our rooms to prepare for MM on Thursday morning

 

[mousemom11]

Thursday morning we awoke to this gorgeous sunrise.

We had breakfast at Catal in DTD and were seated out on the balcony.

Here come the BFF's

I had the eggs benedict. Yummy!

DH had the oatmeal.

[/URL][/IMG]

DD's had the pancakes, complete with butter smiley-face

DD7 groovin her new sunglasses that she bought with some of her trip money

After breakfast, it was off to MM.

I decided to hold up traffic from the castle as I took a pic of the Golden Spike that marks the center of DL (OK, not so much after Toontown was added).

Now on Tuesday, MM in FL was a walk-on for everything. Not today!! FL was a madhouse! People everywhere! Lines stretching as far as the eye could see! Oh, the humanity! We arrived at PP at 9:10 to find a 40 minute line. Strike One! We rode Alice after about a 10 minute wait. Alice is still one of my favorite dark rides, 2nd only to PP. Mr Toad's line was about 20 minutes when we joined it. Not 2 minutes later we got the "technical difficulty" announcement. Strike Two!

DD7 practicing for her driver's test (heaven help us all)

Since FL was so congested, we headed over to the Matterhorn only to find it....closed due to mechanical problems. Strike Three! We're outta there. By then it was 9:45 so we abandoned FL and headed to TL. The board at Space showed a 10 minute wait time, so we got in line. The actual wait time was more like 20 minutes, but it went by quickly. Unfortunately, the goofball in the car right in front of BFW took continuous flash pictures throughout the entire ride! She was literally growling as she got off the ride and one of the guy's companions grabbed him and dragged him off before she could eviscerate him. Too bad. I mean, what was the point of taking all those pics? You're moving so fast that none of them will turn out. And, of course, the guy was totally clueless about why BFW was so mad. I wonder what it's like to live your life in Clueless World?

After getting over our snit fit about the idiot population, we took a break from the heat (in the 90s again today) and got in line for Star Tours. Our kids have become big Star Wars fans after playing Lego Star Wars on the XBox (DD9 is going to be Darth Vader for Halloween), so they got a huge kick out of it.

I got a really cool Screamin pin in the Star Tours gift shop and then we walked on to BLAB, where BFW royally kicked my keister. I drowned my sorrows by buying a Pirates pin in the gift shop.

We headed over to Splash and got FPs and then had lunch at Hungry Bear. The lunch entertainment consisted of a large Praying Mantis hanging out under the table next to us. DH was tired and wanted to nap, so he headed back to the hotel while we used our FPs on Splash. I had the honor of being in the front seat, so I got totally hosed on the big drop. But since it was in the 90s, it felt great! Our log was next in line to unload and the ride broke down. By now, it had become a huge standing joke with us about our ride-breaking karma. The CMs were all concerned about us sitting there and couldn't understand why we were laughing hysterically over being stuck in our log. They came and got us out after just a few minutes, so we went to celebrate out liberation with Dole Whips and Floats. Yeah, baby!

We took the monorail back to the hotel for a rest and nice long swim, then headed back to DL on the monorail. As we got off, we checked the Nemo line and saw that it was 30 minutes. We decided that that was about the shortest it would be, so we joined up. There was a vendor cart right next to the line, so everyone was buying ice creams as they waited in line. I was a bit skeptical of the Nemo ride after seeing comments on the board that it was just OK. But I must say that I really liked it and thought that it was quite well done.

Matterhorn from the monorail platform

The Autopia line was only about 10 minutes, so we got in line. I rode with DD9, who could reach the pedal, but didn't quite have the reach to hold down the gas pedal. After a few fits and starts with her foot slipping off the gas, I stomped on the gas and she drove. Thank goodness for the tracks, or we would have ended up in the Nemo pool. As it was, I needed a chiropractic adjustment after all that jerking around. Note to self, let someone else teach her to drive.

We had dinner at Tomorrowland Terrace and then hit BTMRR as our last ride of the night.

 

[kaoden39]

I am loving your trip report. You have such a wonderful nature about the breakdowns. I tend to have the oh well attitude about the breakdowns. I am at Disneyland and nothing can ruin that.

 

[mousemom11]

Friday, our last full day at DLR

We had 9:10 ressies for Breakfast in the Park with Minnie and friends. This is our favorite of all the character breakfasts at DLR. We love the Plaza Inn, the food is good, and there are a lot of characters with great interaction. We saw Minnie, Pooh, Captain Hook, Max, Chip & Dale, Tigger, Eeyore, Rafiki, and Alice and the Mad Hatter. When Tigger approached the table, we started singing the Tigger song and Tigger directed us. Then he made us sing it again. I have a great video of it, but it won't upload. Alice and the Mad Hatter were wonderful. They spent about 5 minutes at our table interacting with the 4 kids. DD9 was wearing her birthday button and the Mad Hatter told her that Unbirthdays were just The Thing and that birthdays were SO yesterday.

I love how Chip is holding the autograph book up to his one eye to be able to see to sign it.

Tigger directing our song

On our way out to DCA, we ran into Goofy by the train station. He was a hoot. As he signed our kids autograph books, he would toss them over his shoulder and move on to the next one.

The Mouse family with Goofy

The Golden Gate bridge decorated for Halloween

After we entered DCA, BFH and I ran and Soarin and GRR FPs and then we all went to see Turtle Talk with Crush. DD7 got picked to talk to Crush and he taught her to Talk Turtle (totally sweet). Crush had the kids laughing from beginning to end, and the adults enjoyed sitting down in the cool auditorium (90s again today). One of the neatest things in the Animation Building was the Zoetrope. You must stop to see it the next time you are there. It demonstrates the principals of animation through sculptures that sit on a rotating platform (think of a carousel). As the platform whirls faster and faster, the sculptures come to life and start moving. We were fascinated by it and stayed to watch it for about 10 minutes.

DH and I went over to TOT where we got in the front row (yee haw), while the rest of the group rode Monsters Inc again.

Oops, gotta run and pick up DD9 at gymnastics. More later.

 

[mousemom11]

I am loving your trip report. You have such a wonderful nature about the breakdowns. I tend to have the oh well attitude about the breakdowns. I am at Disneyland and nothing can ruin that.

Exactly. Although, if we had broken down on the outside of the ride and had to sit in the heat and direct sun for a while, we might not have been quite so philosophical about the whole thing.

 

[IDreamfDisney]

Hi -I am so glad your husband had his transplant and is doing well so you can enjoy a family (and friends) vacation together, especially at The Happiest Place on Earth! When you feel well physically you feel you feel better mentally; I know this firsthand. Your TR is so enjoyable to read and the pictures are great (your girls are so cute). Can't wait to read the rest!

 

[mousemom11]

Finally, I get a few minutes to finish this.

When we left them, our Intrepid Gang was at DCA. DH and I had just gone on TOT and the rest of the motley crew had saved Boo at Monsters Inc. By unanimous acclimation, TSMM was next and we snagged some Screaming FPs and Mickey bars on our way there. It was about a 30 minute line, which was the average wait that we saw our entire time there. I'm hoping that they'll add FP to this after a year or two. The more I ride this, the more I like it. DD9 was crying because I beat her again (I'm sure I don't know where her competitive streak comes from).

Next, came a special first for our roller-coaster fanantic family. The girls were both finally tall enough so that we could ride Screaming as a family and they had a blast! Both of them screamed, laughed, hooted and hollered throughout the entire ride. They were jumping up and down as we got off yelling "That was the best ride of my life!!!" I do declare, we have created adrenaline junkies.

While the adrenaline was still spiking, we headed over to the Maliboomer. Unfortunately, DD7 was not tall enough to ride, so she and DH went shopping while DD9 and I rode it. She thought the launch was great, but pronounced it boring towards the end as it gently bore us back to earth.

To beat the heat, we used our Soarin FPs. All 8 of us sat in the middle section, 2nd row. Sweet! Then we had a late lunch at Taste Pilots Grill, where I had the BBQ chicken sandwich, which was quite good. Love all the condiments there!

Last up, we used our GRR FPs. Since there was 8 of us, we got a raft to ourselves, which was a lot of fun. We were laughing at each other the entire time and voted it the Fun Group Ride of the Day. We walked back to the hotel for a rest, since DLR was open until midnight that night and we intended to make it until closing.

DH was pretty worn out from all of our activity during the week, so he stayed behind as the rest of us took the Monorail to DLH. We got there just as the parade let out, so it was a madhouse. We were hoping to get in a few rides in FL before the fireworks, but all the lines were at least 30 minutes long. So we headed over to NOS, hoping to ride HM. Oops. 45 minute line there. We got FPs and then went to French Market for dinner. After dinner, we had time to do Pirates before the fireworks.

We went to the hub in front of the castle right about 9:15 and were able to squeeze ourselves in on the right side facing the castle. 9:25 came and went and no fireworks. Around 9:35 an announcement started. Uh oh, were the fireworks cancelled because of high winds? No, just some "technical difficulaties" and they expected to start shortly. BFW commented that unless they were able to start by 9:45, they'd have to cancel because of the 10 pm no-fireworks ordinance in Anaheim. Right at 9:45, the castle lights went out and the fireworks started. Whew.

What an absolutely awesome show!! I'd never seen this one before and it blew me away. The narration, the music, the choreography, the fireworks were just amazing. Many of us had tears in our eyes at the end.

After the fireworks, our group split up with the younger set plus BFH heading to Mr Toad and the rest of us rode the left side of the Matterhorn. Wow, that is definitely the wilder side. The BFF's called it a night after that, so the girls and I when to HM and used our FPs. Then we caught the train in NOS and rode it around to Main Street. I wanted to see the Grand Canyon and Primeval Land dioramas once before we left. We exited the park around midnight (mission accomplished) and the girls were excitedly congratulating themselves for the latest that they'd ever stayed up.