And that, as they say in the business, is an attention-getter.
It's also the snack we enjoyed after Splash Mountain. And goodness, no, we didn't all share just the one. We are a very loving family, but I'm quite certain we would have come to blows over sharing a single Dole Whip.
Tasty tropical goodness consumed, we resumed our quest for fun and excitement. (It's not like it's a hard quest - we're in Disney World. Duh.) Our next stop: right where we left before our watches (and tummies) said it was Dole Whip time: Splash Mountain!
Yup, Evan and I went on Splash Mountain again. We sang along with the songs, we danced along to the music, we smiled to mom as we came around the bend...
Hey....wait a minute! Madison wasn't in that first picture, was she? How's she get in that boat so fast? And how is she still so dry?
We disembarked our log, but were not yet ready to give up the aquatic lifestyle. We yearned for the open seas. For the salty sea air blowing on our faces. For the still nights navigating by the stars. For the favorable wind always at our back and filling our sails. For the pillaging and plundering of far off places. Ok, that last one may not sound quite so romantic, but yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.
And best of all - Bambi could ride it! We all entered the Castillo Del Morro, keeping to the left of course, and enjoyed yet another fine run through the pirate infested Caribbean Seas.
But like all good things, our day at the Magic Kingdom was drawing to and end. We would have loved to stay until the last
bang of the Wishes fireworks trailed off, but we still had about an hours drive over to the port and needed to get checked in to our hotel. So we started the slowest walk out of the Magic Kingdom that we could possibly muster, while still technically moving forward.
We did stop for a few bathroom breaks up by guest services. Evan insisted on getting a picture with the baseball scarecrow.
We then decided to take advantage of the Halloween decorations and get a nice family photopass picture. Evan, however, was no longer in the mood for pictures. He was hot, he was tired and he didn't want to leave. Not even the prospect of getting to wear the new neon lime green Dr. Doofenschmirtz shirt that Grandma & Grandpa bought him would get him to turn around and look at the camera. Ahhh....memories.
(And by the way - I purposely left this photo uncropped as my protest to the photopass guys. We don't need to see 6 feet of ground in front of us. Or really even our shoes for that matter. You can zoom in a little bit, you know.)
Shortly, we were on our way off Disney property and making the hour drive to Port Canaveral. Oddly, the kids only remember about 7 minutes of the drive.
By around 6 pm or so we were pulling into the parking lot of the Country Inn & Suites. They were a little more expensive than the some of other other hotels in the area that offered parking and shuttles to the port, but they did have several things in their favor. Most of all was availability.
I was a bit put off when checking in that they wanted to put us on the 2pm shuttle to the port. When we did online check in for the cruise, we selected 11am as our arrival time. The person at the desk said they fill up their shuttle schedule on a first come, first served basis based on when you check in to the hotel. Happily, though, they offered to arrange for a cab to take us from the hotel to the ship, and deducted the fare from our bill. I grabbed a few warm chocolate chip cookies, thanked them for their wonderful customer service, and went to help with the luggage.
It was quite a party scene outside the hotel. Literally. It seems a biker group (and not the tight spandex-y kind that ride their 10-speed Schwinns) were going on a cruise the next day as well. They had set up camp on a few patio tables outside the hotel's front door, cracked open a few cases of Busch Light and Marlboros, and were having a good ole time, each one decked out in more leather than the next. Toto, I don't think we're in Disney World anymore.
All kidding aside, it's not like they were rowdy or even rude. They were just sitting around having good time, not bothering anyone. But it was pretty easy to tell who would be on what ship in the morning. Half of the people around the hotel were wearing black leather, the other half black mouse ears.
We sat around the hotel room for a little while, looking at the literature in the room describing the local dining options. We settled on Papa Vito's Pizza, which was just down the road a little bit. It turned out to be nestled in a little strip mall that appeared to be a former no-tell motel, right between a Tattoo Supply company and a Barber Shop. But why let that stop you from enjoying your meal? The food was actually very good. We got a bunch of food to share amung ourselves - hot wings, pizza, spaghetti, calzones, lasagna, etc.
It wasn't until after Evan needed to go to the bathroom that I discovered just how disappointed I was in my family. The entire time we were looking at the menus, ordering, waiting for food, and eating, no one - NO ONE - in my family pointed out that behind me was entire wall dedicated the original "pull my finger" joke.
It's like they don't even know who I am.
So, bellies full of Italian food and hepititis (probably) avoided, we drove back to the hotel and attempted to get some rest. But just like the day before a Disney Trip, most of us were too excited to sleep.
Up Next: I'm On A Boat!
It scared me when I was little & I am ok with it going away. Madison did a great job being brave! 
It does look like the kids were having fun!
