Keepin' the Magic, Keepin' the Magic...An August 2014 trip report!

[nadira36]

Wecome back!!

This post takes us back to Saturday, August 9th, our Animal Kingdom day!!

I love Animal Kingdom. Love, love, LOVE it. We only got to spend one partial day here, which makes me sad. But it was hot. Boo. We've considered staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge for the sole fact that it's super close and we'd spend more time at AK by default. Maybe someday...we really love Wilderness Lodge.







We survived our trek up the mountain, posed for a few photopass pictures and got some cute magic shots. The kids vetoed Nemo, so we made our way here:





We walked back toward Asia because we had a FP for Kali coming up. We stopped for lunch at the Yak and Yeti counter service. The servings are so HUGE there. DH got the sweet and sour chicken, X and I shared the beef lo mein (and there was still leftovers), and L had the kids burger. While L and DH were in line for the food, X and I went across the way to the Royal Anandapur Tea Company, which is one of my favorite little stops in the park. The kids got frozen lemonade (which is pretty decent) but DH and I had my faaaaaavorite thing (maybe even ahead of dole whip floats, which is saying something), The Frozen Chai:




On the way out I told DH I wanted samosas, and that they were at Mr. Kamal's between Asia and Africa. He took the road toward Discovery Island, and I got huffy and sulky like a giant bratty baby. When he asked what was wrong, I got tears in my eyes and said, "You go STRAIGHT to get to my samosas!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I won't get them!"

Now, he does not know his way around Animal Kingdom. This was not his fault. I should have spoken up. Instead I felt the need to be a brat. *sigh* He said, "I'm sorry! let's go back!" He was genuinely sorry. He didn't need to be sorry, he didn't do anything wrong!! But I said, "no, it's fine." and marched forward.

It was one of those moments where you KNOW you are being a witch, you feel bad about it, but you do it anyway. Please tell me I am not the only one who has these moments!!

I felt so bad about this.

I apologized, told him I knew I was being a jerk...I was hot and tired, which is no excuse. I was thinking about how our trip was almost over, and I was emotional...trying not to cry, still feeling a little sick from the morning. It was just a bad 5 minutes, you know??

I pulled myself together and we stopped in the shops along the way and found a couple of treasures to take home.

My mood improved, and we took the bus back to the Lodge.

I'm over my picture limit for this post, so be on the lookout for a short update about our evening.

It would be DH and the kids' first experience with 'Ohana dinner!!

Stay tuned!

You'd love AKL! It's our favourite! So peaceful - and GIRAFFES!!!

What? No love for Nemo? We love Nemo! (Though not sure how the kiddos feel about it after 7 years of watching/listening to it repeatedly, even when home). lol

I've never tried a Frozen Chai, maybe I will this time.

Oh I totally do the same thing to my DH sometimes. Nothing I can do to stop it. At least we're in good company.

 

[momabaarjo]

How did I miss a TR!?! Now to catch up!

 

[xlsm]

How did I miss a TR!?! Now to catch up!

Tammie!! Hi! Happy to have a Cupcake along for the ride

 

[xlsm]

Hi everyone!!

popping in real quick to say...

We're going back next summer!!!!!!

Like, officially. Not just in my hopes and daydreams. Woohoo!
(well, unless something comes up, which is always a possibility...but who wants to think about that??)

DH gave me the official go-ahead this morning, so I can start the pre-planning of the plan. I love the planning!!!!!!!!!!!

We are considering the same week in August that we went this year OR the first of June (in an attempt at cooler-ish temps). We also hope to add on two days at Universal so I (ahem, i mean, the kids...yeah, that's it...) can see Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade (I'm dyin' ovah here, people, you have no idea of the Harry Potter nerd that I am!!).

So it's time to figure out the hard stuff...Portofino Bay or Royal Pacific??

And more importantly...do we go back to our "home", Wilderness Lodge, or do we branch out? Where would we branch TO? We've tossed around Animal Kingdom Lodge and Boardwalk...maybe Polynesian if the construction is complete. But I'm just not sure we can stay away from WL.
It's just the best!

Ok, just had to share since I'm fit to BURST about the whole thing!

My trip report will resume tomorrow, I promise!!

 

[xlsm]

Good morning fellow Disneyphiles!!

Just sitting around this morning watching some early rounds of the US Open, wishing I was at Disney World. There was a DVC infomercial on the Travel Channel this morning...it got me all teary eyed.

So what better to do than update my TR, and relive a little magic??

This chapter will be a two-parter, b/c I've already got 25 pictures (the post limit) ready for this section...and it only takes us thru China.

So here we go, onto Sunday August 10. We go to Epcot this day, the weather is stellar, and I even get to FINALLY meet my idol...Snow White!

We got up in time to make rope drop. While we were waiting in line for the gates to open, we saw some snails:



The whole rock was just full of the little shelled critters, and the boys were in love.

As it moved closer to 9:00 and opening time, we left our shady spot and got closer...


Spaceship Earth is just so special, sitting there, keeping watch over the World and beckoning you forward...I just love it!

We decided to take it slow this morning, and just go where the wind would take us. No craziness, just enjoying the moments. It worked for us, and this was a nice, relaxed day.

We started off with a ride on Spaceship Earth, which X declared to be his favorite ride. We made it to the future:


I just missed snapping a picture of us on the big map after the ride. boo. But the kids had more important things on their mind...games.



We saw Pluto out meeting when we left the building, so we got in line for him. He was great!

The kids started asking for food, and I was really craving an iced coffee. I was caffeine deprived!!

I decided to throw away all good sense, and let the kids have ice cream for breakfast.
L had his first ever Mickey bar:





X enjoyed a Dreamsicle:



DH had a diet coke and I had a big fat nothing, b/c the kiosk with the coffees could not be found. I felt my grouchiness coming on...grr...

After they enjoyed their cold treats while I glowered at them in envy, we started toward our first FP+ of the day, Test Track (return time of 9:40 - 10:40).

L and I paired up for this, and here's our car:



I think I enjoyed the design-a-car part more than the actual ride. I mean, it was fine, we'll continue to use FP for it (unlike Soarin'...blah), but it just didn't...get my engine going. *insert laughter* (c'mon folks, this is comedy gold, right here. LOL!!)

So, as most of you know, when you ride, your car goes through "tests" and is compared to the other cars in your ride vehicle. Our pretty purple car came in dead last in whatever the first category was, but we came in FIRST in every other category. We may or may not have gloated extensively about this to DH and X.

The kids really liked this ride, and is the one they've requested a FP for repeatedly for our next trip.

I finally got my frozen cappuccino after this, and my mood improved! DH really wanted to spend some time in Innoventions, so that's where we went!

Innoventions was just not as great as I remember. We were kind of bored in here, which was disappointing. Everyone wanted to go in the Vision House, which I've never been in. How have I managed to never go in??

Guess what? I've still never been in.

We walked up and the CM said I couldn't go in with my drink. I walked to the side, waved over at DH and said, "two minutes!", meaning, "hang on for two minutes while I chug this sucker". He claims he did not hear me, and interpreted my hand waving as, "go on without me...you stay on the door in the frozen water of the Atlantic while I make like Leo/Jack and get shoved into the icy abyss."

I was a little miffed about this, but I got over it. It might have taken awhile, though.

Everyone tried to cheer me up by saying it wasn't that great, and the coolest part was the fancy toilet.

Whatever.

Next we went and watched Storm Safe, which is a huge waste of time.

Side note - This update is not sounding all that great, but I promise we were all actually having a good time!! We really do love Epcot!! I was just disappointed in innoventions this trip.

Carrying on...

After our disappointment with this part of innoventions, we skipped the other building. I decided it was time to take the kids and DH to Club Cool. First timers, LOL...you know where this is going, don't you??

Beverly.



They didn't like it. LOL!!
I actually don't hate Beverly. I mean, I'm not going to order and drink a big glass of it, ever, but it doesn't elicit quite the same reaction from me.

Rewinding for a second...I snapped a pic of the fountain before Club Cool:


We had some photopass pictures taken along the way.

It was time for another FP+, so we made our way back toward Mission Space (return time 10:50 - 11:50, I believe it was right at 10:50 when we got there). This time I went on the orange side with L, and DH went on the green side with X.

My opinion on the orange vs. the green side...The green is SUPER mild. I mean, I was just not even sure what all the fuss regarding the sick bags was all about. I was excited to do the orange and see if the thrill was there.
It was ok. It is more intense, in that the woozy/swimmy feeling was present with the movements. I did not like the heavy feeling on my chest during "take off". That was the only thing that bothered me. Would I do it again? Sure, because L wants to FP it on our next trip. But if it was just me and DH, we'd probably skip it.

I'm a thrill ride person, but Epcot's "thrills" just do not do it for me. I love Epcot, but I think I'm more into the atmosphere there.

We stopped for more photopass pics then began our journey around the World Showcase. We began in Mexico, which is one of my favorite pavilions.
Here is the worst picture ever taken of the outside of it:



We went inside and looked all around the market, and just enjoyed being there! We rode the Fiesta tour:



I love these guys:



This makes me laugh, and I always feel guilty for it:



We met Donald after this, but those pics are only on MM, which I'll share later. I mentioned that the weather was phenomenal this morning, and here's where we really appreciated it. The humidity was very low, the breeze was glorious, and the sun was pleasant and not blazing. While we were in line for Donald, a little cloud blew over and sprinkled a few drops on us. This would be just a taste of what we'd see later!

I guess meeting Donald and hearing his handler talk about him taking a churro break made us hungry, so when we got to Norway, our first stop was Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe.

L and I had school bread (one of my favorite Disney treats), X had an almond sweet pretzel (more breadish than pretzelish if you're wondering), and DH had the rullekake.





Do you see the water cups in the first picture. They were HUGE. Everywhere else we ordered water they gave us tiny cups. Norway Forever!!

I just love the Norway pavilion. Love, love, love. We took a few pictures, shopped, and used our third FP+ on Maelstrom (return time 1:30 - 2:30).









Next was China, where we arrived just in time to watch Reflections of China! We checked out the shops and the Terra Cotta Warriors.







I think the China pavilion is just beautiful. I also really enjoyed the Cast Members here. They were all very kind, and the boys had a good time talking with them.

Here's the end of part one...I'm out of picture space for this post!

Keep a look out for part two...I get to meet my girl Snow!

 

[ariane37]

I'm sitting in our room at CSR thinking about getting school bread (my fave) tomorrow, and here comes your picture of it. If it wasn't pouring rain I'd be over there eating some now.......

 

[xlsm]

I'm sitting in our room at CSR thinking about getting school bread (my fave) tomorrow, and here comes your picture of it. If it wasn't pouring rain I'd be over there eating some now.......

I hope you got your school bread fix!! Looooove that stuff. Yum!!

 

[BudgieMama]

Great report so far!

 

[xlsm]

**Disclaimer**

I warn you now, this is the worst chapter update ever. I didn't realize I had so few pictures left of this Epcot day!

When I left off, we had just finished up in China and were headed to Germany.

The first thing we did was hop in line for my FAAAAAVORITE Princess. The beautiful, the brave, the underestimated and completely lovely, Snow White

I used to say, if I were ever to become a famous rapper, my rap name would be Snow White. When I was a CM at the Disney Store, my character name I chose for my nametag was Snow White. This is true love, people!!





I was thrilled to meet her. Thrilled. The interaction was a little awkward, like maybe she wasn't used to crazy adult fangirls waiting to meet her. Thanks to X, who decided to join in at the last minute.

The wait in line was BRUTAL. It was the only time all day that it was hot. The sun was zeroed in right on the spot where we were all waiting.

We shopped in Germany, and I bought my soon-to-be-born niece a few things from Der Teddybar. X tried on this hat:



Somehow I didn't get a single picture of ANYONE wearing the leiderhosen Mickey ears. I'm a failure as a human being.

It started raining around this time and didn't really stop for the rest of the evening. Mostly it was a light rain, with a few bouts of heavier stuff. We didn't bother with ponchos, we just went with it!

We cruised through Italy (we'd be back!) and stopped to rest for a minute and look across the lake. We were getting tired of the rain, and thought we'd go into the American Experience and watch the show. The next show was at 4:30pm. I asked DH what time it was. He said, "Ten til".

I interpreted this to mean ten minutes until 4:30, because we had JUST been talking about the show.

So I said, Great! Let's go on in and wait. Time seemed to be dragging. I asked him again and he said 4:00. What now? Apparently when he said "ten til", he meant ten minutes until 4:00, not ten minutes until the show was supposed to start.

No one wanted to sit in there for half an hour, so we left.

We stopped in Japan again and I got some chopsticks with little owls on them, and X wandered around in heaven. It was SO CROWDED in there because of the rain. Luckily it slowed down a little, and by the time we left the store, we saw these ladies:





and I stopped to admire the koi pond



The rain picked up again, so we hung out in Morocco for awhile





We moved on to France and Impressions de France was getting ready to start so we hopped in line. Standing just to our right was the line for Belle in her blue dress. I was so sad that I missed that meet and greet

We enjoyed our trip through the many parts of France, and DH and I vowed to make our Europe trip happen sooner rather than later. When we left, the rain had slowed again, and a Photopass photographer was out snapping:



I hate this picture. All my makeup is rained off, I look tired and my arm looks fat, Xavier is channeling his inner Jersey girl with his duckface...eh.

But did you notice that we're ALL in the picture??

I shared a Memory Maker picture! That means I've finally gone through them all and my post devoted to them is on the horizon.

We had stuck it out alllllll day with no break. It was just that nice of a day. But we were getting tired and hungry. We had an ADR for Via Napoli for 6:20. It was ten til...6:00.



We decided to see if they'd let us check in early and they DID!! We were seated almost immediately.

My phone DIED at this point, so I have no food pictures. They're all on dH's phone, sorry!

I was very excited for this ADR. I'd never been here before and everyone speaks so highly of it.

We thought it was just ok.

We had two orders of arancini (pretty good), and a large half quattro formaggi and half pepperoni. It was fine. The boys didn't care for the char on the bottom of the crust, or that it was soggy where it wasn't charred. Our service there was just ok, but they did bring out the three birthday boys a little treat and sing to them

We liked our dinner ok, but I don't think we'll rush to make another ADR there. We have too many other places we want to try!

I forgot to mention this, but X had been really wanting a pretzel all day. He was not satisfied with the one from Kringla earlier in the day, b/c it was more bread than pretzel. He and DH went to get one from Germany while L and I got in line for the Friendship boats. They almost missed the boat, but made it just in time.

We stopped in one of the stores after getting off the boat, and I found the gold sequined ears I saw and loved at Animal Kingdom the day before. After much hemming and hawing and "but what will I DO with them??", DH convinced me to buy them.

You'll see them in the next update...our last park day at Magic Kingdom

Thanks for hanging in there, I know this wasn't the best or most exciting update!

Be on the lookout for Chapter 8!!

 

[ChgoMusicGirl]

Howdy! I've been lurking and enjoying your TR, but I had to pipe in today.

I hate this picture. All my makeup is rained off, I look tired and my arm looks fat, Xavier is channeling his inner Jersey girl with his duckface...eh. But did you notice??

My thoughts when I saw this? Cute family...she looks so young! And the fact that I apparently dress like a 10 y/o boy as I have the same shirt as X! And I did in fact, notice his Jersey girl duckface. Very nice.

I know most women (myself included) are hyper critical, but I thought I would toss in my true thoughts. From a complete stranger. And kudos for you for posting it even though you hate it! It really is cute!

 

[xlsm]

Howdy! I've been lurking and enjoying your TR, but I had to pipe in today.

I hate this picture. All my makeup is rained off, I look tired and my arm looks fat, Xavier is channeling his inner Jersey girl with his duckface...eh. But did you notice??

My thoughts when I saw this? Cute family...she looks so young! And the fact that I apparently dress like a 10 y/o boy as I have the same shirt as X! And I did in fact, notice his Jersey girl duckface. Very nice.

I know most women (myself included) are hyper critical, but I thought I would toss in my true thoughts. From a complete stranger. And kudos for you for posting it even though you hate it! It really is cute!

I just want to say thank you for being so sweet. You're right. Women in general tend to be hyper-critical of themselves...I'm REALLY bad about it. It has been pretty hard for me to post a lot of these photos!!

And nothing wrong with having the same shirt as X! I'm jealous of half my boys' t-shirts!! I have a bunch of novelty t's myself

 

[ChgoMusicGirl]

You're welcome!

 

[ariane37]

Well, if your arms are fat than so are mine, because mine look exactly like yours! Really you look fine, adorable It's funny you mention arms though b/c for some reason on this trip, I kept noticing how fat my arms looked in every single ride photo. I'd love the picture otherwise, the boys would want to buy it and I'd be like "yeah, it's nice but......my arms are so BIG!" Meanwhile it's 145 degrees out, my makeup has melted off and my hair is a huge frizzy mess, but those arms were what was bothering me this time lol!

We just came back last night so catching up on your TR first thing this morning has helped ease my withdrawal a bit

 

[xlsm]

Well, if your arms are fat than so are mine, because mine look exactly like yours! Really you look fine, adorable It's funny you mention arms though b/c for some reason on this trip, I kept noticing how fat my arms looked in every single ride photo. I'd love the picture otherwise, the boys would want to buy it and I'd be like "yeah, it's nice but......my arms are so BIG!" Meanwhile it's 145 degrees out, my makeup has melted off and my hair is a huge frizzy mess, but those arms were what was bothering me this time lol!

We just came back last night so catching up on your TR first thing this morning has helped ease my withdrawal a bit

For the record, I really hate being self conscious, LOL!! I think the arms bother me b/c of the uneven tan. Like, the top is tan but the bottom part (the part I hate) is lily white.

If I don't like it, I should work to change it, right? But here's the thing...If given the choice between being able to eat cake for the rest of my life or having perfect arms...I'm choosing the cake. So I should not complain!

Coming home is such a double edged sword!! It's nice to be home and in your own space, but it's so sad to be away from Disney!! I think I've used my Wilderness Lodge coffee cup or my resort mug every day since being back.
I hope your trip was amazing and I'm glad my report can help ease the sadness!!!

 

[MissNurse]

Hi! Happened upon your TR and loving it!! I'm a fellow Arkansan (southeast AR), and we will be at WL in 20 days!!! Can't wait to hear more!!!

 

[xlsm]

Hi! Happened upon your TR and loving it!! I'm a fellow Arkansan (southeast AR), and we will be at WL in 20 days!!! Can't wait to hear more!!!

i'm so excited to have you along for the ride!! I'm even MORE excited that you'll be at the WL in a couple weeks! It's my very favorite place

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

I'm sitting here at work and stumbled upon your TR and absolutely LOVE it! You have a gorgeous family!

Just like you, I adore the Wilderness Lodge Everything about it is just so cozy and comforting!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[xlsm]

Popping in to say a quick HELLO!! to all of you that are following along.

It's been a busy week! I'll be back with an update on Wednesday

 

[geckodani]

I just found this TR, and am really enjoying all of it! Looks like you guys had a great trip!

And I totally lost my cool on two rude people my last trip. I commend your kid for being so polite when someone cut in front of him at the parade - I don't think I could have done it!

And adult meltdowns happen.

And I'm going to have to spend more time at Epcot this next trip. Looking forward to the next update!

 

[xlsm]

I want to throw UP. I just typed out this whole post and my computer just shut down. It wouldn't restore my session so I have to start over. Ugh.

Keepin' the Magic, Keepin' the Magic...

So here I go again!

This chapter takes place on Monday, August 10. This is our last park day, and we spent it at the Magic Kingdom. I was very emotional on this day. It's hard not thinking "this is the last time we'll..." all day long.

We were up bright and early! Ears on and ready to roll!!


We went down to the bus stop and waited for our bus to MK.



I was jazzed up and excited for the day. Everyone else?? Well...



(my husband will not be happy with me sharing this photo, lol!!)

We had to be on the bus early because we had an 8:00 reservation at Crystal Palace!! I think we got to MK around 730ish?? We checked in with a CM, and then got in line. A loooong line of others waiting to be let in for their early meals, too.
It was a beautiful morning:



There was considerable dissension in the ranks. The others waiting in line (mostly the groups behind us) were NOT happy that we all weren't allowed immediately into the park. They started letting us in at 7:45.

My hopes of a people-free photo shoot went sailing out the window. There were too many others wanting to do the same thing, and the lines for photopass pictures were pretty long. I did manage to get this one:



We decided not to waste time, and walked over to Crystal Palace to check in



This building is so pretty, I just love it! We checked in, the kids got excited about the water with lemon that was available, and I snagged a pretty picture of the castle



This was the only time I was really overly aware of the walls in the hub area. I mean, I noticed them during our time spent at the Magic Kingdom this trip, but we were just sitting on the porch waiting, so it was hard to not be really aware that it was up.

We didn't have a long wait. We were the first people called into the restaurant. This made me feel special. It's the little things, haha!!

I wish I had a picture of our server. He was so dapper, could have been straight out of Mary Poppins, with his neat little mustache and perfectly brylcreemed hair.

We were seated right in front of the kitchen door. Guess what? They pour the orange juice right from the carton. It's Minute Maid, in case you were wondering. That was our peek behind the Magic I guess, LOL!!

First out was Eeyore. Unfortunately X missed him b/c he was up at the buffet.



Next was Winnie the Pooh himself! Here's where the title of this chapter comes into play.

Backstory time:

My parents divorced when I was four. My dad had every other weekend custody of me, but he is a musician and wasn't around much. Instead, my paternal grandparents would take me every other weekend. They are the most special people in my life, and the two people I know will always love me unconditionally. We have a special bond.

My grandmother and I would always read Winnie the Pooh stories together. It was our thing! I even still have my dad's old copy of Winnie the Pooh from when he was a child. It's barely hanging together, it's been read so much. So when I got up to meet Pooh, I told him this, and started crying. It took me a while to get it together. Ugh. Embarrassing.

Anyway...



(See the women in front of the kitchen? Don't they look cheerful?? Ha!)

Next was Piglet, who the boys were super excited to meet. He was very interested in X's pins and buttons:




There was a lull here, while we waited for Tigger. There was a HUGE group of people having a family reunion or something (matching tshirts) and they really sort of monopolized time with him. They took 7 group shots (yes, I counted.) and AT LEAST 10 different selfies with him. They were fun to watch. I like seeing adults so excited to be at Disney!!

He finally hopped on over. Tigger was GREAT! I don't know how he still had energy left after whooping it up with the reunion table, but it was hard to get a picture. He was being so bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy, fun,fun, fun, fun.



We were finished eating and had paid before Tigger even got to us, so we left. It was 8:50. They had already started to let the masses in, and we got caught up in the crowd.
We started our MK morning the way we always do:



In Tomorrowland!
It's so empty in the mornings. We walked on Buzz again:


and then walked on Space Mountain, too.

We took our "secret path" again, through Storybook Circus and into New Fantasyland. L needed to visit King Triton:


and we stopped by Gaston's Tavern for THIS:


LeFou's Brew. DH got us each one...we could have survived with sharing two between the four of us. These were good, but really sweet. I'd have another, but it isn't a must do. It was very refreshing and COLD though.

We admired the tavern...



He uses antlers in all of his decorating. My what a guy, that Gaston.
I borrowed his chair for a minute:



I promise I'm wearing shorts in this picture. My pale, pale, legs just blend in with them, LOL!!

We kept on trucking toward Frontierland for our first FP+ of the day, but paused to walk on Haunted Mansion.

We got to Frontierland and saw Chip and Dale out meeting. We made a note to come back to them later, and kept going to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad for our first FP (return time 9:30 - 10:30). It was close to the earlier side timewise when we got on. I love BTMRR!! I'm sad we only had one ride on it. Our next trip it gets a FP every MK day!!

It was way too early for our next FP (Splash Mtn, return time 10:40 - 11:40), so we went to one of my FAVORITE things...



THE COUNTRY BEARS!!

I adore them, and let's be real here...it's flippin' hilarious. We spent the rest of the day taking turns breaking into "Mama don't whip little Buford" and "Blood on the Saddle". Good times.

After that we got in line for Chip and Dale. DH and X defected to the Trading Post, where a nice CM gave X two trading pins. X was over the moon!! X got back in line with us and we met Cowboy versions of our two favorite chipmunks



X wanted to go back to the Trading Post, so we went shopping. He got a new Oswald pin, and I got a Haunted Mansion lanyard and a HM pin with Chip and Dale on it.
It was HOT at this point, but clouds were looming in the distance. We decided it was time for a cool down, and got in line for our Splash FP.



The couple in front of us was hilarious. She was really worried about getting wet.

Looks like Brer Fox and Brer Bear are causin' some commotion downstream...


I'm pretty sure this was when it began to rain. I know we got caught in a downpour and store hopped. I picked up our ornament from the Christmas Shoppe.
The downpour slowed to a drizzle, so we decided to go on to our next FP ride, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (return time 11:40 - 12:40). The ride had been running alllllll this time, but as soon as we got in line, they closed it for weather. Seriously? AFTER the rain stopped?

Oh well!!

We decided to ride Carousel of Progress instead. Take that, Seven Dwarfs!! (we'd come crawling back later...)

Thanks for reading this far! There's a LOT left of this last Magic Kingdom day, but I'm out of time for now.

Stay tuned!!