On the night before our last day at Disney, we asked the kids if there was anything that wanted to do one more time.
Yeah, their must do list was long. And we wanted to do our best to fit it all in.
That meant that we started our day bright and early at Animal Kingdom. We hopped right on the safari, looked at all of the (amazing) animals, and then got held up by a white rhino fight.
You didn't read that incorrectly.
We really were stuck because the female white rhino and the newer male white rhino were fighting over which way to go.
(Folks, allow me to take a minute to point out the guy with the iPad hanging out of the safari truck. Whyyyyyyy? I don't get relying on an iPad to be your only form of photo taking. Seriously. You look ridiculous. And what if a white rhino tramples all over your iPad when you drop it?)
After the safari the kids were feeling the beat, so we stopped at the drums for them to make some music.
Big brother up front, little brother in the back right, Daddy on the left. Brian tries to show off his junior high drum skills on occasions like this.
Our final mission was meeting Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, too! The place where Pooh and Tigger hang out is a little out of the way at Animal Kingdom, so the lines are never too long. And we love Pooh Bear!
Tigger wasn't too bouncy. Reese was apparently over pictures at this point though. She told me she was making silly faces, but I didn't believe her. But she's obviously a truth teller.
We were at Animal Kingdom for about an hour and a half, and then left to catch the bus to Hollywood Studios. One of the downsides of the Magic Band/FastPass+ system is that you can't fast pass things at more than one park each day. The upside is that you can secure your passes in advance, so even though we didn't go to Hollywood Studios first thing, we were able to get passes for Toy Story Mania and we had a decent time. A lady waiting at the bus stop with us said that her husband was already at the park and Toy Story's Fast Pass time was at 8:30PM. Imagine her surprise when I told her that the Magic Band that she had been wearing all week (it was her last day too), could have gotten her fast passes in advance. NOT HAPPY!
Something cool that we discovered late was that the old school tickets that they gave us still worked to get Fast Passes. So even though the Disney system only lets you Fast Pass three rides a day with the Magic Bands, you can still get them the old fashioned way by walking up with your tickets and getting the paper pass! It came in handy for rides we couldn't fit in - especially when we had Fast Passes character meetings (some of those you can only use the bands for), but still had rides we wanted to ride!
We stopped to meet Goofy! I couldn't believe we hadn't met him yet.
We rode Star Tours again and did the back lot tour. I always forget that this isn't just a boring tram ride - it really is a lot of fun. And the "thrill" of it always takes the kids by surprise!
By then our Fast Pass time was up for Toy Story Mania, so we grabbed our 3D glasses and headed on the ride.
How cute are my boys with their glasses on?
I really feel like I need to take this opportunity to tell you about my score on this ride. My highest score EVER - 129,900. I think I actually beat Brian that day!
We left Hollywood Studios after seeing the Little Mermaid show, and took the bus to the Ticket and Transportation center. From there we took the Monorail to the Magic Kingdom.
The Monorail (or "Monny" as we affectionately call it around here) was definitely on the Must Do list. And it's our basic feeling that when you go to Disney World, the Magic Kingdom should be the very last park you leave. Even if you're only there for a little bit. There's something about Main Street USA and Cinderella's Castle that just makes you miss it more. And then you start planning your next trip on the drive home...
We stopped to get Wyatt's picture taken with this Halloween decoration on the way in. We can't just pass a ball player wearing the number 2!
And then we went to meet Jessie and Woody. We thought that we may have just missed them, but they were still out. Thank goodness! This little boy would have been broken hearted if we missed his favorite cowboy.
It's too bad Reese is standing right on front, because I love the look on this boy's face. Brian and I agreed that we wouldn't push him to see any characters that he didn't want to (like the princesses), and it was probably the best decision. He really, really enjoyed the time that he did have with his favorite people - especially Woody!
Yeah, so I'm pretty short. In case you needed proof. Here I am standing next to a 7 feet tall cowboy.
(And yes, we wore out Anniversary pins all week. Even got a free pretzel out of it on our last day!)
We rode Splash Mountain again for this girl. She and Wyatt just LOVED it. I wish I had a video of how excited they got when we were on it. Reese truly discovered a love for "adventure" rides while we were there this time. And she gave herself a new nickname - Baby Girl Rock. I have no idea where it came from, but that's what she would scream on every roller coaster or "big girl ride." Insane, but hysterical!
The park was closing early for a Halloween party, so we spit up at this point. Brian and his parents and the three older kids went to Tomorrowland to ride Buzz and the People Mover (every.single.day), and I was worried that if I went with them I would get blocked from going back to Liberty Square's Christmas Shop. Thank goodness I made that decision! I still needed to get everyone their traditional ornaments (Wyatt gets Pooh, Reese gets Ariel, Hudson gets Tigger, and Finley gets Belle), and I would have been so upset if I didn't!
This girl and I found something just right for everyone!
And when we were done we waited right at this magical spot for the rest of our family. Seriously.
LOVE. THIS. PLACE.
We went back to the hotel so I could pack and put the Littles down for the night while Brian took the Bigs down to the pool. No lie, they swam until almost midnight! I guess a Finding Nemo pool really gives you a second wind! And this isn't the last post. I still have to empty my phone, and I have a few tips up my sleeve, too!
