So, Sunday morning the 11th, we took Finley to the Pooch Pad where he didn't look back at us when they took him happily back to the kennel. Then we headed to the airport around 9:15am, got parked, through security, and got Salsaritas lunch before our 11:25 flight, which left on time and was uneventful. We hopped on the Magic Express bus and were at our resort 30 minutes later! We got checked in and they had a room ready for us in the Big Pine Key building, which was a 5-story building separate from the main building...I think there were maybe 5 buildings plus the villas, something like that. Our room had a pretty vaulted ceiling and balcony overlooking the lagoon.
We got settled in, picked up our awesome Walmart grocery delivery that we had pre-scheduled in the lobby, and then hit the pool! The resort had one big pool with zero entry and some fountains, and also another slightly smaller pool with a waterfall and a really fun water slide. We tried both out and loved them! It wasn't super crowded that afternoon. The resort also had a small water playground area, but the sign said only kids under a certain height could use it...and even though we saw taller kids there, Erin refused to set foot in there and break the rules. After swimming for awhile, we got dinner at the quick service Gasparilla Island Grill in the main building which was very good! Then we happened upon a campfire with marshmallows on the beach area, which we gladly sampled.
Then it was back to the room for showers and bed, but just as the kids were falling asleep, we heard some music outside our room. We looked out and saw a neat electrical parade on the water! We also heard the fireworks from Magic Kingdom but did not see them that night.
Monday was our big Magic Kingdom day! We got up and had breakfast in the room, then hopped on the monorail and got in the park by 8:30. We were able to walk down Main Street, but had to wait at the Adventureland entrance until rope drop at 9:00. We got a peek at the fun opening ceremony but were all business zooming towards Big Thunder Mountain. Since we booked late, we didn't have the best pick of FastPasses, but we did our best and worked the system as much as we could each day. We got on BTM with a short wait, then on to the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, which was one of Erin's favorites this time (?). We loved seeing Aladdin and Jasmine show up at the ride and even hopped on for a spin right before our turn! Anna also appreciated the spitting camels there. Then it was on to the teacups, one of our favorites, then Dumbo, the Barnstormer, splash pad for Anna, the Ariel ride, It's a Small World (another of Erin's favorites), then Anna drove a racecar at the Tomorrowland Speedway while Erin took another spin in the teacups.
We happened by a show at the castle on our way to lunch at Tony's Italian restaurant, where Anna and I had super cheesy pizza and Bob and Erin got spaghetti and meatballs. On that note, a high point of this trip for Erin was purchasing off the adult menu at each meal. We could have probably squeezed her in as a 9-year-old, but we all know that Erin is a rule-follower and would not have stood for that. Also, the kids' meals might not have been sufficient anyway...she ate most or all of her adult meals each time!
We enjoyed a view of the street party while we ate. After lunch, we met Mickey and Minnie all decked out in special celebration outfits, then hit the carousel, Philharmagic, Pirates of the Caribbean (new for us...not too scary!), met Tiana and Rapunzel, did Enchanted Tales with Belle (Anna was the ottoman!), and got yummy ice cream treats - Mickey ice cream bars for Bob, Anna, and me and a frozen strawberry lemonade for Erin.
After that, we were pretty hot and tired, so we monorailed back to the hotel for a short break before dinner. We went back to a quick service favorite, Captain Cook's at the Polynesian, which was on the monorail as well. The parents got yummy pork nachos, Erin got chicken and Asian noodles, and Anna got mac and cheese (I think). After that, Erin and I walked back to the Grand Floridian along the water, hoping for another marshmallow roast, but it had started raining. Instead, we watched a band in the lobby for awhile, played Uno in the room, Erin practiced some ballet, then we got showers watched the electrical parade. Anna and Bob went back to Magic Kingdom for round two! They did encores of the tea cups, Dumbo, Barnstormer, and Aladdin rides...and also got a peek at the fireworks on their way back.
Tuesday, we got up and out by 8:15 and rode the monorail to Epcot via a transfer at the TTC. The entrance line at Epcot was long and slow, and we probably could have gotten there earlier than we did, but we did our best and zoomed over to Test Track first thing. It was already about an hour wait, but the lines there always feel fast with entertainment and things like designing our racecar. Everyone but Erin loved that ride!
We redeemed ourselves with Erin shortly after with Living with the Land, a slow ride with lots of plants and greenhouses. Then it was on to Anna's much-awaited Spaceship Earth, where we had to wait outside for 45 minutes or so. Poor Anna toughed it out and was crushed when the camera didn't catch her picture, so she didn't get in the cartoon story at the end. Sad. We offered to ride it again later with a FastPass, but she refused. Then we rode the Nemo ride and enjoyed seeing dolphins and other marine animals at The Seas pavilion. We tried out the mobile ordering ahead for lunch at the Electric Umbrella quick service, but Mom didn't realize that we had to check in on the phone when we got there...so there was a short wait, but still probably better than waiting in line. Bob, Erin, and I had yummy brisket sandwiches and Anna had chicken nuggets.
Then it was on to the countries via a super fun splash area for Anna, which required an outfit change. We just walked through Canada and the UK, then enjoyed the panoramic movie in France. We walked into Morocco and looked around and also saw a neat art exhibit in Japan. We then got gelato, peach smoothie, and an Italian margarita in Italy...yum!
Anna liked walking through the miniature village in Germany, and then it was time for the long-awaited Frozen Ever After ride. It was a cute ride with a couple of mild thrilling parts. Our last country was Mexico, where we rode the Tres Caballeros ride and admired the indoor "outdoor" market. At that point, we all really wanted to ride Soarin' but had no FastPasses available, so we decided to give it a try. Turned out that the wait was less than 30 minutes, so we all really loved it - especially Anna! They had changed it a little since last time we were there - this time, we flew around the world instead of around the US. Sadly, there were no orange trees with smell, but there were some other really neat sights, sounds, and smells!
We got back to the room around 5:30 and deliberated about dinner for awhile before heading back to the Gasparilla Island Grill. This trip, we were not on the meal plan...so, that combined with the late booking meant not many options were available to us as far as character meals or table service. It was fine, though. We had wanted to eat at the pool grill, but the pools were closed due to weather. Luckily, they opened back up after dinner and were even the only people in the Courtyard Pool for awhile! After swimming and going down the slide until about 8pm, we went back and showered before heading to the fireworks viewing spot at the resort. The music was piped in to accompany the show, and we loved watching it!
Then, it was bedtime...sadly, Anna had a rough night that night with an upset stomach. She was up a lot of the night and was not feeling well the next morning.
So, after mulling it over, we got our checkout time extended to 1pm and got Anna and Bob replacement one-day park tickets to be used within the next two years (thanks, Grand Floridian! They didn't have to honor them, but they did...it was up to the resort since we purchased a ticket package through them - we were surprised and grateful!). You can bet that Anna will make sure they get used! We decided for me and Erin to go on back to Magic Kingdom as planned...she also mentioned Animal Kingdom, but without FastPasses for the safari, Expedition Everest, and Avatar, plus longer travel times to get there, I was worried that we wouldn't get to do much in the half day we had. So, AK next time! We got to MK by 8:45 and watched the rope drop opening ceremony. I was surprised to see decorations up for the Halloween party that were not there 2 days before...I think the party starts on August 16th. I really enjoyed seeing the pumpkins, scarecrows, etc.
We were two of a very small group who rushed to Small World after rope drop ;) then got on the Ariel ride again, Dumbo, Aladdin, Tiki Room (new for us!), and Pirates again...utilizing FastPasses as much as possible. We stopped to watch the show at the castle on our way to see Tinkerbell, then said farewell to Magic Kingdom and were back on the monorail by about 12:30.
We picked up food for everyone at the Gasparilla Island Grill again (but most of us had different things each time we went!) and met Bob and Anna with the bags in the hotel lobby and had a picnic lunch with surprise visitors Tigger, Piglet, and Winnie the Pooh! Our bus showed up at 2:15 and took us to the airport, where we had no issues getting through security and had a long wait in the terminal between early arrival and our flight being delayed for almost an hour. We got dinner in the airport, boarded, and had a nice flight back to Raleigh with some pretty clouds out the windows! We landed just before 8pm and were home by 8:45pm to Finley who Tara and Ella had picked up for us that evening.
So, it was a fun and busy trip, but we had a blast! It is hard to beat Disney and all of the extra special touches that they have. I'm sure, as Mickey says, that we will "see ya real soon!". The rest of our pictures are HERE.
