But, all good things must come to an end and though it's hard for me to believe it will be a month already that we have come and gone.
So, I'll end with some last highlights that I feel are to good not to be shared.
We went to Downtown Disney twice during out stay. It has every kind of Disney shop you could ever hope to visit and the food is really great, too.
Want to take a guess as to what this is??
A gluten, dairy, sugar, soy free organic cupcake. Now, now....be nice. For all the things that were left out of it, the taste was actually quite good. Though, not as yummy as this.....
There is a Ghirardelli ice cream shop that specializes in treats like this...this was mine and it was from the kids menu! Their tables even look like the squares of chocolate you can buy at the store!
Our families' order.....
Later that day we went back to Hollywood Studios so we could do a few more rides and watch Fantasmic at night. We saw a line to meet Woody and Buzz so decided to join in. Some fun things to try while waiting.....
And here is where the story takes a humorous turn. My husband and older daughter had a Fast Pass to the Rock n' Roller Coaster so the younger two and I stayed in line to have Buzz and Woody sign autograph books and pose for pictures. I had been warned by a Grandma that the line was deceitfully long even though we could see the characters through the front glass window. There was a sizable line, but it didn't seem too crazy. At the time, there were maybe a dozen families ahead of us and only one family behind us. Let me pause a moment and tell you that while at Disney, you will meet people from all over the world and will hear a dozen different languages during your stay. I find it fascinating to hear. Know what else I found fascinating? Not everyone else in the world has the same personal space boundaries that we do. I'll be the first to admit that I'm a "This is my space, this is your space" kind of girl, especially when standing amongst a throng of strangers.
However, the couple behind me had no such reservations. The wife would continually bump into me, apologize in her native language profusely, resume her conversation with her husband, then start the whole process over again.
I would try to smile, grit my teeth and attempt in vain to keep some sort of distance as the line slowly inched forward.
Then, she switched places with her husband. YES! Unfortunately, he turned out be a rather vigorous zealot of the "We don't believe in personal space AT ALL and think that you shouldn't be so hung up on it either" mentality. NO! And, to top it all off, he was a SNORTER!!!!! Oh yes, friends....that nasal type of inhaling that makes SOUNDS! AND HE DID IT REPEATEDLY! LESS THAN 4 INCHES FROM ME AS HIS ELBOW JABBED ME IN THE BACK! I wanted to be like Sebastian, crawl out of myself, and go find a new shell.
At this point I was actually a little concerned that I may sustain bodily injury. I moved my right foot back every so slightly and carefully placed it down on his own foot (which happened to be nearly parallel with my left foot.) I guess that must be where his personal spaces resides, because he moved his foot a bit.
For a few seconds.
And then his 2 year-old joined in my kicking me ever so often. Yes, dear grandma lady at the window, the line is quite deceptively long.
About 2 families before it was our turn, Mr. Snorts Too Close stepped directly in front of the line, stuck his neck out, and took his time looking at the characters. The guy who had been cut in front of turned to look at me as if to say...."What is going on here??"
Finally, finally, finally...it was our turn!
As my kids were meeting Buzz and Woody and I was holding autograph books, Capt'n Snorts'nOffends started to cross the waiting line....and was promptly detained by a Disney host - who had to finally say..."BACK, BACK, BACK!" I felt slightly vindicated.
We left the character area and crowded ourselves into the waiting area for Fantasmic while waiting for the rest of our family to join us. The younger kids and I found seats which were bleacher style with plenty of room for all. Lo and behold, the family behind us leaned into our row, put their feet up on the back of the bleachers and generally invaded our area. I tried to block it out, knowing it was a while before the show started and as long as we could enjoy that, it would be okay.
Hubby and daughter finally met up with us.....with feet from behind firmly planted on what would be their seating area. Culturally correct Mindy had long since vacated the premises. So.....I decided to speak the language that is understood in all tongues - the "Mama ain't messing around, do it now" language. I took the palms of both my hands, patted the tops of the offending shoes and in a slightly higher-pitched voice with a side of toddler-ese thrown in said,....."Get down, get down, get down."
I think the feet were a little surprised and complied immediately. And then we could enjoy the show!
Then next day we had breakfast reservations at the Crystal Palace where we could meet the Pooh Bear characters. Right as we walked into the restaurant, is started raining ALOT! We stayed indoors quite awhile where we ate breakfast and took pictures with Pooh and friends.
She enjoyed her visit with her buddy much more this time....
than last time.....
Once the rain let up, we left and started walking where we happened upon Princess Tiana - she was very, very nice and the kids thought her dress was great.
Here is the Haunted Mansion...I didn't get to see the inside because a certain child panicked at the last minute. We headed back outside to wait for the others where we promptly tipped over our overloaded stroller while trying to reach for a snack. Stroller fell, Kevin fell, stuff all over. Good times, good times.
A picture map of what the redesigned Fantasyland will look like...
Inside the Snow White's Scary Adventure ride:
A pastel of Cinderella at the "Art of Disney" store:
The gazebo in the now-defunct Minnie's House in Toon Town
I took this picture thinking that the one below was taken of Jerry and the girls 6 years ago and I thought it would be fun to update. Turns out it was me (with super short hair!) and the girls . Would you look at those precious babies!!
Now I have one of me with all the kids!
Waiting for the monorail after a long, fun day....baby, it's cold outside!!
Outside the Disney Christmas Store where it's Christmas 365 days a year...shhhhh, I found ornaments for next year!!
It's a caramel chocolate apple!!
Back at Epcot for the afternoon...they had a neat interactive game about recycling and garbage...I highly recommend for the age 8 and under set.
Alas, what goes to Florida must also return from Florida...note the happy faces :(
So, I hope I have documented our trip well. It will be fun to look back in the years to come and relive the memories. And, if by chance anyone from Disney marketing is reading this blog and is impressed and needs some sort of Mom correspondent to go and report and bring her family, by all means let me know. Don't come to us, we'll come to you!
LOL! Way to go, Mama Bear!
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