Aimee and Lauren's Split Year Split Stay Part 2- Disney August 2016- Day 6

[xAimeex]

Hello! I'm so sorry yet again for the delay for this day . I'm back and for once with a genuine excuse for why this has taken longer than usual! I've actually had the majority of this written up for ages but about a week or so after the last day went up I was struck down with horrendous tooth pain . Pain like I've never known, it sounds silly but I can only describe it as feeling like my head was going to explode, it felt like I was having a brain aneurism. It turned out I had an infected wisdom tooth which took 2 lots of antibiotics to kick!

It was a really miserable week and a half but thankfully I was better in time for mid Feb as Lauren and I had booked a cheeky 5 night trip to Universal again! Due to holiday dates changing this year in our local area, Lauren's half term was a week earlier than most of the country so we managed to get a good deal again! It also meant that the parks were really quiet which was nice!

I kind of intended to do a detailed highs and lows or a food report but obviously I haven't gotten round to it.

We stayed at RPR this time and had planned a Universal only trip but the week before we went Disney announced that Wishes was ending in May . We decided that we just couldn't be so close to Disney and not say goodbye to it so we ended up booking the After Hours event at Magic Kingdom to see it one last time. This was just the most amazing night, we'd recommend it to anyone! The park was so quiet, it was worth the pricetag alone as we literally walked on to everything! Even Big Thunder Mountain and Mine Train!

It was a whirlwind 5 days but we made some fab memories!

Once I started to get back in the swing of things I was struck down with tooth pain again, more wisdom teeth problems and damage to another tooth that now needs root canal . I then had another infection and was given antibiotics that made me throw up last week before they finally pulled my wisdom tooth on Thursday! It was much quicker than I was expecting and I've made a good recovery so far thankfully! Still one more to come out and then the root canal but hopefully I'll have a bit of relief from the pain for a while and hopefully for good!

Ok I've waffled on massively here! But the main jist of it is I've just been really unwell, lots of sleepless nights and feeling ill from taking painkillers! It didn't help that this day is over 8600 words, has around 290 photos in it and includes us seeing the moon at both ends of the day in Magic Kingdom hehe. This was one of our favourite days so I really hope you enjoy reading!




Friday 19th August 2016- Magic Kingdom, Narcoosee's and more Magic Kingdom!


Lauren and I were both up early again today, me at 5:15 and Lauren at 5:40! I think this was due to how bright the main living area of the villa was, there are blinds but they don't black it out completely so the early morning sun often woke us up, I think our room must have been facing East.


This was actually a bonus as it meant we were up plenty before our 6am alarm. Normally we wouldn't have set the alarm for that time but it was EMH hours at Magic Kingdom and our only chance this trip to see the Welcome Show so we were absolutely determined to get there on time! We’re even more glad we did now seeing as the train station opening ceremony is no more .


Mum and Dad weren't too bothered about EMH today so decided to enjoy a bit of a lie in and meet us later!


Due to our lack of luck with EMH buses arriving early so far, we both got ready in record time today (although not as quickly as when we overslept on the day we wanted to see the welcome show on our 2015 trip hehe).






It was an Ariel and Rapunzel kinda day!


We were so determined to get going that we never actually checked the time before leaving the villa!


It turned out it was only 6:35 which is even earlier than I leave for work at home hehe. As we'd woken up so early we thought why not get going, might as well get in line at MK nice and early!


The camera made it look darker than it was but it still felt like the break of dawn hehe

Besides which judging by our aforementioned EMH bus luck we'd most likely have at least 20-30 minutes to wait for a bus!


Only today a Magic Kingdom bus turned up straight away and we were driving away at 6:37 hehe.


A blurry pic of our unplanned early start!


Unsurprisingly we were the only people on the bus at this time in the morning! We went round the other stops but nobody was there either so we left OKW at 6:45 and enjoyed a nice private bus trip to the Magic Kingdom (which would have been an awesome chance to listen to the arrival fanfare had they been playing it this year ).



Bus to ourselves!


We arrived at MK at 6:55 which is possibly the earliest we've ever arrived at a park! We were so early that the moon was still out!



Hey moon!


Bag check was deserted at this time as there was only around 10 guests there including us! We both had to go through the scanners and we were first in line at one of the Mickey tapstiles at 7:10!


We were keen this morning!





The welcome show is usually on at around 7:40-7:50 so we knew we had a bit of a wait but we didn't mind as it was nice to know that we'd be able to get a really good view when they did let us in!


The lines soon built up around those of us that had arrived pre-7am! We had a super awkward moment where a Dad in the queue behind us was going absolutely mental about bag check!


He and his wife had 4 children so I can understand that it's stressful as they'd had to open all the bags and have the stroller searched which he was absolutely fuming about!


His poor wife must have been mortified as she kept trying to shush him, especially in front of the kids!


It was clear he'd unfortunately been taking lessons in tact and humility from Donald Trump when he questioned loudly asking why Disney didn't just ban all Muslims so that we didn't have to go through the 'hassle' of bag check.


I mean really, those were his actual words! Lauren and I were shocked and exchanged disgusted glances.


I'm not going to get into a political/race debate on here but what an absolutely awful judgmental thing to say! Besides which terrorism of any kind can happen within any religion.


A horrible statement to make anywhere but to say it while standing outside the Magic Kingdom (along with all areas in Disney), a place that welcomes everybody that visits regardless of their race, colour, gender, sexuality, age just seemed especially low. We were really taken aback by it and were glad when they opened up the tapstiles at 7:30 so we could get away from him!


Horrible moment aside we got lucky with a quick CM and managed to make it through the tapstiles almost first so we managed to get a great central spot in front of the railings to watch the welcome show!


Of course we didn’t know it at the time but this would be the last time we’d ever see this version of the welcome show so I’m so glad that we arrived early and managed to get such a good spot to view it from!










I love the attention to detail in the population number!


One of Walt’s windows!


I haven't made a note of exactly what time it started but it was brilliant as always! I love seeing the train arrive with all the characters! I also don't think there's a catchier tune in all of Disney World (apart from It's a Small World hehe sorry everyone!) and we’ll really miss singing along to it on Magic Kingdom mornings! I haven’t heard brilliant things about the new welcome show but I’ll reserve judgment until we see it.


















Alice was shocked to hear that Snow White’s prince is apparently lacking in certain departments hehe








Watching from the centre doesn't give you a great vantage for getting onto Main Street quickly but we weren't bothered as we mostly wanted to enjoy soaking up the atmosphere first thing!


Crowds and a crane but still the most magical place on earth!


A lot of people were rushing off to the Mine Train so we happily let them run on ahead while we strolled down Main Street stopping for a photopass picture in front of the Partner's Statue!





We still can’t act hehe I think this was the only Tink pic we got all trip


Today was a special event called Photopass Day. Basically they had a few different photopass locations added around Magic Kingdom and Epcot today including some rare character meets! (Not sure if Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom took part).


If we'd have known in advance I think we'd have been tempted to go over to Epcot today as they had some amazing meets such as Snow White and Dopey, Mulan and Mushu etc. but as we'd booked all our fastpasses at MK we didn't really want to mess with the plan too much.


At Magic Kingdom they had Pinocchio meeting with Gideon and Foulfelllow who are fairly rare characters these days, especially all together! We decided we'd try and see if we could fit it in later!


After we'd had our photo taken we walked through the castle to Fantasyland as our first stop was Peter Pan's Flight!














It was listed as a 5 minute wait but took a little longer as they had to load someone in a wheelchair on.






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[xAimeex]

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I love the addition of the nursery and the pixie dust!


We loved it as always! It is always so quick though . Apparently they can speed it up or slow it down depending on crowd levels and up until a few weeks ago I’d have honestly said I've never noticed a difference if the standby like has been 5 or 50 minutes long! However having ridden it during the after hours event the other week I’m almost certain it seemed slower as we had more time to notice little details like the cars moving along the roads in London!


After this we headed straight over to It's a Small World as it was closing for refurbishment in a couple of days and I have to ride it at least once a trip under some unwritten Disney law hehe.







This ride is the bane of Lauren's trips hehe I wouldn't say she was a fan but she puts up with it for me!


It was listed as a 10 minute wait but was a walk on, in fact we had a whole boat to ourselves!




I think they knew Lauren is such a big fan that she’d want our own boat hehe














We could see why it was in need of a refurb as quite a few bits weren't working today. The sun wasn't spinning, some of the dancers weren't moving and one of the hippos looked as if she'd had a big night out and was suffering for it this morning hehe.


It’s eyes were pretty much stuck in this position haha sorry for the blurry photo!


Since we last rode it they'd added an interactive screen in the goodbye room at the end using your magic band to pick up your names.


As we sailed through the screen changed to say- Goodbye Aimee and Lauren!




After we finished here we had a quick look to see what the Winnie the Pooh line was like but it was already quite busy and we were due to meet some friends in a bit so gave it a miss.


We were meeting Rachel and Sarah who we know via Instagram. Rachel is also a dibber and has a trip report too called ‘I Can’t Believe We’re Staying Here’!


We decided to meet over in New Fantasyland to see what the wait was to meet Ariel.




We met outside and instantly started chatting Disney!


The wait for Ariel wasn't too bad, we waited just under 10 minutes.


When Lauren had ordered her custom badge haul she'd picked out a couple for Sarah and Rachel plus her twin sisters (they were having a lie in today) so she gave them those!


I love the attention to detail in the line!


It was soon our turn to meet Ariel! She was super cute and loved all of our Minnie Ears! I was wearing my Ariel themed ones today so we chatted about how useful it was to have a spare dinglehopper on your head!


One thing Photopass really taught me this trip is that I have a horrible laughing face hehe you’ll see it features a lot over the report but better to laugh ugly than not laugh at all I say!


Me girl crushing on Ariel there haha








Both Rachel and I scanned our magic bands for the photopass pictures but they never appeared on either accounts (you can generally view them within 5 minutes via MDE these days) but we decided to give it until the end of the day but they never showed up so eventually Lauren and I went to Guest Services to have them added manually and then sent them on to Rachel!


After we finished meeting Ariel we said our goodbyes to Rachel and Sarah as we were heading off to meet Mum and Dad!


We'd arranged to meet in Gaston's Tavern which was convenient seeing as were just beside it!






As it was photopass day they had extra photographers out in less common locations. I seem to recall there being a challenge to have your picture taken in every special location including the character meets but I’m not 100% sure on this. Either way we decided to stop for a picture just outside Gastons. The sun was at an awkward angle though and we’re squinting a lot so it definitely isn’t the best photo.




Mum and Dad arrived at 8:55 and we headed in for a drink!




I, of course couldn't resist a giant warm cinnamon bun! I used 1 snack credit but it would have cost £4.79.






The others all had apple juice which they paid OOP for but I haven't made a note of the price sorry!


It was already busy in there but we managed to find a table in the darts room.




Unfortunately my cinnamon bun wasn't the best I've ever had here. It wasn’t that warm and not as gooey as usual. I could have asked for it to be reheated I'm sure but the line was long now and we had other things we wanted to be doing!


It was still nice though, you can't go wrong with a cinnamon roll although today this one didn't even come close to the colossal cinnamon roll we'd had at Animal Kingdom earlier in the week!


While we chatted about our plans for the day Lauren and I decided we wanted to meet the Pinocchio characters but we knew by now the queue would have already built up but decided to go and check it out anyway. They were meeting over at Storybook Circus so we didn't have far to walk.


I left the rest of my cinnamon roll for Mum and Dad to finish as it really was ginormous!


As expected the Pinocchio line was crazy long already!


We decided to give it a miss for now and tried to fit it in to the plan later on.


As we were right next to it we decided to head into Pete's Silly Sideshow meet and greet!




It’s designed to look like a Circus big top in here similar to Storybook Souvenirs!


There are 2 separate sides here. One way takes you to meet Donald and Goofy and the other leads the way to Minnie and Daisy! They're all dressed up in their circus outfits here!


We knew we only had time for one side before we needed to get back to Mum and Dad so we picked Donald and Goofy today! We planned to come back to meet Minnie and Daisy but just never got around to it!


This was a great character greet! It was quiet in there at this time so we only waited a couple of minutes!


The photopass lady with Goofy was lovely! She loved our ears and asked if we'd met Ariel and Rapunzel yet! We had a really nice chat about all the lovely handmade Disney items you can buy from places like Etsy!


We met Goofy first! He's always funny and the character interaction was definitely made easier by the photographer giving input too as it can sometimes be a little awkward knowing what to say to a head character that can't reply!


We got some really cute photos, the photographer told us both to kiss Goofy on the cheek hehe.












Next up was Donald, again it was a really good meet! He showed us his snake charming skills haha.










We finished here at 9:25 and headed back to meet Mum and Dad as we had fast passes to get to! They'd been on Journey of the Little Mermaid while we were gone!


We were separating again but this time Dad and Lauren were headed off together while Mum and I were joining forces as team wimp!


Honestly if you read today without having read any of the previous days of this report you wouldn't be mistaken for questioning if this was really a family holiday at all hehe. We did split up at lot today but we're all more than happy to do our own thing even when travelling as a family as we all have different interests!


I digress, Dad and Lauren had a fast pass for Space Mountain and as I said the wimps of the family Mum and I were going for something a little less adventurous hehe. Despite already meeting Ariel this morning that’s what our fastpass was for.



I suggested swapping it for something else but Mum didn't fancy any of the other rides that had fastpass available.


Back so soon!


It was another awesome meet! We had another chat about my ears hehe. She spotted my little mermaid backpack and was really excited about it! I said it held a lot of dinglehoppers and she reached behind the shell seat and pulled out her collection of dinglehoppers that people had brought her!









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[xAimeex]

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After we finished here Mum and I had a quick look at the wait time for the Flying Dumbo's as this is one of our favourites to ride together (as Lauren usually refuses to go on it with me hehe) but it was 20 minutes and we didn't think Dad and Lauren would be that much longer!


We had a look in Storybook Souvenirs while we waited but didn't buy anything.




I loved the Halloween tableware!




At this point we decided to separate again (I know, I know ). Lauren and I had decided to just wait out the Pinocchio meet. It was only 9:40 but as I said earlier it was already a pretty long line! CM's were estimating it to be around an hour long.


Obviously Mum and Dad weren't interested in meeting the characters let alone waiting an hour for it. We asked if they minded us going off to wait for it and they weren't bothered so long as they didn’t have to stand out in the heat with us hehe. We still had plenty of park time left this trip and the nice thing about Mum and Dad knowing the parks so well is that they're more than happy to head off and do their own thing!


The meet and greet was outside although undercover with fans. On a scorching August day it wasn't an ideal place to wait but better than being out in the direct sunlight and we had fans with us which helped!


There was a cute mural on the wall near the meet! Sorry this picture doesn’t do it justice!


The CM's estimated well as the line took exactly an hour! That's the longest we've waited for an attraction in years and years! We once waited 2 hours for Toy Story Mania but that was back when it first opened!


I'm sure a lot of you are thinking we were mad for waiting an hour in the August heat to meet some characters hehe. As I said this was a rare meet though! The guy in front of was telling us how he was planning to have a picture taken at all the special locations for photopass day so he was off to Epcot as soon as he'd met Pinocchio et al to do the character meets there too!


Finally at the front!


Obviously they were keen to get people through as quickly as possible so it wasn't the longest character meet ever but we had hugs with them all and Foulfellow kissed our hands. We also told Pinocchio that we were going to his Village Haus for lunch!


Just to confirm Pinocchio’s hand is on my arm hehe







We were all done at 10:40 and headed straight back to Storybook Souvenirs for the air con!


Love U too Jesus sky writer


We'd said to Mum and Dad that if we were longer than an hour to go ahead and ride the Mine Train without us as our fast passes started at 10:30. As we were now past that we figured they probably had so we headed over to meet them!




They were just walking out of the exit so that was good timing!


Dad looked like he enjoyed it a tiny bit more than the other day hehe


As it was so hot out they headed over to Pinocchio's Village Haus to wait for us while we used our fastpasses as we all fancied an early lunch today to make sure we had plenty of room for our dinner at Narcoosee’s later!


Lauren and I scanned our magic bands and walked through the fastpass line with a couple of minutes to wait once we reached the front of the line.




It was fun as always! We were seated in the middle of the train which isn’t quite as good as being in the back but we still loved it!




After we finished here we walked back up to Pinocchio's to meet Mum and Dad!






We arrived at 10:55 but they don't start serving until 11. Luckily they let us all wait inside though!










This did mean that we were at the front of the line to order though which was good!


Lauren and I had 2 really great meals here in 2015 and it had been years since Mum and Dad had been so we were all looking forward to it!


We ordered 2 cheese flatbreads for me and Lauren, a caprese flatbread (I'm sure I pronounced this wrong when I ordered hehe is it pronounced like the model?! ) for Mum and a chicken parmesan sandwich for Dad!


Caprese flatbread



Cheese flatbread


Chicken parmesan sandwich


The dessert here is just ice cream so we decided to switch them out. I had a raspberry lemonade slush while Mum and Dad had a side of fries each (although Dad's sandwich already had fries) and Lauren ordered breadsticks!


Raspberry lemonade slush



Breadsticks and fries (with a side of Minnie ears hehe)


These were the same breadsticks that we had in pizzafari the year before and they're so yummy! I was so tempted to order my own but there was no way Lauren and I would have managed 8 breadsticks between us so she kindly let me have one!


We also ordered a large coke, sprite and Minute Maid lemonade while Lauren had the blue raspberry slush as her drink!



Blue raspberry slush


We had an impressive amount of food and drink on our trays hehe. This is one place we'll definitely miss the counter service dessert option now that you don't get it anymore!


We were spoilt for choice with seating as it was still really quiet in there at this time!


We went for the same little booth Lauren and I sat in last time that looks out over the carousel!




We all absolutely loved our food! The only small negative was the Mum's caprese flatbread was a little messy to eat with all the balsamic vinegar but all in all Pinocchio's is a great counter service option!


We pretty much rolled ourselves out of there at 11:40! Mum and Dad were so full up that they decided to head back to OKW for a bit of pool time as it was just too hot for them today. This was the start of an intensely humid few days as we didn't have any rain!


Again you're probably reading thinking that we really didn't spend much time as a whole family today but as I said above we're all pretty flexible in what each other wants to do! Mum and Dad like a good mix of pool and park time for example whereas Lauren and I prefer to be in the parks as much as possible! (Although we do enjoy the pool too!)


Despite the clouds it was hot hot hot today!


We said our goodbyes and they headed off to catch the bus.


We had fast passes to meet Rapunzel and Tiana but not until 1:20 so we decided to have a look on MDE to see if we could make it earlier.


There were only evening slots left at this time so we walked over to Fairytale Princess Hall anyway to see what the standby line was like.




It was only 20 minutes so we decided to jump in line and changed our fastpass to the Winnie The Pooh ride at 12.10 which had a longer wait!


We were so glad we decided to jump in line as this turned out to be the best character meet of the whole holiday!


This was the first time we'd waited in the standby line here and it really is worth doing even once rather than fastpassing as the attention to detail is just amazing! They have beautiful portraits of all the princesses up on the walls and at the front of the line Cinderella's glass slipper is shimmering away!



















It took probably 20 minutes to reach the slipper. We were sent through behind a couple of other parties so there's sometimes a short wait once you enter the room too.


We were quite lucky though as they didn't send anyone in behind us so we weren't rushed through as there was no one else standing waiting.


We met Rapunzel first! She is one of our favourite Princesses!


She was really cute and chatty! She greeted us as a lantern princess and a mermaid because of our Minnie Ears! She asked if we'd made them ourselves but we had to confess that we didn't hehe.


She really was just the cutest Rapunzel!












Next we met Tiana! She was also really lovely and a brilliant Tiana!


We chatted about food haha she said she was going to make gumbo as a surprise for Rapunzel and asked what she should make for dessert. Of course we suggested beignets, I said they were my favourite!







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[Leelashpurple]

Just about to read it bit so glad you are back. I love your reports and was concerned about you as you hadn't posted in so long.

Now off to read the report.

[xAimeex]

….Continued


It was just us, the princesses and the CM's in the room now and Tiana spotted Rapunzel trying to listen in and told her she'd ruin the surprise so the latter skipped around the room and said she was so excited haha. They honestly were so perfectly in character the whole time!


We had our photo taken with Tiana and then Rapunzel asked if she could be in the photo too! We were so excited as this rarely happens as they always meet separately!








We all had hugs before Lauren and I left! We literally skipped back out in to Fantasyland as we couldn't believe how lucky we'd been to be the last ones in the room! If we'd have waited for our fastpass that probably wouldn't have happened!


We were on such a high! Our fastpass for Winnie the Pooh was active so we headed over to use it chattering all the way about what a cute meet it had been!


We couldn't wait to see the photos but when we looked on MDE they weren't there. With the majority of our other photopass pictures, they'd been viewable on our account straightaway.


We then spent the rest of the walk to Winnie the Pooh trying to decide if either of us had actually scanned our magic bands for the photos or if we'd been too excited and had forgotten! I was generally the one to give them my band to scan so I knew it would have been me that had forgotten so I really hoped I hadn’t had a ditzy moment!


We did debate going back to double check but we didn't want to cause a fuss and we knew if they didn't turn up we could always go to the Photopass station back at Town Hall on Main St to get them.


As we got in the fastpass line for WtP the CM said Hi Ariel, Hi Rapunzel which was cute!








We waked on in the fastpass line! We love the song from the ride! The line that goes- the rain rain rain came down down down and the flood rose up up upper- literally always gets stuck in my head so it's a good job I like it hehe.


We finished here at 12:25 and were really glad to see that the photos of us with Tiana and Rapunzel were showing so I hadn't forgotten to scan my band after all!


We also decided to call it a day after this as it was just so hot out now and we were planning a late night so quite fancied a decent rest!


We stopped to watch the Move it Shake it parade when we got back to Main St! I love how catchy the music is for this!















We had a stroll through the emporium to make use of the air con and appreciate the beautiful theming before leaving at 12:40!


I love these Alice in Wonderland tea cups!


We had even more luck as we only waited 5 minutes for a bus!





They had to swap bus drivers but they let us wait on the bus which was nice of them as some drivers won't let you on until they've completed their checks!


We made it back to OKW at 1:10 and headed to the villa. Mum and Dad had just come back too as it was so hot!


We all had a really good sleep today from 1:30 to around 3:15!


We were eating at Narcoosee's tonight which is one of our favourites so we were really excited!


Once we were up, showers and jacuzzi baths were had and then we all set about getting ready!


I was wearing a new dress that had come in our Mockingjay delivery so I had to iron it first as it was quite creased from being in the packaging for so long.


As we rarely all get dressed up at home we set about conducting our own mini photo shoot outside the villa just to prove that every once in a while we do make the effort!











My new Ariel dress from hot topic! I absolutely adore it and it was definitely worth having to do some ironing on holiday!



The detailing on the dress!


Once we had plenty of photos we headed down towards the bus stop at 5.


We were granted yet more bus luck as a Magic Kingdom bus was just pulling in!


Bus selfie


We arrived just before 5:30 and walked down to the boat dock rather than catching the Monorail round as it's such a relaxing way to reach the Grand Floridian!




The boat arrived at 5:35, our ADR wasn't until 6 so we were making good time!




The boat driver/captain (I'm not sure of the correct terminology hehe) was so cute! For one he called us Princesses when we climbed on board so we already liked him hehe! He then spent the journey pointing out all the beauty around us that Walt (and the imagineeers) had imagined and created!


He asked Disney trivia questions too! He asked who Aladdin's monkey friend was and when a little boy shouted out Abu he said bless you hehe. He also did a Star Wars joke, he said he'd tried Wookie Cookies but they were a little Chewy haha.


It was only a short ride across to the Grand Floridian but he made it all the more fun!










Narcoosee's is right beside the boat dock so we didn't have too far to walk!




We arrived at 5:45 which was a little earlier than we wanted to check in so we headed outside to take some more pictures (again as we don't dress up very often at home hehe).














We eventually checked in at 5:55 and our buzzer went off a couple of minutes later.


A really friendly CM showed us to our table. He was really chatty and asked us how long we'd been in town and what parks we'd visited so far!


We were really lucky again and we're given another lovely window table not far from where we sat in 2014. It's always nice to be able to look out and see the castle in the distance while you're eating dinner! (Not so much the crane though hehe)






This was our 3rd time eating here (second for Mum and Dad) and it's never let us down! The food, atmosphere and service have always been second to none and it didn't disappoint today!


Our server Maura soon came over and she was absolutely lovely! One of the nicest most informative servers we've ever had.


She talked us through the menu and explained that if we didn't want dessert we could swap it for a Caesar or house salad or the lobster bisque.


We knew this was part of the changes to last year’s dining plan but she was the only server to actually offer us the option to sub dessert for a soup or salad!


This was perfect for Lauren as she doesn't like any of the desserts here and in the past has just had vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce which isn't the most exciting of desserts. So she jumped at the chance to try the lobster bisque instead!







The menus


The rest of us decided to stick with dessert. We enjoyed the bread course though! It was served warm with pink Hawaiian salted butter. We had to be careful not to fill up on it!




We ordered our soft drinks that are included on the dining plan and Mum and Dad also paid OOP for a glass of prosecco each.


Lauren loved the lobster bisque! She said it was absolutely delicious and one of the best things she'd eaten so far this trip! A far better option for her!





Maura soon returned to take our order for our main courses.


We'd read before our trip that you could no longer order the steak and lobster combo on the dining plan. You now have to order the steak and pay separately OOP for the lobster tail as an embellishment.


Mum and Dad had been disappointed by this but our wonderful server suggested one of them order the filet mignon and the other order the lobster tails and she would have the chef split it over 2 plates so that they had half of the filet mignon and a lobster tail each basically recreating the old dish (albeit with a smaller cut of steak). This was a perfect solution for them so that is what they ordered!


Lauren had also decided since the changes to the menu that she would just order a lobster dish seeing as we were having steak other times during the holiday. She was undecided between ordering the full lobster or just the tails but decided on the latter eventually as she thought it would be easier to eat.


I'm not a huge fan of seafood so I just went for the filet mignon cooked medium.


Again Maura was so knowledgeable about the menu and asked if any of us wanted to swap the sides that are served on the plate for anything else. We were all very happy with our choices so stuck with them! She was also quick to bring refills and to clear away empty plates. It's one of the things that sets the signatures apart I think (although we've had great service at 1 credit meals too), it's nice to feel so well looked after.


Narcoosee's has such a lovely atmosphere! It's so bright and airy in there and you just can't beat the view! We had a lovely time chatting as a family, it really was a perfect meal!


When our food came there was lots of mmm's and yum's as the food really was so delicious!



Mum and Dad were both really pleased with theirs as they had the best of both worlds with their surf and turf and they didn't have to pay extra for it!







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[xAimeex]

….Continued





Lauren absolutely loved hers especially the cornbread soufflé that it came with! I tried some and honestly it was one of the nicest things I've ever eaten! I wish I'd asked to swap my side of mash for that(although my mash was perfect too- for mash hehe).






This soufflé was amazing!


Mine was delicious too, I love the jus/reduction (fancy word for gravy or sauce hehe) that it's served with.






I actually came to the conclusion here that in future when having steak (which is almost never when not on the dining plan hehe) I would order it medium rare as I decided I prefer the pinker middle to the outside which surprised me as I used to hate the thought of it being pink at all!


We all thoroughly enjoyed our mains and there wasn't much left on the plates apart from the lobster shells!


Another nice touch was that the restaurant manager went round to every table to check everybody was enjoying their meal!


Maura brought over hot towels when we'd finished so we could all clean our hands.


Mum, Dad and I ordered our desserts next.




Dad went for the same as he'd had last time, the chocolate and coconut creme brûlée!




Mum had my usual choice the almond crusted cheesecake.




While I decided to go for something different today, the lemon custard.








Mine was not exactly what I was expecting but I can honestly say it was one of the nicest desserts I've ever eaten in my life! It was served with raspberry foam and a blood orange sorbet served on a white chocolate curl and I can happily say that every element of the dish was absolutely perfect! I loved how beautiful it looked on the plate!


Mum really enjoyed hers and was glad she'd taken my recommendation! Dad loved his too and said it was as good as he remembered!


When we were all finished we asked for the bill. Throughout our meals so far we'd started up a game called ‘Guess how much it would have cost’. I took the bill today and the others took it in turns to guess the total!


Nobody came close today! If we'd been paying out of pocket it would have cost a whopping $321.61! $20 of that was the alcohol but still!


Maura had truly earned a good tip so we left her $65.


This honestly was one of the best meals we had this trip! Although having said that they were all pretty awesome but the food was totally faultless as was the service and atmosphere!


As we were settling the bill Lauren went onto the MDE app to see if there was any fastpasses available as she and I were heading into Magic Kingdom after! She managed to get them for Buzz's Space ranger Spin that started in 10 minutes!


Mum and Dad had decided to head to Disney Springs for the rest of the evening. Again splitting up, I know!


After we’d paid we stopped off at the restrooms so that Lauren could change in to park clothes. My dress was quite long so I’d decided to keep it on. When Lauren came out of the cubicle we had a giggle as we were inadvertently colour coordinated now in mint green and black outfits!


Even the baby change is fancy at the Grand Floridian!


We left Narcoosee's at 7:30. It was quite a pleasant temperature out as we walked back to the main building, not too humid which made a nice change on this trip!


We had a quick look in the shops near the lobby before Lauren and I headed to wait for the Monorail while Mum and Dad went out to wait for a bus to Disney Springs.














The monorail arrived just before 7:50 and we were pulling up to the Magic Kingdom at 7:55.




We walked down from the monorail station towards a fairly quiet bag check.




We were walking on to Main Street just after 8!









This picture doesn’t do it justice but it was a beautiful sunset tonight!




We stopped at a photopass photographer along the way!






The Main Street Electrical Parade started in an hour so there was already a lot of people lining the curb waiting for it to start. It had already been announced at this point that it was going to be leaving WDW later in the year so everybody was making sure to get a good spot!


We were planning to see it tonight too but we had also scheduled in a couple of other times to see it!




On our way over to use our Buzz fastpass we spotted a photopass photographer over at the 'purple wall' in aid of the above mentioned photopass day.


Until I started using instagram I had no idea what the purple wall was! Lauren informed me though that it was an actual thing with its own instagram account!


The purple wall is the wall between Monsters Inc Laugh Floor and Tomorrowland Terrace. It's basically a ‘thing’ to take your photo in front of it and that's pretty much all there is to it hehe.


As I said it started off as an Instagram thing I believe so it was funny to see that even Disney had cottoned onto it!


Not being anywhere near as photogenic as the majority of people who take pictures of themselves here we hadn't planned on getting any 'purple wall' photos but as the photopass guy was there and we were wearing colour coordinated outfits we decided to stop.


The photographer was really good! There was no one else waiting for photos there at this time so he spent ages taking pictures in various different poses. Some were more successful than others! There's a super awkward one of Lauren and I hugging at his suggestion. Let's just say that one hasn't made it to the mantelpiece hehe.














With our purple wall photos taken we headed over to Buzz at 8:15. The standby wait was listed as 30 minutes so we were glad to skip that!


Love a hidden Mickey!


I didn't manage anywhere near my best today scoring only 5800. Lauren did a lot better with 164,900!


I didn’t bother to document my low score in picture hehe


The ride photo is absolutely awful as we’re both looking in the wrong direction so I won’t be sharing it hehe.


Tomorrow land is another area that’s really beautiful at night I think!


We headed over to Frontierland after this as we'd decided to watch the parade from there as we'd always heard it was a much quieter spot to watch it from and seeing as this would be one of the last times we saw it we decided to go against our usual tradition of sitting on the Main Street curb to watch it.


I love the twinkly trees in the hub!




We didn't make it up quite as far as Frontierland as we spotted a great spot in Liberty Square.


It was directly opposite Liberty Tree Tavern and gave a great view as the parade came around the corner from the Liberty Square Bridge!


We sat just behind the rope so we'd have a 'front row' view! It soon filled up around us of course but a lot slower than the curb side seats down on Main Street!


I'd say I'd recommend it as a viewing area but until Disney decide what they're doing I guess we don't know when/if there will be a new night-time parade.


The only downside to sitting on the ground waiting for parades in August is that it gets really hot! I made sure my dress was carefully placed underneath me! Although as Mum and I would discover later in the trip while waiting for Festival of Fantasy that doesn't always help! But that's a story for another day hehe.


We spent the time chatting and had another look on MDE to see if we could get a 5th fastpass as the park was open until midnight tonight!


We managed to get one for Pirates of the Caribbean at 10:20!


The parade didn't arrive in Liberty Square until 9:10 but as I said we had a great view so we didn't mind!


Lauren had ordered us the cutest custom badges (buttons in the US) that had the MSEP logo on so when the train float came round she took a photo of it with the badge!









Continued below…

[xAimeex]

….Continued














It finished at 9:35 and we made our way through the dispersing crowds and into the Momento Mori shop for a blast of air con as it had been so warm sitting on the ground for so long!




We found the air con vent and stood under it for a few minutes hehe.


A CM working there asked us how we were so we asked him in return and he started singing Staying Alive hehe. He said it had been a long day. Poor guy (although he does get to work in MK but like every job I bet it has its moments hehe).


Once we'd cooled down we headed to the Tangled restrooms to take some pictures of the lanterns all lit up!








After this we decided to go and see Philharmagic. It was about 15 minutes until Wishes was due to start but we'd decided not to watch it tonight as we had it scheduled in a couple of times later in the trip. Instead we were planning to head to a ride while the majority of people were watching the fireworks (although this didn't quite work out).







When we arrived at Philharmagic a show had just started so we had about a 10 minute wait for the next one.


Everybody around us started to sit down on the floor of the waiting area so we joined them! The guy next to us actually fell asleep!


It was really quiet in there as like we expected most people were out waiting for Wishes. This meant that once the doors opened automagically they told everyone to sit wherever they wanted rather than making their way right to the end of the rows!


We went for some seats in the middle of the theatre which gave us a nice central view!


It was fab as always! The little girl next to me was absolutely desperate to catch the gems that 'float' around the theatre during the Ariel section, it was so cute!


As we left the theatre we heard Jiminy Cricket’s opening monologue to Wishes and although we hadn't planned to watch it we just couldn't resist stopping to see it!


This ended up being a surprise hit for us having only ever watched Wishes from Main Street!


It was literally like we were in the centre of Wishes and it was happening all around us! I never thought I'd want to watch it from anywhere else but this was a really all-encompassing experience!


We were stood just outside of the exit to Philharmagic so we could see the fireworks that are set off from behind the castle (they rope the area off from behind the Carousel so you can't get too close) and then the high fireworks that are set off from behind the park over Pinocchio's Village Haus so it really did feel as if we were right in the middle of the show!

I love that this looks like a hidden Mickey!










It was of course magical as always and although we didn't get a head start towards any of the rides we did get to see Wishes from a whole new perspective!


I'm especially glad we got to experience this now that Wishes is ending .


It finished at 10:15 but we hung around waiting for them to drop the rope cordoning off the castle area. This takes a few minutes as they have to do checks of the area to make sure it's clear of any firework debris I believe.




Once it was open again we wandered through the castle to get some photos!




The post-Wishes crowds!









After wandering around taking photos we remembered we’d booked an extra fastpass for Pirates earlier so headed over there at 10:40 to use it!






As part of photopass day they had a photographer outside the ride so we stopped for a couple of pictures although again they weren’t the best!




We used our Pirates fastpass and then went to the rest rooms next door. We like these ones as they play the music from the film hehe.



We finished at 11 and decided to pop into Pecos Bill's to share a lemonade as we hadn't had anything to drink since we left Narcoosee's and we were so thirsty!


It was really quiet in there at this time! We ordered a large lemonade to share. We paid out of pocket so as not to waste a snack credit. It cost $3.93.


We also had a little sprinkling of pixie dust! The CM serving us gave us a free strawberry lemonade slush each!


Yay for pixie dust!

This was mostly down to the fact that they were emptying out the machine for the night but still it was a lovely magical moment! The CM still put Mickey straws in them even though we weren't paying for the drinks and she called us princesses so we were big fans of her hehe.


We had our choice of tables as there was only one other family in there.


We shared the lemonade first as we really needed something to quench our thirst and then we took our slushies out with us.




We decided to head back over to Tomorrowland for a relaxing ride on the TTA now that we were so full of sugary drinks hehe.


On the way though we spotted Brett! If you're on Instagram you might know him as guybehindthecastle! He's called this because he's the Security Guard who patrols the fantasyland area in the evenings! He works through the night patrolling and protecting the Kingdom! Is that not the coolest job ever?! Although I bet parts of the park are quite creepy when they're deserted!


Lauren had started chatting to him via Instagram and he'd said if we were ever in the parks late to come over and say hi!


It was like we'd known him for years! He's a fantastic CM with so many stories as you can imagine! If you spot him and he's not too busy he loves chatting to the guests so definitely say hi!


He gave us a whole bunch of stickers and a security citation hehe. Not a serious one of course but Lauren and I were certainly guilty of having too much fun,


Mickey’s an expert at the Disney 2 finger point hehe







It was awesome to have it as a little free souvenir!


We chatted for absolutely ages! He told us about his role in the Magic Kingdom and we told him all the things we'd been up to so far this trip!


One fun fact he told us was the average weight of candy that is given out over the duration of 29 Halloween parties! It's around 150 tonnes apparently!


At 11:40 he received a radio call to go and check something out (as I said he's happy to chat unless something is happening that requires a security guard).


We thanked him for our stickers and security citation (promising not to break the rules again hehe). He suggested that just before park close we should head to Mine Train as apparently a lot of people don't realise you can get into the lines that late!


We headed down to Main St to get some pictures of the castle at night as it was still 20 minutes until park close.


They were actually working on the castle tonight, there was a couple of people in here but not sure what they were doing

We had some more photopass pictures taken as you can never have enough in front of the castle hehe. It was fairly quiet at this time so the photographer had do a few poses like pointing to our ears!














Not long after Brett came and joined us again as I guess he wasn't needed over in Tomorrowland for long.


We chatted Disney for another 10 minutes and then at 11:55 Lauren and I headed for the Mine Train to jump in line.


It was listed as a 50 minute wait (I'd imagine to deter people from getting in the line this close to park close although as Brett said they don't officially close it until the end).


We trusted Brett and got in line anyway and sure enough we waited less than 10 minutes!


Entering the vault!


It's such an awesome ride in the dark! Especially in the warmer months hehe at the After Hours event in February we rode this 4 times as it was a walk on (as I said at the top the after hours event is amazing! ) but with it being late night in Feb we were absolutely trembling with cold by the time we finished as the chilly wind was whipping at us every time we went round! Late night August was a much more pleasant experience!






We finished at 12:05 so the park was now officially closed.


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[xAimeex]

….Continued


We walked back through Fantasyland stopping on the way to say goodbye to Brett for the night and to thank him for the Mine Train tip. We realised we hadn't taken a picture earlier so asked one of the other CM's to take a picture for us.






















We headed down to Main St after this to wait for the Kiss Goodnight as after so many years we still hadn't seen it!








If you haven't heard of it before, it's a little goodbye message that puts the castle (and the park) to sleep for the night! It's basically a magical twinkly Disney way of saying "Ok guys you really have to leave now, get out!" Hehe.


It was 12:25 now so we didn't have too long to wait as it usually happens half an hour after park close.


We took some more pictures while we waited and at 12:30 we heard the opening bars to When You Wish Upon a Star!


It's only about 2 minutes long but it’s absolutely lovely! So worth staying a little bit later to see! Especially on an earlier park closing night as you don't have to stay out so late!


We stopped for another couple of photopass pictures on the way out too! Really getting our money’s worth on the free memory maker hehe.






And another a bit further down!



We took a slow walk out down a quieter Main St. There was still quite a few people around but nothing compared to the hustle and bustle of the day so it was nice to take a relaxed walk down to the exit past all the pretty lit up shops whilst being able to hear the lovely music properly!















We left the park just after 12:45. They have the buses lined up waiting outside at this time! The OKW bus was having a driver switchover so we had to wait a minute while the new driver completed his checks.


When he was finished he told us he'd checked and it was the perfect temperature on the bus hehe.


We were very glad of the air con and a chance to sit down!




The bus eventually left at 12:55. The bus driver was lovely and very chatty as we were the only people on the bus. This did mean he got a bit distracted once we reached Old Key West and he ended up getting a bit lost trying to find the right bus stop hehe.


Back to OKW!


We pulled in at the Turtle Pond Stop just before 1:15 and we thanked him before heading back to the Villa.


It had been a very long but magical day so we were two very tired but happy girls!


Mum and Dad were already asleep so we got ready for bed as quietly as we could before collapsing into our beds at 1:30!


Thanks for reading x

[Flimsey]

Just read the opening part, hope you feeling better. Toothache is the most painful thing.

[firsttimemouse]

Wow, what an amazing day. Thanks for posting.