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Old 1 Apr 20, 10:49 PM  
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Lisa_Lollipop
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Charlie's First WDW Adventure - Sep/Oct 2019 - Day 13: Magic Kingdom, Crystal Palace & Epcot

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Friday 11th October

Our final full day was here (sob) and it was a very early start with the alarm going off at 5:45am! We had a 8:35am breakfast reservation at Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom so it was vital we were up and out early today! I managed to drag myself out of bed just after 6am, it was still dark outside! I got myself ready for the day and then woke up Charlie to get him sorted… he was so tired! By 7:10am we were all set to go (with Charlie a little upset at having to leave Rex behind, they had become firm friends in their few days together!)





On arriving at Magic Kingdom we parked up in Simba 110 and on making it over to the TTC we opted to get the monorail over. It was such a beautiful morning with stunning views on the journey over to the entrance… my heart was feeling a rather heavy that this would be the last time we would be going into Magic Kingdom this trip ☹









On making it through the turnstiles I spotted a free photographer so sped over to grab a few photos. The others were still making their way through so I posed with Charlie on my own whilst waiting for the others to join us.











On making it into the park we had a little bit of time before breakfast and there was only one place I wanted to go… to see Mickey Mouse! After our fail the other day to get a photo of all of us with the big man I was so pleased to see the wait time was only 10 minutes so we parked up the pushchair and headed straight in. In reality we waited even less than that and it was truly wonderful seeing Charlie’s reaction as we waited in the queue and he could see Mickey up ahead… he was so excited!





We had a wonderful interaction and my heart exploded with love seeing Charlie giving him a big cuddle. Yet another priceless moment of the trip that will stay with me for a lifetime. And best of all… I finally got that much sought after group shot!











Saying goodbye to Mickey we headed back out and it was now time for our Crystal Palace reservation so we made our way down to the bottom of Main Street (passing some Main Street citizens on the way!)







We arrived at Crystal Palace and on checking in we were asked to wait outside. I took the opportunity to snap some photos of the castle, such a beautiful spot and being so early it was lovely and quiet.









We didn’t have to wait long before we were called through and shown to our table over on the right hand side of the restaurant at the far end by the windows. This was the first time all of us had been here so we were all very excited to experience both the food and the characters!



On sitting down we saw Eeyore was approaching so we waited on him before getting any breakfast. Despite Charlie not being that familiar with Winnie the Pooh at this point he was very excited to see him! We had our autograph book ready and waiting and then Charlie and I posed for some photos.





Once Eeyore had moved on we took the opportunity to grab some food. I loaded up a plate for Charlie which included plenty of fruit… his absolute favourite! I of course started with a Mickey waffle along with a variety of other breakfast goodies!









Watching Charlie’s anticipation as the characters approached was so cute… I was so amazed how confident he was with all the characters throughout the trip, it had been a slight concern that he would be terrified but he handled it all like an absolute pro!





Next up was Winnie the Pooh!









Next up came Piglet (sorry for the barrage of photos here… I tried to limit them but there are just so many lovely ones!)







After Piglet we found we waited quite a while for Tigger to make his way to us. Whilst we waited we settled up the bill so that we would be good to go as soon as he had been to us. I was amazed whilst we waited how many people just got up and left without seeing all the characters… I can only assume people on the dining plan who place less importance on these expensive character meals? After paying out all that money there was no way I would miss meeting any of the characters! Anyway, bill settled we continued to wait…









Tigger finally made it to us and he was absolutely worth the wait! I loved how energetic and bouncy he was… Charlie loved him! (As did Joan and John!)







With all four characters ticked off the list we gathered our things together and made our way out. It was a great dining experience and the food was lovely (I love a breakfast buffet!). That said, I have to admit I preferred the Garden Grill set-up as it was so much more relaxed having the food brought to you rather than having to time trips up to the buffet station to work with the characters arriving! Are there any other character dining experiences that have the same set up?









We left Crystal Palace and made our way back up to the top of Main Street. On booking our FPs I had secretly secured one to meet Tinkerbell… Joan loves Tinkerbell and I knew it would be a special moment for her if she got to meet her so we had kept it as a little surprise!







We made our way back into the Town Square Theatre. Joan and John seemed a bit confused as to where we were going as we had only been there a couple of hours earlier meeting Mickey Mouse!





The standby time to meet Tink was 65 minutes but with our FP we were only waiting about 10 minutes. It was such a lovely moment and so heartwarming to see Joan’s big smile! Tink was lovely and was asking about our ‘Lost Boys’ and also showed Joan how to pose for a photo! We of course got her to sign Charlie’s autograph book too! We made sure there were some photos of just the two of them and then Charlie and I jumped in for some too… John and Paul weren’t keen, the big spoil sports! This was the first time I have ever had photos done from the machine rather than by an actual photographer… it was an odd experience just smiling at a wall but they still came out very well!







We said our goodbyes to Tink and found ourselves back outside on Main Street… it was so hot already! Before making our way down towards the castle we made a stop by a photographer to get some shots of us all.





We made our way down towards the castle and as we were passing through the hub we spotted another photographer stationed up so we jumped in for yet more photos (got to make the most of our last day right and grab any shots where we can!)



All smiled out it was now time to head into Tomorrowland as we had a FP booked for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. The weather truly was glorious, is there anything more stunning than an Orlando blue sky?






We rode Buzz… I didn’t make note of scores but I think it’s pretty much a given that Paul beat me! Oh and the award for worst on-ride photo goes to me…





When we made it back outside we were all feeling a little thirsty so we headed over to the Lunching Pad to get some drinks. We parked up at a table in the shade and I popped Charlie in his pushchair with some veggie straws… although he was so tired so it wasn’t long before he had dozed off! (It was now 12pm and we had started very early so I am surprised he lasted this long to be fair!)





We had FPs for Haunted Mansion booked so once we finished up our drinks we headed in that direction. As Charlie was asleep we had to split up, with Joan and John riding first. Whilst we waited for them we had a wander around the Haunted Mansion gift shop and then popped over to the Christmas shop. John had spotted a Walt and Mickey decoration earlier in the trip that he really loved so we bought that for him and had it sent to the Chamber of Commerce so we could collect it later.

We had a message from Joan saying they were now out so we met them back over at Haunted Mansion and handed over Charlie (who was still asleep) and headed in to ride it next.





There was a photographer stationed at the entrance so we made a quick stop on the way in. We also got an on-ride photo, which is the first time we have ever had one of these (sadly Joan and John’s never came through!)





On leaving Haunted Mansion we messaged Joan and found out they too had headed over to the Christmas shop so we headed in that direction to meet them there.





Whilst having another wander around I picked up a Dumbo decoration which had been personalised with the year on (we buy a new decoration for our Christmas tree every year and this would be 2019’s addition!). This cost us $24.99 plus an extra $3 for the personalisation.



Charlie was still sleeping soundly so we decided to take a nice leisurely stroll and just enjoy taking in the sights. It really was lovely to slow down a bit, something we aren’t used to doing on our trips! We headed in the direction of the castle… this is my absolute favourite angle to get photos from, so beautiful and undisturbed!













Next we made our way to the front of the castle. I had brought Charlie’s personalised ears with us as I wanted to get a photo of him wearing them but seeing as he was still asleep we improvised… and Paul very kindly modelled them for me!









I was on the hunt for a few extra gifts to take back home for our niece and nephew and as Emilie is such a huge Dumbo fan I thought looking in Big Top Souvenirs over in Storybook Circus would be a safe bet… but on making it over there we found barely anything Dumbo themed… very disappointing! Leaving empty handed we walked back towards the hub and found Festival of Fantasy passing by. Charlie was still sleeping so I stood back in a shaded spot whilst the others moved further in to get a better view. Even out of the sun it was so crazy hot! I don’t think we have ever seen the parade properly as at 3pm it is always so hot, I can’t bear to stand and wait for it!







Whilst waiting for the others to return I fired up MDE and managed to secure us all some FPs for Winnie the Pooh opening up shortly. So once the others returned we headed back into Fantasyland. Charlie was still asleep so Joan and John rode and I asked for rider switch to be on Paul and my bands as I really wanted to ride it with Charlie once he woke up!

Once Joan and John were back we decided another drink stop was needed so we headed over to Cosmic Ray’s and got ourselves the usual order of waters and a Coke for Paul. I was so tempted whilst we were there to get one of the Mickey 90th birthday sipper cups but restrained (fair to say I am still kicking myself about that now!). Charlie did stir briefly but after a little fidget settled back down and went back to sleep! He had been down for hours at this point… it really all had caught up with him now!



Charlie finally woke up after an epic 3 hours and 40 minutes… hands down the longest he has ever napped for! With him finally awake we made our way back over to Winnie the Pooh so we could ride with him. On tapping our bands though we were greeted with the blue light of doom! It seemed the child swap hadn’t loaded onto our bands as the CM told us we were an hour and 20 minutes late for our FP! We explained what had happened though and kindly she let us through anyway. Such a lovely ride and Charlie enjoyed pointing out all the characters he had seen that morning at breakfast.





On meeting back up with Joan and John we made our way to Country Bear Jamboree… we haven’t seen this for a while (and I think it may have been Joan and John’s first time) so it made us all smile and again Charlie sat and took it all in! After that we had one last attraction to tick of the list before leaving… the Enchanted Tiki Room! We hadn’t seen this since our very first trip… I must admit it has never been a must-do for me, but Paul is a fan and we knew Charlie would love it so it seemed only right to make a stop there before leaving!









With time moving at super speed (doesn’t it always on those last days?!) we decided it was time to head on out… but first we had to make one last stop at the castle to get those much sought after photos of Charlie in his Mickey ears! I can’t tell you how many outtakes I have from this shoot… I will spare you the majority and just include a few of the best ones. It’s fair to say he wasn’t the most accommodating of having his photo taken wearing them!







Admitting defeat we said a very sad goodbye to the castle *sob*



On making it to the top of Main Street we made a quick stop into Chamber of Commerce to collect John’s ornament that we had sent there (I also have in my notes that we collected a mug but for love nor money can I place which mug this was… I am thinking it must have been Joan’s purchase not mine!). On being handed our bag Paul pulled out the box with the ornament and presented it to John… on getting it out we found Mickey’s ear was broken! So lucky we checked before we left! We told the lovely CM (Alfonso) and he kindly sent a colleague out to get a replacement! Whilst waiting he was fantastic with Charlie and even presented him with a variety of stickers which he loved!





Luckily we didn’t have to wait too long for a replacement ornament to arrive and by 6pm we were leaving Magic Kingdom for the final time of this trip. We took the ferry back over to the TTC (as is last day tradition) and by 6:40pm we were back at the car. Now the day of course is not going to end there! Ordinarily we would always spend our last night at magic Kingdom but it was a MNSSHP night so not possible this trip… instead we made a compromise and opted to spend our last evening at Epcot (as I needed fireworks to end the trip in one way or another!).

On arriving at Epcot we parked up in Explore 73 and headed into the park.





By now it was 7:10pm and we were all hungry so we made our way over to Sunshine Seasons in The Land Pavilion. I don’t seem to have any photos of our food but from the receipt it seems I ordered pasta and meatballs for Charlie (what else), Paul, John and I all had the Mongolian beef (it really is very good!) and Joan had pizza. I do like that you can get such a wide range of food here, something to please everyone!





With full tummies we made our way out of The Land and over to The Seas as we wanted to have one last ride on Nemo. It was showing a 10 minute standby wait but we walked straight on. It’s fair to say I had a little tear when we got to the end and Big Blue World started playing (that song gets me every time)





We couldn’t leave without taking Charlie to see the fish so on exiting Nemo we headed straight up the escalators to the aquarium. Charlie hadn’t forgotten about the turtle we had seen when last here and was desperately looking for him… and was most concerned that we couldn’t find him! I lost count of how many times he asked where the turtle had gone!









Being later in the day is was lovely and quiet up there so we had pretty much the run of the place with undisturbed views into all of the tanks. Charlie was in his element, I think he would have spent the rest of the night in here if we would have let him! Before leaving he was most excited to find Nemo!



As the evening was speeding by we decided to start making our way over to World Showcase, and going against tradition we started in Canada! The main reason for this being that I still needed to collect several more pennies to get my full collection so whilst in Canada I ran into the pavilion to tick that one of the list.

Next stop was the UK, where another penny was collected. We also made the necessary stop at the random lamppost that for some unbeknown reason I take a photo of Paul with every trip! John also jumped in on the action too!





We continued making our way around World Showcase, stopping in France, Morocco and Japan to collect pennies in each. At this point I was feeling like a contestant running around on Supermarket Sweep (although I can confirm I didn’t find any bouncy bonuses on my travels!)







With those three countries ticket off I now only had one left on my list… Italy. Those of you who have been following along may remember that the machine was broken on my first attempt so nerves were high that I may fall at the very final hurdle… but hallelujah! The machine was now working! I won’t admit to how happy I was at this, but I can assure you it was a lot! That was it, one pressed penny from every country in World Showcase! (I really hope Charlie appreciates the effort in years to come!)





Pennies all tucked away safely in my bag, it was now time for Epcot Forever. We plotted up in Italy and were surprised how quiet it was (I was assuming that as it was a party night at Magic Kingdom it would be super busy but I was proved wrong!). I decided to not take any photos but instead just savior this precious time of watching the show with my wonderful family. It was just the perfect end to the trip. All stood there together, reflecting on what had truly been a magical holiday together. I get goosebumps just thinking about it now.

Once the show was over we started following the crowds around the lagoon and towards the park exit. On passing we of course had to make a final stop in MouseGear where I picked up a Toy Story cup for my nephew Joshua, a Dumbo keyring for my niece Emilie and a Mickey drinks bottle for Charlie.



With the park now closed there was nothing left to do but make our way out of the park… stopping of course for a wave goodbye to Spaceship Earth.





We made it back to the car at 11:30pm… phew it had been a long day! It was an uneventful journey home and we arrived back at the villa at 12am. I put Charlie straight to bed and despite knowing I had lots of packing still to do I had zero energy so just admitted defeat and sat down in the living room eating Twizzlers instead! Working out where all the shopping was going to go in our cases could wait until tomorrow!



So that brings us to the end of our last full day in Orlando. I think it’s fair to say we packed it to the fullest… even with Charlie having that epic nap! The final installment sees us spending our last morning in Disney Springs and then making the long journey home (double *sob*)

Final day can be found here

Edited at 06:52 PM.
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Old 2 Apr 20, 07:33 AM  
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Rabel
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It looks like you had a fantastic day - thank you for posting.

Charlie was a star, such lovely photos with Winnie the Pooh and friends. Did you stay for the friendship dance?
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Old 2 Apr 20, 08:40 AM  
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Ah what a fab last day and you got so many lovely photos!

I love the idea of a pressed penny from every country!
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Old 2 Apr 20, 02:01 PM  
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Redrach1903
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What a glorious morning, those skies!

Truly priceless photos with Charlie and Mickey there

Looks like Crystal Palace was a hit too! Such cute pics! I am sad that there is no photo of pooh's puffed French toast though. Please tell me you had it!

Hehehe Tinkerbell. How cute it Joan?!

3 hour and 40 minute nap?! Jeepers! He's a kid after my own heart. Even my naps don’t last that long

That photo of Charlie looking up at the castle with his ears on is just Perfection!

Lovely last evening at Epcot and I am so glad you got all the pennies!

Hahaha I love that you opted for eating Twizzlers instead of packing. High five to that!

xxx
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Old 2 Apr 20, 08:31 PM  
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This is literally my highlight of the day, taking me back to Florida <3

What a brilliant last day. Charlie’s nap was epic! Must have meant it was a little more peaceful, if a tiny weeny bit less fun without him, getting to look around at MK.

You’ve inspired me to plan Epcot for our last night despite it being a Friday. I was shying away from it...

Can’t wait to hear how you got on with all that shopping to be packed

What a fun filled trip it was xx
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Old 4 Apr 20, 12:45 PM  
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I've been waiting for your next day for a while. It sounds like it was a lovely day and that you really soaked in the atmosphere by going at a slower pace.
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Old 4 Apr 20, 03:46 PM  
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Just finished your whole trip report and loved it, Charlie is so cute❤️, now I just want to go back though!
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Old 5 Apr 20, 10:36 PM  
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Lisa_Lollipop
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Originally Posted by Rabel View Post
It looks like you had a fantastic day - thank you for posting.

Charlie was a star, such lovely photos with Winnie the Pooh and friends. Did you stay for the friendship dance?
Oh yes we did see the dance! I didn't write it down in my notes so totally forgot to mention it! It happened midway through our breakfast... so lovely!

Originally Posted by minnie52 View Post
Ah what a fab last day and you got so many lovely photos!

I love the idea of a pressed penny from every country!
I'm so glad I managed the pennies... it was more of a challenge than I expected though!

Originally Posted by Redrach1903 View Post
What a glorious morning, those skies!

Truly priceless photos with Charlie and Mickey there

Looks like Crystal Palace was a hit too! Such cute pics! I am sad that there is no photo of pooh's puffed French toast though. Please tell me you had it!

Hehehe Tinkerbell. How cute it Joan?!

3 hour and 40 minute nap?! Jeepers! He's a kid after my own heart. Even my naps don’t last that long

That photo of Charlie looking up at the castle with his ears on is just Perfection!

Lovely last evening at Epcot and I am so glad you got all the pennies!

Hahaha I love that you opted for eating Twizzlers instead of packing. High five to that!

xxx
Is Pooh's puffed toast the one with bananas? If so then you can understand why I am not too concerned... if not then I am heartbroken I missed out!

Charlie totally trumped you on naps this day! I can confirm though he has never napped this long since!

That photo of Charlie looking up at the castle is one of my most favorite from the trip
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Old 5 Apr 20, 10:39 PM  
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Originally Posted by sheluk View Post
This is literally my highlight of the day, taking me back to Florida <3

What a brilliant last day. Charlie’s nap was epic! Must have meant it was a little more peaceful, if a tiny weeny bit less fun without him, getting to look around at MK.

You’ve inspired me to plan Epcot for our last night despite it being a Friday. I was shying away from it...

Can’t wait to hear how you got on with all that shopping to be packed

What a fun filled trip it was xx
I was expecting Epcot to be so much busier what with it being both a party night at MK and a Friday... it was so lovely and chilled! Definitely add it into your plans, perfect last evening


Originally Posted by Em4owen View Post
I've been waiting for your next day for a while. It sounds like it was a lovely day and that you really soaked in the atmosphere by going at a slower pace.
Sorry for the delay in getting this one up... life has been a little crazy for us all hasn't it?! I am hoping to get the last installment up this week!

Originally Posted by Bazinga 39 View Post
Just finished your whole trip report and loved it, Charlie is so cute❤️, now I just want to go back though!
Ah so pleased you have enjoyed reading along! Every time I start writing it makes me crave being there even more!
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Old 6 Apr 20, 02:56 PM  
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Redrach1903
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Is Pooh's puffed toast the one with bananas? If so then you can understand why I am not too concerned... if not then I am heartbroken I missed out!
Noooo that's the breakfast lasagne. Pretty sure I told you about the french toast! xxx
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