Matt & Sam's Orlando Adventure 2010! - Day 13 - MK and DHS

Guest · 28 Jul 11, 08:21 PM

Matt and Sam's Orlando Adventure – Day 13 – MK, DHS

Today was the penultimate day. We'd decided to have a bit of a lie in (til 8.30am), and pack as much as we could before setting off to Magic Kingdom for our lunchtime ADR at Tony's Town Square Restaurant.

After getting ready, we dug out the suitcases from the closet (a sad moment!) and realised just how much stuff we had to bring back with us! Presents, our own souvenirs – luckily we were underweight on the way out so we weren't too concerned about charges.

We left for MK at 10am (which felt rather strange, since we'd been at most of the parks for rope drop over the two weeks!), and after parking and heading to the monorail, we were at the main entrance for 11am. We decided to have a saunter up Main Street and do some last minute shopping before our ADR at 12.30.

We headed into the Emporium and bought some last minute bits and pieces, including a Lady and the Tramp salt and pepper shaker set which I refused to leave without! They're not actually used, they just sit on our mantelpiece as they're too cute to ruin in my opinion.

We then wandered up Main St, taking in the atmosphere and taking pictures. We saw two suffragette characters (think Mr Banks wife in Mary Poppins!) and decided to grab a photo. As we posed she spotted my Just Engaged badge, and without warning, thrust my hand toward passers by and yelled "She just got engaged! " Cue questions about the how, the when, let me see your ring – it was all very lovely. As we were waiting to tell family and friends when we got home, I guess these two women were the first to officially hear the whole story! Matt got a good grilling too, and was asked how long we'd been together – when he replied "six years", he was instantly scolded for not proposing sooner – one even yelled 'Tick Tock!'. It was hilarious.

After that rather overwhelming experience, we headed back down to Tony's Town Square Restaurant and waited in the lobby for our reservation. The theming was so cute – Lady and the Tramp has always been 'our' Disney film – hence the excitement over the salt and pepper shakers – as we're both big dog lovers and love the story! I try to make out like I'm a lady and Matt's a tramp but it rarely goes down well.

It was heaving inside – we were shown to our table and a flurry of waiters were running about, carrying big plates of spaghetti and meatballs. There was mickey confetti all over the table, some of which I placed in my purse - there's still mickey heads in there now!

Seeing the size of the portions, we decided against starters – Matt ordered the spaghetti and meatballs, and I had chicken parmigiana.

Despite how busy the restaurant was, we didn’t have long to wait and were soon tucking in. The food was lovely – nothing special, but the theming of the restaurant made up for it. We were full by the end – but after seeing a pistachio crème brulee being served at the next table, decided we had to try it before leaving! We opted to share one and it was just as good as it looked.
We paid the bill, then headed back out into the Florida sunshine and out of the park. We would return later for the fireworks, but first I wanted to go back to DHS and do the Backlot Tour.

We'd missed it on our original day at DHS, for some reason, but it was one of my favourites, so we decided to hop back over for it. We parked up, grabbed a tram to the park gates (we were that far back!) and were soon strolling up the main boulevard. Backlot luckily only had a 10-minute wait – and we were soon waiting for the pre-show. It was really hot by this point, and we were both wilting. We decided once Backlot was complete, we'd wander back to the entrance and cool off at Orange Lake before heading back to MK for the evening.

The new pre-show (new to us, we'd not experienced it on previous visits) was great fun, and that soaking looked mighty tempting in the heat! The rest of the tour was nostalgic as usual – my favourite part is the Disney plane Walt used when scouting Orlando for WDW.

After wandering through the post-tour exhibit, we decided it was far too hot to wander round anymore and that one last trip to the Orange Lake pool was needed.

We headed back to the car, and after a short drive were able to wander from our villa to the pool for one more Bud Lite in a plastic cup! We swam and sunbathed a while before showing and changing for our last night in Orlando – sob!

On the way to WDW we stopped off at Taco Bell for a light dinner, as we were both still full from our lunch at Tony's. I was surprised at how nice it was – dirt cheap but the quality was far superior to that of UK fast food outlets! Big thumbs up.

On the way to the MK car park we decided to take the ferry across as we were in no real hurry.

Our only plan was to grab a spot for the parade and fireworks. We contemplated one last rush to a ride but didn't want to end up scrambling for a good spot afterwards.

It was certainly sad to be visiting MK for the last time – we both knew we wouldn't be returning for several years (probably not until we have kids!) as we want to get married, move house and see other parts of the world.

We were through the gates about 45 minutes before the parade was due to begin, and grabbed a spot by the railings in the centre of the town square (the circle bit the parade floats go around if you want a better reference). Most people were sat down around the edges so we had plenty of room to stand and take pictures for most of the evening, which was fab.

Before the parade kicked off, I grabbed us some iced coffees (we learned from last time that hot coffee = hot Sam and Matt!) and a muffin and then dashed across the popcorn stand for Matt. I had 10 minutes to get the popcorn and get back and the queue was huge (thankyou Matt for leaving you request til the last minute!) so everyone in the queue was joking about cutting it fine and having to jump over the ropes the CMs were putting up around the 'roundabout'.

I got chatting to one guy who lived locally – he told me about how he'd pop up to WDW every once in a while for the fireworks as he got discounted passes, and would take his kids to Seaworld on a Saturday just on a whim! That's the life, eh?

Guest · 28 Jul 11, 08:22 PM

Luckily, I made it back to Matt with his precious popcorn just as the lights went down for the Main St Electrical Parade. We got some brilliant photos and footage as we were so close to the floats, we could really see all the detail. It was the perfect location!

In between the parade and the fireworks we watched as some parents desperately tried to keep their three children from screaming the place down – they were clearly very tired, but Mum and Dad couldn't bear for them to miss the fireworks when they were so close to starting! They even resorted to bribery with some flashing toys, but made the fatal error of buying two the same and one different – cue mass arguments and tantrums over who got what!

The fireworks were wonderful, and I cried pretty much all the way through, rather predictably! The music is just so moving.

It was a lovely end to the day and to our holiday (as it was the last fireworks show we'd see!) and we both felt genuinely sad when we filed back out of MK and caught the ferry back to the car park. I actually had to fight back tears when I turned to Matt and told him to say goodbye to the castle for the last time…

We got back to the car and headed home, both very aware that tomorrow was our last day and our drive back to the airport was approaching must faster than we liked. Determined to enjoy every last second, we had one last stop at Epcot planned before heading back to Blighty!

spencem · 28 Jul 11, 08:33 PM

Sounds like a great last day to me. I too have had something get in my eye watching Wishes on the last night

Milner · 28 Jul 11, 10:00 PM

Great read and fantastic photos.

chaffey · 28 Jul 11, 10:15 PM

Excellent report Sam, can't believe that we are nearly at the end

summersun · 29 Jul 11, 11:49 AM

great last day

orlandosgr8 · 30 Jul 11, 12:14 PM

What a lovely day and great photos too

28 Jul 11, 08:21 PM	#1
	28 Jul 11, 08:21 PM Guest Guest
Guest Guest	Matt & Sam's Orlando Adventure 2010! - Day 13 - MK and DHS Matt and Sam's Orlando Adventure – Day 13 – MK, DHS Today was the penultimate day. We'd decided to have a bit of a lie in (til 8.30am), and pack as much as we could before setting off to Magic Kingdom for our lunchtime ADR at Tony's Town Square Restaurant. After getting ready, we dug out the suitcases from the closet (a sad moment!) and realised just how much stuff we had to bring back with us! Presents, our own souvenirs – luckily we were underweight on the way out so we weren't too concerned about charges. We left for MK at 10am (which felt rather strange, since we'd been at most of the parks for rope drop over the two weeks!), and after parking and heading to the monorail, we were at the main entrance for 11am. We decided to have a saunter up Main Street and do some last minute shopping before our ADR at 12.30. We headed into the Emporium and bought some last minute bits and pieces, including a Lady and the Tramp salt and pepper shaker set which I refused to leave without! They're not actually used, they just sit on our mantelpiece as they're too cute to ruin in my opinion. We then wandered up Main St, taking in the atmosphere and taking pictures. We saw two suffragette characters (think Mr Banks wife in Mary Poppins!) and decided to grab a photo. As we posed she spotted my Just Engaged badge, and without warning, thrust my hand toward passers by and yelled "She just got engaged! " Cue questions about the how, the when, let me see your ring – it was all very lovely. As we were waiting to tell family and friends when we got home, I guess these two women were the first to officially hear the whole story! Matt got a good grilling too, and was asked how long we'd been together – when he replied "six years", he was instantly scolded for not proposing sooner – one even yelled 'Tick Tock!'. It was hilarious. After that rather overwhelming experience, we headed back down to Tony's Town Square Restaurant and waited in the lobby for our reservation. The theming was so cute – Lady and the Tramp has always been 'our' Disney film – hence the excitement over the salt and pepper shakers – as we're both big dog lovers and love the story! I try to make out like I'm a lady and Matt's a tramp but it rarely goes down well. It was heaving inside – we were shown to our table and a flurry of waiters were running about, carrying big plates of spaghetti and meatballs. There was mickey confetti all over the table, some of which I placed in my purse - there's still mickey heads in there now! Seeing the size of the portions, we decided against starters – Matt ordered the spaghetti and meatballs, and I had chicken parmigiana. Despite how busy the restaurant was, we didn’t have long to wait and were soon tucking in. The food was lovely – nothing special, but the theming of the restaurant made up for it. We were full by the end – but after seeing a pistachio crème brulee being served at the next table, decided we had to try it before leaving! We opted to share one and it was just as good as it looked. We paid the bill, then headed back out into the Florida sunshine and out of the park. We would return later for the fireworks, but first I wanted to go back to DHS and do the Backlot Tour. We'd missed it on our original day at DHS, for some reason, but it was one of my favourites, so we decided to hop back over for it. We parked up, grabbed a tram to the park gates (we were that far back!) and were soon strolling up the main boulevard. Backlot luckily only had a 10-minute wait – and we were soon waiting for the pre-show. It was really hot by this point, and we were both wilting. We decided once Backlot was complete, we'd wander back to the entrance and cool off at Orange Lake before heading back to MK for the evening. The new pre-show (new to us, we'd not experienced it on previous visits) was great fun, and that soaking looked mighty tempting in the heat! The rest of the tour was nostalgic as usual – my favourite part is the Disney plane Walt used when scouting Orlando for WDW. After wandering through the post-tour exhibit, we decided it was far too hot to wander round anymore and that one last trip to the Orange Lake pool was needed. We headed back to the car, and after a short drive were able to wander from our villa to the pool for one more Bud Lite in a plastic cup! We swam and sunbathed a while before showing and changing for our last night in Orlando – sob! On the way to WDW we stopped off at Taco Bell for a light dinner, as we were both still full from our lunch at Tony's. I was surprised at how nice it was – dirt cheap but the quality was far superior to that of UK fast food outlets! Big thumbs up. On the way to the MK car park we decided to take the ferry across as we were in no real hurry. Our only plan was to grab a spot for the parade and fireworks. We contemplated one last rush to a ride but didn't want to end up scrambling for a good spot afterwards. It was certainly sad to be visiting MK for the last time – we both knew we wouldn't be returning for several years (probably not until we have kids!) as we want to get married, move house and see other parts of the world. We were through the gates about 45 minutes before the parade was due to begin, and grabbed a spot by the railings in the centre of the town square (the circle bit the parade floats go around if you want a better reference). Most people were sat down around the edges so we had plenty of room to stand and take pictures for most of the evening, which was fab. Before the parade kicked off, I grabbed us some iced coffees (we learned from last time that hot coffee = hot Sam and Matt!) and a muffin and then dashed across the popcorn stand for Matt. I had 10 minutes to get the popcorn and get back and the queue was huge (thankyou Matt for leaving you request til the last minute!) so everyone in the queue was joking about cutting it fine and having to jump over the ropes the CMs were putting up around the 'roundabout'. I got chatting to one guy who lived locally – he told me about how he'd pop up to WDW every once in a while for the fireworks as he got discounted passes, and would take his kids to Seaworld on a Saturday just on a whim! That's the life, eh?

28 Jul 11, 08:22 PM	#2
	28 Jul 11, 08:22 PM Guest Guest
Guest Guest	Luckily, I made it back to Matt with his precious popcorn just as the lights went down for the Main St Electrical Parade. We got some brilliant photos and footage as we were so close to the floats, we could really see all the detail. It was the perfect location! In between the parade and the fireworks we watched as some parents desperately tried to keep their three children from screaming the place down – they were clearly very tired, but Mum and Dad couldn't bear for them to miss the fireworks when they were so close to starting! They even resorted to bribery with some flashing toys, but made the fatal error of buying two the same and one different – cue mass arguments and tantrums over who got what! The fireworks were wonderful, and I cried pretty much all the way through, rather predictably! The music is just so moving. It was a lovely end to the day and to our holiday (as it was the last fireworks show we'd see!) and we both felt genuinely sad when we filed back out of MK and caught the ferry back to the car park. I actually had to fight back tears when I turned to Matt and told him to say goodbye to the castle for the last time… We got back to the car and headed home, both very aware that tomorrow was our last day and our drive back to the airport was approaching must faster than we liked. Determined to enjoy every last second, we had one last stop at Epcot planned before heading back to Blighty!

28 Jul 11, 08:33 PM	#3
	28 Jul 11, 08:33 PM spencem Apprentice Imagineer
spencem Apprentice Imagineer Join Date: Sep 07	Sounds like a great last day to me. I too have had something get in my eye watching Wishes on the last night __________________ All of my trip reports can be found here, Florida, Paris and LA.