Day 15 - Magic Kingdom, home & lessons learnt

[Scarla]

Hi & welcome to Day 15, the saddest day of the trip as we are all headed home later

Plans for the morning:

fastpasses
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at 9:00am
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin at 10:00am
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at 11:00am

ADR's
Character Breakfast at Chef Mickey's Fun Time Buffet Breakfast located at Contemporary Resort at 7:00am

We were all woken up quite early as Alex had been sick in the night, all over Scarla, who was sharing the bed, she was not pleased, bless her. However, whatever it was seemed to have passed & he seemed his usual self. I breathed a sigh of relief as I was having a bit of a panic for our flight home, as the last thing i wanted is Alex being sick, i was also worried they might not let us board

Anyway, once we were all up, we packed everything up & Darren took all the cases down the reception so we could enjoy the last morning at MK. while he was getting all this sorted i booked a minivan as a special treat to get us to the Contemporary for our breakfast reservation. The kids were absolutely thrilled & our driver was really knowledgeable, telling us facts along the way, it was quite expensive though at just over $30

I think out of all the character dining during the trip, Chef Mickey's is definitely right up there as one of the best for atmosphere & Character interaction. The only downside i would say is as its a buffet & you help yourself, the kids didn't eat any proper food once they had spotted the containers of sweets, as you can see, Scarla has a plate full of Smarties, chocolate drops & marshmallows Anyway, as it was the last day, we didn't give them too much of a hard time.

As we were there quite early we were one of the first seated & had a really good view of everything. The characters started coming out pretty much straight away & were all full of energy, even Darren got in on the act

After we had finished breakfast we headed to the monorail to take us to MK
This was definitely the best day at MK, i think it was because we were not as rushed as previously + we wanted to get all the things we had missed done so spent more time doing things rather than rushing from place to place.

First up, the opening ceremony, which we had a good view of, right up until some dad with his kid on his shoulders stood right in front of us at the end

After this we headed to 7DMT. On the way Scarla spotted some characters & wanted her pic taken. They were very funny & kept putting their hands in front of her face while i was trying to get a shot, she loved it

Darren had agreed to ride 7DMT this time, i think it was because it was the last day & Scarla insisted that me & Darren ride together as we are 'in love' lol

Then it was Space ranger spin, again

Then we stopped to enjoy the move it, shake it parade



Before heading to Big Thunder mountain. Darren didn't do this ride & Scarla insisted on riding on her own. However, i spent the whole ride worrying about her as the seat restraints were not the greatest so me & Alex were sliding about, i was, therefore, really worried about Scarla, although she was fine.

After this we stopped for a drink

Then Scarla needed the loo, so Darren took her while me & Alex waited by the Liberty Bell

While we were waiting we heard another English lad talking about a snake, so of course we went for a look

It was quite funny as when his dad got a CM over, she was like, 'oh, its just a garden snake, they are really common & no problem' but obviously to us this was a rare occurrence & we were all completely fascinated We couldn't wait to tell Darren & Scarla when they were back, although it had gone by then

After this it was time to wave goodbye to MK & head back to CBR ready for pick-up by the Magical Express

We still had a while to wait at CBR but chilled out in the lobby & let the kids watch the cartoons. i also popped into the shop to use up the last of the dining credits on sweets for the journey.

When the ME finally arrived, there wasn't enough room for those of us waiting at CBR, however, the driver said he would radio for another bus, which took ages to arrive & we were all starting to panic we'd miss our flight. When we finally got to MCO as it was almost boarding time, however, as we got off the bus there were some people offering a bus boy service for luggage & we agreed after the debaucle we had had when last time we were in MCO with getting lost, after telling hime which airline we were with he headed off & we all marched after him to the Virgin Check in desk, $15 well spent imo.

We were checked in & through security pretty quickly & waiting at the gate to board with about 30 mins to spare.

Once on board the kids were invited to the cockpit again & Scarla insisted i have a go as well this time, even insisting i don the cap & salute

I found the journey home really uncomfortable. The minute we were in the air the lady in front reclined her seat & it stayed that way the entire flight, (even during the meal) & i hardly slept. Also, the man in front of Scarla complained she was pressing the screen too hard, (she was playing a game) & could i get her to stop! so that caused a bit of a meltdown. Scarla also couldn't settle, finally dropping off just before breakfast & sleeping right through it.
My legs had also been aching all the way home, however, once we were off the flight, i realised it was because my ankles had swollen, something which had never happened before, making it painful to walk, however, Darren was really good & did all the driving home, while we all slept. My ankles were still swollen when we got home so all i could do was rest them until the swelling subsided

Well, thats it for our 'once in a lifetime trip', time to start planning the next one... lol

So lessons learnt:

To make better use of the DAS during our next visit, i don't think we utilised this as much as we could have

Not everything needs a fastpass, we spent too much time marching from one fast pass to the next that we didn't spend time doing many rides adhoc, so could probably have done more. We also wasted fastpasses on rides we didn't need one for, like the frozen show or beauty & the beast live on stage

To take into account transportation, we are planning on hiring a car next time, however, as WDW is so big the time getting into & out of the parks can be quite long as well as the time travelling to & fro

To take it a bit easier, we had some really full on days the first week which really wiped us out, it would have been better to build in some rest days, (i had only planned 1 prior to the trip)

Don't be afraid to change plans, some of the bast days we had were when we cancelled plans & just went with the flow

To take a portable phone charger, i completely wiped out my phone the first day using MDE so was wary of using it too much the rest of the time so probably missed out on photo ops & fastpasses as i didn't want it to die on me

To get rain ponchos before the trip, the ones at WDW are expensive & didn't last 5 minutes

Airport security is completely different & much tougher in the US, when heading home i went to get my Ipad out of my bag before the scanners, like i would here, and was very rudely & loudly told not to touch my bag or take anything out of it. They were also very abrupt with the kids, so i have invested in a sunflower lanyard for Scarla as this can be quite upsetting for her, we'll see if it makes a difference next time.

The biggest thing i have learnt though is to let the others in on the planning a bit more, as i had booked/arranged everything, i felt a lot of pressure & a bit like a Sargent Major herding everyone from one place to the next & not everyone wanted to do the things i had arranged. Maybe next time we'll have a day each so we can decide what to do or even split up on some days as i think all the rides were a bit much for Darren.

We are next planning for 2022, (providing everything goes back to normal) & are planning a much more chilled out holiday, 3 weeks in a villa & including Universal & other parks + the kids will be older 11 & 10 so hopefully, it will be less stressful.

Anyway, i hope you have enjoyed reading my trip report, even if it did take me a while to finish it !

Please feel free to ask any questions

Take care & stay safe x

[PixieBoot]

Much enjoyed reading about your trip, thank you 😊 you really powered through getting this finished, nice work!

[Disney Nanny]

Have only just read this report, loved it, and yes you always learn lessons from your first trip.
Which is why it will never be your last trip

The children are beautiful and clearly a blessing to you both and the hard work you have put in on them shows.
xxx

[sueandco]

Thanks, I’ve just read this through over the last week or so and it’s a great report. I think we all learn lessons each time we go. We had hoped to return early 2021 but that is now going to be at least 2022.

[Mightyfraz]

There's always be a next time to visit WDW :-) what a fantastic trip, thanks for sharing.

[Mazascouser]

Thanks for your postings. As you say you learn something new every time you go.

[iluvgibbs]

Great trip report -thank you😀

[7SeasSailor]

I think that if you take the ponchos back they will change them.