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Day 13 (June 16-Wednesday)
Our original plan for today is to hit Epcot for EE and move to another park after EE is over. The boys were sleeping and I couldn't bear to wake them so we missed EE. Good thing we didn't go to Epcot (as you will soon see why).
When we all get up, we head over to MK to see some of the things we have missed so far. We are all wearing our matching Uncle Sam Mickey T-Shirts today. We take a leisurely stroll up Main Street and stop to get our picture taken. Ryan goes up to a white shirted CM, standing at the end of Main Street outside of the Plaza restaurant, to trade a pin. Nathan also asked if he has any Lanyard Pins. He had one in his pocket, so they trade also. Pretty soon we are striking up a conversation with him. Next thing we know he is asking us to the Grand Marshall in the parade today! I almost fell over. I couldn't believe it. Of course, we said yes. I floated around for the rest of the morning, waiting for someone to wake me up from my dream.
While I beamed, we rode Buzz and Space Mountain. We had lunch at Columbia Harbor House. We had 1 Fish and Chicken Combo, 1 Garden Galley Salad, 1 Ham Sandwich and a large lemonade $23.61. The food was ok-nothing spectacular.
After lunch, we go over to get FP for BTMRR. While waiting for our FP time, we take the raft over to Tom Sawyer Island to explore. We had a good time there and then rode BTMRR. After that, we kind of just wandered around until our time to meet our contact for the parade. He took us down the street where the parade starts (we didn't actually get to go backstage). He gave us our instructions and made us practice waving and smiling to the train as it went by. We all donned our complimentary Mickey ears and off we went. There was another couple that rode in the first car and we were 2nd in the covered car. What an experience! I never realized how many people would take our picture and videotape us. (If anyone was there that day, I would appreciate copies of any pictures you may have). We had so much fun! At the end of the parade, they gave us a a very nice certificate and we stayed by the fire station to watch the rest of the parade.
After the parade, we went over to ride the Jungle cruise and stopped for a Dole Whip. Yummy! We decided to go over to Epcot to get dinner at one of the countries. We stopped off first at Exposition Hall to look at our photos for the day (they had taken 2 of us in the parade). The pictures from the parade weren't ready yet, so we explored the photo areas in the back and the kids watched cartoons for a while. I bought the picture from this morning and the 2 from the parade (they were both taken from Steve's side-so I have no actual proof that I was in the car).
We hop on the monorail to Epcot (Ryan is still wearing his ears). A quick stop in Guest relations to make a PS for dinner in Germany (8:00). We ride the boat in Mexico (again) and also the boat in Norway (again). The boys use their Disney Dollars to each buy a puppet in China ($5 for a small bird, $8 for a small dragon). They are cute and the boys are thrilled with them.
We spend the time waiting for our PS in Germany watching the trains. Ryan loves model trains (his room is done in Lionel). They spend a great amount of time counting lizards.
It is time for our PS. The CM doesn't have our name, but tells us we will be seated in 5-10 minutes. We share our table with a couple from Connecticut and another couple from Texas. The band starts playing as we are seated. They are very loud. We cannot hear our server or each other. It was a little strange eating with these people without being able to talk to them. Eventually the band stopped and we had a very nice conversation. The food was good and we all left stuffed. (2 adult buffets, 2 child buffets, 3 iced teas, 1 root beer $68.08 plus tip). We left the restaurant just as Illuminations started. We stopped and enjoyed the show. Leaving Epcot, we had to wait for 3 busses before we got on. After a very full day, we were happy to get to bed.
Day 14 (Thursday-June 17)
We still haven't ridden Test Track yet, so we go over to Epcot to get a FP. After getting a FP for TT, we stop by Mission Space to see how long the wait is. It is only 20 minutes so Steve and the boys get in line. I watch a performance of the JAMMitors and go inside to stake out my spot to wait. I sit in the room where they play the team video game. I enjoy a conversation with a woman from Canada, who unfortunately didn't have the Disney Magic. I was able to give her a few pointers, which she appreciated. After 1 hour and 30 minutes, they finally come out (so much for a 20 minute wait).
We had intended to save our Test Track FP to use later after we get back from Animal Kingdom, but since we were only about 30 minutes away at this point, we stayed at Epcot for lunch. We had Chinese from the counter service. (2 Orange Chicken, 1 Veg Lo Mein, a Child's Beef Fried Rice, and a Large Raspberry Iced Tea $25.19; we all shared everything). It was now time for FP for Test Track. We rode it and left the park to go to Animal Kingdom.
Once we got to Animal Kingdom, we went over to get FP for the safari. While waiting, we took the train over to Rafiki's Planet. We spent some time over there and had a good time. I never knew this place even existed. We rode the safari again and many animals.
I had agreed to ride Kali River Rapids if Steve would promise me we could leave if I got totally soaked. He agreed, so to Asia we went. The wait was over an hour and the FP were later than we wanted. We walked through the walking trail instead. The tigers were very visible and active today.
From Asia, we walked by the new rollercoaster being built into DinoLand. Steve and the boys rode Primeval Whirl twice (5 minute wait). While they were on that, I walked over to get FP for Dinosaur. I knew Nathan would not ride it, but I though Ryan might. He was afraid and decided not to try it. We all went to the boneyard and they dug in the sand for a while. It was nice to sit in the shade watching them play.
As we were leaving the park, the boys stopped to trade pins with a CM who turned out is from a town about 10 miles from where we live-small world.
We went back to FW and ate dinner at the camper. We all changed into our swimsuits and went for an evening/night swim. Ryan made a little friend from Mississippi, and they practiced their "cannonball" skills. It was a relaxing ending to the day.
Day 15 (Friday - June 18)
Today is our last day. We all get up and I cook breakfast before we head over to Typhoon Lagoon again. We get there around 10:30 and use another of our leftover Plusses. We went in the wave pool, family raft ride, lazy river, and storm slides. Ryan and Steve went on the Humonga Kowabunga twice. (Ryan would have gone all day if we had let him). After lunch, we went back to FW to get cleaned up to go to MK.
We arrived at MK at 3:00. Everyone was lined up to watch the parade. We rode Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Carousel of Progress (believe it or not, we got stuck in the first scene again and watched it twice), Mickey's Philharmagic, Haunted Mansion, Tea Cups, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain, the "Grand Circle Tour" on the train and Splash Mountain. We had dinner at Pecos Bills. As we were walking over to ride Big Thunder, there was a 4-5 foot alligator swimming along next to the pathway in Frontier Land. There was a CM there keeping an eye on it. I'm not sure what happened to it though, because that same CM let us on Splash Mountain about ½ hour later.
We ended our day with Splash Mountain and got off the ride as Spectromagic was just ending. We walked over to Main Street and stood in front of the train station to watch wishes. We loved it and it was a perfect ending to our trip. (I will admit I shed a few tears.) We took the ferry back to FW for our last time.
Day 16 and 17 (Saturday and Sunday - June 19, 20)
We got up around 7:00 to get packed up. We were on the road by 9:30. We stopped for lunch in Georgia at Burger King and dinner in South Carolina at Cracker Barrel. We stopped to sleep at the first rest stop in West Virginia at around 12:00 midnight. After a few hours sleep, we were back on the road and arrived at our house at 8:45 am on Sunday. The trip was pretty uneventful except for an accident in South Carolina. A vehicle pulling a camper had flipped completely over and both were resting along side of the road on their roofs. It didn't seem that anyone was hurt, but the people were gathering their things out of the camper. It was a strange sight to see.
When we got home we all showered and napped for a while. It was Father's Day, so we went to visit my family. Of course all we talked about was Disney (my brother's family had just gone in May).
Conclusion
We had a wonderful trip with many special moments and surprises. I have never taken a 2-week vacation before so I wasn't sure how things would go. I would definitely do that again. It was nice to take our time and enjoy the things we don't normally have time to visit. We really enjoyed trying some of the nicer sit-down restaurants (especially Ohana).
I realize that we were truly blessed to have such a wonderful vacation. I hope you have enjoyed my reports (if you stuck it out this far).
Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
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