Balancing Parks, Rest and Birthdays! A July 2023 Trip Report

[SimplyGoofy]

You had such a great morning at Magic Kingdom!

I remember 2nd and 3rd trip Morgan and Gwen started asking to go on this, and I felt so proud... True Disney fans love this ride.... I think it is the music that gets them...

And you should’ve felt proud! I’m excited to take my five-year-old on this attraction - she can sing along to the song with me (as she’s known the lyrics for a few years).

I think you’re right that true Disney fans love Carousel of Progress. It’s one of my favorite attractions and I’d be very sad if it ever went away.

 

[vamassey1]

While I did that Andy went to Aloha Isle for Dole Whips and met up again in our "secret spot"

We like your "secret spot" too. Thanks for sharing that informaiton.

Morgan wanted the upside down cake, it was her favorite from the before times and she was excited that it was finally back.

DH got this in before times and really liked it. I need to add this to my list of snacks to try.

I do love the Tiki Room, we have to do it at least once each trip. I know not everyone like it.

We do it for nostalgia about every other trip.

Jungle Cruise is alwasy fun. We were sat on the outside of the boat, and I realized that I pefer to sit on the side closer to the doc. I feel like you can see more.

I feel you see more on the right side too. We seen to be sat on the left side when we use LL.

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I had to the girls pose for a photo on the way.

Cute!

o, I suggested we duck into Cosmic Rays to eat.

This was the best idea! We had never been in there! Ever! And Sunny Eclipse was working!

Great idea. I can't believe you have never been in here. We went here on DH's first trip and he tries to get us to go back every trip.

A family favorite for all of us! And I had my shirt on today, I had to go!

Yes you did!!

I remember 2nd and 3rd trip Morgan and Gwen started asking to go on this, and I felt so proud... True Disney fans love this ride.... I think it is the music that gets them...

You have raised them right. Danielle loves it too.

 

[jrmint427]

We made it to Pirates around 9:40, I don't think there was much of a wait.

I’m rethinking our plans now to maybe take the same path! Peter Pan then HM then Pirates.

Morgan really liked the pretzel. I personally needed something to dip into it. It felt a little dry. But the snack was all we needed for the moment.

Was the pepper jack very spicy?

I wanted to make the make your own popcorn mix. We did Carmel Corn with Milk Chocolate and Twix, M&Ms and Snickers. This was REALLY really good and fun to do! Highly recommend.

Someone else was just telling me about the make your own popcorn today!! I didn’t know about that!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

You had such a great morning at Magic Kingdom!

It was a good morning. We got a lot done and didn't really stress about getting LL too much.

And you should’ve felt proud! I’m excited to take my five-year-old on this attraction - she can sing along to the song with me (as she’s known the lyrics for a few years).

She will love it if she already knows the words!

We like your "secret spot" too. Thanks for sharing that informaiton.

I am dreaming of more treats in our secret spot this morning. Only 21 more days.... but who is counting...

Great idea. I can't believe you have never been in here. We went here on DH's first trip and he tries to get us to go back every trip

You get so set in where you go that you forget places. I want to also go to Pinnochios Village haus and try and sit upstairs balcony area.

Someone else was just telling me about the make your own popcorn today!! I didn’t know about that!

It is in the part that used to be the hat shop. I don't know how popular it is, I have never seen anyone else getting popcorn.

Was the pepper jack very spicy?

I don't remember it being spicy.

I’m rethinking our plans now to maybe take the same path! Peter Pan then HM then Pirates.

I think we have done something similar but with Big Thunder Mountain instead of HM. It's kind of a double rope drop, since Adventureland and Frontierland don't open will official opening.

 

[vamassey1]

You get so set in where you go that you forget places. I want to also go to Pinnochios Village haus and try and sit upstairs balcony area.

It's been years since we did the upstairs area in Pinocchio's. We tend to do the upstairs area in Columbia Harbor House.

 

[footballmouse]

We always do the Tiki Birds, fun little show. Any pictures of the things you bought?

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

What a great MK day.
You did well riding all my favourites. We made the popcorn last trip and loved it.
I’ve never sat upstairs at Pinocchio Haus ( only downstairs ) but love sitting upstairs at CHH. I like being a wee bit away from the craziness while we eat if possible. You got some great photos. The girls have gotten so grown up since those early trips. Great that they got to hook up with Casey and family. I’m sure it added to the fun

 

[missjackiemcg]

Jimmy was terrified of this exact clown when he was little, so I always make sure to take a picture of it on every trip. When he isn't with us, I text it to him LOL

They are just growing up so fast!!!! I still vote they wear the wigs again one year and dance around like when they were little I'm sure they'd LOVE that, LOL!

A family favorite for us, too! This is always a must do, usually multiple times on each trip.

 

[ambula603]

Man that pizza looks GOOD!

Forgive me if I have mentioned this, but we are going to Disneyland at the same time as your trip, I think! Because we are on a similar countdown. We are also NOT READY! But so very ready.

We love Carousel of Progress. It's always a welcome rest time but so wholesome and nostalgic!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We always do the Tiki Birds, fun little show. Any pictures of the things you bought?

I will have to see! I can probably pull some photos together.

I’ve never sat upstairs at Pinocchio Haus ( only downstairs ) but love sitting upstairs at CHH.

I didn't even know you could sit upstairs until recently. I am not even sure where you go to go up..

Jimmy was terrified of this exact clown when he was little, so I always make sure to take a picture of it on every trip. When he isn't with us, I text it to him LOL

Ha, itsn't it fun as they get older?

They are just growing up so fast!!!! I still vote they wear the wigs again one year and dance around like when they were little I'm sure they'd LOVE that, LOL!

I wish I still have the wigs! They would hate it but they would probably do it for me.

Forgive me if I have mentioned this, but we are going to Disneyland at the same time as your trip, I think! Because we are on a similar countdown. We are also NOT READY! But so very ready.

YEAH!!! Have you been before?!? We almost went to Disneyland this year.

 

[ambula603]

YEAH!!! Have you been before?!? We almost went to Disneyland this year.

No, we had it scheduled for 2020 ~womp womp~ but this year is my 40th birthday so we are celebrating with 4 nights at DL and a 4-night cruise on the Wonder out of San Diego. We are so excited!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

No, we had it scheduled for 2020 ~womp womp~ but this year is my 40th birthday so we are celebrating with 4 nights at DL and a 4-night cruise on the Wonder out of San Diego. We are so excited!

That will be amazing! Are you going to do a trip report? I would love to hear about it!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day Nine: Dinner with an Evil Queen

I left us off heading back the the resort. We all relaxed in the room and showered. I think Andy and I might have taken a quick dip in the quiet pool.

Just before 5, we left the room to head to dinner.
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We decided to take an uber from Caribean Beach over to Wilderness Lodge. After the stress of getting to Hoop Dee Do, we didn't want a repeat! We were able again to pick the uber up right at the mini cirlcle by our room, which was great.

We were walking into Wilderness Lodge at 5:25.
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This was another hotel that we walked in and were like, many we love this place! I mean the lobby will get ya! It's so beautiful!

We had time before our reservation, so I checked us in on the app and went into the gift shop to check out what they had. I have a coffee mug from here, back from when we stayed here, and I have worn it out! And I wanted a new one but they didn't have anything good.

Shortly we were called to check in and sat fairly quickly.

Our waiter came out, gave us the deal with how the whole meal would work. Took our drink orders and our appetizers came out fairly quickly.

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Wicked Shrimp Cocktail​

Bloody Mary Vinaigrette, Seaweed Salad, Spiced House-made Seasoning

These are always just ok. They aren't terrible but there is nothing special about them. They used to come in little mason jars which was cute but this was easier to get to.

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Hunter’s Pie​

Turkey and Chicken, Cranberry Preserve, Crispy Sauerkraut
I didn't get to try these, Morgan and Gwen ate these between the 2 of them. I think they were also fine but nothing amazing.

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Wild Mushroom Bisque​

Chive Oil
These.... these are half the reason we came here. This soup is soooo good! And it is funny, I would have never ordered this if it was just a regular menu item. But it is sooo good! I am hoping we can get bowls of this when we are at Wilderness Lodge in a few weeks!

At some point we did ask for more of the soup. Which they were glad to do. Which that is a pro tip you can ask for seconds of any of the apps or desserts here. So, if you liek a certain item, go ahead and ask!

Our drink orders came out shortly after our appatizers came out.

I ordered The Antidote
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The Antidote​

Bacardí Superior Rum, Hickory Smoke, Lime Juice and Ginger Beer
This was nice and refreshing. I am sucker for a mule drink and this was basically that. Give me anythign in a cooper cup and I will drink it.

Andy ordered a glass of Pacific Rim Sweet Riesling
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And the girls has I think just waters. I don't have any pictures of the fancy drinks they have here.

While we were enjoying out appatizers, Dopey came around.
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Gwen booped Dopey, so Dopey booped her back!

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They became good friends quickly!

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Dopey was very funny. He is always fun to meet with.

Right after Dopey came Grumpy.
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Gwen tried to boop Grumpy also...
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He didn't like it as much as Dopey but still gave Gwen a hug.
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Andy tried to convince Grumpy to go on a date with Evil Queen.
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Morgan thought this was utterly embarrassing. Grumpy wasn’t really feeling it.



After both visits, our dinner will arrive.

Morgan and I both got the Prime Rib
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Royal Prime Rib Roast*​

Horseradish-Mashed Potato, Carrots, Ju
Morgan and I both really enjoy this. The mashed potatoes are delish! I have tried to make a version of this at home. I always try and save some of the muchroom soup to use as gravy... And it is AMAZING with the mashed potatoes! Def recommend!

The meal is on the salty side but still delish!

Andy couldn't decide what to get and went back and forth on a few items. He ended up the beef stroganoff....
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"Cottage" Beef Stroganoff​

Tender Beef, Preserved Vegetables, Spätzle, Mushrooms, Aged Cow's Milk Cheese
He said it was fine. I personally detest beef stroganoff but Andy had fond memories of it, so he wanted to try a "good version" He was kind of disapointed by it. Not that it was bad but just that it wasn't anything special...

But that was fine because we convinced Gwen to try an actual meal and not just a order of mac and cheese.
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She ordered the pork shank with mac and cheese on the side.

Magic Mirror's Slow-braised Pork Shank​

Polenta, Gastrique
Her mac and cheese was really good. And she liked the pork a little. Andy helped her eat some of this as well. This is usually what Andy would get, so it is a better dish.

Once we were done, our desserts came out...

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And these are the 2nd reason we came again...

Fairy Tale Gooseberry Tart​

Meringue and Gooseberry
These are very tart little tarts! Think Key Lime Pie tartness! Morgan and I LOVE these. But you do need to like tart things.

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Miner’s Treasures​

Cookies 'n Cream Panna Cotta, Chocolate Gems
These are nice little "pots" of basically puddings. They are good but not as unique items. But good non the less. These were Gwen's favorite.

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“Poison” Apple​

Dark Chocolate-Apple Mousse, Sour Center
I really liked these as well. There is a sour center but it is not nearly as strong as the gooseberry pies...

VERY shortly after the desserts came out, they came around with the heart chocolates.
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These are nothing speical but the presentation is what really makes it.

As we were enjoying out desserts, we were talking about whether we wnated to wait and see Snow White or just get going, when Snow showed up!
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Snow White is pretty boring compared to everyone else......

I think Andy mentioned what Snow thought of the Evil Queen and she said something about her being nice. What?! Snow? Get it together girl!!!

Once we were fully stuffed! We paid the bill and headed to meet the evil queen.

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Andy tried to convince the Queen to go on a date with Grumpy. She of course wasn't having it.

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The meet with the Evil Queen was fine not our most memorable one but nice all the same.

We left Wilderness Lodge a little before 7:00. The meal here feels rushed but really I think it's just that you get 3 courses of food and meet characters in teh middle of all of it. We were there 90 minutes, which is pretty long.

we headed to the boat to head over to Magic Kingdom for some last fun.
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And a boat showed up 5 minutes after us getting there. Perfect!
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On the boat, we had the funniest Boat Driver...

Gwen LOVED this guy!

I tried to get one of his jokes, but apparently I didn't start the video fast enough. She just thought he was hilarious.

Once we docked at Magic Kingdom, Gwen gave him a wooden token as we were getting off. And we could hear him telling one of the other boat drivers that he got a token. He was super excited to get it. Which is always so nice to know when they truely appreciate it. He was clearly a character.

Up next... An evening in Magic Kingdom! Would we see fireworks or bail out on the crowds?

 

[Paulaparm]

I love your Minnie shirt!

 

[suse66]

The ride again really took the wind out of Morgan. The ride is just long enough for Morgan to rest enough to let the day catch up with her.

Trying to do a 4 parks day is not for the faint of heart!

We did it!!! Four Parks in One Day!!! PhotoPass Photo #4 CHECK

YAY!!!!!!

THANKFULLY, it was back up!!! So, we headed over that way.

Rides seem to be oging down more these days.

After riding, it was time to go home!!!! We didn't get anything to eat or drink. I think we were too tired to even think about it. I think we thought about going into the Confectionary but it was mobbed. we all agreed that it was ok to skip that one thing.

I bet you were tired.

Hi Everyone!!! After that marathon day, we did still have a park day today... But we knew we were going to need to rest, so the plans for the day were pretty chill.

I did wake up just before 7 to get a boarding group for Guardians. That was really the goal for the day.

Got to do GotG!

We found a place to "sit" inside by a fountain. And we just enjoyed the food and drink and people watched.

That's my favourite place to sit inside with a margarita.

No ride photo this time but we had fun as always... I know Morgan wanted to get a new song but I think we got a repeat.

It's a great ride!

We made it to Italy a little before 5:00 and checked in. We waited 10 minutes ish for a table. Not too bad but this is one of the places that we seem to have to wait to be seated...

Love Via Napoli! Your pizza looked great!

To try the Pretzel Bread Pudding. Morgan and Andy are big bread pudding fans, so I wanted them to try it.

This is so good!

With all the sweats in hand, we headed for the Skyliner and back to our room! We all climbed back into bed, ate our trips and vegged for the night. I think we were back by 8:00.

Good to have an early night!

I am 24 Days out from our next trip, the sun was kind of up this morning when Gwen left for School, yesterday here in jersey it was "warm-ish" And I am ready for vacation! Well, not really, not ready at all... but you know what I mean!

t will be so nice to get away!

We had plans to meet up with the Stone's again. Casey wanted to ride some rides without her "lame" parents... So, we met somewhere in the hub (I think) and headed to some rides.

Nice to see Kari and Jason!

This year's entry! They look so grown up!

So grown up!

I do love the Tiki Room, we have to do it at least once each trip. I know not everyone like it.

Tiki room is a must do for me!

Jungle Cruise is alwasy fun. We were sat on the outside of the boat, and I realized that I pefer to sit on the side closer to the doc. I feel like you can see more.

Same.

I remember 2nd and 3rd trip Morgan and Gwen started asking to go on this, and I felt so proud... True Disney fans love this ride.... I think it is the music that gets them...

It's a classic!

In the Confectionary to get some treats to take home and for the night. Morgan wanted a Carmel Apple, and Gwen wanted a Rice Krispee Treat. We also grabbed a couple extra rice krispee f treat or 2 for home.

I wanted to make the make your own popcorn mix. We did Carmel Corn with Milk Chocolate and Twix, M&Ms and Snickers. This was REALLY really good and fun to do! Highly recommend.

Sounds yummy!

Andy tried to convince the Queen to go on a date with Grumpy. She of course wasn't having it.

Haha! The Evil Queen is great!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

I was a little salty when they changed Artist Point to a character meal (I LOVED the original)… but I must admit that I’m ridiculously excited for this meal. It looks like so much fun and the food looks delicious. Plus, you get a chance to visit the Wilderness Lodge, which is always beautiful.

Thank you for your synopsis and all the yummy-looking food pictures!

 

[ambula603]

I am eager to try the Snow White dinner, we love those characters and WL is obviously amazing.

I would love to do a trip report, but I struggle to get photos to post. Do you use a phone or a computer to write yours? That is my biggest hang up!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I love your Minnie shirt!

i got that shirt so long ago at Disney. It is nice that it isn't a t-shirt like every other shirt I wear when we are there.

I was a little salty when they changed Artist Point to a character meal (I LOVED the original)… but I must admit that I’m ridiculously excited for this meal.

We never went to Artist Point in it's old form. It was never even on our list, which is why I am sure they made the change. We have gone 3 times since the switch over. We are the problem... sorry...

But the food is good and you get good character interactions....

ould love to do a trip report, but I struggle to get photos to post. Do you use a phone or a computer to write yours? That is my biggest hang up!

So, we both pretty much just use our phones for photos. It is sooo much easter to snap all the pictures. I have learned to take photos to time stamp stuff for the trip report. It's also fun to see how long something really takes. Sometimes in the moment it feels longer than it really is...

And I use my computer for the report. I use flickr for the photos. So, I upload them from our phones to flickr. Then log into flckr on the computer to organize them and stuff and then obviously write the report on the computer.

 

[missjackiemcg]

I love the storybook dining dinner! Kind of sad the appetizers aren't in the little jars and presentations they've been before, but I agree probably easier to dig right into! I really wish I had been able to stay more days of my race trip last year to eat there and bring my medals to take a pic with Dopey. Maybe I should do it next time I go just because!!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day Nine: A final Night in Magic Kingdom

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We arrived at Magic Kingdom a little before 7:30. I believe the park was open till 10:00 tonight and Fireworks were 9:20-9:30-ish.

Our goal was to use all of our LLs before fireworks, and then find a spot to watch.

First, we got one last photo pass photo with the castle of the trip.
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So funny seeing all the people walking towrds the camera since it is evening.

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With photos complete, we headed to Pirates first. We walked basically right on.
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Gwen hated this ride for the longest time. But we would convince her to ride just to see the pigs....

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We decided to be tired for the ride photo since it was our last night.... And for once, we all did it! Usually one of us doesn't get the memo.

After Pirates we headed over to use our LL for Haunted Mansion.

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Anyone ever notice this picture? I am pretty sure I snapped this in the room where you load onto your Doombuggies.

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Or the bats on the que dividers? Morgan was the one who told me to take a photo of these guys.

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Andy and Morgan went together and came purposfully did this for the ride photo...
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Which is hilarious that they did it on purpose, not if it was true...

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Me and Gwen... I am not sure what we are going for... I look dead and Gwen just looks annoyed. Ha.

After Pirates, we hustled over to Big Thunder Mountain. Itw as about 8:20 now, So we were making good progress 3 rides in an hour.

When we got over to BTM, the wait was listed really low, I think we decided to jump in the regular line first and then use our LL second.

We walked into the que at 8:23 and took our "ready to ride" photo at 8:31. I don't think you can get any faster than that!
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Big Thunder was fun as always! When we got off the wait time was still listed as low, but we used our LL this times.
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I have this photo at 8:42! So we rode RTM 2 times in a matter of 20 minutes! Craziness!!!

After that, we needed to go find a place to watch the fireworks. We knew it wouldn't be a prime spot but we hadn't seen Happliy Ever After since it came back.

We wandered over to Main Street and found a place in the middle of the street where we could have some space between us and the people in front of us. It worked out pretty well. I kind of tried to stand in the middle to deter people from standing in the pocket of space.
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I love fireworks in Magic Kingdom but I really hate trying to find a good spot and being short trying to see as much as possible. But this wasn't too bad today. It really helped to have that space between us and the group in front of us.

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I love Happily Ever After! That song just hits the feels, you know... The other show was fine. I didn't hate it but this one, is def my favorite.

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We had wanted to be on Main Street since we had just seen Disneyland's firework show and they did an amazing job with the projections on the buildings... Disney World's were ok.....

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It added color but nothing to the story...

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Fireworks were great!!!

The problem where we stood was getting back to Tommowland once they were over was a NIGHTMARE.... There were CM not letting you cut over at The Plaza Ice Cream shop. They directed everyone straight into the hub.

And once you were in the hub there were people literally trying to go in every direction. It was horrible. We were stuck right at the hub with folks criss crossing in front of me. I finally just shoved my way to the right. This was after a bunch of kids were literally pushing and shin kicking people. I had, had enough, I pushed though with my short sholder and Gwen, Morgan and Andy literally just followed my lead. Once you cleared the hub it was much better. I don't know who thought funneling everyone to the hub was a good idea, but they had never been IN the hub for it!!!!

It took a LONG time to get from where we saw the fireworks to get to Tomorrowland. We had LL still for Space Mountain, but after the chaos of the crowd we decided the people mover sounded MUCH better. Calmer....

We hopped on the people mover at 9:49.
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We were happy to just be out of those crowds and we all agreed this was a perfect last ride of the trip...

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As we were rounding back towards the end, I was checking out the time and we were very close to 10. And we said we MIGHT be able to ride again....

We got off the at 9:59 went down, rounded the corner and JUST made it back in the que!
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We were literally the last people to get on. And it made our night!

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Buzz Lightyear was closed down when we got to it and the lights were on!

Riding twice in a row was a perfect way to end the night. We left tomorrowland around 10:15
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Thankfully alot of the crowds had made it out of the park or into a que.
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We just made our way out of the park and to the buses. I dont' think we waited terribly long but I have no notes or photos of our way home.

Up next, one last installment, travel day home