Confessions of an Unlikely Disney Fan - April 2010 Trip Report - Old Key West - Page 4 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Three Parks in One Day (again!) - Day 7 This was the last day for my son and my parents. DH was heading to a board meeting in Michigan from Orlando, the kids and I planned to stop in Atlanta to visit my grandmother and other family on our way back to Maine. We decided that it would work well for DS to drive back to Atlanta with my parents on check-out day and the girls and I would fly out later in the day so they would be back in time to pick us up from the airport. This was supposed to give my son a long, quiet day alone with my parents (he was thrilled at the prospect of riding with my parents for 8 hours, DS and iPod in hand and no siblings in the car!) And, it would give the girls and me a few hours in the parks before we headed to MCO for a 6:00 p.m. flight. Except, when I went to purchase our one-way plane tickets to Atlanta, I messed up the date and booked us out at 6:00 p.m. the day AFTER my parents and son were leaving. And I gave this date to my husband too, who booked his ticket to Michigan on the wrong day as well. Whoops. It took me a couple of weeks to realize what I had done. Looked like we would have to spend an extra day at Disney World! Subsequent family pow-wow revealed that DS did not mind leaving a day ahead of his sisters and was happy to have additional time alone with his grandparents. Whew!
So, day 7 was the last day for my son and we pretty much let him set the agenda for the day, since his sisters would have another day and a half in the parks after he left. We headed out mid-morning for the Magic Kingdom. On the way in we stopped to watch the Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It Parade. Three-year old heaven. We were at the castle hub, making our way to Frontierland, when the parade stopped and invited children to join the dancing. DD had a ball. She was definitely moving and shaking – and the cast members did a great job involving her and the other children.
We rode Big Thunder Mountain and Jungle Cruise and then headed for Epcot via the monorail. First up was a late lunch at Sunshine Seasons. I had a mixed green salad with roasted yellow and red beets, candied pecans, and goat cheese. At DisneyWorld! Counter service! Wish I had taken photos for my foodie friends back home who were sure I was going to be enduring chicken nuggets and cotton candy for the entire trip.
We rode a few rides… Test track was fun. DD (10) did Kim Possible in France. We used up a bunch of snack credits at the bakery in France – mostly to save for the car ride to Atlanta. Browsed around Japan a bit and then gathered in Morocco for our ADR at Restaurant Marakesh. Dinner was very good. The phyllo and custard dessert was huge (and yummy). DD (10) was happy to have lamb for dinner – one of her favorites.
After dinner we decided to keep on going and try to see Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios. We were cutting it close, but it was our last night all together and DS really wanted to try it. My parents headed back to OKW to start packing – they were tired out from all the walking. We took a Friendship Boat from International Gateway to the Studios. This was relaxing and a good way to get a glimpse of the Epcot resorts. We raced through bag check and on to Fantasmic and got there in time for standing room only. It started raining a bit soon after and they delayed the show. Many people left, but we broke out our ponchos and took advantage of the opportunity to snag seats. I’m glad we waited as it was a spectacular show - great way to end DS’s first visit to Disney World.
Just catching up! Sounds great so far. I love love love the picture of your DD watching Wishes. It made me tear up too.
You can add DH and myself to your list of 'liberals who love Disney'. We wanted to go somewhere to just get away a few years ago and I suggested WDW. He looked at me like I was nuts. I hadn't been there for about 8 years but knew it would be a great place to just get away from it all for a few days. Once there you don't have to worry about real life for a little while. It only took a day (if that) for him to get hooked. We've gone back twice since then (he proposed there on a trip with us and his DS, then we went just us for our honeymoon) and are headed to CA this year to visit his father, with a few days at Disneyland thrown in. We couldn't help it! It's right there!
Our original plan (after I messed up the plane tickets) was for DH, DDs and me to move back to All Star Movies for our last (extra) night after my parents and DS checked out. But after 7 nights in Old Key West, we weren’t really thrilled at the idea of moving back to All Star. And, we had a better idea of what this would involve in terms of moving. Pre-trip, I had this idea that all the resorts were just sort of “next door” to each other. After a week on property, the prospect of shuttling our things over to All Star Movies seemed a bit more daunting. So, we turned in our gift cards from the DVC tour, paid a bit more on top of that, and upgraded our All Star Movies room to a studio at Old Key West.
My parents and son were packed up and off by mid-morning. My husband checked us into our new room (it was ready, which was very convenient) and we called bell services to move our luggage. The studio was nice – much smaller, of course, but close to a bus stop and the patio had a secluded feel. It was plenty of room for the 4 of us. We got settled and then headed off to Epcot.
It was fun – and relaxing – to think we had a “bonus” day in the parks. We also had a bunch of counter service and snack credits to use up by midnight. World Showcase was at the top of our list as we had not had much time there. We picked up a Kim Possible adventure for Germany and browsed through Canada, England, France, Morocco, Japan, and America on our way. Stopped for lunch at the Tangerine Café in Morocco. Excellent. We’ve spent a good bit of time in the middle east, and while this wasn’t top notch middle eastern street food, it was very good. Plus it met our cravings for felafel, tahini, lamb, and pita. – not much of that to be found where we live in rural Maine.
The girls weren’t quite as enamored of the food and we stopped in Yakitori House to explore the offerings (definitely want to try this next time) and ended up getting chicken nuggets and fries for them to split at the counter service stop in the American pavilion. I have to say after recently watching a clip of Jamie Oliver’s chicken nugget demo for his Food Revolution show, I don’t think I can ever let my kids eat them again. We rarely eat fast food – but definitely had a few orders of chicken nuggets while at Disney World.
Kim Possible in Germany was lots of fun and then we took a Friendship Boat back to Future World. Stopped by Club Cool for free soda and then went to Sunshine Seasons to use up a few credits. We bought two sandwich lunches (with crème brulee for dessert!) to store in our studio fridge and save for the following day. Back to Old Key West for naps and a dip in the nearby quiet pool.
Early evening we caught a bus to the Magic Kingdom. DD and I rode Space Mountain and then we had dinner at Columbia Harbor House. Rode a few rides, then picked up chocolate croissants from Main Street Bakery for the next days breakfast to use the last of our counter service credits, and got a spot to watch Spectromagic in Frontierland. Closed out the night with Wishes and headed back to OKW.
Congrats on the upgrade it would be so hard to go value after that. I am going to have to try a chocolate croissant on our next trip! Can't wait for more.
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the picture of your DD watching Wishes. It made me tear up too. 
We couldn't help it! It's right there!
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