This is the view of our building from the front. Our room was on the 2nd floor but after a bad water leak, we moved to the first floor for our last two nights. I loved staying here!
Here's my family waiting for the bus to Epcot, where we were told to change buses and go to the Beach Club.
Alas, the trusty lady at the front desk was not so wise in her Disney resort map skills and transportation information. Somehow last night, I just knew I should have gone online and figured it out for myself but hind sight is 20/20 as the saying goes. There is no bus from Epcot to the Beach Club so here we are waiting for another bus (that took a very long time) to Hollywood Studios.
Finally, we arrive at Hollywood Studios, though this is not our final destination but just another leg in our journey. By this point, Cooper is less than thrilled...
The boat dock which will serve as our next stop while we wait for a ride to the Beach Club.
Praise the Lord a boat was on its way right when we got to the dock.
At this point, we are late for our reservation and very tempted to forget it all and head inside Hollywood Studios for the day.
But we stuck it out and eventually the Beach Club came into view. I've never been so thankful to find a location in all my life. Rest assured, next time, we will drive to our breakfast location if it is at a resort.
I learned my lesson!
The view from the water was beautiful and one we would have never seen if it were not for the mix up.
Lemonade from Lemons...that is always a good policy!
We did not have to wait long before we were seated and our old buddy, Donald, was stopping by for a visit.
Donald gave me a little love...
As soon as he left our table, they hit the buffet. We were all starving!
Minnie always steals the show...
A kiss for Cooper...
This guy is so much fun. How could you not be fun with a name like Goofy?
By this point, it is close to the end of the breakfast and the restaurant is clearing out. Here we are enjoying a little more of that lemonade that would not have been possible without the lemons. LOTS of time to play with the characters when there's not many guests around. We loved that!
Just as I had thought, it was so easy once breakfast was over to just go outside the resort and grab a bus to MK without having to go to our resort. (but we'll still drive next time)
Finally, the Magic Kingdom. What a wonderful sight. I had to make myself not think about how it was our last day because I wanted to enjoy every minute of the magic. There would be time to be sad later. Cooper and I head to the castle. It was open and he had not had the chance to walk all the way through during the day. We took some pictures facing down Main Street which is not a typical view I get.
He loved being right up on the castle.
Cooper the photographer...
Notice the change in clothes from our freezing days. Beautiful Florida sun on this day. It was glorious weather!
The tile mosaics are just amazing as you walk through the castle. Telling the whole story of Cinderella through pictures, they are enchanting.
I love this saying...
Cinderella is proof that one new pair of shoes can change your life!
Just some pretty sights as we left the back of the castle.
Silly boy waiting for the Movie It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party
Where are the other two in my family? Likely somewhere on a thrill ride. The crowd was much less on our last day and the lines were not bad at all.
Let's party...
Oh how excited this made my Cooper, his buddy Woody waved hi...
We soon caught up with them and we hit Pooh's Playful Spot for some fun. The line was minimal for Pooh and the kids had so much fun with all of the interactive toys.
I just love Claudia's expression in this picture. It shows the pure adoration she has for her Daddy. She is truly a Daddy's girl. I love that she is because I too am a Daddy's girl and I know how very much I treasure that relationship and I want her to have that with her Daddy and she does!
For the first time this entire trip, we all settled down to watch the parade together. Claudia and Cooper were hungry so I found us a spot on Main Street while Chad hit Casey's for the famous corn dogs. I knew Cooper would be ecstatic because he LOVES corn dogs. This is one of my favorite shots of us on this trip. Main Street USA is just so magical...
It is almost time for our last parade...
The view from where we were sitting...
It is time! Everytime we are blessed to come to WDW, it is a Dream Come True for me!
This is the first time we have ever had so many characters stop and specifically high five our kids. They were so happy. You just cannot sit on Main Street at Magic Kingdom during a parade and NOT smile the entire time.
In case it is not obvious, Cooper is on the other side of Claudia...
The Dopey story...
Cooper bought a set of the 7 Dwarfs pretty early in our trip. He loves all of his sets of characters and he has gotten one the last 3 trips. Dopey was his fave from the beginning. Well we were really excited when Dopey was on the float and he waved really big our way making Cooper so happy. Dopey was the ONLY way I got him on Snow White's Scary Adventure later in the evening. Dopey was a BIG HIT for us this trip.
I love watching Claudia take pictures. She has so much fun with her camera, just like her mommy. I enjoyed having more time with her on our last day. I love that she and her daddy ride all their favorites but I sure do miss them when we are separated.
Hi Cinderella, you will always be my favorite!
Of course, Belle runs a close 2nd and I always love to see her.
I LOVE this picture with Cinderella and the Prince with their castle in the background. Enchanting...
Thanks to some wonderful medicine, I finally thought my back was in good enough shape to handle the Speedway with my family. The boys went first with Cooper as the driver and Claudia took charge of the ladies car.
Even though you can see straight up my nostrils in this picture, I love Claudia's expression/pose as I took the picture. That crazy girl!
The sun begins to set on the Magic Kingdom and our day begins to draw to a close. We scheduled a carriage ride around our resort at 9:30 so we had to leave MK by 8:30. Earlier than normal but the carriage ride gave us something to look forward to in the midst of our sadness over leaving the park. Nighttime at the MK is even more breathtaking than the day...
All four of us gathered in front of the castle to watch our last Dream Along With Mickey show and I took tons of pictures. It was impossible to sit there and not just stare at how beautiful the castle was.
"So this is love..."
We hit several more rides before we had to leave. We got STUCK in the crowd trying to get out but we made it to the bus in plenty of time. We were excited to head to our carriage ride for the perfect ending to our trip when everything changed. Our Cooper got sick and threw up on the bus. That was only the beginning. The poor thing threw up all night and was sick all the way home. I felt so bad for him and I was terrified we were going to relive our Destin virus experience. Praise the Lord no one else got sick that night and we made it home. Once he got sick, I was no longer sad, I could not wait to get home. While Chad and Claudia enjoyed a carriage ride, I packed for home and took care of our boy. I was so thankful Claudia and Chad still got to go on the carriage. They loved it and said it was beautiful. They even got a few pictures so I could see.
Their driver...
And that is why this day was eventful from beginning to end! In spite of an undesirable ending, these 5 days were filled with magic as we soaked up every minute of our blessings we call Claudia and Cooper. I am so thankful we got to spend this time together. We already miss the magic and as always, we are all wondering...
When can we go back?
No comments:
Post a Comment