Bev and Beth got up before dawn to attend an annual pass holder’s sale at World of Disney in Downtown Disney. Hoping for tremendous discounts, they were mightily disappointed with the small selection of marked down inventory and no discounts on regular merchandise.
Patrick was scheduled to fly back to Colorado today, so Beth drove him to the airport before we got on with our last full day at Walt Disney World.
With only seven days away from Mary’s 10th birthday, we decided to begin celebrating today. Andrew and Christopher decided to stay at the resort today with Grammy, so Beth, baby Brad, Mary, and I took off for another day at Magic Kingdom.
We rode the Monorail from the Ticket and Transportation Center to Magic Kingdom riding in the front car with the driver. We have now ridden all modes of Disney transportation—bus, boat, and monorail. Immediately inside the park, we got a birthday button for Mary to wear at Guest Relations, and I spotted Chip & Dale
for a quick character photo and autograph. Baby Brad is really enjoying all the character interaction. His excitement is contagious and fun to watch considering most kids his age are crying and clinging to their parents when they meet a character face to face. Brad boldly walks right up to within a foot of the character then turns around and backs up into them for his photo op. We hadn’t gotten very far after that when we had to duck into the Emporium gift shop during the first thunderstorm of the day.Climbing aboard the Walt Disney World Railroad,
we traveled to Mickey’s Toontown Fair to walk through Mickey and Minnie’s Country houses. At Toontown’s Hall of Fame Tent, we stood in line to greet Disney’s Princesses: Aurora, Cinderella, and Belle. Brad was so funny when he met Cinderella. He kept pointing back and forth toward Aurora and Belle as if to say, “Did you know there are two other princesses here with you?” In the Judge’s Tent, we waited in line to greet Mickey and Minnie. Mary wants to know why there are no Fast Passes for Character Spots and bathroom breaks.
The White Rabbit was greeting guests outside the Mad Tea Party ride and Brad backed up into him for a picture. We grabbed a quick bite of lunch at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe before Mary and I rode on the spinning tea cup ride and then Stitch’s Great Escape while Beth and Baby Brad played at Pooh’s outdoor play area.Our dinner reservations were at the Swan Hotel restaurant, Garden Grove Grill--an Italian cuisine buffet including a build-your-own pasta bar complete with character interactions from Goofy and Pluto. Since Mary was still wearing her birthday button, they brought out a dessert and sang to her. The food was so authentically rich and tasty. I was going to go back for round two but filled up from the dessert bar instead trying one of about seven different desserts. It’s a good thing I lost 30 pounds before coming to Disney, because I put it all back on at this one sitting!!
Back to Magic Kingdom, we rode one last time on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin where Mary beat all our scores, and then we rode on Snow White’s Scary Adventure ride before positioning ourselves right in front of the castle for the evening magic.
At 9 p.m., the lighted parade SpectroMagic began. There are no words to describe this magical experience and video doesn’t even begin to capture the breathtaking light show. At 10 p.m., the Wishes nighttime spectacular closes the park day. Wishes is an impressive synchronized fireworks display with music and Disney character voices that you won't experience anywhere else! Tinker Bell floats out of the top of the castle at one point and is covered with incredible lights. After the show, Mary’s sentiment just says it all: “Doesn’t that just make you feel good?”Indeed, Mary, the whole trip has just made us feel wonderfully good!
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