WDW14: Magic Kingdom (pt. 3)

So, our last day at the Magic Kingdom! Wow! What an amazing vacation! We wrapped up our time at Disney World seeing characters and riding some of favorite rides! We had a beautiful morning and missed a downpour unawares inside watching a show, though the clouds & rain lingered (the only rain we had on our trip) as we went on our last ride and headed out of the park. Just looking back at all of these photos & posts makes my heart feel full again, which is surely the mark of a great family vacation! 

A stop beneath Rapunzel's tower!

Everyone got to pick out their favorite Mickey treat for a midday snack!

These were our last photos before we left the park:

Waving goodbye to Cinderella's castle & Disney World!
(This idea came from the PhotoPass photographer and was just a brilliant end to our vacation!)

The kids fell asleep in the cab ride on the way to the airport after we talked about our favorite rides, meals & characters at each park! 

WDW14: Toy Story's Woody & Jessie

Fresh from our princess success, we decided that it would be nice if Degen could meet a character more to his liking (though, he enjoyed meeting all the princesses). So, we headed off in search of some of the Toy Story gang and found Woody & Jessie! This pair, especially Woody, were hilarious! There were lots of jokes going on, especially, for characters who don't speak. These were two of the hardest working characters at the park, and their handler put in her good share of work "keeping them in line," too! The kids giggled & laughed at Woody's antics while getting their autograph books signed and photos taken. This was a great wrap-up to all our character meet & greets before it was time to get to our final day of FastPass rides, we were just hours away from a cab ride to the airport. 

WDW14: Brave's Merida

Merida the last of the three princesses that Kyrie "really, really" wanted to meet. I thought her courtyard was the best of all the characters we met because there was a large table with coloring sheets and crayons that the kids could work on while the parents waited in line, noting that there was a line to get into the courtyard line...of course! Merida was a really fun princess! After our kids had their visit, but before we left the courtyard a small lizard darted under the hem of her dress, and she gave out a loud whoop and then stepped carefully and stood perfectly still until her handlers assured her that the little lizard was safely out of the way of her feet. It seemed like something Merida would do and made us smile!

After their visits, the kids got to try their hand with a bow & arrow. With the help of a cast member, they shot an arrow at a target. The kids thought this was really fun!

I have to take note that while we were waiting in line, a woman with a little girl started talking to us about her arrival the day before and plans ahead. Of course, this was our last day and we had done a lot, so she was asking about things. At one point, she mentioned that her family wasn't doing one of the character meals because her husband had protested about it. I have to really express gratitude (again) to my amazing husband who at no point protested any "childish" or "girly" activity that I scheduled. Though I know he much would have preferred to have been on a beach somewhere with a drink in his hand or maybe even just taking a nap at the hotel, he put his kids & family first (again) and helped make this an amazing experience for all of us! 

WDW14: Tiana

Our next stop was to see Tiana who was tucked back in a spot that we almost missed. She was beautiful in her winter dress and very sweet with the children. This was one of three princesses that Kyrie mentioned by name that she wanted to see (and we waited less than 5 minutes!). I have to say that we were feeling good about the morning! 

WDW14: Tinkerbell & Periwinkle

Our last morning at Magic Kingdom (and all of Disney World), we made a special effort to get Kyrie to see some of the characters that she most wanted to see and were not at any of our character meals. The kids had so much fun filling up their autograph books, and we loved seeing their faces light up when they got to meet someone special. Luckily, the crowds were low, so with map in hand, we tried to find our way to the characters with fingers crossed for short lines. Our first stop was Adventureland to see Tinkerbell & Periwinkle. I made sure that the PhotoPass photographers knew that we were participating in the program, and they got some really nice shots of the entire meeting!

WDW14: Supercalifragilistic Breakfast

Our last character dining experience on our last morning at Disney World was at the Grand Floridian's 1900 Park Fare's Supercalifragilistic Breakfast. You could tell that this day was our last day- yawn- and though we were all a little bit tired, this was a great start to our day! My favorite thing about the Grand Floridian is their strawberry soup, and I also thought that enjoying a bowl was a great end to our trip! This meal has the greatest variety of characters and was extra-special for Kyrie because she got to see Alice in Wonderland who is her very favorite! 

The kids were excited to see Tigger whom they missed at the Crystal Palace.

The Mad Hatter!

WDW14: Akershus Princess Storybook Dinner

For dinner at Epcot, we went to Akershus Royal Banquet Hall to dine with some of our favorite princesses! The star of this character experience is Belle who is not at any other character dining experience. Akershus is located in Norway and has a nice menu with a Norwegian flare. We spent some extra time speaking with our Norwegian waitress who told about her experience working at Epcot. The opportunity to interact with people from other countries & cultures is one of the nicest things about spending time at Epcot.