This was it. Our final day. Tonight we would be sleeping in our own beds, with the kids in their own rooms and us in ours. But we had just a little more playing to do before we got there!
We woke up and loaded the GINOURMOUS mound of laundry into the suitcases, packed up everything else, and took some final looks around our room that had been home for the week. We loved it, and I hope that we will stay there again someday.
Here’s our view from our room
And Mak playing one last time on the beach outside the room. See the castle in the background?
After the luggage was loaded into the van, we hopped on the monorail and headed over to the Contemporary Resort for our last character meal. This one was with The Main guy himself…Mickey Mouse at Chef Mickey’s! We arrived a little early, so the boys tried on some funny hats in the gift shop while we waited.
We were seated, got our food, and the characters started coming. We were kind of stuck at a bad table in the back corner away from the action in the main room, but the kids still had a blast!
First came Goofy
Clara Beth dressed up as her favorite character, Tink!
And then, Mickey!
Pluto
Yup, that’s my kids. Poking his eyes and pulling his whiskers. Little Sweeties. We won’t be getting a dog anytime soon.
Donald Duck! I was so excited to see him here! All of the other times we’ve been to Chef Mickey’s, Donald hasn’t been here. Last year, we had to tell Mak that Donald was sick because we couldn’t think of any other excuse for him not being there. When we began planning this trip, one of the first things Mak said was “I hope Donald feels better!”
Mak does this little thing that we call “piggy kisses”. He acts like he’s going to give you a kiss, and then at the last minute he snorts really loud. So he starts doing this to Donald, and Donald does it back! I knew the characters weren’t supposed to talk, but I guess snorting noises don’t count. They did this back and forth several times. Mak loved it and still talks about his piggy kisses with Donald!
Our final character, Minnie
Clara Beth loved her shoes!
After breakfast, we headed back to the Polynesian to pick up a few final souvenirs. Then we hopped in the van and said good-bye to the “Happiest place on Earth”.
The entire way from Orlando to Jacksonville, Mak kept saying “Turn around Daddy. Let’s go back, Daddy.” He was NOT ready to leave! It was such a wonderful vacation!
Poor Tink was EXHAUSTED! She slept pretty much the whole way to Jacksonville.
Collin’s grandfather, Abie, lives in Jacksonville, and Collin’s dad was there visiting him, so we had plans to stop there for an early supper with them. It was so great to see them both, even if it was just for a few hours. We had a great supper and the kids behaved really well (much better than expected for being in a nice restaurant after a week at Disney). We put them in pjs and hit the road. We drove straight through with no stops, and were home by 10:30. The kids slept the whole way. Although I was sad that our much anticipated trip was over, it was nice to be home and start focusing on Christmas.
Tomorrow…final thoughts and the slideshow!
I’m so glad that your family was blessed with the opportunity to spend such a wonderful vacation together. I remember all of the times my family and I went to Disney World when I was a child and I can’t think of even a minute of it that I didn’t completely love. When your kids are my age I’m sure they’ll be able to say the same thing. What great memories!