On Friday, we were headed back to the Magic Kingdom for our last day in the parks. Since we had already been to Magic Kingdom earlier in the week, this day was more lowkey and relaxed...
Another day of beautiful weather! We learned that November really is the best time to go to Disney World, but shhh... don't tell anyone!
We rode Splash Mountain first-thing again... Since this ride is about to be closed for a re-theming, the lines were pretty long all day. I can't help thinking this might have been our last time ever riding Splash Mountain! The nostalgic part of me is sad about that, but I am happy with Disney's decision to bring more representation to the parks with a Princess and the Frog ride. I think it will be awesome.
We rode Haunted Mansion next, and I got to see my Great Uncle Bob's "tombstone"... he was one of the Imagineers who worked on this attraction, so it is always cool to find this tribute to him there.
After riding Haunted Mansion, we stopped for lunch at Sleepy Hollow in Liberty Square. It's not really a restaurant - it's more of a window - but they have the best battered corndogs and spicy fried chicken and waffle sandwiches. We all loved the food at Sleepy Hollow.
Next, we rode Peter Pan's Flight. This time, we got to go through the standby queue. (The lines were so short the last time we were in Magic Kingdom, that this part of the queue was roped off.) The standby queue takes you through the Darling's house, and into the nursery.
Every so often, Tinker Bell flew around the room and bumped into things, making pictures on the walls go crooked or drawers open and close. It was a really cool detail, and my kids were completely enchanted.
We rode Small World again, and then we headed for Tomorrowland. While Morgan took Lucy on Space Mountain, Alice and I rode the Astro Orbiters, these rockets that take you way up into the air.
Some of the best views of the Magic Kingdom can be seen from this attraction! I wasn't brave enough to whip out my phone for a photo while we were up in the air, though. I was afraid I would drop it!
After Space Mountain and Astro Orbiters, we enjoyed the classic Carousel of Progress since it had a short line and air conditioning.
On our way to Adventureland, we stopped in the castle hub for some family photos...
The sun was in Lucy's eyes...
This is our friend, Joe, who joined us for a few days of our trip! We were so grateful to have him with us. He even carried Alice on his shoulders when she got tired.
In Adventureland, we explored the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse...
Beautiful views!
We rode Pirates of the Caribbean next. Then, we headed to Frontier Land to ride Thunder Mountain. On the way, we happened to catch a character parade.
Esme and I stopped for an ice cream break, while the big girls rode Thunder Mountain.
Walking back through the castle hub, we happened to spot some more characters. Rabbit and Eeyore were waving at us from the porch of Crystal Palace.
We headed to the Emporium on Main Street, so the girls could each pick out a souvenir. We happened to catch another parade while we were on Main Street...
This was one of my favorite moments of the day. Look at Esme dancing!
Pluto, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Peter Pan and Wendy...
Mickey and Minnie!
After the parade, it looked like it might rain, so we made a beeline for the Enchanted Tiki Room in Adventure Land.
We got there just as it started to rain. The show was full, but thankfully, some folks decided to leave and we got in at the last minute.
I love the Tiki Room!
After the Enchanted Tiki Room show, we grabbed a quick dinner at Pecos Bill's. This quick service Tex-Mex restaurant was OK... not good, not bad. We had eaten there before. After dinner, we met up with Morgan's cousins who live in Orlando. They joined us for some more rides: Small World, Peter Pan's Flight, and the Barnstormer. Esme and I rode Dumbo for our last ride of the night...
By this time, she was sleepy!
The older girls went with Morgan and his cousins to ride Thunder Mountain again. The ride actually broke down and they were stuck at the top of the mountain and had to be evacuated from the ride. The girls (and Morgan) thought this was pretty cool, as they got a little behind-the-scenes look at the attraction. It was an eventful way to end our trip!
The next morning, we had breakfast at our resort food court (scrambled eggs and Mickey waffles!) before loading in the car and heading home. We were all pretty exhausted but still coming down off the high of an unbelievably fun trip. We already can't wait to go back to Disney World!
Some notes for next time...
Things I Would Do Differently: We packed SO MUCH into four and a half park days. The kids were troopers, and somehow managed to go park open to park close with no naps (except for Esme, who napped in the stroller). Due to the pandemic, park hours were shortened, so it did not make sense for us to go back to the resort every day for a midday break. We decided that next time, we will plan a slightly longer trip, so that we can take a day off from the parks and just relax at the resort.
Also, sit-down restaurants with little kids is not really worth the time/money investment, with the exception of character meals. Our dinner at Be Our Guest and our character lunch at Hollywood and Vine were big hits with the kids, but for future trips, we might stick mostly to quick-service meals until the kids are older.
Things I Would Do Again: Mid-November was a great time to go to Disney World. The weather was sunny and even a little cool! The Christmas decorations were already up in all of the parks, which added so much charm. I would definitely plan another trip for this time of year.
Another thing we did that worked really well was getting two, connecting hotel rooms. Hotel rooms at Disney World (especially the value resorts) are small, unless you spring for a suite or a villa. Getting two. connecting rooms gave us plenty of space, and we didn't blow our budget.
Going to Disney World during a pandemic, we had no idea what to expect! Overall, I was really impressed by all of the safety measures that Disney implemented, and we felt very safe the entire time. Our whole family got tested when we got back home, and we were all Covid-free. I am so glad we went through with the trip, and even though it was not the trip we originally planned, it was so much better than we expected in many ways!
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