Let The Memories Continue! – Day 12
Time passes so quickly when we are having fun. Today would be our final day at Walt Disney World. We scrambled to pack our luggage as we would be checking out of Coronado Springs Resort and checking into Drury Orlando tonight. The amazing thing about Disney was we need not stop by at the front desk to check out. ZA received our room charges via email, checked it and we were good to go. Once again, we did not manage to find time to explore this massive resort.
We would be ending off our trip with a visit to Magic Kingdom. The park closes early tonight for the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party which we would not be attending. When we arrived, we were glad that it was a low crowd day, exactly what had been predicted. We made a beeline for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train which was our first FP+. This time round, ZA managed to take some pictures of the shiny diamond mine. Loved this ride.
We made a stop at Sleepy Hollow for our favourite Funnel Cake before proceeding to Tomorrowland for our Space Mountain ride. We had reservation taking this ride as this is a single seater coaster. After conquering Expedition Everest in Animal Kingdom, we felt Ashley was ready and off we go to conquer our last ‘Mountain’ in Walt Disney World. Space Mountain is a space flight through dark recesses of the galaxy. We boarded a rocket ship and the next thing we knew, we were blasting through space. It was black as night and ‘stars’ were everywhere and we were in orbit as we careened along the twisting and turning track with only the mysterious sounds of space and galactic music filling the void. Before we knew it, we were hauling ourselves out of the rocket. Both Jarod and Ashley loved it and we were planning to repeat it later in the afternoon.
Our next stop was Dream Along With Mickey. ZA bought Corn Dog Nuggets for us to enjoy with the show, We joined Mickey to celebrate the magic of dreams at this fun-filled, dream-inspired musical show where adventure and ‘happily ever after’ came alive right in front of our eyes.Just as the celebration was getting started, Maleficent from the story of Sleeping Beauty dropped in uninvited. Mickey needed our help to stop Maleficent from turning dreams into nightmares to invade the kingdom. The exciting show ended with a small fireworks.
We stepped into Cinderella’s Castle to cross into Fantasyland where we had another fastpass to meet Anna and Elsa. Ashley was dressed as Anna today instead so she could have photos of herself both in Elsa and Anna costume with these popular Frozen characters.
It was time for our all time favourite ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad after the meet and greet. The queue area takes you into the headquarters of the Big Thunder Mining Co. We found ourselves transported to the Arizona’s Monument Valley. We loved the interactive props Disney has added to Big Thunder’s queue. We could spin a metal wheel and push on a dynamite plunger to trigger an “explosion” (of water, steam, or noise) near a passing train and watch “home movies” of the workers in the mines. Soon, it was our turn to board this runaway mine train. We were assigned the last 2 rows which was more thrilling than the front and embarked on a 3-1/2-minute ride into the wilderness!
We stopped at Columbia Harbour House for lunch as requested by both Jarod and Ashley. For a different vantage point, we headed for the seating upstairs. Rich wood paneling surrounds the top of the stairs with windows offering views of either Liberty Square or Fantasyland. Ashley had her usual Mac and Cheese, Jarod had the Lobster Roll, ZA had the Fish and Chicken Platter and I went for the Grilled Salmon. The Seasonal Cobbler was Blueberry flavour this time which I preferred.
After lunch, we repeated Space Mountain before heading to Adventureland for The Magic Carpets of Aladdin ride. Ashley has changed into Jasmine’s costume by now to fly high above Agrabah on this magic carpet. She had wanted to meet both Aladdin and Jasmine after the ride. Since they would not appear till 30 minutes, the cast member suggested that we watch the Festival Of Fantasy Parade which was about to begin. It was truly a low crowd day as Ashley found herself a front row spot to watch this parade once more. Meeting Aladdin and Jasmine was a wonderful experience. The cast members choreographed a dance move for us to greet them on their arrival and they were pleasantly surprised. Ashley attracted a fair bit of attention in her exotic Jasmine outfit. One of the family members who had been the grand marshals offered her a sticker of Aladdin and Jasmine.
It was snack time now and we made our way back to the Main Street. We wanted to use up our remaining credits. ZA ordered Nachos Cheese from Casey’s Corner. We liked how the condiments were readily available in all restaurants and in this case, the hot cheese sauce. Jarod ordered the 2 Frappuccinos from Starbucks and we also had the Ice Cream Sandwich from Plaza Ice Cream Parlor. This is a fully homemade, ginormous-cookies-with-two-scoops-of-ice-cream-smooshed-between. True ice cream goodness! Despite the aggressive use, we still had 1 snack credit remaining.
Next, Ashley wanted to do The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh as she was attracted to the incredible queue area. The entrance area is made up like Pooh and Eeyore’s houses. Further on, there is the playground area, where guests can play tug of war, pop up pumpkins, play in the garden and generally run around on a soft play surface. Once we passed the playground area, we got to the final part of the interactive queue, the dripping honey walls. These are cool pieces of technology where there is a touch screen that shows honey dripping down, and we clear the honey away with our hands to show pictures underneath. The whole thing is made up as a storybook, just like the sets of the ride which we then joined the Hundred Acre Wood friends.
We did not have much time left and had to prioritise. Ashley had wanted to meet Tinkerbell who had been relocated to the Town Square Theater but gave it up in the pursuit of more rides. We did Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin next before heading to Frontierland. We had to ride Splash Mountain once more! After the final plunge, we hummed to ‘Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah’ playing in the background. It was indeed a ‘Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay, Wonderful feeling, wonderful day!’ We do not want our Disney holiday to come to an end! We had enough time for one last favourite ride – Big Thunder Mountain Railroad before we leave Magic Kingdom. We had started and ended our holiday with this ride.
On our way out, we stopped by Main Street Confectionary to redeem our last snack credit. Ashley picked a Frozen lollipop and we bade farewell to Magic Kingdom. Ashley was sad to leave and hoped to visit it again real soon!
Saving the best for last, we left the park for Narcoossee’s, our last dinner in Walt Disney World. Narcoossee’s is a signature restaurant located right on Seven Seas Lagoon in the Grand Floridan. It has a New England Sea Side atmosphere and specatcular views of Cinderella Castle. It was the first signature restaurant we went to and so it always has a special feeling for us and the meal we looked forward to the most. Ashley ordered Mickey’s Macaroni and Cheese, I had the Butter Poached Canadian Waters Lobster Tail with Filet Mignon and Jarod and ZA had the Butter Poached Canadian Water Lobster Tail with Black Angus NY Strip Steak. The lobster was fresh and sweet (even Ashley loved it) and our steaks tender, cooked perfectly and also very flavourful. They have changed the way they prepare this meal since our last visit and it has improved substantially! One of our favourite parts of Narcoossee’s is the incredible views of both Electrical Water Pageant and Wishes complete with piped in music. I had booked this dinner to coincide with the Christmas Wishes which we could not watch otherwise since we were not attending the party.
At 9,30pm, we stepped out into the verandah to watch this night time spectacular. Holiday Wishes is set to a magnificent musical score and is the largest fireworks display ever presented at Magic Kingdom. As many times as we’ve seen it, we still “ooh” and “aah” at this incredible fireworks display. it was time for dessert after which ZA had the Mango Sorbet while Jarod and I had the Almond Crsuted Cheesecake. Ashley did not want anything as she was so full. It was a wonderful meal and the perfect ending to our Disney holiday!
We arrived at Drury Orlando. Upon checking in, we received a card apologising for not being able to assign us our specific requested room but were given the one next door instead. We were surprised by this hospitality. However, to our dismay, the room was not made up when we entered. We had to settle for a room on the opposite side facing the highway instead. We were so tired we climbed onto the comfortable beds and slept.
