Lets get this last day out of the way, shall we? Its been a long time coming and thats a fact!! Thank you all for hanging in there with me and encouraging me along the way. You guys are the best!
Soooo, day 9:
Our morning was spent packing up and getting our bags checked with bell services. That always seems to take longer than wed like. But they are very efficient and friendly. I ended up having to take something out of our big suitcase since it was over 50 lbs. Yikes!!
We took time to have our picture made with this sweetie pie who greets everyone with a smile and a bible verse if you linger. Hes been at FQ for as long as weve been going there and hes just adorable.
Then we headed to the bus stop and where do you think we decided to go? My favorite park. The one I can never get enough of. The one that starts our trip and ends our trip. Magic Kingdom. I know, we were just there the night before, but when we talked about where to end our trip, we just couldnt make it anywhere but there.
We didnt make rope drop or see the Welcome show, but thats okay. We did see the dancer/singer group on Main Street. And the Dapper Dan's were on the back of the trolley.
And I've always loved to watch the little ones on the fire truck. So cute, but this little guy looks a bit unsure!
We rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, POTC, Haunted Mansion, Philharmagic, Space Ranger Spin and COP. Yes. Again. And loved them all. Again.
And because I just love this attraction, two from COP
And this broke my heart since it's one of our favorites. Splash Mountain:
Then we went to BOG to stand in line for lunch. The line for lunch always looks huge, but once it opens, they are very efficient and it moves very quickly. Our total wait was only about 30 minutes. (By the way, you may want to check your email while in Disney. I didnt and later found out I had received an invitation to make a reservation for lunch at BOG. By the time I read it, the time had expired. I dont check email and such while vacationing as a rule, but thought Id give a heads up on this.) While in line we got to talking to the lady in front of us who was very sweet. Shed never eaten at BOG and she was by herself, so we invited her to join us. We showed her the ropes of ordering and sat at a lovely table in the ballroom right next to the windows where the snow falls. I tried for pictures, but none of them turned out very well. I got the braised pork, which is all I ever get for lunch there. It is THAT GOOD! We had a very pleasant lunch with our new friend and then we had to scoot because there was one more place we needed to get to before boarding the Magical Express.
We rode the bus back to our hotel and walked down to the dock to catch the boat to DTD. Unfortunately, due to high winds, the boats were not running. Bummer! So, we went all the way back up to the bus stop and waited a full 30 minutes for a bus to DTD!!! Dont they know were on a tight schedule?? Sheesh!! Haha!
So, once we got there, Dan went to EOS to get a couple of their Holiday sandwiches to go for the airport. Meanwhile, I went to the World of Disney shop and got some souvenirs. One thing Id had my eye on was a cover for my ipad mini. It was pretty expensive, so I wasnt sure I wanted to get it, but Dan insisted. He felt so badly that I had been so sick, he wanted me to have something I would really like, so I got it. I dont usually spend money on myself. I have no problem buying for everyone else, just not me. I think thats typical of moms.
So, to the bus stop we went to wait for our bus back to FQ. We waited. And waited. And waited. We struck up a conversation with a really nice couple from New Jersy and that helped pass the time. We had allowed 80 minutes to get back to FQ from DTD and it took 75!! We sure did miss the boats, since we never have much of a wait with those! I had just enough time to run into our gift shop and use up the last of our snack credits for things for the grandkids.
One more bit of Pixie Dust I wanted to share. And the CM who helped us out said she would deny doing it if it came up since she was majorly bending some rules. Dan went to settle our bill a couple of days before we were to leave. We had treated our DD, and DSILl to the meal at the Crystal Palace and 1900 Park Fare. We charged it to our room. When the CM found out Id been sick and we had lots of TS meals left on our dining plan, she used the left-over meals to pay for their meals so we had no out of pocket expense except the tip! That made us feel so much better because we paid for our dining plan and it seemed like such a waste. No where but at Disney would this happen! They are just amazing at service beyond the call of duty.
I think I already reported our trip home was great and I got full blown bronchitis after getting home. I finally got my voice back a few days later. Poor Dan!
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I dont remember if I mentioned not liking the new video that plays on ME, but I was really disappointed not seeing the old standby. I realize it needed a bit of an update, but wish they would have kept the same guy narrating it and the characters acting it out. Same goes for the trip back to the airport. Sigh. And Im not one who hates changes. I usually am all for it, but this was just so...I dont know, the official beginning of our Disney experience. Ya know? Oh well. Ill get over it. Already have.
Heres my opinion, for what its worth on the magic bands: For the most part, I love them. I think using them for park entrance is great. My only problem was mine never worked at Epcot. Not once. And that was at the gateway entrance once as well as the main entrance on two different days. Never knew why.
But only a very minor inconvenience. We found them very handy for paying for meals etc. Ill go on record as saying that I miss the old fastpass tickets and distribution.
That worked so well for the type of touring we do. I did like the fact that we could change our FP+ if we missed our time or changed our minds. I did not like the fact of two favorite rides being on the same tier and only being able to FP one of them. That just doesnt work for me. Of course, we go at the least busy times for the most part, so it wont be a huge factor for us, but I see it being difficult for others. I do like that they are now allowing more than 3 FP selections per day after youve used yours. Im sure theyre still tweaking this system and will iron out a few more of the bugs in the months and years to come. Meanwhile, its still the happiest place on earth, no matter what!
So, again, thanks to all who stuck around to read this almost never finished report. Thanks to Mo for encouraging me to write my first ever report. I just love all my DIS friends. Hope you all have a great weekend coming up!
I'm hoping to get it started tomorrow with final dates. 
I really enjoyed reading and now I'm going to hop over and join in on your PTR. Of course I've got a busy week coming up and they I'm headed home to visit Mom for a week so I'll probably get behind again. 
