While we covered most of Fantasyland and Tomorrowland on Tuesday, we planned to be mainly in Frontierland and Adventureland on Friday. Before leaving Fantasyland, however, we went on Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid. This a popular ride, but the wait was really short that time of the morning (and the weather probably kept some people away). Our family loves The Little Mermaid so this was a must-do.
Then off to Frontierland where Joe and the kids posed at the obligatory photo op. The last time I was there, 1995, I did the same pose and still have the picture. The kids got a kick out of it.
At Joe's request (and something my mom for sure would want to do), we went to the Hall of Presidents. It wasn't as exciting for the kids but Joe and I enjoyed it.
Over in Adventureland, we played at the Swiss Family Treehouse. That was really cool, and my kids love a club house and climbing trees. This was the most fascinating thing they might have seen.
It started to rain just as we were leaving, which was perfect timing for an indoor ride like Pirates of the Caribbean. A downpour ensued and continued from our visit to the gift store (spy glass for Joseph!) to lunch at Pecos Bill's.
I had organized the day so that we could go back to the hotel if necessary to rest after lunch, but we didn't end up needing or wanting to. I was going off of the kids' energy level and they were in it for the long haul. No wasting time on our last day here!
Off to Splash Mountain. The line wasn't bad, which is weird because what better ride for a rainy day?! Again, two rounds for Hannah.
The rain had passed in time for the Festival of Fantasy Parade. This was definitely one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. The floats, music, costumes, dancing, and obviously the characters make this a must see. Fortunately enough, while Joe and Hannah were on Splash Mountain, Joseph and I walked right up to the rope for an obstructed view along the parade route. Hannah got into her place next to Joseph just before Belle came by on the first float.
Cinderella and Prince Charming came next, followed by Tiana and Prince Naveen. Anna and Elsa were next, and let me just stop the presses here.
Anna waved right at Hannah and then Elsa blew her a kiss. I was so excited tears filled my eyes. You've got the music and merriment which is happy by itself, but my baby getting that special attention from two of her favorites and her joy just sent me over the edge.
Rapunzel's float was really cool with riders on huge swinging hammers. Then came Ariel combing her hair with a dinglehopper, followed by Peter Pan's and Merida's floats.
Now the representation from Sleeping Beauty was pretty awesome. The thorns on stilts below followed by Maleficent in dragon form. It actually breathed fire...yeah, it was super cool. I was behind Joseph so I didn't see his face, but I can imagine it. And he talked about it after.
Jiminy Cricket and Snow White among others, followed by Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Chip and Dale brought the finale. Minnie waved at Hannah, too! Funny thing... When we saw the parade on our first day in Magic Kingdom, Hannah was wearing her Minnie ears. I guess because of where we were standing on higher ground and our proximity to Mickey and Minnie's airship, it put Hannah in Joe's arms not far off Minnie's eye level. In all those people, she found Hannah and waved, then gestured with her hands on her own ears to say she liked Hannah's. That was cool - and Hannah loved it!
Such a fun time. Our location and view, the characters waving and interacting with the kids...could not have been more perfect.
After the parade we went on a Jungle Cruise in Adventureland. This attraction is a humorous take on a safari boat ride. Our tour guide was full of jokes and tales as we coasted through the water. It was fun but the wait was long. We had an extra FastPass that we should have used on this ride but when we walked up the line said 20 minutes. We waited more like 40; the time obviously hadn't been updated in a while.
Then it was TIME. Time to go to Princess Fairytale Hall and meet the duo we had been waiting to meet. The anticipation had been building and Hannah and Joseph were both overjoyed to finally get to see Anna and Elsa. Having a FastPass for this is a no brainer.
Hannah chose her Anna coronation day costume for the meet-and-greet. She really likes Anna the best, because of her personality no doubt. Anna was fantastic. She had the exact personality as in the movie: fun, youthful and excited. Hannah and Joseph laughed and played with her and had the biggest smiles on their faces. Hannah had drawn a picture for Anna and Elsa before we left. We made sure we had it ready to give them and they were so sweet about it.
Elsa, while kind and sweet is more gentle and serious. Hannah and Joseph were delighted to meet her as well.
On the way out, we stopped in the gift shop for Hannah to get her souvenir. What better way to commemorate the event than by picking out an Anna/Elsa flip doll? One side is Anna then you flip her upside down and under her dress reveals Elsa. Love a good two-in-one!
We had a FastPass earlier in the day for Thunder Mountain Railroad, but because of the rain it was closed for a while and we were free to use it whenever. So Hannah and I went for a ride and then while Joe was taking his turn with Hannah, I took Joseph to the Country Bear Jamboree. Pretty basic (and old) but entertaining enough for him.
We met up at the Frontierland Shootin' Arcade where Joe helped the kids hit their targets.
Then it was time to grab a quick-service dinner and find a place to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade and the Wishes nighttime spectacular fireworks show. While Joe waited in line for hotdogs at Casey's Corner, the kids and I posed for one last shot in front of the Castle. The parade was really cool with all the lights wrapped around the floats and characters and of course the fireworks were awesome.
The ending of our final day was just magical. As we were standing there, our little family close together in the middle of Main Street, I got teary eyed again. Just thinking about how blessed I was to have these three special people in my life, to be on this incredible trip. It was such a fun day and it had been an amazing week full of memories to last a lifetime.
It all looks amazing. I loved all of your trip reports :-) And I really want to stay at the Riverside royal rooms now too!!
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