Part 8
Participants:
Chris, 29 years old
Michelle, 27 years old
Ben, 22 months old
Day 8, Friday December 7, 2001
The bittersweet awakening
I awoke to the always bittersweet feeling of the last morning at WDW. While I was looking forward to our final time in the Magic Kingdom, I knew that all too soon it would be time to say goodbye. It was just before 8:00 when we all got moving. We completed our now familiar routine of getting showered and dressed, and added the task of packing. We called bell services to get our luggage, and then departed from the room that had been our home for a wonderful week.
We went to the Mara and got Ben some milk and refilled our mugs. We slipped our postcards into the hippo shaped mailbox, then lingered for a few minutes in the lobby, noting the stunning details. It was around 10:00 when we departed for the Magic Kingdom.
When we arrived at the TTC, Ben was asking for the "choo-choo," so, even though there was a ferry waiting, we headed up the monorail ramp. We were quickly through security and into the park. We stopped to have our picture taken in front of the Castle. We meant to do this much earlier in the trip, but we had always been to eager to ride, ride, ride!
The final morning of touring
Our first stop was for Pooh Fast Passes, which had a return time of 11:30. Then we headed for a last ride on the happiest cruise that ever sailed. Ben loved it again, and it will be interesting to see if he remembers it on our next trip.
Ben looked a bit sleepy, so we thought we would walk a bit to see if he fell asleep. As we were walking, we realized that, while Ben had eaten many Cheerios and Goldfish this morning, Chris and I had not eaten anything. We decided that the egg roll cart in Adventureland would be the perfect spot for a bite. I was pleased with the quality of this egg roll, and found it to be much better than the one we had in China at Epcot yesterday.
After our snack, Ben was not asleep, so we decided to ride the Haunted Mansion. Interestingly, Ben was a bit more frightened by the ride this time. He even jumped at one point when a screaming spook pops into view right in front of your doom buggy. Still, he made it through without being too traumatized, and we had Pooh Fast Passes which were now due to reward his bravery.
Before we rode, we picked up new Pooh Fast Passes, with a return time of 12:30. Ben knew the ride well enough now to applaud at the "Hooray" scene at the end of the ride.
We decided to walk around a bit more in the hopes of encouraging Ben to take a nap. First, we went to the camera center on Main Street, and chose between the four pictures we had had taken when we entered. Next, we went to the Emporium, where I was hoping to find a frame I had seen at the World of Disney on Wednesday. It was a wooden frame with words describing arriving at WDW and getting the first view of the Castle. It was very well written, as just reading the frame at the World of Disney caused me to well up the way I do when I really get the first glimpse of the Castle each trip. I'm not sure why I didn't buy it at the World of Disney, but I was kicking myself now, because they did not have it at the Emporium. Oh well, next trip.
Ben was still not asleep, so we thought we would ride the train around to Toontown for our next, and final, ride on Pooh. Ben enjoyed the train, and enjoyed Pooh even more than he ever had, shouting his own "Hooray!" and applauding wildly at the appropriate point in the ride.
After the ride, Ben looked very, very sleepy, so we decided to try walking with him yet again. We headed toward Liberty Square, and he was asleep by the time we reached Peter Pan's Flight. We had a little time before we had to check in for our 1:50 priority seating at the Crystal Palace, so we strolled around the park, pausing to take pictures of sleeping Ben in various scenic spots, like the Castle and the Christmas tree.
Ending on a high note
Ben was still asleep when we checked in for our lunch, and remained asleep while we waited. We had a nice conversation with parents of a girl Ben's age who were asking us how we got Ben to nap. It seems that their daughter had not napped on their whole trip, but was going to bed daily at 4:30, meaning they had to stay in their hotel all evening every evening. That made me grateful for Ben's relative resiliency.
Ben was still asleep when we were seated. The hostess kindly made room at our table so that I could leave him in his stroller. That wasn't necessary for long, though, as he woke up shortly, and was ready to sit in his high chair. Winnie the Pooh came to our table just after Ben had woken up, so Ben was not terribly excited to see him.
We took turns going to the buffet, which was filled with pretty good food. Since we had never been to the Crystal Palace, we weren't sure what to expect, but we were pleased. As Ben woke up, he became more and more friendly with the characters. He gave all of them lots of hugs and kisses, and we got lots of good pictures. Tigger even took the time to sign "I love you" to Ben. I was very touched by that. Happily, Pooh made it to our table a second time, and this time Ben was ready to give him lots of affection.
After our lunch, the time had come to leave. We made one last stop at the Main Street Confectionary for a few edible souvenirs. We fought our way through the assembled parade crowd and made our way out of the park. Happily, between talking to Ben, and finding the path of least resistance to the exit, I forgot to have my usual "final look at the Castle and tear up about leaving WDW" moment. I was rather preoccupied with getting to the airport on time, and perhaps knowing that we are now DVC members made the departure easier.
The trip back to the airport took longer than I had anticipated, so we made a bit of a mad dash from the rental counter to the terminal. We made it on time, however, and the remainder of our trip home was basically uneventful.
All in all, it was a wonderful trip. There were so many wonderful highlights Between meeting great friends, viewing Illuminations from a boat, and enjoying the special Christmas events, it is a trip I will never forget. There were challenges associated with traveling with a toddler, but seeing everything through Ben's eyes created moments I will cherish. The things we weren't able to do because Ben was so young will be there when he is older, and we will never again have a chance to see WDW through Ben's little one-year-old eyes, so I wouldn't have done things any differently. I can only hope that our family will continue to have such magical trips together for years to come.