Day 8 – Friday, November 16th (a/k/a the most dreaded day ever)
While G ate breakfast, I did flight-of-the-bumblebee packing everything up so that G and I could drop our checked bags at the airline desk. We left Oma & Opa in charge of leaving our carry-ons with the concierge and B, G and I headed off to MK.
Trying to pack as much as we could into our not-so-full last day (Gram & Peep had the full day with dinner at Biergarten in Epcot before a very early departure on Saturday morning), B, G. Gram, Peep and I went on BTMRR. We split up for a bit and B, G and I did Aladdin and split two Dole Whip pineapple upside-down cakes (yay for mobile ordering!).
B took G to the Speedway while I reconnected with Gram & Peep for Space Mountain. Yes, Gram does appear to be praying!
My apologies to everyone who is reading (especially you,
@Tuvalu) for not knowing where the heck to look for the ride photo
.
With B getting nervous about the time of our lunch ADR, having some pool time before leaving and being ready for our extra-early Tragical pick-up, I moved our ADR at LTT a bit earlier. B and I wished we would have cancelled. Mini rant…(1) our waitress was wicked annoying, (2) the salad dressing was gross, (2) the rolls and butter were awful, (3) there was a weird seasoning on the pork that came with the Patriot’s Platter B, G and I shared and (4) we were so fed up with everything that we skipped the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake for dessert. I remember that Oma & Opa were not happy with the lunch offerings, but I can’t remember what they finally decided on. The wine and beer didn’t even make up for the bad experience. After a really great dinner experience in 2012, I don’t think we’ll ever go back to LTT again.
At some point that day, I remembered to get a picture of my favorite sign by the teacups…
We met up with Gram & Peep one last time for 7DMT before making our sad return to the resort bus.
After this trip, G and I are now convinced that Oma & Opa are “bus cursed” because they started out for the bus while we were on our way to 7DMT and were still there when we arrived…and we then proceeded to wait forever for a bus to SSR, watching multiple buses come and go for every other resort and the line for the SSR bus grow longer and longer. They seem to have bus issues everywhere they go at WDW, every trip!
We finally arrived back at SSR, but with no time to spare for the pool
. G stayed in the lobby watching videos with Oma & Opa, while B and I shared one last drink at On The Rocks Pool Bar (a Sam’s Winter for B and a Banana Cabana for me – I knew what cold weather was waiting for us at home and I needed one last bit of the Disney sun and warm weather feeling). I picked up a monorail die cast for G in the gift shop, along with a thingy for me to turn my MagicBand into a keychain and an actual keychain (bottle opener included!) for B.
When the Tragical Express arrived, I asked the driver “what if I refuse to go?” and he just looked at me like it was nuts. I had to try for a way to stay forever, right?
We arrived at MCO before our two-hour-prior-to departure window had opened at security (yes, I said our pick-up time was VERY early), but we went through security anyway. Something new we discovered is that when there is a dog sniffing the security line, you don’t have to take off your shoes (the worst part about airport security IMO). There was too much time before our flight departed at 9:15 p.m. and very few food choices from what we remembered in the past.
The flight was uneventful until G woke up as we were preparing for final descent, started screaming because he was half-asleep and his ears hurt and decided he had to pee now. So there I was, hauling a screaming kid up the aisle to the bathroom and trying to cram both of us into the bathroom and keep my balance and keep G from falling into the toilet while the plane descended…real fun when everyone is awake long past when we usually are not! We landed safely in Hartford just before midnight, grabbed our luggage, braced ourselves against the cold, found the hotel shuttle and loaded back into the truck for the 1.5 hour trip north to home. After we dropped Oma & Opa off at their house, we arrived home at about 3:30 a.m. to 50 degree-temps in the house. B turned on a bit of heat to get us through a few hours, I tucked G into bed and we crashed! Another WDW trip in the books!
After just a few hours of sleep, my first question to B (after he got the outdoor wood furnace going and some real good heat in the house) the next morning was “when can we go back?”
and G decided to have a total meltdown. He decided that after enjoying his first time there with Oma & Opa on Friday, he didn’t like it. G’s meltdown turned into flames shooting out from the top of my head (Think: Inside Out) and we ended up getting off the line and heading to The Seas where we did Nemo & Friends. Much to my horror, the ride stopped and we were trapped in a segment that featured Crush (yes, my day just got even better!)
as we enjoyed our treat and I loved the server who tried to take me into buying the last 3, not just 2. I’m glad I stuck with 2 for the three of us to share because I would have eaten all night if allowed!
and will not be something I will try a second time.
) and the calamari for appetizers; G has the spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, while B had the Italian Trio with the Birra Moretti lager and I (disappointed the baked rigatoni was not on the menu) had the shrimp scampi with the Luce delle Vite wine.
. Unfortunately, this was the price we would pay for flying the weekend before Thanksgiving.
)!