The final hours ...

1. After the late night previously, we hadn't gotten any packing done. Margie and I slept later (until 8:45a) than expected, then swung into action.

   Margie is our main packer -- she's the one who can warp space (if not mass) to fit things into a variety of suitcases. She took care of that packing, whilst I flitted about like a bee, tackling small items and clumps and groups, and cleaning things on the periphery (e.g., gathering up the bathroom articles). It works for us, and we were done by 10 a.m., which is when the bellhop was supposed to come and gather up our luggage.

   I've written elsewhere of how the whole Disney's Magical Express setup worked on the way out. We also had the Express Check-out, so we didn't need to actually go to the desk or anything. Indeed, the only minor hiccup for the day was that, as of the Express Check-out, our door cards could no longer be used to charge things.

2. Having gotten our luggage dealt with and boarding passes obtained, we hopped on the bus for Animal Kingdom, that having been the one place we had unfinished business.

   Once there, we headed over for Dino Land, USA. One of Katherine's favorite parts of the park (indeed, of all WDW) is the Boneyard, half of which is a massive complex of ladders and platforms and slides (a giant Play Place, essentially), the other half of which is a huge sandbox for excavating fossils from. This was what she'd missed doing.

   So we let my folks watch her there (heh heh heh), while Margie and I hustled over to Expedition Everest.

   The line said 70 minutes. That was about right. It was well worth the wait, though, since the queue is a wonderfully rich set of a Tibetan temple segueing to an expedition shop thence to a Yeti museum. Gorgeous. It will be even better when the trees grow up and the line doesn't loop through a large, unbearably sunny area.

   Think of Disneyland's Matterhorn, done on a Thunder Mountain-style train, on steroids and with modern sensibilities. I've heard disappointment over how short a ride it is, but it seemed just fine to me. I won't spoil it, but it's probably the best Disney roller coaster to date, from both an action and an environmental/magic standpoint. Well done, and it should be a big boost for Animal Kingdom.

   The biggest disappointment was the gift shop after the ride. The EE swag was uniformly cheesy. But, then, I wasn't all that thrilled with the current generation of WDW t-shirts and mugs overall this time, so perhaps that's not a surprise.

3. We wandered back over to Dino-Land. Katherine had been having a blast, and running the 'rents ragged. Somewhere while we'd been away, she'd talked them into going over to the "carnival" part of the area, and had "won" a red and green stuffed frog at the water-balloon sideshow game. She named it Christmas, and was inseparable from it for a number of days.

4. We all headed back over to Africa so that Katherine could get a hair wrap. Then, before we could go, Katherine pouted that she hadn't been on a ride, so we dashed back to Dino-Land and hopped on the Triceratop Spin (Dumbo as Dinosaurs).

   Then off to the busses and Port Orleans.

5. Had a bit of time to kill before the bus arrived, so we changed into the shirts we'd held aside (those of us who had), and did a bit of pick-up shopping at the general store.
   
   We'd gotten all of these "get a free Disney pin from your resort store" coupons, so Katherine turned in a couple and I did, too. They were for bus pins (woo-hoo). I traded one of mine for an interesting, rather different-looking Cheshire Cat pin from one of the folks at the store. It turned out to be a 1991 EuroDisneyland pin, which was kind of cool. No idea if it's valuable.

   (A bit of research indicates it's not all that valuable, but it was part of a gift set given to Imagineers at EuroDisneyland (Disneyland Paris) after the opening, which explains the "Bravo, les Imagineers!" message on the back.)

6. The bus ride (once we got on) was uneventful -- another movie, another ride. Katherine sat in the back of the bus, which was her favorite location all week. We had plenty of time at the airport to have a bite at the Macaroni Grill, we went through security pretty quickly (we've seen a nice evolution in the efficiency of the security lines at MCO over the years), and headed for the gate.

   And waited, as the Denver flight ended up being delayed an hour. Worked out okay, since we ended up taking off only ten minutes earlier than my folks, so it was some additional time with them.

7. Uneventful flight. Eschewed the snack boxes for some of the gorp that Margie had mixed for the trip (and which we hadn't really made us of), and rather than doing all these trip logs, I slacked off and read.

   Reached home that evening, had a chance to relax, and then hit the sack. House was in fine shape (thanks, Doyce and Jackie), and it was great to be home.

For the record, from the time I got off the plane in MCO to the time I got back on, I walked 68.7 miles, according to my pedometer. Which is not shabby at all (and helped justify some of the massive dinners we ate, if not the ice cream sandwiches).

Lessons Learned?

1. A group of seven travels a bit more slowly than a group of three, but not that much more slowly. And it provides some flexibility. But it does seem to cause some problems getting seated at restaurants.
2. The mantra "I am not responsible for other folks having a good time" remains an important one for such trips. Not that you want to be inconsiderate or uncaring, but if you second-guess yourself into only doing what you think everyone else will want to do, you will probably be miserable. Trust others enough to seek their fun.
3. Breakfast is not necessary, though it's nice. Taking a break back at the lodge was nice on the days we did it, but it did cut substantially into our days.
4. Our respective parents are very cool, and it was fun spending the week with them.
5. Orlando in late May/early June is bloody hot and humid. The parks are set up with lots of fans and shade trees and air conditioning and squirters, but it was still bloody hot and humid. Not sure what to do about it, now that Kitten's in Real School, but ...
6. ... we'll be back.

Actually posted 6 June, but backdated to the actual day it covers.

Filed under :: Health :: Travel - WDW 06