Walt Disney World Vacation – Day 7 (Departure Day)

(On our departure day, I didn’t take ANY pictures with my big camera. All pictures are cell pictures.)

I woke up bright and early the next morning despite being exhausted (the curse of a morning person).

We originally had breakfast reservations for Chef Mickey’s that morning at 11AM but I had Mike go to the Concierge desk to cancel them on Friday. We were already maxed out on our table service credits and I knew that if we stayed out late for the Christmas Party (as we planned) that we’d be way too tired to get there in time. We already had met Mickey and the gang and it didn’t seem worth it to pay out of pocket to see them again. Plus, we had a LOT of packing to do. LOL

I played on my phone for a while and eventually Matthew started stirring (he’s a morning person too). I don’t really know what time we started getting ready. It was one of those gradual things. I think we all needed a low-key start to the day. 🙂

Cartoons in the hotel room:

Soon, we were all ready for the day and prepared to check out. While I stood in the hallway and tried to figure out how the heck we were going to get everything out of our room by ourselves, my genius husband suggested we remove our luggage in two rounds. Such a simple, logical way to handle it and yet it completely eluded me all morning! I love that guy. 🙂

First we took our suitcases out to do the Resort Airline Check-in. Basically, we threw some tags on the suitcases (they give you the tags/instructions), took them to a specific spot at the hotel, they checked them in for our flight with Jet Blue, and transported them to the airport for us. Easy peasy. Except for the long line outside in the heat! LOL

After that, we went back to the room, did one more double check, and then grabbed our carry-on bags to drop off at the Valet desk. Valet kept our bags for us so that we wouldn’t have to carry them around all day.

When all was said and done, I think we were out of our room with 30 minutes to spare. Woo hoo!

Once we were bag-less, we headed to the bus stop to catch the bus heading over to Downtown Disney. One came fairly quickly and we were off to get some lunch and do a little bit more shopping.

First, we ate at the Earl of Sandwich. Mike and I both got their special holiday turkey sandwich: oven-roasted turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and mayo. It was so good and something Mike wants to try to recreate at home. LOL

Overall, the meal was a little chaotic. The restaurant was PACKED (we easily waited in line for 30 mins to order or food) and with our extreme tiredness, it was seriously overwhelming. In addition, Ian had started up with his “gagging until I puke” thing so we were a little on edge. (Thank you, Baby Jesus, for that empty dink cup on the table. It came in very handy.)

After a bathroom break, a few minutes to calm tempers and to let Ian stop crying (fun times), we headed off to do some shopping.

Matthew decided he loved Duffy while we were in WDW – there was a TV show that ran during the trip on one of the Disney stations that had Duffy reading storybooks and Matthew would get so excited anytime he saw Duffy. I have no idea what store we were in but they had a huge Duffy display so Matthew posed beside him. (Santa may or may not be bringing Matthew his very own Duffy. *wink wink*)

After that, we just browsed the World of Disney store. Words cannot express how huge that store is. I actually lost Matthew and Mike for a good long time. LOL We picked up a handful of last minute gifts and then went back outside.

When we went back outside, it was RIDICULOUSLY hot. You know how when it’s SOOO hot and you’re SOOO tired and it just makes you feel blah? Ugh. That’s how it was that day. I didn’t feel like walking, taking pictures, etc. All I wanted to do is sit and take a nap. Ugh.

We walked down to the Lego store to see the stuff that they had on display outside. (We didn’t go into the store because there was a queue of people waiting to get in. Yeah, I don’t think so. LOL)

This Toy Story display was really neat….

This Maleficent sculpture (evil witch from Sleeping Beauty – in dragon form) was amazing!

When you compare to the people standing around the display, you can see just how large it is! You can also see the sea serpent that is in the water (he’s in the background, to the right of the woman in the blue/green dress).

After that, we decided to head back to the hotel. We wanted to leave plenty of room to catch our bus to the airport and frankly, we were just plain tired. In an attempt to head off potty issues, we stopped at the bathroom before heading to the bus stop.

We got to the bus stop and stood around for a bit when Matthew did one of those “OMG I NEED TO GO POTTY RIGHT NOW!!!!” things. Mike ran him to the bathroom and about 15 seconds later, our bus rolled up. AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! The bus quickly loaded and drove away with Ian and I left standing under the shelter. LOL Thankfully, Mike and Matthew returned quickly and another bus soon pulled up. We were sitting and in air-conditioning – that’s pretty much all I needed out of life at that point. LOL

I’m not sure we’d pulled out of the bus stop before I had this going on beside me:

I can’t say that I blamed him. He was doing EXACTLY what I wanted to do. LOL

We got back to Wilderness Lodge more quickly than I had hoped – I was hoping Matthew would get a longer rest. Plus, I was really enjoying the sitting thing. LOL

We went inside the lobby to wait for our Magical Express bus and set up shop on one of the couches outside Whispering Canyon Café. I had hoped Matthew would nap on the couch but he was pretty much awake and ready to go. Mike and Ian went to the arcade to use up some tokens we’ received as part of our package while Matthew played with my phone and I struggled to stay awake (overtired, air-conditioning, comfy seat, quietly sitting = recipe for disaster). Mike and Ian came back eventually and I may or may not have nodded off sitting straight up in my seat like an 85 year old. LOL

Before we knew it, it was time to go outside and catch our shuttle to the airport.

The ride back the airport was full and pretty subdued. A bus full of people with a Disney hangover. LOL

We were old pros at the Orlando airport this time and quickly made it to where we needed to go.

We made a quick stop at the Harry Potter store so that I could feed the Harry Potter nerd inside of me. (I want to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter sooooo bad.)

Outside:

Stuff for sale inside:

I ended up getting pins for all of us that have been sorted on Pottermore. Like this:

For any Potterheads reading this blog, we have: 1 Gryffindor (Rachel), 1 Ravenclaw (me) and 3 Hufflepuff (mom, Aunt Sherri and Courtney). 🙂

Once we got settled at our gate and I ran to get Burger King for us to eat for dinner. (By the way, why do the food choices stink once you’re past security at the Orlando airport?!?! Next time we’re eating first.  I could have had Chick-fil-a, darn it! LOL)  Another gag/ puke incident later and we were doing final potty breaks before boarding our plane.

Once we were up in the air, Matthew was much more difficult to keep occupied. I think the trip/day/late night caught up with him and he was a little restless.  We were delayed taking off and he was asking for food, drinks and to switch seats before we even got in the air.  LOL   We were blessed with cooperative seat-mates that were very patient with the boys.  The woman next to Matthew even handed out candy.  :)  Mike took the boys for a potty break mid-flight and then switched boys with me. Sitting with Ian was much more relaxing. LOL

The approach to Buffalo was very bumpy due to high winds. Neither boy seemed phased by it and we had an extremely smooth landing. In no time, we were off the plane and picking up our luggage. After we grabbed our last bag, I called Dad and let him know we were ready to be picked up. He pulled up right in front of us within a few minutes and we were quickly on our way.

When we got home, we were all a little wired so Dad stuck around the house while we chattered his ear off for a bit. It didn’t take long for the day catch up with us though. Mike and I went to bed after putting the boys down for the night. For those that know Mike and his anal/OCD-ways, WE LEFT OUR BAGGAGE SITTING IN THE HALLWAY ALL NIGHT LONG!!! You know it’s serious when Mike is too tired to unpack immediately. 🙂

The next day was spent relaxing, recovering, unpacking, and doing laundry. 

And that, my friends, is the story of our November 2011 trip to Walt Disney World!

THE END