A bachelor party, a wedding, and a birthday - That was an eventful week (Completed 10/15)

[Stacybaeasm]

Wow! What an amazing wedding. The pictures are gorgeous and everyone is having such a good time.

The reception was so much fun!!! I knew a Disney wedding would be special but this was really amazing. And walking out of Epcot at 1:15am when it was all shut down but still lit up?? Super cool.

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Wow the wedding and reception were beautiful! Looked like a really fun time.

 

[amazingact21]

I loved reading about how a Disney wedding goes. Now I kind of wish someone I know would have one, and I could attend. (Except I hope it's not one of my kids down the road. I don't wanna help pay for that.)

The ceremony location was gorgeous. And that Kardashian photo is great. The photographer nailed it.

Sitting and watching Luminous before the reception has to be one of the best ways to view the nighttime show.

I'm so glad you were able to eat the food, because it all sounded delicious!
I hope the wedding was everything Scotty and Stephen wanted it to be and they had an amazing time.


Not being able to have carbonation would be difficult for me. I drink a lot of sparkling water because I feel like it helps me get my daily water intake. Jazzes it up a bit. But kudos to you for kicking the Diet Coke habit. And I'm really happy to hear you were able to celebrate with a little this night and still feel good and be able to enjoy dinner. I'm sure the caffeine helped keep you going late into the night, and it made the event feel extra special.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Wow the wedding and reception were beautiful! Looked like a really fun time.

It was truly wonderful. I'm so glad I got to be there to experience it.

I loved reading about how a Disney wedding goes. Now I kind of wish someone I know would have one, and I could attend. (Except I hope it's not one of my kids down the road. I don't wanna help pay for that.)

If you can go to a Disney wedding - DO IT!!! It was so amazing throughout. Although, yeah - don't pay for one. I have some idea of what the budget for this was (not what it was in total but what they originally planned, etc.) and WOW - nope.

I'm so glad you were able to eat the food, because it all sounded delicious!
I hope the wedding was everything Scotty and Stephen wanted it to be and they had an amazing time.

Scotty and Stephen had an amazing time and really loved their wedding. They also had 2 private photo shoots on Saturday and Sunday morning - one in MK before the park opened (where Scotty works) and one in AK before the park opened (where Stephen works.) Those photos were so cool but I am hesitant to post those because it's not my wedding.

Not being able to have carbonation would be difficult for me. I drink a lot of sparkling water because I feel like it helps me get my daily water intake. Jazzes it up a bit. But kudos to you for kicking the Diet Coke habit. And I'm really happy to hear you were able to celebrate with a little this night and still feel good and be able to enjoy dinner. I'm sure the caffeine helped keep you going late into the night, and it made the event feel extra special.

The caffeine was super important. I think I ended up having 4 diet cokes that night (glasses not cans or bottles). And the food??? YUM!!! I still think about those short ribs.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Real Life update
​

Hi all. Sorry I haven't posted for a bit. I'm hoping to get to it later this week. My mom fell 3 times last week and fractured her L1. She ended up in the hospital for a few days while waiting for them to make her a back brace. Meanwhile, my dad was left home alone. He isn't able to do a lot of things on his own and he has memory issues (dementia). My brother lives about 20 minutes from them but doesn't get along with my dad. However, he really stepped up and has been taking care of them. I've spent most days on the phone with doctors/mom/dad/brother. But mom went home late Saturday and my brother and his wife have been stopping in with food and to help both of my parents shower/clean/etc. It is time to start looking into home health care and a housekeeper for them and possibly starting the long process of finding an assisted living home for them.

In cheerier news - I bought my annual pass today AND booked a room for Thanksgiving week. Can't wait to go back for Thanksgiving and the start of Festival of Holidays at Epcot. Now to pass time until dining reservations and then those new LLMP reservations.

 

[amazingact21]

I'm sorry to hear about your mom's fall. But I'm glad that you had help taking care of your dad. As someone with two brothers who don't get along with our father, I understand what a big help it is to have an extra set of hands, sometimes. What a long few days you had to go through.
I cannot imagine how stressful looking into healthcare options is for you, either. Thank goodness you have a trip to plan to help give you something positive to look forward to!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

..

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Glad you got to celebrate so many special moments. Pop Century is a fun choice, and your dining reservations are solid, Terralina is great for Italian.

It certainly was a trip of celebrations. I don't think the stars will line up for a trip like that again. Maybe it was because I was sick but I was pretty "meh" about Terralina. I may have to try it again.

I'm sorry to hear about your mom's fall. But I'm glad that you had help taking care of your dad. As someone with two brothers who don't get along with our father, I understand what a big help it is to have an extra set of hands, sometimes. What a long few days you had to go through.
I cannot imagine how stressful looking into healthcare options is for you, either. Thank goodness you have a trip to plan to help give you something positive to look forward to!

Thanks! It has been an uphill battle with this particular healthcare crisis. I spent most of this morning looking into transportation options to get my parents to their many doctors' appointments. My brother just can't take that much time off of work, mom isn't allowed to drive, and dad gave up his driver's license a year ago. Why didn't anyone tell us about having aging parents????

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Day Five Part One
A mostly solo Day
​

The plan for today was pretty simple - sleep in to recover from the wedding, do Magic Kingdom, and then head to Studios to FINALLY see Fantasmic. Fantasmic is my absolute favorite nighttime show and I hadn't seen it since before the great pause. I also originally had made dining ressies for Crystal Palace breakfast and Liberty Tree lunch. I never intended to keep both but I wanted options at the 60 day reservation mark. I had cancelled Crystal Palace before the trip even started because I realized I didn't want to have to get up and get to MK for breakfast after the wedding. I also ended up cancelling Liberty Tree on Tuesday when I was still feeling ill because I didn't think I would be up for that much food. That decision will come back to haunt me later today.

I woke up shortly after 7 to go to the bathroom and grabbed genie+ for the day and made an LL for the parade. I've never done LL for parades so I thought I would give it a try. I then went back to sleep for what I hoped would be a couple more hours. But nope - that wasn't going to happen. About 8:15, my phone rings and it's the chair of my department calling. Yeah - you can't screen that call, especially since he was covering my production manager duties for the show in tech rehearsals. The playwriting class that was borrowing one of our spaces for their final had emailed John to tell him I said they could be in the space on Saturday and they needed someone to let them in. John was calling to find out what I had planned for this since there was no one to let them in - everyone was in our main theatre in tech! Well, I HADN'T told them they could be in the space. In fact, I had already told them no but the spokesperson for that class was quite good at hearing no and turning it to whatever they wanted. Once I had cleared this up and we said goodbye - I was fully awake so I might as well get up. I grabbed a shower and ate leftover wedding popcorn for breakfast and then headed for the MK bus.

While on the bus, I realized I could make my next LL so I grabbed one for Pirates. After entering the park, I meandered my way to Adventure Land and walked on Pirates. While I was walking through the line, I tried to grab my next LL. I learned 2 things - 1) I rely entirely too much on Scotty to make LL in the park as we go and 2) As a Gen Xer, I am really not good at walking and doing things on my phone at the same time. Since I walked right on to a boat, the LL had to wait until I got off the ride and could STAND STILL to use my phone. For some reason - none of my Pirates photos came through. I guess the ghost of George did not want me to have them, even though I made it a point to say hello to him each time I rode!

I was able to make an LL for Haunted mansion for a bit later so I headed to Big Thunder. The wait was marked at 30 minutes but I figured "What the heck", bought a bottle of water and jumped in line. It was the full 30 minutes for the wait but the line also moved pretty steadily. I don't mind waiting in line by myself because it is prime people watching/judging. I wish I could remember the specifics because I made a note about some interesting people in line but I didn't put down specifics. Bad trip reporter!!!


As I got off the ride, I realized it was about lunch time. And I was HUNGRY. I was greatly regretting letting go of the Liberty Tree reservation because some turkey and ooey gooey toffee cake sounded delicious. I decided to head over in case they were doing walk ups. The sign for walk ups was out!!! Woo hoo!!! There was a party of 3 in front of my, asking about getting a table. CM - you bet - 10 minute wait. I was so ready to dig in to some turkey. Then it was my turn - hi, walk up for 1??? CM - that will be an hour wait. WHAT??? Then she said - but you can try The Diamond Horseshoe. They have the same menu. I walked over to Diamond Horseshoe who ALSO had their walk up sign out. Party of two in front of me - 5 minute wait. Me?? THREE HOURS. Well ok. Lesson learned. Don't cancel Liberty Tree.

I headed over to Pecos Bills for lunch instead. The lines inside were crazy. But mobile order had pick up times immediately. Ok, I'll mobile order. Except - I guess I haven't been to Pecos Bills in a LONG time. And the menu just didn't sound very interesting. However, I also didn't want to head any place else because my Haunted Mansion LL was coming up. So I settled on the BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger with tortilla chips and a water. I got my food very quickly and went in search of a table. Side note - does anyone else miss the fixings bar?? I know I do. And some of that hot, plastic cheese would have helped those tortilla chips A LOT. I found a table in the corner and sat down to eat. How I didn't realize this was a double burger is beyond me but it was HUGE. And messy. And not very good. And neither were the tortilla chips. How do you make tortilla chips without salt on them???? The best thing in this meal was the bottle of water. But, since I spent eleventy billion dollars on this burger, I was going to eat some of it. I pulled off the top bun, pulled off one of the patties, and started eating it with a fork. I managed to eat half of one patty and all of the bacon (NEVER leave bacon behind) and called it a day. I also watched a family next to me. It was mom, dad, grandma, and 3 littles under the age of 6. They were trying to squeeze all 3 kids on 1 stool. I leaned over and told them to take 2 of my stools and they were so appreciative. And the struggle was real with these kids. They didn't want to sit, didn't want to eat their food but wanted what someone else had, then didn't want to eat at all but just drink lemonade. Yep - still glad I don't have kids. But I will say the dad was right there in the trenches with the kids. Too often at Disney (and really anywhere in public), I see the mom struggling to deal with the kids while the dad looks at his phone or anything else while ignoring the struggle. Yay for a dad being an actual parent!!!

Lunch over, I headed over to Haunted Mansion for my LL. As always, I was not chosen to join the happy haunts in staying there forever.


After this, I decided it was time to head toward Main Street. I wanted to get some ice cream and then figure out where the LL spot for the parade was.

Up next: parade and the evening

 

[vamassey1]

You're making me hungry for LTT. Sorry that didn't work out for you.

Pecos Bills is just not the same. We didn't eat there last week, but we did take up some space and chill in the AC with our 3 little ones.

Love your HM ride photo!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

You're making me hungry for LTT. Sorry that didn't work out for you.

Unless it is crazy hot, I am always up for LTT. My goal is to do that on Thanksgiving but I"m sure the ressies for that will be highly competitive. That's actually one of the reasons I'm checking in to Pop (or whatever hotel my CM friend can get me) on Sunday instead of Monday.

Pecos Bills is just not the same. We didn't eat there last week, but we did take up some space and chill in the AC with our 3 little ones.

The old days of Pecos Bills - when they were one of the better CS places in MK. Although the toppings bar there and in Cosmic Rays were pretty identical.

Love your HM ride photo!

Thanks!

 

[vamassey1]

Unless it is crazy hot, I am always up for LTT. My goal is to do that on Thanksgiving but I"m sure the ressies for that will be highly competitive. That's actually one of the reasons I'm checking in to Pop (or whatever hotel my CM friend can get me) on Sunday instead of Monday.

Good Luck!!!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Day Five, Part Two
Parades and Fantasmic!
​

When we left off, I was headed up to the LL spot for the parade and to find some ice cream. As I headed around the castle, I bumped into the newlyweds!!! They had decided to spend some time at MK themselves. We chatted for a bit about the wedding and the plans for the rest of the day. I told them I was going to watch the parade, head back to the hotel to rest a bit, and then head into Studios for the evening and Fantasmic. They wanted to come along for the Studios portion. I said "Are you sure? I don't want to interrupt your first day being married." But they were positive they wanted to join so we made plans to meet at Studios later.

I headed out to the front of the castle. I had planned to go to the Plaza ice cream parlor to get some yummy ice cream for the parade but I hit a sea of people. I knew it was busier today than it had been the rest of the week but I wasn't prepared for this much humanity. I looked down toward the Plaza and saw it looked super busy so I pivoted. I headed over to the nearest cart for a Mickey premium bar and some water. No matter what, you can never go wrong with a Mickey bar. Then it was time to search for the LL parade viewing. As I mentioned before, I have never done LL or any version of fast pass for a parade. I quickly saw the roped off area in front of the castle but how the heck do you get in??? I just started wandering around the plaza area until I finally saw the sign that indicated the LL entrance. I headed over and got my magic band scanned and then was let in. It was about 30 minutes before parade start so the area was still pretty empty. I had my choice of places to be. I selected a spot a bit after the curve in front of the castle and got a seat right at the rope. And then I went to town on that ice cream bar. I mean, it was like I had never seen food before. And luckily, I had grabbed a ton of napkins because it was HOT and the ice cream was melting faster than I could eat it.


People started to fill in around me. The little you see behind me in the picture above - I invited her to scoot in front of my so she could see. The family was very thankful for that. I have absolutely no problem letting the littles in front of me of right next to me. Now, if you get pushy about it, we will have words but if I hear you tell the little "No, stay back here. We don't push to the front" I am going to make sure said little has a great view. I also spent some time chatting with the family on the other side of me. It was their first time to Disney and they had some questions. I hope I was able to help make their visit a little more magical.

Soon, it was time for the parade. I love this parade. And I am that person who claps and yells for all the dancers. I mean, come on people - show some love. At this point, they have been dancing for a while and it is HOT.





Ahh...my dragon. This is my favorite part of the parade. I hope they never get rid of her. I took a lot more pictures of the parade but hey - you all have seen this parade and pictures of this parade many, many times so...

After the parade, I went through the stores again on my way to the buses. I'm still trying to decide what I am going to get for ears and a spirit jersey. Plus - walking through the stores gives you some AC on your way to the front. I had amazing bus luck again and there was an empty bus waiting as I got to the Pop stop. We waited a few minutes and only like 5 other people got on. Then off we go to Pop.

I headed back to the room and laid on the bed for a bit. I think I might have read or maybe scrolled Facebook on my phone. I also made an LL for Mickey's runaway railroad. Soon enough, rest time was over and I got up to get ready to head to the skyliner and Studios. Scotty texted me about that time and said he and Stephen were also ready to head to Studios and that they had noticed my LL and gotten ones for them that overlapped times. We arranged to meet in front of the ride. So I put my shoes on (I hate putting shoes on at normal times but I REALLY hate doing it after a rest at Disney), grabbed another bottle of water and headed to the skyliner.

I got to the park quickly and had about 20 minutes before our ride time so I wandered through the stores. I hadn't really looked in the Studios stores yet but I didn't see anything that grabbed me. Soon after, I met up with Scotty and Stephen and we got on that runaway train through the park. After, I was a bit hungry and decided that I wanted some bad park pizza. I know the pizza is bad but there is still something in me that requires me to eat it at least once on every trip. We headed over to Rosie's All American. Scotty and Stephen got some drinks and I got my pizza. And it was as bad as I expected.

We quickly realized that they had already opened the gates for Fantasmic so after finishing up, we headed in to get seats. On the way in, we stopped for snacks. It is tradition for me that I need popcorn for Fantasmic. That goes all the way back to the first time I watched it in like 2006. Scotty and Stephen got beers I think and then we went to find seats. And we got AMAZING seats - center of the theatre toward the back.

Just then, we got a text from Lindsey. She and Kyle couldn't join us but her mom and sister were wondering if they could join us. Of course!!! We saved them some seats and settled in to wait. The three of us were just chatting amongst ourselves and Scotty said something super funny so I laughed. Now, I will admit I have a big laugh - it's not obnoxiously loud but it also isn't a quiet giggle. The guy in front of us (not the one in the picture) turned around and YELLED at us. "You guys are too loud. Show some respect. I didn't come here for you to yell and scream." Umm...we were NOT yelling and screaming. We were talking quietly and looking at wedding pictures. And I'm not being defensive because the people behind US tapped Scotty on the shoulder and said "You guys aren't being loud at all. Don't worry." Whatever. Soon Mom and Sis joined us and then FANTASMIC TIME!!! I haven't seen this since the great pause. I loved it. The new scenes were lovely additions and it was nice to see everything refreshed. And the new lighting system was AMAZING!!!!

After the show, the 5 of us made our way to Sunset Blvd. Mom and sis needed to do some shopping (Lindsey comes by it naturally). I was planning to head back to Pop and get a drink at Petals before heading to bed. Scotty and Stephen decided to join me so off to the Skyliner for us. Once back at Pop, we headed right to Petals and I got my 2nd favorite drink at Disney (the grand mariner slushie being my favorite) - the Pina Colava.


We sat outside for about an hour, chatting, drinking, and enjoying the nice night. It was probably 11 or so that I got tired and decided to head to bed. Scotty and Stephen headed out front to get an Uber back to MK to pick up their car and head home. They had to get up REALLY early the next morning because they were doing wedding pictures in MK before park open. I think they said they were getting picked up at like 5:45 and they had to be up early enough to get dressed in their wedding clothes. We made plans to meet up the next evening for my reservation at Steakhouse 71 and then parted ways.

I went back to the room and quickly got ready for bed. The next day was not only my last day but it was also my birthday!!! I set an alarm and quickly fell asleep.

Up next: Birthday in the parks

 

[vamassey1]

We love Fantasmic! It's great you got to share it with friends .Having the Skyliner really makes it so much better getting to Studios and Epcot.

 

[Elleshoodat]

Mmm, the Pina Colava is my FAVORITE. It isn't a trip to Disney until I have one.

I'm glad you were feeling better by this point and can't wait to read about your birthday!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

We love Fantasmic! It's great you got to share it with friends .Having the Skyliner really makes it so much better getting to Studios and Epcot.

I LOVE the Skyliner. I used to only stay at OKW (thanks to a friend with rental points) and claimed I would NEVER be a value resort girl. Now, Pop is the first place I look to book. I'm also the girl that said never to riding the skyliner when it first opened but now, I can't imagine Disney without it.

Mmm, the Pina Colava is my FAVORITE. It isn't a trip to Disney until I have one.

I'm glad you were feeling better by this point and can't wait to read about your birthday!

I do love the Pina Colava. I'm a fruity, girly drink type person so this hits the spot. I remember getting to Pop one year for Thanksgiving. I think I hit up Petals for this drink before I even went to my room. LOL.

Another Real Life Update
​

It's the week before classes start and I am swamped with stuff. In addition, we are having to find weird places to park because they took our entire parking lot for a loading zone for move in. This alone makes me . We already pay over $450 a year to park AND we have to fight for spots and can't park when there is a home football game. Plus - the lot has never been more than half full for the entire move in process. They could easily have only shut down half the lot to allow faculty to park. Why would you shut the only lot within a half mile the week faculty are expected on camps and in their offices??? I only walk that far if there is a ride, a mouse, or a princess waiting for me at the end of the walk. Anyway, all that kvetching to say - I hope to get another update soon but I have to get classes ready to roll first.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Day Six - Part One
Go Stacy, It's your birthday!
​

Last day at Disney and it's my birthday!!! This is the first birthday I've actually been in the parks for. I've celebrated my birthday many times, but never on the actual day. I woke up ready to hit Magic Kingdom. But first - breakfast and a birthday button. Yep, I may be 53, but I still wanted my birthday button. So off to the lobby I went and a very nice CM got my button all ready for me. I then went to the Pop food court because how else would you start your day except with Mickey waffles??


The breakfast bounty platter it is - mostly because I also wanted some eggs. I think they gave me extra bacon too - and I ate every last piece. Ok - I'll deal with the heart attack later but calories don't count on your birthday. I also treated myself to a fountain diet coke. I really can only drink it flat but gosh I wanted one for breakfast. I regretted that decision right away when my stomach started to hurt but oh well.

Soon enough I headed out and got the bus to Magic Kingdom. At some point, I bought LL for the day and made my first ride for Space Mountain. But once at MK, I had a bit before my return time so naturally, I hit up Mickey for a birthday hug. He wanted to have some cake with me so I invited him to Steakhouse 71 for dinner but he seemed to think Minnie wouldn't like that.


I then made my way into Tomorrowland and hit up the People Mover for my first ride of the day. Wasn't it Kastoney's daughter who always called it the Pooper? I think of that every time I ride. I so love the people mover. Then it was a quick jump over to Space Mountain. As soon as I scanned in, I tried to make my next LL. Once again, I can not walk and be on my phone at the same time so I gave up until after the ride. As I got up close to the boarding area, they were looking for a party of 1. Pick me!!! Probably saved myself about 10 minutes in line. I also love Space Mountain but getting out of it at the end is a struggle. I always have to fling my bag up onto the floor and then lever myself up and out. It isn't pretty or graceful but hey kids - this is what happens when you are fluffy and have bad knees. Consider this your warning.


Once outside, I pulled over to the side of the walkway and made my next LL for Haunted mansion. While the park seemed busy today, there always appeared to be an LL available for within about 20 minutes as I looked. Gotta love that. After a quick bathroom stop and grabbing another bottle of water, I made my way over to those hitch hiking ghosts. And, as always, the ride stopped for a bit as I was going backward down the hill into the graveyard. I actually love it when we stop there. Once outside, I found the photo pass photographer and did some photos in front of the mansion.


I checked for another LL and found one for the Tiana/Rapunzel meet. I do love a princess meet so I grabbed that and headed over. I love watching kids meet the characters. Especially when they still believe in all the magic. Have you seen any of the Tic Tock videos of the little boy who bows to all the Princesses in the meet and greets and in the parade??? Makes me tear up every time. Tiana offered me some birthday beignets and Rapunzel and I chatted about how Pascal might like to join me for cake.



After leaving the Princesses, I checked the other side to maybe meet Cindy and whoever was visiting. However, that wait was about 45 minutes and there wasn't an LL available for it so I moved along. After grabbing an LL for pirates, I headed to Mickey's Philharmagic to have some adventures with Donald. I love watching the kids reach out for the jewels in the Little Mermaid portion.

And, students are waiting outside my office to talk to me and then I have to go set up for auditions for our second show of the year. I'll come back to finish my birthday day soon!

 

[vamassey1]

Great start for you birthday. I so happy you're feeling better so you can really celebrate.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Day 6, Part Two
Go Stacy, still your birthday​

We last left off at Philharmagic. At some point, I had picked up an LL for Pirates so I headed over to Yo Ho with the best of them. And once again, Davy Jones ate my photo from this ride. I think I rode this 2 or 3 times during this trip and not a single photo. Oh well.
As I got off the ride, my phone rang. My brother, sis-in-law, niece, and nephew were calling to say Happy Birthday!! And my brother took the time to remind me how old I am. You gotta love younger brothers. They always have to get that little jab in. My niece wanted to hear all about what I was doing. She is now 22 years old (and just started her first big girl job as the teacher of orchestra at a middle school in Minnesota). When my niece and nephew were younger (12-13 years old), I took them each on a solo trip to Disney for a week. Kaitlyn still likes to talk about the trip (and hint that she would love to go back with me again.)
I then started looking for another LL. Little Mermaid had one in about 10 minutes. One thing I hate is criss-crossing the park all day. That's the problem with LL. You end up going back and forth, back and forth. I much prefer starting in one place and moving in an orderly fashion around the park. We shall see how that works with the new "Fast pass for cash" system booking. (Thanks DisAndi for that phrase.)
I started to head up to Little Mermaid and passed Story Book Treats. Remember yesterday when I wanted a soft serve ice cream?? Well, here we go. Sure, it was only like 11am. But a) it's Disney and b) it's my birthday. You are therefore allowed to have ice cream whenever you want. I looked at the Rapunzel sundae option but settled for a nice chocolate/vanilla swirl cone and a bottle of water. I perched on a nearby ledge to enjoy the ice cream and people watch some more. The park was really starting to get busy and I was contemplating how much longer I actually wanted to stay. I knew it was my last day (and at the time had no idea when I would be back) but I was still recovering from my mysterious illness at the beginning of the trip and my energy was fading. Plus, I knew I had the 12 hour drive home the next day. Hmm...what to do? I really couldn't decide so I finished what I wanted of the ice cream (those cones are BIG) and then head up to go under the sea with Ariel and friends.
As I was walking through the LL, I realized I had ALWAYS ridden this ride stand by. It was a whole new experience walking through the other side of the que. By this time, lines were starting to get long so I'm glad I had the LL. After singing along (very quietly and under my breath) to all the songs, I came out of the ride and pulled over to the side to figure out next steps. I was really done at this point, even though part of me felt guilt at even thinking about leaving the park at around noon. However, I still had shopping to do. I decided to start with that and then see how I felt.
I started to head up to Main Street when I made a detour into Sir Mickey's to see what ears THEY had (because I still hadn't given up on the Infinity stone ears even after the CM said they didn't have them.) No dice on the Infinity stone but...I found the perfect pair for me. Behold, the Evil Queen ears that came home with me.


I now have 2 pair of Maleficent ears and these for my villain's collection. I then headed up to the Emporium to pick my spirit jersey. I ended up getting the cream colored one. My mom asks me "What do you do with all the ears and spirit jerseys?" Wear them Mom. Wear them. And the ears hang on my bedroom wall as art when not in use.


Next, I headed back into the jewelry store. I was still debating whether I wanted something from there as my extra special birthday treat. And I walked out with this beauty...


Ok, most of my personal shopping is done (except for some treats to take home.) However, the costume shop manager at school had altered my dress for the wedding for me. She wouldn't take money for doing it but asked for some chocolate. And so I went into the confectionary. When did they stop selling fudge???? Ok, now what? Then I remembered a trip report that mentioned they had treats up in Storybook Circus. So off I trekked to the other end of Magic Kingdom (again) with packages in tow. And there I found the motherlode of treats. I got Beth 3 pieces of fudge, some sea salt chocolate covered caramels, and some turtles.

It was time for my final stop - back to the confectionary. I have wanted to get some of that create your own popcorn since it first debuted (plus I needed some rice krispie Mickey shaped treats as well.) Walking back in the door, I found the krispie Mickeys and bonus - the M&M's on them were pastel colored for spring!!! I know there is no difference in flavor but they were pretty and made me happy. It's the simple things I guess. I picked up a couple and then headed back to popcorn. BTW - noonish is the best time to go back there. There wasn't another person back in popcorn land so no wait! I ended up with buttered popcorn, regular and peanut butter M&M's, and the milk chocolate drizzle. Then I headed to the register to pay for my treats, along with yet another bottle of water. Shopping finally complete, I realized that I was done and that that was ok. I'd ridden everything I wanted to ride in MK, seen the parade, and I was ready to say goodbye to my summer house (I mean the castle) and wrap up the parks portion of my trip. I went to the end of Main street and just stood and looked at the castle for a minute and said my goodbye (along with a few tears.) Maybe it's corny but Disney is my safe space. My place I go when I'm happy, or stressed, or sad. And I didn't know when I would be back again. But I knew this was goodbye for now - not forever. And then I headed out to the buses to head back to Pop.

and with that, it is time to teach class. I'll be back soon to wrap up birthday day.

 

[vamassey1]

Behold, the Evil Queen ears that came home with me.

I like your Ears and now you can wear them when Villian's Land opens.

Next, I headed back into the jewelry store. I was still debating whether I wanted something from there as my extra special birthday treat. And I walked out with this beauty...

Very nice!! That's a great Birthday present.

Then I remembered a trip report that mentioned they had treats up in Storybook Circus. So off I trekked to the other end of Magic Kingdom (again) with packages in tow. And there I found the motherlode of treats. I got Beth 3 pieces of fudge, some sea salt chocolate covered caramels, and some turtles.

I need to remember this. Storybook Circus for better treats and I bet it's less crowded too.

I went to the end of Main street and just stood and looked at the castle for a minute and said my goodbye (along with a few tears.) Maybe it's corny but Disney is my safe space. My place I go when I'm happy, or stressed, or sad.

I always have a hard time saying goodbye to WDW, but MK is the hardest for me. It's my favorite.