Around the World in a Day

Magical Memory

Mondays

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This past trip, Allison decided she had favorites at each park that she wanted to revisit at the end of our trip...the very end!  For our last full day of our Disney vacation, we decided to take on the challenge of visiting all 4 theme parks in one day!  The night before our venture, Allison made a list of all of the attractions she wanted to hit.  The rest of us were allowed to add a few in, too, of course.  We hit the hay, and then got up early in the morning, so we could be at Animal Kingdom when the park opened.  If I remember correctly, Animal Kingdom had Extra Magic Hours that morning, so we were able to get a head start on our day.

She's just a little excited--can you tell?







First up--Primeval Whirl!  What a way to start the day!  We also hit Kali River Rapids and Everest...not once, but twice!  Then, it was on to Disney's Hollywood Studios--we had a lunch at Sci-Fi Dine In that we didn't want to miss!





On our way to lunch, we stopped to see the High School Musical Pep Rally, buy some trading pins, and visit with some favorite characters we had missed during the week.

After a great, relaxing lunch of burgers and awesome milkshakes, we worked on our "list":  Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Playground, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Playhouse Disney Live (with a quick picture with Handy Manny while we were waiting), and, of course, one of Sarah's favorites--The Great Movie Ride!  We always ride at least 2 or 3 times during our vacations  ;)

Time was marching on, though, so we headed on over to Magic Kingdom, where we had plenty to do!  Big Thunder Mountain Railroad; Splash Mountain; Pirates of the Caribbean; Haunted Mansion; The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh; Mad Tea Party;  Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover, and we threw in Carousel of Progress, as a last-minute thought.  The highlight of the evening, though, was Allison's first time riding Space Mountain, just before Magic Kingdom closed its attractions for the night!  Sadly, we didn't have time to ride again, so we headed over to Cosmic Ray's, where Alan had gotten dinner for all of us to eat, while we contemplated our busy day!

Still going strong!  Notice the crane next to the Castle?
They were already putting up Christmas lights on the Castle--in September!



Finally, it was time to move on....very slowly now.  It had been a really long day, and we still had one more park to conquer!  We forgot to take the closing crowds into consideration, though.  Our original plan had been to take the Monorail to Epcot for evening Extra Magic Hours, but the lines to the Monorail and the Boat to the TTC were a mile long!  Oh, no!!!  We decided to take the bus back to our home resort, The Beach Club, and walk from there...it was really close to Epcot!  Alas, as we got closer to The Beach Club, Sarah lost her momentum, and just couldn't go any farther.  It had been a VERY LONG day for an Aspie.  I was SO proud of her, though!  She had been such a trooper and had gone for SO LONG that day!   I am still in awe of her accomplishments for the day!  Alan made the "sacrifice" and decided to stay back at The Beach Club with Sarah, while Allison and I went to complete our task.

We didn't realize how tired we truly were!  Phew!  My feet still hurt, just thinking about it!  Allison and I were determined to do it, though.  We took our time, and just enjoyed the ambience of the relatively quiet night at Epcot.

Our goal for the evening here--Test Track and Soarin'!  As we were walking, Allison commented to me, "Mom, you know what I would like to do next time?  I'd really like to see the "fountain show."  I told her, "I wish you had told me--we would have made time to do that this week!"  As we walked slowly by the Fountain of Nations, the lights turned on, and the music started.  My little girl was getting her wish!  We stood there together and watched the light show until it ended.  What a Magical ending to our long day!  Excited about what had just happened, we then headed over to Test Track and got in line--30 minutes!  At 11pm!   We persevered, though, and got to ride!  By the time we got off, it was 11:45, and we were beat!  Soarin' would just have to wait till next year.  At least we had already ridden a couple of times already this trip.  No problem--except that our feet REALLY hurt!!!

We headed back to The Beach Club.  Our resort that is so close to Epcot sure didn't seem close now!  Every step was painful!  By the time we got back to The Beach Club, my feet hurt so bad, I had to take the elevator to the 2nd floor!  We went in the room and collapsed!  We definitely slept well that night!

Was it worth it?  Definitely!!!  Would we do it again?  Probably not!  We would spread it over 2 days, instead.  Phew!  What a day!  But, what awesome memories we have of that day!  The memories I made with Allison at the end of the day are Magical, and I wouldn't trade them for the world! 

--written by Missy Smith, Disney Travel Specialist at 3D Travel Company