NOTE- If you're interested in reading up on any of our previous days, you can still check out PART 1, PART 2, PART 3, PART 4, PART 5 and PART 6.
It's hard to believe I've made it to my final 2016 Disney World trip write-up! With only three days left until this year's WDW vacation, I'd say this is cutting it pretty close. Nonetheless I'm excited to finally share with you the last day of our epic seven day Disney experience, dating all they way back to last April...
Friday April 22, 2016 to be exact. This day began early getting our things packed up checking out of our resort (never the best moment in a Disney trip, so let's not dwell on it ;). The first thing on our agenda was tracking down the mini Buzz Lightyear keychain (shown above) which I had seen on the Shop Disney Park app. Every place that said they had it, actually didn't! I finally found it in stock at the most random place possible: the Meadow Trading Post gift shop at Fort Wilderness (see my full post HERE).
Our lunch reservation was at Liberty Tree Tavern (a childhood fave of mine), so we headed over to the Magic Kingdom for one last go-around there. We stopped by some rides in Adventureland on our way, including Pirates of the Caribbean again!
NOTE- My shirt of the day was my 2015 Disney Store Toy Story 20th anniversary tee. Full post right HERE.
Lunch was absolutely incredible and even better than I had remembered it. I feel like they've really stepped up their game there over the last few years. If you're considering booking lunch or dinner here, DO IT. I don't think you could possibly be disappointed.
First of all, the rolls and honey butter (yes you can request HONEY BUTTER), are to die for.
I got the Pilgrim's Feast (which, after just looking it up, unfortunately doesn't seem to be on their lunch menu anymore!): Traditional Roast Turkey served with Herb Bread Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, a Garden Vegetable (green beans) and Cranberry Sauce ($19). WOW.
Brita kept it pretty light again and got the [also delectable] New England Clam Chowder ($8.50).
Our dessert of choice was the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake (Vanilla Cake with Gooey Toffee Filling, Caramel Sauce, and Vanilla Ice Cream—$7.50). This had to be one of the best (if not THE best) desserts all week. Totally out of control.
A lot of this day was spent just soaking in our last moments, taking lots of pics and re-riding many of the classic rides.
The Haunted Mansion is always a re-do.
By the way, in Memento Mori (The Haunted Mansion gift shop) be sure to stare into this mirror hanging on the back wall...if you wait long enough you might see a creepy face appear. Spooky!!
We made our way through Fantasyland and over to Tomorrowland again for another round of Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.
On our way out of Buzz Lighyear's, a cast member hooked us up with stickers! Even as a cast member myself (who hands out stickers every day at the Disney Store), moments like this in WDW are still magical and bring out the kid in me. Love it!
Ha! Kind of loved this shirt.
We took the boat over to the Polynesian again since we were craving their famous "POG Juice" (Passion, Orange, Guava). I literally can't get enough of it when I'm there. I've been a fan since I was a little kid!
Like our previous day, we were ALL over the place this day. We took the monorail back to Epcot, did a few things there and I got another one of the Finding Nemo Character Connection Pins. This time I got Chum, which was one of the chasers!
We walked from Epcot, through the Boardwalk Resort (lots of fond memories of staying there with my cousins year to year as a teenager) and over to Hollywood Studios. It's quite the distance, but it's a beautiful walk we always have to fit in.
One of the things I had hoped to do all week was the Toy Story character meet and greet area (Woody's Picture Shootin' Corral) at Hollywood Studios in Pixar Place...and I finally got to do it! This was my very first time actually going in there believe it or not. The lines are always super long (which is why it took me this long to bite the bullet), but it was a total blast.
Little did I know that there are so many awesome photo ops while waiting in line to make the time pass quicker (based on scenes from both Toy Story 1 & 2). So much fun! Check out all seven of the photo areas below.
Andy's Bed
Space Crane
Sid's Room
BIG ONE Rocket
ZURG
Woody's Roundup
Airport Baggage
At the end, you [of course] get to meet your favorite toys from Andy's toy box, Buzz Lightyear and Woody! They were a lot of fun to interact with. It was a rootin' tootin' good time!
By the way, does anyone know if any other characters besides these two ever show up there for photos?
As we exited the coral, the green army men were up to their usual hilarious antics and wanted to take some pics with us (one of them liked my shirt). You can't get enough of those guys!
As people started gathering for the Star Wars fireworks show, that meant NO WAIT times for us! Don't you love when that happens? Toy Story Mania was totally empty, so I had the rare opportunity to walk through the normal (non-fast pass) line to get detailed pics. I never get to do that! So many awesome giant props in there that I've missed seeing in person over the years.
I won't say who won again, but you know. ;)
Star Tours was also totally empty! And we got to choose which row to sit in since we were the only ones in there for the most part. It was fun being able to catch all the action from the first row, since I feel like we always get put in the back. It was a nice change of view.
Love these minimalistic planetary travel posters that are on the walls as you exit. Such a cool style!
We finished up our night and vacation with a literal bang as we watched the amazing "Symphony of Stars" Star Wars firework show. Watching fireworks synced to Star Wars music never gets old and I can't wait to experience their newest version, "A Galactic Spectacular" during our trip this upcoming week.
Well guys, that's all I got. It's been quite the rundown over the past year as I've documented this trip! It's been so fun reliving all these memories in my mind as I've typed up these posts and I hope you've had some fun reading about our days as well. Maybe you've even learned or new thing or two!
And for those two or three dedicated readers or actually stayed with me through all seven posts, thank you!! Your support and comments mean so much.
Oh and the best thing about driving down? No need to worry about getting all the souvenirs we bought on the plane ;)
Bring on the next trip!
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