Final Disney Day

Our last Disney day dawned bright, clear and surprisingly late! Because we'd been out so late the night before, Caitlyn actually slept in a bit, as did Lorelei. When they finally got up, all of the girlies headed down to the pool for one last swim.

We spent most of the day relaxing- snacking in the food court, browsing in the gift shop, wandering around the resort, and finally napping in our room. Yes, on our last day, I was finally able to get both girls to take an actual, lengthy nap in the peaceful quiet of our room! Go mama!

We headed out to the Magic Kingdom late in the afternoon, under clear skies that would quickly become cloudy and eventually dump buckets of water on us. Remember how I said I think I might just be slightly OCD? One of the things I packed for our trip was a large tote filled with stroller fans, sunscreen, bug spray, first aid items, extra snacks, flashlights, plastic baggies, extra everything, and ponchos. Why ponchos? It rains a lot in Florida, and Mickey charges $10 for a poncho, whereas I bought them on clearance for under a buck.

Throughout the entire trip, I was always able to whip out whatever was needed to fix a scrape, calm a kid or change wet clothes- Super mom to the rescue! But on this night, my super powers failed me as I had neglected to bring the much-needed ponchos on the one stinking day that it rained!

Luckily, I was able to somewhat redeem myself as I heard a passing man ask his wife if they wanted to get out the ponchos and stay in the park. She declined, so I approached the guy about buying his ponchos. He agreed to sell them to me, at the only slightly inflated price of $5 for two. Not having change, I ended up buying them for $5 EACH, which was still a savings over what Disney wanted for the darn things. Oh well- couldn't let it spoil our last day!

Because of the rain, the park wasn't very crowed, and we were able to walk right onto Pirates (which Caitlyn loved!), as well as fit in two rides on the flying carpets. Caitlyn fell in love with this ride, quickly proclaiming it to be her new very best favorite ride, ahead of her beloved Dumbo.

We had a date at Crystal Palace to meet Pooh and all of his pals, so that was our next stop.

We enjoyed a great dinner, and Caitlyn was literally dancing in the aisles with excitement at the prospect of more characters.

She hugged and loved on every single new friend, and she was sad to leave them behind!

Lorelei was still nervous, but seemed to warm up a bit when Eeyore came by. So, like many mothers before me, I decided to push my luck. We were able to get within a couple feet of poor Eeyore before Lorelei declared she'd had enough with a shriek!

Once dinner was over, we rode a couple of rides, and then grabbed prime spots for Spectromagic. By this point, the rain had stopped, so our prime parade-watching spot quickly became overcrowded, but we didn't let that rain on our parade.

Spectromagic is my all-time favorite Disney event- it is pure magic and wonder, wrapped up with beauty and a hint of sparkly pixie dust. Every float in the parade is illuminated with thousands of lights, and even the characters are adorned with lights. My very best favorite float, to use Caitlyn's words, is the one that starts out with all white lights. As the 3 Little Pigs get out their paint cans, the entire float changes into a colorful spectacle, replete with princesses galore! Ah, the magic of Disney!

As soon as the parade was over, Jason and I, along with Lorelei, were able to walk right into the Haunted Mansion. As we came out, the fireworks were just starting, and we had a perfect view of our 3rd and final viewing.

From there, we did a whirlwind visit to Fantasyland to ride a few rides "one more time." Because it was nearing midnight, the lines were fairly short, and we were able to ride Small World, the carousel, and Dumbo. In fact, Caitlyn got to ride Dumbo 3 times, while the adults switched off. Jason was even able to capture a video of her excitement:

It was so hard to leave that night. In all honesty, I was just as guilty as Caitlyn of wanting one more ride. As we glided through the air on Dumbo, the entire park lit up beneath us while the castle shone above us, all just seemed right in the world. I was tucked into a magical ride with my beautiful, sweet Caitlyn, whose face was purely lit up with the wonder of the day. My husband, who can drive me crazy, but whom I love with my whole heart, was capturing memories of our evening and waving as we flew past. My wonderful mom was sitting with my sweet, sleeping baby girl, smiling both as she watched Caitlyn grin and Lorelei dream peacefully.

I think that is what I really love about Disney- it brings out the magic in innocent, everyday moments and highlights the special gifts we have. The magic isn't really in the castle, the fireworks, the parades, the food or the rides. The real magic is right there within my perfect little family- Disney just helps us to see it more clearly.