One More Gasp...

... of magic.

The last full day at Disney is always a little sad, even if you've been vacationing for a ridiculously long time!  We had some really fun adventures today, though, to finish up.  Traditionally, we like to spend our last day in the Magic Kingdom.

The Crystal Palace is one of our all time favorite places to eat breakfast at Disney, both because the food is incredible and this is where you meet the characters from Winnie-the-Pooh.  You can't do much better than that!  We may have "struck again" when Eeyore came by.  For those who have never heard the story, Caleb was terrified of the characters when we went to Disney when he was two.  When Eeyore visited our table on that trip, Caleb smacked him with a waffle, leaving butter all over Eeyore's nose.  Miah might have accidentally gotten permanent marker all over Eeyore's belly, today... 

 

One of the best character photos ever...

Poor Seth...

Because we have spent so much time at the Magic Kingdom on this trip, we only had a few things that absolutely had to get done.  Most of the day was consumed with re-riding everything we love after we knocked out the last few things we hadn't done yet, in the morning.

Liberty Square River Boat:

Exploring Tom Sawyer Island is one of my family's favorite things to do.  You would think, as a literary enthusiast, that I would love it, too, but it has never ranked very high on my list.  However, I enjoyed playing a game of checkers with Phil at the fort (even though I lost badly), and even though I ran camera lens first into a wall in the mines, at least I didn't get hurt... which has been known to happen on the island...

Reading the Map: 

Raft Ride Back to Civilization:

It was super hot and crowded during the day.  At this point, I have no idea how many cups of frozen lemonade we have consumed.  I am feeling pretty thankful for snack credits, both because they keep that frozen lemonade coming and because that led to this moment when you can see that Caleb and Ian do love each other, near constant picking at each other aside:

We don't always make it to the daytime parades, because we are usually so caught up in riding, and have I mentioned it's hot?  However, I was super impressed with the Festival of Fantasy parade and am glad we decided to take it in, even though it was a bit of a challenge when tall people decided to stand up in front of our kids... again.  I think Disney needs a parade watching etiquette guide or something.  I am quite certain that this was the last time that I am ever going to be able to throw one of my children up on my shoulders in the blazing heat for a parade.  In case you're wondering, Miah is super heavy... and wiggly... and again...  it was hot...  It was worth every second, though...

Well, hello there Maleficent:

Minnie is blowing a kiss to Miah here:

Over the course of this vacation, we have done 36 character greetings!  That has to be a record for us.  Tinkerbell was our last greeting, and she was super excited to be in Miah's hair:

Speaking of Tink, here she is flying across the Magic Kingdom during Wishes:

After some ice cream, which sort of revitalized us, we spent our extra magic hours riding Thunder Mountain and the Seven Dwarves Mine Train again.  If you need proof that it was a long day, this is the first time we have ever seen both the park opening and closing shows!

 It's been magical:

L.

Pictures Taken Today: 364

P.S.  Ian keeps saying that this will be our last Disney trip, because now all of the children in our family have had their magical trip.  This is cracking me up.