Last Day in Disney

Our last day Thomas had to be out early again, for his last half-day at the conference. I did not wake up in a very good mood, and I stumbled down to Captian Cook's for breakfast. Again, I had contemplated room service, but the servings of food just seemed too big, and I just wanted a Mickey waffle. Once I got there, the breakfast potatoes looked good, so I decided to get some. 

Well dear reader, those potatoes were not to be. I brought them up the the cashier. And tried using my magic band to pay for it, forgetting that Thomas had closed out our account that morning. I then tried to use my last gift card, which had been enough for just the waffle, but not for the potatoes too. It took the cashier 5 minutes to realize why my gift card wasn't working (I had my debit card out the whole time because I knew I'd have to pay extra!) and by that time I felt awful for all the people waiting inline behind me. Then, it must have just been divine providence that I not eat those potatoes; as I went to the condiment bar to get syrup and a fork, someone bumped into me from behind, and I spilled those potatoes all over the floor. As you can imagine, I felt miserable by this point,and pretty embarrassed. I quickly picked up the potatoes, dumped them in the trash, and sat in the corner with my Mickey waffle. I don't know how many people eat Mickey waffles while crying, but I'm willing to bet it's not a whole lot. I couldn't stop the tears coming out of my eyes, so I shoveled the waffle into my mouth, and headed back to my room, where I alternatively sniffled, packed, and watched Mickey Mouse cartoons.

Feeling pretty miserable. 

Thomas came back earlier than I thought he would, which was good because I still was not feeling my best. We checked out of the resort, and checked our bags into their holding area, since our flight wasn't until 9 pm. We took the bus to Downtown Disney, and went in search of lunch. As I said before, there was a lot of construction, and it was lightly raining, but we made it over to West End, and decided to go to Splitsville for lunch. 

It's one of their newest places - it's a bar, restaurant and bowling alley! I don't like to bowl, but I had heard the food was excellent, and we were not disappointed! Thomas and I split the loaded fries, and then he went with the King's burger. After the fries, I needed something light, so I tried the gluten-free sushi. It was delicious! Instead of rice, strips of cucumber were wrapped around the spicy tuna, and it was floating in a wonderfully sweet soy sauce. 

While were in the restaurant, it started to POUR outside! So much so that we couldn't see across the street! I went out on the balcony to watch, and giggled at the people huddled in the corners of the street, and under building overhangs. By the time we finished our meal and left, the rain had slowed to a light drizzle. 

Thomas and I still had a few gifts to purchase (you can't have your family watch your child for a few days and not bring home gifts!) and found them in the new marketplace area in Downtown Disney. I bought myself a Rice Krispy treat (those things are huge! I'm still nibbling on mine!) and we headed back for our resort, in order to get on our bus to the airport on time. However, as we got into the bus to head back to the resort, my phone chimed that our plane was running two hours late, and wouldn't depart until 11pm!

I don't know about you, but I don't like Orlando airport THAT much, so we went to see if there was a later bus we could take. After a little convincing (the concierge didn't believe us that the plane was delayed) we managed to get on an 8:10 bus, which gave us 3 hours to kill. On a whim, I asked Thomas if he wanted to see if there were any open spots at Ohana, the very fancy all-you-care-to-eat restaurant at The Polynesean resort. It's hard to get reservations 3 months in advance, let alone last minute, but I figured my luck hadn't been awesome that day, so what was the harm in at least trying? After a 20 min wait, I went down to Boutikki to use up my last gift card - I got a super-cute shirt by the way. 

The huge grill at Ohaha!

I had barely been in the store for 5 minutes before I got a call from Thomas saying "Come up right away - they found us a table!!" I could not have been more shocked, but I hustled my way back upstairs, and Thomas and I sat down to eat. Unfortunately we had had a late lunch, and therefore didn't have quite the stomachs one would normally prepare for a place like that, but we ate chat we could, and I had at least a bite of everything. The dumplings and noodles were my favourite.

I was still wearing my Happy Anniversary pin, and we were congratulated by all the staff. Ohana has a live musician who walks though the restaurant, teaching the kids hula's and leading the around in a parade, and also serenading the honeymooners and those celebrating anniversaries. We were the first anniversary couple she had that night (thanks to us eating fairly early) and she congratulated us, and told us that in celebration, she was going to sing one of "Brudda IZ's songs". 

Have you ever heard Israel Kamakawiwo'ole? No? Well, have you ever heard a beautiful song that mixes up "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from Wizard of Oz, and Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World? It is one of my most favourite songs in the whole world - Thomas and I danced to it at our wedding, and I've been singing it to Meggy ever since she was born. Well, this wonderful woman started playing her ukulele, and I just about burst out in tears. (I'm trying not to cry now, as I'm typing this) Thomas grabbed my hand, and I could see that he was trying not to cry too. After what felt like an awful day - really it wasn't awful. I was just dreading coming home, and dealing with everything that we would have to deal with once we got back. It's a little silly, but Disney World always feels like home. From the weather, to the people, to the fact that other people are just as obsessed with a little mouse as I am! - all of those frustrations just melted away, and I realized how very lucky I was in that moment. I was in an amazing restaurant (by quite the chance!) with my wonderful husband, being serenaded by a sweet lady, my favourite song. At that point, all was right in the world. I said a little thank-you prayer, and finished my meal with gusto.

The amazing bread pudding. I can't believe I managed to save room for it, but I managed to eat more than half of it.

After we rolled out of Ohana, Thomas and I made out way down to the airport bus stop. Thomas got me a lei - my FIRST one, even though we had been there for four days! We had a good time, talking to the cast members and waiting for the bus. 

If I look exhausted in this picture, it's because I am. 

Both Thomas and I had been hoping to get some rest on the bus, but that didn't happen. There was a cute family from Florida whose kids were chatter boxes. They managed to talk all the way from The Polynesian to Orlando Airport! Once we got to the airport, we felt a bit rushed because the time for our flight has been pushed back 30 minutes, and it looked like we would only have 45 minutes to get through bag check in and security! The check in took quite some time (there were some unhappy people who hadn't been informed that our flight was 2 hours late) but it was the fastest I had ever gotten though security! Apparently the time to fly out of Orlando is after 9:30pm.

We left Orlando at 11:30, 15 minutes after we were supposed to land in BWI. The drive home was completely exhausting, and we didn't get to sleep until about 6am. Meggy was super excited to see us, and very excited to see her Mickey we brought back!

This trip was awesome, and a great inroduction to staying on-site. I can't wait to go back with Meggy next year, and have time for the whole family. I felt bad that Thomas wasn't able to do more things, but his conference was very informative, and he was able to learn a lot, and talk with a lot of important people in his field. We had a lovely time, just the two of us, and I'd also love to do that again someday.