Hoop dee doo (day 14)

I have to admit, when the alarm went off, I didn’t jump out of bed or sing a pretty song with the morning birds. To be honest, I looked like an extra in a zombie movie… post mortem.

In my defense, I had a rough night. For some reason I was up at 4 am. Now at home this is a normal occurrence, but here on holiday I’ve been sleeping quite well up until about two days ago. Also, it was really early, because we had an 8 am breakfast reservation at the Be Our Guest restaurant.

It was so nice to get into the park before opening hours, and before the enormous crowds. It’s been getting hotter and more crowded this week, and I would be lying if I would say that’s not been getting to me just a little.

We really enjoyed the breakfast, though the portions were once again ridiculous. Elora’s donut thingy nearly gave me a sugar coma from just one bite. It was tasty, but just too much.

When we were done we still had ten minutes to spare before the park officially opened. A very nice gentleman at the Dwarven mine roller coaster asked us if we wanted to go in the fastpass line, and though we hadn’t planned riding it again, we couldn’t pass that up. I have to admit, I enjoyed it more the second time.

We went to Tomorrow land next, where Elora and I rode Space Mountain. I have to admit, I don’t enjoy just plain roller coasters anymore. If there’s nothing special to see, I don’t need to ride them. Elora loves the speed though. She’s in that phase where she has just discovered roller coasters, so everything is cool and exciting. I try out everything once with her (at least the ones she wants to do, and the ones I can stomach… I’m getting old, so spinning things just won’t do anymore, they make me sick for a long, long time)

We did a whole bunch of things today, and I can’t believe how many rides we rode. So different from previous years, where we only rode four or five things from the morning to the afternoon. Which is funny, because the lines are longer now. But I think it’s because Elora moves faster, or something. I have no clue. It’s great doing everything with a ‘big kid’ and we’ve been getting a little emotional and nostalgic this trip about how Elora’s growing up so fast.

Our last ride for the day was Splash Mountain, my favorite MK ride next to Carousel of Progress (yes, I know the latter is cheesy as hell, but this ride is over 50 years old, and that’s just impressive… I love the old ones) We loved it and we got soaked.

At around 2 pm we were back in the hotel, where we only had a really brief time to rest and get changed for dinner, because we had an early dining reservation at the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue. We had to leave at 3 pm, and we made it with time to spare at the Fort Wilderness resort. Busses ran from the parking lot to the Pioneer Hall, where our dinner was served.

Daan and I lounged in proper rocking chairs on the porch, while Elora played in the playground. It was lovely. Then we stood in line (Disney loves lines) to get into the restaurant. I still say the line could have been avoided if they opened the doors half an hour early… but I guess they just love seeing people line up.

The show was great. Again, cheesy as hell, but the performers have such charisma, as did our server. The food is simple but very tasty and the atmosphere is great. The best part is that Elora loved it. She was laughing so loud, and cheering and singing… it was so awesome to see. One of the performers came and sat at our table, and she was totally charmed. We had a fantastic night.

Daan and Elora decided to dip into the pool after we got back from dinner. I saw the rainy clouds and predicted the pool wouldn’t be open. I have to admit, people are overtly cautious in this country, and we Dutch aren’t scared of swimming in the rain. I was right btw, and Elora just came in to get their books, so that they could read until the three drops of rain would pass. Meanwhile I decided to update my blog again.

We’re having an early night. Tomorrow we’re going to Typhoon lagoon. Not sure what our dinner plans are yet, this is the first time we don’t have dining reservations.

Because of our unpredictable flights, we decided to go back a day early. Part of me is very sad about this, but at the same time… the trip back is stressing me out a little, and I rather get an extra day, just in case we can’t get on the flight. We’ll see.

The vacation is almost over, but it’s been so fantastic so far. The only thing I have to look forward to is having my own bedroom again. Spending 24/7 with an 8 year old is fun… but also taxing. And I kind of miss the cats a little, so I’m looking forward to seeing them again… otherwise I would have gladly stayed a lot longer. This place is wonderful.