Day 4 of our trip was also our last day at the Polynesian Resort. We had to pack up everything and load the van before we could go to Epcot that morning. (For the final week of our trip, we stayed at my parent's time share - Westgate Vacation Villas - in Kissimmee, FL, which is less than a mile off of Disney property.)
I ran back to the van to get my sunglasses and the kids and Doug walked on to the Ticket & Transportation Center (TTC). From the TTC, we rode the monorail to Epcot for rope drop. By now you've realized that we are morning people and don't waste a second of our vacation by sleeping in. :)
Once we got inside the gate at Epcot, Samantha & I went in direction for rope drop and Alden, Clair, & Doug went another. Samantha & I ran to the Soarin' ride and Doug ran to Test Track to get a Fast Pass for later in the morning so Samantha & he could ride it. When asked if she liked Soarin', Samantha replied: "It was just a movie!" This is crazy! It is a high intense ride while you feel like you are gliding above areas of California! (Doug can't even ride it!)
Alden, Doug, & Clair met us at The Living Seas with Nemo & Friends. While Samantha & I were on Soarin' it rained so Doug had to get out all the rain gear! This was the only time it rained on our whole trip - and it was only for 20 minutes!! We all went on the ride and then we watched Turtle Talk with Crush. Crush talks to the kids and asks them their names and questions! The kids loved it!
After that, Samantha & Doug split off to go on Test Track. Alden, Clair, & I stayed at The Seas to look around at sharks and other fish.
Samantha on Test Track - she LOVED it! We joined back up with Doug & Samantha and then I split off to go on Mission Space. I had never been on it and almost got sick because it was so intense! (And I don't get sick easily!)
We walked to the American Pavilion to eat lunch and there was a really neat gingerbread house to look at!
We loved the character topiaries that were dressed up for the holidays - such as these Donald & Pluto topiaries!
We have a Disney Visa card, and because of that, we get a special "Meet & Greet" with the characters. This time it was Minnie Mouse & Goofy. We got to go into a room with just the characters for as long as we like just to take pictures in private! We also got a free 5 X 7 of one of the pictures.
After seeing the characters, we walked to Journey Into Imagination with Figment. Alden has always loved Figment and he got a stuffed animal of the purple creature this time! When the ride is over, there is a place for the kids to play and make music with their hands and legs. This is always a hit with our kids. (Kodak actually just pulled their sponsorship of this exhibit, so a lot of the fun things were closed, but the kids still liked it!)
Doug & I played in this "jumping" water fountains when we were kids, and it's so fun to watch our own kids play in them! The kids thought it was pretty neat that water can jump! It was actually warm this day, so the water felt good!
After our snack, we picked up our picture from our Visa Card Character Meet & Greet near the front of the park and rode the monorail back to the TTC. From there, we walked to our van (which was still parked at the Polynesian) and drove to Westgate to check-in. Westgate has a master bedroom/bathroom, a separate bedroom with 2 double beds (for Samantha & Alden), and a living room/dining room/full kitchen area (for Clair to sleep). It always has a washer and dryer too! We dropped our stuff off, changed clothes, and drove to Hollywood Studios to do Evening Extra Magic Hours!
On the way in, we stopped for a quick family picture! Then we ate dinner and walked to the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights! It was amazing to see all the lights! But, there were A LOT of people! People EVERYWHERE! We could barely move, so we walked along and found some space and just watched and watched! The kids danced to the music and tried to catch some "snow" (there were a couple of snow machines on the roofs).
We decided to have some popcorn and sit down for awhile while we waited for the crowd to clear out. We waited until Extra Magic Hours started and then we went to the Playhouse Disney Dance Party! (For Extra Magic Hours - only Disney hotel guests are allowed in the park - so there are a limited number of people in the park.) The kids had a blast! They each got balloon animals: Samantha got a flower, Clair got a frog, & Alden got a sword. (Later you will see his sword used as a hat.) Samantha danced with Mickey, Minnie, Handy Manny, & Jo Jo!
After the dance party, we walked back over the see the lights and were amazed at how many people had left! We walked around and watched them some more. We found the Purple Cat Halloween light that they hang every year. (One year a Halloween light never got put away, and they lit it with the Christmas lights. Now, they have a tradition that there will always be that Halloween light lit with the Christmas lights, but it is always in a different spot.) We were shivering by now, as the cold front had already set in, so we decided it was time to go back to Westgate.
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