This is the last installment - thanks so much for hanging with me, sorry it took so long - I have new appreciation for those of you that write trip reports, this is a lot of work! 
DAY 8 – 12/23/16
Today would be our last day in the parks – we were leaving early the next morning to head back home. We hopped on the monorail for rope-drop at the Magic Kingdom and were there early enough to snag some nice pictures in front of the castle.
Early morning view of the Grand Floridian from the monorail
I’m wearing a scarf! Now that’s the kind of weather I was looking for …
We hit all the kids’ favorite rides in Tomorrowland – Tomorrowland Speedway, Astro Orbiter, Buzz Lightyear, and the Tea Cups for good measure (with mother hanging on to the spinning wheel in the center for dear life to keep the stupid thing from spinning – I actually hate that ride). We stopped for a snack and then got in line to meet Merida because she’s super-fun. 
Well, the boys think she’s fun, at least
We went on a few more rides and then headed over to the castle for our breakfast ADR at Cinderella’s Royal Table.
I think CRT will be a one and done for us. Checking in and waiting for our table in the entry area (or holding pen, as it seemed like) was absolute chaos and kind of ruined the whole experience for us – even one of the CMs commented that he had never seen it that bad before – yikes! Things definitely improved once we were in the dining area and at our table – the food was actually really good, better than what we were expecting. It seemed like the interactions with the princesses were a little rushed – the whole thing made me wonder if they were trying to pack too many people in there that day. It was not very magical, but the kids were still excited that they got to go into the castle so I guess that’s something. I definitely don’t think I would ever be able to talk DH into going there again, and frankly I would rather spend that $$ on a better experience.
The best part of CRT was running around the outside of the castle before the meal
After our CRT breakfast the crowds were really starting to pick up again, so we decided to head back to the GF for the afternoon to relax by the pool, do some laundry, and start packing. This ended up being a great decision, and I learned from this that the afternoon break that people always talk about can really be a glorious thing. Next time we go, I will definitely plan more down time at the resort.
This is all my husband really wanted to do …
After a restful afternoon, we went back to MK for our dinner ADR at Be Our Guest. I love Beauty and the Beast – it is probably my favorite Disney movie of all time. Last trip we ate lunch at BOG; this time I wanted to experience dinner there. We sat in the music room last time, and I was happy to be seated in the ballroom this time (next time I’ll try for the West Wing just to get the whole experience). I was hoping that the dinner vibe would be more refined and relaxed than lunch, but unfortunately it still felt a little like a noisy cafeteria. I wasn’t really disappointed – I mean, we were contributing plenty to that noise with our own kids – but I think if I had planned on having a quiet romantic dinner there I would have been sorely disappointed. We will definitely go back to BOG – the restaurant itself is amazing in all its detail, it really is beautiful – but maybe breakfast next time, I don’t think that dinner was so amazing there that I really need to do it again.
HS had extra magic hours that evening, so we decided to head back over there (DH was only too ready to leave MK – the crowds there seemed to have a particularly bad effect on him, haha!). I looked at the show schedule for HS and realized that if we really hustled, we would be able to catch the last Indiana Jones show, which my boys really wanted to see. We took the boat back to the GF and sprinted to our car to head over to HS; my husband ended up dropping off me and DS6 and DS4 at the park entrance since we were really cutting it close. We made it to the show with minutes to spare – and DH and DD2 slid in next to us right before the show started! Yay! After the show (which they loved, of course – explosions and fire and fights, what more could two little boys want?) we went on Star Tours one more time (I think this was DD6 and DD4’s fourth or fifth time on this ride). We were trying to figure out what we wanted to do next when I realized that we were sort of unintentionally staking out spots for Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam … so we decided to just roll with this, since the show was going to start in 15-20 minutes. I’m so glad we decided to stay! It was a really cute show, and the kids loved it. It was nice to walk away from the show covered in fake snow realizing that Christmas Eve was the very next day – like our Christmas celebration was only just starting! We went for one more spin on TSMM and the GMR before heading out of the park and back to the GF for our last sleep at WDW. 
DAY 9 – 12/24/16
We checked out of the GF early next morning and caught our direct flight out of Sanford back to Iowa. Air travel was smooth, and we arrived home with plenty of our Christmas Eve day left to enjoy each other and our own Christmas traditions. What a wonderful trip!!
Final thoughts:
- Strollers are good even if you just park them somewhere for a while and don’t use them all the time; at the end of a long park day, they were absolutely necessary for hauling tired (sleeping) kids.
- Transportation: Having a car was great. We got to the parks so early that we were always able to get pretty good parking spots, and we never had to deal with the bus system. The only park where having a car is kind of a pain is MK, and being at a monorail resort pretty much took care of that for us. The monorail worked like a dream our entire stay, so no complaints there (it can happen!). Staying at the GF, we really liked taking the monorail into MK and taking the boat back.
- Take some time at night to prepare for the next day if you’re planning on doing rope-drop. It made a huge difference for me to set out clothes and re-stock the park bags at night so that we could get out on time the next morning.
- ROPE DROP. Just do it. Especially if you are traveling to WDW at a busy time of year.
- And if you rope drop, plan some afternoon down time at the resort. I wish we would have done more of this – I will definitely plan on more pool time/relaxation at the resort next time!
- Quick thoughts on restaurants:
o ‘Ohana dinner – chaotic check-in, but really good food (and lots of it!)
o 1900 Park Fare brunch – great character interactions, good food with nice atmosphere of the GF
o Mama Melrose’s lunch – excellent use of Fantasmic package, surprisingly good food and service
o Tusker House breakfast – great food and characters, get early ADR to get on Safari right away
o Victoria and Albert’s – AMAZING. Nothing else really compares.
o Crystal Palace breakfast – disappointing this time, would really recommend and early ADR if doing breakfast there
o Coral Reef lunch – Wonderful food and service, felt upscale but still really fun for the kids
o Biergarten dinner – great with CP package, yummy food and beer with good entertainment for kids
o Cinderella’s Royal Table breakfast – meh. Too crazy and rushed, although the food was good
o Be Our Guest dinner – good food, beautiful restaurant, but still very noisy and busy – not quiet or romantic (at least not in the main ballroom, maybe the West Wing room would feel different), meeting the Beast was fun
Let me know if you have any questions as you plan your trips - Christmas was a wonderful time of year to travel to WDW, we loved it!
Don’t hesitate to let me know if you think of any questions as you’re getting ready for your trip!