Yes! This! What a great story!!!
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On our rest day, we only clocked 12,000 steps 
We all slept in and had a leisurely breakfast in the room, then headed over to Winter Summerland for a round of mini golf right when it opened. We played the winter course. It was fun, but already super hot.
We came back to the hotel and had lunch at the pool and swam for a bit. We came in to get ready to go to Disney Springs for a 3:15 mini fig build. But when I checked the confirmation, I saw they had emailed me and their 3D printer was down so we couldn’t do it 
Fortunately I hadn’t mentioned the reservation to either kid so they couldn’t be disappointed. We still headed over to see the store and we really wanted to check out the Pelé store. Huck got a World Cup practice ball and Billie decided to get a Hagrid’s Motorbike Lego set. In between, they split an Oreo churro.
Then we went to Homecomin’ for an always fabulous dinner. I got the cucumber cooler cocktail and Michael and I split the deviled eggs, fried green tomatoes, and the chicken. We took more than half of it back to the hotel with us.
We’re all tucked in for an early night as tomorrow is our AK day and we’ve got an early wake-up call.
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The bracelets turned out so great! 
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Aw I bet they love those bracelets! Supermom!
And now I am craving oreo churros even though I just learned about them today. Adding to my “next trip” wishlist. 
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Do you live in - New Bedford? Pawtucket? As for me - neither - Westport (the Connecticut one) but I used to vacation in…. Fall River. I reread your posts - eastern/central Pennsylvania.
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Early morning at AK. We caught the 6:32 bus (which was second of the day) for 7:30 early entry. Got to the park by 6:55, security opened at 7, taps at 7:15, then straight in. Photographers weren’t out yet, so a quick selfie with the tree then rope dropped Navi River Journey (it’s a tradition).
Back tracked to Discovery Island for the Zootopia show. It was really cute! Neither Michael nor Billie had seen ITTBAB so it was their first time in the tree and the 4D effects were all new to them. Huck liked it much better than the bug show which was, we can all agree, terrifying for littles.
Then to Africa for safari with a LL and the Gorilla Falls Trail. Then we took the train to conservation station primarily for the kangaroos and wallabies but we also got to see a tamarind having his wellness check.
Pic of Billie 2020 vs 2026
After that, we headed back to Pandora. A friend/colleague of mine also happens to be in WDW this week so we met up with them to ride FoP together. We got stuck in the linking chamber for like 10 minutes, finally moved to the next room, then were told that section was down. They put us first in line but we had to go through both preshows all over again.
We had lunch at Satuli- I feel like there’s less veg/slaw in the bowls these days?! The. Rode NRJ for a third time with LL. Then we went off to find the “diabetes bar” as we’ve started calling it. (Seriously, though, it needs a better name,) Waited about seven minutes in line at Terra Treats then sat on the wall in the shade just across the way by Creature Comforts. I cut about 1/3 off each of the kids’ bars as mom tax. Huck has the sweet tooth and loved it, ranking all the layers (cookie dough was the fave, obviously). Billie liked it, but it was too rich for her to finish. More for me! I agree with the masses - it’s worth the wait.
Then we headed over to Kali to cool off on a very hot day. Finally grabbed a photo of @OBNurseNH ’s tree. Even her backside was stunning yesterday, Jenn.
And then we started heading toward the exit. We decided to meet Nick and Judy before leaving. Waited about 30 minutes starting at 3:15. They were a fun meet and greet. Billie has adored Judy Hopps since day one so I’m really glad we did it. Then we left at about 3:45.
We got the kids settled with dinner in the room and then mom and dad had a dinner date at Topolino’s - our first time not for breakfast. Michael had a Negroni and I ordered a glass of bubbly. We split the ricotta as an appetizer and then split the lamb gnocchi, sole muniere, and the romaine salad as our entree. All of it was very tasty. My only complaint was the carrots in the gnocchi were practically raw, which maybe they were going for some textural contrast?! But it was too different from the melt in your mouth dish. Plus they weren’t bite size pieces and near impossible to cut with the standard knife.
We also split the blood orange layer cake for dessert, which was lovely and refreshing at the end of a long day. Back to the room where mom crashed before the kiddos!
We’re off to HS today for our last park day 
and I’m definitely not ready for the magic to end yet.
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Me neither! (has been lovely following your trip thank you for sharing). Hope you have a fabulous last park day!
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Baby’s got back
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Hugs! Hope you’re having a wonderful day in HS! Looking forward to hearing about it.
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Left the room at 7:30 and caught the Skyliner - security was open and we breezed through. Taps opened about 10-15 minutes after that. Right around 8am. I didn’t realize the early entry scan had moved to the individual ride lines (or maybe I forgot!) but we went to MMRR (our family favorite ride). I was lamenting with Michael how they used to start the rides like 30 minutes before early entry time and the last two years they’ve been so strict. But they opened the Railway at 8:20 so a few minutes advantage. We rode and got right back in line for a second round. Then over to TSMM and AS2 for standby rides. By then our mobile order was ready at Woody’s Lunchbox for our tater tots and pop tarts. (Seriously - how do they make that pastry so perfect?!) Then we did SDD, TSMM again with LL, and AS2 again.
Then it was on to Batuu. There was a photo pass photographer right at the transition and I’m glad I looked up the Disney Visa new photo location (we used to really appreciate the Darth Vader meet in Launch Bay) - I learned they have a holocron Vader at this spot but you have to ask for it and you have to show your card. It’s not the same, but still pretty cool.
We meandered a bit. The husband found a First Order t-shirt he wanted. We got to the Falcon and standby was posted 25 minutes so we did that so we could ride twice. We had a ship to ourselves, asked for Grogu mode, and chose Endor. We LOVED the upgrades and Huck in particular was tickled by Grogu’s mischief. The second time around we did Grogu mode again and we chose Coruscant this time. It’s really great that you can choose different routes and how even the music changes. We were marauders in our first run (13,310) and pirates the second (15k something).
Lunch at Docking Bay 7, a stroll through the mall, and then we joined the Resistance. Huck asked to go to the “light saber store,” which is the Star Tours gift shop. The Darth Vader meet and greet is right outside that now and he still gives me chills every time I meet him (sidebar fun fact: I used to work at an elite hotel and James Earl Jones and his wife stayed with us once. They were coming back from an evening out, walking past the front desk, and I said “Good evening.” Darth Vader himself stopped, turned and looked at me, grinned from ear to ear, and said “Good evening.” Amazing moment I will never forget) So we hopped in the line. We were probably 12-15 groups back but the line moved FAST. It took about 10 minutes to get to the front of the line.
We wanted to see the Villains show but we weren’t going to make the next one, so we headed to Pixar Place (my husband is still mad that I got this amazing selfie with Frozone six years ago and he hasn’t gotten a great one). Kids colored with Joy for a few minutes, then we met Edna Mode, Sully, and Elastigirl. Mrs. Incredible and I had a moment talking about how useful elastic arms are when you have kids.
(I’ll upload photo pass pics when I get home)
Then we went to the Villains show. Last year, we saw it three times with a different winner each time. This show, Maleficent took the prize. It is really well done. I love the colors.
We strolled back to the theater for one last ride on our favorite ride. Before we got there, though, we saw Gepetto, who I have never met (so many new meet and greets this trip!). I asked if he knew how to keep little boys from lying (because mine is a Slytherin through and through) and he had no clue.
One last train ride through the countryside.
Back on the Skyliner to the hotel, a quick swim, and leftovers for dinner while watching a replay of the Spain/Belgium match. We’re done with our park days, but we have some fun left in store tomorrow morning. See ya real soon!
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Great way to end your last park day!
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Sounds like an awesome park day! 
Your family traditions are heartwarming. Now I’m extra excited to go back to HS!
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Loved your trip report - thanks for sharing! Your kids are so cute! And you meeting the real Darth Vader at the hotel is an awesome story!
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