Pixie dusted! That’s great! My DS will love that.
Day 5 - You’re Right, TP, Epcot is a 2 Day Park So, it was the last full day, and the last park day, of our vacation. We were dead tired, but also to varying degrees, dreading the end of our trip. These factors, combined with our not knowing much about Epcot (we spent only a few hours there last trip), had us plodding toward the giant golf ball at an ungodly hour with little enthusiasm. Our destination - a pre-RD ADR at Akershus, with incidental eating planned as time allowed before riding Frozen Ever After standby. The kids were not excited, though DS stopped and splashed half-heartedly in the fountains on our way into the World Showcase. A 15 minute wait to be seated further dampened our crummy moods. While waiting on the wall outside the castle, I heard the kids throw shade at 1) princesses generally, 2) castles, 3) specific princesses, 4) the concept of breakfast, 5) Disney vacations, and especially 6) one another. Sensing a bottleneck was keeping us from all the empty tables inside, I determined that it was actually a line to take a family portrait with Belle. Not needing to commit this particular family moment to film (and halfway afraid of what the kids might say to poor Belle!), I asked if we could skip the pic and we were seated immediately. Thanks to the good folks of the Forum, I knew that asking for the check right away was key to a quick getaway. Our waiter was agreeable, and we helped ourselves to the buffet and the hot food brought to the table. I think it was OK? I was distracted by various meltdowns and my preoccupation with beating the rope drop crowd, so I can’t tell you for sure, but I do know that DS’s $40 buffet breakfast included only. . . chocolate donut holes. Like 5 of them. I hope they were good!
Sidenote 7 - Only on the Dining Plan After being fed well past “all you care to enjoy” for 6 days, we were tempted to scrap this meal, but not cancel the ADR, and just line up for Frozen pre-RD. We ended up eating anyway because it was cheaper than no-showing ($10 no-show fee per person). It’s amazing that that can be true, but it totally is!
Check was paid, moods were incrementally approved, and rope had dropped - it was 8:50 and we had been joined in Norway by only the fastest- walking Epcot guests who did not have an Akershus ADR, We rode Frozen with little wait, and it was really cool. DS may still hate princesses but he had a passing interest in Vikings:
The park was still mostly empty and the kids posed for a few Photopass photos by the ball. DD wanted one where they seemed to be holding it up:
Over the next few hours, we did a handful of Future World attractions, with FPP for SE, MS (Orange), and TT and standby for SOAT and meeting Baymax. We had never done any of these before . The larger FW attractions have a few things in common: they are air conditioned (yay!), and they end in a room full of interactive games. Our touring plan did not account for all the time we would want to spend in these after-rooms. If you like video games and science museums (or if you are traveling with an 8 year old boy) I highly recommend budgeting at least 30 extra min in at least some of these rides. It’s a nice break from touring, and you might have a hard time getting the kids out of there! Ride-wise, we all thought Mission Space was amazing, but the spinning messed us up briefly. SOAT was probably our other favorite, but unfortunately, it is closing soon. Speaking of 8 yr old boys, we saw Miles Brown, who plays the youngest son on black-ish, while we were walking out of Mission Space!
We had popcorn outside MS, and shared some chicken nuggets at Electric Umbrella at one point (plus, all those donut holes!). But we were saving our serious eating for the World Showcase, where we headed next. Parents of tweens, if you want to tour WS, don’t walk, RUN, to sign up for the Agent P interactive game (a scavenger hunt with both electronic and real-life components). Our kids were miserable without it, but enjoyed themselves thoroughly once we got it working on my phone. For the adults, I also recommend the $20 Wine Walk (which I read about on TP blog). You can taste 2 wines each in France, Italy, and Germany. These two activities work especially well together, because an animatronic platypus is an even more hilarious surprise after 6 little glasses of wine! 
We had a sit down meal at Via Napoli, with delicious food and an authentic-feeling atmosphere that seems to be common in World Showcase table service restaurants. On my next trip, I was to eat more dinners at Epcot!
We finished our walk around the world in the early evening and let the kids pick one last thing to do on our last park night. They picked a final ride on Rock n Roller Coaster, so we headed back to DHS. The same 2 kids who were so nervous to ride EE on Monday rode RNRC in a seat by themselves on Friday.
One more night in the Nemo suite, and we reluctantly began our departure day in WDW (just a little more to come!). . .
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Departure Day - A Birthday Lie, A Sad Goodbye We booked an evening flight home for a better fare and extra time in WDW. Our five park days were used, but we had planned our last TS meal and some Waterpark Fun (and more) for our last day.
We had a mid-morning reservation at Cape May Café at the Beach Club, a buffet breakfast. They had an awesome assortment of food, and the characters were really cute. And it turned out I had a surprise in store at CMC! See, at one point during the six month planning process, I had a milestone birthday. 
And when I happened to speak to a CM on the phone in proximity to the birthday, I mentioned it offhand as an “occasion” for the trip (they always ask, and for once (in May!), I had an answer!). I figured nothing would come of it, and it was just as well since I was half embarrassed for even mentioning it. Well, for the entire trip, I noticed that whenever anyone in our group tapped for FPP, I saw “myname’s Birthday!” appear on the screen under our names 
. Only one ride CM ever said anything, and no one in dining, which was just as well since it had not been my birthday for three months! But Claire, our sweet waitress at CMC (who said she was just my age!), pulled out all the birthday stops for me. I got a cupcake with my breakfast, a card signed by Minnie and Donald, and my fam and the tables nearby even sang “Happy Birthday.” My kids were mock (?) mortified, but I will admit to some pixie dust in my eyes at the star treatment I was receiving! It was a nice, sweet (if not completely deserved!) treat to end to an amazing trip.
The day was somehow half over already, and in order to allow 3 hours at the airport, we realized we had only a precious few left for fun. We stopped by Fantasia Gardens for mini golf, but there was a long wait. So we checked out of AoA, stored our bags, and made a lightning-fast trip to Blizzard Beach. This place seemed terrific, but we only had time for our top 2 picks, Ski Patrol Training Camp and Teamboat Springs. Then, it was back to AoA for a quick bite before heading back to MCO. 
Thanks for reading! And thanks for all the help with planning! We couldn’t have done it without you!
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Great read, thanks for sharing your trip and lovely pics with us!
Thanks, @missoverexcited! Hope you are managing adjusting to the real world, too, as I know you were there just before us!
The struggle is real! It helps that I know I will be back, as I honestly thought it was our last trip. Probably not for 3-4 years but I’m already planning!
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Great report! And great photos!
Thanks so much for the report! Love reading them and so glad you had a great time!
Great report! Thanks for sharing your trip! 