The final day has arrived, but we mustn’t be sad because, my goodness, did we have such an amazing time on this adventure. However, I would have stayed another day or two if Disney had offered. They didn’t. We checked out of our modest digs at Pop Century, stored our bags and skipped on over to the Polynesian Resort for some breakfast. That’s right folks, I got up early enough for a proper breakfast on vacation. Mountains can be moved.
The stunning tropical gardens at the Poly entrance.
Breakfast at Kona Café
I made a reservation at Kona for ten o’clock. Hey, I said breakfast, not the crack of dawn! We’d been to Kona once before and had the infamous Tonga toast. It was pretty awesome, but we decided to change it up this time.
Mr. Jones enjoyed a Bloody Mary.
We both enjoyed the press pot coffee. Superb!
The portions and the quality of of all the breakfast entrées here are exceptionally good. I chose the Macadamia-Pineapple pancakes. For about $13.00 you get three gorgeous fruit and nut packed pancakes which could easily be shared amongst two or three people plus your choice of bacon, sausage or ham. There are at least $10.00 worth of nuts alone in these babies. They were fantastic. I did my best but had to leave most behind.
Macadamia-Pineapple Pancakes – with Macadamia Nut Butter, Pineapple Sauce, and your choice of Ham, Bacon, or Sausage
Jeff had this savory extravaganza. Once again this was just $13.00. If this dish was moved to the dinner menu, it would surely be at least twenty bucks. He enjoyed it, along with a good portion of my pancakes.
Poached Eggs with Hollandaise served over Smoked Pulled Pork Hash
This was a great start to a low key day. One wouldn’t want to rush out to use their Space Mountain fastpasses right after such an indulgence. We waddled back over to the Magic Kingdom to take in a few more attractions.
Another look at the gardens.
Walking from the monorail.
The crowds were pretty light, once again.
Main Street putting on a show all by itself.
Following my own advice, we strolled over to Liberty Square for a leisurely ride on the titular riverboat.
The Liberty Belle.
We went right to the top in case the captain needed a hand.
Taking a ride on the riverboat, train or the people mover affords one the opportunity to see the parks from a whole different angle.
Frontierland from above,
The rafts that take you to Tom Sawyer’s Island. We didn’t get there this trip. Next time.
Walkways around Big Thunder Railroad
Big Thunder was having a major facelift.
Back on the riverboat, we nosed around the “captain’s quarters” looking at the artwork. I’m sure there is a backstory behind each picture.
A cushy place to rest.
Dear reader(s), you may remember how excited I was about seeing Great Moments in History Presented by the Muppets. There are two different shows, and we were lucky enough to get to see the second of the two. This one was even better than the first! This time there was an actual live cast member helping narrate the story of the Declaration of Independence.
Our Town Crier.
There was some live singing.
The staging of the muppets was different as well.
What are these guys al looking at?
It’s Sam Eagle!
Both shows were great but this one had much more going on. Next, we took a leisurely walk through to Fantasyland.
The vistas can’t be beat.
Now we were just tidying up. We’ve visited the Little Mermaid dark ride out in Disney’s California Adventure. It was fine. The new iteration here is the same exact ride, but they went all out with the show building and queue here.
Prince Eric’s Castle.
A grotto along the queue.
Rock work and lanterns.
There were many more details inside, but it was way too dark for pictures. Nice job, though.
Scuttle giving us the 411 on Ariel.
Just about how fluffy I felt after this trip.
It all worked out.
On to Storybook Circus. There’s not much to do here, unless you have small children that you want to get soaked for the rest of the day.
Change of clothes is a necessity if you bring your toddler here!
I find this area a little cluttered, though the theming is cute. There’s also highly themed meet and greets in one of the tents. We popped in for a look-see.
Gawrsh! Looking good, Goofy!
Floral carpet.
A stage show happening on the Castle stage.
We circled back around for one last journey through the Haunted Mansion.
A unique angle.
Proper use of the plural possessive.
We started to slowly make our way to the front of the park. Friends, there is no way to describe how difficult it is to leave the MagicKingdom on that last day. No matter how long your trip is or how exhausted and full of food and memories you are, it’s always a sad one.
Dang it’s beautiful here.
A last look down Main Street USA.
Buh bye, Mickey.
We had time for one last meal before we had to head back to the hotel. We had hit all the monorail resorts except the Contemporary so we hopped on the monorail and fix that.
Contemporary, here we come!
View from the monorail back to the Seven Seas Lagoon.
The Mary Blair Mosaic
The Contemporary has a few choices for dining, the most celebrated being the California Grille. We had a smashing meal there with a view of the Wishes fireworks a few trips back. Alas, this is a dinner only joint so no view of anything would be had today. Instead we went inside the dark cavern that is the Wave.
Feels like entering a time machine.
It was pretty quiet.
We bellied up to the bar for a couple of brews.
This place a has great reputation for excellent, locally sourced and reasonably priced food, especially breakfast. It’s also known for being quite plain and boring on the theming. I have to agree.
The waiting area adjacent to the lounge- I call it the Boom Boom room.
That being said, if you’re looking to escape the hustle and bustle of the parks or even the presence of the mouse for a bit, this is the place to go. We weren’t super hungry so we just split a sammie.
My half of a Grilled chicken sandwich.
We thoroughly enjoyed our respite at the Wave. We had less than an hour before we needed to catch our bus back to the airport. The trip was really over, but then we did something kinda crazy. Jeff suggested we hustle back to the Magic Kingdom for one last goodbye. I know, ridiculous right?
We walk/ran all the way back, went through security and walked under the railroad arch just for this:
This may be getting out of hand.
After one missed flight, meeting a good friend for the first time, drinking rum out of a pineapple on the Poly beach, rocking a Halloween party, successfully eating and drinking around the World and personally closing down Epcot, meeting a Wookie, seeing Animal Kingdom in its night time splendor, eating more fried chicken than a descent human being should at Hoop-Dee-Doo, seeing real live Muppets, taking a backstage tour and conquering the Food and Wine festival it was really, finally time to go home.
Until next time.
So here ends our epically long, adventure filled, food and drink fest. What is the best way to cope? Plan another trip! That’s right my friends. May 2017, I’m headed back for an all girls trip!!! My mom and mother-in-law will be joining me and my daughter for their first Disney experience ever!!!
See Ya real soon!