Day six - cont.
With that done, we all went to our rooms and rested for about an hour before getting into our matching gear. I had ordered t-shirts from an Etsy shop several weeks before our trip, thinking we’d be able to use at least ONE of our photos from the Party as our Christmas card. A week before the trip, they still hadn’t arrived. After a couple of inquiries, the seller arranged to have them shipped directly to the R, which meant we had lots of photo ops to take advantage of!
Yeah, Josie hadn’t quite woken up yet. Plus, she was annoyed that I didn’t bring her tiara (despite her saying no when I asked back in the room, of course). So we were all decked out, with random people calling out our names when they read our shirts. We stopped at the firehouse to pick up our special Elsa SOTMK cards, then headed to our last FP+ for the day. I thought it would be neat to save the mine train for tonight, since we planned on meeting the dwarves. So we trekked back to the ride, and FINALLY got to experience it.
Very cute ride and it was great that even Memere rode. Not something I’d wait in the super long line for, but definitely worth the FP+.
By this time it was probably a little after 5:30. I sent DH, Memere and the girls to grab dinner at Pinnochiohaus while I stood in line for the dwarves, but Josie decided she was going to stay with me. Which ended up being fine – we made friends with the families around us, most of whom were doing the same as us (holding place for a larger family), Josie played games on my phone or watched the boy behind us play on his tablet, and we just had fun being silly. At around 6:30, DH came and joined me with Rachel & Sara, bringing food for me and Josie.
It wasn’t long before a big cheer went up as the seven famous friends made their way to their photo op, and then the line started moving fairly swiftly (for a meet and greet line). And while I waited in line for close to 90 minutes, I was happy it happened before the party started, because by 7:15, we were through the line and had this cute shot to prove it:
I had discussed with DH whether he wanted to stick together or split up, and we decided to leave it to the girls – whoever wanted to focus on meeting characters would come with me & Memere, while those who wanted to try and get as many rides in as possible would go with DH. We agreed to try and meet up for the second castle lighting, but definitely meet up for the fireworks, and then find a spot for the second parade. Josie ended up with me, while Rachel and Sara went with DH.
Now, I had done a LOT of research before this trip, so I knew which places to avoid and what waits to expect. DH did not; before he headed off, I tried to give him a few pointers (best places to watch the lighting from, where the parade would run, etc.), but he brushed me off with a little attitude about treating him like an imbecile. So I handed him a map and said “have fun” and went off with Josie & Memere. I felt bad, especially after Rachel told me (later that night, after we all reconnected) that they didn’t really get to do much, but I also felt vindicated when DH said he should have listened to my advice.
Anyway, Josie wanted to meet Merida and Tiana, so we headed over to Liberty Square, but Tiana’s line had already been cut off. The nice CM told us when she’d been back, so we made a note and stopped into Columbia Harbor House for hot chocolate and cookies. Then, we headed to MY must do activity for the night – meeting Flynn Rider and Price Charming. We got into line at PFH, and probably waited around 30 minutes, but it was definitely worth it! I think it must be easier on the characters to have another character meeting with them – that way they can play off of each other as well as the people visiting them. Each of these interactions were fantastic – I don’t even have any idea what Josie spoke with Rapunzel about, since Flynn and I were discussing the scent of ruffians and thugs.