Closing Down Magic Kingdom with My Daughter

We are an Air Force family so we move frequently, and at each location we come up with a list of things to do and see.  My family had the opportunity to spend the last two years living just an hour outside Walt Disney World.  Our goal while in Florida was to spend as much time at Disney as possible.  For two years, we did just that! 

Sometimes just a day, other times a wonderful weekend at the parks and resort.  Luckily, we even had the opportunity to cruise on a few of Disney’s beautiful cruise ships. 

Recently, as our time in Florida was drawing to a close, we scheduled one last Disney weekend.  We stayed at Beach Club (our favorite!), ate at Garden Grill (another gem!), and hit as many of the wonderful attractions as we could.   During our bittersweet last day, I asked my 10-year old daughter what she would like to do.  She said she wanted to close down the Magic Kingdom…that night it was closing at 2am!  Now we are not late night folks by any stretch.  We are the ones who are at the park 15 minutes before rope drop, so I knew this would be a tall order for both of us!

We had an absolutely delightful day; morning in Magic Kingdom, afternoon at Stormalong Bay at Disney’s Beach Club, and then evening at Epcot right up to Illuminations.  

And then the magic happened.  

My hubby and son went back to the room, and my daughter and I hopped the monorail directly to Magic Kingdom. 

We arrived just as Wishes Nighttime Spectacular was kicking off.  We rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (a much different experience in the dark!), Jungle Cruise, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, and Space Mountain.  We settled down in a comfy spot to enjoy the Main Street Electrical Parade.  We had never stayed out late enough to enjoy this parade but boy, was it worth it!  As the night drew to a close, we sat on a bench on Main Street with oversized ice cream cones from the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor and watched and waited as the droves of people exited the park. 

Reluctantly, we joined them and waved farewell to Cinderella’s castle.  

We both cried a bit (yes, that tells you how much we both love Disney), but headed back to Beach Club.  My daughter fell asleep in my lap on the bus, and it brought me back to trips when she was little and I would carry her back to the room at the end of a long Disney day.   However, this wonderful day (and long night!) reminded me that Disney is not just a fun vacation but also a lifetime of memories we will treasure forever. 

Heather is a military spouse and a mother of two.  She has traveled to Walt Disney World over 20 times and has sailed on three of the four Disney cruise ships.  Read more about Heather at:  http://www.wishdrawals.com/heather.html