The conference officially ended with a farewell breakfast on Sunday morning. We extended our stay two more nights at the same conference discounted rate. I admit I loved being on site and able to ride the buses and enjoy the extra magic hours!
Sunday, we headed to Magic Kingdom as soon as we finished breakfast. We met my aunt & cousin too. We got on the Splash Mountain & Big Thunder Mountain first before the crowds were too long. We spent a few hours at the park and then left for a break. Ben and I headed back to the hotel for nap, but the older kids went to the Contemporary with my aunt to check out their pool since it was closer. My aunt had made reservations for the girls to go to tea, so the boys headed back to our hotel anyway to rest until the heat let up.
When we got back, the line at Space Mountain was too long. Members at CWD had recommended getting a Guest Assistance Card (GAC) for our diabetic children in the heat of summer. The heat alone does crazy things to their blood sugar & they may have to stop to deal with highs & lows & extra restroom breaks, etc. Disney agreed and had someone at the Coronado on Wednesday to help us with them. Our GAC allowed Andrew to wait in a cool place or use an alternate entrance. Roller coasters were an easy place for me to justify using the card. If he has to unplug his pump and leave it behind to ride the ride, he didn't need to spend forever standing around with no insulin. We only used it on roller coasters, but it really made a huge difference!
Saturday night, Ben made it until almost 9:00 & then started saying, "I want to go home (meaning the hotel)." Ryan had been out until midnight the night before so he decided to return to the hotel with me. The three of us and a stroller got to right in front of Cinderella's castle just in time for the Wishes Nighttime Spectacular. The lights in the park went down & there was literally no way we could make it through the crowd, so we just watched. It was an amazing light show that turned the castle different colors. Ryan is old enough to appreciate how difficult that was to do, and he was mesmerized! It's harder to have magical moments with kids as they get older, but, despite the fact that Ben was still crying to go home, that was my magical moment with Ryan. When the light show was over, we did try to get out of the park before the actual fireworks. We weren't entirely successful, so when we got into the bus poor Ben uttered, "Now we're safe." We tried to take him a store or restaurant to hide for any fireworks after that. The rest of the family enjoyed the Electrical Parade and stayed until midnight on Saturday. Sunday night, Ben made it until almost midnight, and the older kids enjoyed extra magic hours until nearly 3 am!
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