Day 4 Evening--Chef Mickey & Fireworks Voyage

Dinner was great. We were seated at 2 tables next to each other and we were in the quieter section--perfect because with 8 kids we are a little loud! The Characters were great. I had really been looking forward to this meal because Alex is obsessed with Mickey Mouse clubhouse. We had seen them at Epcot on our first park day, but he was a little scared. Earlier today, at Magic Kingdom, I had tried having him give them a high 5 first and that really seemed to break the ice for him. So at Chef Mickey he was so excited to see the chara[cters--I loved this part of the dinner--the food was ok, but so fun to see Alex get so excited every time he saw any of them.

I did have to laugh at the family that was visited first in our section--they had a large group, and anytime a character came (even one they had already seen) they took about 50 pictures...everyone together, just the men, just the women, just the boys, just the girls, this family, that family, this boy and that girl and this grandma....on and on and on. I was amazed they could come up with so many different shots!




Since we got started so late, we didn't finish eating until about 7:15.

The original plan was to go back to WL and hang out for a bit then catch the boat back for the cruise. We got down to the dock at 7:25 and waited and waited with no boat in sight. While we were down there we took a picture with our favorite backdrop (every time we pass it we have to get at least one picture)


We decided not to catch the boat and we went back and rode the monorail around the resorts once then watched cartoons in the lobby of Contemporary.


We arrive at the meeting place for the fireworks cruise and they give everyone a special pin that you can only get at this even--very cool. At 8:45 we are let into a conference room filled with all kinds of snacks and drinks. About 5 minutes later Mr. Smee and Captain Hook come in and circulate around the room, taking pictures and "talking" to people.
Here are some of the pictures





At 9:10 our boat captains arrive (Patch and Patch too) They were hilarious and did a little monologue and sang some songs and told some jokes--very cute. They had already assigned groups to boats and specific rows on the boats so everyone knew right where to go.

The cruise was one of the best times we had the entire vacation. We had Patch 2 (too?) as our captain and he was so great. He told jokes, sang songs (with everyone), played trivia games--the time passed so quickly. It was the first time for most of us to see Wishes and it was incredible! Afterwards we circled around for a bit then back to meet Peter Pan. It was probably 11 by this point--but the kids were still totally into everything and having a great time. As we left the boat Patch gave any of the kids who hadn't won anything a little prize from his box.

This set up one of our favorite conversations with Alex. He had a bouncy ball and after Alex dropped it once, Matt put it in his pocket so it wouldn't bounce into the water. Alex kept asking for his ball--when we would ask where it was he would look around and shrug as if he couldn't find it. Then he would make a MOOOO sound (he likes cows) and we would ask if the cow had it--he would nod yes. It was funny because, for the remainder of the trip, anytime he was bored, he would ask where his ball was and then blame the cows or ducks for taking it.
Pictures of the kids with patch:







And the family picture with Peter Pan:


We didn't get home until around 11:30, but definitely something I would do again--so much fun and everyone agreed it was worth every penny we spent on it.