squeezing in as much disney as possible

our last day in orlando was overcast and gloomy looking. it was as if it knew we were leaving.  well, actually, there was a pretty significant storm coming in and we had absolutely nothing to do with it.  whatever.

as we headed out of the hotel, i took one last look around everywhere to take in all of its glory.

and we were all excited to learn that just outside there was a desk that would take our luggage, weigh it, check it in and transport it to the airport for us.  we didn't have to deal with our suitcases anymore until we landed at home, yay!

 and then it was time to board the magical express bus one last time.

bye, disney world!  we had a blast!

of course, the monitors played more of those videos promoting all things disney - parks, cruises, adventures.

at the airport, the girls chatted about their favorite parts of the trip on the little shuttle to our terminal.

we killed some time grabbing coffee and breakfast while we waited to board our plane, and then it was time.  see how excited we all were?

see ya, orlando!  till next time!

the hub and the girls alternated between snoozing and watching movies all the way home.  as for me, i got engrossed in "the intern" with anne hathaway and robert de niro and enjoyed a drink and a snack.

after all of our movies were done, we played with snapchat a little.  the face swap is really creepy.

the flight home seemed faster than the the one going to orlando.

and then it was the usual order of business - grabbing luggage, finding the shuttle to the parking lot, driving home, picking up the dog.  i even got a head start on things as i unpacked our bags and started a load of laundry.  that's when you know vacation is well and truly over, amirite?

except that it kinda wasn't.  because we'd scored tickets to this:

that's right.  we went straight from disney world to seeing a disney show live at the hollywood bowl, all in one day.  party animals, we were.  and the hub really prefers parking in the valet lot in the VIP section, which is super convenient.  none of us were complaining about the short walk to the entrance, that's for sure.

and check it out - the old lady spotted jaleel white, AKA "steve urkel" behind us.

it was quite the festive atmosphere, with this being the last show of a sold out multiple-day run.  there were fun photo ops, but no one was interested in waiting in line with me for one.  boo.

this also gave me the perfect opportunity to bust out a top i've been keeping in my closet for ages.  i'd found it on clearance at a little boutique once, and knew it was the perfect piece for disneybounding as ariel.  i'd just never found the right time to wear it...till now.

we managed to get at least one group photo, though:

darren criss from "glee" was the host of the evening.

he introduced brad kane, who was the original singing voice of aladdin and still sounds exactly the same.  it was fun to hear him sing a couple of songs from the movie.

and then he brought out susan egan, who was the voice of meg in "hercules" and the original belle in the broadway production of "beauty and the beast."

the bean was happily eating sushi and relaxing in the mermaid tail blanket i'd made her at christmastime.

showtime!

we got a taste of the fireworks that would end the show during one of the early scenes in the movie.

tituss burgess came out a few times to sing as sebastian the crab.  he was awesome and completely entertaining.

norm lewis performed as king triton.  i don't really follow broadway performers much, but he was fantastic too.

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but the true star of the show was rebel wilson.  she made a perfect ursula, and the entire audience adored her.

well, aside from jodi benson.  the original voice of ariel, she sang beautifully and looked gorgeous onstage.

intermission!

this was sandy cameron, a solo violinist who was absolutely amazing.

darren criss came out to perform an arrangement of "her voice," from the broadway version of "the little mermaid."

and my favorite, hottie mchotterson john stamos played the part of the crazy chef.

the fireworks show at the end of the movie was as spectacular as you'd expect from a disney production.

jodi benson came out to sing a couple more songs, and then the entire cast came out for a final bow.

talk about the perfect way to end a disney vacation.