We are on our way.
I woke up about 5 and began getting things in order. By 6 we were on our way to the airport. The J's fly home later tonight so waking them seemed like a bad idea.
The airport was a bit more crowded than I was expecting, but I think Orlando always surprises me, they get a large number of people through in a short amount of time. Which is always something to be thankful for.
We have about 2 hours in the Houston Airport this morning. We found some food... and might wander about a bit. From what I can see (just part of the C terminal) it looks pretty big, with a lot of food vendors and shops to browse if you are so inclined.
I picked up another mug for my collection!
The Starbucks You Are Here mug from Houston!
I think the price on these mugs is going down... not sure if that says something about how long they will be available. I guess we shall see.
All our flights were on time, something I was very thankful for.
Unfortunately, I was congested and landing twice in a day left me only hearing out of one ear for quite a while.
But we arrived home, got our luggage and a late lunch from the Beecher's shop in the airport... oh, such good Mac N Cheese! and were on our way to meet Grandpa and pick up our kids.
The kids were full of hugs and smiles - melts my heart. Gotta love them.
It's great to all be together and having a bit of time with hubby has been wonderful.
Tomorrow everyone is back to school and work - here we go!
Monday, October 7, 2013
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Oh Let's Sleep In!
We had a plan for breakfast this morning, but we all forgot about it - I blame sleep deprivation :)
It was 11 before we were all awake. And after noon by the time we left the room. Our plan today was to go to the Magic Kingdom and Mrs. J and I had reservations for Tea at the Grand Floridan early afternoon.
Well our timing was a bit off with a late start, so we went right to lunch at Pecos Bills - this was my first time eating there. The condiment bar was great. I had heard about it but I was surprised by the size and variety. I am sure we will be back next time. From here, we headed across the park to the People Mover, a very low-key ride, that for some odd reason is a favorite of mine. The J's know Disneyland, so riding something that isn't at DL was fun also. Just as our car had entered Space Mountain we stopped... not unusual. But unlike other brief ride interruptions, this one was lengthy... and ended with us walking off the ride with cast member chaperones. This was interesting, as I haven't done it before.
But the timing meant Mrs. J and I needed to head directly to Tea. The monorail was down for a while so we hoped on a boat and arrived right at our reservation time. I think we were the most casually dressed of the guests, but that didn't matter really. We choose the Buckingham tea service and settled in to enjoy (what turned out to be) a two hour tea service. I selected there own blend of tea, called Mad Hatter's something - It was wonderful!
We enjoyed our tea and caught another boat back to MK. With just an hour until the MNSSHP start time, we didn't have time for much before it was time to depart. We gave the peoplemover another go, and also went on Buzz Lightyear, before departing.
The J's planned to rent a car from one of the onsite agencies that evening, but we arrived about 7, and apparently they closed at 6... so they will try again tomorrow.
The guys dropped us girls off and headed to Downtown Disney to find some dinner. Mrs. J and I relaxed and chatted, until they returned with Wolfgang Puck Express - Yumm.
After eating it was time to pack and get some sleep - our flight would be early tomorrow.
We said our goodbyes to the J's and set about it.
It was 11 before we were all awake. And after noon by the time we left the room. Our plan today was to go to the Magic Kingdom and Mrs. J and I had reservations for Tea at the Grand Floridan early afternoon.
Well our timing was a bit off with a late start, so we went right to lunch at Pecos Bills - this was my first time eating there. The condiment bar was great. I had heard about it but I was surprised by the size and variety. I am sure we will be back next time. From here, we headed across the park to the People Mover, a very low-key ride, that for some odd reason is a favorite of mine. The J's know Disneyland, so riding something that isn't at DL was fun also. Just as our car had entered Space Mountain we stopped... not unusual. But unlike other brief ride interruptions, this one was lengthy... and ended with us walking off the ride with cast member chaperones. This was interesting, as I haven't done it before.
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| pic one of two in a series.... Our runner asleep around Disneyworld.... |
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| pic two of two ...... Yes, he looks awake... but is he really? |
But the timing meant Mrs. J and I needed to head directly to Tea. The monorail was down for a while so we hoped on a boat and arrived right at our reservation time. I think we were the most casually dressed of the guests, but that didn't matter really. We choose the Buckingham tea service and settled in to enjoy (what turned out to be) a two hour tea service. I selected there own blend of tea, called Mad Hatter's something - It was wonderful!
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| the last course of our tea service was a trifle... soo yummy - pineapple and something. |
We enjoyed our tea and caught another boat back to MK. With just an hour until the MNSSHP start time, we didn't have time for much before it was time to depart. We gave the peoplemover another go, and also went on Buzz Lightyear, before departing.
The J's planned to rent a car from one of the onsite agencies that evening, but we arrived about 7, and apparently they closed at 6... so they will try again tomorrow.
The guys dropped us girls off and headed to Downtown Disney to find some dinner. Mrs. J and I relaxed and chatted, until they returned with Wolfgang Puck Express - Yumm.
After eating it was time to pack and get some sleep - our flight would be early tomorrow.
We said our goodbyes to the J's and set about it.
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Race Night - day
Breakfast today was at the Kona Cafe. A favorite place of mine for breakfast, and based on the crowds and wait times, I am not alone. We had a great breakfast with Kona coffee french press and their famous Tonga Toast... what a treat!
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| We took the monorail tour and I spotted this in the tile floor at the Grand Floridan... I had never noticed it before. |
Our afternoon included lots of lazy time in the room and a little nap for some of us. We enjoyed a wonderful spaghetti dinner in the room, thanks to Mr. J. And soon the race prep would begin.
We were able to take a bus right from the resort to the race, which was more convenient than last year. Having done this last year, we knew what to expect, and it was very similar. Based on the bib numbers, it seems that it was a similar size crowd, but it felt more crowded. We found a piece of parking lot and settled in. Just as last year the DJ (bellhop) was great and the people watching was very entertaining. The J's and I headed to the spectators' area about an hour before the official race start and hubby wandered to his pacing group.
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| My favorite runner. |
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| His pacing group headed to the start... he is back a bit from the camera. |
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| The Studios.. all to ourselves... almost :) |
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| The J's with a local villain, apparently he wasn't very chatty? |
With last year's experience he knew a bit better how to recover and spent some time refueling and relaxing. Once he had recovered enough to change, he and Mr. J headed to Tower of Terror and Rock'n rollercoaster. Mrs. J and I did a bit of shopping and waited for the guys. We headed out to find our bus around 3 am... I think we were all shocked to have made it to 3 am. The bus dropped us at the hospitality house at OKW and we walked back to our room, as the regular resort buses were no longer running. Hubby took a long soak in the tub and sleep wasn't far behind.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Food and Whine ;)
Today was our Epcot day! My favorite park!
We headed out the door about 10 this morning. Our plan was for 9:30, but hey we are left coasters :)
First stop at Epcot with our friends (the J's) was Spaceship Earth, followed by grabbing fast passes for Test Track on our way to the Food & Wine Pavillion.
We walked around inside, made some mental notes at the shop and took a look at the chocolate exhibit, before heading out.
(if you go, get the Drinking Chocolate... its amazing!)
With plans to come back to Future World for our Test Track fast passes, we headed for the food! Starting with the Terra booth and working clockwise around the lagoon.
Last year one of my favorites was the Chili Colorado that Terra had... and it was back! Yumm. I tried the curry as well, but the chili was better in my humble opinion.
Another favorite was the Empanadas in Argentina... so good!
As we continued our way around the lagoon, we hit the 3 Caballeros ride, and the Maelstrom ride in Norway. We sampled at booths along the way and made a stop in for School Bread - which is a new must have each trip for me. I shared it with Mr. J and we continued along the way. Eating and chatting.
A note about the food preferences of our little group. My hubby and Mrs. J are both vegetarians... and as luck would have it both allergic to onions (but in different ways). I eat meat, not pork or fish. And Mr. J eats... whatever he likes :) So the festival had more offerings for some of us than others... but we all enjoyed it.
We found our way to the 12:45 show of American Adventure. And then it was time for our Test Track fast pass. Yes, it's true, you can't get much further away from Test Track than American Adventure, but whatcha gonna do?
After we took our ride, Hubby decided it was a good time for him to run over to the Wide World of Sports complex for Packet Pick up, while I continued to show the J's around Epcot. And we would resume eating when he returned. So we headed to the Land for 'Living with the Land'. The J's have ridden Soarin', in CA and we choose not to wait in the standby line. After our boat ride through the greenhouses, we headed to the Seas with Nemo.
After finishing up Future World, we headed back over to the food and World Showcase. We hit a couple more food booths and I really enjoyed the pineapple fritters :)
Hubby met back up with us as we exited the circlevision in Canada and our group continued on to explore World Showcase and eat a bit more. We wrapped up both the eating and the exploring in France and then wandered back to the room.
Tomorrow we hope to be lazy for the day. The race is at 10 pm.. with the post race party til 4 am... so a lazy day and maybe a nap sounds like a good idea.
We headed out the door about 10 this morning. Our plan was for 9:30, but hey we are left coasters :)
First stop at Epcot with our friends (the J's) was Spaceship Earth, followed by grabbing fast passes for Test Track on our way to the Food & Wine Pavillion.
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| Huge mobile at the top of this pavilion... how have I never seen this before? |
(if you go, get the Drinking Chocolate... its amazing!)
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| Mr. J, tasting the Drinking Chocolate... and he has good taste in T-shirts too. |
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| All made out of CHOCOLATE, even the background picture is painted in chocolate. You can say it, WOW! |
With plans to come back to Future World for our Test Track fast passes, we headed for the food! Starting with the Terra booth and working clockwise around the lagoon.
Last year one of my favorites was the Chili Colorado that Terra had... and it was back! Yumm. I tried the curry as well, but the chili was better in my humble opinion.
Another favorite was the Empanadas in Argentina... so good!
As we continued our way around the lagoon, we hit the 3 Caballeros ride, and the Maelstrom ride in Norway. We sampled at booths along the way and made a stop in for School Bread - which is a new must have each trip for me. I shared it with Mr. J and we continued along the way. Eating and chatting.
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| The sky was amazing today. |
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| We tried Ribbon Ice Cream... Mango flavored. |
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We found our way to the 12:45 show of American Adventure. And then it was time for our Test Track fast pass. Yes, it's true, you can't get much further away from Test Track than American Adventure, but whatcha gonna do?
After we took our ride, Hubby decided it was a good time for him to run over to the Wide World of Sports complex for Packet Pick up, while I continued to show the J's around Epcot. And we would resume eating when he returned. So we headed to the Land for 'Living with the Land'. The J's have ridden Soarin', in CA and we choose not to wait in the standby line. After our boat ride through the greenhouses, we headed to the Seas with Nemo.
After finishing up Future World, we headed back over to the food and World Showcase. We hit a couple more food booths and I really enjoyed the pineapple fritters :)
Hubby met back up with us as we exited the circlevision in Canada and our group continued on to explore World Showcase and eat a bit more. We wrapped up both the eating and the exploring in France and then wandered back to the room.
Tomorrow we hope to be lazy for the day. The race is at 10 pm.. with the post race party til 4 am... so a lazy day and maybe a nap sounds like a good idea.
Welcome to the Humidity
Our arrival last night uneventful.
We all landed, collected bags if needed, and headed for the rental car lot. We picked out a happy red Toyota Camry and headed out. Since it was after 4... more like 6, our room was ready and check in went quickly. With our bags stored in the room we buzzed down to Downtown Disney for some food... breakfast was a long time ago and those "snack paks" on the plane don't really last that long.
Earl of Sandwich fit the bill and I (once again) had the best turkey sandwich ever! The restaurant was crowded, like usual, but we found a funny little table for four with a post right in the middle and ate while we leaned around the post to all see each other :) It would seem we are silly even without our kids present.
After a yummy meal we wandered a bit, over to World of Disney to pick up a few required purchases. Last summer when we came they had a line of boys T-shirts themed after Phineas and Ferb... funny shirts with the gang at Disney World... the tag line on each says "Best Day Ever". We picked up the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror shirt this summer, it has an "Elevator-inator" on it with Dr. D... funny. So we (I) wanted to get another one for our kiddo. We found a Pirates and an Astro Orbitor themed one and were pleased with those.
The rest of our evening was a quick trip to the Winn Dixie to stock up on water and some food for meals in the room.
Then we spent the evening just talking in the room.... we haven't had much time with our good friends the "J's" since college. We keep in touch, but since we don't live the same state anymore, it's not as easy. But with good friends getting together is always fun and easy. The only hard part was trying to get up off the couch and go to bed... finding the balance between Florida time and home time. Staying on our home time would be better for race night... but?
We were up late :)
We all landed, collected bags if needed, and headed for the rental car lot. We picked out a happy red Toyota Camry and headed out. Since it was after 4... more like 6, our room was ready and check in went quickly. With our bags stored in the room we buzzed down to Downtown Disney for some food... breakfast was a long time ago and those "snack paks" on the plane don't really last that long.
Earl of Sandwich fit the bill and I (once again) had the best turkey sandwich ever! The restaurant was crowded, like usual, but we found a funny little table for four with a post right in the middle and ate while we leaned around the post to all see each other :) It would seem we are silly even without our kids present.
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| Dinner! Best Turkey Sandwich ever! |
After a yummy meal we wandered a bit, over to World of Disney to pick up a few required purchases. Last summer when we came they had a line of boys T-shirts themed after Phineas and Ferb... funny shirts with the gang at Disney World... the tag line on each says "Best Day Ever". We picked up the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror shirt this summer, it has an "Elevator-inator" on it with Dr. D... funny. So we (I) wanted to get another one for our kiddo. We found a Pirates and an Astro Orbitor themed one and were pleased with those.
The rest of our evening was a quick trip to the Winn Dixie to stock up on water and some food for meals in the room.
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| We found these at the Winn Dixie.... Hmmmm? Not sure if it looks good or not. |
Then we spent the evening just talking in the room.... we haven't had much time with our good friends the "J's" since college. We keep in touch, but since we don't live the same state anymore, it's not as easy. But with good friends getting together is always fun and easy. The only hard part was trying to get up off the couch and go to bed... finding the balance between Florida time and home time. Staying on our home time would be better for race night... but?
We were up late :)
Thursday, October 3, 2013
A Few Days Off
As any mom (or dad) knows, you rarely get a day off. Of course, I love my kiddos and would rather be with them than without... but for the next four days, I am truly getting a vacation.
Hubby and I are off to the land of the mouse (Orlando), to participate (he will run, I will spectate) in the RunDisney Hollywood Tower of Terror 10 miler. This is our second year to do this. This year we aren't going alone... not the kids, but some good friends we have known for a long time are meeting us in Orlando. I am very excited to see them and hang out in one of my favorite places with them for a few days.
Preparing for this trip has been pretty easy, with the exception of my nerves. I have been very anxious all week, about nothing in particular, but still feeling it in my stomach and sleeping. And last night as we were packing, it occurred to me... I will truly be on vacation! Apparently the look of surprise and bewilderment on my face was rather amusing as hubby had to laugh (it was a supportive laugh - he's a good guy).
So, the Grandparents are on duty and the kids will be well cared for and kept busy.
Our day today started early with a 5 hour flight across the country. We hit the Qdoba in the airport and got a couple yummy breakfast burritos. The line at Starbucks was nutty so I just grabbed a coffee drink from the refrigerated case at the airport store when we picked up our water. And I plan to make at least my first drink order on the plane coffee - cause a girl needs more than four hours of sleep!
And in case I don't sleep on the plane, I came with a few Disney flix I haven't seen yet... shocking, I know. Wreck-It Ralph and Brave, along with a few episodes of White Collar season 1, a few episodes of Chuck and Northhanger Abbey... diverse, No?
Hubby and I are off to the land of the mouse (Orlando), to participate (he will run, I will spectate) in the RunDisney Hollywood Tower of Terror 10 miler. This is our second year to do this. This year we aren't going alone... not the kids, but some good friends we have known for a long time are meeting us in Orlando. I am very excited to see them and hang out in one of my favorite places with them for a few days.
Preparing for this trip has been pretty easy, with the exception of my nerves. I have been very anxious all week, about nothing in particular, but still feeling it in my stomach and sleeping. And last night as we were packing, it occurred to me... I will truly be on vacation! Apparently the look of surprise and bewilderment on my face was rather amusing as hubby had to laugh (it was a supportive laugh - he's a good guy).
So, the Grandparents are on duty and the kids will be well cared for and kept busy.
Our day today started early with a 5 hour flight across the country. We hit the Qdoba in the airport and got a couple yummy breakfast burritos. The line at Starbucks was nutty so I just grabbed a coffee drink from the refrigerated case at the airport store when we picked up our water. And I plan to make at least my first drink order on the plane coffee - cause a girl needs more than four hours of sleep!
And in case I don't sleep on the plane, I came with a few Disney flix I haven't seen yet... shocking, I know. Wreck-It Ralph and Brave, along with a few episodes of White Collar season 1, a few episodes of Chuck and Northhanger Abbey... diverse, No?
Sunday, August 4, 2013
The Color Run - Take Two!! Spokane!
We are at it again! Painting the town, you might say....
We headed over to Spokane this last weekend so Hubby and our little lady could run and be colorful!
She wished she had joined him earlier this year in the Seattle Color Run, and we saw that Spokane was also having a run on Sunday.... so we signed them up!
Dinner the first night was at Tomato Street, which was lively and fun with yummy food.
We went to bed early... or tried to, the run was in the morning!
Our hotel is along the walking path to Riverfront Park, which makes getting around downtown really easy.
So after a quick breakfast at the hotel, we walked over to the start line.
Ready set GO!!!
While they were out running around the town, the train loving boy and I hit the local Starbucks.
Which as luck would have it, was right by the 4K mark, otherwise known as the PINK ZONE!
So we grabbed our drinks.... watched through the window as the first runners came by.
Then we headed outside and waited for them to come by.
We let them run on to the finish line and walked back to meet them. And we caught a great picture of the street where the run started....
So, let's backtrack a bit... while the kiddo and I were at Starbucks, our train loving boy spotted a poster on the bulletin board - the Amtrak Exhibit Train was in Spokane for the weekend!!!
After enjoying the Exhibit Train, we had lunch and walked back to the hotel... with a quick stop at the wagon slide.
We headed over to Spokane this last weekend so Hubby and our little lady could run and be colorful!
She wished she had joined him earlier this year in the Seattle Color Run, and we saw that Spokane was also having a run on Sunday.... so we signed them up!
Dinner the first night was at Tomato Street, which was lively and fun with yummy food.
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| Kids adding to the HUGE chalkboard "Imagination Zone" |
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| Roasted Garlic and Cambazola appetizer - Oh my, so very good! |
We went to bed early... or tried to, the run was in the morning!
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| soo excited about the run, wearing headband to bed :) |
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| ready for bed |
So after a quick breakfast at the hotel, we walked over to the start line.
While they were out running around the town, the train loving boy and I hit the local Starbucks.
Which as luck would have it, was right by the 4K mark, otherwise known as the PINK ZONE!
So we grabbed our drinks.... watched through the window as the first runners came by.
Then we headed outside and waited for them to come by.
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| Oh, the pink! |
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| Here they come! |
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| stopped for a quick photo op.... colorful! |
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So.... we knew what we were going to do this afternoon.
After a shower for those wearing a little extra color... we were off to see the Amtrak Exhibit Train.
Our afternoon also included a gondola ride over the falls and a mini train tour through the park.
We had a great time in Spokane and the kids can't wait to go back.
One last picture -
We had a great time in Spokane and the kids can't wait to go back.
One last picture -
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| Huh? I thought we were in Spokane.... not San Diego. Funny :) |
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Day 14 - Heading home
I almost can't believe we head home today. It's been a great trip and home feels likes it's in another world.
But here we go.....
Rise and shine, pack up the bags. We were packed up and checking out by 10am.
Not bad for us to be honest.
We had wanted to hit the new (dare I say, improved) Boardwalk Bakery this trip... specifically for breakfast.
Can you say egg, cheese and potato scramble in a.... (wait for it....) BREAD BOWL!!!
Yup, a bread bowl with breakfast... brilliant!
After a yummy breakfast the kids and hubby walked into Epcot and I drove the car around to the Epcot parking lot.. I suppose we could have gotten away with leaving the car at the Boardwalk, but thats just not how we roll.
By the time I met back up with them they had seen the American Adventure again and were walking toward Mexico, grabbing Norway fastpasses on the way.
Our ride in Mexico was complete and it was time to wander back to Norway.... we hit the bakery, 'cause that School Bread is crazy good and it was raining - really, really, really, really hard, and sideways. And our fastpasses wasn't quite ready.
But once we put away the school bread and the fastpass time came, we donned our panchos and made a break for it.
The rain was almost done when we got off and headed for mission space.
With a few more rides in future world it was well past lunch and not everyone had had late morning school bread, so lunch was needed.
Sunshine Seasons did the trick and one last ride on Living with the Land was enjoyed as well.
As we headed out we couldn't help but ride Spaceship Earth once more and then we went to find the car.... parked as far out as possible.... all the way at the end of the row... like three cars from the end.
Our trip back was uneventful. Nice to have a nonstop flight this time.
Our car was still at the Doubletree so we texted the Valet and when we arrived off the shuttle van the car was waiting a few feet away - NICE.
It was a long day, we got home about 11:15... sooo good night and great trip.
But here we go.....
Rise and shine, pack up the bags. We were packed up and checking out by 10am.
Not bad for us to be honest.
We had wanted to hit the new (dare I say, improved) Boardwalk Bakery this trip... specifically for breakfast.
Can you say egg, cheese and potato scramble in a.... (wait for it....) BREAD BOWL!!!
Yup, a bread bowl with breakfast... brilliant!
After a yummy breakfast the kids and hubby walked into Epcot and I drove the car around to the Epcot parking lot.. I suppose we could have gotten away with leaving the car at the Boardwalk, but thats just not how we roll.
By the time I met back up with them they had seen the American Adventure again and were walking toward Mexico, grabbing Norway fastpasses on the way.
Our ride in Mexico was complete and it was time to wander back to Norway.... we hit the bakery, 'cause that School Bread is crazy good and it was raining - really, really, really, really hard, and sideways. And our fastpasses wasn't quite ready.
But once we put away the school bread and the fastpass time came, we donned our panchos and made a break for it.
The rain was almost done when we got off and headed for mission space.
With a few more rides in future world it was well past lunch and not everyone had had late morning school bread, so lunch was needed.
Sunshine Seasons did the trick and one last ride on Living with the Land was enjoyed as well.
As we headed out we couldn't help but ride Spaceship Earth once more and then we went to find the car.... parked as far out as possible.... all the way at the end of the row... like three cars from the end.
Our trip back was uneventful. Nice to have a nonstop flight this time.
Our car was still at the Doubletree so we texted the Valet and when we arrived off the shuttle van the car was waiting a few feet away - NICE.
It was a long day, we got home about 11:15... sooo good night and great trip.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Day 13 - The Future, the world and a circus... of sorts
Today is our day to spend at Epcot! My personal favorite park.
We made it to rope drop, which kind of surprised me... mornings are slow going for us this trip. But we made it!
We entered the park about 10 mins before 9 am and Hubby ran to get Soarin' fast passes for us, while the kids and I strolled over to Test Track.
He met us there with FP for 9:50... great timing.
Test Track has recently been redesigned. The track is the same, but all the aesthetics have changed and you now start in a computer lab, where teams of 2 or 3 get to design their own test vehicle. Which is very fun.
As we rode the ride we saw how they integrated this into the ride... at each section you get to see how your test vehicle would hold up to the conditions. Each ride vehicle has two teams in it so you can see which car holds up better. It was lots of fun.
Our boy's car came in first place for ride, handling and efficiency, but the little lady's car came in first for power/performance.
In the exit area for the ride you can make a commercial for your car - this was almost as fun as the ride. We entered our info to have the finished commercial emailed to us... but so far, no emails have come :( bummer.
Next up was Mission Space (green) - apparently our family has assigned roles on this ride. Each time we rode the little lady was the pilot, our boy was the engineer, I was the navigator and hubby was the commander. The kids really get into this ride. It's a hoot.
On our way out the exit our boy bought a model of X2 spaceship, from the ride.
We continued on in Future world with The Land, and Soarin'. We then dodged the rain and hit The Living Seas with Nemo, then worked our way towards World Showcase.
Our plan for World Showcase was to do the Agent P challenge, have some lunch in the US pavilion
and wander a bit.
We found out the Agent P thing needs an uninterrupted 30 mins, so we decided to start that after lunch. We hopped on the boat to Germany, then took the short walk to lunch.
During lunch we were treated to the Fife and Drum corp.
After lunch we walked back to Germany and started our Agent P challenge.
If you know the show Phineas and Ferb from the Disney Channel, then this will all make sense... if you don't........ I will try to make this short. Agent P is a platypus who is trying to stop Professor Doofenshmirtz from doing random and silly bad things.
In this challenge we get to be agents and help out. Each team gets a communicator... looks like a phone and it tells you what to do. It really walks you through everything - so we followed along and got to see some fun surprises hidden in the Germany pavilion. And of course - cause we are awesome agents - we caught Professor Doofenshmirtz before he took over the town.
We returned our communicator and headed to France. They have recently opened a new ice cream shop in France.... so it was our original destination, but we took a few detours. First we decided to see the movie Impressions of France, which the kids hadn't seen. As we left the movie we discovered.... you guessed it... RAIN. And for some reason the pastry shops seemed like a much better idea than Ice cream. So we grabbed a treat and found a place to stand while the rain died down.
We went on to Canada to see the movie and walk the shops.
We continued around World showcase (with another ride on the Imagination ride squeezed in) and went on the Mexico and the Norway boat rides.
At this point it was time to take a break. Not a fun plan for our kids, and our fun loving boy let us know he wasn't pleased. But we headed out.
This evening we had tickets to see La Nouba! Hubby and I had seen it years ago, and we were taking the kids tonight. It will be the first Cirque Du Soleil they have seen. We put a lot of thought into where we were going to sit with them... to get a good view, but let our boy be far enough back to be comfortable.
Back in the room we grabbed food from Good's to Go at the resort and had an early dinner. We headed out around 5:15 and made our way to Downtown Disney.
The show started at 6. And our seats turned out to be great.
Both kids really enjoyed the show!
That was pretty much the end of the day for us. The room and bed were calling.
We made it to rope drop, which kind of surprised me... mornings are slow going for us this trip. But we made it!
We entered the park about 10 mins before 9 am and Hubby ran to get Soarin' fast passes for us, while the kids and I strolled over to Test Track.
He met us there with FP for 9:50... great timing.
Test Track has recently been redesigned. The track is the same, but all the aesthetics have changed and you now start in a computer lab, where teams of 2 or 3 get to design their own test vehicle. Which is very fun.
As we rode the ride we saw how they integrated this into the ride... at each section you get to see how your test vehicle would hold up to the conditions. Each ride vehicle has two teams in it so you can see which car holds up better. It was lots of fun.
Our boy's car came in first place for ride, handling and efficiency, but the little lady's car came in first for power/performance.
In the exit area for the ride you can make a commercial for your car - this was almost as fun as the ride. We entered our info to have the finished commercial emailed to us... but so far, no emails have come :( bummer.
Next up was Mission Space (green) - apparently our family has assigned roles on this ride. Each time we rode the little lady was the pilot, our boy was the engineer, I was the navigator and hubby was the commander. The kids really get into this ride. It's a hoot.
On our way out the exit our boy bought a model of X2 spaceship, from the ride.
We continued on in Future world with The Land, and Soarin'. We then dodged the rain and hit The Living Seas with Nemo, then worked our way towards World Showcase.
Our plan for World Showcase was to do the Agent P challenge, have some lunch in the US pavilion
and wander a bit.
We found out the Agent P thing needs an uninterrupted 30 mins, so we decided to start that after lunch. We hopped on the boat to Germany, then took the short walk to lunch.
During lunch we were treated to the Fife and Drum corp.
After lunch we walked back to Germany and started our Agent P challenge.
If you know the show Phineas and Ferb from the Disney Channel, then this will all make sense... if you don't........ I will try to make this short. Agent P is a platypus who is trying to stop Professor Doofenshmirtz from doing random and silly bad things.
In this challenge we get to be agents and help out. Each team gets a communicator... looks like a phone and it tells you what to do. It really walks you through everything - so we followed along and got to see some fun surprises hidden in the Germany pavilion. And of course - cause we are awesome agents - we caught Professor Doofenshmirtz before he took over the town.
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| Checking the communicator for instructions |
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| Its a little hard to see in the sun :) |
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| We caught him! He is being chased down in the open window across the courtyard |
We went on to Canada to see the movie and walk the shops.
We continued around World showcase (with another ride on the Imagination ride squeezed in) and went on the Mexico and the Norway boat rides.
At this point it was time to take a break. Not a fun plan for our kids, and our fun loving boy let us know he wasn't pleased. But we headed out.
This evening we had tickets to see La Nouba! Hubby and I had seen it years ago, and we were taking the kids tonight. It will be the first Cirque Du Soleil they have seen. We put a lot of thought into where we were going to sit with them... to get a good view, but let our boy be far enough back to be comfortable.
Back in the room we grabbed food from Good's to Go at the resort and had an early dinner. We headed out around 5:15 and made our way to Downtown Disney.
The show started at 6. And our seats turned out to be great.
Both kids really enjoyed the show!
That was pretty much the end of the day for us. The room and bed were calling.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Day 12 - It's still the Magic Kingdom, even in the rain
I took no pictures today - sorry. I carried the camera around all day, but somehow forgot to use it.
Call it "Vacation Brain".
Anyway, Today we are heading back to the Magic Kingdom. And the best way to get there from an on property resort - the bus! You get closer to the front gate this way and from OKW you have no additional stops, so it's pretty quick.
Our plan was to grab fast passes for Peter Pan's Flight and then go hit Dumbo, but Peter was down :( so no fast passes. But Dumbo was up and flying so off we go. With two rides and low crowds we were on in no time.
We hit a number of rides after Dumbo and there is some fun to the story of it all, but the highlights are the little lady who was crying in line for the Barnstormer came off the ride laughing and yelling "It was Awesome!!"
She kind of owed her brother this ride. He went on the Ariel ride for her (not something he was happy about) and then it broke down 3 times... more than 10 mins in all. So the agreement was she needed to ride a ride for him if he rode one for her.... And despite her best effort, she loved it.
With her new found love of Goofy's Barnstomer, I went to get more fast passes for later while the kids and Hubby ran over to ride Pooh.
Next up was Small World and the big surprise when we got off the ride was RAIN... big tropical style rain. Take no prisoners, everyone gets drenched, welcome to hurricane season rain. Our boy and I ran through the instant puddles to shelter and Hubby and the lady hit the carousel.
Finding shelter in Fantasyland was more challenging that I would have thought. Only a few storefronts were willing to let people loiter.... and ride exits were fairly insistant that you move on. We ran back out into the wet and picked up Peter Pan fastpasses then gave in and bought the whole clan the offical summer Disney World uniform... a clear plastic poncho with mickey on the back.
Ok, Rain! Bring it!
And it had pretty much stopped at this point.... fine, be that way. But now we are ready for ya.
So back to the barnstormer we head - and it's closed.... not due to the rain, but for a tech issue or something. But apparently our fast passes could be used later due to the closure... cool.
Since we were right by the train station we hopped on board, and took the ride around to Frontierland. We had lunch reservations at Liberty Tree Tavern, this would get us closer.
Liberty Tree is one of my favorite MK restaurants... and only 70% of the reason is the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake.... ooey goodness!
After lunch the history loving boy and I went to the hall of the Presidents, while Hubby and our newly brave lady, went to see about some Pirates. The rest of our time in the park we were in two groups... we swapped kids and went on a few more attractions. The lady and I did a bit of shopping on our way out and then headed back to the room for a break. The boys did a few more things and followed us.
After a break we decided on Downtown Disney for dinner. Parking was hard to find, but a table at Earl of Sandwich was not. After some eating, some shopping and our first trip to Goofy's Candy Co. we called it a day and headed "home" for bed.
Tomorrow, Epcot and LaNouba!
On a side note: It's been in the upper 80s/ low 90s with high humidity. So we are all dressing for coolness and comfort. For me a big part of that is what I do with my hair, as it responds badly to 90% humidity. I have recently discovered the "Sock Bun". I love this and it is now my go-to hair style for parks in the summer!
It takes no pins, only a hair tie and a sock bun form. I started making it with a sock, but have upgraded to a bun form. Either works great. Just had to share.
Call it "Vacation Brain".
Anyway, Today we are heading back to the Magic Kingdom. And the best way to get there from an on property resort - the bus! You get closer to the front gate this way and from OKW you have no additional stops, so it's pretty quick.
Our plan was to grab fast passes for Peter Pan's Flight and then go hit Dumbo, but Peter was down :( so no fast passes. But Dumbo was up and flying so off we go. With two rides and low crowds we were on in no time.
We hit a number of rides after Dumbo and there is some fun to the story of it all, but the highlights are the little lady who was crying in line for the Barnstormer came off the ride laughing and yelling "It was Awesome!!"
She kind of owed her brother this ride. He went on the Ariel ride for her (not something he was happy about) and then it broke down 3 times... more than 10 mins in all. So the agreement was she needed to ride a ride for him if he rode one for her.... And despite her best effort, she loved it.
With her new found love of Goofy's Barnstomer, I went to get more fast passes for later while the kids and Hubby ran over to ride Pooh.
Next up was Small World and the big surprise when we got off the ride was RAIN... big tropical style rain. Take no prisoners, everyone gets drenched, welcome to hurricane season rain. Our boy and I ran through the instant puddles to shelter and Hubby and the lady hit the carousel.
Finding shelter in Fantasyland was more challenging that I would have thought. Only a few storefronts were willing to let people loiter.... and ride exits were fairly insistant that you move on. We ran back out into the wet and picked up Peter Pan fastpasses then gave in and bought the whole clan the offical summer Disney World uniform... a clear plastic poncho with mickey on the back.
Ok, Rain! Bring it!
And it had pretty much stopped at this point.... fine, be that way. But now we are ready for ya.
So back to the barnstormer we head - and it's closed.... not due to the rain, but for a tech issue or something. But apparently our fast passes could be used later due to the closure... cool.
Since we were right by the train station we hopped on board, and took the ride around to Frontierland. We had lunch reservations at Liberty Tree Tavern, this would get us closer.
Liberty Tree is one of my favorite MK restaurants... and only 70% of the reason is the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake.... ooey goodness!
After lunch the history loving boy and I went to the hall of the Presidents, while Hubby and our newly brave lady, went to see about some Pirates. The rest of our time in the park we were in two groups... we swapped kids and went on a few more attractions. The lady and I did a bit of shopping on our way out and then headed back to the room for a break. The boys did a few more things and followed us.
After a break we decided on Downtown Disney for dinner. Parking was hard to find, but a table at Earl of Sandwich was not. After some eating, some shopping and our first trip to Goofy's Candy Co. we called it a day and headed "home" for bed.
Tomorrow, Epcot and LaNouba!
On a side note: It's been in the upper 80s/ low 90s with high humidity. So we are all dressing for coolness and comfort. For me a big part of that is what I do with my hair, as it responds badly to 90% humidity. I have recently discovered the "Sock Bun". I love this and it is now my go-to hair style for parks in the summer!
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| lovin it! And it stays all day... even on Test Track! |
Monday, July 22, 2013
Day 11 - An early early morning or Day 2 at WDW
Is it really time to get up already?
I think all of us felt that way this morning when we got up.
Hubby and our train loving boy were off to a "Behind the Steam" tour of the Magic Kingdoms trains, and the little lady and I had breakfast reservations at the Castle - dining with princesses, what a way to start the day.
They boys had to leave about 40 mins before us so they took the car. And we took the resort bus. It worked out great, even with getting to the stop later than planed. We arrived at the MK and walked in the side entrance for people with tours or reservations for breakfast. Our dining time was about 30 mins before the park opened. So very few people were on Main Street!
Breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table was very much what we expected. We dined here once before for dinner. So other than the difference in fare, it was a similar experience. Which the little princess loved!
5 princesses - no waiting. Nice!
After breakfast she and we wandered over to the New Fantasyland. We rode the Ariel ride, which is exactly like the one in California, except this one has a cooler que area. Then we went on to check out Belle's Enchanted Tales". This was more fun that I was expecting. In part because it was just us girls and we like this type of thing more than our boy does. And part because out little lady was a part of the story. She was selected to play Belle's father Maurice in the story. Such fun! Great new attraction.
When we came outside we found hubby and the boy waiting for us.
Now that we were all together again we could get down to the rides. We grabbed fast passes to Winnie the pooh and then went on Small World and Mickey's Philharmagic. Then it was time for Winnie the Pooh - which is a favorite of both kids.
From here we went to Tomorrowland, making a stop to get refreshments and grab some Buzz Lightyear FP.
We had time for two rides/attractions before our Fast Pass was good. So we did the Peoplemover - Which I love.. always have, don't know why. And then The Carousel of Progress. This is a favorite of our boy, but today it was a bit grumpy. Twice during our viewing it didn't turn when it was supposed to and we saw those two rooms twice. Which was upsetting to the boy. But we all survived.
Buzz Lightyear was good fun and somehow at the very end our boy found a magic spot to shoot and bumped his score by 100,000! He beat me for sure :)
At this point it was lunch time and we needed to eat. So we headed the monorail and went to the Contemporary for lunch at the Contempo Cafe.
We decided to take a rest at this point. We hope to stay at Epcot this evening until the fireworks, so a mid day break seemed wise.
Back in the room some of us slept a bit. The rest of us read or just rested. Then we were out the door to Epcot!
As we pulled into the parking lot the rain started - similar to yesterday's storm, just a bit earlier in the day. Well, we weren't dressed for it really. I mean it wasn't cold out, so we would have been fine.. but it was raining HARD. And we would have been .... well, what is wetter than soaked? We would have been that. So we waited it out in the car. After a few minutes trying to track the storm with our phones... gotta love technology, I looked at the cars around us, and we weren't alone. Several other cars were full of people waiting out the storm.
We waited about 30 minutes before venturing outside. It had let up quite a bit and we were seeing people coming out of the park. So we made our run for it.
We made it to bag check before it open up on us again.
We hung out there for about 10 minutes... and once again we weren't alone :)
Then ran for the turnstiles. Hooray!
We found a mostly covered path to Spaceship earth and went on it. When we got off things had mostly dried out. So we headed over to the Imagination Pavilion for that ride. Being still mostly dry when we got off we began to walk over to the Mexico pavilion. Somewhere along the way it started raining again. My shoe this afternoon was a flip flop... what was I thinking? Well, they are amazingly comfy flip flops and I could easily wear them all day... however, get them wet and the footbed gets a wee bit slippery. So by the time we got to Mexico I was fighting with my shoes with each step.
Once inside we began to dry off and rode the Three Caballeros boat ride. This is a favorite for our family and gave us all a chance to dry off.
We ate right across the path at the Mexico counter service. It was very tasty.
Again it had dried out and we moved on... to Norway for their boat ride.
Despite the fact that our Little Lady has been on this ride a handful of times before... she was convinced she didn't like it. But once we got going... It became the "Best boat ride ever". Such a silly girl.
From Norway we moved on to Germany and some wonderful caramel squares. Sooo good.
Our last attraction of the day, before the fireworks was The American Adventure. This is hands down our boy's favorite Epcot attraction.
It ended and we had about 10 minutes until Illuminations started.... so we were walking quickly. We have often watched from a distance... in part because of the crowds and in part because we had a kiddo who wasn't sure about fireworks. She has since grown to love them, tonight our motivation for watching from the Odyssey was more location when it was over. Hubby planned to take the international gateway exit and walk down to the Studios for a few roller coasters before bed. While the kids and I headed back to the room for bed. This location gave me a slight head start on the crowds leaving the park.
When we parted ways Hubby walked upstream from there to HS (think salmon), The Studios were insane. He spent over an hour in single rider line for RnR then 30 minutes in line for ToT. And finally took bus home
The kids and I left Epcot, found the rental car and drove back. The Little Lady wanted to fall asleep in the car, but I encouraged her not to. She fell asleep within 5 minutes of getting ready for bed, our boy was less than 10 minutes later.
I think all of us felt that way this morning when we got up.
Hubby and our train loving boy were off to a "Behind the Steam" tour of the Magic Kingdoms trains, and the little lady and I had breakfast reservations at the Castle - dining with princesses, what a way to start the day.
They boys had to leave about 40 mins before us so they took the car. And we took the resort bus. It worked out great, even with getting to the stop later than planed. We arrived at the MK and walked in the side entrance for people with tours or reservations for breakfast. Our dining time was about 30 mins before the park opened. So very few people were on Main Street!
 |
| So empty before the park officially opens |
5 princesses - no waiting. Nice!
After breakfast she and we wandered over to the New Fantasyland. We rode the Ariel ride, which is exactly like the one in California, except this one has a cooler que area. Then we went on to check out Belle's Enchanted Tales". This was more fun that I was expecting. In part because it was just us girls and we like this type of thing more than our boy does. And part because out little lady was a part of the story. She was selected to play Belle's father Maurice in the story. Such fun! Great new attraction.
When we came outside we found hubby and the boy waiting for us.
Now that we were all together again we could get down to the rides. We grabbed fast passes to Winnie the pooh and then went on Small World and Mickey's Philharmagic. Then it was time for Winnie the Pooh - which is a favorite of both kids.
From here we went to Tomorrowland, making a stop to get refreshments and grab some Buzz Lightyear FP.
 |
| Sharing a frozen lemonade |
Buzz Lightyear was good fun and somehow at the very end our boy found a magic spot to shoot and bumped his score by 100,000! He beat me for sure :)
At this point it was lunch time and we needed to eat. So we headed the monorail and went to the Contemporary for lunch at the Contempo Cafe.
We decided to take a rest at this point. We hope to stay at Epcot this evening until the fireworks, so a mid day break seemed wise.
Back in the room some of us slept a bit. The rest of us read or just rested. Then we were out the door to Epcot!
As we pulled into the parking lot the rain started - similar to yesterday's storm, just a bit earlier in the day. Well, we weren't dressed for it really. I mean it wasn't cold out, so we would have been fine.. but it was raining HARD. And we would have been .... well, what is wetter than soaked? We would have been that. So we waited it out in the car. After a few minutes trying to track the storm with our phones... gotta love technology, I looked at the cars around us, and we weren't alone. Several other cars were full of people waiting out the storm.
We waited about 30 minutes before venturing outside. It had let up quite a bit and we were seeing people coming out of the park. So we made our run for it.
We made it to bag check before it open up on us again.
We hung out there for about 10 minutes... and once again we weren't alone :)
Then ran for the turnstiles. Hooray!
 |
| View of Spaceship Earth from the bag check |
 |
| Ahhh, the rain |
 |
| wet - but no lines ;) |
Once inside we began to dry off and rode the Three Caballeros boat ride. This is a favorite for our family and gave us all a chance to dry off.
We ate right across the path at the Mexico counter service. It was very tasty.
Again it had dried out and we moved on... to Norway for their boat ride.
Despite the fact that our Little Lady has been on this ride a handful of times before... she was convinced she didn't like it. But once we got going... It became the "Best boat ride ever". Such a silly girl.
From Norway we moved on to Germany and some wonderful caramel squares. Sooo good.
Our last attraction of the day, before the fireworks was The American Adventure. This is hands down our boy's favorite Epcot attraction.
It ended and we had about 10 minutes until Illuminations started.... so we were walking quickly. We have often watched from a distance... in part because of the crowds and in part because we had a kiddo who wasn't sure about fireworks. She has since grown to love them, tonight our motivation for watching from the Odyssey was more location when it was over. Hubby planned to take the international gateway exit and walk down to the Studios for a few roller coasters before bed. While the kids and I headed back to the room for bed. This location gave me a slight head start on the crowds leaving the park.
When we parted ways Hubby walked upstream from there to HS (think salmon), The Studios were insane. He spent over an hour in single rider line for RnR then 30 minutes in line for ToT. And finally took bus home
The kids and I left Epcot, found the rental car and drove back. The Little Lady wanted to fall asleep in the car, but I encouraged her not to. She fell asleep within 5 minutes of getting ready for bed, our boy was less than 10 minutes later.
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