Running (walking) with Disney - Day 7

Magic Kingdom

Quote of the day

"Hmm, that was not the most welly constructed sentence"

So I'm tired today.

Getting up was harder today than previous days. I have an eye cream sample that has caffeine in it... I used it this morning.

We breakfasted at Captain Cook's in the Poly. It was the first time we have done this early in the morning and it was empty... Lovely. We were on the monorail to the Magic Kingdom with little trouble.

Magic Kingdom is about to open!!! 

So now we should talk about our park plans. This trip we (and by We I mean my husband) have organized our Disney days using touringplans.com - and wow are they organized. We have never been sooo efficient in our park touring.

We usually are more "Whatcha wanna do now" and "Hey, look over there... Ooo, Shiny". So this well planned approach is new and confusing to me. Where is the time in each ride's shop? And when do I get my assorted, churro, roast nuts, Mickey bar etc. However, after two days of seeing more than we have seen in four days on previous trips, I am seeing the upsides. [Editor's note: Said husband was trying to find a solution to the problem of seeing everything everyone wanted to see in the parks while still leaving the parks by 4:00 or 5:00 in the afternoon so that we could get to bed early -- since some of our days this trip require getting up before 4:00 AM]

So with the same meticulously crafted plan we tackled the Magic Kingdom. And we ruled. Making a few strategic decisions along the way we left the park earlier than originally planned. And were able to have a more relaxing evening.... And get off achy feet. yay!

Enjoying the Magic Carpet ride

Lines aren't bad at all this morning. 

We had good timing :) 

Proof of the time :) it was 9:30 am when we were finishing Small World.  

Defeating Emperor Zurg takes focus, skill and....

intense concentration.... we had none of those ;) 

Random thoughts...

It's construction season here. Sometimes you really can't get there from here. Sigh.

Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake.

I wasn't on board with the whole magic band thing when they announced it back when. But I am converted. They are cool. And a must for young'ns. We observed someone bringing a lost little girl to guest services. English was not her first language. She was probably 6 years old. And with her magic band's help, cast members were calling her dad's cell phone in less than 5 mins.

Sold!

My kids will be wearing magic bands in the parks.

Ok, her dad didn't pick up, but that's not on the magicband.

Running (walking) with Disney - Day 6

Day 6

Quote O' the Day:

"You didn't tell me when you wanted to be spontaneous...  I would've put it in the plan."

Epcot day!

Breakfast at Olivia's right here at our resort. Yum... Banana bread French toast. I couldn't finish it all.

We arrived and got a great parking spot, according to hubby. Now to activate our passes. With Magicbands and Fastpass+ a few things are different since we last had annual passes. No more voucher, it's all electronic... So we needed to do a little bit at the ticket booth, but it worked great and we were in line in no time.

Walking into Epcot. :)

First stop, Test Track. The kids designed an amazing vehicle and tested it with Dad. I got a shopping preview through MouseGears and met them at Mission Space, where we assumed our usual roles.

The Kids' Test Track creation

Hands in the air, like they just don't care

Ok, let me stop here for a minute.... Probably at least half of the posts on this blog are Disney related. And there gets to be a point when saying "then we rode this, and next we rode that, and then we rode this", gets a bit old. So if you don't mind I will skip all that. And hit some highlights and random thoughts, kind of like on our Busch Gardens day...

Once our morning rides were completed, we lunched in Mexico. And were amused by the White Ibis acting like sea gulls in the outside eating area.

As our afternoon finished up in world showcase we snacked in France. And then we returned to Future World to finish the last few rides we missed this morning.

I did a wee bit of shopping along the way. I did not get a Starbucks at the Epcot location, as that line was longer than any ride line had been so far.

After Epcot we came back to the room briefly before heading to Downtown Disney for dinner and yes more shopping

Wolfgang Puck Express was yummy. The new Co-op set of Disney boutique stores were fun, but the real money was spent at Worlds of Disney. I bought myself a nice dressier watch.

We hit the Westside for some running socks for hubby and discovered some of the fun navigating downtown Disney during its expansion... A little nutty.

A full moon at Downtown Disney

But the bus is definitely the way to go right now. Just saying.

Running (walking) with Disney - Day 5

Busch gardens

Up early today. I slept much better last night, thank you very much. Kids and hubby all woke up before they were woken up, so they must be excited or something.

We were up, fed and out the door at 7. With an almost 2.5 hour drive to get across the state to Busch gardens, we were ready.

The kids were prepared and had iPads and headphones in the car, so overall it was a quiet drive. I almost napped a bit, but hubby and I listened to a podcast to pass the time.

We arrived about when they opened, which seemed wise, but we had front of the line passes, that didn't start until a hour later. So we chose to wander through some of the animal exhibits and have a snack until we could bypass the lines with our fancy wrist bands.

It's still Christmas at Busch Gardens

Cheetah Hunt--the ride planned to ride first--was closed all morning. So plan B - Sand Serpant and Scorpion came first. Scorpion being our youngest's first upside down coaster... A very big deal and not a small amount of stress she had about it. In the end it was good. Not quite ready to go again, but openly saying it was nothing to worry about.

The train and lunch were next. Then back to check on Cheetah Hunt.... Not open yet. So we went to Montu, the inverted coaster. Dad rode it alone, while I gently encouraged brother to consider giving it a try. He was upset Cheetah Hunt was down and had expressed interest in inverted coasters. When dad got back they went to check it out... And it got a thumbs up. He enjoyed it...  Also not enough to go again, but will ride an inverted coaster with me this summer - can't wait!

Gotta ride the carasoul 

rockin Dad's hat while he rides a big coaster

previously mentioned BIG coaster

Big coaster in action! 

Everyone gets a turn in Dads hat.... it's a good hat! 

Well we eventually got to Cheetah Hunt when they were open and everyone who was ready got a ride.... Whew! What a ride. Its been years (like 12 years) since I last really rode and enjoyed roller coasters. And this one was nice. Really smooth. Lots of air time (which I have mixed feelings about - I am comfy on the ground) and a good length. I'd go again next time.

The little lady and dad rode the rapids. We hit a few other things and it was 4 o'clock. Which was our go time. We had an hour drive to our timeshare and we were all wearing out.

I will hit the highlights from this point on, and share some random thoughts at the end.

It's always nice come to our timeshare, it feels new and familiar at the same time. And it's Disney, which I love.

They have streamlined check in at our home resort and it was quick. We also saw our new owners locker had been delivered (more on this later) so we grabbed it on the way to our room.

Our home away from home

this is what the villa looks like before we descend on it and live in it for a week 

Dinner was from the resort's quick service and we ate in the room.... Bed was calling but we had to catch the end of the Cowboys game and do a bit of unpacking. I like being able to unpack on vacation.  

Random stuff....

Busch gardens employees don't seem happy... Except for the one working on the train. All the stores and restaurant workers barely smiled. And the ride workers were almost abrupt. A far cry from what I usually encounter at Disney.

Note to self: Don't expect the same experience at Starbucks locations outside the Seattle area.

Whoa... This keeps happening to me. I just need to remember. In Seattle there is a lot more competition... So if your local Starbucks is sub par, you can walk a block and go to the next one.

In Florida, cranes hang out at the rest stops... at home we have squirrels and crows.

Lastly, what is the protocol for when you request something from housekeeping??! I called back after over 30 mins. I felt bad hounding them only to find the person I talked to never requested what I needed. No one was coming!

Not sure what to take away from that????

I am all unpacked and settled in and it feels so nice.

Tomorrow Epcot!

Running (walking) with Disney - Day 4

Vero beach

Breakfast today was at Cracker Barrel. Something new to us. It was a fun meal and fit the bill. Back at the resort we played some mini golf and lazied about a bit. Hubby and the kids hit the pool and slide. And we had an early dinner in the room.

After dinner the resort was doing a scavenger hunt. We had fun wandering around the grounds looking for answers. When we turned in our form we were told we were the only group to get all the answers right....that's right!

We leave early tomorrow, so we hit the hay early.

I think one more day here might have been nice. The resort offers so many activities that we didn't have time to enjoy. Sooo, next time.

lovely in the early morning rain

turned into a beautiful day at Vero Beach

I can see the mini golf course from our balcony... so I got to watch hubby and the little lady play a round.  

evening at the shore

Sunset - amazing 

During the scavenger hunt we enjoyed the art work on the tunnel walls

the tunnel under the main road.... great Peter Pan themed art in the the tunnel 

Running (walking) with Disney - Day 3

Day 3 - Regroup

Oh wow am I tried.

We decided to get up at a decent hour so we set an alarm for 8:15, with the plan of being up and moving by 9. My whole body just wanted to stay in bed, when I pulled myself up at 8:50. We all woke up thirsty and needing a slower paced day.

Breakfast today was from the coffee bar place in the hotel, the Cocoa Bean. It was quick and held us til lunch. Then we decided to check out of our room. Gaylord palms is huge and we knew we would have more time to explore if we weren't racing the clock.

This is inside the hotel....

and so is this.....

and this. Its a huge resort! 

Entering ICE! 

The main thing we wanted to see was ICE. It's an assortment of amazing ice carvings on display. Very Christmas-y. This was my third time to see it since we knew it existed. And it was great. They have a different theme each year. And this year added a number of add-on options. We didn't add anything to it. And I felt like there were fewer carvings than in years past. But we enjoyed it very much.

Before hitting the road we thought we'd lunch and go to the drug store. Lunch at Noodles and Co. And a long trip to Walgreens. And the road was calling.

To the coast for two nights, to relax and recharge in a quieter environment.

Driving out to the coast was quiet and uneventful. We arrived at Disney's Vero Beach resort and checked in. Our one bedroom villa was ready and waiting. So we got right to settling in. We are only here for two nights, so unpacking doesn't seem worth it. But we do have a washer and dryer now so laundry will be done. Yay!

We stopped on the way in and picked up some groceries... We also have a kitchen now :) so dinner will be in the room.

Thumbs up, things are good on the drive to the coast. 

Welcome to Vero Beach

It's still Christmas here :) 

Hidden Mickey on the linens!  Do you see it?

Our evening was nice. With a short stroll over to the main building to pick up dessert, we got comfy for the night.

Now the vacation is in full swing :) 

Running (walking) with Disney - Day 2

Travel day, take 2

We are up early again today.... With a strong resolve to get to Orlando.

Kids woke up much slower this morning. Still struggling to find a smile. With bad coffee at the hotel and some general confusion with the airport shuttle we headed to the airport In search of good coffee, food and clear skies to Florida.

The airlines did a nice thing and gave us premier status to get through security in a short line. And quickly found us seats together instead of the four of us all in middle seats behind each other.

And once we spent our food vouchers, it was about time to board.

For some unknown reason our flight was running 30 mins late. Since this flight had been created for us and the plane had been waiting at the gate since the night before, the delay didn't make much sense, but we've learned not to question. Our seats were way in the back 40 of the plane, but we boarded before most and the attitude of those around us was very much - acceptance and trying to laugh about it. Stories were swapped about hotel experiences and what had brought us to Houston. But soon we were backing up and the flight attendants began the safety presentation. Here we go....

Nope!

Someone in the middle of the plane passed out during the safety talk, right before they showed us how to put on our inflatable vest, this poor guy slumped over.

His wife was sitting behind him with an infant on her lap. They stopped the plane mid taxi, and over the intercom called for any medical professionals to ring their call buttons.

It wasn't 30 seconds before someone had joined the flight attendants in helping. It took about 10 mins to declare this guy couldn't fly. He was awake by this point, bit we were all going back to the gate.... Again.

I asked our flight attendant if he had ever had a flight like ours (we had the same crew on all attempts to leave Houston)... He said yeah, everyday. Oh man.

So long story short.... Too late, we dropped this frightened family back off at the gate, with their bags and the airport medics and..... Wait for it..... We took off!!!!

I know it's hard to believe. You all thought we'd just taken up residence in Houston.

The plane erupted in applause when the plane took off.

When the family was unloaded the pilot came on the intercom to tell us what the plan was. He then said they would get is to New Orleans as quickly as possible.... Hubby and I looked at each other... Hmm? Then he came back and said, just kidding... We are going to Orlando... Don't quit your day job, fella. The flight went well.. It felt short even.

We talked with a very nice family visiting the US from Australia, who were riding out all the bumps of the last 24 hours with a great sense of humor.

And then we landed. Orlando, we've arrived!

Getting luggage, the rental car and getting checked in all went well. Note: it was worth calling the hotel to tell them we were coming, even with a prepaid room, they would have given it away.

Approaching Gaylord Palms resort, our hotel for the next day

Then it was time to try and make up for some of the time we lost on our Texan adventure. SeaWorld.

Let me say arriving at an amusement park mid-dayon New Year's Day.... Crazy!!!

People everywhere.

But I was hungry and we were hours behind on having fun... So lunch, then rides (we had already decided today wasn't a day to sit and watch shows... So we ride).

Well it seems luck follows us. Our first attempt to ride the penguin ride was halted before it started by the ride being down for an unknown amount of time.

Hmm. On to Wild Arctic, with a Polar Express overlay for the holidays.....

The ride starts, then goes black.... Another ride down. Hmmmmm

We tried Penguins again still not up...

Luckily after a bathroom break and walk through the gift shop, it was running. And three hours after we entered the park, we got on our first ride. Whew!

Later we went back to Wild Arctic and this time got halfway through the ride before it died.

Oh, I hope we can shake this pattern. "Back to the Gate" has become the family's joke for the trip.

Entering the new Penguin attraction... cool! 

Leaving the Polar Express area

Kraken - Hubby is in the second row, with hand in the air.

Well we managed to enjoy SeaWorld until our bodies reminded us how little sleep we have had the last two days. So it felt like a good night to get into PJs and have dinner in the room.

Tomorrow we hope to relax and regroup.

Zzzzzzzz