Day 18- Magic Kingdom

Today was school day for the pups and then I was off to Magic Kingdom for teatime with my kids. The park was bustling with excitement and anticipation. We did see a bunch of what we call “the third day meltdown.” It is that moment in time when little ones are saturated with so much to see and so much fun that their little bodies just cannot handle it! At the moment of the meltdown, it is time to just hold them, cuddle them, and give the kids a moment of quieted hugs. The parents who do that seem to hit a restart button and the kids are off to have fun once again.

We saw the Mayor of Main Street; I have heard about him, but today I got to meet him! It is quite an honor for me.

Then, we went to the Main Street Bakery, got our Starbucks, headed for the Tomorrowland Terrace and had our teatime there. We had a view of Cinderella’s Castle in front of us, Tomorrowland to the right. There was a relaxing, cool breeze as we rested and listened to the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party. The Mad Hatter was dancing today; we don’t always get to see him, but he is really fun to watch! After our nice break, we were off to explore more of Magic Kingdom.

Pirates of the Caribbean is one of our favorite rides. With the sun so bright outside, it is really dark as you walk through the corridors of Pirates! I finally got to see the mermaids in the water! When you exit, the pirate shop is really great to look around in. Twinkie had to check out the pirate hat!

A favorite shop is Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe. They have some really beautiful ornaments, stockings, books, and other holiday items.

We caught the last few minutes of the Dream Along With Mickey Stage Show at Cinderella’s Castle. It is so beautiful and features so many fun characters! It even has a few daytime fireworks!

The Philharmonic Band came out and they are amazing. They played a medley of classic Disney tunes with a marching band twist. Sometimes, they even play fun older songs like, “Tiger Rag (Hold That Tiger).” I love all of the unusual characters and music that you find on Main Street!

It was so sunny and hot today! It was time to go home, so off to the Monorail and Tram to the Heroes parking lot! A beautiful time on a beautiful day!

Day 17- Happy Birthday to Magic Kingdom & Epcot!

Magic Kingdom and Epcot are both celebrating their birthdays today! Magic Kingdom opened October 1, 1971! Epcot opened October 1, 1982! Happy Birthday to you both!

We decided to go to Epcot first! Celebrations began with eating soup in France. Les Chefs de France has the most wonderful French Onion soup. The chefs there are amazing and make a great Gluten Free soup for us!

Next, we are going to see the Air Supply concert in the America Gardens Theater. It was great; the weather was cool.

We enjoyed the 1.1-mile walk around the World Showcase Lagoon.  Magic Kingdom is our next stop, so we grab the Monorail from Epcot and head over to the Transportation Center to catch the next Monorail to Magic Kingdom. It is so beautiful this time of the evening.

We arrive as the Main Street Electrical Parade is happening. We make it to Starbucks and get a couple of hot drinks to warm up before the fireworks. We have FastPasses to watch the Wishes Nighttime Spectacular fireworks show from the Rose Garden. It was beautiful to see Cinderella’s Castle light in the Celebrate the Magic projection show before the fireworks. The Rose Garden is a wonderful place to sit on the wet grass and watch the projection show and the fireworks! Spectacular!

We have met so many people from Texas all during the day. We waited in the longest lines for the Monorail tonight; people waiting to get on seem to be very restless tonight. We go to the last car and began to get on as a nice gentleman said to me, “I was saving this seat for you.” How kind. I was talking to his wife and found that they had friends in North Texas! They both were so excited that I had lived there; their best friends live there and the couple goes there often! How cool! They got off at the first stop and another family got on. As I was talking to the wife, she said they were from Texas, in Louisville! We met fellow Texans all day! It was good to have that camaraderie with nice and kind folks! A good ending to a wonderful night!

Day 16- Animal Kingdom & Magic Kingdom

Today was awesome! The rain was pouring down, and it was so much fun riding on the Animal Kingdom tram with the spray of rain on our faces. Being a Texas girl, I have never seen so much rain! I would love to send some of this rain to West Texas where they only have about 30 days of water left for the whole town. Wish they had some rain, praying they get some!

Once we got through the gates, we went see the animals on Kilimanjaro Safaris, my favorite ride! We had a FastPass+, but the standby line was only 5 minutes! We had a blast! The best time to see the animals is when it’s rainy; they love the rain and the cooler weather. Today, we took off and had the longest ride we have ever been on. The safari vehicles in front of us kept stopping (there may have been an animal on the road, blocking the path!), so we got to stop every so often, it was great! Pictures? Yes, plenty as we slowed down and enjoyed the rainy day. We met a wonderful mom behind us as she was taking awesome pictures. I had a great chat with her and listened as she told me she was crazy for having 3 kids a year apart. I told her that I thought it was awesome and I bet they were really close. She said they were, but some days it is a lot! I said, “Yep, some days, my kids have to put up with me.” She laughed and said, “Yes, we all have those days!” She had a beautiful family!

We took a break from the rain and sat down by the water in the seating at Flame Tree Barbecue, across from Expedition Everest. It’s our favorite place to sit and eat or grab an iced tea. A lady a few tables away caught my eye because she just kept smiling and looking just past me. I turned and laughed; a crane was sitting right beside me on the railing! It made me laugh and I tried to grab a picture, but he left since I wasn’t feeding him.

We had planned to ride Kali River Rapids, but I just couldn’t add an extra layer of water to my day (yes, even though we were wet from the rain already!). We chose to trade pins around the park instead; we love to trade pins. Oh, I mean, my kids love to trade pins. Let’s go!

Now, I am going to go to Magic Kingdom to grab a Starbucks and warm up. Finally, we are feeling like we are home, our Starbucks friends are recognizing us! A little more pin trading and then we are headed home.

On the way to the front gate, we see cast members with hula hoops. Oh, fun! Tooti loved hula hoops when she was little; she even won a prize at Dairy Queen for hula hooping! Yep, she is now hula hooping! Soon, there are more kids and now, a dad joining in the fun! After hula hooping, we see a word scramble game in front of City Hall! Spelling game: challenge accepted! Twinkie got the first one, and then knew the second word and a young boy knew, but he didn’t want set the letters in the right order; Twinkie even asked if he’d like to help. Then, the competition was on! So much fun as older, grandparent-aged kids laughed and joined the fun!

Absolutely refreshed from meeting so many fine people and so many fun people! It was a wonderful day as we made our own sunshine! Refreshed!

Day 15- Magic Kingdom Rainy Day

Today we watched the weather to see how the evening would look. There was a flood watch and rain all around, so we dressed accordingly and headed for Magic Kingdom. We got a close parking spot and made a beeline for the Monorail. The park was bustling, even with the rain.

First, we went to ride The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh! As we were waiting in line to scan our FastPasses, a lady was really nice and offered to share her umbrella with me. That was a kind thought!

This is a really cute ride! You begin by boarding a honey pot, which then enters into the Winnie the Pooh storybook. You really do become a part of the story as you ride through Pooh’s tale.

After the ride, we decided to head to Main Street to get some tea when Twinkie brought up Dole Whip Floats. Yum! Off to Aloha Isle in Adventureland! As you get close, you go past the area to meet Peter Pan, and Aloha Isle is on the right! The Dole Whips are so very tasty; my favorite is the Dole Whip Float with Vanilla and Pineapple Swirl (in pineapple juice). It is out of this world.

Next, we were going to ride Splash Mountain, but the rain was coming down pretty hard, so we grabbed some French fries to let the rain lighten up.

The park looks so pretty in the rain, it is a really great night for pictures!

Day 14- Epcot & Last Day of Frozen Fireworks at Hollywood Studios

It was pouring as we headed out for Epcot. Then, it stopped, poured, and stopped again as we neared the park. We parked on aisle 50 once again! How do we keep being directed to that parking aisle? No problem, I looked over the top of the trees for Spaceship Earth. Found it. Now, what’s the quickest path from point A (us) to point B (Spaceship Earth)? We found a new walking path and headed in. As we entered the park gate, there was a lady from South Africa that loved the kids’ Frozen shirts! As we talked, she was so nice that we asked if we could have a picture with her, and her son jumped into the pic too! Fun!

Off to the America Pavilion to watch Hanson, but the line was amazingly long. We waited for a little while and realized that the number of people in line already exceeded the number of seats in the theatre. We ducked out of the rain to sit in Italy for a few minutes. While we were there, we met a really nice couple with two beautiful daughters. It was fun talking and visiting with them!

This reminds me about the other night at Epcot. As we were leaving, I saw a little girl with a frown and tears rolling down her face. “Are they putting up your ‘carriage’? Oh! You’re a little princess and they are putting up your ‘carriage’.” She smiled and hugged the little railing near her and nodded. I had overheard her grandparents telling her to stop crying as they pushed the stroller away, but I knew that in her little heart she saw the stroller as her “carriage.” Thank you, Molly A., for letting me learn that little treasure from you and your family!

After Epcot, we planned to head to Hollywood Studios for the final Frozen Fireworks of the season! Frozen Fireworks it is.

We made it to Hollywood Studios and enjoyed the bustle of people waiting for the show to start. While we were waiting, we met another really nice family. The mom mentioned that the kids didn’t want to stay, but she was hoping the fireworks would be worth it. I told her they are absolutely worth it! When my kids were little, they would tell me, “I don’t want to do something,” and I would tell them, “That’s just fine, but I want to!” She laughed! They did stay and it was so worth it!

As the fireworks came to an end, it was snowing! All the way from Mickey’s sorcerers’ hat to the front gates it is snowing! I love meeting so many people.

Heading home, we realized we had six minutes before the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party fireworks started; we could make it to the parking lot, catch the ferryboat over to Magic Kingdom, and see the Not So Scary Fireworks from the Ferry! It took me eight minutes; my kids can walk faster than fast. They made it to the entrance of the ferry and they were going to wait for me. I hollered, “See if they can wait for me!” I was a little ways back, but the deckhand teased me and said that my kids had told me to shut the gate; don’t let mom in! Funny guy!

We hurried onto the ramp and up the stairs to the front of the ferry and watched the Not So Scary fireworks from the stem of the boat!!! WOW! This show even has panoramic fireworks! It is so beautiful!

 

Three parks and two fireworks shows! I love Disney!

Day 13- Dapper Day at Hollywood Studios

Best day ever!!  We headed for Hollywood Studios for Dapper Day.  It was so much fun to so many people in their vintage finery!  When we arrived in the early afternoon, the parking lot was already filling up!  There were Dapper-Dressed Ladies and Dapper Men everywhere you turned!  So fun!  We boarded the tram and headed towards the park entrance, chatting with a bunch of people around us about what Dapper Day is about.  You can read more about it at www.dapperday.com. Oh, look!  We got photo bombed by a really great couple!

As we walk down Hollywood Boulevard, we see more Dapper Day Ladies!  The park is beautiful and I love the deco buildings.

The first ride is Toy Story Mania, one of my favorite rides!  The whole time you are walking through the line, it is like you are walking beside giant toys.  You get to wear 3D glasses, which look great with my Dapper Day dress.  Tooti won the game today, Twinkie came in second, and I came in third place.

The Citizens of Hollywood were gracious as always, and we took a picture beside Mimi Kaboom in her beautiful car.  Our next destination was the 50s Prime Time Café!  We called ahead so we could have Gluten Free Fried Chicken!  We were seated and the people eating in that area were so funny; we had a blast!  The décor there looks a lot like Great Grandma’s kitchen did.

We went to the Star Wars section and found the Speeder Bike for pictures!

The Streets of America were so amazing with Dapper Ladies and Gents posing with groups of people.  We were stopped several times as we were invited to take pictures with curious onlookers.  It was just so fun!  As we headed for the Studio Backlot Tour, we saw the perfect picture: a lovely lady and her brother-in-law talking next to the fountain!  Cute! (Later, we saw her and her husband on the Backlot Tour, too!)

Waiting across from the Studio Backlot Tour was a Dapper Day meetup as it neared 4PM.  We joined the gathering as we waited to go into the ride.  You see, the Studio Backlot Tour is closing after today, so we had to get a final ride to say goodbye.  You go through the building where they sew costumes, build sets, and keep cool old vehicles from previous productions.  Then you go past the stunt area, my favorite is you get to see the back of the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show.  The cars were racing into the staging area and it was awesome as they showed their driving skills.

On our way to grab coffee at the Writer’s Stop, what’s that we see?  Oh, look, a Chevy outside of the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater!  After continuing on to the Writer’s Stop, we took a coffee break before we headed over to the Dapper Day meetup at The Great Movie Ride!  We even saw a girl that we actually know… it was so fun to see her!

We strolled around the park and enjoyed the evening.  The Frozen Fireworks were absolutely fabulous, beyond words.  We sat outside of the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular as we watched the Frozen Fireworks; they are so overwhelmingly beautiful, I found my eyes were tearing up!  The last night for Frozen Fireworks is tomorrow, Sunday.  I am truly going to miss them.

Day 12- AMC Downtown Disney 24 and Epcot

We need to go to Downtown Disney and go to the movies to celebrate our 12th day!  Downtown Disney is full of restaurants, shopping, bowling and a movie theatre!  AMC Downtown Disney 24 with Dine-in Theatres!  What? Dine-in Theatres?  Next time we are doing that!  Anyway, we saw Guardians of the Galaxy; loved the detail and the story.

Speaking of stories, I loved the movie Saving Mr. Banks!  I loved the way they showed the kind tenacity of Walt Disney.  He had a dream to produce Mary Poppins, and the patience to wait in order to see it happen.  Then, I also love the movie As Dreamers Do.  It tells the story of Walt Disney’s early years in life.  Walt went through tough times in his early years, tough years; he had such determination.  At the last, he made a move across the country and got into the right place to make his dreams come true.  It is a beautiful and tough story.

After Guardians of the Galaxy, we were off to Epcot. We went to grab a bite to eat. The park is so full of people; it looks like a summer evening! The Food and Wine Festival is bustling. We decide we will go to Sunshine Seasons for supper. It is a good place to eat, the lines are good, the food is good, and it is quick.

After dinner, we headed for the America Pavilion for the concert. The park is really busy, so we decide we are going to forgo the “Eat to the Beat” concert and backtrack and watch Off Kilter play in Canada. It is really cool to hear this band and the kilts are really unique! They will be here until the end of September.

Now to the best part! As we were heading back to the front of the park, we stopped by Guest Relations to upgrade our passes because we are now residents of Florida! Water Parks, here we come!!!

When we were finishing up at Guest Relations, a couple was trying to find Soarin’. We came from that building earlier this evening, so I offered to walk with them for a while and get them pointed in the right direction. I love when you can help people find their way around the park. Finally, we headed out to walk to row 50 and find our car.  What a wonderful night!

Day 11- Disney Character Outlet & Epcot

It is a beautiful, cool, cloudy day and the Disney Character Warehouse Outlet is in sight!  I love going to the outlet.  There are so many fun items and it is always changing!  The clothing, beach towels, figurines, trading pins, shoes, jewelry, and other items are a very good value.  There are two locations in Orlando- one at the Orlando Premium Outlets on Vineland Avenue (our usual stop!), only a few minutes from Downtown Disney, and another at the Orlando Premium Outlets on International Drive.

Now, off to Epcot to enjoy the beautiful day.  Epcot is busy and the tram is quick to pick us up and take us to the gate.  I enjoy the faces of those who are arriving for the first time.  The excitement and anticipation is in the air, the music is lively, and everyone is trying to get a picture as they enter Epcot.

As we get into the park, we head for the Terra booth for watermelon juice.  Patagonia has two gluten free dishes, the roasted Verlasso Salmon with Quinoa, and the Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri sauce and Boniato puree.  They were both delicious.  Somehow the clouds have moved; it is 87 degrees today, and of course the humidity is high!  Shade!  Lunch is pretty busy and the crowds are pretty thick today.  Australia was next and we enjoyed the Lamb Chop with Mint Pesto and Potato Crunchies!

Mexico has a Rib-Eye Taco that is really tasty.  Now we are off to ride the Gran Fiesta Tour ride.  There you will find The Three Caballeros leading the way through the ride!  It is really fun and the line moves so fast!  I love this ride!  Located inside the Mexico pyramid, which is a good place to explore, the ride is nice and cool.  After the ride, as we leave Mexico, we see the mariachi band!  They asked where I was from, and I replied, “Texas! I saw the Mariachis when we traveled and visited Mexico City when I was 12!”  Pretty funny, that was 44 years ago.

Now off to Farm Fresh for Griddled Yard Bird with Braised Greens and House Made Habanero Sauce.  Tasty!

It was a fun day!

Day 10- Hollywood Studios, By way of Epcot

We had an absolutely fun afternoon at Hollywood Studios.  We did take the long way around, but it was a fun trip.  We started at Epcot, parked, and walked 3/4 mile to Rinse. We saw them at the Flower and Garden Festival and a few weeks later picked up some of their natural body products at the America Pavilion in Epcot. Their natural deodorant has become a favorite and it holds up to the FL heat and humidity so well. Today, we picked up some roll-on essential oils, called Thievery, and it smells amazing! Check them out at: http://www.rinsesoap.com!

We grabbed a cup of hot tea and went to catch the boat from Epcot to Hollywood Studios.  As we were walking out the gate, we saw the boat was leaving, so we walked to the Boardwalk to catch it there.  On the way, I saw a mom taking a picture of her daughters.  We stopped and I asked her name; she was so cute.  Her name was “Mae.”  Oh, my!  My daughter met them on Day 7 at Tony’s Town Square!  I love when we run into someone we’ve seen before. Then, we made it to the dock and caught the boat.

When we arrived at Hollywood Studios, we took our picture with the Olaf sand sculpture… smile!

Once inside the gates, our first ride is the Studio Backlot Tour.  We heard they will be closing it and I wanted to see it before it is gone!  The last time we went, Tooti and Twinkie were in the skit, and it was so much fun.  After the skit, you walk through movie prop storage area; it is very interesting.  Outside you catch a ride through the backlot and get to see the behind the scenes of the movie world and some Disney things like costumes and a wood shop. We had half an hour before our FastPass for the Toy Story Midway Mania ride, so we grabbed a quick meal while we waited.

Off to Toy Story Mania!  Oh, look, the Green Army Man!!!  I need a selfie with him!  Thank you!  I love the Army Men!  Toy Story Mania is one of my favorite rides.  I love the 4D ride, it is like being in an immersive video game that spins you around as you try to rack up the most points. A LOT of fun! The lines can be long, so it’s best to try to get a FastPass+ scheduled ahead of time.

Fun time! Then, we were off to catch the boat back to Epcot.  We met a young family whose son will be 5 in a few days and is enjoying his first time to Disney!  Got on the boat and sat at the back, it’s open and you can see all around.  A young family came out from inside the boat and I got to meet them.  We talked a little and their children were so well behaved; you could tell how much they are loved. We landed at Epcot, got off, and headed for the entrance.  Epcot was bustling and so crowded since they have extra magic hours until 11:00pm.  We got to the car and then stopped in the Magic Kingdom parking lot to watch fireworks. A very relaxing day today!

Day 9- Epcot

Yay, we are headed for Epcot!  When going to Disney, remember, no matter what day it is, there is a possible rain shower waiting to fall!  Be prepared with rain gear, we choose shoes that can get wet, umbrellas or ponchos.  It is just a way of life here, it rains, it usually clears off and it is sunny again. It is just the way Florida is.

We headed for Epcot in a full-blown gully washer.  Texas way of saying it was a monsoon!  I was told that it rains every day in the summer, but now?  It is hurricane season, so it rains a lot!  We parked in the first parking lot and walked right up to the bag check and right into Epcot.  The rain is still heavy as we get close to the Festival Center.

We looked around at the Ghirardelli Chocolate area while waiting for class to start. They had the most amazing displays (made of chocolate!) that different bakeries around Disney made. It was fascinating!  We had our class and headed out, it was once again raining cats and dogs!

No problem for me, we just headed over to Mexico for dinner. We decided to go to San Angel Inn for dinner and were seated by the water. The food was fabulous! Oh, it is nice to have a light sweater for inside dining, it can get a little chilly.  I loved watching the Gran Fiesta Tour boats glide through the water.  The kids and I got to meet an Imagineer in July for Tooti’s birthday lunch and she called us the “The Three Caballeros”.  If you get to ride the Gran Fiesta Tour ride, be sure to look for Donald Duck, Panchito and Jose’ Cariocas!

We decided to get dessert to go so we could see the fireworks!  Even with the light rain, the fireworks were beautiful.