Home Tomorrow

I'm headed back to Columbus tomorrow. I have a few more pictures I want to post to my blog, so I'll probably do that some time this weekend. I'm too tired right now and I need to finish packing. More later.....

Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney

Today we went to the Animal Kingdom to see "Finding Nemo - The Musical." The show was really good; unfortunately no flash photography is allowed and my camera doesn't do well in the dark. We also decided to try the single rider line at Expedition Everest, so we got one last ride on this very fun roller coaster.

We took a bus over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and then from there to Downtown Disney. We've been trying to get on the Characters in Flight hot air balloon, but it's been too windy every time we're there. The balloon is tethered and goes up 400 feet. Apparently you can see 25 miles in any direction. Maybe tomorrow we'll finally get to try it.

Tonight we're going to hang around the resort and watch some sports on television.

♥♥♥ to my girls.

Lazy Day

We got up early this morning to say goodbye to Jamie Robertson. I surfed the Internet for a little while and then found myself taking a nap at about noon.

We decided to go to the studios for a couple of hours this afternoon. We didn't do much, but we did finally go see The American Idol Experience. After that we stopped for a cup of coffee, took a few pictures, and came back to the resort and cooked dinner, if you can believe that.

I have no idea what we are going to do tomorrow. We have dinner at a restaurant in the Magic Kingdom Christmas eve, and dinner at Le Cellier (Canada) in EPCOT Christmas day. I'm not sure if I want to go to either of those parks tomorrow, although I suppose I wouldn't mind a walk around World Showcase at EPCOT. We'll see.

Special hugs to Caroline and Lindsey. I love you both.

It's Official....

I am exhausted. We got up later than usual today and took Jamie R. to the Animal Kingdom. The closer we get to Christmas, the more crowded it gets in the parks. The Animal Kingdom is the largest of the four Disney parks, and the place was packed. The only thing we really wanted to do was ride Expedition Everest and get some pictures of the park icon -- The Tree of Life. We waited more than an hour in line for Everest. We have dinner reservations at a restaurant in the Magic Kingdom on Christmas eve. It will be shoulder-to-shoulder people in the park by that time.

Tonight we went to Downtown Disney for dinner and then we had hot fudge sundaes at Ghirardelli. Yummo. I am so going on a diet when this trip is over.

It's been cool and at times almost cold for the last couple of days. The weather is supposed to improve tomorrow. I don't know what Jamie Wroe and I will get into after Jamie R. leaves tomorrow. I'm sure we'll find something to do. I honestly don't know how much more my feet can take though.

Hugs to Lindsey and Caroline. ♥♥♥♥♥

EPCOT and Hollywood Studios

The last couple of days have been consumed with more park touring with our friend Jamie Robertson who hasn't been to Walt Disney World in about 30 years. He's here for three days, so he's getting the condensed version of the tour -- hitting the highlights for the most part.

Yesterday we went to EPCOT in the morning, took an afternoon break, and went back in the evening to watch Illuminations. There's just no getting tired of these fireworks. I could watch them every night, which is why I want to work in that coffee stand near The American Pavilion. I could sell coffee, enjoy the music, and end every day with the most spectacular fireworks ever!

Today we ventured over to Disney's Hollywood Studios. Jamie and Jamie rode the Tower of Terror while I got in line for fastpasses for Toy Story Mania. I've ridden the Tower of Terror about a half dozen times, and I like it okay, but I've come to the conclusion that there are just certain things you eventually have to say no to, and riding this ride is one of the things on my "thanks, but no thanks" list.

We watched The Voyage of The Little Mermaid show. This was one of Lindsey's favorite Disney movies when she was little, which I suppose makes this show a must on our to do list.

We rode Star Tours and then headed back to the other side of the park to ride The Rockin' Rollercoaster -- one of my all-time favorites.

We're back at the resort for a little while. Tonight we will go to The Magic Kingdom to see if we can knock out a few rides and watch the fireworks. The park is open until 2 a.m.

(Leaving for Magic Kingdom. Will finish this later.)

Okay, it's midnight and we're back. Whew! What a night. Went to the Magic Kingdom -- rode Pirates, the Haunted Mansion, watched the fireworks, saw Mickey's PhilharMagic, and had a front row seat for the SpectroMagic parade.

I'm not even setting an alarm clock for tomorrow.

Lindsey and Caroline -- ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Downtown Disney - Shopping

Today was a slow day -- we needed it. We went to Downtown Disney to do some shopping. Disney has a great deal going on right now where if you eat at certain restaurants, you get a coupon for 20% off at The World of Disney, a Disney store of mammoth proportions. We had lunch at Earl of Sandwich (again) where I swear they have the best tuna melt sandwich in all the universe.

We came back to the resort to straighten up our place in anticipation of Jamie Robertson's arrival this evening.

Yesterday the world said goodbye to Walt Disney's nephew Roy. Rest in peace Roy Disney.

Dinner in Japan

We started out at the crack of noon today with a quick trip to the outlet mall. There is a Disney shop at the outlet mall and occasionally we happen upon something we like at a discounted price.

We had dinner reservations at the Teppan Edo restaurant in Japan at EPCOT, so we took the bus to EPCOT at about 2:30. We walked around the World Showcase stopping in Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, America, France, and Canada. From the very beginning there was a light misty rain, so we bought $8 ponchos and kept going.

Upon arrival in Japan we were greeted with a bag to stow away our $8 ponchos and a dry towel. That was very nice. We had a great dinner (and two glasses of Plum wine. Y.U.M.). We love this place and always make a point of having dinner here. Our chef was very entertaining.

We ended the day with another quick trip to the jacuzzi to soak our sore feet. Jamie Robertson arrives tomorrow evening and we can start park hopping all over again.

Lindsey and Caroline - I ♥ you.

Spectromagic Parade and Wishes Fireworks

Tonight we went to The Magic Kingdom to see the castle lights, watch the nighttime parade "SpectroMagic," and "Wishes," the Magic Kingdom fireworks. Not only is the parade super-spectacular to watch, but it also comes with some awesome music. Same with the fireworks. My point-and-shoot camera doesn't do very well with the light parade (I suspect there are "user issues" at play as well), but I did capture some good castle pictures. Another busy day at Disney.

Animal Kingdom and Shopping

We started today at The Animal Kingdom. This is probably my least favorite of the four parks, although it's great for picture taking and we like to ride Expedition Everest. We rode twice -- once in the front seat. From there we went over to The Animal Kingdom Lodge for a look around the new Kidani Village area of the lodge.

This afternoon I went shopping for Karen (the best boss in the whole world who tries her best to make my workstation "the happiest place on earth.") After a short rest we plan to go to The Magic Kingdom for the evening parade, castle lighting, and fireworks.

I'll post a few pictures from today, and I may post more after the parade tonight. These pictures are of Expedition Everest, and of one of the buildings at our resort.

Love to my girls, Lindsey and Caroline!

A Day Off

After doing Disney commando style for two solid days, today we took a break. We are just about ready to cut our feet off. Seriously! A few years older and a few pounds heavier -- this just isn't as easy to do as it was when we were younger. But...that won't stop us for long. We'll be back at it after a good night's sleep.

Adam and Heidi headed back to Columbus today, so Jamie and I decided to visit the monorail resorts -- The Contemporary, The Polynesian, and the Grand Floridian. They are all beautiful in their own way. We had dinner at The Kona Cafe at The Polynesian. Upon returning to our resort, we decided to head to the jacuzzi pool and work out some aches and pains. That helped a lot.

I think we'll make our way over to The Animal Kingdom tomorrow and also go to The Magic Kingdom tomorrow night for the parade and fireworks.

We had another incredible weather day today. T-shirt weather -- it's great!

Hugs to Lindsey and Caroline!

EPCOT

This morning we went to EPCOT Future World and rode Soarin' and Test Track, two of my favorites. We walked over to the Boardwalk Resort to look around, came back to our resort for a little while, and then went back to EPCOT tonight for fireworks. Nobody does fireworks like Disney. I finally got the Grand Marnier orange slushy that I've been waiting a year to try and it did not disappoint.

We are worn out. It was 84 and sunny today. What's not to like about that? We'll probably take it easy tomorrow and give our feet a rest. We might do a little shopping.

A quick hello to my friends Jena, Kelly, Marsha, Marylou and Jenny. And, as always to my girls Lindsey and Caroline -- your mom loves you!

Ooops, I forgot to say....

Caroline and Lindsey -- I LOVE YOU!!

Day Two - The Magic Kingdom

Notwithstanding the party last night, I always like to start my Disney vacations at The Magic Kingdom. Something about that particular park that says to me "you're at Disney."

I was up at 6:30 this morning and we were at the bus stop by 8:00. We arrived at The Magic Kingdom a few minutes before the park opening. Perfect timing. We made a stop for breakfast at The Main Street Bakery. After that, we headed to Fantasyland so that Adam and I could do our now traditional ride on Dumbo. The seat seemed smaller than the last time we rode it in 2006. We managed to do everything we planned to do by about 2:30. We took a boat over to The Wilderness Lodge and collapsed on a couple of couches in the lobby. The Wilderness Lodge is a sight to behold. I love that place!

We're back at Old Key West taking a little bit of a rest. We'll head over to Olivia's for dinner and then we're going back to the studios to ride a few rides and see the holiday lights.

After that, we will collapse again. Tomorrow is EPCOT.

Toy Story Midway Mania

We had an absolute blast last night at the party at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Adam, Jamie, Heidi and I all studied up on how to score big on the Toy Story Midway Mania ride because there was a cruise at stake for the highest score. We managed to squeeze in five attempts, but there was no free cruise in our future. I think my high score was around 160,000, which was well over 100,000 short of the prize. On Adam's last attempt he broke 200,000.

It was a beautiful night -- the weather has been perfect -- and I got to meet Pete Werner who was the host for last night's event. We are so appreciative of his efforts and the efforts of his team members to put together a very nice evening. We made it back to the resort at about 12:30 in the morning. Very busy first day.

Arrival at Disney

Arrived at Old Key West Resort safe and sound. We are in room 1415, a perfect spot for us. Our room was ready at about 2:30. So now we're just settling in and getting ready for the DISapalooza party tonight at Disney's Hollywood Studios. It's a private party at the Studios where we'll have food, drinks and fun with a bunch of like-minded Disney fanatics. High score on the Toy Story Midway Mania ride tonight wins a cruise. Will try to post pictures later or some time tomorrow. Weather is nice -- a far cry from the frigid temperatures we left behind in Ohio.

If my girls are reading my blog -- I love you and miss you.

Disney World -- Here I Come!!!!

Anyone who knows me knows that I am an avid fan of almost anything Disney. I don’t pretend to be an expert – for example – I don’t keep a running timeline in my head of movie release dates, or when a particular park or ride opened, or other such kinds of Disney trivia. Rather, I love Disney, and in particular the Walt Disney World Resort, for the sheer enjoyment of the moment. Starting the very second I hop off the plane in Orlando, it is a total immersion experience for me. And for me, it is magical.

My dear husband Jamie and I are embarking on a trip to Walt Disney World in a few days. In this era of social networking and knowing that other Disney fans like to live vicariously through those who are trekking around “The World,” I’ve decided to make my foray into the world of blogging and use this trip as a jumping off point. So here I go.

We will be accompanied on the first few days of the trip by Adam and Heidi, and another Jamie will be joining us for a few days toward the end of the trip.

PRE-TRIP REPORT

The Schedule – A Rough Outline

December 12 – Travel day; Disapalooza Party at Disney Hollywood Studios
December 13 – The Magic Kingdom; Disney Hollywood Studios
December 14 – EPCOT
December 15 – So long to Adam and Heidi
December 16 –
December 17 –
December 18 – Welcome Jamie #2
December 19 –
December 20 –
December 21 –
December 22 –
December 23 –
December 24 –
December 25 –
December 26 – Travel day

Getting There/Staying There

Adam, Heidi and I are flying in with an ETA of approximately 10:30 a.m. Jamie will be driving in from the Florida panhandle. It’s my first time to try Disney’s Magical Express shuttle from the airport to the resort.

We have been members of The Disney Vacation Club since 1994. We’ll be staying at my favorite resort – Old Key West. I love that place! I’m looking forward to one of my favorite adult beverages – The Dolphin Splash – from The Gurgling Suitcase.

Good Eats and Great Fun

Even though I’ve been preparing for this trip for months, we decided to not get all carried away this time and to pretty much take things as they come (as you can see from the schedule posted above). I only made a few restaurant reservations, which means we’re free to come-and-go at a leisurely pace without having to be in a certain place at a certain time in order to be within close range of a dining establishment. We have reservations at Teppan Edo, Liberty Tree, and Le Cellier. I love these places! Other than that, it will be counter service dining for us. Our room comes complete with a full kitchen, so I suppose I could cook, but I’m thinking that probably won’t happen.

We will hit every park multiple times. I’m really looking forward to seeing all the holiday decorations, especially that beautiful lighted castle. And we always enjoy “resort hopping” to check out all the decorations at the resorts.

So, that’s about it for the pre-trip report. Here’s hoping the weather is nice and the crowds are at least manageable. I will try to update my blog throughout our trip.