I'm calling this the "One Day " Post

Our family fell in love with Epcot the moment we stepped foot on property! Every trip has to include Epcot. On one trip it was the only park I think my son went to the entire time we were there. He had taught himself Japanese and wanted to talk with the CM's. I pretty sure he got on somebody nerves that week. Any way on this trip (back in 2011) we did not get to spend as much time at Epcot as we would have liked but we still managed to have a good time. A couple of places we hit without even thinking about it, and usually Test Tracks is at the top of the list but somehow we missed it this time around. Its been so long now that I'm not even sure why we didn't go but I can guarantee we won't miss it on the next trip. Anyway, here are a few highlights and I'm sure you will soon understand why I named it "next time"! LOL

I usually get every ones picture from behind (because I'm usually "behind" taking pics), but this time I was sitting at a bench waiting for them so I actually got a front view! 

The girls actually getting along! Disney has a way of doing that. Maybe that's why I want to live there. LOL

I love the flower arrangements at Disney. Why can't I get mine to look like that?

I'm pretty sure most people don't notice this on the ceiling at The Land Pavilion, but I did on my very first trip there ( back when they even had a water fountain inside). I have loved it every since and was happy to see they were still hanging up! Of course that could have changed by now.

One day I'm going to go diving for pearls! Just not in the water. 

She has to try on hats! I don't think there is a trip where I don't have a picture of her wearing two or three hats.

See what I mean?

One day she's going to actually buy a Kimono! LOL

Not sure what this one was looking for but it looks intense! LOL

I know what she's looking for here. Food! LOL

We always have to have at least one turkey leg on each trip! 

One day I am going to eat here! 

Me giving Marc the eye because he wasn't playing nice! lol

A back view just because I can! ROFL

I'm not sure what we did next. I'm going to have to look back through my pics to find out. But I will post another highlight next week! Tell then, have a blessed and happy day!

Life Really Was Interupted!

Hard to believe its been over a year since I posted on my trip blog! But life as really been interrupted (including some health issues). But this week while going over some upcoming plans for our 30th Anniversary trip to Orlando (unfortunately not to Disney. More about that in a later post) I started looking at some old pics and thought I would at least highlight this page over the next few weeks with some of the pics from our 2011 trip to Disney. A great place to start is with Ohana's which is not only our favorite restaurant but also the first Disney restaurant my family ever went to. In honor of that Marc and I have made reservations there again this year for the day of our anniversary! So I thought I would post a few Ohana pictures just to get me in the mood for the upcoming celebration!

 

 

 

 

Great food, a view of the castle (with the audio piped in of the Fireworks show if you happen to be there at the right time...which we usually are) and entertainment for the young (and not so young) at heart. What more can a DisneyQueen ask for? Next week I'll highlight our Epcot adventures!

Life Has Been Interupted!

Life has been interrupted a lot lately. In the span of a week we had three different family members effected by death. This past weekend we dropped everything to travel to Birmingham, AL for a funeral. I think this is my last trip of the year! Although there was no time for sightseeing, we did make a point to cross the Edmond Pettus Bridge in Selma where the funeral was held.

We spent two nights at Homewood Suites in Birmingham. I would recommend this place to anyone! The staff was understanding and very accommodating. We were walk ins on a Friday night and they gave us the Internet rate! The breakfast that is included with your stay was awesome. There was a lot to choose from at the breakfast bar and the suite we stayed in was roomy and clean.

The Big Surprise and a note about Magic Kingdom Part 2

This whole trip came about because my friend Kelli was planning to celebrate her and her husband Mike's 25th Wedding Anniversary at Disney. Kelli loves Disney more then I do (and believe me that is saying a lot)! Originally we were going to be doing an actual ceremony and Marc would be officiating but that didn't pan out so Kelli and Mike decided to still go and enjoy the week at Disney anyway.  They do plan to renew on their 30th closer to home and Marc will officiate there.

Long story short we started planning a cruise instead (which didn't pan out) until we found out that our nieces competition would be the same week of Kelli's anniversary. This gave me the bright idea to surprise my goddaughter, niece and Kelli all at the same time. Kelli's husband Mike was in on it after we told him when we got together with them early summer in Washington DC. We had been trying since Sunday evening to let her know we were here but unfortunately we could not get her to leave the parks! We even had friends checking from their homes to see where she was so she wouldn't get suspicious of me calling to many times.

The plan was to leave the park and track her down no matter what. We knew the resort they were staying at because I had fibbed and told her we were sending them a special anniversary gift and that I needed the address. I also knew she and Mike had reservations that evening at Victoria and Alberts so I knew we had to act quickly. We tracked down the address for the resort and by some miracle the gatekeeper let us in. When we got to the room Kelli and her daughter Marlee Anne were actually out so Mike had us hide when she came back. My daughter filmed the whole thing. It was priceless. It had taken three days to surprise her but it was worth it just to see the look on her face! LOL

We hung around while she got dressed and then hightailed it back to our room to get ready for dinner at Ohana's with the promise to get together within the next day or so.

Sidenote: Some how I posted Magic Kingdom Part 2 on my craft page! HAHA Enjoy!!! I don't have the energy to transfer it anyway!!! LOL

Part 1 of Magic Kingdom!!!!

It had been five years since our last trip to Disney! To say that we were a bit excited is an understatement. LOL The plan was to hit Adventureland, Tommorwland and see Mickey (especially since we had not been able to get reservations for Chef Mickey"s), Minnie and the princesses before heading out of the park that afternoon when the sun was shining down to bright. I had hoped to come back after dinner at Ohana's but we all know how plans change! We had several snacks and some water in Marc's backpack (some things never change). A few breakfast items in the room so we were set until at least 1 or 2 p.m.

We drove into the gates straight for the parking lot and on to the trams! That's when you really know your at Disney if you ask me. LOL The weather was great but just a tad hot! WIthin minutes we were headed for the monorails ......until one of the CM's said they were not available. Wha????? So off to the boats we go. Thankfully we did not have to wait long. The one thing I love about the ferry ride is that you get to see the monorail hotels and knowing that we would be eating at the Poly that evening just got me even more excited.

As soon as we got off of the ferry we made our way to the "security" section, which if you were standing behind my husband in line I apologize in advance. He is the water carrier, snack host, baby wipe toter...you name it he has it in his backpack. But for us it helps keep us sane during the long days in the park and in bot of our cases for health reasons its important to have the water and snacks available...especially in the heat!

My plan from the start was to grab a fastpass for the Princess and go immediately to the line for Mickey. We had been unable to get ADR's for Chef Mickeys and frankly how could I come to Disney without seeing Mickey!

Mission Accomplished! Granted it took us a miunute to figure out where the fastpass area was. And thankfully the wait for Mickey was only 8 minutes. I have to say I love this system. Way easier then the lines outside for some of the other characters which we never got a chance to do because it was either to hot, or raining. In one case we got in line to see Pooh who my daughter loves and the line was cut off. I think every character should have his own spot inside to meet and greet! LOL And we never did find Tiana.....is she like in the witness protection program or something (granted we got a glimpse of her in the parade later but its not quite the same)?

After meeting and greeting Mickey we headed to Adventureland, along the way my daughter Nicki posed with a few hats and my daughter Quisha stopped to mail a card to a friend (how cool would it be to receive a card from WDW).  Of course who can travel down Main Street without taking a picture in front of the castle!  Then after a quick left through the crowds we were in Adventureland!

Our first stop was Pirates of the Caribbean! Which by the way is even better with the new add-ons. Best part of the ride...no wait! After we finished the ride the family just had to clown around in the shops.

Once the rowdy crowd finished horsing around we headed towards the Jungle Cruise because I knew that later that day it would be near to impossible to get on the ride without waiting in a long ride. As we got in line which was already starting to get long my oldest daughter said that her stomach hurt so we told her we would meet her after the ride at the Enchanted Tiki Room. The CM on this ride was great and her timing on the jokes were spot on. I'm not sure how long it had been since we last road it but my youngest daughter said this was the first time she actually paid attention to the jokes!!! After we got off I texted my daughter to see if she was back from the restroom. She had misunderstood and thought we were in the show and had tried to get in. Of course the cm's had told her that was impossible so she was a bit upset until she realized we were on our way over. Thankfully we only had to wait a few minutes! The show had only been open a few days before we arrived do to refurbishments being done after the fire. The birds are cute and its a great place to refresh yourself on a hot park day.

After coming out of the show we grabbed a quick snack and some water out of the backpack before heading back towards Mainstreet to use our fastpass to see the princess. We made it to mainstreet just in time to catch the Move It Shake It parade (a first for us).

As soon as the parade ended we hightailed it over to meet the princess..finally! LOL

Its always fun to have a conversation....one Cyndi to another! Overall the experience was fun but I noticed that the photographers although willing to take a picture with your camera are not as careful as they are when taking a picture with their own cameras. Which I understand but at times it was a bit annoying especially since we tried to not hold up the line with a ton of photo request. I know I should probably go and look at the pics on-line but I'm not sure that they will be so great that I will want to purchase them. At one point I considered buying the photopass package before leaving for Disney but by the end of the week I was kind of glad we hadn't because we didn't actually take that many pictures with the professionals.  Next up Tomorrowland!

Day 2/Part 2-Pop Century here we come!

There is nothing like seeing those gates into the world we know as Walt Disney World. I always feel as if I am coming home! 

Went with Mike to pick up our tickets at Shades of Green. Then to my other favorite place....Downtown Disney! 

We did not know at the time that this would be our one and only time going there! Pooh!!!!

Did a little dreaming at the chrystal shop and then finally after what seemed like forever we headed to Pop Cnetury! Our home away from home for the week.

Don't you just love a good butt shot! LOL

I had originally asked for a Lake View on the third floor hoping to get a glimpse of the new resort. No such luck. We ended up on the second floor in the very last building (probably a good thing since we took the stairs every day because the elevators seemed so far away). We used our car most of the time so this was not a big deal but the 50's and 60's building just seemed very far removed from the experience of Pop Century so we never actually got a chance to explore. Not to mention the fact that it rained a lot on this trip (again...more on that later)! Augh!!!!!

I forgot to mention that check in was a breeze, and in no time we had our room keys and headed to the food court area to pick up our refillable mugs. Marc was hesitating about getting one but I got him one anyway knowing he would need his coffee every morning. In the end he probably used his cup more then we did. I think we did some shopping that evening, grabbed a quick bite to eat and settled in our room for the night in anticipation of our first day in the park! Magic Kingdom here we come!!!