Life Change

Three weeks ago my hubby suffered a stroke. Needless to say this has forever changed our world. He is probably about 80 % better physically, but his speech is at about 78% at the moment.  I'm not sure when I will be able to resume blogging or updating any videos. Please keep my family in your prayers.

Day 2 Part 3 Evening at Epcot

After lunch and a stop at one of the outlets we headed back to the comfort of Disney World. I never tire of going through those gates. LOL

We were only suppose to be back in our room a few minutes (mostly just to drop off some packages and our leftover pizza). If I remember correctly it started to rain so we decided to wait for it to slack off (because of course it never rains in Florida for very long). But in that small amount of time, Q had crawled in under her covers and was out like a light! She said later she didn't even realize she had fallen asleep. But thanks to her mom she had pictures to prove it. LOL 

By showing up in the afternoon some of the crowds had died down and we were able to park pretty close to the entrance so we walked to the entrance instead of catching the tram. My family loves Epcot (probably more so then even Magic Kingdom). I can't explain it but I get the most excited when I enter Epcot. Being here for a few days without going straight there was torture. We took our "must have" Spaceship earth photo and after checking the park app realized the wait wasn't long, so Spaceship Earth is was for our first ride of the evening!!!! 

I am always surprised when people say they didn't know there was a ride inside! What???

I had heard so much about all of the cool walls where all the cool young people took photos for Instagram. What a surprise to walk off the ride and run into the bubblegum wall! This is my attempt at posing like one of the cool girls. Talk about a FAIL! LOL 

Just in case you want to try it. Look for this sign and you are there! 

No trip is complete without a stop at the Cool Station for a taste of soda from around the world! I won't tell you which is my favorite, and which ones you should avoid. You will have to try for yourself. 

For the second time that day someone noticed Q's birthday button and she got a free drink!!! 

We tried to head over to the Living Seas, but for some reason it was roped off so we headed into the Land Pavilion instead. I can't recall now if we caught a ride on Soarin (for some reason I think we did). But I just love the ceiling in this building and we needed a bathroom break so why not! Funny how I recall needing to use the restroom but not remembering if we road Soarin. I think I am showing my age. LOL I also think this is the night we rode Figment literally by ourselves!! But again, because its taken me so long to post this trip report there are a few details I can't remember. I promise to do much better the next time with my blog (as well as the videos).

I had every intention of eating here on this trip but it never happened. 

After we left the pavilion area we headed to World Showcase. Honestly, this is exactly why we love this park. One it reminds me of traveling (which I love to do), but it also kind of reminds me of Busch Gardens Williamsburg (the park I grew up with before I knew all the joys of Disney). Its still my second favorite place next to Disney of course. And the lands at Disney are just as beautiful at night as they are during the day!

We went into the Mexican Pavilion to ride the Gran Fiesta Tour which had gotten an update since the last time we were there. 

We had a Fastpass for Frozen in a few days, but after looking at the park app we realized that there wasn't much of a line to meet Elsa and Anna, and since I knew the line could be crazy during the day we decided to strike while the iron was hot and go meet the ladies that night. They were cute, but something was missing (maybe they were a little tired after greeting thousands of people that day). I'm not sure what (maybe a lack of enthusiasm ?) but it was still nice to meet them for the first time anyway.

We ended the night watching the fireworks from far away (it was at Epcot many years ago, where we had a fright after witnessing someone near us get hit by some fireworks sparks. After that neither of my girls wanted a thing to do with them). I think some of the music had been shortened as well, so I walked  away a bit disappointed because it was actually my favorite fireworks at Disney. I recently heard that they will be changing this show so maybe the next time I go it will have a new look. We shall see.

Something about seeing that ball lit up at night just makes me smile. We walked out of the park and headed to our car and then back to the room to get a good night sleep. We would be getting up bright and early the next morning to check out the one thing everyone had been raving about at Disney. Stay tuned next week as we head to Animal Kingdom to see Pandora for the first time!

Our Favorite place to get pizza in Orlando!

We discovered Giordano's a few years ago while watching the Steve Harvey show. Needless to say when I found out they were also in Orlando I found one to try out. We have now been back a few times. But this was the first time that my daughter had been.

Cheesy goodness!!! 

Needles to say she was happy. 

Day 2 Part 2 Mad Dash To Magic Kingdom, and Princess Meet & Greet!

While we were at Hollywood Studios watching Beauty and The Beast my daughter got a text from my girlfriend that her daughter who is a Castmember would be at the Princess Hall and that maybe we could get over there to see her before her shift ended (thank goodness for a Park Hopper)! 

We figured it would be easier to catch a bus which would take us directly to that gates rather then taking our car and having to then take transportation from the TTC to Magic Kingdom. What we didn't know was that with all of the construction that is taking place that we would have to walk half way around the parking lot to get to our bus area. That would be fine any other day, but its was afternoon and the heat in August in Florida can be stifling! But since we really wanted to see my niece (she has called us aunt and uncle since she was small) we kept going anyway. I can't tell you what a relief it was to get on that air conditioned bus! Although everyone else must have had the same idea because it was packed! 

We made it through security at MK and then the mad dash to get in the standby line before she left for her break began. We knew we were taking a chance because the Princess section at MK is crazy enough (its one of the few Character interactions I would get a fastpass for), so we were not even sure how long we would be waiting and if we would get to her in time. 

I can't recall now how long the line was, but less just say its was the longest line we stood in the entire trip! Someone had the red ticket and handed it to me because they decided to get out of line (that should give you a small indication of just how crazy it was).

I think it was over 40 minutes before we even got to this section! I have never see so many people (and not to mention so many unhappy children lol ). 

Got to love the portraits hanging on the wall though! Can you tell which Princess we were excited to meet? 

And no it wasn't my namesake! 

We really enjoyed meeting Tiana. But unfortunately it wasn't our Princess! Nothing against the young lady we did meet. She was very nice. But after the long wait it was slightly disappointing! 

But it was our first time meeting either of these beautiful ladies, so it was still a success! 

After all of that rushing to get to Magic Kingdom lets just say we were extremely tired, and hungry (it was pass our usual break time) so our goal at that moment was to grab some food and rest before heading to Epcot for the evening. I dd snap a few photos on our way out of the park, but we only stopped long enough to catch our breath before going back to the bus area to go back to Hollywood Studios to pick up our car and head outside of the parks to find some food. Because we have always driven to Orlando we have always had our own transportation, so its become a habit for us to take a mid day break to grab a meal, as well as do some shopping at one of the outlets or one of the local flea markets.

I wish we had stayed to see the parade at least but the sun was crazy hot that day and my family just wanted to sit somewhere cool and rest a bit. Especially after being at the parks since 8:30 that morning! 

It was a beautiful day to be in the parks, despite the heat (and crazy humidity). 

Some of these were taken as we made a quick walk from Fantasyland to Main Street before catching the bus back to Hollywood Studios. After we got back to our car we headed to the area near Disney Springs and grabbed lunch at our favorite Pizza place in Orlando!

I think we wore this one out! LOL Actually, it was probably the 99 degree weather that did him in. Stay tuned next week for Part three as we head into Epcot (my family's favorite park) for the first time on this trip!

Day 2 Part 1 Hollywood Studios

I'm not sure what we had for a breakfast snack that morning but we kept some fruit and granola bars in the room so after getting dressed (and making our daily stop in the Food court so hubby and daughter could get their coffee ) we headed to Hollywood Studios! I know everyone has complained about the lack of rides at HS to participate in. But I was excited because we would be riding the Toy Story Mania for the first time.  Amazingly we had a Fastpass for this ride so our plan was to hit one of the other attractions first and then head to Toy Story Mania at 9:30.

Us just before hitting the gates into HS. Originally we had planned to catch the Great Movie Ride before hitting Toy Story Mania, but they closed this ride our first day in the parks and the lines were insane so we never made it over to say goodbye. We decide to check out Star Tours even though we had a Fastpass for it. We were able to get in the Stand by line with hardly any waiting! It was also the first time we had seen the changes inside of Star Tours since they have updated it. 

Goodbye Great Movie Ride! You will be missed!!! 

I feel at home every time I enter a Disney park! Especially when I see familiar landmarks! 

After checking the park app we noticed that Olaf did not have a long wait at all, and since we had never officially met him we decided to "stop" there before heading to our 9:30 fastpass.

Needless to say Olaf is hilarious, considering the fact that he doesn't talk it was still a great interaction. He made a big deal over my daughter after seeing her birthday button (which would become a big deal over the course of our trip). 

I can't recall now if we headed straight into Toy Story Mania or if we stopped for popcorn first. But my daughter smelled the popcorn from where we were standing (right outside of the ride) and decided to get some popcorn to tide her over until lunch time. The server saw her Birthday button and gave it to her for free! Needless to say it was a treat we all enjoyed the rest of the trip (especially since refills were so cheap).

Now getting back to Toy Story Mania! I have to say I wasn't sure how I would feel about this ride. I didn't have anything to compare it to with the exception of Buzz Lightyear and because I hadn't done a lot of research I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it! I'm partially kicking myself now for not video taping it (Granted, I'm kicking myself months later for a lot of things I didn't tape, but plan to remedy on the next trip).

Let's just say I really loved this ride after trying it for the first time and I see why its soo popular! I would recommend it to anyone. Just be prepared to have an arm work out! LOL

After Tour Story Mania we had a little bit of time on our hands and were trying to figure out what to see next (our Fastpass for Frozen Sing A Long was not until 12 PM).

While still trying to decide we started to hear some music (which I knew from seeing other people's video's was Star War's themed). I know there is a name for this, but I don't remember it. And even though I am not a big Star Wars fan (although I do like the Star Tours ride) I do recommend seeing it at least once.

There wasn't a long line for The Voyage of The Little Mermaid so we headed there!

We decided after seeing The Little Mermaid that we would catch The Beauty and the Beast Show before the weather got to hot for us to bare, so we headed back to the front of the park. I am not a thrill ride person but I always love seeing the Tower of Terror building. Don't ask me why. LOL

Beauty and The Beast is never disappointing, and the music is timeless! Considering the fact that the show was so close to starting we actually got pretty good seats!

I did not know it at the time, but the Frozen Sing-Along would become the highlight of the day for me (next to riding Toy Story Mania for the first time). I may even have to a separate post highlighting this show just because I enjoyed it so much. The reviews I had seen were mixed. People either loved it, or considered it a waste of their time! My daughter and I were on the "love it" team. Not sure about the hubby.LOL

I love the details at all of the Disney parks! 

By one o'clock we were ready to leave the park for a break and intended to grab some food outside of the parks (until we got a call from my girlfriend who's daughter is one of the cast members at Walt Disney World).

Our second morning in the parks went pretty good and we checked off most of the boxes for Hollywood Studio that day. Not bad if I say so myself! You will have to stay tuned next week for Part 2 of our second day at the park (and the mad dash to Magic Kingdom to catch a princess before she took a lunch break)!