3rd day – Disney’s Hollywood Studios (WDW ‘10)

I know.. I know..what else can she say about that silly trip??? I guess I just want to document it in writing like I did last time. I promise I’ll eventually get back to ‘regular stuff’. Rilly.

Anyway..Tuesday was our third day and we spent it at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It’s a fun place and a little more show oriented and not quite as many rides. Which works out good cuz by Tuesday, we were more than happy to SIT DOWN a little bit.

We made rope drop and enjoyed the fun show with the director and he’s directing his movie and we’re all in it but we have to walk in this scene or he will yell at us with his bull horn. Very clever and cute. A fun way to start the day.

As soon as the drop happens and everybody starts walking, it was like a tidal wave of people heading for the exact same place…Toy Story Midway Mania. And we were right there with them! Ka-razy!

But we love this ride and were able to enjoy riding it in the line and with fast passes FOUR times in one day. THAT is pretty amazing because the lines for it are always nuts! (shows how good the crowds were, even though it didn’t always feel like it!)

Army man in the queue. I love this picture..I love the look on that dad’s face.

I took 6 or 7 pictures in the queue. It’s loaded with fun, nostalgic toys/things from childhood.

Mr. Potato Head was huge and talked to the crowd. Very fun.

But the ride is the main event. This is one of the most clever rides at WDW. Very imaginative and FUN. My arms were tired after riding it two times in a row, because you have to fire your ‘gun’ at the things in the midway. Gogogogogogo. Tired.

We went on the back lot tour. Lots of fun things to see. We also went to see Lights, Motors, Action, which is a live stunt show. Very loud but very fun.

Do you see that guy?! He’s falling! Very cool.

I rode The Tower of Terror. By myself…my peeps weren’t interested. Two times in a row. And I loved it. I was creeped out by it last trip and wouldn’t try, but this time, I decided to go for it. I’m glad I did. I am not much of a free fall ride kinda girl, but this one was great!

Also saw the Indiana Jones stunt show. We love the Indiana Jones movies, so this was a blast for us.

There is a Muppet-vision 3D show. Very funny.

We had a yummy dinner at a place called Hollywood and Vine and called it a night. Another fun day in the parks.

Next post will be odds and ends about the trip and then I think I have one more ‘in me’ about the food and our last day.

The Magic Kingdom - 2nd day of WDW ‘10

We spent our second day at WDW at the Magic Kingdom. (last trip, we spent our airplane day at MK and this time we spent that day at EPCOT). We’ve learned a lot since our first trip. We thought ‘the little shows’ the parks do as they open the park were really cute. But since our first trip, we’ve learned they’re called rope drops. And they’re sort of a big deal sometimes.

And we had not seen the one for The Magic Kingdom yet.

It was a magical start to a very fun day.

The characters arrive by train and the announcer/conductor guy says good morning and then the characters dance and sing.

We walked straight down Main Street towards Cinderella’s castle…and beyond. We were working on our touring plan and hitting major attractions very early before the crowds hit. That my friends, is the best advice anybody could give regarding the parks.

We rode Peter Pan’s Flight. We had not ridden this one, but I’d been on the one in Disneyland. It brought back a lot of fond memories for me. By the end of the week, we were able to ride this four of five times. Loved it! : )

We rode Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin as well. Very fun. Loved the Buzz in the queue.

We also rode the Haunted Mansion…another ride we were able to ride four or five times before the week was done.

This tombstone is kinda spooky. It’s in the graveyard alongside the queue outside. Her eyes open and close and her face moves. Creepy. (something I didn’t even notice on our first trip!)

We didn’t get to see The Hall of Presidents on our last trip. It was closed for refurbishment.  So this was a special treat for us.

And yep, there go my peeps (ball cap and pink shirt..I am always at the back stopping to take pics as they go on ahead..and then I have to run to catch up)

These are replicas of the boots George W. Bush wore to his inauguration.

It was a very moving and patriotic show. Makes you want to put your hand on your heart and be proud of who we can be.

We loved the People Mover. It was a nice relaxing way to take a rest and enjoy the scenery.

We didn’t watch any parades on our last trip. At the time, I didn’t feel like we were missing anything. But after seeing them, we’ve decided they are a festive “must see” just for the nostalgia of seeing the characters.

I love Jiminy Cricket. I remember watching those old educational films at school that he was in. Love love love!

The park was all decked out for fall. So cute!

Also got to walk through Cinderella’s castle this trip. Last trip that walkway was closed for shows.

These mosaics are all along the walkways. So beautiful and intricate.

We saw the Electrical Parade although in their schedules they call it something else. I remember this one from when I was a kid at Disneyland.

Main Street at night.

After the light parade, we found a spot to watch Wishes, the fireworks show at Magic Kingdom. We finally found a spot and actually got to see Tinkerbelle up close as she flew over us. Very fun. I didn’t take pics of the fireworks this year, because I took about 40 last trip. : ) I will say that I would pay for the dessert party to be able to sit on this one balcony and have a clear view of the fireworks. (next time…)

It was a sweet ending to another magical day.

Wednesday of WDW ‘10 (or NASA day)

I can’t figure out exactly how I want to tell you about the trip. I don’t think I’m up for a day by day account like I did last time. But perhaps I’ll just hit the high points..and maybe a low point or two, if they’re noteworthy.

And a boatload of pics.  How’s that?

So how about starting in the middle? On Wednesday we made arrangements to go to NASA. We’ve only been to the one in Texas and thought this would be fun. So we rented a car and drove out there. I was hoping to see lots of Florida but it was mostly just one loooong highway with trees on either side and a few toll booths. A little underwhelming. I still wanna see more!

There go my peeps walking around in the ‘graveyard’ as it’s called. Very cool to see all these rockets and such, up close and personal.

The space shuttle looks tiny rolling out the doors of this HUGE building.

There’s the shuttle on the pad. So cool!!!

I love Snoopy so I couldn’t resist taking a pic of this one!

They explain Snoopy better than I can, so I took a picture of the plaque next to him.

We did a special guided tour thing and a couple of the things our bus driver pointed out didn’t have anything to do with NASA…a huge eagle’s nest that’s over 70 years old and the size of KING sized mattress (!!!) and an alligator (!!!). No pics of either one of those, but they were both really cool. Love it that the NASA land is a preserve and lots of land and water life can thrive there.

And then we went to Chili’s. Of course. Well not of course, it was more like “oh look, a place to eat. Stop!” so we did. : )

I took a picture because they had different tiles on the table and I thought that was cool.

My family on the other hand, just thought I was nuts.

first day of the trip (WDW ‘10)

I guess I should start the story of our trip at the beginning.

Well, it began at around 3:15 a..m.

Our plane was to take off at 7 a.m.

So if you do the math, 2 hours before take off we had to be at the airport. It takes a half hour to get to the shuttle place and then they have to get you to your gate etc.

And I gotta wash my hair. Yeah, we got up at 3:15. But we were both already awake. We were too excited to sleep!

 

We got it together. Got to the airport and waited.

It was still dark. Even after we had been up aaaaall that time. I had the girl go take a picture of the plane. She said somebody commented that it was odd for her to take a picture of a plane. Obviously those people don’t blog.

Come to find out we flew out on the plane to the left of that one. Oops. It was early.

The sun was coming up as we took off.

She played her DS and listened to her iPod as soon as those things were allowed.

We had an uneventful flight. That’s the way I like it.

We got to the airport in Orlando and made our way down to the Disney area, waited in a couple of lines and made our way to the bus to the resort. Thirty minutes later we were checking in to our hotel, the Polynesian Resort. They had a Mickey waiting for us! At least I like to think of it that way. : )

We unloaded a bit and headed down to Captain Cooks (quick service place in the main building) to eat lunch, then we headed to EPCOT.  

Our plan had been to stay until after fireworks that night, but we didn’t make it that long and headed back to the room soon after dinner.

To crash. It was a looong day.

another countdown

Loving the little countdown app. Check it out!

But lovin’ the destination even more!

Yep, we went again. As a friend said to me a few days before our trip, “it draws you back”, and it certainly does. At least it did for us.

It was truly a magical trip, as we expected.

One little unexpected hiccup though… I got sick with either a cold or allergies right at the end of the trip. Big bummer.

It really would have been “The Magic Kingdom” if Puffs Plus sprouted up whenever I needed one.

Glad to be home. More later. Hugs! : )

Some Random-yness

1. Do you believe, somewhere deep inside, that blondes do indeed have more fun? That they are "dumber" than brunettes or redheads? Be honest! Not really. There are times I think “pretty girls” can get away with not being as smart, but I don’t really think the color of the hair determines any of those things.

2. Which animal would you most like to observe in its wild habitat? Um..pandas because they’re so cuddly and cute.

3. This week the U.N. announced that Dr. Mazlan Othman has been appointed the official "Alien Ambassador," should any extraterrestrials contact us. Have you, or has anyone you know, ever seen a UFO? No. I live in Texas, not New Mexico. : )

4. Name your favorite Hitchcock film. Rope. It’s not over the top creepy, just very good. And I love Jimmy Stewart.

5. Would you rather spend time at the library, the mall, a craft store or home? The craft store. Hobby Lobby is my happy place.

6. Which Disney princess is your favorite? (Or Disney character, if you are a guy) Belle from Beauty and the Beast. My hubby and I went to see that movie right when it came out and I think I cried all the way through it. And for a while after it too (and my hubby has never let me forget it either). It was just so sweet and beautiful. Loved the shorter version at WDW too. : )  Cinderella would be a close second.

7. What kind of art is your favorite? Um, I dunno.

8. How do you feel about viral videos, that is, videos made by amateurs that end up on Youtube receiving thousands of hits? I guess it depends on whether I like it or not, now doesn’t it?

9. Where do you buy your jeans? Where-ever I can find them that fit! I am stumped this year. Will be looking to see where ‘you’ go get your jeans!

10. Tell me about your first automobile accident. I was 16 and had gone to pick up a girl to take her to church. I got to her house and she decided she didn’t want to go. As I was headed back I was sitting at a stop sign and a boy about my age (inexperienced, just like me) slipped on the wet pavement when he was trying to stop, and rear-ended me. Everybody was very ok. I got my tail light replaced and that was that. Since this was before cell phones, I walked to my grandmother’s house to call the police department about it, since she lived closer than anybody else I knew. Very weird to think about life before cell phones. And OnStar.

11. Have you ever been honest when you knew you would benefit more if you would be dishonest? I try to be honest all the time.

12. If you were appointed "Ambassador to Aliens," what would you show and tell first about life on Earth? What would be the most difficult thing to explain? First? Hmm, I don’t really know. The most difficult thing to explain? How about reality tv? It’s caaaaalled reality, but really they’re all just acting silly or fibbing hoping to win a prize. ???

Hop on over to Lid’s place to see where everybody else buys their jeans..and a bunch of other totally interesting things. : )

countdown

I’ve got this cute little app for my iPod Touch. If I enter an event and the time, it will start counting down how much time until it happens. Like this…

I’ve had my eye on it for several weeks until as you can see, we were finally down to just HOURS until…Tim Hawkins!

Squeeeeee!

We got great seats too.

That is without the zoom. We are on the third row, just left of center. And there were only little kids in front of us. So we could all see very well. Score!

And the finale…yes, he’s about to throw that DEPENDS into the audience.!

Of course, he sang the Chick-fil-a song. The crowd went wild. He talked about about his love for CFA and about the reason why they’re closed on Sunday. So the chickens can one more day with their families. LOL

I couldn’t pick out a favorite thing if I tried. We laughed and laughed until we had to try to think about something else for a second so we could catch our breath!

It was a fun night we won’t soon forget!