Coming home soon!

It is Saturday morning and we are finishing up our final packing to head home. We have lunch scheduled at Tony's Restaurant in the Magic Kingdom at 11:30am and our bus for Magical Express will pick us up at 2:30pm at the resort for our flight home at 5:30. It's been a great week but I am ready to see my pups....
See ya real soon!

Last full day with a spectacular end!

Friday, our last full day, we decided we would go to Hollywood Studios to ride Toy Story Mania.
First for breakfast we used our snack credits and went to the food court to get a couple of danish. Then we headed to the park. It was very hot outside. When we arrived the wait said 60 minutes for the ride and fast passes were available for 5:30pm. We opted to stand in line and it took approximately 45 minutes. The ride was great and I did much better this time. It is a 3D ride/game in which you pull a string to shoot targets. It is very exhausting for your arm to keep pulling the rope but it was fun. After the ride we went to see the Beauty and the Beast show. We hadn't seen it in years. It was good but they should have enclosed the theater as it is very hot with little air circulation.
For lunch we decided to go to Downtown Disney and eat at Wolfgang Puck Express again. We just loved this place. To get there we took the boat to the Swan/Dolphin hotel and then took the bus to Downtown Disney. The lunch was great. I got the crispy chicken again and Chris had pizza. We then walked back to our hotel. Chris went swimming and I read my book for a bit. My sister called and we chatted and then my mother in law called and we chatted.
For dinner we went to Japan and the Tokyo Dining restaurant in Epcot. It was good. We both had Tempura. It was very hot outside and we took the bus to Hollywood Studios and then walked to Epcot so we were just happy to be in air conditioning.
After dinner we headed back to the resort as the Patriots were playing the third preseason game of the season. We watched the game and stayed up until 11:59pm when to our delight we got to watch the Spaceshuttle Discovery lift off. It was spectacular to say the least. We had a great view from just outside our room and it lit up the whole sky! So glad we had the chance to see a nighttime liftoff.

Dining plan & no dining plan

On Thursday we started the day at the Magic Kingdom because we wanted to eat lunch at Columbia Harbor House. Chris was up early taking pictures around the resort so we didn't arrive until around 11am. We went to the Monsters Laugh Floor which was actually a different show than we usually see. We walked around the back side of the park and went to eat lunch. Chris was excited because they had a shrimp platter on the menu. As far as counter service goes this is one of our favorite places to eat. The chocolate cake was awesome too!

After lunch we returned back to the resort for some pool time. The weather was cloudy all day but it did not rain. We went to the quiet pool again. We have yet to go into the main pool as it is always a zoo when we go by it.

Our dinner was scheduled at Narcoosees at 5:30. This is a signature restaurant and we chose not to use the dining plan here. We ate here in May and loved it. This trip was no exception. I had the green goddess salad with avocado and the crab crusted halibut again. Even better this trip. The only thing we noticed is there were many kids. Not sure if this is due to the fact that the dining plan has forced families to fill all restaurants or if they just wanted to eat here. Seems kind of funny that families would spend two credits of the dining plan for $60 lobster for their 10yr old. Who knows.

After dinner Chris wanted to see Spectromagic. It didn't start for a couple of hours and I decided not to wait just to have him sit and take pictures. Instead I went back to the room and read my book. Of course upon my return I learned that our friend Bob's dad died that day so I made a phone call to Robyn and expressed my saddness.

Backstage Safari

Wednesday we got up early to do the Backstage Safari tour at Animal Kingdom. We had to meet at the park entrance at 8:15am. They gave us ear piece headsets so we could hear the tour guide which was pretty cool. Because you are backstage for most of the tour you are not allowed to take pictures. First we went to the housing barns for the rhinos and elephants. We got up close to a rhino and we talked with the keeper for a bit. This was my favorite part. Very interesting. The rhino was similar to this one:
Next we went to the animal hospital. Usually we go there early on weekdays to watch the procedures through the window. This time we were on the other side of the glass in the operating room. We saw a porcupine just waking up from anesthesia and we got to see the room where they examine the blood and do big surgeries. The whole building was pretty interesting. There were a lot of classrooms and hallways filled with information. Our next stop was the nutrition center. I liked this area too. We saw the warehouse where they keep the many bags of food and hay. Then we went into the prep area as cast members were preparing meals. They are preparing meals for the next day. One does vegetables, one does greens, and the other does frozen rabbit, frozen mice, fish, etc. It was gross but interesting. They each have a book with sheets they follow and they weigh everything and the food goes in labeled containers. Some are for animal groups and some are for individual animals. There is a nutritionist on property that decides what each animal is eating and provides these cast members with new sheets for their book if necessary. After this we went onstage and into a safari truck. That was good because we didn't have to wait for the ride. Our tour guide narrated the entire ride and told us about things we wouldn't know otherwise. She pointed out where the animals go for their night barns etc. This was also the best shot of the lions.

After the tour we watched the Birds of Flight show and then we went to lunch at Flametree BBQ. Chris had ribs and I had the chicken. Both were good but the sides and desserts were weak. I am still not loving the counter service portion of our dining plan.

After lunch we headed back to the resort. Chris has run out of clean clothes so he went to the pool and did wash in the nearby laundry area and I stayed in the room and read my book. Although it wasn't raining it was cloudy all day. At around 3:30 we took the bus to the Yacht club as we had dinner in France at Epcot.

By now it was raining just a little and we arrived about a half hour early so we went to watch the Impressions of France movie which we had never seen. It was good and it finished up at 5pm when our reservation for Chefs de France was for. The meal was good but the best part was meeting our chef, Remy:

After dinner we took the boat over to Hollywood Studios because the grand finale show of American Idol Experience was at 7pm. They told us on the boat that the park closes at 7pm and we would arrive too late. We went anyway and we arrived at the main gate at 6:53pm and asked if we could enter to go to American Idol. They said we could but they couldn't guarantee we would make it into the show. We entered and walked very fast and when we arrived they were counting empty seats and holding us outside. We had made it into the last group of 14 to enter. Thank God! It was great. There were seven singers instead of the three. These are the winners from each of the shows throughout the day. The girl I voted for won. She was 16 and from Rhode Island. She wins a ticket that gets her to the front of any real American Idol audtion in the country.

After the show we headed back to the resort. It was still raining just enough to be annoying but not really hard enough for a poncho. We went down to the main area and filled our mugs with iced tea and lemonade, searched for a snack which we passed on and then went to bed.

Tuesday...

Today we went to Animal Kingdom. I wanted to see the procedures that they show in the animal hospital but we got there just as they were finishing up with a turkey and his bandaged foot. Chris wanted to take some pictures. Ok well maybe a lot of pictures. We did however get fast passes from the central fast pass station which was good because you can get more than one. We did Expedition Everest and the Sarangeti Safari ride.
For lunch we decided to go to Port Orleans food court. It was a long bus ride for a mediocre lunch. It was ok but I am really not digging the dining plan we picked. I just don't care for the counter service stuff. I miss my sit down lunches. I think next time we need to do the deluxe plan.
After lunch we headed back to the hotel and I went to the pool for a bit. Chris took a nap. Then we headed to the Polynesian for one of my favorite dinners....Kona Cafe. We stopped and had a drink at the Tambu Lounge and met a nice couple from Boston who were on their honeymoon. Our dinner was great. Chris was able to get the noodle dish he loves which wasn't quite the same but better than the last time. I had my favorite teryiaki steak and then we tried to finish dessert.
It was raining a bit so we headed back to the hotel because we have to get up early tomorrow. We are doing the Backstage Safari tour at Animal Kingdom at 8:30am. Can't wait!
One note... the monorail was PACKED! I think everyone has the dining plan and all the restaurants are full especially in the resorts.

Lazy day

Today we hung out. We decided to go over to Downtown Disney at 9:30am when they opened. Chris wanted to Design a Tee in the new store and we didn't get a chance to shop earlier because it is so busy there. After the shirt was done we went back to Saratoga for lunch. We both got the flatbreads. I got pepperoni and Chris got the cheeseburger one. Both were good. We each had the chocolate cupcake for dessert. The meal plan seems to be working for us.
In the afternoon we swam for a bit and then Chris headed to the Magic Kingdom for picture taking. I stayed back and read by the pool. Then I called work. It is Monday and lots happens. Of course something went wrong when I wasn't there. Nothing that I could fix but the girls were on the case. Brenda did good just a few hiccups. Seems like all is under control while I am gone.
I met Chris later on at the Magic Kingdom. We did a few rides...Teacups, Tiki Bird show, Mickey's Philarmagic, and Small World. Then we went to dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern.
We had never been before and it was great! Turkey, Ham, Flank Steak, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, mac and cheese, delicious rolls, apple crisp.... all you can eat. We will definitely return here. We used two snack credits today finally... Dole Whip and Popcorn.
We are booked early Wed morning for behind the scenes tour at Animal Kingdom...can't wait!

One day...two parks

On Sunday we did two parks... In the morning we did Epcot. We rode Spaceship Earth, which is much improved with a cool video game that shows your pictures. Then we did the Trash Pickup game similar to the Piggy Bank game last trip at Innoventions. We ate lunch in the Land building and then did Nemo and Friends ride. We had gotten a fast pass for Test Track so we rode that on our way out.

In the afternoon we napped since we had gotten up early.

Our dinner was at the Yacht Club Galley so we decided to leave an hour for the bus ride from Downtown Disney to the resort. We needed the full hour. After hovering under a tree on the walk to the bus due to torrential rain we finally made it and then had several stops along the way. The main reason for eating here was so Chris could have the crab legs.

After dinner we took the slow boat to Hollywood Studios. I wanted to see Fantasmic and there were two showings that night. We didn't get into the first one so we walked on Tower of Terror and Great Movie Ride. Toy Story Mania was still a 50 minute wait at 9pm so we just waited and went to the 10pm show of Fantasmic. It was as good as always.

When we got back to the resort we were locked out of our room. Apparently the key card entry died. So after calling the front desk the maintenance man arrived and finally finished up around 12:45. Needless to say after an early morning it was a long night.

Up early...

Today we woke up early... 5:45am. I guess between going to bed early last night and this being our normal time it was expected. Chris decided to go out and take pictures before the sun came up. I decided I would stick with my plan of using the gym. I made the long trek to the gym and did the treadmill for 20 minutes. To my surprise the gym was empty. Although by 6:30 a few more guests arrived. Then I took the long walk back around the resort. This is one thing I love about this resort. There are walkways around the resort, a long bridge to cross, and tons of fountains. I have to admit it was peaceful. I saw a couple of bunnies along the way. I am going to check the maps and see if there is something that shows the distance around the resort so I can see how far I walked. It was humid but with the sun just coming up it is not too hot yet. I feel good and soon we will venture out to the parks.

One of my favorites!

This is one of my favorite meals. Usually we eat at the Turf Club for lunch but this trip we stuck with tradition and ate our first dinner at our resort. I always get the Penne Pasta with Shrimp. It has artichoke hearts, kalamata olive, spinach, and sun dried tomatoes in a garlic wine sauce. I just love it and it was once again delicious. For day one of the dining plan we have spent $108 on dinner and lunch and it cost us $80. We didn't even use a snack credit today which means I have an extra to spend one day.

We have been here one day and have yet to do a park. After being up since 4am we are both going to crash tonight and hope for more energy tomorrow.

Back to the World!

Well here we are back at Disneyworld. This trip we are staying at Saragtoga Springs Resort. We are off to an ok start. We awoke this morning at 4:15am... the dogs were confused to say the least. We drove ourselves to the airport and decided to park in Zparking. That was great because it was raining and they are a valet service. We made it through checkin fairly quick but the long wait happened at the Dunkin Donuts. We made it to the gate, boarded right away and had a smooth quick flight on Delta. We took Magical Express transportation and were at Disney by 10:30. We had done online check in for our resort and we got our keys right away but our room was not ready. This kind of puts us in a weird state because you don't have the right bags to travel to the park with so you just seem to wander.

One great thing about this resort is the boat transportation to Downtown Disney. We decided to go over there for lunch. Of course another new thing for us this trip is we have decided to do the Disney Dining Plan. We get one counter service meal, one sit down meal, and one snack every day. We decided today we would have lunch at Wolfgang Pucks Express, a great deal on counter service credit. The food was AWESOME! The fries were fantastic! I had crispy chicken and fries and Chris had Rotisserie chicken and mashed potatoes. For dessert I had a cookie and he had frozen yogurt with strawberries. The lunch totaled $40.15 ... we have already covered one of our 39.99/day per person fee for the dining plan.

After lunch we browsed the stores at Downtown Disney and then got our call that our room was ready....HUGE dissappointment. We were in Grandstand section, close to the pool, but we had a parking lot view. Not acceptable. We like to relax on the balcony and this view was not going to cut it. Needless to say we called the front desk and they moved us to Congress Park section. Of course our view is better, I wouldn't call it premier like they did, but we are now the furthest from the main area as possible. We are in walking distance of Downtown Disney but far from the drink stations and main area. Oh well... can't win it all. These are some pictures of our new view:

Anyway it is now 3:15 and my spa appointment for my pedicure is at 4pm so I will end for now. Gotta start the long trek back to the Spa.

Back to reality

As we reminisce about vacation it is back to reality. A yard to mow, grocery shopping to do, dogs to take out, etc. It is also less than 90 days until our next trip and Chris called to make dining reservations. We still can 't get into O'hana or LeCellier but we added a couple of new ones to the list... Liberty Tree Tavern and Tokyo Dining.
We went to see the movie Up! today and liked it very much. Although I don't think it is really a kid movie. A little too serious.
Hopefully Chris will have his pictures on a disk soon so I can see and scrapbook.
Glad to be home!

On our way home...

Well we are at Orlando Airport waiting for our flight home. Although I am sad vacation is over I can't wait to see my dogs. This morning we checked out early and headed to Hollywood Studios to see Kris Allen, the winner of American Idol. It was pretty cool. We saw Deb Wills and the filming of a commercial by Kris and some really excited fans. Then Kris rode in a car with Mickey down Hollywood Ave and went on stage for some questions. He sang the song "Heartless" which he did on American Idol and sounded great. We left shortly after but I found out through Deb's tweets that he made a short appearance at the 11am show of American Idol Experience.

Overall it was a great trip.

Day 7 - Final Full Day

Today was our last full day here at Disney. Now is when Chris starts his panic about all the things we didn't do. The fact that we are returning in less than 3 months helps ease the pain.
We headed to Animal Kingdom today. Chris wanted to see the Lion King show. This is always a favorite of mine as it is my favorite Disney movie. We then figured we'd try to get into Yak & Yeti for lunch without an ADR. We got right in and once again had a great meal. I had the honey chicken and fried green beans. Chris had tempura shrimp and the pot stickers.
After lunch we had to make a quick stop by the World of Disney store to exchange a shirt I had bought for a different size. Of course by now it was raining again.
We stopped back at the hotel room for a bit and then headed to Hollywood Studios. I wanted to see the American Idol Experience. When we got there the Block Party Bash was going on. It was ok. Then we went to the Idol show. I really liked this. It was very authentic.
By now we walked around the park. We were going to do Toy Story Mania again but the wait said 80 minutes and fast passes were gone. The line was shorter than when we went the other day but I think based on the number of fast passes the stand by line would take longer. Our dinner at the Brown Derby was scheduled for 6:40 but we figured we'd see if they could take us early at 5pm. We were able to sit right away. This restaurant, another newbie for us, was neat inside. The dinner started off good. We both ordered the strip steak but the server kind of disappeared during the meal to the point that we had to ask another waiter to find him for drink refills. The bad service and the ok meal did not put this restaurant on the return trip list.
We are now back at the room packing to go home tomorrow. We have to leave early to get to Hollywood Studios to see the American Idol winner. Of course, Chris is only going because his friend Deb Wills from allearsnet.com will be there as well and maybe we can meet up with her. Whatever it takes.....

Day 6 Wednesday - Our 14th Anniversary!

Today was our anniversary and it was another great day. We started the day by going to the Magic Kingdom. We wanted to see the new Stitch show which was a disappointment. Then we did Monster Laugh Floor because we had gotten a Fastpass for Buzz Lightyear. So after Monsters we did Buzz and good thing we had the pass... it was crowded.

Then we walked along the back side of the park so I could get Mrs. Potts soft serve, another favorite. We headed to Pirates of the Carribean and rode that. Keep in mind that along the way Chris takes pictures of everything. By now it was noon and we decided to eat lunch. I got chicken nuggets because I knew Chris wanted to have the tacos. The Taco restaurant is never open when we go so this was a treat for him.
We decided after lunch we would go to Downtown Disney. On our way out of the park the Move It, Shake It Dance party was going on. It was pretty good.

We headed on the monorail to the Contemporary to catch the bus to Downtown Disney. By now there was another thunderstorm going on. I know... big surprise. We pretty much missed it during our travels. It was slightly raining when we got there. We bought the dogs some treats and stuffed toys as promised as well as a couple of items for us.

For our anniversary dinner we went to Narcooseeses.

We have never been here before and we were really looking forward to it. This restaurant did not disappoint. It was FANTASTIC! My favorite meal thus far. I had green goddess salad (ceasar salad with avacado) for my appetizer and the crab crusted halibut for my dinner. This was unbelievable. I would never have ordered the halibut in my younger days.... but I am brave now. Chris had the shrimp and lamb with Moroccan spices. He liked his too.
We decided to come back to the room after dinner. We love this resort and feel very comfortable just hanging out in our room.

Only one more full day to go and then I got the news that Kris Allen the American Idol winner will be at Hollywood Studios on Friday morning. Now I have to figure out how we will get packed and checked out and to the park in enough time to get a good spot and then to be done in time to make our plane at 2:20pm. Better go start packing....

Day 5 Tuesday

Today was a great day. We got out early today so that we could ride Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios. We got there before the park opened only to find that everyone else was there to do the same thing. As soon as the park opened everyone headed for the same place. We only had to wait for about a half hour and the ride was great. Similar to Buzz Lightyear... you have to shoot things for points. I actually did better on this.
After that we headed for Tower of Terror, a favorite of ours. We waited approximately a half hour on that as well.
We had to leave after to reach Raglan Road, the Irish pub at Downtown Disney. We had lunch reservations at 11:30. It was very good. I had the fish and chips and Chris had a shepards pie made with prime rib and lamb. We will definitely visit this again.
The next highlight of the day was for Chris who finally went up in the fake hot air balloon. It is a large balloon teathered to the ground that goes up 400 feet and overlooks the property. He LOVED it. He says this is a must do on every trip.
We returned to the hotel around 2pm because I needed to do some work and the rain was on its way. Shortly after 3:30pm a large thunderstorm rolled through. We decided that we would not make it to our reservation at Epcot's Bistro de Paris for 5:30 dinner reservations so we went down to the lobby to cancel. They have a new reservation system and all of the cast members seem to be having trouble navigating the screens. The only thing available according to the system was Flying Fish at 8:40pm. Although we enjoy this restaurant we were not sure if it was our choice for the evening so we took it and decided to search for other options.
Since the news said we would get another batch of rain this evening we decided we wanted to eat in a hotel where we could valet park. We picked the Beach Club because we had several options in the area to pick from. Of course Chris's first choice was Cape May Cafe clambake. We figured we would give it a try. They told us they could fit us in within 45 minutes so we were happy. We went to cancel Flying Fish and our table was called in 6 minutes. As we were escorted to our table by Andrew who was earning his ears, we came upon a BIG surprise... crab legs were part of the buffet (apparently this is just a test for this week). To say that Chris was the most happiest I have seen him is an understatement. We then were greeted by our server Roger who has worked at Disney for 37yrs. We remember having Roger before and we told him how happy we were. Not only were there crab legs on the buffet but they brought the buckets back. This was something we loved and they did away with. The buckets are great for transporting the clams. Needless to say we are both back at the resort stuffed from dinner and still talking about what a great day we had!

The Great Piggy Bank Adventure!

I had read about this new section of Innoventions on allearsnet.com and thought it sounded fun. The Great Piggy Bank Adventure is a game that you can play to teach you about the importance of financial planning. First you pick a goal....the ultimate vacation, retirement, college fund, or bedroom remodel. Then you get your pig. I just loved the pig! You proceed to play three games:

1st - a game to try to direct your money between saving and spending

2nd - a game about inflation and how the wolf takes your money

3rd - a game about spreading the money into different investments so the wolf can't get it.

At the end you weigh your pig to see if you reached your goal.

We came close but did not reach our ultimate vacation but we had a blast playing! I LOVE THE PIG!

Day 4 - SAFARI TIME

One of the great things about staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge is that we can do the Wanyana Safari. Only available to resort guests, this safari consists of 1 1/2 hours in a safari truck on the hotel savannah followed by a family style meal at Jiko, one of the hotels restaurants. Although expensive we felt this was a once in a lifetime experience.


Along with two other parties we boarded the truck and got up close and personal with the many giraffes, antelope, zebras, and birds on the savannah. We learned many things about them including their names and habits. It was also great to see the Lodge from a different perspective. What we thought was Kidani Village Lodge was really Jambo house. As you can see in this picture the animals are really right outside the hotel roaming freely. Did I mention that this is Chris's new favorite resort??

Day 4 Monday

Once again we started late. Chris gets up early and I seem to sleep until 8:30/9am which I haven't done in a long time at home. We decided to go to Epcot to take pictures of the Flower and Garden Festival since it was a nice day. This seems to be the weakest show I have seen in a while. Not as many displays and vendors as I have seen in the past.

We went to Innoventions first since I had read online about the Piggy Bank game. We watched a show about Velcro first which was great because we recognized one of the hosts as the comedian from the old comedy club. Then we did the Pig game... I will post later about that.

We ate lunch at the outdoor Mexican cantina which was ok. Not great but ok. We walked from Mexico towards Italy. We stopped and watched the China movie which we had never seen and continued on our way. It got really hot and Chris took many pictures. We took the boat from Morrocco back to future world as we needed to leave soon to go back to the hotel. We stopped by the butterfly farm and then caught the bus back to our hotel. Today is our safari day and we need to meet at 3:45pm at Jiko.

Day 3 part 2

We left rather abrubtly this afternoon for the Contemporary resort. We had dinner at the Wave and the sky looked very ominous. We wanted to get there prior to the rain. We valet parked again (which is free for Tables in Wonderland members) and once again there was a chuckle regarding our last name based on the impending weather. We went straight to dinner and we were really impressed with the atmosphere of this new restaurant. The food was delicious. I ordered the pork tenderloin .... I tend to always order the beef but decided to be adventurous.

We then took the monorail tour and stopped at the Polynesian and Grand Floridian just to look around while the rain stopped. By the time we got to the Magic Kindom the rain had stopped and there was a beautiful rainbow.

We then found a seat in Tomorrowland to setup for the fireworks. Chris wanted to take pictures with the new camera. I got my ice cream and he had popcorn and we waited for an hour and half and then watched the fireworks. We met a few more people and then headed back to the Contemporary to get our car. Its been really better the last couple of days...just rain at night for an hour or so. It's been 3 days and we have only been on one ride which is weird but fun.

P.S. Check out my facebook page....Bob Jackson posted his photo of us!!

Day 3 Sunday

Today is a lazy day again. We got a late start so we just ventured out to lunch at Coronado Springs Resort. The Pepper Market is one of our favorites although it is kind of pricey. I had the rotisserie chicken. Delicious!! The most embarrasing thing happened though. Some guy came up to us and said to Chris "I know you.... you're the guy with the youtube videos. I thought I recognized you and when I saw your wife I was positive it was you." Chris is now officially a celebrity.
Then we came back to our resort for some pool time. It is sunny today and Geoffrey the Giraffe seems to like our area and visits often.



Soon we will be heading to the new restaurant the Wave at the Contemporary and then to the Magic Kingdom tonight. No rain yet today and in three days we have only ridden one ride. I like this vacation though....slow and relaxing.

Rain...

Chris had a picture of the walkway between Beach Club and Epcot.... I told you it rained.

For you mom!

Just outside our room this morning!

Day 2 Saturday

Day 2 - We thought we were in the clear today of the rain. This is a picture from Friday's afternoon at the Magic Kingdom. Overall we had a good day. We started off in Epcot and rode Soarin' ...only a 20 minute wait. We walked to the Boardwalk and had lunch at ESPN which was good once again. We walked back to the car and headed to the outlet store. We didn't find much of anything. We then headed back to the lodge to go for a swim. We had a few drinks at the pool bar and relaxed by the pool and hottub. We then got ready for dinner and went to Yachtsman Steakhouse. We have only been twice...once good and once bad. This was another good. The food was great. The only complaint was they had an air conditioning issue and it got really warm fast. After dinner we headed to Epcot to see Illuminations and this is when it went downhill. Our first clue should have been that the pools were closed for inclement weather. We made it to Italy and then we met some nice cast members who hooked us up with VIP seating for Illuminations. As we headed back to England for the viewing it started to rain. We ducked in under Japan's building overhang and this is where we spent the next hour and a half. We met a nice couple from Texas but it POURED, there was very vivid lightening and tons of thunder. At approximately 8:30 they canceled Illuminations and the rain let up so we could walk back to the Beach Club to get our car. Or so we thought.... The pathway from Epcot to the Beach Club was flooded. The water had to be at least a foot deep and it was the funniest thing I have ever seen here. Tons of people wading through the water to get to the other side. We were smart and just waited for the boat. We tried to take picutres but it was too dark out. Kevin had it right.... TYPHOON!

Overall we just love vacationing here!!!

Day 1 Friday

These are pictures from the view from our balcony. Day 1 is very stormy! We just had a tornado warning and it is thundering, lightening, and POURING right now. We did make it to Tony's at the Magic Kingdom for our great lunch. I had the Bomb dessert of course. We headed back to the room because it was not very fun in the rain. We are still having a good time but are hoping the rain stops so we can enjoy the week. Love our balcony and just relaxing. Tonight is dinner at the new restaurant here, Sanna, and then we are headed to visit with friends at Port Orleans resort.

Vacation

Well vacation has finally begun. Started out kind of iffy... Our nonstop flight turned into a stop in Raleigh NC. We had to refuel. Apparently the long runway at Bradley was being redone and we had to dump some fuel in order to take off with the weight capacity on the short runway. So this meant we needed to stop for gas. We arrived in Orlando about 45 minutes late. We walked passed the long line at Budget rental and we were very happy we are FastBreak members so we could just get our car right away. It is raining but not hard.
The Animal Kingdom Lodge is fantastic. Of course we arrived in the dark so I can't be totally sure of my view but the night view is great. Everyone was extremely friendly here. At checkin we received two buttons... Happy Anniversary and Happily Ever After. The girl who checked us in was awesome and gave us a map of the new area. We can't wait to venture out tomorrow. Our view is in the zebra section and it is so nice at night with all the sounds outside. We went to the store and overpaid for the convenience of breakfast food and we got our mugs so we can get free soda and coffee during our stay. We are both exhausted and have unpacked. Our room has a flat screen TV and DVD player. I am finishing my movie since the battery on my portable DVD player died before we arrived.
Hopefully the weather will start to improve. We will get ponchos tomorrow and make the best of it.
Until then....

Kentucky Derby Training

This is video of Belle at feeding time. She is in training for the Kentucky Derby. I think she has a good shot at winning. We just can't figure out how she doesn't lose any weight??

On the mend

Today Woody's bandage came off and the stitches were removed. He will have to go back next Wednesday to remove the staples but at least we can function without the boot. He is a little lame and doesn't have the support to jump on the couch or stand on that leg to pee but he is walking on the leg. It will take time.

Will this ever end??

Will this ever end? That's what Woody wants to know. We went to see Dr. Burnett yesterday and he had to build the bandage up further. Because Woody's legs are so short the bandage was slipping. I was able to see the incision and although it looked good we don't want to press our luck. So now it goes all the way to his hip. It makes it a little hard to maneuver but he seems to find his way to the couch just fine. All he wants to do is go for a walk. All in all he is doing fine.

Wednesday is our next big day. The bandage will come off. Until then.....

Not the way I wanted to start spring!

Woody had surgery today for a partially torn ACL. He was brought to the vet on Monday for a dental cleaning and to check his leg better. He had hurt it running in the yard about a month ago. Ever since then he had been limping. While he was under anestisia they felt they would be able to see the movement and xray it if necessary. Dr Mac called us at noon and said it would be better if we wait until Tuesday so if he needs surgery Dr Burnett would be there to do it and we would only have to knock him out once. We agreed and he spent the night (no charge). Anyways today he had his teeth cleaned, one rotten tooth extracted and it was discovered that his ACL was partially torn. Dr Burnett performed a surgery that puts a device along side his ligament to prevent damage to the knee if fully torn. He said he was the perfect candidate and that his hips looked good. Of course we did not expect a full cast. It will be difficult for rainy days. Overall he does pretty good with it. We will post pictures tomorrow of him standing. Today he is TIRED and has a morphine patch to help with pain. I will stay with him tomorrow and monitor him. The satelitte dish is recommended but for now we are seeing how things go. Soft food for 4 days and we are to remove the patch on Sat morning. He will return next Wed for the staples or stitches to be removed. Wish us luck!

Patriot Place

Today we went to Patriot Place and visited the Hall of Fame. Pretty cool!

I wish it was spring!!

It is a beautiful day today and a bit of spring fever has set in. When it is like this Belle and Woody like to lay out in the yard. Most of the yard is still mud and melting snow but they seemed to manage to find the perfect spot.

Ok so maybe I can't run....

Woody is officially on injured reserve. After the snow disappeared he felt the need to chase Remy around the yard and has been limping ever since. Bulldogs aren't known for great hips and legs. He definitely overdid it and now his leg is sore. I hate to see what he will be like when it is actually warm enough to hang out in the yard. Hopefully Remy will get the fact that 3 dogs chasing him at 40 miles an hour is not in the best interest of all parties involved.

We can run again!

We have claimed back half of the yard again! Boy was Woody and Remy excited this morning. They can run again. So many new smells... Of course snow is predicted for the middle of the week so it won't last long. Of course be very careful on the other side... only an inch of ice there. Spring come soon!

Is this the new bachelor pad??

The Princess on the Pillow

My first attempt at a wordbook!

This is my first attempt at a wordbook. Using Cricut Design Studio and following instructions that another scrapbooker posted I learned how to cut the letters and weld them with a square. Then I watched a youtube video and finally figured out how to use the "Crop a Dile" mom got me to cut and secure the eyelets to hold the book together. I love this stuff!