Orlando Trip 2010 - Part 5

After a little afternoon rest, we headed back to MK for EMH until 1am. We managed to ride 4 rides in an hour which is pretty impressive with a crowded park...thanks to fast passes. 

After that we found a spot for the parade and fireworks!

Last time I was there, I was not a fan of this parade, but this time I just loved it. Maybe it was because we had the castle in the background...idk! 

These next two pictures would have been awesome had I had a tripod. I can't decide what to do when I go back this summer...I really do not want to carry a tripod everywhere but would love to get the perfect firework picture. I knew they would not turn out without one but wanted to try it out anyway.

After the fireworks we had a couple of hours to ride the rest of the rides on our list and find something to eat for dinner. We had very minimal wait times for all rides and got everything accomplished. 

This is from Splash Mountain...so very cute!

We stayed until the final hour of 1 am. We were at the castle when they played the closing song which was just precious! ha! I could not get my camera out in time to video it, and I know when mom and I are there we will not be staying until closing...it will be 3am one night we are there!! 

The next morning the plan was to go to AK for EMH at 8am to ride Everest and the Safari ride then head to HS to ride Toy Story again before making one last quick visit to Epcot. My alarm didn't go off or I turned it off, so we missed going back to AK...oh well! We rushed to HS to get there before it opened. Since we had been there so much we knew a quick path to get to Toy Story ahead of the crowd; however, they would not let us go that way. :( We got fast passes and got in line to ride Toy Story. Our fast pass times were a little later, so we had time to ride Rockin' Roller Coaster again! We then went and used our fast passes for Toy Story for the 4th time!!! Seriously best ride ever!

We went to Epcot to ride a few things we had missed and to check out some of the Topiaries for the Flower and Garden Festival. We got fast passes for Soarin', too!

We figured we could get on and off the last ride pretty fast with fast passes...wrong...30 minute wait with fast passes = not good! We had to get back to our resort in time for the bus to take us to the airport...we cut it a little too close, had to run a lot, and made it with 1 minute to spare. I would like to say I am glad we rode the ride one more time, but I really don't know that it was worth it in the end! ha!

Our flight to Nashville was great. We landed in Nashville with messages on our phones about our 6:30 flight from Nashville to home being cancelled. We didn't have a 6:30 flight, so that concerned us just a little bit! My message actually said a delay of 3 hours and that I might want to find alternate transportation. With the roads being flooded, no rental cars available, and no hotels available that was not really an option! After several phone calls to find out what was really going on and after waiting 3 hours to be picked up to go to the other airport, we ended up being delayed about an hour. The flight was actually smooth this time around!

We were definitely thankful to get home after a fun weekend and a brief moment of travel panic!!

Orlando Trip 2010 - Part 4

The 2nd day of our vacation marathon adventure, we headed straight for HS to get in line for Toy Story asap. We decided to just wait in line because it didn't seem too bad. We then went to Rockin' Rollar Coaster to get a fast pass and rode Tower of Terror. We walked right on to Rockin' Rollar Coaster with our fast passes. That ride is so awesome...kind of rough but fun. We could not leave the park without riding Toy Story one more time...it is too cute and probably one of the most fun rides out of all of the parks. I do remember running back and forth from one side of the park to the other to figure out what to ride and when to ride it. 

Because we had a strict schedule of rides and attractions, we didn't stop for character pictures. I think the army guys are pretty fun, so yes, I did take a picture of someone else getting their picture with one of the guys in green and crop the random guy out. 

After HS we rushed to MK and happened upon a parade...we thought it was a parade but it was really the end of a street party. Very cute and fun if you like that kind of thing. 

Then once again we happened upon the castle show. It was very cute like everything else we had seen over the weekend. 

There were pirates and also...

princesses! 

I did take tons of pics and posted most on FB if you feel like you are missing out here. ha! 

Lunch was at Liberty Tree Tavern...one of my family favorites. I had to go back for the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake. It was great as always!

The restaurant is right on the parade route, so we found a great spot for the parade. 

It was a really good spot until some teenage girls from another country decided to wave their giant straw hat and hands in front of my camera. I did not have the heart to tell them to stop enjoying themselves, so I lost a few pictures to a straw hat or hand and some of my video has a giant straw hat in it, but they were having fun and that is what it is all about.

Love Mary!!

Peter is another favorite!

We then headed back to the room to rest (well, I was still too excited to rest) before coming back to stay for extra magic hours until 1am! We did think to grab a fast pass for a ride before leaving which saved us lots of time that night! 

Orlando Trip 2010 - Part 3

We started the first full day of our vacation  adventure bright and early in the morning to catch the first boat (6:45am) to our breakfast reservations at Chef Mickey's! 

The beautiful sunrise over the lake by our resort!

So very excited about Mickey Waffles!!! I don't remember this picture being taken...must have still been asleep or just really excited! 

The Donald here always poses like that. 

Goofy's pic didn't make it on this blog b/c he was so not in character that morning! ha! Walt would be sad. 

After our fantabulous breakfast we headed to the MK to go behind the scenes on a tour! That might just be the highlight of the trip for me. I learned so much and it made it so much more meaningful when walking around the parks. One simple part of the tour that I loved was being in the park before it opened and then when it did open, it was so so fun watching everyone run into the park. I wish I had my video camera out at the time to catch the "magic" at work. 

The tour was about 5 hours long including lunch. When it was over, we headed to the next place on our list...

I think they have hidden heaters in this park because it is always the hottest park there. I just don't get it...they should all be the same temperature since it is in the same city!! 

We continued on our quest to see it all and do it all. 

We tried to ride Everest but it was not working when we went to ride it. 

We were able to catch one attraction before the big parade.

This parade might be one of the cutest and most entertaining parades I have ever seen. I would love to be in it one day...they pick people in the park throughout the day! I have video from most of it and there is a lady who appears to be crying on one of the floats. I guess it was just such an amazing experience she just could not hold in the emotion. 

They always rope off/tape off places for guests to stand/sit during the parade. We happened upon a spot that was big enough for 2-3 people to sit in which was great for pictures and video! No one could get in my way!

This guy walks up to us during the parade and says something about being in a VIP section! ha! I do want to find that spot again the next time I go. The only bad part is that it is in the sun! 

I love this picture! I had my video camera in my left hand and my big camera in my right hand, so I don't know how I got this picture in that situation! 

After the parade we ran (literally) to see this musical which was a family favorite when we went in December.

After that musical we ran (again literally) to another show. 

The park closed once this show was over, so we didn't make it on the Safari or Everest but had plans to head back first thing our last morning. We didn't mind since we both had been there and done that on previous trips. 

At this point we were exhausted and not thinking clearly. Our day of hitting things at the perfect time would soon come crashing down on us. We headed to dinner at another park and then saw at least one attraction. It is all kind of a blur at this point and especially after the long day we had had. 

We tried to make it to the early show of Fantasmic so that we could go to bed early...not going to happen for us. After standing in line for 30 minutes and hearing "standing room only" but they would not let us in, we decided against seeing the first show and instead heading to a ride...any ride. Another big mistake was riding the worst ride in the history of rides and having to wait in line for it. 

We did survive the ride and made it in time to get a seat close to the back and exit for the last show of the night.

I just love this show! Always worth the wait in the end!

After the show, we were once again running to the bus stop so that we could catch the bus. The bus system typically works great, but they do send buses to lines that are the longest first which would not be our line. 

I think we made it back before midnight, but I am not sure. 

We had had a long day but were ready for the next day to go back to HS to ride Toy Story!! 

Orlando Trip 2010 - Part 2

After two days of courses, we made our way to our next stop...Disney!! The hotel we were at for the conference had their own special "taxi." He loaded us and our luggage up in a big SUV (I don't remember what it was). He was from Haiti and was very fun and entertained by our Southern accents. He asked if we wanted to listen to country music, too! ha!

I love the Mickey towels...every single time! 

We started the trip in Epcot since they were open until midnight...I think I got up around 5 or 6 that morning for the conference. :)

It was the Flower and Garden Festival while we were there, so they had lots of flowers and topiaries everywhere! So very cute and fun! 

Our dinner was at the Coral Reef. Very good food and fun atmosphere with fish swimming next to you in a really big tank! The dessert was called the Chocolate Wave and it was yum! 

We were able to ride Soarin' 2x that night and most of the other rides on our list which was very successful for being in the park for 6 hours. We also had time to see the fireworks that night. 

The next morning would be another early one starting at 6:45am at the boat dock to head to breakfast! 

Orlando Trip 2010 - Part 1

I finally have time to blog about my fun in Orlando. We left town in the plane picture below and flew into Nashville. Let's just say that that was an adventure itself! 

I knew the plane would be small but I don't know that I realized how close I would actually be to the pilots who may or may not have graduated from high school yet. (just kidding) 

We had assigned seats and when they called the 2 people who would be sitting in the front row, they said "first class" seats...I thought to myself...for real...someone paid extra on this plane...why??? Fortunately they were just joking, and I am just gullible. 

The good thing about the bumpy, fish tailing plane ride was the view. I kind of knew where we were along the way based on the interstate. 

This was actually just days before the big flood. This picture is of the Opry Land area. It was dark on our return flight, so we didn't get to see it after the flood. So sad for Nashville!

We made it to Orlando! I went with 2 OTs from work and another OT who recently moved but did work with us. We went to the OT conference for 2 days and while I did not learn as much as I had hoped, it was still pretty fun. They had a HUGE expo one night and we got a bunch of fun/free stuff! I got a nice new therapy bag to carry all of my toys and stuff around the clinic! 

We had lots of fun together! Lots of "you had to be there stories" from the plane ride to the hotel room duvet mishap and people watching, too. 

I did get to escape one day for lunch and eat with a friend from Hot Springs. It was great to see her, but we didn't get a picture! Maybe I can catch up with her again on Orlando trip #2 which is so very soon!

After the conference, two of us headed to my most favorite place in the world for a few days of fun! More to come!