Jackie and Chris

One of my friends/former co-workers asked me to take some pictures so that she could have magnets made for favors at her wedding! She wanted 3 different ones for guests to choose from, but after she looked at the pictures, she decided she might have 4 or 5!

Here are some of my favorites from the morning! Can't wait to see what she picks out!

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!!