How Do You Think We Stay So Happy?*Final Thoughts & Farewells* 10/7 p100

[eandesmom]

Um...Cynthia...am I to understand you've never hit the Japan store? Its AMAZING! Oh, well...there's always the next trip, right?

In my defense, though I've eaten at Teppan 2 out of the last 3 trips...we closed the park down both times so the shop wasn't exactly open!



But...if the next trip happens like I think it might, I know one trip member who I really hope is joining us that will make the shop in Japan a requirement!

I have to tell you it felt like I had been traveling all day!!!! I was so ready to be in bed! Between the two flights and then my car not being ready...it was just a mess!!! LOL but I was at Disney and that's all that mattered lol!!!

I bet! I think it took you longer to get there than it did me! Thank heavens for non stop flights.

I was VERY grateful you had that car

 

[MEK]

sorry your first meal for your trip was less than good. But WOW I LOVE your Illuminations pictures, especially the last one, your favorite one. AMAZING!!!

Looking forward to reading more

I was so hungry that even though I didn't "love" the food, it served the purpose. And the good news is every meal we had after that was stellar! Glad you like the pix!

I believe that both Melissa and Cynthia are adding updates tonight!

 

[mickeysmyboy]

Once back at BWV I decided to change into my bathing suit and head to Luna Park! I didn’t take my camera because I didn’t want anything to happen to it!

I spent some time at the pool trying to stay cool and stay in the shade! I must have moved lounge chairs 4 times! But, it was still lovely and relaxing!!

It did, eventually, get too hot! In fact, I was melting! I checked the weather on my phone and discovered that it 92 degrees with a heat index of 97! Yup! Hot!!

So I decided to head up to my nice air conditioned room! LOL!!! The air conditioning and the 2:45 am wake up meant I was asleep very, very shortly after I got back to the room!

The nap felt good! Just an hour or so felt fabulous! Then I was up, showered and headed to MK!







I love that magical feeling you get on Main Street!! It just makes you happy!! Anyway, once in MK I was on a mission!! A ghostly mission! To see the new HM queue!

The wait wasn’t long at all but I did get a good amount of time to look and play!













The ride was fabulously creepy, as usual and I LOVED the new hitchhiking ghosts effect at the end!

After HM I realized I was starving! I really hadn’t had very much to eat that day. A snack at the airport, a muffin from BWB and I think a pretzel at some point. So I headed to Columbia Harbor House!!

I’ll admit, I’m not much of a tuna person. I used to be. But I had a bad experience when I was pregnant with DD! But I really wanted to try the anchors aweigh sandwich!


It was really good! So good in fact that I can’t wait to have it again!

After dinner I ventured into Fantasyland! It was VERY crowded! But, it was because IASW had just closed down for some reason. So, I dodged the crowd and headed toward PhilHarMagic!

I LOVE PhilHarMagic!! It’s so magical to me!! I love to see and hear the reactions of first timers!!

After that I wandered and checked the construction!





I thought about going on Dumbo to get a better look but they wait was 35 mins No thanks!

A bit more wandering and checking out wait times and I decided that I was tired, even after the nap! Staying for MSEP and Wishes wasn’t going to happen!

So I was off to Main Street! I decided to treat myself to ice cream and then a little shopping!

I believe the only thing I ended up purchasing was 2 mugs to leave in my owners locker!

Then it was back to BWV! I wandered the boardwalk a little and thought about going into the bar at Flying Fish for a night cap! But instead I bought beer at Screen Door General Store!

But, I drank it on my fantabulous balcony!! That was amazing!!!

Of course, I talked to the kiddos and said good night!

Then it was off to bed for me too! I had a pretty early morning planned for the next day!
​

 

[MEK]

Oh Melissa what a wonderful update. What a great way to spend the afternoon. Drink. Pool. Nap. MK. Dinner. and back to BWV for a beer on the balcony. Perfect!

Love all your pictures! I love the HM queue. It's very cool! I also really like the anchor's away sandwich and I almost never order tuna when I am out. But there is something so good about the sandwich. I had my first one on the KTTK tour and it started a trend. Delish!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

You mean you didn't try the creepy clown slide???

Your afternoon sounds perfectly relaxing! Nothing like Main St USA! The balloons always make me smile.

Isn't the new HM queue cool? I was also amazed at the progress in Fantasyland. Still hard for me to imagine what it's going to look like when done. And can't wrap my head around two castles. Or that there will be a tavern with no adult beverages...but that is another story.

I think ending the day with a beer on your ginormous balcony was a stroke of genius!

 

[xoktenox]

Melissa, your afternoon sounds WONDERFUL! Pool time, a nap, MK time and a beer on the balcony...pretty much sounds like heaven

I've heard it's superrrr hot down in WDW right now...I hope it calms down just a littleeee by next week!

 

[KatMark]

Great update, Melissa. It's amazing what an hour nap can do. I'm with you -- love Philharmagic...it's just magical to me.

 

[glennbo123]

Thanks for that shot of the construction in Fantasyland. I hadn't seen that yet.

 

[manntra]

What a fabulous day Melissa!! Love the balloon picture and yes Main Street makes you smile from ear to ear
I never made it back over to the HM to see the queue well C and I went over maybe on our last full day but MK was crazy crowded and we had to get outta there
You could have had a party on that balcony!! Great place for a cold beer and good practice of drinking for the nights to come

Tracy

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

OK...all caught up again! The prom pix are great!! The Illuminations pix are amazing! All the intros are wonderful! Can't wait for more!

MEK - LOL about the airport thing...I can laugh about it now...DH and I went alone in Sept and it happened again to him and I. We thought we were doing great on time, were walking leisurely towards our gate and all of a sudden, last call for our flight!!! Hoping this time is the turning point for us!! But, funny you remembered! I never really left the boards...just got sucked into the scrapbooking forums and can never get out!!

 

[eandesmom]

While Melissa was having a lovely solo day, Mary Ellen traveling and shamelessly using me to get a mansion room, and poor Jen arriving really late at night I was actually putting in a full day of work.

It has been a BUSY day. I had things to do. I’d tried to do them earlier in the week but had been thwarted. I’d tried to make banana bread for a fundraiser that would be later that day. But…I’d been out of eggs. I’d tried to color my hair but…had been out of developer. I’d picked up those things the day before so spent my morning taking care of business. Those things done, kids taken to school, I was off to work.

Though I can’t say it was trip-prep free. I still had one last item to get for the trip so took my lunch hour to take care of that last little detail. Vodka. I needed Vodka. And coffee, to be safe though I knew Mary Ellen planned to bring some. I needed Vodka, of course, for the can a can a can drink. I’d ordered enough mixer (frozen lemonade and cream) for 2 batches so needed enough vodka for the same. However converting liters to ounces to figure out how much vodka I needed for one can was somehow beyond me and I became convinced that a bottle wouldn’t be enough thanks to the WA State liquor stores employee bad conversion on the spot. So I got a fifth AND a 375 (a fifth would have been enough). Clearly my math ( I mean HIS) was off but I’ll get to that later. I didn’t want the 1 ¾ for packing reasons and figured the two smaller bottles would fit better. After my errand was complete I went home to finish wrapping my goodies for the girls and to try and fit said vodka (and coffee) into the magical bag. My goal was that all I had to do after work was change clothes,

It fit.

Barely.

Work was crazy that day. I had a ton of stuff that was overdue that I was trying to get out before I left. Things that, you know, hinged on other people and they’d been late getting stuff to me. I “could” take my work computer with me, but really really didn’t want to. I didn’t want to take ANY computer with me. I chatted with my boss after I got back from lunch and the consensus was…it could wait. The world wouldn’t end and, at the end of the day things weren’t late (self imposed deadlines anyway) because of me but rather because other folks hadn’t gotten things to me when they were supposed to. Thankfully he was well aware of the others tardiness. I can’t tell you how relieved I was about this! I’d really thought, just the night before, that there was no way I’d be going without my work computer and about 4 hours of stuff to do while there. Not much but things that were waiting on others and just couldn’t get done before I left as a result. I’d spent part of the night before thinking of how I’d have to redo carryons and such to make bring the computer even feasible. I had fun throughout the day getting texts from Jen as she made her way to Orlando, Mary Ellen when she arrived and then hearing she’d met up with Melissa. Melissa had tortured us with some balcony, view, and drink pictures and I couldn’t wait to get going! She’d also said it was HOT but at that moment, fed UP with the Seattle weather (still am btw) I was like BRING IT ON!!!!

At 5 I left. I had about an hours worth of work to do, a bake sale item to drop off (and Evan to pick up). Working a bit furiously (while having my traditional Friday IPA with Jeff, while he finished up his work day across our shared desk) I knocked it all out. Honestly I still can’t believe how much I got done that day! I’d checked in online while the bread was baking and the hair coloring so I was good there. Returning with Evan I changed my clothes and finished up a few more things around the house. Most notably…the unpacking of my amazon fresh grocery order.

As my trip mates will attest, Jeff had asked for a “meal plan” a day or so before the trip. I’d complied but his meal plan meant a few more items in the pantry and so I’d placed an order Friday morning with a delivery time of 3-6. Of course, it arrived right around 6. Now Jeff SHOULD know where everything goes but…well…somehow unpacking it all can be a challenge. I figured unpacking it was the least I could do. So I did. I admit, I do really try to track my grocery expenses and balance out my shopping so I get the best deal. With a family of 6, you have to. And sometimes amazon fresh is equal, or better with the local store, sometimes they both beat Costco, sometimes Costco wins. Sometimes though, the convenience is worth it, regardless of the price. This was one of those times and I made sure to pad the order with a few treats, sugar babies for Jeff and Ice Cream for the E’s. That done, it was time to load the car and head out. We have a rule at our house on Fridays. I don’t cook. This would be no exception but we would choose a place to go that was at least “sort of” on the way to the airport. It was only about 10 minutes south of where we live but right off the highway. We go to this place a LOT. It is a local microbrewery chain that has good beer and good grub. The whole family loves it. BUT the service is notoriously slow. My flight wasn’t until 10:45 but given my tendency to cut things razor thin close, we wanted plenty of time to be safe. We got to dinner and were seated around 7:30 but had been hoping for closer to 7. As a result, when we ordered I let our server know we were in a bit of a rush. Not really, an hour or so should have been plenty for the 4 of us to get our meal and the airport “should” be only about 30 minutes from there but with Friday night traffic, who knew. Jeff GLARED at me like I’d committed a major faux pas and I apologized, saying simply to the server that we come here a lot and know how the kitchen can get backed up.

Dinner was yummy and I confess, I had a second beer (Big Red IPA, our standard order at this place. Not the best IPA out there but tasty and reliable). Since this is a picture free update, I can at least give you...this

Ok that's lame and I know it!

I was hoping it would help with the red eye sleeping. I’d had a BAD experience on my last red eye. Oddly enough this would be my 4th red eye in about 10 months and in a lot of ways, I’m a big fan. I mean really, who wants to waste a day on travel? A precious vacation day. I only get so many, I want them spent vacationing!!!

Conceptually it’s great, especially if you live where I do…which is close to hardly anything and then add the pain of a time change to things to really steal a whole day. But, on the return from Hawaii, either I’d had bad fish, or the melatonin I’d taken once on board hadn’t agreed with me and it had been a rather miserable trip that involved me leaping over some really tall dude next to me, repeatedly running over and over to the bathroom, all night long. I never actually got sick but boy did I think I was going to. Hot flashes, the whole thing. It was awful. My guess is bad fish/shellfish but given that I’d had it for lunch AND dinner that day and in both cases, outside in the sun, who knows. It could have just spoiled quickly in the heat. I’d eat at both those places again (it was our 3rd visit to both and obviously the other times were fine)…but just maybe not fish on the day I was leaving. So at any rate, I was NOT taking any chances with melatonin. I’d gotten plenty of sleep so wasn’t going into the flight all that tired and figured another beer was probably a good idea. With a good solid (meat based) meal lol. A French dip. YUM!

Saying something didn’t help. As usual our food took forever and so did the check. Which means we left there around 9, cutting it a little close for my taste. Thankfully, the traffic and downtown event gods were with us and we pulled up to the airport literally 20 minutes later. After a quick goodbye to Jeff and the E’s I was off! Check in was a breeze and while security looked hideous, it actually moved relatively fast. So fast I found myself with almost 50 minutes to kill before my flight. And so, flight sleeping in mind, it seemed like the responsible thing to stop at the Alaska Lodge. Which is a little pub at the airport by my gate that serves Alaska Brewery Beer. Fitting, when you are flying Alaska Airlines. This was really in the interest of research as much as anything. As some of you know, we have a cruise planned for this August. We will be going on the Disney Wonder, traveling from Vancouver BC, up to Alaska and back. Alaska Brewery makes an Amber, that is in wide distribution here in Seattle.

We don’t care for it. At all. Weird soapy finish to it. BLEH. I was curious to see what else they offered, in the interest of research and what I might decide to carry on board versus be ok buying while up there, or on board. Sure enough, they do have an IPA (which is what we like, we are officially “hop heads”). And, sure enough, it was tasty! VERY! I don’t know yet if I can get it onboard the Wonder. I have confirmed that they have a selection of Alaska Brewery beers on board but none on tap. This was on tap. And a pretty funny tap if you ask me!

Yes. Another lame picture. What can I say, I don't take pictures on travel day!

But...the dude on the label is SURFING. In a wet suit. Or dry suit. I get the two mixed up. And the tap handle is a surfboard. I'm not aware that there is surfing in Juneau but hey, what do I know. One of the places I ate fish at the last day in Hawaii is called "Humpy's" as in a humpback whale and their only other location is in Anchorage. Go figure. Some weird Hawaii Alaska connection that maybe only "natives" get.

Not sure if this is in the Wonder bottled line up or not. But given that the brewery is located in one of our ports (and I now have that info if we decide to take a detour there), I’m hopeful and if nothing else, know we can buy some there to take back on board if we want, mid cruise.

I admit, starting out my trip with my kindle and a beer and some interesting bar conversation was not a bad way to kick off a solo trip! Soon enough we were boarding. I had a great window seat and magically, no one in the middle. What I did have was a dad on the aisle, traveling with his two teenage daughters. After hearing his life story (not really but he was QUITE chatty, a very nice guy on vacation in Alaska with his girls, wife couldn’t go, used to live there…volleyball…college applications…all stuff I could relate to as it’s part of my life too,) it finally became an appropriate time to pull out my eye mask and try to get some shut eye. Nothing like an eye mask to stop the conversation dead.

When I’d dressed for the flight I’d been in a quandary. To sweater or not to sweater? I knew I’d only need it for the flight and it would just be one more thing to deal with in my pushed-to- the-limit magical bag. Instead, I’d opted for a scarf with my tee, figuring that would add some warmth. I also assumed we’d have pillows and blankets. We did not. I have NEVER taken a red eye that didn’t have pillows and blankets. I’d questioned a flight attendant about it just before takeoff, as I hit the restroom. Apparently, with their Mexico flights, they’d had an instance of bird flu (which gosh, I’d totally forgotten about, mass hysteria over) and just had decided it was safest to go fabric free. Cheaper I’m sure, no worries about trying to keep things clean enough if you just don’t have them. At least I think it was bird flu, it was something along those lines. So….no blankets or pillows. VERY VERY SAD. I’d have worn a sweater for sure had I known. They’d had them back in August and Lufthansa in Jan as well as United just 2 weeks prior to it was a bit of a shocker and I was not at all happy about it. At some point, in the middle of the night I awoke to 2 things. First, I was FREEZING. Second, one of the teenage daughters had moved into the middle of the seat next to her dad. And she slept, like Kendall does. All fishy, floppy, all over anyone in their path. Which is a little easier to deal with when it’s your kid!

I carefully extricated myself and nudged her back into her own seat, got out my ipod and put on some James Taylor to try to get myself back to sleep. I was over the wing and it was LOUD, my piano or acoustic guitar playlists weren’t going to cut it, I needed some actual lyrics as well. I also spent some time carefully arranging my scarf to provide maximum warmth. It helped. A lot. A sweater would have been better. At the time, it didn’t seem like I was sleeping much at all but before I knew it, lights were coming on and we were landing. A full almost 40 minutes early!

I have a red eye, and an MCO strategy. It didn’t really start out that way. It kind of “happened” on the last trip and worked so well, I made it a plan this one. The plan goes like this.

Get off plane. Hit restroom, wash face and brush teeth. Get coffee at Starbucks. THEN go to DME.

On our last trip, this ad-hoc plan had resulted in a rockstar DME experience where we were the only people on the bus and it took off immediately and went straight to our resort. I was hoping for a similar result. Despite lines at both the restroom, and Starbucks, I stuck to my plan knowing I’d feel better for it. Plus, having never meet Mary Ellen, or anyone on the trip for that matter, I needed the fortification that coffee and a clean face could provide. After all, the other part of the red eye plan is to make the time change and that means staying up all day, while attempting to not look half dead.

My plan worked! In short order I was on the bus enjoying my coffee and it was pulling out, with only 2 stops on the agenda POFQ and POR. Mary Ellen and I had been texting and she was going to meet me in the lobby. Of the girls on the trip, though I’d never met anyone (and was at a major disadvantage in this area, I was the only one walking in “cold” lol), I felt like I probably knew Mary Ellen the best. We are closest in age and have a ton in common with our kids, their ages and activities and had shared many a story about all of that. Not to mention our obsession with morning coffee! Since she was going my roomie, this was a good thing and I was excited…and a little nervous. There was so much texting going on, between that and drinking my coffee I barely even watched the video! I was the second stop and very quickly was pulling up at POR…a place I’d never been before!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

For "research purposes" you tried that ale in the airport...

OK...with that out of the way, you certainly packed a lot of activity into departure day! You have FAR more energy than I do.

Sorry the red eye wasn't as comfortable as hoped. Perhaps it is the aforementioned energy or just your positive attitude but you never seemed jet lagged!!

 

[kschafer]

I must confess to not "knowing" Melissa and Cynthia as much as the other girls so I really have enjoyed your first few updates and getting to know you some.

Melissa, I hope your kids got the hang of Mom being gone. I went without mine last year and after saying goodbye at the airport, it went surprisingly smooth! Your kids are adorable!!

Cynthia, I love the pre-flight preparations, a little extra booze can't hurt! Can't wait to hear more about your meet!

 

[jenjolt]

LOL...a tavern with no alcohol that made me crack up!!!! Good times!!!! I too can't wait to see what the new Fantasyland is going to look like!

Awww my beloved HM queue...and make no mistake it's mine, I just am a kind sweet person who chooses to share with others because that's what my mother taught me to do LOL!!!! I may have had WAY too much fun in their!!!!

So since everyone else is talking about their arrival I guess I should also LOL!!!!

(EDIT): My day didn't start with the packing of the rental car...it started with the royal wedding...thank you Melissa for the reminder!! I was up at 4am to watch the wedding live!! I had the hugest crush on Prince William when I was in HS so of course I had to watch the wedding!! It was beautiful and Catherine just looked stunning!!!

My day started with me packing up the rental car (we only have one car in our family so if I'm going to their airport and he's at work we get a rental car). Work for me starts at about 7:15am with students arriving at 9:05am I spend the mornings grading and setting up for the day. Well today I was getting sub plans together and getting ready for state testing. Friday was the last day of a week of standardized testing, I was as done as the kids were OY!!!! So when testing ended at 12:30pm I put my 7th period to work on their Biome projects and a wonderful teacher friend agreed to cover my classes so I could get to the airport!!

Austin airport for a 5pm flight I should have tried to switch onto the the Jetblue flight that was delayed but nonstop to MCO LOL!!!! After two flights (the first was 15 minutes to Houston where I had to disembark and do the entire takeoff/landing experience again, I DO NOT LIKE TO FLY AT ALL UGGGGHHHH). However without much trepidation and some really nice people next to me on both flights I made it to MCO at 10:30pm. Only to find a backlog of people at the luggage carousel and news that my rental company did not have a car for me (WAIT, how do you have a reservation but no car for me??????) So at 11:30pm I was not in the mood to have to deal with no rental car, however after a brief wait I was handed my keys and off to Disney!!! You know you've been there a bit when you don't need your GPS anymore to find your way to your resort LOL!!!!

So about 12:15am -12:30am I was finally at POR and I felt and probably looked like an exhausted mad woman I needed sleep. All I could think of was please nice CM at the desk have a mansion room for me, because there might be a Scarlett Ohara moment if not (not really if I had gotten Alligator Bayou I would have lived...but still I'm a Southern belle at heart). Thankfully they had honored my request and at about 1:30am I was in my room, unpacked (stupid OCD) and in bed!!! I slept good that night LOL!!!!!

So if you do the math I was up at 5am EST time for the wedding and finally in bed at 1:30am EST IT WAS A LONG LONG DAY for me!!!

 

[mickeysmyboy]

I'll be back later with responses and another short update! But, I wanted to post this update to keep the TR moving and not hold it up!

The next morning I was planning on getting up at 7ish to get ready, have my luggage collected, head to BCV to check in! But, being me, I was awake at around 5:30! It was really cold in my room so I turned on the TV and snuggled up under my blanket and watched the royal wedding!

After about an hour or so I decided to get up! I showered, quickly got ready, called bell services and headed on my way!



I arrived at BC, checked in very quickly and easily and headed off to DHS via the boat!



It was morning EMH at DHS and it was shortly after 8! Surprisingly there was very few people waiting for the boat!

Quite a few people got on at Swolphin though! I very nice family from CA sat next to me and I chatted wit the Mom! This was there first trip to WDW after having been to DL countless times! They were loving it!

Once at DHS



and into the park I was off to TSM! The posted wait was 30 minutes, I think! Knowing that I had not intentions of staying in the park for too long got online and skipped the FP!

The line moved very, very quickly and I soon found myself at the split right after you take the glasses. A CM was looking for single riders or groups of 2. So, I told him I was a single rider. Because, well, I was! He proceeded to ask me 10 different ways if I was alone, with no one else, no one else was with me on line, no friends, no family!

Geeze man!! Yes!! ALL ALONE!!! If I had a complex about being alone I would have been very upset! Do I look stupid!? I know what single rider means and I am one!

So he sent me up the staircase to the right and I was up, over and down without ever stopping and soon found myself spinning through Toy Story!

After TSM I headed over to One Man’s Dream and wandered for a good long while! I didn’t take any pictures! Just looked at the exhibits! It was lovely not to worry about the kids beginning bored while I looked!!!!!

Then it was off to GMR! I took a few pictures but I was playing with camera seating and they really came out too dark! Oh well!

Then it was off to meet Sorcerer Mickey!!! I LOVE Sorcerer Mickey! I honestly felt weird doing a meet and greet with no kids but it was all good and Mickey gave me a big hug!



After Mickey hugs I really had nothing left on my TSM agenda for the day but to stop at Tatooine Traders. But alone the way I was distracted by The Writers Stop! Can I tell you how much I love this place?! Real, good coffee!!! Yummy! Latte in hand I headed off again to do some Star Wars shopping.

I browsed the store and I believe I bought 2 guns and had them sent back to the resort!

Then it was time to head out and head for DTD!

On the way out,





I waited at the bus stop for a good while with 3 other people when a CM approached and told us that it was going to be at least 20 minutes before the next bus to DTD arrived and a bus for CBR was just about to pull in so we should get on the CBR bus and transfer. So that is what we did! It was a nice little trip to CBR and from CBR to DTD. Well, aside from so very rowdy grad nighters waiting for the MK bus! They were slightly annoying!

Once at DTD I did what any good Mommy in WDW with out her little ones would do and shopped for things to take home to them!

I got a few things here and there and did a lot of browsing! Of course, Legos are the biggest thing in my house so I stopped at the new Lego store!














Then it was time for lunch! EOS here I come!!!

I was very excited about this lunch!! Having never had more then a muffin at EOS I was very excited to try it!

Scanned the menu over and over and found so many things I wanted!!! I ended up going with a Best BLT!

With lunch in hand I found a lovely table outside and began to eat! Guess what?

I didn’t like the sandwich! Boo!! The smoked bacon was just too much! To over powering! Boo!!! I ate less then ½ and thought about going back in to get something else but instead I ate the chips and a side of very yummy cole slaw! While I ate I got text that my room at BCV was ready! Woo hooo!

I headed out and decided to grab a taxi!! Soon I was back at the beautiful BC and in my room!

My fabulous room...







My even more fabulous view...

looking left


I could see something good looking right too but I'm not sure where that picture is so you'll have to wait I have more view pics later!

It was then that I realized that I should have taken my bathing suit with me when I changed rooms! Opps! I really wanted to venture over to Stormalong Bay! But my luggage was beginning transferred and had arrived yet! Booo!

So I decided to head to Stormalong Bay anyway! But first I did a little exploring!





When I got to SAB I explored a bit more.



playing with shutter speed...



Then I hit Hurricane Hanna’s for a Strawberry Daiquiri! It was very weak but yummy!!

I found a nice lounge chair and rested! I believe I even took a little nap in the sun! Ahhhhhhh! Relaxing!!! I dipped my feet a few times, but luckily it was a lot cooler then it was the day before so I wasn’t dying from heat!

I was at Stormalong for a 2 hours or so and decided to head back to my room to hopefully get my luggage, my groceries, have a snack and freshen up before heading to Epcot to meet Mary Ellen!!

Luckily, when I called down for my luggage it had arrived and bell services brought it and my Garden Grocer order up right away! So, I settled in, unpacked and then had a snack on my lovely balcony!!! Ahhh!!

After a quick shower and getting ready it was time to head off to Epcot to meet Mary Ellen!!! Woo hoo!!!!!!! I was so excited to finally see one of the girls!! ​

 

[jenjolt]

More beautiful pictures!!! What a great view from your room!!! I just fell in love over at BCV...I'm really looking forward to actually staying there!!!

You reminded me that I had been up for the royal wedding so I had to go update my post LOL!!!!!

The new Lego creations at the new store are amazing!! I love the Sleeping Beauty one...way too cool to have a Maleficient Dragon Lego statue...I want one for my yard LOL!!!

So you say the daquiri is weak?!?!?!?!? Might be one for me LOL!

 

[eandesmom]

Great updates Melissa!!! Wonderful shots of the HM queue (I hate to admit it but I didn't see it on our trip, my one opportunity had a longer wait than I was willing to do at the time ). I didn't even get to see the new lego store and while I wouldn't have gone in, I love seeing what they've "built" with the new legos, very very cool stuff.

That is a bummer about your EOS sandwich. I've never eaten there but smoked bacon can be a bit much, what a drag when you are looking forward to soemthing like that. I love all the solo pool and relaxing time and really love those sorcerer mickey pics. I thought about character pics a few times but the lines were always too long.

Writers stop.

Sadly I did not watch the royal wedding. That would have been like 1:30 am my time when it started. I couldn't do it. I did tape it, but still haven't watched it. Sad I know. Maybe this weekend.

 

[eandesmom]

So if you do the math I was up at 5am EST time for the wedding and finally in bed at 1:30am EST IT WAS A LONG LONG DAY for me!!!

Ugh, that IS a long day. Your total flying time was about the same as mine. I feel bad that you were up to meet me when I got in, you didn't get much sleep at all. I'm the same way about unpacking, I feel SO much better if it's just done right away.

 

[eandesmom]

For "research purposes" you tried that ale in the airport...

Hey, it was important research! I can't be stuck on a boat for 7 days with bad beer. I mean Jeff can't be stuck there with bad beer.

OK...with that out of the way, you certainly packed a lot of activity into departure day! You have FAR more energy than I do.

Sorry the red eye wasn't as comfortable as hoped. Perhaps it is the aforementioned energy or just your positive attitude but you never seemed jet lagged!!

Aw, thanks! I can usually power through for a day, thankfully. But I am guessing I probably slept more than I realized as I actually felt pretty good for the bulk of the day and I started off right with a special treat when I arrived that I think really did help jump start my energy but more on that later.

I must confess to not "knowing" Melissa and Cynthia as much as the other girls so I really have enjoyed your first few updates and getting to know you some.

Melissa, I hope your kids got the hang of Mom being gone. I went without mine last year and after saying goodbye at the airport, it went surprisingly smooth! Your kids are adorable!!

Cynthia, I love the pre-flight preparations, a little extra booze can't hurt! Can't wait to hear more about your meet!

Thanks! I figured it was insurance and either I'd be glad I had it, or regret it on the plane with too many bathroom trips but...hey, it was vacation!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Beautiful Beach Club pics! Love the dress you're wearing with Sorcerer Mickey. So pretty!

You did a great job picking out treats for your cute kiddos. Fitting them in the return suitcase will be a challenge but you have days before you have to think about that!!!

The Lego store is pretty amazing. That must be someone's dream job - getting paid to create all those displays!!!