OK lovely readers I am back in action! SO sorry for that long delay. My test went well (I think!!), so glad it is over, thanks for the well wishes you guys are awesome
This past weekend I went to NYC with my family. It was really fun!! We saw the Statue of Liberty and Top of the Rock in Rockefeller Center, went to Central Park and stayed at this gorgeous hotel in Times Square. I might have to post a little update with some pics this week!
But first, after a long delay, here is the much awaited finish to day 2! Jeez, and I thought I'd rush through this TR and have it done in like 2 months like my last one.
When I left off, Kyle and I were feeling refreshed after a quick snooze and a dip in the pool. After my nap, I called my mom quick just to catch up with her. I told her about the great timing we were having and the lack of crowds so far. Ready to head back to MK since it was open until midnight, we changed, reapplied the sunscreen (Oh how my pale irish skin burns, I took 10 mins every morning to apply my SPF 30
), and grabbed our refillable mugs. We took the quick walk across the street to ASMu and got drinks in their food courst to rehydrate on the bus ride. Except the bus never came...we waited almost half an hour, and it had started to sprinkle. Chivalrous Kyle stood in line while I took cover under the overhang...and decided to entertain myself by being the "L" an All Stars. My name is Lauren after all. Oh man I am a dork!!
This was the only time we really had to wait for a bus. As dark clouds started rolling in and the sprinkle looked like it would turn into a full on thunderstorm, we saw an Epcot bus pull in. I suggested to Kyle that we jump on and just take the monorail since I LOVE riding the monorai land we hadn't been on yet. He liked that idea, so we ditched the other poor stranded MK go-ers and hopped on the bus just as the sky opened up and it began to pour. Woo hooo lucky again!
Epcot was pretty dead, and as we made the long windy trek up the monorail platform, I noticed it was empty except for two other people. I asked the operator if we could ride up front with the driver, and the other two people waiting had also asked, but since you can fit four in the front, he said yes!
Kyle and I rode in the front of the monorail during our 08 trip, and we got a really cute picture of the two of us since we were all dressed up from a "date night" in Epcot. But for some reason his camera started acting up and erased all the pictures from that night! We were really bummed, so of course this time we had to have the other party take our picture to replace it! It came out cute, Kyle likes it because he says it makes him look "buff" lol!!
The view from way up there:
The driver was super nice and really knowledgable, he told us all about how the monorails operate and about his experience as a CM. Way better than the last time we rode up front and the driver never spoke. He gave us our honorary "pilot's license" and we were on our way to MK. By the time we got in it was dinnertime, so we decided to head straight to Pecos Bill's, our favorite MK CS place. I like taking the train, so DF suggested we hop on and take it to Frontierland. There were two adorable little kids in front of us who turned around to chat, and I pointed out how you can see the inside of Splash as you pull into the station. They thought it was the coolest thing ever! We waved good by and walked down to get Splash FPs to use later. I popped into the store while DF went to get them. They have the cutest stuff here! I found a Father's Day antennae topper with a little shirt and tie on it for my dad, and got an 09 grad once with a little mickey graduation cap on it for my own car. When Kyle got back we headed to Pecos.
Despite it being around 6, the prime dinner hour, there was no line at Pecos. We both ordered the Pulled Pork Sandwich and fries. Kyle was all healthy and got a yogurt for dessert and I went for the chocolate chip cookie. These sandwiches were awesome! Pardon the bite in the picture, I was starving!
All of the food was great with the exception of the pre-packaged cookie, def not the best dessert we experienced all week.
We sat outside during dinner, which was quiet and peaceful at first. The storm let up and it was a beautiful night...until the evil Disney birds decended. Some huge crane type thing (sorry, I don't know my wildlife!) was walking around, getting dangerously close to people's food. I had to use the bathroom, and this made Kyle nervous. I guess he wasn't sure if he could guard my food from the killer birds! The thing literally came and stood right next to us and it was as tall as the table. Here is the culpriate. He was big, but I could take him:
When my brother was little, he had one of them steal a churro literally out of his mouth once, and I was not looking for a repeat performance. I decided to take care of business, so I ran after it and chased the bird out of the seating area. Kyle was probably very embarrassed by this and other diners were staring, but I was not going to be attacked. lol I showed that crane who's boss and he did not re-enter!
If my memory serves me right, we headed to Adventureland after dinner. We rode Pirates again and this time we got the very front row with a dad and his very scared looking little daughter. The boat was packed, and as we dropped we got SOAKING wet! I couldn't believe it, I didn't get that wet on Splash the entire week. I'd also had my camera in my lap so at first i panicked because it got so wet, but luckily no damage. As usual, we poked around the gift shop at the exit. We decided to stop and have a quick photo-op with some of the toy weapons. DF attempted to get a funny pic of him "swallowing" a sword. It took 4 takes to get it right and my stomach hurt from laughing at him!
Take one:
Take four, he finally gets it hooray!
Then he made me pick up a ball and chain for a picture...ditzy me didn't get the analogy til after! He was cracking up at this, oh my sweet fiancee!
The Magic Carpets had no wait, so we rode those next. The camel spit right in my eye so I spent half of our ride blinded haha. I like going up high and enjoying the great view of MK. The sun was setting and it was perfect. Afterwards, I convinced DF to tour the Swiss Family Treehouse with me since he'd never seen it and I hadn't done it in years. I know most people think this is boring, but I think its cute and I love the book (nerdy teacher, I know!) so I enjoyed it. It also offers some excellent views of the park. I great pictures of the sunset, DF was impressed!
My favorite castle pic of the trip:
The amazing sunset!
The exit of the treehouse is conveniently located near the dole whip stand, and it was about an hour before Wishes, so we decided to get a pineapple float with a snack credit and then go scope out a spot since we missed Wishes on our last two trips. I took a few sips, but DF mostly enjoyed the treat while I dragged him around Main Street looking for a Spot. We finally settled near the walkway between the hub and Adventureland since it was already getting busy. DF couldn't believe how early people stake out spots. But he was much more interested in his snack than anything!
We got there about 40 minutes before the show and it was already packed. Of course, Wishes was well worth the wait, and I especially enjoyed it because it was another first for DF. What's more romantic than fireworks?
I found fireworks mode on my camera, too, and got some decent pictures.
The show brings tears to my eyes, I have to see it on our first MK night because if I watch it on our last night of the trip I cry like a baby!
After the show ended, we had exactly 5 mins. to fight off the crowd and make the tail end of our Splash FP return time. Kyle is a big guy, so he grabbed my hand and manuevered us over there with time to spare. What a guy! I love this ride in the dark when you can see the castle all lit up!
Here is our silly rednecked photo. Yup, we got sat in the back again:
Afterwards we did HM again, and then Kyle generously agreed to ride IASW with me. He hates it, but I love it becuase of all the childhood memories of this being my favorite ride, and the first of every trip! Here is my love enjoying it, lol, don't hold back your feelings dear!
Woo hoo, Ireland!
Next we waited about 15 mins. for Snow White, during which DF exclaimed "How the heck can you count this as a kid's ride??" haha so true. That witch gets more face time than anyone. Oh well, still gotta ride it!
After that we stepped foot into tomorrowland for the very first time. It was so weird with Space and Peoplemover being closed, we were sad. On the walk over, we noticed that the sky was a cool shade of purple and there was TONS of heat lightening. DF was leary becuase he is scared of lightening (since he was usually the tallest person around haha poor thing) but I stopped to watch and take a video. Then it was off to ride Carousel of Progress. We love this for some reason haha I think because it was so close to Walt's heart. I think we rode Buzz next because the line was short. I was determined to beat him. I discovered that if you hold the button on your gun down, you get 100 points every 5 seconds. It is a very slow, not fun way to score though! Of course Kyle won despite my best efforts, oh well there's always next year. Look at that game face:
I convinced DF to do the teacups with me as long as I agreed to spin slowly since he gets motion sickness. Earlier we had said we wouldn't ride at all, but I couldn't help it, we were passing by them and I really wanted to, they are so fun. I didn't spin too fast at all, just enough to make it fun and not make poor Kyle barf! My photos are telling me we also rode Winnie the Pooh, although my memory does recall that at all, oops!
At that point we decided we had our fill of MK for the day, and we decided to head to the Main Street bakery and pick up some breakfast using snack credits for the next morning on our way out. The castle was open so we cut through. I find it breathtaking! Cinderella was my favorite as a little girl. I had a play teaset that I used to try and carry on my head like Cinderella did when she was serving the evil stepsisters breakfast in the movie
I of course got a cinnamon roll at the bakery (you will see a trend here in the coming installments!) and Kyle got one too. They are AMAZING! After we grabbed the grub, it was time to say goodnight to the MK.
The bus line was pretty short because it was still an hour or so before park closing. We both got a seat but we had to sit seperately and i found myself nodding off on the trip back to ASMo. We skipped the pool and headed straight to bed after another busy day.
Coming up next: The mad dash for Soarin', A day full of Futureworld, and you'll find out why Coral Reef is our new favorite!!
. Seems to be that way a lot. Looking forward to the killer bird story 
It wouldn't let me...weird!!?!! Is that what happened to you, too, on my ptr?? Anyways, will go back and read now, sorry I'm not up to date yet....soon though!!!
Hope you and the boys are doing well!!
haha. 
) and I'm enjoying it all! Your breakfast at CP looked sooooo good, and I'm GLAD because we are doing that in September! 
