From Deployments to Disney and Textbooks to Trams here's a Dec 2010 TR. Completed!

[amazingact21]

Thanks for the SoG pictures. I have been wanting to stay there and wasn't sure, Can't beat the price tha's for sure. Do they use Disney buses or their own? How constant are they? Now on to a park I hope.

I have more pics of the grounds in my next post. I read a lot of reviews that said SoG was mediocre or worse, so I was a little apprehensive about going, but it turned out great. And for the price you pay it's wonderful. I made sure to take a lot of pics, because I was dying for more when I was doing my planning.

They do use their own buses, but it's really easy to transfer to another bus. The TTC bus ran every 20 minutes. DHS and AK was once an hour, though. To get to Epcot and MK you had to take the TTC bus and hop on the monorails or ferry, and that wasn't hard to deal with. But all the buses were on time and it was only crowded coming home from the parks at night. They start running around 7:30 and keep running an hour and a half after the last park closes, so there's never a panic to make it on a bus in time.

And I would suggest if the bus to the TTC is packed, and you're trying to go to MK and don't have to carry too much, just walk to the Polynesian and hop on the monorail. It's a pretty short distance.

 

[DisneyAsh32]

Yay! Glad you could find my TR. It's definitely hard to plan for certain things months ahead of time and be all right when it messes up.


I know it's been awhile since I updated, but I started school again this week, and I managed to catch a cold and laryngitis. Therefore, I am a little under the weather, but I promise to pick back up soon!

I hope you're feeling better! I started school this week too so I'm right there with you. I'm already stressed out.

Shades of Green looks like such a nice resort. I love how big the rooms are. I'm glad your arrival day is going well!

 

[amazingact21]

I hope you're feeling better! I started school this week too so I'm right there with you. I'm already stressed out.

Shades of Green looks like such a nice resort. I love how big the rooms are. I'm glad your arrival day is going well!

The beginning of semesters always freak me out because I get a broad mental picture of all that's required of me in the months to come, and that of course makes me panic.

 

[amazingact21]

After touring our room, DBF and I put together our laynards and pins and opened up our mystery keys. Surprisingly enough, I managed to get a Minnie Mouse mystery key and DBF got a Stitch key.
They were incredibly cool.




We were both pretty excited to be wearing a piece of Disney on us.
Here's DBF:


And here's me:



It had reached 4:00, and my itinerary called for us to start touring the grounds at 4:15. Therefore, I shoved DBF out the door and we headed off.

The weather was truly perfect that afternoon. It was high 60s, low 70s, but the best part about it was the fact that the sun was shining. It was the only time on the trip I was able to wear shorts and short sleeved shirts.

Here's some photos of the grounds:



SoG uses this gazebo to host wedding ceremonies and from the looks of it there was one about to occur.



Despite the sunshine, it was still too cold to swim, but I still enjoyed walking by the pool and imagining what it would mean to relax by the water.



Ready to go explore some of the indoor scenery, we walked inside a lobby and the next thing I knew DBF was in here:






I waited for him to get his video game fix and we continued on.

We ended up walking downstairs past this beautiful waterfall. I stood next to it and just listened to the sound of the water falling on the rocks, and I would have gladly stayed there longer if DBF wasn't ready to move on.

I was afraid I wasn't going to have time to see it again, but it turned out that the bus area is right outside the waterfall staircase. I ended up seeing it every morning and night.



DBF and I had finished touring Shades of Green so it was time to move on to my next item on the agenda.

Touring other resorts!

I knew from planning that the Polynesian was in walking distance and the MK monorail ran from that resort to the Grand Floridian and the Contemperary. So I directed DBF to the sidewalk and we headed to the Poly!




Up next: Losing my boyfriend in bamboo and gift shops and catching our first glimpse of the castle!

 

[PirateKate]

Hi, I just saw the link to your TR! Shades of Green looks really nice. I didn't realize it was that close to everything. I like your key pins. They are very cute. Can't wait to read more!

 

[amazingact21]

Hi, I just saw the link to your TR! Shades of Green looks really nice. I didn't realize it was that close to everything. I like your key pins. They are very cute. Can't wait to read more!

Glad you could find my TR. The key pins turned out to be better than I expected, and DBF is still showing them off to people.

 

[amazingact21]

Seeing the resorts

"Alex get out of the bamboo! You're not supposed to be in there!"

Picking up where I left off, DBF and I walked off of Shades of Green property, crossed a semi-scary road, and entered the Polynesian. We only had to walk a few feet before we passed under the monorail and became immersed in the tropical atmosphere.



DBF chose to test out the scenery by walking off the sidewalk and into a cluster of bamboo trees. I looked around really fast to make sure we weren't about to get scolded by some CMs and saw that we were alone. DBF touched a few of the trees, looked around, pretended to be trapped in a cluster of them, and then got bored and jumped back on the sidewalk.

Once again, I followed DBF as he steered around the property, acting as if he knew exactly where every turn and door should be. The man had seen maybe four pictures of the resort before the trip, yet he knew the routes better than I did!

We walked past a few doors, turned a corner, and came across a dock area. Even though I knew the Polynesian was close to Magic Kingdom it never dawned on me that I could see some silhouettes until my eyes caught Space Mountain.



I grabbed DBF's shirt sleeve and pointed, very excited.

"Look, look, look! It's Space Mountain!!!"

DBF gave me a strange look and let me have my moment. I enjoyed the wonderful view for a minute or to, then decided I needed to move on. It was only Space Mountain, after all.
So, I unglued my eyes and took a few more steps forward towards a nearby entrance. Then I saw the jackpot:



The castle!!!!!


I cannot even describe in words my response to catching a glimpse of the castle, because it was a lot of squeals and exclamations and giggling. Anyone passing by probably thought I was thirteen years old.

DBF tried really hard to get me to calm down; he looked around like he would rather be with anyone other than a hopping girlfriend at the moment. I can imagine I looked like I had ants in my pants or something similar to that effect.

I didn't really care, though. It had been SIX YEARS since I'd seen the castle, and to me, that was the final proof I needed to convince myself that I was on vacation.



I don't remember how DBF did it, but he managed to wrangle me away from the dock and inside the Poly. we walked around for a bit and checked out a few gift shops, then we headed to the monorail to take our first trip.




This was the first time I'd ever ridden on a monorail (the same with DBF). I can't remember why I never took it as kid; I think my family preffered the ferry. Anyways, I expected the ride to be longer, but it felt like as soon as we sat down, we were at the Grand Floridian. So off we hopped!

I took over fifty pictures of the resort, but I am trying to pick my favorites to put on here. Truly, though, the entire place, not even accounting for the extra details, is picturesque enough.

The first thing we saw when we got off the monorail was a gorgeous outside lobby area on the floor below us. They had poinsettias everywhere with small reindeer decorations. We also caught a glimpse of the parked carriage and car.

It was all so charming.




If the Polynesian put me in laid-back tropical mood, then the Grand Floridian took me back to another time. Everywhere I looked there was something shining or regal or ellaborate. My eyes were just glazed over with awe.





All I was thinking in this picture was "Holy cow! That chandelier is so big I could build a fort under it and live inside it!"

DBF wanted to look inside one of the gift shops, so I waited around on some plush furniture, feeling like I should have been dressed and ready to take tea. I also watched as a bride got whisked up the stairs.



Lucky woman.

I was probably more than a little green with envy, so I went back to DBF and we walked the grounds some more. I cannot recall how many balconies we walked out on and how many oohs and aahs we let out. Especially when we made it to the gingerbread house.



There were so many details on the structure. Everywhere I looked I saw some new Disney character or new figurine hiding in the shadows. It was certainly a sight to see, and I think anyone who goes to WDW during the holidays should try and catch a glimpse of it.


We walked outside and found ourselves with a great view of the Polynesian. Seeing it full-scale like that made me realize just how massive the place is.


I saw a fountain that I loved and demanded we sit by to rest our feet for a bit.
DBF, naturally, had to ruin a great photo oppurtunity.







We got restless sitting around, so we made our way towards the beach. We saw an open hammock but we weren't sure if we wanted to utilize it, because we were both wearing fairly nice shoes.
I decided I didn't care, though, and plowed through the sand to nab the seat.

*side note* The other day I went to put on the shoes that I wore that day and discovered there was still sand in them. It gave me something to smile about that morning.






Excuse the feet, but I loved this moment. It was probably one of my favorite times on the trip. We were relaxing, watching the sun fade on the water, and not worrying about a thing.
It was one of those times that DBF and I agreed made his deployment almost worth it. Being away from him and worrying about him constantly was not fun, but being able to use that money and lay on the beach of the Grand Floridian made it bearable, that's for sure.

Even though the place was pretty empty, I felt bad for taking a guest of the resort's spot, so I made us leave after about ten minutes. We walked back to the monorail and boarded.

I don't know why, but it was really crowded, and it only got worse when we arrived at MK. I am not the most graceful person in the world, so all I kept thinking about was how to make sure I didn't fall on the ride.


We had planned to look around the Contemporary Resort, but we just weren't feeling up to it. So, we took some pics on the monorail and "remained seated" while we wound our way back to the Polynesian.






I wanted to freak out when I saw this view, but much to DBF's relief there were too many people around for me to start really spazzing out.



Much too soon, we were back at the Polynesian. It was only about 5:30 (resort hopping took way less time than I predicted) and we had an ADR at Kona Cafe for 8:00pm. We were both pretty tired and came up with the solution that we needed to rest for awhile before our dinner.
With that, we made our way back to SoG.





Up next: The final post about arrival day. After that, I'll stop yammering and get on to the good stuff...the parks!!!

 

[DisneyAsh32]

SOOOOO jealous that you got to see all the pretty Christmas Decorations! I'm thinking another trip is in order for me and DBF . And the hammock looked so relaxing. I love those moments.

 

[amazingact21]

SOOOOO jealous that you got to see all the pretty Christmas Decorations! I'm thinking another trip is in order for me and DBF . And the hammock looked so relaxing. I love those moments.

Haha! I think you could use it as a perfect excuse to go back! Besides, if you go this year, that'd still leave a 6 month gap between your trips, and I've learned that that can be a long time to go without Disney!

 

[amazingact21]

The Night of the 17th

DBF and I lounged around and watched tv in our room until 7:25pm. I had to change outfits, because I stepped out on the deck and the cold weather had arrived.

We gathered all our stuff and walked back to the Polynesian. Since it was getting late, the shops and restaurants were busy and there were a lot more people to make our way around.

We made it to Kona Cafe, and I gave the CM my name and reservation time. They told me it would be awhile and handed us a beeper machine.


DBF found some seats and watched Goofy meet and greet guests for awhile.


We quickly got bored of that, though, so we walked around the shops. DBF was still looking at pins when our seat became available.


The dinner was fantastic! I know Ohana's tops the cake on the Polynesian's restaurants, but Kona Cafe is well worth the meal. Our waitress was efficient and brought our food out really quickly. (Of course, that might also have been because it was late and there weren't a lot of people eating anymore.)

We started off with bread. It was Hawaiian bread served with a macadamian nut butter.


Oh man, DBF and I could've just ate the bread and been good. I couldn't get enough of it. Even after my entree, when I had to push my plate away because I was so stuffed, I went back for one more piece of this bread.

I got pot stickers and shared them with DBF, but sadly they were gone before I could snap a picture. The fact that they were gone in such a short time should tell you how we felt about them.


DBF order the teriyaki New York strip steak with rice and broccoli. He loves, loves, loves steak, and this dish didn't stand a chance with him. He devoured it.
I tasted the steak and thought it was pretty good, but I'm not a huge fan of steaks. The broccoli, however, was amazing. It looked like asparagus, which amused both of us, and when it was dipped in the teriyaki sauce, it contained so much flavoring.



I had the coconut-almond chicken


The almond flavoring made me love my dish choice. It made the chicken really sweet tasting.
I wasn't a huge fan of the greens, but whatever sauce they put over them was delicious.

After the entrees it was time for my favorite part of the meal...dessert!

Prior to this trip, I was trying really hard to stay active and eat healthy that way I could reward myself on vacation and not feel guilty. I made myself skimp on sweets for about two months in order to pig out at WDW.

And the time to indulge had finally arrived!

Alex got this: I wish I could remember the name of it, but honestly, I was focusing soley on my food.



I ordered the white chocolate cheesecake.


It was extremely rich; I only managed to eat 3/4 of it. But, my oh my, I enjoyed every bite of it.


By the time we finished our desserts and paid, it was nearing 9:30pm. We'd had a long day and were both pretty tired, but I figured we might as well see if we could catch some of Wishes from the beach.
We walked to the viewing area and it was freezing! I was wearing flip flops because I knew we weren't going far, and my toes were popsicles!

To our surprise, there weren't that many people on the beach. I think it might've been because MVMCP was occuring that night. Either way, DBF snagged a lawn chair and turned it to face the castle.

We had no sooner sat down and turned on the camera when Wishes began.

Talk about timing!

We didn't have to wait at all or worry about finding a seat.







This was the very first time either of us had seen Wishes, and I thought it was a great way to top off our arrival day. I felt lucky that we were able to watch it sitting down on the beach with barely any crowds and the music turned up around us.
And the view could not be beat.

Before we knew it, the show was over and we had to make our way back to our resort.

As we passed through the lobby, we saw an elderly couple trying (and failing) to take a group picture in front of the Mickey statue, so I offered to take it for them and they, in return, took one of DBF and myself.



I loved the Mickey statue, because it very patriotic. His shoes had the Declaration of Independence on it, the word Freedom, and other important symbols. It was done very tastefully and kind of brought Disney and military appreciation together.





Finally, it was off to bed for us.




Coming up....Blinking lights are never a good thing, and remember my fight with making coffee? Well, Round 2 is about to begin!!!

 

[luckylady]

Dinner at Kona looked very good. Waht a great way to start your trip. Can't wait to read all about your first park day.

 

[DCDisney]

Great report!!!! We are staying at SoG for the first time in a few weeks so I love seeing your pics

 

[amazingact21]

Dinner at Kona looked very good. Waht a great way to start your trip. Can't wait to read all about your first park day.

It was very good. Sorry about taking so long to get to parks; I promise it'll be nothing but the world in my posts from now on!

Great report!!!! We are staying at SoG for the first time in a few weeks so I love seeing your pics

Oh yay! It's not as "Disney" as the other resorts, but for its size and location and the cost, it is a fabulous resort. Do you have a PTR, I'd love to follow along.

 

[ChildAtHeart82]

Dinner at Kona looked good. Thank you for the review. I hope the blinking light wasn't too bad of news.

 

[amazingact21]

Epcot Morning



About time! The first park day had arrived!

I didn't have too much trouble falling asleep the night before, although right after I crawled into bed I saw a blinking red light coming from where one of the outlets was located. I had plugged in DBF's camera to charge. Normally, the battery stays a solid color while it charges and then goes off once it's done, but I figured it might be blinking because it was completely dead. Plus, by that point I was dead tired and got my cameras mixed up. See, my camera does indeed blink while charging and then stays a solid color when ready to use.

Between the camera mix up and the dead battery scenario I didn't think too much of it. I didn't even bother asking DBF about it, which might have cleared things up, seeings as it was his camera.

Oh well.



I woke up much earlier than DBF. It's not that I take longer to get ready, (although I do) I am just a morning person. Going to school to be a teacher means I have to get up at the crack of dawn to get to various internships and observations, so my body has just become conditioned to it.

I fumbled through the dark and turned the room coffee pot on. I'd brought my own coffee and filters with me and was ready to enjoy a cup, especially after yesterday's debacle.

Oh jeez.

The coffee pot didn't turn on.

Again?!

Why can't I work a dang coffee machine??? It's a hotel one, for pete's sake! They are as basic as they come.

I grabbed my cell phone and used it as a light to try and figure out what was wrong.

Ten minutes later I discovered a previous guest had unplugged the machine.
So I crawled my way behind the dresser and shoved it back in the outlet.

It was still kind of dark out, but I decided to take my coffee outside and relax for a bit.


I took a sip of my coffee and spat it onto the grass. Apparently, the coffee filter broke and spilt the grounds while it was brewing. On top of that, I had forgotten to use water from the bottles we brought.

Now, I am not a filtered freak, but the water in Orlando is nasty! The resort used irrigated water, and I'm conditioned to a completely different taste. I'm sure people come to my town and cringe at our water. Being a military brat, I've learned that when going to a new place, it's easier to slowly integrate yourself with the local water.

I took another tentative sip of my coffee. I did not want it, but c'mon, two days without a decent cup of coffee??? It wasn't fair!

Instead of sulking, I just told myself there'd be plenty of oppurtunities to get coffee at Epcot. The sun was starting to rise, so I thought it'd be nice to get a few pics.



I went back inside the room, grabbed the camera and took the battery out of the charger. I noticed that the light was off, so I assumed the flashing light meant nothing.

Wrong

Turning on the camera, I saw the icon on the top left of the screen saying the battery was half full.


WHAT?!?!?!

Oh crud.

Apparently, the blinking light meant the charger was not plugged into the outlet completely and couldn't charge the battery.

As I'm realizing this, DBF walked outside and I explained our predicament. He told me not to panic and placed the battery back in its charger (correctly) to get as much juice in it as we could before we had to leave.

I checked my camera to see how it was, because I did NOT charge it the night before.

Perfect, everything's full.



DBF and I went about our way getting ready and eating breakfast. We made it to the bus stop about 7:35am. Epcot didn't open until 9 that morning, but we had to go to the TTC center and activate our tickets. (We had bought them ahead of time at a local ITT.)


I would have taken pictures of the TTC center, but when I turned my camera on I saw that it had gone down to half a battery. And DBF was busy talking to some other family.

Disney does reveal traits about you and others that you don't see often anywhere else. I've never seen my DBF talk to strangers so much before. Every bus ride, attraction, food line he'd find something to joke around about. I asked him about it after we got off at the TTC, and he said being on a SoG bus made it so easy for him. Him and a lot of other active duty members would get bored and ask their neighbor what branch they were and where they were stationed. And then there was me, who probably looked like the most unsociable person ever. I was tired, coffee deprived, and I just wanted to get to my destination, so I didn't talk on the bus. Call me a Grinch, I suppose.


Moving along... we got our tickets activated and made our way to the Epcot express monorail.



It was earlier than we'd anticipated; the place was empty! I told DBF to go ahead and jump on the monorail and we'd just wait by the turnstiles until Epcot opened.

We had the entire monorail to ourselves!






It was kind of weird at first, but then I really enjoyed it. I knew we'd be hitting some major crowds and took it as a little gift to appreciate later on.
I actually regret not asking to sit at the very front, because if we were ever going to get a chance to do it, it probably would've been then.

Either way, it was nice.

Going around Epcot, it felt as if we were getting a private tour.






As you can see, the closer we got to Epcot, the more the clouds rolled in.



I'd known for a couple days that it was supposed to rain on the 18th, but I'd hoped it would only be a few showers and then it would move on. But looking at those clouds, I realized it was going to be a rainy nasty day.


Meh, who cares?

We were going to enjoy ourselves, rain or not.




Up next.....Starting the day Soarin' and conserving camera batteries!

 

[DCDisney]

Oh yay! It's not as "Disney" as the other resorts, but for its size and location and the cost, it is a fabulous resort. Do you have a PTR, I'd love to follow along.

My DH just started working for the Army this year and they go to SoG every year for a conference so it's a free extra trip for me (except plane tix). We usually go every Fall with the kiddos. I'm looking forward to some solo time to really explore all the shops esp in Epcot. I hope I love SoG because it would save a lot of $$$ for our Fall trip unless I can get a great AP rate...

 

[mermaid764]

Just found your TR today and am loving it

Can't wait for more

 

[amazingact21]

My DH just started working for the Army this year and they go to SoG every year for a conference so it's a free extra trip for me (except plane tix). We usually go every Fall with the kiddos. I'm looking forward to some solo time to really explore all the shops esp in Epcot. I hope I love SoG because it would save a lot of $$$ for our Fall trip unless I can get a great AP rate...

You really do need a lot of time to go through all the WS shops and take in all the details. I bet fall is a nice time to go, weather-wise.

Just found your TR today and am loving it

Can't wait for more

I'm glad you found me, and I appreciate you following along!

 

[amazingact21]

Another post so soon?! I know, I know, I need to simmer down, the TR board isn't going anywhere. Unfortunately, I am afraid school is going to be busy next week so I'm trying to take advantage of all the free time I have.


Epcot Morning Continued

DBF and I made our way to the turnstiles, which is only a hop, skip, and a jump away from the monorail.

We got in line, looked around, and saw people going inside the park. Hmmm....
It was only 8:25.

"You think they have extra magic hours?"

DBF asked me, questioning the acurracy of my planning.
He would have just loved to see me get something wrong in all my schedules and pre-predictions.

"No. I know today is another park's EMH."
(I remembered the actual park that had it back then, now it'd just be a guess.)

I could tell DBF still didn't believe me, but he was wise enough to drop the subject.

We plugged our tickets into the machine, stuck our finger on the light, and we were in!!!




I was all smiles and giggling and DBF was intent on finding a parks map.
This was the only park both of really remembered from past trips, so it was sort of like coming home again.
He went with his father for a day as a kid, but that was before MissionSpace had even opened.

I have been three times before, the last time being in 2004. It sounds like a long time, but I remembered the layout and general atmosphere once I stepped inside the gates.

First and foremost (after DBF got ahold of a map):

The obligatory photographs in front of the Epcot's mascot.

 

[amazingact21]

Whoa there, I apparently pressed a button and posted my preview entry before I wanted to. I tried to edit it, but it kept freezing on me. So, bear with me, please...


After we snapped our pics, we moved past this:


I don't see how people were standing so close to the water. It was FREEZING out. Just looking at the water raised goosebumps on my arms.

There happened to be a nice CM standing nearby who began shouting,
"Soarin' is closing in ten minutes until opening, so please head there now!"

Our ears perked up.

Soarin'?

We want to ride Soarin'

Actually, we'd planned on riding on Soarin' first.

The CM saw us (actually, we were the only ones around) and told us to follow him. He continued to yell that Soarin' was about to close, and all I could think was, "Hush! We don't need a longer wait!"

At some point we lost the CM. I'm not sure where. One minute he was in front of us, the next DBF was leading the way.

I don't know how DBF did it. He hadn't been to Epcot in years, yet he somehow led us right to the Soarin' building.

We walked inside and were oggling everything, but the "closing soon" statement was on the forefront of our minds so we were rushing along.


We'd never been on Soarin' before, and seeing the empty waiting area, the queue felt horrendously long.

We kept walking.

And walking.

And walking.

We thought we'd made it to the ride, but nope.

It was just the main entrance for the standby line.

Oh well. We needed a morning jog.


There we go. Around a corner and past five dozen metal partions.


We hit the line right at the spot they begin sheparding you into the different "hang gliders."


Very first thing we do at Disney World and it's walk on during Christmas season?!?! Surely it couldn't get better?


Soarin' with no line. I doubt I'll ever see it this way again, so I had to memorialize the image.


A CM ushered us through and asked DBF and I how many were in a group.

Two.

"Okay, go to row 1, please."




I felt momentarily guilty because this young girl behind us let out this huge groan and proclaimed, "Awwwww, I wanted to be in the first row."

Oops


I could not believe it. I never have such luck. I'm normally the most unlucky person I know, but this trip turned the tables for me. Next time, I need to remember to buy a lotto ticket when I'm in the area.


The ride was nice. I forgot to put on my glasses, though (I HATE wearing my glasses) so a lot of the things were blurry.
I especially loved gliding over the water. It brought back fond memories of parasailing and made me pretend I was somewhere warm and sunny.

When the ride ended we followed the crowd out to the exit and stumbled upon a small cluster of people.

Hermmm.

What's going on?

I checked my phone.

8:55.

OH!

People were gathering in wait for fastpasses.
Not a bad idea.
DBF and I got in one line and were waiting, when all of a sudden DBF looked to the very far left of the fastpass kiosks and saw an empty station.

No line!

Wow, good luck struck us three times in fifteen minutes.

We skipped on over and got our fastpasses right at 9 am when the tickets distribution began. The times were for 9:45 and 10:45, I believe?


On our way out of the attraction, we saw the mob pour in:


A passing CM giggled at our expressions. "Get outta here before you get trampled."

I will say, though, seeing that huge flock prepared me for TSM.


We stepped outside and BAM!

The rain had arrived.

"Time to get the ponchos out."

DBF insisted on getting a locker, because he was worried about messing up his camera and his phone. I swear, that boy treats his phone like it's his child.

We went and got the locker situation sorted out and headed over to the MissionSpace/Test Track area.

Well, DBF led and I followed.
You know the drill by now...

Test Track had a 30 minute wait and MissionSpace had a 5 minute wait.

We chose MissionSpace and walked right on. We did the orange side, and I didn't have a problem with it, but I think DBF would rather do the green side from now on.

By the time we came out of the ride, the rain was pouring down so steadily that they had to shut Test Track down.

I wish I'd taken more pictures during this time, but I had to treasure our camera batteries for dear life.

TT was a little bit of a bummer, but I had to use the restroom and DBF needed something in the locker so we headed back towards the exit.


While I was using the bathroom DBF managed to break a part of the wallet we'd brought along.

We'd used the thing for a day and DBF had already destroyed it.

Sigh.

We stood by the locker area for awhile, checking the weather radar on DBF's phone. We figured if the weather was supposed to take a turn for the better, we'd go back to our room and rest up until then.
In addition, we were worried the cameras wouldn't last all day and we both really wanted to give them another chance to charge.
Unfortunately, the map showed a constant downpour for the next several hours.

We figured since we were already wet and the park was completely empty, we'd tough it out.



The only bad thing about the rain was how cold it made us. Our ponchos kept my bag and all our important items dry, we were just freezing! My shoes were canvas and I swear I lost feeling in my toes after stepping in half a dozen puddles.

Thankfully, we saw Spaceship Earth nearby, which is a nice warm, dry attraction. Besides, I LOVE Spaceship Earth and was dying to see what the revamped version was like.

But wait!

Our Soarin' fastpasses!

I thought about it for awhile and debated if it was worth another go. Take into account, I was tired, cold, and had no caffeine in my system. I wasn't grouchy, in fact I was taking everything much better than DBF.
He was not exactly dazzled on his first day.
Yet... I still had a whole day to change his attitude.

So I thought it through and decided I wasn't really up for riding Soarin' again. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but I felt like there were better attractions to ride while the crowd levels were so low.

DBF hunted down a couple and offered them our fastpasses. We explained to them what they were and how to use them, but I'm not sure they understood the process completely. Actually, I think they were really wary of two strangers handing out tickets to them.
My DBF would pick the two people in the park who don't have a clue what or how fastpasses work.



Up next...DBF picks the wrong lunch line and I pick the right time to ride Maelstorm!