Okay...this is going to be shortish...I want to post, but I have to go to the Dr. for my back...sitting up shouldn't be so painful! Anywho...back to our regularly scheduled trip report...
At this point, Cara and I were ready to leave. On the way out, we ran into that wacky bear Balou!
I need some bear necessities, those simple bear necessities
Balou is another tall character! I love it!!
After our meeting with Balou, Cara and I decided to go check out the WL. Cara, a DVC member, and I, a potential DVC member, were curious about the villas. We hopped on a bus to WL and were off
WL is a beautiful resort. I think that the trip to WLV added to my confusion about where to buy DVC. We werent able to see inside the villas, but the WL grounds are amazing. Very woodsy and relaxing. Relaxing in a different way than SSR though. WLV has the relaxing-cabin-in-the-mountains feel
SSR has a very different feel. So far, I think that BWV has my heart
I would love to check out all of the options on a research basis before I buy
that might be pushing it too far though!
Cara and I explored WL for a bit and then decided to head over to MK. Not being familiar with WL, it took us a while to find the boat dock to MK. The boat ride over to MK is awesome. Along the way, you pass River Country, stop at Fort Wilderness and then head over to MK. A long, long time ago, I can still remember
visiting River Country. My parents brought us to Disney when I was 11 (see, a long, long time ago) and we spent a day playing at River Country. What fun it was! This was back when you could still swim at the beach at the Poly. Anyway, I digress
it was neat to float by River Country. It brought back some cool memories!!
Eventually, we docked at MK. Cara really wanted to ride Space Mt. No problem! We headed over to Tomorrowland. A 20-minute wait was posted, so we decided to jump in line. I think it took us 25 minutes to ride, but considering it was 5 pm on a Spectro night, we did great! This ride was another first I rode in the very front seat. I think that this seat is too fun and scary at the same time. I kept seeing where I THOUGHT I was going, only to be wrong and get jerked in a different direction. I squealed like a piglet. It rocked! I am going to have to do this again
After our space adventure, we headed over to Frontierland to scope out seats for Spectromagic. We then took turns running for food. I had heard wonderful things about Dole Whips and I really wanted to try one. Oh my, they are good. I got the pineapple Dole float. Yummy.
Cara and I enjoyed our treats while waiting for the parade (she ran for a pretzel). We had front row seats right behind the rope. Speaking of the rope, the rope was dangerous. The kids near me loved playing with this rope
bouncing it up and down, twanging it so that it hit innocent bystanders. After nearly getting whacked in the eye, I learned to protect myself from the rope
I am sure that I ruined some kids night too.
Soon, we heard the music and saw the parade coming down the street. I love this parade
these are some of the best pictures of the bunch. I have several like this
Kind of cool looking, but not quite what I was going for. My camera settings were goofy, because last year I had a TON of really good shots. I still have the memories though!
After Spectro, Cara and I decided to escape from the massive crush of people and head to DTD for some shopping. We debated the best way to get from MK to DTD, but eventually decided to take a bus from MK to OKW and then hop on another bus to DTD. I am glad that we did it this way it was an opportunity to check out OKW. If SSR matures like OKW did, I think it will be a beautiful resort. OKW is full of lush greenery. Also, the pictures of OKW do not do it justice. In person, OKWs charm is really apparent. Hopefully, SSR will grow up to be as nice
Our time was perfect. The bus from MK dropped us off just as a DTD was pulling up. Bonus, DUDE! Off to DTD we went