The Time of Our Lives - a Graduation Celebration!! Arrival Day Update! 6/28

[White as Snow]

A month from today, I will be leaving to go to my favorite place on the planet! This has been a wild and crazy year for DH and me! He graduated with his Bachelor of Science in Technical Management in October and I’m set to graduate with my Bachelor of Music in Theory and Composition in May. SO - to celebrate making it through such a wild year - with degrees no less! - we are headed to our happy place on May 19.

Cast
The cast for this trip is small - more like the cast for a really deep play off-off broadway than a blockbuster movie.

Me - Disney and music fanatic, Snow White activist, love just breathing Disney air!
Here I am breathing some rather cold Disney air in December waiting to join the stampede to Toy Story Mania.

DH - my Prince - he loves Disney - especially taking pictures and experiencing new things on each trip.
Here he is also happily freezing in DHS.

I know, not much info, but you’ll learn MUCH more about us along the way!

Trip origins
This is sort of a trip that almost wasn’t. Robert surprised me at Christmas with a Spring Break trip. WELL, we ended up not going because we thought we were going to be buying a house this summer. As it turned out, we are not moving as far as we thought and the house buying is a question mark at the moment. Also, I am in the process of working on a composition recital (other performers play music I composed) and finish my bachelor’s before launching into graduate school- it would have been too stressful to try and plan and take a trip in the middle of it all.

During Spring Break, I was talking with my mom (who is a Disney enabler) and missing Disney like crazy since we were supposed to BE there! Robert and I went to Disney in December to celebrate our 3 year wedding anniversary. We did not do a lot of things we normally consider “must dos” because we kept saying “We’ll be back in three months.” One thing we did not do was go to AK because we had MVMCP tickets and decided to rest so we could enjoy the party. That left us with an extra day on our park hoppers. So when Mom and I were talking, she said, “You and Robert should just run away to Disney after graduation!” I did some checking, discovered we could use the discount code for the hotel and that it would not cost that much to drive.

At first, we were going to drive down one day, do the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom the next day and then drive back home on the third day. We started lamenting the fact that we wouldn’t be going to Epcot - a park we adore - and decided to add another day to the trip.


Here are the rest of the gory details.
May 19-22 at All-Star Music (appropriate, huh?)

ADRs: Boma breakfast on the 22nd
Since our park time will be extremely limited, we opted to only do one ADR this trip. Also, we like to snack and there are many snacks and counter service restaurants we have never tried.

We’re not quite sure as to what parks we are going to do on which day. We have a one day park hopper and are probably going to add another day to it when we get there.

Right now the tentative plan is to open MK on the 20th and maybe close out the afternoon and night with Epcot. The 21st will be AK most of the day and we are trying to decide if we want to try to go to another park after AK closes.

I would LOVE everyone’s thoughts on this. I just have not had the time to plan like I would normally.

I am looking forward to getting on Everest or Big Thunder and screaming as loud as I can - both from happiness and from letting out ALL the frustration that has built up over the last few hectic months of being an undergrad in music.

I’ll post in a day or so some pictures of our Disney-related Easter goodies! Also, I’ll fill you in on the AWESOME surprise that DH had for my Easter gift!

Thanks in advance for reading!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Signing up for more! I often say that trip reports and pictures are what get this Disney addict through to another trip. We aren't going until August so I still have a bit of a wait.

 

[White as Snow]

Signing up for more! I often say that trip reports and pictures are what get this Disney addict through to another trip. We aren't going until August so I still have a bit of a wait.

Welcome aboard!! I agree - I don't know WHAT I would do without trip reports and the awesome picture threads on the DIS. Here's hoping this helps TR helps tide you over until August!


I hope to post the promised update tomorrow. This has been a crazy, sleep-deprived week! The hearing for my composition recital was Monday. The good news - I passed!! The okay news is that there is still a lot of rehearsing and a little editing that needs to happen before the recital.....which is in 17 days!

Thanks to mickeystoontown and anyone else who happens to be reading!!

 

[White as Snow]

I don't have the picture that I wanted to post of the notebook and photo album my mom gave me for Easter, but I'm going to go ahead and post the "Easter" update anyway!

Robert and I can NEVER keep secrets from each other. We usually end up spilling what we are giving each other for Christmas, birthdays, etc. several days before the holiday/celebration in question. The Thursday before Easter, Robert called me, as he usually does when he gets off work, and tells me that he has a surprise for me for Easter. Then he says he has TWO surprises. By this time I was pacing the floor in excitement! He said he messed up one surprise, so he needs to go ahead and tell me before I received an email about it. At this point, I thought it probably had something to do with the Disney trip.

Then he says - are you ready for this? - We're staying the first night in.......



THE ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE - SAVANNA VIEW!!!!!!!!!

I hope he doesn't have permanent hearing damage from the shriek of excitement I yelled into the phone!

I think I'm still in shock because that I can remember, we've never stayed in anything higher than a value. We figure that we won't be spending enough time in the room to justify any extra cost.

We are both super excited about getting the opportunity to stay at AKL! Oh, the other surprise was the TCM Doris Day collection! I'm a classic movie fanatic when I'm not being a Disney fanatic.

I am beyond thrilled about the lodge, but this throws another curve in my planning, though. Since we only have two days in the parks, I don't think it would be a good idea for us NOT to make a park opening on our first day. At the same time, I hate for us not to fully enjoy our stay at the lodge!

Our tentative (everything is tentative at this point) plan for the arrival day (May 19) is to leave at 5:00 am, which will put us driving under the Disney arch around 3:00 pm. We are going to head straight for the lodge, check in, and spend the rest of the afternoon/evening exploring and enjoying the resort.

This is where I need Dis help! I will only have two days between graduation and the day we leave to plan, pack, and take care of all the other household things that will need to be in place before we can leave.

My question to you: Should we go later to a park on the 20th, or will that afternoon/evening be enough time for us to enjoy the lodge?

I should add that we aren't swimming people (at least not in front of other people), so we will probably just walk around the pool area and take pictures, rather than taking the time for a swim.

Thanks!!!
LB

 

[MeMom]

That's a great surprise!

Here's my opinion, for what little it is worth.
The afternoon and evening at AKL will be plenty. You can see the animals, shop at Zawadi, maybe catch the storyteller at the firepit, and go down to Mara and have a zebra dome for me! Plus, you're going back on the 22nd for your Boma ADR, right? You can walk around a little more then, if you want to. I do enjoy seeing the animals up close all around the grounds. For us, if we only had two park days, we'd hit them early and stay late, but I know everyone has different styles of park touring.

 

[White as Snow]

Memom - you are a genius! I was completely forgetting that we would be coming back to the lodge for Boma! I’m telling you, I need more sleep!

Mini-update:

Today was what one would call a Disney training day. It wasn’t supposed to be, it just happened that way.

It was a training day because Robert and I ended up spending most of it in the car. First, it was on the way to church which is about a thirty minute commute. Then, we were trying to find a house to rent in a few months, so we house hunted for a VERY long period of time.

The other reason it was a training day was due to my trip to the library. I was trying to complete and “easter egg hunt” for my piano lit class. We were given seven unidentified pieces of sheet music and we were supposed to guess what the pieces were or go look them up. We have to defend our decision on a test in the not-so-distant future, so I decided to go look them up. I stood in one spot looking through piano sheet music for an hour. I found 5 out of the 7 and now consider myself well-trained to stand in any lines we encounter on our trip. We’re going to hope I won’t need my newly acquired skill, but just in case there is an unavoidable line for Everest, I’m prepared to stand in it!

I kept thinking throughout the day..... this is nice, but I’d rather be doing it in Disney! Robert and I had lunch out -which almost NEVER happens for two reasons. 1 - we’re cheap 2 - he’s a phenomenal cook who could make a four course meal out of a bag of hashbrowns and an egg or two.

While we were talking and joking over lunch I thought, “Twenty-two days and we’ll be doing this at DISNEY!”

When I walked by the fountain at school I thought, “I wish it were the Epcot fountain!”

When I was getting tired from standing I thought, “There’s not even a ride or Dole Whip at the end of this.....”

Am I the only one who thinks like that? Hope not.


I also thought I would post some pictures from our December trip that inspired the AKL stay for the upcoming trip. I hope everyone enjoys a short trip to AKL at Christmas - just imagine the drum circle/storyteller in the background because that is what we heard while we took most of these!

The little kid in me just wants to go run across that bridge 100 times.

These are out of order because this is from the gift shop - it reminded us of the broadway version of the Lion King which is a fabulous show that you should go see if it comes to your city!

This one perhaps calls for some explanation. I mentioned I am a “Snow White activist” so when we came back into the lodge and I saw they were playing something connected with my favorite princess, I had to get a picture.

 

[White as Snow]

In LESS than three weeks, we'll be seeing this:

I have to say that the swine flu/H1N1 was putting a bit of a sprinkle on our parade until this afternoon. My mom called and told me to look at the Today Show's website because a woman called in this morning and asked Dr. Nancy Sniderman specifically about going to WDW in three weeks.

The good doctor told her she would not change her vacation plans. Just take the necessary precautions like washing/wiping/anti-bacterial gelling hands and avoiding people who were visibly sick. I know this isn't a guarantee, but it did make me feel better.

We have our anti-bacterial arsenal ready to go (well, almost) - anti-bacterial wipes and hand gel....are we forgetting anything? We try to take these precautions every trip down. DH has an immune system of steel, but I have systemic lupus and have to be very conscious of coming into contact with germs. Our December trip was the first trip we took that I did not get sick afterward!!!!

The last MNSSHP trip we took, I started getting sick our last night there. We still closed down the MK, but by the time we got back to Pop, I was miserable with body aches, fever, sore throat and sinus issues. Hopefully, that will NEVER be repeated!

Now, to get through the last week of classes, a composition recital, finals, a 22nd birthday, and graduation! Then.......it will be DISNEY TIME!!!!

 

[White as Snow]

Just thought I would pop in to say that we are toying with the idea of leaving late Monday night (the 18th) and going about half way.

We are trying to find a good rate on a room - we hate to pay a lot since we are only going to be crashing there for a few hours of sleep. This way, we'll have more time to enjoy the AKL on Tuesday.

Also, DH surprised me----again!!! Ready for it? Sure?

Hopefully, I'll have some more planning updates and a few more pictures soon. 4 dress rehearsals down for the recital on Saturday, 1 to go!










We can ride Small World!!!!!!!


Okay, probably not what you were expecting, but it did excite me. I haven't ridden Small World in I don't know how long. We were watching our Planning DVD (which came as a LOVELY surprise the other day), and they kept showing Small World. I gave DH my best puppy dog eyes (which still aren't very good) and asked if we could ride it. He had a permanent ban on it, but he lifted the ban for this trip and agreed to ride it with me

 

[MeMom]

I have to say that the swine flu/H1N1 was putting a bit of a sprinkle on our parade until this afternoon. My mom called and told me to look at the Today Show's website because a woman called in this morning and asked Dr. Nancy Sniderman specifically about going to WDW in three weeks.

The good doctor told her she would not change her vacation plans. Just take the necessary precautions like washing/wiping/anti-bacterial gelling hands and avoiding people who were visibly sick. I know this isn't a guarantee, but it did make me feel better.

Also, DH surprised me----again!!! Ready for it? Sure?





We can ride Small World!!!!!!!


Okay, probably not what you were expecting, but it did excite me. I haven't ridden Small World in I don't know how long. We were watching our Planning DVD (which came as a LOVELY surprise the other day), and they kept showing Small World. I gave DH my best puppy dog eyes (which still aren't very good) and asked if we could ride it. He had a permanent ban on it, but he lifted the ban for this trip and agreed to ride it with me

I heard on the news tonight Nashville has its first confirmed case of H1N1. I hope we can get through the next three weeks of school without schools being closed and days having to be made up.

Small World is fun. There are so many things to photograph. I try to get new things every trip. Brooklynn loves it, and I can't wait to see Bella's face the first time we ride through. I know her little head will be bobbing from side to side, just like Brooklynn did.

 

[White as Snow]

I heard on the news tonight Nashville has its first confirmed case of H1N1. I hope we can get through the next three weeks of school without schools being closed and days having to be made up.

Small World is fun. There are so many things to photograph. I try to get new things every trip. Brooklynn loves it, and I can't wait to see Bella's face the first time we ride through. I know her little head will be bobbing from side to side, just like Brooklynn did.

I think Birmingham had a suspected case. Let's hope it stays in the suspected realm! I can not believe the number of people who are still coming to class sick! Have they heard the news lately? Where have they been?!?!

I love all the pictures on your TRs of Brooklynn's face as she takes in attractions, shows, or parades. She is such a little doll! How are you going to know which way to point the camera now that you have two little cuties to photograph?


The "Un"-Update Update

I don't have a lot of planning to report. Except that I keep trying to remind myself to write on my calendar when to call ASMu and request the Broadway section. I'm going to request this for a few reasons. First, we LOVE Broadway!! Also, this looks like it is relatively close to everything, but still pretty far away from smoking areas. I have pretty bad asthma and just prefer to completely avoid smokers if I can.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Well, I have a listening test tomorrow and really should go study!

Hopefully, I will have a better update later!

Thanks to anyone who is reading!

 

[White as Snow]

In about 15 hours I'll be sitting and listening to my senior composition recital. It seems strange to have a recital tomorrow and not be practicing or worrying about sleep! All I can do at this point to ensure success is pray! I have an amazing group of people performing my pieces and I am SO thankful for their hard work.

With the recital comes an awesome reception that Robert has prepared. I think you would all like the theme of it............ Flavors of Walt Disney World!

That's right, my wonderfully amazing and talented hubby has prepared such Disney hits as mini-school bread, carrot cake cookies, chilled strawberry soup and chocolate dipped pretzels and rice krispie treats!

I'll hopefully have a little time tomorrow afternoon to post pictures of the recital and the reception.

Hope everyone has a good Friday night......well, at this point - Saturday morning!

 

[MeMom]

In about 15 hours I'll be sitting and listening to my senior composition recital. It seems strange to have a recital tomorrow and not be practicing or worrying about sleep! All I can do at this point to ensure success is pray! I have an amazing group of people performing my pieces and I am SO thankful for their hard work.

With the recital comes an awesome reception that Robert has prepared. I think you would all like the theme of it............ Flavors of Walt Disney World!

That's right, my wonderfully amazing and talented hubby has prepared such Disney hits as mini-school bread, carrot cake cookies, chilled strawberry soup and chocolate dipped pretzels and rice krispie treats!

I'll hopefully have a little time tomorrow afternoon to post pictures of the recital and the reception.

Hope everyone has a good Friday night......well, at this point - Saturday morning!

What time should we be there????

Good luck with everything today. I know it'll be great!

 

[White as Snow]

Good luck with everything today. I know it'll be great!

Thanks!! Happy Mother's Day, by the way!


Recital Update!!!

It was better than I ever could have imagined!!!! My performers completely rocked and I had so many wonderful friends, family, and teachers in attendance!

The reception was terrific! Robert and his culinary student did an awesome job with everything and everyone loved the theme and the food! I'm going to post pictures as soon as I can get them uploaded.

Meanwhile, it's time to finish up with finals! I'm off to work on a podcast on Amy Beach and study for Music History.

 

[White as Snow]

Just popped in to say that we have decided to leave Monday, drive to Valdosta, GA and get up and drive the rest of the way on Tuesday! This takes care of my worry that we would not have enough time to enjoy AKL.

Also, Robert told me what he is planning to take as far as clothes are concerned.







Long jeans and khakis and long-sleeved shirts........

I politely told him I did not want to hear any complaints when he starts to combust from all the heat. I suppose you have to understand that Robert is extremely hot-natured. My mom once said of him, "That man shouldn't even OWN long sleeves!" Too, he's only ever been to WDW in October, November, and December! I have been in March several times and I think I've been in May once before. Maybe I need to start a Dis petition explaining to him that it gets hot as blazes!


Oh, well, he said he was going to roll the sleeves up, so that makes it all better........sure.

Some really nice friends of the family gave me a Wal-Mart giftcard for graduation, so I think we are going to go Sunday afternoon and get muffins and some other supplies for the road and the room with that.

Hopefully, tonight we can work out our budget for food while we are there. I underestimated how much time would be taken up with graduation - i.e. baccalaureate, etc. Leaving Monday is a double-edged sword. More time at Disney, but less time to plan!

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week, I didn't fib about the pictures....they're coming! I can't believe we'll be there in one week!!!!!!!!!

 

[White as Snow]

It's Graduation Day!!!

I can't believe it is finally here! It's been a long four years, but boy has it been worth it.

The Baccalaureate last night was nice. We walked across campus in our caps and gowns (it's a symbolic walk you take at orientation as freshmen and then reverse it when you graduate). That was meaningful, but HOT!

I have to say that I LOVE being a music major because as we were walking some of the gentlemen in front of me began singing songs such as, "Before the Parade Passes By," "Masquerade," "Seventy-Six Trombones," "I Love a Parade." They were both voice majors, so this was done in harmony. Maybe you had to be there.

I can barely wrap my head around the fact that I will be in Disney in 2 days 10 hours and 40 minutes (at least that is what the countdown on my computer tells me).

Robert and I finished working on our food budget. It looks like we will be doing mostly counter service. Robert did mention last night to my mom that we might add another ADR. My thought was, "Does he know when we leave?" I learned my lessons a few years back about planning ADRs in advance because it can be SO difficult to add one once you are there especially if it is very crowded.

We're going shopping tomorrow for food and some other necessities. Robert has decided that he will be a puddle if he wears long sleeves and pants, so he needs to find some shirts to wear.

I did my clothes shopping Thursday after I finished my LAST undergraduate final! I only had one pair of shorts and they have a cotton ribbon that ties on both the inside and outside of the legs and no matter how you tie them, they come undone. So, I found some linen/cotton cargo pants at Old Navy that are fairly light weight, but they are capri length, so I won't have to use so much sunscreen. I was a little disappointed I couldn't find any shorts I liked, but because I have lupus, I'm literally allergic to the sun, so any exposed skin has to be greased down with sunscreen!

Well, Robert has returned from an early grocery run (everyone is coming back to our apartment after graduation). He ran by a local bakery and got us some breakfast!

Thanks for reading!

 

[White as Snow]

Hello to anyone reading!

We've been back from our trip for a while now, but I'm just getting around to updating because of some really good news.......


We found a renter house!!!!

Since I am starting grad school as a piano performance major (as opposed to composition) I am going to have to practice a lot more. With my lupus, I physically can't practice for three straight hours like I could when I was in high school. SO, we needed a place where I could have my piano from my parents house to avoid having to rely on the practice rooms at school. We've searched and searched for something not tooooo far away from Robert's work and my school that is also within our price range - NOT an easy task!

However, yesterday - WE FOUND IT! It's absolutely adorable, and what's more, the owners came down a little bit on the rent because we are doing an extended lease! We move in next month, so LOTS of packing to do!

Anywho, that's why I haven't updated until now. Since this post already feels long (to me), I'll post the promised pictures of my recital reception and a picture or two from graduation. Enjoy and I'll hopefully be back with another update later tonight!


This was the banner announcing the theme of the reception. My wonderful cousin (who is an artist) painted this for me per Robert's request.

The punch table (the punch isn't WDW - it's a family recipe that we've had at holiday celebrations as far back as I can remember)

Homemade salsa, store bought chips, and home made empanadas, in fact, I think everything but the chips was made by Robert. I have such a wonderful hubby

Strawberry soup shooters

Chocolate dipped pretzels, mini schoolbread, and carrot cake cookies

Mini reuben flatbread

Carrot cake cookies

Rice Krispie treats

Proof that I graduated (or at least that I had a cap, gown, and cords)

Robert calls this the "money shot" - I was too excited to sleep and this was the result.......

Have a great day!

 

[MeMom]

That's incredible! What a sweet family you have to do all of that. I bet it was all just delicious!

Congratulations on the house. You have so many good things going on for you right now!

 

[White as Snow]

That's incredible! What a sweet family you have to do all of that. I bet it was all just delicious!

Congratulations on the house. You have so many good things going on for you right now!

My family is pretty much the best thing about me! Seeing these pictures makes me wish we were having a reuben flatbread tonight. Oh well, I think our strawberry chicken clubs should be pretty good.

I have been blown away this year with how much God has blessed me and watched over me. From a wonderful, loving (and Disney loving!) family to a terrific home and school situation, He has given more than I could have asked for and certainly far more than I deserve.

Thanks for reading!

 

[White as Snow]

Travelin' Day!

Robert has yet to email me the pictures from the trip (it's what I get for not having a camera of my own), so I'll start here since there are no pictures to go along with the story at this point.


Our Disney adventures began on Monday, May 18 with our neighbor's dog waking us at 5:30am with his barking. (I think there are two dogs and one is nocturnal, because there is ALWAYS a dog barking over there....) So, Robert went to take the car for its normal check-up.

I began the job of packing for both of us. That's right, both of us. In the past, Robert has waited until literally the last minute to pack (as in, I'm loading the car while he packs his clothes). Thankfully, young Disney grasshopper has learned from the packing master and now packs the morning of the trip. Not great, but I'll take it for now.

In a perfect world, I would have already had most of our things packed, but with little things like finals and graduation......I just didn't have the time.
Usually, I listen to podcasts while I pack, but Turner Classic Movies was showing some very interesting Frank Capra films (Ladies of Leisure and Platinum Blonde) so those were my distractions...uh, I mean background noise while I packed.....

My mom, great aunt (we'll call her B), and nephew (let's call him D) were coming that afternoon to bring some clothes that were at Mom's house. Why the entourage, you ask? Well, D was staying at Mom's because my brother and SIL are in the process of moving and it is safer/easier for D if he is not present when the moving is happening (he's about 20 months old by the way). SO, B came along to sit with him while Mom helped me.

Graduation had been a whirlwind weekend and Mom was worried about my packing all day and then making the long drive to Valdosta sans lupus problems.

It was nice having them here because I got to see what it will be like if I ever try to pack with a 20 month old of my own some day - I wouldn't recommend it. Although, D did have a lot of fun putting our floss in the cosmetic bag. If only he had been able to say, "Aunt LB, you're forgetting Uncle Robert's brush and deodorant."

Apparently I forgot that Robert has hair and underarms while I was packing, but we'll get to that later.......

I forgot to mention that at some point during the day I ran errands such as the bank, the pharmacy and the local bakery to get the pimiento cheese I had been ordered to get for the drive to Valdosta. If you're not as southern as I and don't know what pimiento cheese is, send us your address and we'll mail you some of Robert's, because as far as I'm concerned he makes the best around.

Thanks to Mom and crew, I was pretty much ready to go when the hubs got home from work. It was also nice to see all of them before we left.

This was our second trip just the two of us, and we win the most improved award for packing the car. Mostly because Robert has learned that all the travel documents, food, and cooler need to go up front near us.....not in the back where climbing is involved.

Finally, we were on our way!

As we pulled out of our apartment complex, we began playing with the voices on Robert's cellphone GPS. "Michelle" was our "guide" last time and let's just say, Sacajawea she ain't. In December, we ended up 2 hours off-course and driving around in a Georgia state park before finally arriving at Valdosta at 1am.

So, figuring "Michelle" was bad luck, we decided to go with "David" this time because he was the only one we could clearly understand and who didn't sound creepy - think 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The drive was uneventful which is just the way I like it. We had our pimiento cheese sandwiches and gardettos so we didn't have to stop except for gas. I'm supposed to stop every 90 minutes.....but....uh, that didn't happen this time....I just hated to tell Robert to stop when we were both getting tired and wanted to get to the hotel.

We pulled in to the Days Inn in Valdosta/Lake Park at 1:00am ET (we're CST so we lost an hour). I was a little nervous about the quality of the hotel, but our room was great! Very clean and spacious with a mini-fridge, coffee maker, etc. We had a good night's sleep and dreamed about being in our happy place in less than 12 hours!

 

[White as Snow]

We awoke at 8:44, and by “we” I mean me. Yes, I had my alarm set for 8:44 instead of 8:45. I’m weird like that.

Once I convinced Robert that it would be a great idea to get up and get ready, we were ready and out the door by 9:14. I was proud of us!

We’ve only come the Valdosta way driving one other time, but we’ve already established that McDonald’s breakfast is a tradition for us. It is our way of bidding adieu to nutrition until the end of the vacation.

I took some fairly detailed notes (at least before we got to the parks and I was too busy soaking up all the Disney magic). So, if you are not interested in knowing everything, just skip ahead.

Robert got a sausage and egg bagel and I got a sausage, egg and cheese McGriddle. I realize that what I had was a heart attack wrapped in a Mickey D’s wrapper, but those things are just so darn good! We weren’t planning on having lunch, so we also got a butter biscuit apiece. Oh yeah, wash all that down with a large Diet Coke - laugh if you must at that.

The drive again was uneventful except for the singing of Disney and various Broadway tunes. Since we’re both music nuts we basically sang almost the whole way down.

“David” sent us a different route because we were going directly to AKL. The good news is that we got to see some of the kitziness of Orlando. The bad news is that we didn’t get to go through the gate where Mickey and Minnie welcome you to their balmy Florida home. We were both a bit bummed about not seeing the welcome sign, but that was soon alleviated by the welcome sign for...

THE ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE!

This is absolutely a stunning resort! We parked (at 12:30 if anyone was wondering) and the moment you begin walking toward the lodge you are surrounded by wonderful mood-setting music (think tribal drums) and lush greenery. As the doors open and you step into the lobby, you are greeted by smells from Boma, as well as the clean scent that accompanies many a Disney resort. I saw several families heading toward the bus stop as well as several headed to their cars to end their trips. I tried to focus on the families heading to the bus stop because I didn’t want to think about leaving this wonderful place!

We had a short wait to check in, but a wonderfully nice CM named Chris (I wrote down the names of very nice CMs as I mean to write/call in about their great service) welcomed us and congratulated us on graduating from college. After we finished our chat with him, Maria (I think - I write like a serial killer, so some parts of my notes are hard to read) checked us in. She, too, was extremely helpful because she showed us where our room would be, gave us buttons to let everyone know we were celebrating graduation, and showed us where the night-vision viewing would be held.

Robert pulled the car up and I waited with the luggage while he re-parked. Thankfully, I had the foresight to grab the camera. Here is what I could see while I waited.

I thought this was interesting. Also, I’m pretty sure I took other pictures of this little shady area, but Robert grabs the camera after every night and deletes all pictures he deems unworhty. I’m thinking that a lot of my pictures from this moment fell victim to his editing procedures. Oh well.

The sign above the doors. I felt like that part in Muppet Vision where Waldo says that everyone else thinks he’s talking to them, but he’s really only talking to you. I felt like the sign was just for me.....

After seeing my sign photo blown up like that, I’m surprised it made the Robert cut.

Well, I am going to have to leave off with that tonight. The Next Food Network Star is about to come on - it’s the only reality show to which I will unabashedly say I’m addicted.

Thanks for reading!