It's a quiet afternoon here at the Vistana, so I thought I'd drop in and say hello while we're relaxing and attempting to recuperate from last night's MNSSHP. These two old poops are definitely not accustomed to being out so late, so often....and today, we're feelin' it! Steve has also come down with a rather nasty head cold (seems to always happen to him on our vacations, he must be extra sensitive to the plethora of germs at the parks and restaurants) so he's feeling a especially icky and droopy. He's grabbing some R&R and so I figured it was a good time to check in here on the Dis.
Last night's party? Tons of fun. Our dinner at Crystal Palace was fantastic: Disney magic at its finest. Every inch of the experience from the greeters to the servers to the food and (of course) the characters was top-notch. We haven't done this meal since our very first visit in 2009 and I think we may need to make it a tradition before every Halloween party.
The party itself was busy but very enjoyable. We seemed to have terrible timing most of the night.....just missing out on meeting characters after waiting in the lengthy lines (when they suddenly needed to take a break for a half hour; we didn't bother waiting any longer) or having rides break down just before boarding (Haunted Mansion, I'm looking at you.....we were all turned back, literally steps away from the Doom Buggies, and ushered out from whence we came due to an unknown major issue). It also seemed somewhat busier than last Sunday's MNSSHP. That said, the guests were a lot more fun (more in costume, more energy) and we got a ton of compliments from other party goers on our outfits. It just seemed like there was more of a "buzz" in the air, if you will....maybe because it is closer to Halloween? At any rate, we were one of the first party guests in the gates (they let us in at 3:50 pm) and we stayed right through to midnight. Oh yeah, and we met talking Mickey for the first time!! He was stinking adorable.
Our Photopass pictures will be better than this one (taken on my crappy old iphone) but for now, you get the idea
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Next year, if we come, we want to do different costumes......hopefully living in the USA will give us better access to costumes large enough to fit my big Steve (and without the duties, taxes, and ridiculous shipping costs to Canada, not to mention the dreadful exchange rate on top of it all).
Today, we are takin' it easy. We had a massive brunch at Hash House A Go Go, did a little shopping, and then hit up Disney Springs for a bit on our way back to the resort. We finally got the chance to visit the new Coca-Cola store and it is awesome! We loved the open-air rooftop patio and beverage bar. And.....we got to meet the Coke Bear!
Tonight, Steve's brother and his family are joining us here at SVR for some pool and hot tub time. The kids will enjoy the massive Fountains pool:
......but you will find me here:
Tomorrow, we're off to Aquatica (taking the family members for their first visit...and their final day before heading home), then Discovery Cove on Wednesday and one final day at SeaWorld on Thursday. Friday, we will savour a final few hours of fun before beginning our journey home in the afternoon.
The sun is still shining
, the temperatures are unbelievably perfect (I was actually a bit cold last night toward the later hours of the party!) and we are saying many prayers of thanks for the ideal conditions. I just wish I could bottle it and take it home.
Until next time!
. If you happen to be in another section of the resort and want to meet up to at least say hello, shoot me a PM and we'll do our best to make it work 
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) so it was a much-needed, much enjoyed break. I think we were in bed by 10 pm that night.
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.... its been a few days so its definitely time.
, oh how good it is to be "home" 
. We earned ourselves a cool $100 Visa gift card for our participation in the meeting and Frozen princess wands and a light saber for the nieces and nephews. More than $50/hour was worth the time.....tonight's dinner at Crystal Palace will be "free" as a result.
). It should be nothing short of PERFECT weather for our MNSSHP tonight! 
so I know they're not missing me too much! While I hate to see our awesome two weeks come to an end, I can't wait to be reunited with Violet and Dash.
. And is it possible to hope that your week goes slow for you, but mine goes super fast for me? I have a feeling it might be the opposite though!
(every once in a while, being the early bird doesn't work in my favour). I wonder if the discounted passes on Livingsocial means that sales are slow for the 2016 event? 
It will be interesting to find out if crowds are lower than when we were last there in 2012.
