Lilo and Stitch

I had more fun with Lilo and Stitch! I got some Photo Pass pictures taken, so I hope they are better than the one I posted earlier.
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How exciting!

MSC and I waited in line for over an hour and a half to see Funding Nemo, the Musical. It was phenomenal. We loved every minute of the show. It was done with the performers and large hand held puppets (similar to Avenue Q, but so much better). I didn't want it to be over.

While we were in the show, CB rode Dinosaur and Kilaminjaro Safari. As he was trying to figure out on the map the way back to where we were, a lady asked him if he was plotting his course of action. She told him he needed to ride Mt. Everest. When he told her all of the Fast Passes were given out for the day, she gave him a certificate for he and his daddy to ride whenever they want to go without any waiting!

This is the year of a million dreams, and I guess one of his came true. I just hope it is everything they want it to be.
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Stitch.jpg

I got my picture taken with Stitch!! He, my favorite.
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Tree of Life.jpg

We are at Animal Kingdom today! I just love the tree of life. It is so beautiful.

Very humid today, but I think that is the nature of this park. It always seems hotter here than anywhere else.

Fast passes are already gone for Mt. Everest. I'm secretly glad. I was afraid CB and MSC would force me to ride. I'm a BIG chicken. I'm terrified of heights.
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Late morning...Later night

I can already tell this will be a LONG day. We are going to Magic Kingdom this morning. The park has late night magic hours until 2:00 AM, so I know this will be a never ending day. We are having a later start so MSC can post some information for his classes and I can get some information posted and/ or corrected on here.

We did get to see Fantasmic last night. It was a spectacular show, as always. CB got a really cool String Thing...that is what it is really called, and MSC bought me an electronic name badge. CB entered "Sweet & Precious" on it so I could wear it around the park. CB bought me a pink visor with Princess at the top and around the bill 20% Sweet 30% Precious 25% Cute 25% Charming. I think they have the percentages wrong...it should say 50% Sweet and 50% Precious!!

More later...off to breakfast.

Rainbow in the sky

Well the rain stopped and we are now waiting for Fantasmic to begin. We have fantatic seats right off the water (fifth row). I took the picture of the rainbow from our seats. What a beautiful gifts from God!

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

Well, honestly it has not been horrible, but yes, it has rained again today. No real surprise, we are in Florida afterall!



Yesterday while we were at Epcot, in line for Soarin' there came such an intense rain it blew the electricity. We had to leave the ride and never got back to it...maybe next time. While we were in that line, CB was actually ON the Spaceship Earth ride. He called and said there was someone coming to rescue him off the ride. Today we found out this outage was property wide.



MSC and I left the park and made a three hour tour (not on the S.S. Minnow, but on the Disney buses) trying to get back to the Polynesian! When the electricity went down so did everything, including the monorail! When you are staying at a resort on the monorail line it is not easy to get back when the rail is down.



We just finished dinner at Hollywood & Vine. We're sitting outside the restaurant waiting to see if the rain will stop so we can go see Fantasmic.



Oh, Toy Story Midway Mania is everthing we had heard and more. My high score was 115,300. We tried to get back in and even with the Fast Pass the wait was over two hours! We'll try that one again next time too. We also enjoyed the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show. There were thrills in every turn, it was amazing what they could do with those cars.



Rain has let up. We're off to see if the show will go on!

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Waiting in line (single rider...goes faster) for the Toy Story Midway Mania ride at Hollywood Studios right now. We've heard this is a great ride...the best!
We'll see in just a few minutes. This is our first ride here at the studio.

Breakfast at Kona Cafe

We had breakfast yesterday at Kona Cafe. MSC has been craving Tonga Toast for a LONG time. The way he smiled and licked his lips with each bite told me it was worth the wait!

LM and MM had a great time too! You can tell by the smiles on their faces.

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The waterfall in the main house is beautiful and a great place for a photo op.

Phones didn't charge the first night so no posts and pictures for yesterday until I get back tonight.

First purchase

Our first purchase HAD to be Grumpy shirts, and we hit the jackpot! LM loves Grumpy...according to CB the character was based on LM! :-)

He got five shirts, a jacket, two hats, and two antenna. He was very excited. So excited in fact that he even smiled in one of the pictures! We'll save that picture for a later post.

We are headed to breakfast at Kona Cafe so MSC can have some Tonga Toast.

Our view...yes that IS Cinderella's Castle.

Our sunrise water view!

We are waking after a very full day of nothing much. We arrived at the Polynesian about 2:00. Our room, as you can see from the picture above has a beautiful view. Last night we even sat on the little porch we have and watched the fireworks at Magic Kingdom. It was spectacular.

We at a quick, light lunch at Captain Cook's (CB keeps calling it Captain Jack's...too much Billy Joel). Then it was off to Downtown Disney. CB had a plan...he and MSC were going to head off to Pleasure Island so he could go to Disney Quest. It is an indoor theme park with virtual reality video games. He was in Heaven.

While they were off doing that, I went off with LM and MM. We were in search of Star Wars stuff...in particular Chewbacca and Darth Vader. Actually we were looking for a shirt for him to wear to the Star Wars event, but sadly no luck. We did, however find two little mystery packs of SW figures. We manipulated the bags to feel the figures inside. Finally, we decided on two. There was our luck, one pack had Darth Vader and the other had Chewbacca, plus 6 other figures.

We had dinner reservations at 'Ohana. It means family in the Hawaiian language and everything is served family-style. It was a nice relaxing evening with great food.

We found Sleeping Beauty at Disney!

We've made it a far as Downtown Disney and have already worn her out (or maybe we're just boring her!).

MK...my mom does it too...in public!!

Anticipation ...

MSC just made the comment, we are at the point where we can hardly believe we are getting ready to go on our trip. You know, we have been so excited about this trip since we started planning it and now it is really here. The anticipation has been building and building and now it is really time...to head to the airport.

Am I excited about that part...NO WAY! I am terrified to fly...'nough said. The best part, MSC will be there to hold my hand and let me know it will be all right. I'm not wearing the best shoes to stop the plane, but I will do my very best to slow it down to a stop with my black and pink flip flops.

Me and My Daddy

Yesterday was Father's Day and the one thing I wanted more than anything else was a picture with my daddy. I got my wish. However, my best friend, LM didn't have the privilege. You see her father passed away last August. I didn't occur to me how difficult yesterday must have been for her until today. I guess I am a horrible best friend.

I know my uncle must have also had a hard time yesterday. You see his youngest daughter, my cousin, our "Glinda", lost her battle with breast cancer last August. She was only 37 (my age). I miss her more than words can express, but my pain is nothing compared to that of her parents.

I have to admit (and I have no problem saying it) I am a Daddy's girl. I always have been and I always will be. As I grow older, it scares me how much I am like him. I have adopted the same profession, his humor, the way he teases people, his sayings, even his inability to tell a joke!

I guess I could say I take my daddy for granted. I don't tell him how much I love him every day. I wasn't really raised in that manner. I hate to think of a time when he won't be in my life. It scares me with every ounce of my being.

I know that he knows I love him, just as my mother knows I love her, but I really should tell them, shouldn't I? How can anyone really know you love them, unless you tell them?

Just to let you and the world know, Daddy, I love you very much.

BTW - that's my mom's finger in the upper left corner...she wanted to be in the picture too!

On Reading ...

MSC sent me a link to an interesting "news" post about a young man reading an entire book. As a professed bibliophile, I thought it was one of the funniest posts I had ever read. However, it started me thinking...how many times have I felt physical pain for a person when they said they were not a reader. I can't imagine reading not being part of my life. I have always been surrounded by books (growing up with a teacher for a mother and a librarian for a father) I thought it was normal for kids to be read to before going to sleep at night, going to the library to check out books, and carrying a book whenever you walk out the front door. As I grew older I realized my reality was not everyones. Now as a librarian myself (for four year olds), I have discovered books are not a priority to have in the home. Instead my paper companions have been replaced by battery operated devices which provide little (if any) mental growth...oh, yes the argument can be made that learning is occuring, but hopefully these children are not going to need to know how to shoot, blow up, or fight evil forces when they grow up! I mean, a book, come one...you can pick them up just about anywhere now. Why not grab one and escape for a little while? Oh, don't get me wrong. I grew up in the 80s. When I got my Atari, I thought it was "totally awesome", but I still read books. I remain a video game player. When CB got a Wii for Christmas, it was just as much for MSC and myself. We exercise AND read!

I want everyone to have the heart palpatations I feel when I see the new release of a favorite author at the store or hear the voicemail message telling me my hold has arrived at the library. I can't wait to get to the library to pick it up! However, I have to stop, go to my computer and login to see what is waiting for me at the library. I can squeal with delight at the library...shhhh! All in all, I am a obsessed fan for books, reading, book stores (HPB is one of my favorites.."Different stores. Different stories.") and libraries. I hope I am not of a dying breed. If I am, please bury me with some of my favorite books.