A little bit of everything I like, which is a bit of a lot of things. Good guesses: photography, travel, history, general hospital, dogs, family, disney world, mental health, doctor who...
It's 29 degrees outside of my Disney hotel room, so I am not going out there until I have to. I only have to because I have a lunch reservation at the Magic Kingdom. Luckily it's at 1pm when it will have warmed up to a toasty 48.
(there is no such thing as climate change)
I was at the Magic Kingdom last night and it got pretty chilly, especially by Florida standards. It was about 40 as I walked home from my bus stop, and that was a chilly walk even by Kansas standards.
Before I came home though, I stopped by to visit a bit with Ariel, my favorite mermaid princess. I know you know how much I love meeting Disney characters, and I these pictures, and the faces I'm making, do a great job at showing how much I get into it.
Pretend is fun you guys, even when you're a grown up.
We had a great chat about fins and grottos. She almost convinced me to trade in my legs for some kick ass pink and peach fins guys. Sparkly ones. But I'm not sure how much I could travel with them, so maybe another day.
The rest of my story about my most recent trip to Orlando -
We left off Monday morning with a Game of Thrones hangover and nothing on my schedule all day. I spent most of it wasting time in some of my favorite ways - talking about tv on twitter, eating donuts I only eat on vacation, petting the dog and chatting with people via the (type)written word. When Adrianne got home from work we ran to Publix to get stuff for dinner.
My brother grilled out in the crazy rain for us and we tried to find a movie he wanted to show me. It was his bedtime before we made it through one. I curled up with my iPad and read every twitter post about Game of Thrones while I continued to listen to podcasts.
On Tuesday morning, my first friend from the DCP Adam brought his wife and his super tiny baby to pick me up and take me to Disney breakfast.
We ate at The Wave, an underhyped restaurant tucked away on the first floor of the Contemporary. We had talked about eating there or at Trail's End. Both are buffets that cast members get a good discount on, but they had never been to The Wave so that seemed like the best choice. I've done their breakfast buffet a few times in the past and am a fan of the sweet potato pancakes. It was good and they were glad they tried it, but unanimous consensus was Trail's End is better (just in case you were looking for a Disney breakfast recommendation).
Dianne came to pick me up that night when she got off work. We were looking for something quick and tasty for dinner so she took me to Tijuana Flats. Delicious giant tacos, great guacamole and an entire hot sauce bar to can check out. I didn't even think I liked hot sauce until I tried some of those.
On Wednesday, we went back to the parks. My two Disney goals for this visit were to see the new fireworks at the Magic Kingdom and check out the new land of Pandora at the Animal Kingdom. I was determined to get both done that day.
My DCP roommate Dianne (who I was staying with) had to get a different roommate since I left so now shares an apartment with a guy who works in the Festival of the Lion King show at the Animal Kingdom. He's one of the always entertaining Tumble Monkeys, and he is such a sweet guy, he put us on a VIP list for the show.
We sat on the front row and this was our view. I've seen this show many times but wow, it looks different from down on the floor. I mean it's always fantastic in this theatre, but the different perspecitve was exciting. For example I noticed the costumes in that show. They are so intricate and fascinating. It's the kind of attention to detail that gives things depth and make them interesting.
After the show we were rushed out by an usher behind the theatre for a chance to chat with these kind animals and have our pictures taken with them. Huge thank you to these guys (who will never read this). That stilt walker? Yeah. He's way up there.
After the show we rushed to Pandora to ride Flight of the Navigator before we headed out. I wanted to slowly wander around the new area, drinking it in, but it was way too hot for that kind of nonsense. Next time I go I will check out every inch, but in August? No thanks. So we headed straight for the ride.
The wait time was over an hour, but we were prepared for that. I'm pretty sure it's always that long. Since the main point of my trip was to visit we figured chatting in line (and we had some great chatting) instead of in her living room would be fine.
On the left below you'll see a hidden Mickey Dianne found. It's in the queue, near the entrance. The other shots are from inside.
Let me just say that ride was incredible. Incredible. I screamed and laughed and had the best time. It was way worth the wait and I can not wait to ride it again.
After the ride we headed out to the Magic Kingdom. It didn't feel anything like fall but I love these decorations the most
We realized we hadn't eaten. Fireworks time was close so we decided to eat at the closest place - Cosmic Rays. Not either of our favorite places but they have chicken and fries so there we were. It was insanely crowded. Beyond. Dianne was going to grab something somewhere else and meet me back there but decided not to because of the crowds. She hung out with me while I ate but as we fought the crowd back to Main Street she decided she was going to bail. The crowds were pretty out of control, but I was willing to endure them for new fireworks.
I found a pretty good spot in the middle of the street outside of Starbucks. It was so hot I found myself wondering "Hmm, I wonder what would happen if I passed out right here" but I was fine.
The fireworks were amazing. I am a fan. I didn't take any pictures because I wanted to just experience it since it was my first time. It was gorgeous. I felt inspired. And fireworks!! There were lots and lots of them. I loved it. And honestly, seeing fireworks all alone on Main Street is probably the very best way to see them.
I knew Dianne had been waiting for me. And I know right after fireworks at the MK is a crazy rush time, especially with this many people watching. But I also knew I as already halfway down Main Street, and I knew that one person in a hurry can cut through crowds pretty quickly when motivated. I didn't leave early, but as soon as the show was over I booked it out of the park and out toward the ferry. I made it on the first boat out of the park, and then onto the first tram to the parking lot. Trust me, I was super proud of myself. I told just about everyone about it and no one seemed as impressed as I was. Whatever. I consider that quite an accomplishment.
I was firework drunk by the time I made it to Dianne's car. I was still so excited and in love with everything. Dianne said later she had never seen me like that and I admit it was kinda crazy. I couldn't stop smiling. I was glowing. I was in love with the world. And I wouldn't stop talking. We were in our pjs checking FB one last time and I kept stopping her to tell stories about every friend who had posted. Firework drunk. It's a thing.
Good day!
There were a couple places I was hoping I'd get to eat on this trip. One was Flippers, another Via Napoli, and another D'Luxe Burger. None fancy, but oh so good. My flight out wasn't until early evening so Dianne suggested we stop by Disney Springs for late Burgers!
We left for the airport after that. She dropped me at the skycap and he got me all checked in. I hate saying goodbye, but it helps knowing I'll be back in January.
I had to check in with a Princess before they let me leave the city.
Oh and here's my favorite TSA story ever. The lines were crazy. Once you got past the person who looks at your id the line snaked around for about ever. There was a sign that said the wait was about 45 minutes. I like to be super early to everything flights so I wasn't worried but I bet some people were. I heard a worker guy ask someone how long the line was, and then he shouted out for everyone to empty their pockets, keep their laptops on their bags and leave their shoes on because they were bringing in a canine unit!! The mood of the crowd instantly changed. A dog? Suddenly we were all excited and chatting with each other. Really? We can leave our liquids in our bags as long as we get sniffed by a dog? What's the bad part?
When we made it to the dog, he was inside a little rectangle made from the stanchions. His handler was there and the dog would walk around sniffing us as we made our turn past him. After that the rest of security was as breeze. Can was always just have dogs? Seriously.
Hello people! I am currently in Orlando, sitting on my couch while all of my Orlando friends are working or getting ready for work. It’s Monday, and I’ve been here since late Friday night. Let me catch you up with how it’s going.
I almost take early morning flights. Flights, Dr appointments, whatever - I like to do it early and get on with it. But this flight (determined by the which one was the cheapest that day) didn’t leave till 4 and reminded me why I like to fly early. I was ready to go before lunch and anxiously waited till it was time to leave for the airport. The flight from KC to Orlando is usually pretty smooth we made it 25 minutes early. My friend Dianne pulled up right as I walked out the door.
She knew I missed dinner so she brought some snacks in a cooler. She had my favorite treats waiting at her apartment - including a nice cold bottle of Moscato. We enjoyed that as we caught up until about 1am. We talk through technology of course but nothing is as good as face to face with a friend.
We slept in on Saturday, but after we were up for a while (and registered for the DCP reunion coming in January), I realized how close I actually was to the Magic Kingdom. Suddenly I needed to be there asap. Neither of us have passes right now, but my brother had offered to get us in that weekend so we made plans for him to pick us up. We walked under the train and into the park just as Festival of Fantasy was finishing up.
Since it’s still August, I didn’t realize the parks would be decorated for Fall already, but I love the fall decorations and was happy to see them!
But you guys - I really did not understand how hot it is in Orlando in August. I mean I did intellectually, but Oh My Goodness. It was a stormy day, so it wasn’t the sun beating you hot we get in Kansas, it was like walking into a sauna. I mean I grew up with 80+ percent humidity and everyone in Kansas thinks it’s super humid there in the summer but it is nothing compared. It’s crazy, and everyone who lives here said it wasn’t really that bad this weekend. So wow.
We didn’t stay long because sitting around outside, which is usually one of my favorite parts of a Disney visit, wasn’t quite the same in the heat and it was also stormy. Wait times for even the least popular rides were crazy long. We had lunch at Pecos Bills where I ran into some long time Disboard friends completely at random. That was some lovely Disney magic. We made one trip around the park and decided that was enough. As we were headed out the rains started so I think we had pretty good timing.
Here are a few park pictures:
Everything is always good once you see the castle.
On a day that hot, Mickey's Philharmagic is, well, magic.
Had to take a shot of my favorite view.
You just can't walk by the purple wall without a photo.
See ya real soon, Mickey!
That night Dianne and I had delivery from my favorite pizza place with her roommate. We talked until he went to bed, and then we talked some more. Like you do with friends you don't see nearly enough. We were up late, but not nearly as late as the night before.
Sunday morning we met our best girl Monica at Boma for a giant brunch buffet and it was so good. The food - but I mostly mean hanging out with my girls again. Seriously, that time made me feel like everything was right with the world again I love them so much.
Later I had plans to meet up with my brother and his girlfriend again to visit Epcot. I wanted to visit my old store and friends working there, and we had reservations to eat at my favorite Disney restaurant Via Napoli. I was still so full from brunch I ended up bringing most of my dinner home (for lunch this afternoon). We finished just in time to find a spot for the Epcot fireworks and then came back to their house.
This is the store I worked at on my Disney College Program.
There was a 10 minute wait for Ana and Elsa, so I got in line. I became quick Disney friends with a family from England, so we had our picture taken together.
My brother and the inappropriate troll.
Moscato in fake Italy!
Via Napoli probably isn't the best restaurant at Disney world, but it's my favorite. These arancini are my favorite appetizer (they were better when they were smaller and there were three).
The main event - spicy Italian sausage pizza with my favorite wine.
It was late, especially for them since they aren’t on vacation and still have to work, but we all went straight for the tv to watch the Game of Thrones finale. That’s another post but I’ll just say I was not disappointed. I stayed up to an insane hour reading and posting about the episode and eventually fell asleep listening to an instant take Game of Thrones podcast about.
And now we’re back to Monday morning. I really slept in this morning, which was quite nice. In a little bit Adriane will be home and we might run back to Epcot so I can see another former coworker I missed yesterday. Or we might stay where it’s air conditioned. I’m not really sure what the plans are for tonight.
Tomorrow I’m having breakfast with Adam, the 3rd of my best DCP friends. Dianne will pick me up after she gets off work and Monica might come over late when she’s done working. Wednesday morning we’re going back to parks so I can see the new land of Pandora. Dianne’s roommate has us on a VIP meet and greet for after his show which sounds super cool, and we’ll close out the night seeing the new Magic Kingdom fireworks.
And then Thursday night I’ll leave. I know 6 nights is probably the average length of a vacation, but man this seems short and rushed. I predict I will not even be ready to go home by then, but I’m so grateful for this impromptu get away I won’t even be mad.
In 2010 Hannah and I went to Disney World with my brother, I made a mini book about it. I took photos and wrote posts about half of them, and those pages are some of the most popular searches on this blog. I decided to show them a little love. I fixed them up a little and finished the last pages and made an index so you can look at them all.
I had a lot of fun making that book. If you’re interested in this kind of thing, you might like to look at it. It’s collaged together from book pages, scrapbook supplies, photos and junk I picked up in the parks.
I had a lot of fun making it. It’s kinda making me want to try one again on our next trip (122 days).
The pages for this day are especially unfinished. I hadn't realized that until I took these pictures.
I think that's a page from Bambi on the left, but I've added stickers of princesses to it and covered the writing with a green strip of cardstock. On the right, yellow vellum. Behind it a blank page made from scrapbook paper.
On the left I've added a photo of Main Street and the castle to a scrapbook paper page. On the right it's our Guest Check from the Contempo Cafe
Sadly, our Guest Check for dinner was all food from back home. Oh the right I've combined photos of Hannah with Alice as a child and with Alice now.
We hung out at the pool for a while waiting for our Magical Express back to the airport. One of Hannah's strongest memories from her childhood trips is this walkway. There she is at 4 on the right.
And there she is at 18. On the right, a page from a Pooh book.
Both my high and low points were added to this page of mermaids looking shocked we left. On the right, I added in our Magical Express envelope.
I got fancy on the right page, using a punch on the edges. I also added a 3d Ariel sticker.
On the left I've added a photo and small sticker to the back of the Ariel and Max book page. Return boarding passes are on the right.
A napkin from our flight, and the back inside cover.
Time for day 6. If you'd like to see these pages when they were blank for comparison, you can find them in the intro here.
On the right I've pasted a photo of that sculpture outside Yak & Yeti that I fell instantly in love with onto the back of a book page. On the right, blank red velum.
The red velum, and another park map.
Looks like I've skipped a page here. I think there was a photo on the front of that picture of Mt Everest. On the right there are 3 small photos of the safari glued in a line onto scrapbook paper.
A page from the Snow White book on the right. I added my 3 favorite gorilla pictures. On the right, I'm pretty sure I meant to write or add something to the lovely picture of Bambi and his mom, but I never did.
King Louie sighting on the left. I added a photo of our lunch to the Guest Check from Yak & Yeti quick serve.
Here, near the end of the book, I was tired and there are more and more things left unfinished. Sad but true. We ate at Sanaa but I don't know what. On the right there's a postcard I bought on that trip.
On the back of the postcard it's a photo of me and Tiggr. On the right, I've punched holes into a folded up wax paper that Hannah's almonds came in.
On the right, I added a photo of Hannah hoarding her almonds to a page made from scrapbook paper.
More scrapbook paper on left side, with a photo and a basic label. On the right, another Beauty and the Beast postcard.
I added a photo to the back of the postcard. Our lowpoints are so low Ariel is diving in the water to rescue them. Not really, I didn't even have one, but this was the page for them.
On the left are our daily high points. On the right a photo of everyone at Sanaa, stuck to a page from Wall-E.
On the left, it's a background page from Aladdin, with a picture of Poison Ivy and a sticker to write on. Oh no, on the right it's the start of our last day!
Some of the book pages I used had type on them. I tried to hide those parts with solid cardstock for writing, but in retrospect I didn't really like it. This page also has a journaling block sticker, and a 3d sticker of Flower. On the right a blank piece of velum. On retrospect those were a boring idea. Behind that is a times guide for Epcot. There's nothing on the front of that page with the dwarf.
On back of the book page I've added scrapbook paper. I didn't have any photos of Soarin', but wanted to include it because it was my favorite ride. I cut a couple out of some brochure in our room and used those with some labels to talk about it. I folded up a piece of tissue our snack came in. Don't worry, it was clean. I stuck a label on it so I'd know what it was from.
The back of the bag and a Belle postcard.
On the back of the postcard Hannah holds our buzzer for lunch at Hurricane Hanna's. Here's our Guest Check from that lunch.
The back of the Guest Check lists details from our dinner at Tutto Italia. On the right is the photo claim ticket from our ride on Tower of Terror.
I glued our ride photo onto the back of the claim slip. A photo of Hannah in Tatooine pasted on a Snow White book.
Me, outside Tower of Terror, which was instantaly my favorite ride. On the right I've cut two squares out of scrapbook paper and made a page. I used a photo of us tired and a journal square to label our empty bus ride home.
On the back of that page I cut out a picture I had taken of a coffee we ordered. I wrote directly on the page. On the right is a photo of Snow White's wishing well and a blank sticker labeling it as Germany.
On the back is a photo of Italy. I used a book page to list our high points.
On the back I added a ride photo to help explain our low points. Next, it's day 6 already!
Day 2 included my first ever trip to the Animal Kingdom. I was in love, so this days gets extra pages!
Eric and Max and Ariel looking charming on the left, with journal spot to comment on my first DAK day. On the right, I cut the sign outside the park out of a photo and gluestuck it to the velum page.
I added a couple simple elephant stickers to these two pages.
I used the cranky Scar page and some blank mailing labels to make a list of all the characters I met that day. On the right it's another park map. That lion is gorgeous.
On the left is the plain back of the map. On the right, it's kind of hard to make on what's on the right page. It's a photo of the Animal Kingdom entrance, with a couple post card style stickers.
On the back of the photo is King Triton cut out of a book page. I added a Mickey sticker and a plain label. On the right, a photo of the stunningly gorgeous Tree of Life.
The left is a photo pasted onto the back of the Tree of Life photo. On the right is another lovely coaster from Bay Lake.
I made a list of my favorite animals from the day on the back. And then I added photos of them. There's a gorilla.
An elephant and a tiger.
A meerkat on the watch, and a tree full of vultures.
On the left there's a sleeping lion, which is kinda hard to make out with the meerkat photo behind it. Two waiting coasters are on the right.
Another list on the back of one coaster. I glued a photo of me with King Louis and Baloo to a coaster, and outlined it with a white pen.
A list of the rides we rode and a Dinosaur fastpass we didn't get to use.
On the back of the fastpass is our ride photo. We're on the front row. I used a page from the Bambi book for the photo of me with the bunnies. I added a 3d photo of Thumper. That was my favorite part of the trip.
Did I mean to leave that Lion King page blank? Our guest check from Flame Tree BBQ.
Dinner was at San Angel Inn. We headed to Epcot after DAK.
I added an Epcot map to the back of our photo. On the right is a shot of the soda dispensers at Club Cool.
I did not add anything to the back of the photo, but I did add some scrapbook paper. On the right is a cup from soda sampling, and a strip of paper they sprayed with fragrance in FakeFrance.
The backs of those things. We stopped to meet Donald in Mexico.
On the back of the Donald photo, it's scrapbook paper with a couple labels and a Donald sticker. I added a throwback photo of Hannah with the Mexican dancers from 1996.
Plain scrapbook paper on the back of the photo, and a bit about the Kim Possible game. Very fun! We were walking through France when we saw Marie heading to her meeting spot. I used a page from an Aristocats book for that page, with a clear sticker on top of the photo, and fuzzy 3d stickers of the kitties.
Our high and low points on the back of The Aristocats, and we're ready for day 3!
Hey! Hi. I'm back. I've actually been back for a while, but I am always a horrible whiny baby when it comes to returning from vacation. I sleep a lot and refuse to believe real life has resumed. Well, as much as I can. Eventually I give in and get back to it.
I had a great time on the ship. This is me on deck 4, which was one of my favorites. You could see and hear the water, and it wasn't crowded full of people. There were actually empty chairs to relax in. No direct sunshine, but I was getting plenty of that in the ports.
The beaches were the best part though. This is my mom in Cozumel. I think it turned out to be one of her favorite days in life.
It was so much fun, and we were pretty goofy most of the time.
After the cruise we spent a couple nights at Port Orleans: French Quarter at Disney World.
I even got to hang out with my boyfriend Buzz Lightyear for a minute.
I made it back to Kansas just in time for the reproductive frenzy of the Cottonwood trees. I've seen it every year of my life and can never get over it. My nose also can not get over it and I find myself so grateful for modern allergy drugs.
So hey guys. I'm back. And hoping I'll share some more about my good time!
Each year Epcot (at Diseny World) has two festivals. In the Fall it's the Food & Wine festival, and in the spring it's the Flower & Garden festival (which is also full of food and wine).
Last spring I was working for Disney at Epcot during Flower & Garden so as much as everyone loves Food & Wine, Flower & Garden has a special spot in my heart. This year the festival started a few days ago and will be going on through the beginning of May. I've been thinking about it a lot so I went to Lightroom and found some of my Flower & Garden photos to share with you.
These are some of my favorite topiaries from my first Flower & Garden in 2014.
The whole park is really so gorgeous during the festival. The topiaries are just one part of the fun of it. I have more pictures I'd like to show you while the thing is going on, since I can't be there right now. I hope you think they're as pretty as I do.
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