What a last couple of weeks! I hope these pictures are in some kind of order but too many to drag around!
First - Lucy is a character and she loves to jam out in the car whenever we are waiting for something.
Lucy in her first Mass day outfit for Junior High. Very cute!
Heidi is in this picture! About middle a little bit to the left - right behind a guy who isn't looking at the camera and his buddy has his arm around him. It's like a game of Where's Waldo.
Lucy is loving volleyball!
Dad and Bev arrived to hold down the house for a week and we were off for our Adults Only Disney trip! Heidi was happy enough or volun-told to take us to the airport early in the morning!
Flight was on time and we ended up not sitting next to anyone! We purposely chose aisle seats and it worked out well! This flight is always rough with the number of kids and families and many first-time fliers on the plane, but we manage just fine!
We got our car and headed straight to EPCOT!
It was HOT - like 100-105 every day. We did have a good amount of cloud cover - which really saved the day. If the sun started to peak through - we would last about 15 minutes before needed shade or AC! It also was pretty rainy in the beginning - but we didn't mind. It kept the crowds low and at least the sun wasn't beating down on us.
It wouldn't be food and wine unless you use a trash can as a table top!
I did a really bad job of taking pictures of all the amazing food we had. Cheesecakes to ravioli to Philly mac and cheese to specialty hot dogs. For the food - Disney has really stepped up their game for this festival.
One lesson we have learned is the importance of a tray! You really need one for grabbing food, drinks or eating on a trashcan - it's a nice barrier.
Lots of selfies!
Rose and Crown (In England) during the day does not have a lunch but instead opens it up as just a bar with a piano player - it was a perfect way to avoid the hottest time of the day!
Another AC spot - the Church/Thor exhibit in Norway - very icy cold in there!
Or going on the boat ride in Mexico!
Figment area also has a nice area to avoid outside for a bit!
I'm convinced that newer Moana Journey of Water area is really for adults at night who have been drinking to give them an activity to do. It was a GREAT group of people going through the exhibit with us - there are a couple of sections that are best if a group of people coordinate at the same time and we did! We were making all the water features trigger and laughing our way through.
A few ride photos too. We got to ride Gaurdians twice each day! and never waited more than 15 minutes!
Day 2 - Hollywood Studios! It was hot once again and at first it got us pretty good. We tried to bounce around a bit for some AC.
Finally, Chris bought one of those cooling towels and it was a lifesaver. Of course, he tied it around his head - but it worked!
It was so hot there in the morning that we saw not one but THREE people receiving medical treatment for heat exhaustion. We now know what Code Alpha means at Disney.
We were chugging water as much as we could. We luckily got some great seats inside Baseline Taphouse which is a small bar at Hollywood. We planned to sit for an hour to wait for our pass to a ride, but then it started to pour - like a huge-flooding-rainstorm. Luckily we could move our passes for rides and we ended up drinking and relaxing for 3 hours. We weren't the only group to do the same - it was a great crowd - great conversations, and was what we exactly needed.
After some much needed rest and adult beverages - we finished off all the rides!
We love when it rains - it truly clears out the crowds. No one was there!
Day 3 - it was the Magic Kingdom day and the Halloween Party. We bought these matching shirts and I hated them. First of all, for some reason, mine stretched all day long. They also rubbed against my neck causing a rash. By the end of the day - it looked like a dress on me. It was the only day we didn't wear our nice RSVLTs shirts and we paid the price!
We ended up spending over 14 hours at Magic Kingdom! During the day - everything was dead - no crowds. We got through all the rides SO fast. If we would have done it again - I would not have gone to the party. My reasons NOT to go to the party:
1. One of the reasons you go to the party is because you can ride all the rides without wait times. This was NOT the case. For us, the wait times were higher than when we were there during the day. During the day we never waited more than 10 minutes for a ride - during the party - everything was around 30 minutes.
2. 14+ Hours is too long, plus there are some rides, we just do not want to ride anymore. It is harder to find places to take a break in Magic Kingdom and often end up doing another ride to be able to have a break.
3. We loved the parade, shows and fireworks but I'm not sure those alone are worth the cost of the ticket. Yes, we collected some candy - but we don't eat candy.
4. There were some good specialty food items, but you purchase those on top of the ticket, so really you are spending more money.
5. There were too many tickets sold. The park was wall-to-wall people and just WAY too many.
Corndogs were really good!
Chris loved to wrap his head. He reminded me of someone...
We would get some random pictures from Dad and Bev too! Enjoying Mitchells
The new overlay of Splash mountain was great but we got SO wet. Plus, they sat us in the front and we had a huge wave come over us. Luckily our shoes avoided it, but I had wet clothes for the rest of the day - too humid to dry out!
Lucy got a new bed set for her birthday!
We were able to do so much - we even rode the carosel!
Hitchhiking ghosts in person was really cool.
We snagged an amazing spot for the parade and everyone came so close! I have videos of it instead of pictures.
It was pouring at the end but we made the best of it! Nothing like wearing a raincoat when its 95 degrees still.
Day 4 - back to EPCOT - we slept in and made out way there enough. It was still low crowds and we got to do all the rides we wanted before 11!
Heidi's student ID
We love Guardians so much!
This day we decided to do Drinking Around the World and play Duck Tales in the country.
It was so beautiful at night! The day was a lot of fun - though - we were very tired towards the end.
Day 5 - we rebounded and headed off to Hollywood Studios again. The crowds were a little higher this time, which we knew Thursdays and Fridays, in general, will be higher crowd days. We were still able to snag the ride passes we wanted and ride everything. We also took another little break in Baseline again. This seems to be the secret!
We decided to actually sit down for a meal and I'm so happy we did! It was SO good. My cobb salad with Shrimp was so fresh tasting and Chris' chicken was seriously the best thing ever.
Lots of pictures of our drinks as I just got one martini and Chris got a trio but the tiny glasses were hilarious!
We watched the Frozen show twice on this day - its a good AC break and really funny!
Last day #6 - EPCOT! We knew this day was going to be the business, especially at night - Tiffany was there! yes - the band from the 80s. We were able to get all the rides we wanted in the morning and made our plan for the must-dos. We were able to avoid the crowd and had a great time.
We even got a table in the pub for the piano player again!
We finished out the evening at EPCOT and headed back by 9pm - We were upgraded at the Swan and could see the fireworks from our balcony. A much better way to enjoy them than in a crowd. Plus they pipe in the music too.
We truly had a great time, though we said we don't think we can come back in the heat again. We will pick another time for sure!
The girls had a great time with Dad and Bev! Everything ran smooth and we could truly relax while we were away! We cannot thank them enough for their help.
Now it's back to work and school is in full swing! Until next time Disney...
