Walt Disney World

Layne and I said goodbye to the kids Thursday night and we headed out the next day for our vacation. We were both really excited and couldn't wait to get there. We knew the week was going to go by fast so we decided to just enjoy each day as it came.

Friday was pretty much just a travel day for us. Flew all day. Our first flight was packed with brand new missionaries headed out to several destinations. We also saw Elder Nelson just hanging out waiting for a flight. During our lay over in Phoenix we had lunch and Layne bought lunch for a couple of sister missionaries. Good karma....this will repay us the first day in Disney World....but that comes later!  Got the rental car and found our hotel for the night.

Saturday we took a journey around the world at Epcot. The weather was really humid because it kept raining off and on through out the whole day but that didn't stop us. The gardens were beautiful and they had Disney characters in the gardens all throughout Epcot. I took a trip into Tinkerbell's garden and took a look around. I snap a picture of all the butterflies that were flying all around. I happened to capture a little orange butterfly and come to find out later that the butterfly is actually called a "Julia" butterfly! Julia loves fairy houses so I took some pictures of some for her and told her the butterfly name and she just smiled and said, "really?!" That made her day!

Karma came back to us as we went to get fast passes for the ride Soarin....some guy had 2 extra tickets and we jumped on it and went. Love the fast pass....best thing ever. Layne and I just had a hard time understanding why other people just didn't grasp the concept of it......everybody else must wonder why all these people are walking right by them up to the front of the line? We walk right on the ride and they just wait and wait?? Wouldn't you ask somebody what the deal was? I certainly would! Saves you so much time.

We hit the ride Fast Track a few times. That is probably the best ride at Epcot. Fun and Fast! We went through each land for a short visit. What I thought was so cool is the fact that every person working at Epcot had to be from that particular country we visited. It was fun to hear their accents and to talk to them a little bit and ask them questions. So in Mexico we rode the boat ride, China we visited with Mulan and then watched a video about Chinese culture, Norway we took a ride on the Viking ship, I made a phone call in a red phone booth in England, browsed through Canada, and had the best pizza ever in Italy. Via Napoli........belissimo!! We were both starving and got a large pizza. WOW! It was so good we went back for seconds at the end of the week.

We finished Epcot around 4pm and took a boat ride over to Hollywood Studios. We wanted a snack so I got in line to get drinks and our first Mickey bars of the trip. It was hot and it was a long line with only 1 guy working the station. So Layne took off to find a shorter line. He comes back with 2 Mickey bars and drinks, but proceeds to tell me that it pays off to help the missionaries. Karma. Layne had been the last customer before the station had to close and he had gotten everything for free. He had to ask the guy again what he owed him and was told nothing, take it, it's yours! AWESOME!

At Hollywood we were the first in line for the Back Lot Tours and because we were first we got to have the option to help out in the show. So we said why not! They took us back and we got dressed in water proof clothes and they told us what we had to do. Layne and I were the deck hands trying to clean the ship and warn the captain about the bombs, all the while getting wet and sprayed from all the water. It was fun....something you don't get to do everyday! We took a break from the heat as well and saw the "Finding Nemo" Musical.

We headed back to Epcot and stuck around for the laser/fireworks show. We had a front row seat and it was worth the wait. After a long day we headed back to check into the resort. It made for an extra long day but at least we had the next day to rest up!

Sunday we got up to go to church. We just stayed for Sacrament meeting because we both weren't feeling so hot. I think our bodies were in shock from all the walking the day before. We got to also see the Orlando Temple, it was right across the street from the chapel but I forgot my camera but it was beautiful. It was a smaller temple and the gardens and water fountains were gorgeous! Sunday we just rested, napped and ate to get ready for the crazy week ahead of us.

Monday we had our first stop for breakfast at Cinderella's Castle. We got to walk down main street before any of the crowds and it was really cool. We got a picture in front of the castle without everybody else in the background. Cinderella is my favorite princess so it made coming to Disney World even more special. It is so much bigger than Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disney Land. It was really cool to go inside, meet Cinderella and then eat breakfast. The room was cozy and we got to meet a few other princesses too. It was the highlight of the day. What a great way to start off the week!

 
Next we headed off to Animal Kingdom. It was warm but the park had a ton of shade from all the trees. It was a fun day. We got a picture by the Tree of Life. It had so much detail and it was incredible to see in person.

We rode Expedition Everest and we both didn't feel to well after that ride. So we decided to cool off and ride the rapids but we brought our ponchos to stay a little dry. Took a walk through tour to see the tigers but only one was out and about. Took a little safari to see the wildlife. Alligators, hippos, rhinos, elephants, lots of animals with horns, and giraffes. We had lunch and our daily Mickey bars. We ended the day with the Lion King show. It was really well done. The music and dancing/gymnastics were great! On our way out we got a little picture with Minney Mouse.

 

 

 After we hit Animal Kingdom we stopped off for a round of miniature golf near Blizzard Beach. It was a Christmas theme park and you could either pick from the classic Christmas or a beach style theme. We chose classic Christmas. It was nice because no one was there and we had the place pretty much to ourselves. Layne always beats me but I gave him a good run for his money. I did manage to get 3 hole in one's and all in a row. It was a good way to end the day.

Tuesday morning we decided to hit the Magic Kingdom. We took the ferry boat over thinking it would be quicker then taking the monorail around and stopping at each resort. It was a nice cool ride and as you come around the corner you can see the castle in the distance. Its a great way to see it...it was a nice view.

Well, we got to the park before it opened and we were able to catch the little celebration they do so welcome everyone. The characters come in on the trail and they get off to sing and dance. A family is picked ahead of time to welcome everyone to the park. They lit some fireworks and opened the gates. And we were off and running. At least that's what it felt like. We hit the park pretty hard going from ride to ride. Haunted Mansion, over to Little Mermaid, back to Peter Pan, Pirates, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and the Jungle Cruise. We probably walked 10 miles in the first 2 hours we were there, at least it felt like that. We both were feeling a little tired and worn out and decided to slow down a little bit. So we had reservations for lunch at Tony's. It was just what we needed to refuel. We took a seat outside and just watched Main Street. While eating we got some fast passes to go see Mickey Mouse.....he is my favorite!

 Mickey was happy to see everyone he met. We shook hands and gave hugs and got a few pictures. Mickey then suggested that me and Layne kiss each other. So when we did Mickey must have gotten a little embarrassed. It was cute!

The rest of the day we did a few things we wouldn't normally do. We went to the Hall of Presidents, caught the show in front of the castle while eating our daily Mickey bars. We saw the Carousel of Progress, caught a ride on the people mover, saw the Banjo Brother's perform and then headed off to see the flag ceremony.

It was a neat little ceremony they did to retire the flag for the evening. The band came out and played to announce the ceremony and then they played God Bless America to bring down the flag. Then they presented the flag to veteran and sang the Star Spangled Banner. It was something we wanted to see and it was really neat to have seen it in the park with the castle as the background.

We decided to stick around for the fireworks show so as we walked down main street we browsed some shops, traded a few pins for our collection and grabbed some dinner. Layne saved a seat for us on a bench and we took a much needed 2 hour rest. Good thing we got the bench because once the show started it got crowded. The castle kept turning different colors and I got a picture of it when it turned pink for Julia. She thought that was pretty cool. The show started and Tinker Bell ( an actual person) came out one of the windows at the top of the castle, all lit up, and flew out over the crowd. That was pretty cool. Then the show started. It was a great way to end the day. And I know I may be a little corny but it was pretty magical!

Wednesday we hit Hollywood Studios again. First thing we took a ride on Tower of Terror. If that doesn't get your blood flowing I don't know what will. After that we decided to see some shows and do other things we missed the first time we stopped by. Back home the kids have been watching Wreck It Ralph and so we had to go and see them. I texted my sister who was watching the kids and they were doing great and just sitting down to watch Wreck it Ralph. I told her to tell the kids we were going to see them right now....they thought that was pretty cool.

We watched the Beauty and the Beast show, the Indian Jones stunt show and the Car stunt show. That was our favorite. We just couldn't believe how close those cars were from crashing into one another so many times. They showed us some pretty cool hidden secrets too. That was our favorite of the day. We had had enough of the heat so we decided to call it a day and go home a little early. We got some dinner and just chilled out at the resort. We decided to hit the hot tub to relax our sore and tired muscles.

Thursday was a work day for Layne. Since we were in Florida Layne asked if he could visit a few places they insure at work. The boss gave him the ok and so off we went to Tampa. We were off to visit a para sailing company. We got there before they took anyone else out. Hopped in the boat and off we went to the open sea, the Gulf of Mexico. It was amazing! They told us how it would work and then we took our places at the back of the boat and off we went........high up into the air, about 400 feet. The view was amazing and I didn't feel to nervous unless I looked down. We saw some dolphins swimming around the boat while we were up in the air. It was pretty cool. I was a little worried about it but I'm glad I got the chance to do it and the best part was that it was free. Layne certain has some perks to his job!

Next stop for the work day was a miniature golf place in Orlando that has baby alligators on the property. They were all sun bathing when we got there but livened right up when we got out the gator bait to feed them. Cut up hot dogs.......its amazing how fast and strong they are for being so little. Once again we got a free round of golf. So we stay to play.....and of course Layne won! It was fun to see what Layne does at work and I think he really enjoyed it as well. Hopefully he can do more of that in the future.

Later that night we decided to hit the Magic Kingdom again to catch the famous electrical parade. We rode a few rides that we wanted to catch again as well. It was nice to be able to save a spot and just wait for the parade to begin. We got our daily Mickey bars and watched the parade. Layne said he just remembered it alot differently as a kid. Your perspective is just so different when you are a kid. While waiting we got to know our neighbors. Layne is really great about talking to people and just getting to know them. I think we met people on the ferry boat, Epcot fireworks, the Electrical parade, just everywhere. It was interesting to see where they were from and a little bit about them.



 

 

After the parade the park cleared out a bit because they all went over to catch the fireworks. We noticed Splash Mountain was down but we waited around till it was up and running. So we pretty much rode it back to back with no line. The first time we hopped on we were the only ones in the boat and as we went through the ride no music was playing and many of the animals were sitting still....it had been a computer problem. It was just weird to go through the ride that way...but it was still fun. We jumped off and got right back on. Once we were done there we decided to browse the shops as we left the park. Another fun and tiring day!

The final day was a free for all. We had another reservation at Via Napoli so we decided to go back to Epcot and ride Test Track again before lunch. Lunch couldn't have come at a better time. It was so hot and humid the last day, around 90 degrees, so lunch was a way to cool off and rest. We took the ferry boat over to Hollywood Studios again and Layne hit Tower of Terror again and we rode Aerosmith's Rockin Rollercoaster. Layne said I would be fine but I didn't like it. It had to much of the ride in the dark and I like to know where I'm headed. I was a little woozy after that. We did some shopping, ate, and pin traded for the rest of the day. It was sad that it was our last day. But we had a blast. It was nice to be able to spend time with just each other and have a little break from the kids! We both needed it! It was a great trip and I'm glad I was able to go with my best friend! Thanks for the memories!!