Disney World

I arrived in Orlando around 1am Thursday morning and was so happy to finally see Kevin. It had been about 4 weeks since he left and we were both ready to be together again. After a little glitch at baggage claim, I finally got my bag and we were on our way to the hotel. We fell asleep around 3am, slightly dreading the early morning. We finally got up and going around 9:30am and went down into the lobby for breakfast. After breakfast, we went to purchase Disney tickets at the hotel concierge. We got sucked into a 90-minute presentation, but got a great deal on tickets. The presentation was not on our hotel property, so we ran up to the room and were on our way. We arrived around 10:45am only to find out our "tour" did not start until noon (this was news to us). We had planned on starting the tour immediately and getting to the park around noon....no one told us the tour didn't even start until noon. SO, we decided to get a refund for the tickets and try to find other discounted tickets. We didn't have much success, so we decided to go to the park and attempt to get the Florida Resident Discount, considering Kevin has a FL Driver's License. This finally was a success! We got two 3-day passes for less than two 2-day passes at the other discount stores. We entered the Magic Kingdom around noon and our day of fun began!

Paying for Parking

Just through the main gate

Such an incredible castle!

We started in Adventureland and rode Pirates of the Carribean. Then we went over to Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain. We got a FastPass for Thunder Mountain and waited 80 minutes for Splash Mountain. We managed to get through Splash Mountain without getting too wet and then we went straight over to Thunder Mountain. We walked right up to the front with our FastPass and as soon as our train pulled up the rain started. We ended up riding the whole roller coaster in the pouring rain and got soaked! We were able to run to cover and grab a bite to eat, but we were drenched. It was quite the adventure!

Soaked after the rain storm!

The Parade continued in the pouring rain.

The rain finally tapered off, although it continued to drizzle for most of the day. This did not stop us! We rode The Haunted Mansion, Snow White, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear, Stitch, and more! The park started emptying out around 8pm and we were able to get right on many of the rides. We watched the Parade at 9pm and then the fireworks at 10pm. It was a truly magical day! The rain put a small "damper" on the day, but we prevailed and made the best of a crummy situation!

So magical!

On Friday we went to MGM (now called Hollywood Studios). We got to the park around 10am and went right over the the Star Tours ride, followed quickly by the Indiana Jones show. At the Indiana Jones Show I was chosen to be an "extra"! It was awesome to be right in the middle of all the action!

On the tram to the park

The entrance


My "audition" with the "casting director" to be an "extra" in the show. I had to laugh like Minnie Mouse!


In costume (second person from the right). It was soooo HOT!

After the show we went over to the Tower of Terror and the Rockin' Roller Coaster. Both rides were incredible so we did them multiple times! We had lunch around 2:30 and then rocked out at the Block Party Bash! It was like a parade, but much more audience participation, dancing and music. We had a blast. We tried to go over to the new Toy Story Ride but the wait was 1.5 hours! So instead we went on the Backlot Tour and the Great Movie Ride. We had to leave a little earlier than I had hoped in order to meet some people for dinner in Melbourne, but we had a total blast! Kevin had never been to MGM before and I think he really enjoyed it....more than the Magic Kingdom. This park was geared more towards older folks, which is why I didn't like it as much when I was a kid. Many memories came back to me and I can't wait to go back again! Now that we can get discount tickets, maybe we will go more frequently. AND remember we still have one more day to use before the end of the year! I think we will go to Epcot, since Kevin has never been there either!

Eating a mouse ears ice cream before the roller coaster. You go from 0-60 mph in under 3 seconds! So awesome!

The centerpiece of MGM. This must have been a new addition, because I don't remember this from when I was a kid.

Before we left for the day, we went into the Honey I Shrunk The Kids Playground. I have many fond memories of this from when I was a kid!

I can't wait to return later this year! Disney is so Magical, and although things ARE over priced, it is well worth it! It is an experience you can't get anywhere else!