Disney Deets - Day #3

Day #3 - Loved it.

Roar.

We went to the Animal Kingdom.

We woke up and it was raining. Not a pour, but definitely a steady something. So we slept in, lazed around a bit watching cartoons and then decided to man up, put on our rain gear and just go. And I'm so glad we did. There was no one there!

Per my itinerary, we were supposed to get a FASTPASS for It's Tough to be a Bug and then head straight to Africa the Kilmanjaro Safaris. Totally unnecessary. We just went straight to Africa and got directly on the safaris. And our guide was fantastic. Apparently the animals love it when it rains, because they were out in full force!

From our safari, we hoofed it to It's Tough to Be a Bug and enjoyed the 3-D experience yet again. But it wasn't as awesome as Mickey's Philharmagic. Afterwards, Dave ran off to Asia to get a FASTPASS to Expedition Everest. Good for him.

And then we went to the production of Festival of the Lion King, which was awesome. We knew all of the songs and good grief, Disney really knows how to do a show. At the end one of the cast members asked Hallie to go and dance around with the dancers. She, of course, refused. We weren't surprised at all. Also, she didn't like these tall guys.

When we got out of the Lion King it had stopped raining - hooray! But there were still zero crowds, so we got to meet some characters and ate some lunch at the Flame Tree BBQ.

And then decided to head to Dinoland.

The TriceraTops Spin was lame - just like Dumbo and Magic Carpets of Aladdin. But it was still fun. I think we rode that a few times.

At some point, Dave ran off to ride the roller coaster, had a blast, so he got a FASTPASS to do it again, and then ended up riding it three more times. I was totally jealous. But apparently they don't let pregnant women ride super fast roller coasters. Whatever. Oh, how I wanted to ride that rollercoaster.

Hallie and Dave went on the Dinosaur ride, which was a "dark" ride and scared the be-jeezus out of Hallie. She apparently even cried at the end when the T-Rex came out of nowhere to eat them. Also while in Dinoland, we let our child get painted up as a Princess Kitty - and if you know Dave, then you are shocked. We actually spent money to put full make-up on our child. Very unlike both of us. But she loved, loved, LOVED it and spent the rest of the day meowing and purring like a cat.

At some point we veered off of my itierary and took the Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki's Planet Watch. Totally lame. The only redeeming thing about excursion is that Hallie got to touch a snake and meet Pocohontas.

Back to Asia we went to watch an outdoor bird show called the Flights of Wonder. Now, it must be said that I was super excited for this show. I mean, I really, really wanted to see it. And it was totally lame too.

After the lame-o bird show, we walked the Maharajah Jungle Trek to check out some Tigers and some pretty sweet birds. Our Princess Kitty enjoyed posing by the random asian decor.

Before our dinner reservations at Yak and Yeti, we headed back to Africa to explore the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. There we got to see some underwater hippo action and some bachelor gorillas.

Dinner was fantastic - my favorite meal of the entire trip, food wise. It was pan-asian food and we chowed on some mahi-mahi, honey sticky chicken and more. It was delicious.

And then we left. And actually got to bed on time that night.

Disney Deets - Day #2

Day #2 - Rocked.

We got up early and made it to the Magic Kingdom before the gates opened. We took some shots (good ones) and had someone take family shots (bad ones). Good grief my belly is getting large.

Keeping up with my itinerary (get used to hearing that), we headed straight to Fantasyland in the back of the park and rode rides until we pooped out. We didn't have to wait in any lines, which meant we rode Dumbo multiple times and went from ride to ride without stopping.

We literally rode every, single ride in Fantasyland. Our favorite attraction was Mickey's PhilharMagic. It was a super crazy 3-D show. We were literally reaching out trying to grab items that looked like they were right in front of us. It was awesome.

We loved Snow White Scary Adventure and Winnie the Pooh, but Dave and Hallie LOVED the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. I was about to puke just watching them. Sometimes it is very handy to be pregnant...

The Winnie the Pooh ride ended in a gift shop (of course) and Hallie had-to-have a small Piglet. Good grief she loves that thing. It helped that she became obsessed with Winnie the Pooh about a week before we left for Disney, thanks to a two foot garden statue that she took into her posession (thanks, father-in-law).

(more on the Piglet later and the miracle of Disney)

We ate lunch at Cosmic Rays (yummy, quick lunch) and rode almost every ride in Tomorrowland. Dave even rode Space Mountain while Hallie and I waited in line to meet some serious princesses. Hallie finally met her beloved Belle. And Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. She was in heaven. I thought I was going to cry watch her talk to these princesses. She just hugged and hugged Belle and didn't want to let go. Like, it was almost uncomfortable how long their hug lasted. She loves Belle. A lot.

After Tomorrowland caught the three o'clock Celebrate Your Dreams (so we did). Disney can certainly rock a parade. I mean, they go ALL OUT. Tons of characters, gorgeous floats, great sound quality (says Dave).

And then we headed back to do some swimming, relax and nap.

And thank goodness we did. We had late (8:15pm!) dinner reservations at the Crystal Palace.

And then it poured on us.

And Hallie's stomach hurt because we ate so late.

Thank goodness for the characters, because Dave and I may or may not have gotten into a giant fight at that point in time.

  





We eventually got over it. Like the next morning.

Disney - The Deets.

Pre-Day #1:

Pre-Disney was in the car the day before. Which far exceeded my expectations of what a good little traveler Hallie Mason truly is. She rocked the roadtrip. She was calm, quiet (most of the time), not whiny at all and only asked "when are we there?" 18 million times. I would much rather that than any whining or crying!

We picked Dave up in Kentucky and arrived about 11pm in Atlanta. It was so good to see Megan! We were pretty sleepy after the 10 hour car ride, so we didn't chat too long, but she woke up bright and early (and made coffee!) for our early send off the next morning. I love that girl.

So Day #1 - Disney aka the Day of Chaos aka the Day My Plans Fell Apart.

We checked into our resort and got packed up to head to Hollywood Studios. On the itinerary, it said to catch our lunch reservations at the 50's Prime Time Diner, but I ended up cancelling because I wasn't sure we would get there in time. Good thing....because we didn't.

We did, however, catch the 3pm Pixar Pals parade, which rocked Hallie's socks off. It was a great way to welcome ourselves to Disney.

We then caught the next show time for Beauty and the Beast...which again, rocked our socks off. Dave was enthralled with the lighting and sound equipment (nerd). Hallie was obsessed with the songs and the costumes and how the heck that rose blanket made the beast change back into the prince (!). I was in love with watching both of their reactions. I wasn't sure how either of them would react. It was priceless.

And then after the show things sort of fell apart. We weren't sure what to do next. Do we do the Muppet 3-D? Voyage of the Little Mermaid? Walk around? I couldn't get myself acclimated to this park and it was packed. Since Fantasmic was that evening, the crowd levels were out of control.

So Hallie made the executive decision to go back to the resort and go swimming. A very wise decision. We hit up the pool and took naps afterwards.

We ended up eating at the resort and then decided to head back to Hollywood Studios to catch the Fantasmic Show. It's a lights/lasers/fireworks/water show thing. It sounded cool - people raved about it. We might as well see it, right?

IT WAS AMAZING.

Totally worth me standing in line for 30 minutes while Dave and Hallie wheeled around in the stroller. Totally worth the f-bombs Dave was throwing out over the phone when he got lost trying to get back to me when the line was moving really fast. It was totally worth the giant crowds of people. Totally.

It was incredible. One of the COOLEST things I have ever seen. And it is impossible to see how cool it was from the pictures.

After the show we headed back to the resort and passed out. Big time.

It was a very fun (and mucho stressful) way to start our Disney stay. Whew. More to come.

We're Baaaack!

(Hallie after fantasmic...and about how I feel right now!)
 

Disney details to come, tomorrow. Maybe.

I'm super tired this morning, but have lots 'o work to do at...work.

I have a loverly stress fracture on my foot that hurts like the dickens, but was totally worth the walking.

I came back with over a hundred dollars from the cash I had allocated for extras - what the heck? How does that even happen? I think I should have bought more jelly beans.

It was the best, most memorable, exhausting trip of my life.

Next spring break I am getting a house on a beach and doing nothing for a week. Period.

On Tap For Today.

1. Fast food coupons
2. Addresses/maps to Kentucky, Atlanta and Disney
3. Customized maps printed off of Disney
4. Wal-mart shopping list for Saturday
5. Target shopping list for Saturday
6. Print my final itineraries
7. Finalized packing list
8. Start panicking a little bit about shopping, packing and loading the car without Dave.

Check.

A Failure? I Think Not.

Er, well, I sort of let this whole list thing slide. I say getting pregnant, going to Disney and finishing the basement can trump everything below. The only thing that will happen for sure this month is the car loan.

My 30 Before 30

1. Successfully grow a garden

2. Purchase new drinking glasses (white polka dot from Target - love)

3. Sew a quilt - NOT going to happen

4. Print all past pictures since Hallie was born (making progress!) - NOT going to happen.

5. Put #4 into albums. - NOT going to happen.

6. Take Hallie camping.- NOT going to happen.

7. Re-size my super-cute moo-moo-Not going to happen.

8. Get (and stay) pregnant (no pressure, right?).

9. Get my ears pierced!

10. Take a tour of Woodlawn Farm.- Not going to happen!

11. Give up soda.(I am actually making progress with this.)

12. Visit Kurt in Colorado.

13. Find and buy black and white striped cushions for porch swing/rockers. I changed my mind.

14. Eat hibatchi with Dave.

15. Go on a job with Dave. In the semi.

16. Lose 5 pounds. (changed from 10 to 5...let's be realistic)

17. Organize under the kitchen sink.

18. Take a trip with Hallie and Dave. (St. Louis - to the City Museum, Brewery and Neil!)


19. Hang up plate wall in dining room -Nope.

20. Make cinnamon rolls from scratch.

21. Buy nightstands for the master bedroom - Nope.

22. Buy lamps for the master bedroom - Uh uh.

23. Make a headboard for the master bedroom-I wish, but no.

24. Have new windows installed in the house. Blah.

25. Host an outdoor movie night.

26. Host a bonfire - nope, but possible for the future.

27. Sew curtains for the laundry room.

28. Pay off sound loan.

29. Pay off my car loan - YES! I don't know if the check will be sent actually before I turn 30, but I'm counting it.

30. Host a fish fry.

Oh Crap, I Am Busy.

Work is crazy, but good crazy. I am checking things off of my to-do list and also trying to get orgnanized for my maternity leave in three months!

Crazy!

I am also planning for Disney, but I'm almost done with the bulk of the work. I still have to cut out fasst-food coupons for the car trip, finalize my packing list, uh, PACK and figure out whether or not to bring my own coffee maker to Disney since they do not offer them in the rooms??!! I can't decide - inconvenience myself by bringing it, or shell out money for coffee every morning? Inconvenience wins.

I am also pregnant allll over. My poor face is puffy and my booty is large and in charge. I fully embrace being pregnant all over, but it is hard to get used to. Hopefully the millions of miles walking around Disney will tone the booty. The face is just a lost cause until after the baby is born.

I will be 27 weeks pregnant on Friday. This is going fast.

I will be 30 years old next Thursday.

It's as if I just blinked and said goodbye to my 20's. I'm cool with it though. No tears from this aging lady. I've got lots to look forward to for this upcoming year.

By the way - my 30 Before 30 List...yeah, I need to get on that. I'm afraid it's much too late.