Disney World, Part 2

Ok, so where were we.

Let's see, we'd had an amazing dinner at Marrakesh, and, happy and full, we wandered around some of the other countries for a bit while we waited for the fireworks show. Here we are dancing in Italy.



And attempting to take no-flash pictures in China.


The fireworks show was great (sorry, no pictures), but as soon as that was over, we took our weary feet back to the POPS Century (our Disney hotel) and got a good night's sleep.


Next, onto the Magic Kingdom! While all the Disney parks are wonderful, there will always be a special place in my heart for the Magic Kingdom. You know, it's the one with the Dumbo and Peter Pan rides, and of course Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. So many good ones! :)

The quintessential castle/crowd shot.

I think I was tired at the Magic Kingdom (it was day 3 after all), because I didn't take nearly as many pictures. It was also threatening to rain most of the day, so maybe I was afraid of getting the camera wet. To make up for the lack of pictures, I'll post a couple of videos for you.

We got to Magic Kingdom early, before it opened, which is great because Mickey and friends come out, and do a song a dance for you before they open the park. It's all very fun. We did all the popular stuff early (Buzz Lightyear [my favorite ride at MK!], Space Mountain, teacups, Haunted Mansion, Pirates), then headed back to Hollywood Studios in the afternoon (when MK got super crowded) for the Indian Jones Stunt Show (we didn't have time to see it the day before). It's a great show, so we were pretty excited.

A little clip from the show:

A funny story at this point in the day: on our way out of the park, Lyndsay and I were pulled aside by a cast member doing customer satisfaction surveys. We got to fill out this little online survey about the quality, price, etc. of the food available. The funny part was that I had waited in not one, not two, but three lines that day, trying in vain to buy a snack, all of which sold out just prior to me reaching the snack stand. I was able to tell the survey "your food is great but please, have some more of it!", and was rewarded for my efforts with a Disney pin, which is happily perched on my dresser at home. :)

Ok, from there we headed back to POPs for some pizza, rest (us girls), and pool time (the boys). We needed to be refreshed for our late-night Magic Kingdom adventure!! That day happened to be Magic Hours, which basically means that anyone staying in a Disney hotel gets to stay later than everyone else. We could stay till 3 a.m.! We put on our rain jackets and hit the soggy but brightly-lit park.

We particularly enjoyed Tomorrowland, with the People Mover and the spaceship ride - the view was great. I loved the glowing castle, as evidenced by the 100 + pictures I took from various angles around the park.

You get the idea. My favorite new MK attraction was the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, an interactive show where the cartoons talk back to you. Somewhere, somehow, there's gotta be someone holding a mic. It's awesome. It's a hard one to take pictures of, though, because it's on a screen, so here's one of the waiting area.


Another highlight of the evening: Lee's "extreme" version of the Tea Cups. While each cup spins around the big circle automatically, there's also a little wheel inside the cup you can turn to spin in little circles as well. The harder you turn, the faster you go. Terrifying, and super fun! :)

By this point, we were getting tired. This is our "I'm soo sleepy but I do not want to leave!" face.

Ultimately, Lee and I only made it 'till about 1 a.m. I think the Slatens made it till 2 or 2:30. Even though I've been to Disney many times, being in the Magic Kingdom at night was something I'd never gotten to do before, and it was a blast!

To conclude this Disney World adventure recap, let me say that if you ever have the chance you should so go to Disney World! I would recommend that you wait until small children are at least 7 or 8 years old, or their experiences will be limited, and probably forgotten. And if you don't have kids, go anyways! You may be surprised at how much fun you have. :)

Disney World, Part 1

Nearly two weeks ago, we went to Disney World for a long weekend. It was amazing. We went with the Slatens, some dear friends of ours, and had a fabulous time. The weather was great, the food and service exceptional. Disney, my friends, knows how to do a good time.

So, without further ado, here are a few photos from our trip, and some Disney recommendations.

Sadly, I somehow managed to not take any pictures at our hotel. We stayed at one of Disney's value resorts, and it was great. The rooms aren't much to write home about (just your very standard hotel room), but the pools were great, the cafeteria was handy, and the atmosphere was just really fun. Most importantly, you get the outstanding Disney customer service, and free transportation to each and every park all day long. We would hop a bus to a park in the morning, hop another in the afternoon to go back to the hotel or to another park, and hop a bus back to the park in the evening. It's really worth whatever the price difference is.

The first park we went to (tired and exausted after getting into Orlando at 3 a.m. the night before) was Animal Kingdom. Lee quickly found a bike, but much to his dismay it was just for decoration, and was bolted down.

Animal Kingdom is really fun, but if you're trying to cram 4 parks in 3 days like we were, you probably don't have to spend a whole day there unless animals are really your forte. They have a really neat safari ride where you actually drive through a wildlife preserve of sorts.

There's a quite-large-but-not-nearly-to-scale reproduction of Mount Everest in the background. It looks really cool, and houses Disney's most intense roller coaster.

One of my favorite Animal Kingdom attractions is the Bug's Life interactive show. Disney has lots of really cool "4D" shows, where in addition to the 3D animation you are sprayed with water or squirted with air or scents. Lee's favorite part was the glasses.

We grabbed some tasty stir fry at Animal Kingdom (Disney has so many tasty food options, albeit expensive), and headed over to Hollywood Studios for the second half of the day. I quickly made friends with a life-sized monkey from a barrel as we were standing in line for the Toy Story ride. Best. Ride. Ever. Seriously, the lines were like 3 hours long if you didn't get in early. Definitely fast-pass this one early in the day.



Hollywood Studios is also super fun. Lee couldn't stop talking about the Tower of Terror (I refuse to go on that one), but my favorites were the Star Wars ride, the Muppets 3D film, and the Indiana Jones stunt show. And, of course, the previously lauded Toy Story ride. The evening lights/fireworks/video/character show is really good, too, but get there early and bring a sweater - it gets chilly in the evenings.

The next day we went to Epcot (much better rested). I was trying to get into the spirit of things, but Lee wasn't so sure. I really can't decide whether Epcot or Magic Kingdom is my favorite Disney park. Epcot's newest fabulous ride was called Soarin', and you're basically "hang gliding" in from of a big, half-sphere screen. SO cool. The best part of Epcot, though, is the world showcase. Basically, there are a dozen (or more?) countries recreated (well, tiny little condensed villages of those countries) around the paremeter of a giant lake. There are shops, restaurants, and attractions in each country, and the "cast members" (the term for anyone who works at Disney) are all from those countries.

Here's Lee lounging in Morocco. We ate our fanciest dinner (it was Valentine's day) at the Marakesh restaurant in the Morocco section of Epcot. The food was tops. Here's my salmon and hummus (I'm salivating just thinking about it):



After dinner, we bought some chopsticks in Japan, had crepes for dessert in France, and the boys got margaritas in Mexico while we were watching the fireworks show. It was a good, good day.

More recaps to come!

The Happiest Place on Earth

Disney World: perfect.
Parks visited: 4.
Miles walked: ridiculous.
Friends: incredible.
Food: tasty.
Pictures: coming.

"I love Jesus, but I drink a little"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83JDXXKzOXg

Ok, so I can't figure out how to embed a YouTube video in blogger, but this is a fabulous clip from the Ellen show. Go watch it. Laugh.

Oh, J.Crew

(source)

Oh, J.Crew. Why do you have to tempt me so, with your 30 percent off sales on yummy, candy colored cardigans?

Who can resist?

I can.

But I can still look, right?

Bellisimo!

Yep - Friday Afternoon

Please, please, please go click on this:

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

If you don't see something you find tremendously funny at first, keep reading. I'm laughing so hard tears are streaming down my face.

Project Rewear: January Edition

Project Rewear has been a breeze so far. Coming off of some serious December pre and post-Christmas sale shopping, I haven't been lacking much fashion-wise. I did, however, make my first non-retail clothing purchase - off of Craigslist.

Craigslist is a thing of beauty. We've furnished 1/2 of our house from Craigslist (the other 1/2 is from Ikea), and generally remain Craigslist stalkers for those "too good to miss" deals. The actual Craigslist purchasing transaction often feels like a shady drug deal (ok, all drug deals are shady). Sometimes you go to the seller's house to pick up something you're going to purchase, like a couch, but sometimes, if the item is small, you'll meet in a central (well-lit) spot.

So, I met this gal, with her convertible Victoria's Secret dress, at my favorite grocery/deli/hang-out spot. After standing in the brutal cold for a few minutes, I saw someone looking equally as lost/guilty as I was, and we made the swap - my $25 for her super cute red dress. The deal was done, I hopped back in my car and shivered home.

So basically I bought this.

(source)

Fun, huh? Supposedly you can wear it in a bajillion different ways, but I've only discovered three so far (and I've only worn it as a skirt. It's waaaay too cold right now for a sleeveless dress). I'll try to figure out some more soon a post a couple of pictures.

I discovered this dress on VS's web site about a year ago, but wasn't about to fork over $100 for it. I am quite happy with my $25 version.

I think the first non-retail adventure of the year was a success. For those wishing to ditch "the Man" themselves and join me on Project Rewear, the moral of this story is: Shop Craigslist.